Tel'Mithrim - Tizer

History - Born to a pair of Sylvan Elves in the forests of Floodblest, Tizer was destined to live a life of freedom and communion with the spirits of the woods. Born in midsummer, among his first memories are the smells of ripened berries and fresh roses. His family dwelled in a treetop house high in the canopies of the tallest oaks in Floodblest. From his cradle near the window, Tizer can remember seeing the whole world outside: the village of Floodblest with all of its bustling citizens, the river flowing by, all smooth and bluer than the sky. His first conversations were with the birds, who came to perch on the sill of his window and tell him the news of what was happening beyond the confines of the oaken walls of his room.

The afternoon before the annual Floodblest harvest festival, a small finch flew to his side and chirped an urgent message to the Elven toddler. Giant lizards were approaching the village and the surrounding area. Apparently they wanted to be a part of the autumn feasting. Hearing the news, the young Tizer started to wail and his mother, a striking Elven woman with a long shock of shining blond hair and piercing green eyes, came to his room to soothe the crying child. Tizer would not stop crying, and he pointed to the small bird on the windowsill, who continued to shout its message with its shrill voice. Tizer's mother was alarmed at the news and rushed down to the lower level of the tree house to inform his father.

The two adult Elves approached the babe in his cradle, and swaddled him in a blanket of deepest green. They then donned their long swords and hurried out into the forest with their child, running for the gates of Neverwinter. The giant lizards of Floodblest were fierce adversaries for the native Elves living in the forest and for the humans living in the village. They could climb trees and especially enjoyed snatching mortal infants for their meals. Tizer's father was a hunter and warrior for the Sylvan Elf community, but he knew that he stood little chance against invasion of the giant lizards, even with both his wife and he fighting side by side. He also knew that the humans, who usually took part in the defense of the area, would be caught completely unawares because of the harvest festival preparations. Also many of the Sylvan warriors had traveled to Nightsedge to meet with a small group of Elves there about the issue of rising numbers of Orcs and ogres in and around the city.

Tizer's mother was a warrior herself before having her child. However, after that day, she spent her time tending the garden and making sure that the young Tizer was looked after every minute of the day. Her attention was especially important during the autumn months when giant lizards were about. Of course her warrior's training had not left her completely, and she also possessed a small magical gift, which she passed onto her son, though he would not realize it until many years later.

The family ran through the forest, hoping to reach the doors to the Neverwinter Wharves within a few hours. Tizer's father ran ahead to scout and his mother would follow behind, the baby in her arms. The sun began to set as they continued their trek, and soon the father heard a shuffling, like the raking of leaves coming from up ahead. His infravision activated by the declining light, he saw the large red outline of a lizard ahead. He was a skilled warrior and could easily defeat a single lizard, should it stand in their way. The Elven warrior warily approached the creature to give it a chance to flee. The only response he received was a reptilian snarl and a lunge by the surprisingly agile lizard. Rarely taken by surprise, Tizer's father thrust his long sword into the lizard's side, bringing on a rasp of agony.

While his father was fighting the lizard, Tizer's mother stood back to make sure that the baby's scent was not detected by that or any other lizards. She heard another shuffling sound from behind her and she proceeded east with caution. Her stomach tightened with dread and she held her child tight. More shuffling sounds invaded her ears and her heart sank. She cast a spell of invisibility on herself and on Tizer. The spell would only last minutes, but that gave her time to bury the baby in the hollow of a tree that was filled with the red and yellow leaves of autumn.

When the spell wore off, Tizer's mother set her jaw and resigned herself to the fight that lay ahead. She drew her long sword and jumped into the fray to join her mate in what would be the last battle they ever fought. The other lizards that approached from behind had heard the cries of the first lizard and had come to its aid. A look of malicious excitement entered their black eyes when they saw the two Elves. The creatures approached quickly and surrounded them. Tizer's mother fired a magic missile towards one lizard and it soon lay smoking on the forest floor. His father took off the head of another lizard with a forceful stroke of his long sword. The numbers of lizards soon proved to be too many, however and the two Elves were tired.

The sounds of battle were completely audible, if not amplified by the tree trunk, and young Tizer could hear his mother and father fighting for his life and theirs. Soon the only sounds he heard were the lizards shuffling away and then all was quiet. He lay in the trunk of the tree all through the night and fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

Rays of sun penetrated the leaves that covered the tree hollow and awakened the young Elf at dawn. Forgetting momentarily why he was in that strange place, he started to cry at the top of lungs. He screamed and wailed but no one answered his cries. Soon he became tired and rested in the tree once more. When he awoke, he felt the pangs of hunger and started to scream once more. This time he heard a deep male voice answer his call.

"What in Helm's name is that sound? It sounds like a bloody baby, Marie! It's coming from somewhere over there."

That was the voice of a farmer, Leon Tizer, on his way in from the fields, going back to the village of Floodblest. He uncovered the weeping Tizer from the tree hollow and brought him back to his cottage in town. And so began Tizer's life as a youth, raised as the son of a human farmer in a human village. Tizer could only speak broken Elvish, and some language of the birds, he could not tell the farmer his Elvish name, which he has since forgotten. For this reason, the farmer's wife, Marie, named the young Elf Richard.

Young Tizer was approximately twenty years old when he was adopted by the farm family. Leon and Marie had no other children, for Marie was barren. They saw it as a blessing that they found this Elven child to raise as their own. His youth was very pleasant, but as uneventful as most young farm boys. It was not until he left home at age seventy-three that his life took a turn for the more interesting. This was the time that his two foster parents passed away, within a week of each other. They had both lived to a ripe old age, to the benefit of the Elven youth, for he matured much more slowly than the other boys he grew up with did. He was often made fun of for his pointy ears and his high voice. While the human boys were all experiencing the first change of life and finding the females of their race much more attractive, Tizer was still content to run through the forest and talk to the birds. All of those boys are dead now, long passed away from old age.

When Tizer left the village of Floodblest, it was with a caravan going to the city of Neverwinter. All through his life, Tizer had dreamed of going to Neverwinter. Stories talked of it being a place where anything could happen, anything could be bought, and anything could be seen. Shortly after arriving there, the young Elf was approached by an Elven woman of unparalleled grace and beauty. She had long silver hair and pale, milky skin. She introduced herself as Ilustriel Morningstar and invited Tizer to accompany her back to the hall of her guild, The Grey Company.

Tizer was enthralled to see another of his race. Cloudy memories of his parents were the only recollections he had of any pointy ears but his own. The Elven lady whispered something he could not understand a blue portal opened. The two stepped into the portal and he saw before him a hall of great splendor standing in the center of a glade. "This is Neverwinter Wood, our home," Ilustriel informed him.

From that day forward, Tizer dropped his human first name and was known solely by his family's surname. Having forgotten his Elvish name and the names of his parents, he wished to honor the memory of his human parents who had raised him so well. The Lady Ilustriel sponsored Tizer into The Grey Company, which at that time was led by Dreamsmyth, the first Captain of Tel'Mithrim.

Today Tizer remains a member of Tel'Mithrim which now is based in Yew, in the land of Britannia.