Name: Eiridan Stormblessed (Eye-ree-dahn Storm-blessed)

Gender: Male

Reservation Number: 5

Age: 16 during war; 26 at present

Appearance: Eiridan has messy black hair and a boyish smile. His eyes are a very light shade of violet with flecks of silver in them. Some people think he borders on feminine due to his long lashes and very slender figure. While he's anything but, it's a common misconception. He's middle height and weighs very little. His facial structure is finely built, and he doesn't look much like the other Magi who've been hiding for the last 10 yrs, so that draws a lot of teasing. He typically wears all black or dark greens, and he prefers to keep a low profile when it comes to anything appearance wise. His clothing types of preference are usually a pair of soft leather pants, moccasins, and a loosely fitting cotton shirt. If it's cold, he throws a jacket made of wolverine skins on to ward off the chill. Otherwise, he sticks to the same basic clothing and rarely varies the colors.
Personality: Eiridan is usually a kind-hearted sort. He doesn't anger easily, and he's usually up for helping anyone, even if they're cruel to him. He's loyal to a fault if he considers someone a friend, and while he doesn't have many friends, he cares about each one deeply. He likes making people smile or laugh when they're having a poor day, and when people tease him about his appearances, he just shrugs and gives them an amiable smile. However, he's no pushover. He won't let other people hurt him, physically or emotionally. If he needs to, he can fight back, and when he does, he's rarely the one who ends up sorry. He prefers to spend his time helping rather than hurting, however, and the healer in him hates to see others in pain. Always with his nose in a book or his hands in the dirt, Eiridan loves learning and applying what he's learned to daily life. As a healer wizard, he can heal things with magic, but he prefers the natural kind of healing to the magical kind if possible. People look at him strangely when they discover that, but Eiridan's just himself. He doesn't really care if they find it odd.

Background: Eiridan grew up with his parents in the forests of Nighes. He spent his days nurturing his garden of herbs and helping with the plants around their house. The peaceable atmosphere was something he cherished, and he often spent long hours deep in the woods, reading or gathering plants for his herb collection. He also liked hanging out with the mermaids at the cove. Swimming was a must for him, and the mermaids taught him lots of things about the water, plants in the water, and what it was like to be one of their kind. Since most of the kids at the village wouldn't play with him, Eiridan spent most of his free time by himself or with the mermaids. In fact, they were the ones who rescued him when he ran amok of a few sirens and nearly drowned as a result. After that, he learned to tell the difference between a mermaid and siren.

When he was twelve, his parents sent him to apprentice with Meric and Yalana, a couple that had lived in the village for five years before moving to the jungles of Odera. A year later, he met Jaeyria, Meric's and Yalana's niece. She wasn't around much, but he immediately liked her. She had a fiery kind of attitude, even though she seemed to change her personality with the wind. Eiridan could tell something was broken with her, and he knew she was wearing masks.

When his magical affinities for healing began showing in full, Yalana and Meric asked his parents' permission to send him to Mathas for training. Jaeyria had been sent a year ahead of him. Little did he know that they weren't long for the world. Permission came just as an illness swept around the Oderan village. A week later, both Yalana and Meric were gone. Fortunately, with his parents' prior consent, the village was able to send him to Mathas anyway. He spent the next year working with Mathas, and Jaeyria became one of his few fast friends during that time.

They were forced into hiding a year later, and Eiridan was able to return Jaeyria's friendship by supporting her when they were forced to leave behind everyone they knew and loved. This only strengthened their friendship. When they went into hiding ten years later, the two learned to trust and rely on each other for everything.

Magic: Healer Wizard

Weapon used if necessary: His fists and a staff if absolutely necessary. But Eiridan hates being forced to fight anyone, much less kill them, so if he doesn't have to, he won't.

Greatest fears: Sirens. They tried to drown him, after all, and for an eleven year old, there couldn't be anything much more traumatic than nearly being killed by something you thought was friendly. Secondly, he's afraid of small spaces. He grew up in a forest and was outdoors most of the time. The first time he ever saw Odera, he freaked out because the compactness of the town and the houses was something he couldn't handle. The initial terror never really left.

Deepest secret: Eiridan doesn't really have many secrets, but the one thing he's always hidden was the fact that, when he was ten, he watched another boy beat a smaller one up. The younger boy nearly died, and Eiridan didn't do anything. He never mentioned that he'd witnessed the beating, but after the fact, when the bigger boy was gone, he tried to help the boy. He wasn't strong enough, and he nearly killed himself trying to heal the boy's injuries. Fortunately, an adult happened along in time to stop him. The other boy died. Eiridan never found out why the older boy was hurting the deceased boy, but it made a deep impression. He vowed never to hurt another person that way unless he had to.

Strengths: Eiridan's physical strength is the one most people notice if they ever have the misfortune of angering him to the point of blows. However, his biggest strength, in his mind, is that he's intelligent. Second to that is his ability to diffuse the anger in a room; he rarely has any trouble doing that.

Weaknesses: Sometimes he's too friendly, and it gets him into trouble because being friendly to the wrong people can attract all sorts of disasters. Secondly, he's too open. While he might be very laid back, Eiridan's easy to read. People always seem to know what he's thinking. He is relatively receptive to kindness too. He's never seen anyone treat him kindly just to stab him in the back, so he naturally trusts those who are kind to him.

Family members: Eiridan's parents are still alive, and he has Jaeyria. But apart from that, there aren't really any good friends. Well, none that aren't already in the same predicament he's in.

Favorite Mythical Creature: Mermaids. Not only did they save his life when sirens tried to drown him, but they've been his best friends since childhood. Anyway, they're very beautiful, and their voices are no less alluring. That's probably his favorite thing about them: their voices.

Vaxon Asherex: "Your kindheartedness will destroy you. You may be intellligent, boy, but I'll enjoy watching you die slowly."

Kyren Asherex: "Hah. I've never really liked sirens either. They're much too musical for my taste. But your healing magic will come in handy in the arena. I'll have to kill you first so that you can't heal the others after I try to kill them."

Vassti Asherex: "Open, and honest? Such a kind and compassionate heart. You could be an excellent charmer if you tried. However, that openness will get you killed quicker than you could say the word siren." 

Nassia Asherex: "Oooh, you're so cute! I like you. I've never actually gotten to meet a mermaid, but I think it would be amazing! If you win, maybe I could keep you around and you could teach me to swim with them!"

Jahad Asherex: "Watch your back. Your kindheartedness combined with your magic will make you a swift target - one that most will assume is easy prey. Do not let your guard down, not for anyone. At the same time, don't ever lose the compassion that you have; it is rare in this world and something to be admired."