The Life to Date of Nightveil Shroud

This one is probably the most difficult I've written. I think the writing went well...but too well. The character, Nightveil Shroud, was a psychopath. Not the "mass murderer" definition that television will have you believe is the only definition, but the literal, clinical description, meaning that the person relates so little to the human condition, that it's almost as if they lack something on a fundamental moral, spiritual, and humane level (the word "psychopath" coming from the Greek "without soul").

Shroud didn't understand people or attachments or anything like that. He thrived on information, he loved learning and growing in experience, and nothing more. Because of that, I had to write an account from the perspective of someone who doesn't find "exciting" the things that we find "exciting". Therefore, this background is...well, to be honest...boring. It's incredibly literal, packed with facts, and devoid of relation. I meant for the reader to feel disconnected from Shroud, and I think I succeeded too much, haha.

Just some info to help: Illumians are a race of people who are basically language incarnate. They are bitter rivals to another race called the Githyanki, due to the destruction of a beloved library by the Githyanki long ago. Illumians use their surname first, so "Nightveil" is his "last" name, the name of his cabal. "Shroud" is his "first" name, the name he goes by.

Shout out to Bobby Stewart for playing Trydan Boggs.
Shout out to Kevin Neiger for DMing this campaign.

The Life to Date of Nightveil Shroud

            I killed my first person when I was 9.

            The only reason I begin with that is because I understand that things are more likely to be read if they begin with excitement. I have yet to comprehend the reason for this, or for “excitement” within any story that focuses more on the emotion than the facts. I prefer facts, information, the written word of it all. But for the sake of the reader, I will try to add…”flavor”…to this account.

            But, I digress.

            I was born 5 pounds, 10 ounces, to the Nightveil cabal. For those unfamiliar with this word, a cabal is sort of an Illumian tribe, a group of us that join together with similar purpose. The Nightveil cabal is a Gauntlet cabal, which is our title for a cabal that specializes in espionage and infiltration. I began speaking at 6 months, reading at 13 months, and walking at 14 months. This may seem incredible by human standards, but remember that my people are language incarnate; therefore literacy comes naturally to us-

            And there I go again, telling you nothing but the facts.

            My training began soon thereafter. I remember the simple “games” we used to play, “Ghost” which is similar to “Hide and Seek” (I believe that’s what it’s called in common), though the goal is to find others without them ever seeing you, “Frost” (though I never understood why it was called that) which is basically “Capture the Flag” (again, I believe that’s what’s it’s known as) though the goal, again, is to be undetected, and my personal favorite “Secrets” in which we were encouraged to find out what our playmates had been doing the last week. This often led to spying on each other, lying to each other, sneaking/breaking into each other’s homes, but it was all for the purpose of training. Although, some thought that this particular game “robbed us of our innocence.”

I don’t believe in innocence, only ignorance, and I do not respect ignorance.

            When we turned six, actual combat training began. Our instructor, Penumbra, was talented, strong, and beautiful. She instructed each of us in silent battle, four days a week, for three years. The other days were spent learning disguise, lock picking, languages, etc. As we always said, “A Nightveil unprepared is a Nightveil who has erred.”

            I excelled in all of my studies, both combat and otherwise, though I always did so alone. People respected me, though I never really had “friends”.

I didn’t mind, I never saw the reason for friends.

I suppose they thought me odd. I was never one for useless conversation, I spent my time either training or reading, and I would sometimes just sit and think for hours.

My oddities did not stop Penumbra from noticing my talents. And at nine years old, we were all handed our first assignments (a child makes a better spy than one would think).

I remember gently breaking the seal, a sense of reverence for the parchment in my hands, and reading the words written on it.

It was no introductory mission. I was to personally accompany Penumbra to retrieve information from a Githyanki encampment, an enemy of the Illumian people for as long as any of us can remember. This was no small task, and I had been chosen for it.

When the night of our infiltration arrived, Penumbra took me aside and warned me of the danger of the mission. “Understand that your skills have earned you this mission, but that it may cost you your life”, she said to me.

“And yours, I’m sure”, I calmly responded. She looked back at me with what I believe was surprise, realizing that I was serious.

I think she was the first to suspect my condition.

The mission was rather successful, with only minor interruptions-

Ah, yes, the interruptions. I had mentioned this at the beginning.

Within the Githyanki encampment there was said to be a page from a book that was in the Library of the Sublime before the Githyanki sacked it. Some of you may wonder what the importance of one page from one book may be, but our adoration for information is beyond description, and the Library of the Sublime was said to have information beyond measure, though, for the sake of the reader, I will not go further into this.

When we entered the tent that we suspected contained the page, we saw an ornate scroll case. We carefully approached it, aware that traps may be at any point, and actually found and disarmed a few.

What we didn’t expect was the Githyanki that merely entered at random.

I happened to be standing near the entrance, so I simply drew my dagger and drove it into his throat. It silenced him from ever screaming and he died soon after, and so I claimed my first life. Penumbra looked at me with that same shocked look she had given me earlier that night. I returned her gaze and suggested, “Retrieve the scroll case and let’s head back.”

