Community

Background

Landin Waverider is a Genasi of the Watersoul manifestation...Landin grew up in a small community near Waterdeep, actually an underwater community of Genasi not well known to the public at large.  The Elders of the community (named Foamsurf) were Genasi who preferred the company of other Genasi over humans and other humanoid creatures in the Aboveground (as they call it).

As Landin grew toward adulthood, he was trained in many disciplines by the Foamsurf militia--although Foamsurf itself remained largely undisturbed by the outside world, occasionally troops would be levied to aid Aboveground Genasi in trouble--and served the requisite 2 years of military service to his homeland.  Often the militia would go up on a secluded beach and train in using weapons effectively in the open air.  Landin was especially proficient and unusually strong, and soon found himself promoted to the equivalent of a sergeant in the militia.  Barfoil Marunt, the leader of the militia, hinted strongly that, should Landin choose a life in the military, he would rapidly rise and would find the life quite to his liking (most of the time the militia trained but actually did very little in the way of actual fighting, and the danger was practically nonexistent, since, let's face it, they lived where 99% of their potential foes couldn't go).

But every time Landin trained in the Aboveground, he wondered what life would be like among the other races that he knew existed.  Although his parents were not sanguine about his desire to see Aboveground for himsel, Landin was no longer a child, and like every Genasi, he had the right to determine his own way.  Landin left home and headed to Waterdeep.

Overwhelmed at first by what the Abovegrounders called "civilization", Landin soon found that his strength and willingness to work and learn served him as well in Waterdeep as it had in Foamsurf.  He found employment on the docks, and soon caught the attention of a privateer captain looking for hands...Landin spent the next couple of years at sea, literally "learning the ropes" while the Moondancer, under Captain LeFargen, patrolled the seas, seeking out the unwary pirate.  Landin dispatched more than one pirate to an early end...and found dispensing justice to his liking.  He also found, surprisingly, that he liked his shipmates and, once they got over some initial unease at having a Genasi around, they liked him.

But one day, it all came to an end.  The pirates had gotten weary of running from Moondancer and had vowed to sink her and finish Captain LeFargen, and so they laid a trap...a slow tub of a pirate seemed to beckon Moondancer, and Captain LeFargen was glad to oblige...in only a short time, the distance between the ships had dwindled to nothing, and LeFargen was preparing to give the order to board, when several ships suddenly appeared on the horizon, moving at such a speed that Landin was immediately convinced they were being moved magically and not naturally.  Captain LeFargen understood the peril to the Moondancer immediately and attempted to flee the pirate task force, but to no avail...as the pirates closed, Landin saw a woman standing on the deck of the lead ship, apparently directing the attack through a series of directions given to a wixard on her left.

LeFargen, outgunned and outmanned, attempted to seek a surrender of the ship in exchange for the lives of his crew, but the strange woman was having none of it, and ordered the destruction of the ship.  Although Moondancer carried a wizard, he was no match for the combined wizards on the several ships, and Moondancer was lost at sea.  Landin did all he could, but the pirates were firing crossbows at the sailors in the water, and he had no choice but to dive and survive.

Taking his time and conserving his energy, Landin eventually reached shore in a small secluded bay...although he hadn't had a destination in mind, he seemed to recognize the vicinity as one where the Moondancer had taken shelter a time or two, and placed himself not so very far from a village called Fallcrest.  Perhaps he could find more information out about the pirates who had attacked the Moondancer there.  He resigned himself to the trek to Fallcrest.

Only shortly after starting out, however, he realized the weather was unsuited for travel...not only had it begun to rain, he had spotted forked lightning in the distance, seemingly heading in his direction.  Although he intended to get as far as possible, when the first piece of freezing ice hit his arm, he realized it was time to seek shelter.  Through the rain, briefly illuminated by the increasing lightning, he spotted a hill with several rocky outcroppings...he made for it, hoping to find a cave or even an overhang to keep the hail off...

Appearance:  Landin is about 5' 10" tall, and only weighs about 175, yet is extremely powerful for his size, probably from working out on a daily basis and training his subordinates in the Foamsurf militia.  His body is etched with aqua-colored lines of energy, and when not in armor, Landin usually wears a sleeveless vest, the better to display his markings.  His hair is dark green and very thick, almost kelpish in appearance.

Personality:  Landin enjoys working with others and getting to know them...he is still somewhat limited in his interactions with other species, having spent much time on board ship and only getting to really know the relatively few people there.  He finds a soft word usually more useful than a brash one although, having served in the militia, he also knows that a soft word sometimes needs to be followed up with a solid fist.  He takes no nonsense and expects people to live honorably and deal honorably with him.  Once he has lost faith in someone it may take a long time for that person to be trusted again.