Ellessar
Some people come into your life with a bang; others with a wince. Ellessar was certainly in the latter category. His life was an endless lesson in humility and not one that he learned easily. He was hellbound to prove himself, but at no point did he ever stop to consider if he needed to.
He was born the youngest of six siblings and the first boy. His father was a general who had earned a noble title after an illustrious military career. He felt a great deal of pressure to create a male heir to take on his burgeoning legacy. Ellessar became the epitome of a spoiled baby brother, becoming nothing short of a hellspawn to his long-suffering sisters. His every action was met with indulgence; he simply could do no wrong. Cut to him as a twelve-year-old menace to the household… and the newly-bonded partner of a pale-yellow fire-breathing lizard. His father was irate. (Shur'tugal cannot inherit titles as they must remain separate from the politics of their native land.) The rest of his family, however, was just glad to be rid of him.
His training was a truly humbling process. He learned quickly and in no uncertain terms that he was all but incompetent in every measurable way; confidence through the roof, but qualification sorely lacking. For the first time in his life, he was… unremarkable. His ego took this poorly, and no matter how hard he applied himself, the feeling of mediocrity never left him.
After my rather flashy exit with Morzan, the young rider thought he had an opportunity to prove himself. He ventured off into the wilderness to find us… instead, we found him. His bluster fell apart once he understood the enormity of the task in front of him. As I was ambitious beyond our means, I considered his recruitment a worthwhile investment. Formora had no patience for the boy, but Morzan was the one who finally got through to him.
Ellessar made a show of trying to match up to Morzan. This was a thoroughly hopeless endeavor; a once-in-a-generation genius is a difficult goal post for anyone. Morzan took the unwanted 'competition' in stride, encouraging his growth in more ways than I think Ellessar even knew. Finally, in a moment of rare approachability, Morzan gave the kid some much-needed advice, "You're trying to prove to me that you're enough of a man to be here. But here's your problem: you don't need to show me. Just show you." That moment proved quite transformative for Ellessar. After that, he made it his mission in life to stand tall on his own merit and by his own estimation, regardless of those around him.
He proved a harmonizing agent in the thirteen. He was not a specialist in any one field, which meant he fit easily into whichever role was lacking once we began to scout in teams. He worked consistently to become even more so, willing to take direction from his growing number of peers in whichever direction he most lacked. In the field, he was the picture of teamwork, if only because the surrounding stronger personalities would allow nothing less. Off of it, however, he continued to be a bit of a swaggering braggart, to the point that he became the butt of many jokes. If he ever resented the role as a comedic scapegoat, he never complained to me.
He died far younger than most of our brethren. The conflict with Surda had reached a fever pitch, open battle had been joined across the southern quarter of Alagaesia. Back in the control center of Uru'baen I made two critical mistakes: 1) underestimating the unpredictability of even amateur magic and 2) not covering more bases while I had the chance. I sent Ellessar to lead one of the final battles of the revolt. In the fight, an enemy magician managed to out-think Ellessar (admittedly, no great feat) without engaging in mental combat. All the eldunari in the world cannot protect you if an enemy spell slips right through your wards. I know not exactly what form the magic took, only that it killed Ellessar and his dragon instantly, plummeting them down into the fray where they crushed dozens of their own soldiers to death.
After that display, the battle turned into a disastrous rout and the rebels entrenched their holds so deeply that it would have taken nothing less than my personal attention at every single site to remove them. Morzan and I decided against this, as much out of caution as a simple lack of concern. A handful of squabbling pests were easy enough to ignore… but the loss of our third member was not.
He was one of the "children": the people who were barely out of their training when they left to join us. His loss struck us all profoundly, if only because none of us were expecting another to fall so soon after I took the throne. It served as a vivid reminder to us all of the capricious nature of fate, and the ever-looming disaster that hung over our heads. I took Ellessar's death poorly as it was my own idiocy and ego that killed him. His prowess had only really just begun to grow at the time of his death… and the days in which he could have reached his potential were stripped from him by one of his closest friends.
Ellessar was, if absolutely nothing else, determined to make something of himself. After spending his earliest days being praised for almost anything, he was determined to set a higher standard of accomplishment. Though he was able to eventually find meaning in small milestones, in the end, he died halfway along the journey of finding his true self. I like to think that he did achieve at least part of his goal before he left us: he became a man that no one could ever forget.
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Well well well, the first of the forsworn to die young O-o... not exactly a pleasant write. Then again, this is exactly why I wanted to undertake this project; these characters must have had complex relationships, and it must have affected them all when one of them fell. Now, as everyone's sense of empathy fades into madness, this effect no doubt had diminishing returns... but the earliest losses must have been rather devastating. I'd be interested to hear any thoughts on that subject in reviews?
Anyway, that's all for today.~ Rest well everyone :3