We did just that.

Sadly, the page was not from our former library, but it did contain some fascinating facts on the Astral Plane. It described-

Apologies. Once again, I digress.

I continued to excel in my tasks, studying deeper into the art of espionage, even learning spells to aid me. But there was an issue regarding the efficiency of my abilities. It seemed some people were curious as to the apathy I had for my work. It’s something I never quite understood; all living things are simply organic matter, and it was often my duty to end that life. Does a chef not destroy living plants for spices? A farmer not kill living animals for food? I killed for the obtaining of knowledge, and I did so unquestioningly. It was eventually decided that I had a mental condition. “Psychopathy”, they called it. I did not, and still do not, disagree. The truth is that I don’t emotionally connect with living things. I have emotions; I enjoy the knowledge of a new book, the rush of being on a mission, the excitement of a new skill to learn. I simply don’t relate this emotion to people, nor do I see reason to do so.

The benefit of my people is that this was not seen as a weakness, but as a strength. And it even caused jealously among other members of our cabal. But, never ones to allow jealously to hinder our studies, it actually seemed to strengthen our cabal, and I believe it continued to do so, even after I left.

Ah, yes, my exodus. You will likely want to know the details of that, as well.

If there was any time in my life that emotion ruled me, it was on my 14^th birthday. Penumbra came to me and described to me how other cultures actually celebrate the anniversary of their birth, and as a part of the celebration, they were given gifts depending on their likes and dislikes. She mentioned that she wanted to give me a gift, but didn’t know what to get me. In an effort to try and discover what to acquire for me, she asked a simple question:

“Who are you, Nightveil Shroud?”

It was a simple question, yet I didn’t know how to respond. It never seemed to matter to me “who” I was, only what I could learn. I answered her with something cliché, but I think she realized the impression the question had on me. Days later, she came back with a simple amulet, no magical properties, no tactical use. She calmly gave it to me and said:

“This is to remember me by, until you find out who you are.”

At this point she leaned in and gently kissed me on the cheek, then looked me in the eye with a smile on her face and said, “I will miss you.” She knew even before I did that I had to leave. This nagging emotion in the back of my head constantly asking “Who are you, Nightveil Shroud?” was going to drive me insane (or, to be honest, more insane). So I arranged for my departure. The cabal was disappointed with my decision to leave, but they understood. Some bestowed to me different gifts (as this was a much more appropriate time for gift giving than the simple anniversary of one’s birth), magical things to help protect me in my travels, items to aid my skills in espionage, etc.

And it was at age 14 that I left the Nightveil Cabal.

I traveled long distances, studying many things, I’m sure none of which you want to hear about. I stopped in several towns to try and “find who I was”, but never stayed long because of my oddities.

I distinctly remember a town that had a woman with a curious odor whom I followed into her home in an attempt to discover what the odor was. Her husband was angry with me for entering uninvited and nearly ended my study, but I am happy to say that after I dispatched them both I discovered the scent was coriander, a delicious spice that I am delighted to say I now use often.

I also remember meeting a female human child, about four years old, in another town. I gave her a plant I found (I believe the Common word for it is “rose”) and she seemed quite pleased with it. I have yet to understand why one would be so pleased with a plant.

I eventually came to the town of Oxrich, where I settled for a bit due to its size. I remember perusing the town one particular evening, when I noticed a shifting shadow across the street. Curious (as I so often am) I followed the movements until I noticed a gnome very adeptly moving through the shadows. Having been impressed by his stealth, I used my own ample skill to follow him. I continued to follow him, unseen, as he snuck into a home and robbed a man of quite a sum of money (which made perfect sense. This man obviously had an abundance of money; why not take some for yourself?).

This happened more than once, him sneaking around, me following him. He would raid some place, traversing traps and the like. I followed him, avoiding the same traps, until one fateful day he did something unexpected. He set his own traps behind him. Not expecting these, I actually fell prey to them one night, though I still managed to avoid actual harm.

But the truth was: I was discovered. The gnome lied in wait for me after I had set the traps off, but, much to my surprise, he did not threaten me. He, in fact, offered to train me more, and this was how I met Trydan Boggs. His skills in stealth were beyond even my own skill (though he didn’t seem to have any of the spells I had…to each his own). I accepted his offer for training, and he introduced me to the Free League, a group of people who encourage one to follow their own path. What better place to “find who I am” than with a group of people who will encourage me to be only “me”, despite my oddities.

So here I sit, writing my memoirs at the young age of 14, with no goal but to answer a single question:

“Who are you, Nightveil Shroud?”

This story plays in to a grander story that I wrote. Shroud eventually discovers "who he is"...sort of...I'll likely post the entirety of that short story in episodes. I'll also see if I could get permission from the other players to post their background stories, so that the entirety of the episodic short story (entitled "A Taste of Freedom") will make more sense to you guys.

For those who care: Shroud was a Rogue3/Beguiler2/Master of Masks5.