ilas

The consistent, reliable forest had always been home and life for Jilas. He spent his first century of existence delving, exploring, and seeking every last bit of knowledge of his surroundings, but not feeling any need to travel far beyond the trees. Then, shortly after his 100th birthday, a sense of pride and accomplishment came over him, for there was nothing he did not know through and through! He was not arrogant in his pride, rather, he felt a strong connection with every rock, twisted root, creature and fellow elf that his forest contained.

Being a Wild Elf, and a self-proclaimed Ranger at that, Jilas no longer let the chilling temperatures of the Fall annoy him, and he did not fear the frozen environment of the Winter. Spring and Summer were a time of rejoicing and new life, but he loved the cold seasons just as much! Watching these cycles gave him great pleasure. Indeed, since his settling with the world on his 100th birthday, Jilas grew less accustomed to learning new things and more accustomed to valuing and loving the stability of his home.

Little troubled Jilas as he approached 167 years of age. He dreamt detailed dreams about every footstep and handhold for the surrounding two thousand acres. He could move through the forest almost as if dancing. It was while doing just this that he came across a peculiar and grotesque scene late one evening under a bright moon. A deer had been killed a few hours earlier, but had been neither eaten nor left in peace. It was bashed and shredded. Whole pieces of it were ripped away and scattered about. Dragging tracks led away from it.

Following this strange trail led Jilas to the horrific sight of a humanoid skeleton with bits of rotting flesh still attached and one leg missing entirely. He stood over the corpse that had obviously been dead for at least 4 weeks, trying to reconcile everything he'd just seen. He'd been through this area yesterday and seen no corpse! The stench made him want to itch his nose and he raised a handÑand felt a sharp stinging pain as something stabbed into his thigh! As he recoiled into the bushes in a sort of jumping fall, Jilas had to convince himself he saw the skeleton's arm flop to the ground and start tugging toward him. He locked his eyes on the skeleton as he stood and drew his sword. It moved in an unnaturally determined way that struck Jilas and reminded him of the way a beetle continues to walk without its head. The pain seared and Jilas swung repeatedly, crumbling bone, but it kept moving. In a final crazed swing, the arm and head detached from the rest of the skeleton and it all went limp. Jilas had never been struck with fear like just then, and he ran far from the scene, ignoring his wound.

He spent the next few days recovering with his Elven Druid friend Vlage before he ventured out into the wilderness again. Moving through the forest had always seemed so natural, but now it was terrifying. A leaf flicking in the wind or a crunching twig underfoot would cause Jilas to catch his breath. His senses were working far harder than they usually did, and he began blundering into bobcats unexpectedly or tripping on roots he'd known his whole life, simply because he was so distracted. Over the next few months, Jilas heard of a few more occurrences of this sort, and Vlage introduced him to the term "undead". Jilas could no longer enjoy his domain! He felt a strong urge now to learn about this new threat, and to do whatever he could to stop it.

This is how Jilas found himself traveling far beyond his beloved forest with a group of mostly strangers. His travels with these brave elves, humans, and even a dwarf have awakened the explorer and the knowledge seeker in him again. Surprising to Jilas is the growing trust he has for these people. Strong urges to fight on his own or to break away from large crowds of people still affect Jilas, but his trust makes it easier for him to coexist.

He is cut and sinewy as Rangers often are, and does not have as graceful a complexion as most elves. At a rather meek 5' 3" and 115 pounds, he is a remarkably agile and tough fighter. He often uses two weapons at once, and also tries to employ the help of animals when he can. He is still learning how to fight in a group though and often commits heinous violations of reasonable group-fighting strategy. Away from battle, Jilas still prides himself in his knowledge of the natural environment and his ability to track and lends the help of these skills whenever he can.

Jilas' goals may be hard to pinpoint by some. He has a new found curiosity and sense of wonder now that he has left his forest, and that gives him an enthusiasm that sometimes even leads to careless actions. Fundamentally, he is driven by the simple urge of restoring the natural world and returning home.