Shade Shambles

"'I am Shade Shambles, Servant of the Light!'"-Shade's Battle cry

A wood elf that served the light and High King Corellon.

Orphanage Life
Shade was an orphan and never knew who his parents were. A woman had left him in front of a door as a baby, and he was eventually taken in by a human, Jerod Shambles and his high elven wife, Caestilla Arendus. The only thing left with the baby was a piece of parchment that said "Shade- High elf". The elf and human couple owned an orphanage, were very fond of children, and were expecting a child themselves in the near future. Shade got along very well with several of the other orphans, including two goblin twins, a tiefling, a dark elf, a human, two dwarves, and a halfling. Although fairly secluded, the orphanage would be visited by members of the White Claw, a growing bandit group known for its child labor and ruthlessness. As soon as Caestilla opened the door, a crossbowman shoots her in the stomach in front of the children and Jerod. Before Jerod is consumed with rage, Caestilla tells him to "save their kids", before an orc steps on her throat. Jerod then casts a fireball towards the attackers as well as his wife, and tells the children to run, attempting to buy as much time as he can. Shade runs alongside the dark elf towards the back door following the other children, but before he can get out, an orc blocks his path. He and the elf begin running towards one of the now burning house's rooms, until they are cornered. Just then, Jerod appears, bloody with a knife stabbed into his side and an arrow in his left leg, and decapitates the orc invader. He then tells the children to "help him move the bunk bed", but is impaled by a white claw member just as he is about to leave. Jerod then reaches for the knife in his side and plunges it into the neck of his attacker. Jerod then falls against a wall and tells the two children to go through a trapdoor under the bunk bed. Shade starts to cry, but the older dark elf grabs him and tells him that Jerod will be alright. Shade and the dark elf start running through the tunnels which would eventually lead to a ravine and an abandoned mining shaft. Several White Claw members led by the founder Balfir Reamus run into the room only to see Jerod holding out a hand with his palm facing them. The last thing they all heard was "Meteor Swarm".

Alone
As Shade and the dark elf girl finally exited the mine shaft, they decided to hurry through the forest for help. They would eventually hear orders being barked from a member of the White Claw, so they decided to hide. They looked in horror as they saw the lifeless bodies of their brothers and sisters. The dark elf girl then told Shade that it's too late and that they had to move on.

Surviving
Although only a teen, Thalra would grudgingly teach Shade the basics of speaking and writing like a "Pure elf". Shade began to realize that Thalra wasn't interested in him or his kind. One night after Thalra had started a fire, Shade asked "why do you not like me", to which Thalra only stated that she didn't like his kind. Curious, Shade asked why and Thalra replied with "the high elves banished all of my people for the misgivings of few". Innocently, Shade asked if she would banish him for the misgivings of those evil men. Staring at him, Thalra tells him to go to sleep.

Teen years
As time passed, Shade would find a job working for an elder dragonborn blacksmith by the name of Froskan Greenhorn. Froskan was a pretty good blacksmith and had a dream of having one of his blades be wielded by a High Elf King, King Vaymar, a king liked by all races. Froskan was initially surprised to find an elf looking to work for him, but would accept the lad anyways. Shade wasn't the best blacksmith, but Froskan enjoyed the company and even paid for Shade to go to school as well as let him stay at his home. Froskan would notice Shade leaving the smithy at night, but Shade would only smile and say that he's going out on a walk to stay in shape. It wasn't until after five years of working for Froskan that Shade would reveal that he would pay for medicine and food and bring it to a sick dark elf in a nearby cave. After meeting Thalra, Froskan would help Shade smuggle her into the city and allow her to stay with them. Shade would gladly meditate on the floor and let Thalra and Froskan have the beds.

Contest of Strength
As time passed, news of a competition spread around town like wildfire. This Contest of Strength would be held by and judged by King Vaymar. A raffle would be taken to see which 20 people would go up to test their might. Winner would be able to have a feast with the king, a priceless seal, and a blessing on the winning weapon. Excited to hear the news, a young adult Shade would excitingly tell an aged and sick Froskan as well as his friend Thalra all about how this was Froskan's big chance. Froskan laughed and told Shade that he was in no condition to participate. Shade then stated that he would do it on his behalf, but Froskan told him that he was over his dream. Saddened, Shade left Froskan's room only to see Thalra holding a large bag of coins. She put a single finger to her lips and whispered, "I don't want to hear it, white blood. Look, we both owe this to the old guy, so take the damn money". Shade nods towards his friend, grabs the gold, looks for the best sword that Froskan has, and begins his trek towards the competition. At the location of the event there was a large crowd of watchers, competitors, and guards. There were two large thrones overlooking the arena. In the middle of the arena was a barrel sized rock. However, Shade was way more focused on the two thrones.This is because Shade thought King Vaymar wasn't married. However, Vaymar would walk out, but he would be followed by the King of All Elves, Immortal King Corellon. The crowd had gone completely mad as not only King Vaymar, but the Immortal King himself had made an appearance. Soon, an elf began to read the names of those chosen to participate in the contest. "...Grieva Nurcheck, Dan Olive, Uli Ilu, and finally... um, Apprentice of Froskan? This would be followed by several giggles. Shade immediately stood up and walked towards the paper with "Apprentice of Froskan", placed a finger on it, and it disintegrated, verifying it was him. It was now or never. the first one up was a veteran paladin wielding a warhammer. He struck at the rock with all his might, but only a tiny crack would appear. One after one the contestants would attempt to destroy this rock, but no one could. Shade was the final contestant. He looked around him as people started cheering for the last contestant. Froskan and Thalra always talked about combat against another person, not a rock. It was too late to back out now. He unsheathed Froskan's sword, and swung it as hard as he could at the rock. He had closed his eyes, and couldn't feel any contact. He looked at his sword and fell to his knees, as he knew that all contestants got only one swing. It was at this moment that both King Vaymar and Immortal King Corellon walked towards the rock. Vaymar then slid the top half of the rock with his foot, revealing that Shade had cut the rock clean in half. The crowd cheered the loudest that they ever did that day. As soon as all was quiet, Corellon addressed the boy and asked if he would like to present it to him. Not knowing nor really caring who Corellon actually was, he politefully declined and said that the sword was meant to be given to King Vaymar. As he said this the crowd stood agape, but only King Corellon smiled. Shade asked for the seal from King Vaymar and told him that Froskan the Blacksmith is a huge fan and that he wanted to give him the seal and the blessed sword as soon as possible. Interested both Vaymar and Corellon complied. Thanking them heavily, Shade began on his journey back to Froskan until the Immortal King asked him to stop and give his name. Shade replied by saying "My name doesn't matter, Your Highness. All you have to know is that Froskan makes the best blades around". Most of the crowd was bewildered by the young man's ignorance, but King Corellon let the boy continue on his journey. Shade would get back and show Thalra the seal, and she would stare for a couple of seconds at the sweaty elf before hugging him. The two elves would then walk into the room of a sleeping Froskan. Shade began to call the dragonborn's name, but he wouldn't answer.

Trivia
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