yabil Dawnfried

Odain Alias: Jyabil

Played By: Glazius Falconar (glaziusfalconar@email.msn.com)

Homeworld: Tradguld (Thousand Arms)

Physical Description:

Jyabil is a rather tall man, about 6'4", with above-average musculature. He has grey hair and grey eyes, and usually wears a patterned bandanna, sleeveless brown vest and blue-grey pants. (http://www.rpgamer.com/games/other/psx/ta/screen/jyabil.jpg for a face shot.) His skin is tan, smooth, and rather tough from exposure to the heat of the forge. He looks to be in his late twenties.

Powers:

Jyabil has several related powers which stem from his vocation as a Spirit Blacksmith. He is capable of sensing the presence and emotional state of the spirits which inhabit all things on his homeworld, and can forge objects to help them fulfill their function better or forge new objects of excellent quality, hence the "blacksmith" part of the term.

Jyabil's sensory abilities are not so strong on Odain; however, he is capable of sensing the spirits in well-made or enchanted objects, communicating with them insofar as is possible. This sense also extends in small part into the supernatural, although Jyabil’s sense is passive, so any entity which wishes to hide itself from him can easily do so.

The forging itself is a delicate process; the object must be carefully heated to allow it to flow into a more suitable form without damaging it. In addition, it will only work on those objects which have been crafted from materials with spirits suited to their task. For example, a sword cannot become a shield on the forge, even though it contains a spirit suited better for protection than attack.

Jyabil does not shape the object himself; he allows the spirit dwelling in the object shape it into a more suitable form. The most he can do is incorporate a bit of the spirit of the object's owner, or someone close to the owner, as a sort of veneer.

In addition, Jyabil can use large sources of raw elemental power, such as certain chambers in Odain, to give a similar veneer to any well-made object, with the added caveat that anyone will be able to use this object as a magical item of sorts to produce quantities of the element in question. This production is by and large passive in the hands of most; an object attuned to wind will produce a gentle breeze, to fire a bit of warmth, to water a small stream of pure water, and to earth a slow-growing crystal spire. Jyabil himself, or anyone with considerable experience in elemental magic, can overcharge the process and produce damaging amounts of the elements, but this is very draining and carries with it the risk the object will react violently to the elemental force and injure the user.

Weaknesses:

Odain is considerably less spiritually active than Jyabil's homeworld; he is thus rather like a man suddenly deprived of one of his senses. He can become disoriented fairly easily, as part of his picture of the world is missing, and he can be overwhelmed to the point of pain by strong spiritual stimuli, as he is straining to catch what are to him faint whispers of life.

Skills:

In addition to Spirit Blacksmithing, Jyabil is capable of ordinary blacksmithing and the more delicate forms of metalwork. He is a passable swordsman, not as skilled as a dedicated warrior but capable of holding his own against one. He will also never injure himself with his own sword, or anything else he has made.

Equipment:

In addition to a few changes of clothes and a few days' rations in a backpack, Jyabil carries around...

• The Hammer: Capable of pounding a raw hunk of iron into a finely weighted warhammer or putting a sharper point on a needle, this is Jyabil's most prized possession. It is finely crafted and serves as a focus for his Spirit Blacksmithing. Using it in combat or to break down an obstacle carries as a risk its likely destruction, or at least irreparable damage as a forging instrument. Because it serves as a conduit for the passage of elemental energy from owner to object, it is capable of storing such energy; again, though, using it to absorb a focused elemental attack risks ruining the instrument.

• A crystal falchion: A curved blade fashioned out of some manner of gemstone, not very valuable but very nice to look at. It is heavy, weighted more toward the end of the blade, and is covered in crenellations from the crystal growths that make it up. Rather unwieldy to swing, it makes an excellent parrying weapon, the crystal projections used to catch or deflect other blades. The blade itself is inhabited by a protective spirit, with whom Jyabil has a slightly greater degree of empathy than he does with most spirits. The sword glows faint colors in response to the mood of the spirit. Jyabil has currently attuned the blade to earth; in addition, the spell sealed in it when it was forged enables Jyabil to call forth a strong barrier which will decrease magical and physical damage by about one-half, and negate weak attacks entirely. The barrier persists for about five minutes when called and requires no more than a minimal effort of will to maintain.

Personality:

Jyabil is content to live his life in harmony with the Spirits. He will generally not draw attention to himself, and indeed try to discourage any attention he does draw. He tends to view the world in a detached sort of way, not really showing any strong emotion. He generally does not lose his temper, and his concentration is not an easy thing to break, especially when he is focused on his work. He will gladly help anyone in need to the best of his abilities, and is honest and forthright in all his dealings.

Connections:

The only person truly important to Jyabil is his younger sister Sodina, who is in the Lucent Cave somewhere being healed by the Holy Flame. (This places his entry into the Nexus about ten to fifteen years before the start of Thousand Arms.) However, he developed a great measure of respect for Kim Silver before her death; it is his craft that made her grave and tombstone. He is also recognized by most as the man who forged at least part of Heart back into existence.