Vulk Elida, of Clan Elida, is a newly consecrated Cantor of Kasira, the Immortal Lady of Luck. Born 5 Turniki 2994, on Elidar Manor, in Thaldant Hundred, Ulionshire, in the Kingdom of Arushal. He is a very handsome man, standing 6′ 1″ tall, with a medium build, weighing 180 pounds, with auburn hair and blue eyes. Since his consecration in the summer of 3017 into the Third Circle of the Mysteries, he is able to perform all the rituals of that rank that he has been taught. He is a fair hand at providing field first aid, amplified by his native healing talent. He has learned many tricks to compensate for his colorblindness, and his skill at heraldry is fairly good, as is his grasp of Arushali folklore. He has some knowledge of the law, and a minor skill at drawing, especially maps. Quite fond of fishing, he also loves to practice tricks of legerdemain, although he is still far from good. He is trained in the sword, but is a rather indifferent swordsman. His skill at unarmed combat, however, is excellent, especially in defense.
Though born in the country, Vulk was raised mainly in the walled town of Virzon, the major settlement of Ulionshire and the third largest town in the kingdom. He spent many summers at Elidar Manor with his siblings and cousins, under the watchful eye of his Aunt Ulina. Four years ago, on the death of his grandfather, she was selected by the Clan Council, with the support of his father, as the new Clan Head.
His father is Tulath Elida, the Herald for the City of Virzon, and Vulk wished to follow in his footsteps. But his color blindness made that difficult, leading him to join the Cult of Kasira, Herald of the Immortals, after being rejected by the Violet Mantle Palace of Arms. As many clerics of Kasira also find employment as heralds, this seemed his best option for pursuing his dream. Currently in his mendicant year, when cantors newly consecrated into the Third Circle of the Mysteries are required to wander the world and try their luck, Vulk has gained several boon companions with whom he has shared his adventures.
As the Herald for the City of Virzon, Vulk’s father represents the Lord Mayor and the Council in official business outside the city, maintains the Citizen Rolls, and conducts the census of the lands under the city’s control every five years. His mother is Lena Elida (nee Hargalen), of Nolkior. She met Tulath when he was a young herald for the Earl of Devok, visiting Baron Carialis at Westrox Keep in Nolkior. Being from a good, if minor, family in Eichel Manor in Ambaris Hundred, Daretshire, she was an acceptable match for Tulath, who fell quickly under the spell of her beauty. They were wed in Virzon on 18 Sarnia 2982.
Vulk has three older sisters, one older brother, two younger brothers, and one younger sister. He also has 11 nieces and nephews, as well as 11 first cousins. He’s not particularly close with his three older sisters, except for Kalyn, who is a cantor of Shala in Lothkir. His older brother Naldaro was recently knighted and is a Captain of the City Guard in Virzon. He knows little about the lives of his younger siblings, as he left for the Temple in Lothkir at age 16, when they were still quite young. In the last eight years he’s visited the family only a few times a year, although various combinations of relatives have visited him in the big city fairly regularly.
Vulk and his friend Drake, formerly a Temple Guard, finished a commission from the Temple in Lothkir at the very end of 3017, delivering an important document to the Earl of Savartim at Kolhurn Keep on the shores of Dragon Lake. Late in the year as it was to be traveling, the weather had been good and they had no trouble getting so far north. Wanting to to return south as soon as possible, however, hoping to find a lead on a suitable position as a herald, they planned to set out immediately after the Kristala Va celebrations of the new year.
It was during those celebrations, however, that they met a pleasant young female scholar, Mariala Tyeryne, and convinced her that traveling south in their company would be safer than on her own, and more interesting than a winter in Kolhurntown. Despite a short acquaintance, she agreed. Perhaps she sensed that this chance meeting was something more than chance, that the seed of something great had been planted…