Campaign: Fly By Night
A Scholar of the Northern Lights, devoted to research of dimensional travel, though not by choice. From a young age, Ruth has had the uncanny ability to teleport across realms, though she has little to no control over such abilities. Her frustration over the matter has mostly given way to curiosity and apathy, leaving her a perfect candidate for tenure at the Far North. Ruth is amicable and hard-working, but can be terse at times. She’s naturally suspicious of others, but doesn’t butt into other people’s business unless there’s dire need to do so. Above all, Ruth is adaptable, tackling every situation with begrudging flexibility.
Ruth is a half-elf with olive skin and freckles, and long unkempt black hair braided down her back. Ruth wears the blue robes of the scholars, as well as a woven white scarf and white leather armor. Due to her unpredictable abilities, Ruth often keeps other garnments and sachels on her person in case she teleports somewhere and needs to change quickly to adjust to the climate. While she enjoys wearing jewelry, it has proven to be too much of a pain paired with her random teleportations, and she usually forgoes any sort of metal decorations as a result.
Ruth does not serve in any combat capacity in the North, one of the very few citizens except from any sort of fighting. Her abilities are too random to be useful to her, and being branded as unreliable left Ruth completely discounted from any sort of combat. Despite this, Ruth is highly adept with knives, and keeps several enchanted bone knives on her at all times. She’s an expert at moving quietly and stealthily, and making quick kills.
Ruth’s was originally born into a medieval society in an unknown realm, the child of a woodland elf and a human mystic. Despite their extrordinary powers, Ruth and her mother lived most of their lives as peasants under a feudal lord and his circle of warlocks. Both came to resent the people who resided over the realm, and planned to leave after acquiring enough funds for the journey west.
During that time, however, Ruth’s teleportation powers became more prevalent in her life, and she became subject to stepping through realms rather frequently. While wandering about, lost and confused, Ruth stumbled into some strangers that redirected her to the North. During one bout of teleportation, Ruth found her way there, and met with Lord Snowdog who offered her refuge in his keep. Ruth, not trusting the strange man, fled and returned home.
When she returned however, Ruth was appalled to find that the feudal lord’s warlocks had raided her home, stolen their goods, and severely beaten her mother. Ruth took her mother to the North for help, knowing she’d struggle to find any other realm other than the last she’d visited. Before heading there herself, Ruth finally snuck into the feudal lord’s castle and disposed of the lord and his warlocks.
Ruth then returned to the North, and took up Snowdog on his offer to live and study with the scholars. Ruth remained skeptical for quite a few years as to whether Snowdog was to blame for the raid on her house, and she always had half a mind to leave the North and journey elsewhere. After five years though, Ruth’s mother passed away, weakened by the terrible conditions of the Far North, but happy with her life there, and Ruth found herself surprisingly touched by the hospitality of Snowdog and the Scholars. Despite having no obligation or ties to stay in the North, Ruth found herself surprisingly at home in the Northern Keep, and decided to stay and study as a Scholar, in hopes of mastering her power, or at least taming it.
Ruth and Mytharius worked together in the Far North to establish an interdimensional postal service. The two of them used Snowdog’s magical messenger birds to relay messages to the Northern Keep, and then to their recipients, although both broke seals of confidentiality when offering this service, and often read through the mail that came in.
While Mytharius was away, Ruth took up fulltime service of the mail program, which she complained about.
Ruth’s interactions with the Drifters were mainly in passing (except for with Mytharius, whom she spent most days alongside since they shared studies in the Scholars of the Northern Lights and had to run the mail service together). Ruth helped guide the Drifters down to the lower libraries of the Northern Keep when they were tasked with distracting By-Tor, and she typically showed up thereafter to greet the Drifters whenever they visited.
When the Drifters were visiting the Northern Keep for the Scholar’s graduation party, Ruth sent false invites to them, causing the Drifters to arrive a day ahead of schedule. At night, she pulled them aside and explained that a trap had been set for them all, and that she’d tipped them off in advance so that they could hopefully escape. With Ruth’s warning, the Drifters were able to slip away into the night before the corrupted Snowdog and his men could kill them.
During the Drifter’s final fight against Spielascor, Ruth appears near the end of the boss fight and offers to help in the way of writing letters to the Drifter’s allies. As the Drifters fight Spielascor, Ruth and Mytharius sent off letters to several potential allies, summoning more fighters to help them finish the fight.
After Spielascor’s defeat, Ruth offers to accompany Mytharius in his travels, since she can serve as a living battery for his Realmseer abilities. Citing her displeasure in being left to manage the mail service on her own, Ruth offers to uphold the service but only if she’s allowed to travel alongside Mytharius.
Mytharius: Ruth’s closest colleague. They share the same interests of studies, and work alongside each other on the mail service. Ruth finds Mytharius a bit too whimsical, but admires his sense of self-preservation and the fact he doesn’t pry too much.
Sebastian: Ruth respects Sebastian as a teacher of the Scholars of the Northern Lights, but has never studied directly under him. Regardless, the dragon is fascinated by Ruth’s abilities, and the two often converse about the strange magic at work.
Snowdog: Ruth is fairly indifferent towards Snowdog. She’s grateful for refuge in the North, but thinks the place is quite mismanaged, especially the Scholars of the Northern Lights. Ruth doesn’t understand Snowdog’s boredom with the Scholar’s studies, but knows better than to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Lady Parhelion: Ruth’s few interactions with Lady Parhelion have left a bad taste in her mouth. She’s not fond of the wild version of Lady Parhelion who she knew growing up, and finds her to be bullish and annoying.