Ashwalker Raid – Skills, Backstory, Age

Name: ashwalker raid

Race: Elf

Class: Ranger

Gender: Male

Ability Score:

• Strength: 9
• Dexterity: 18
• Constitution: 10
• Intelligence: 11
• Wisdom: 17
• Charisma: 10

Skills: Stealth, Survival, Perception

Backstory:
Ashwalker Raid, an enigmatic ranger of the Twilight Glades, was once a scion of an ancient elven house, but cataclysmic war and betrayal left his homeland in ruin. Choosing exile over subjugation, Ashwalker embraced the wilds, learning to thrive in the liminal spaces between mortal and celestial realms. His name—a whispered legend among hunters and fiends alike—was earned wandering the smoke-wreathed and ash-strewn borderlands, where few dared to tread. Driven by a profound sense of loss and vengeance, he built his life tracking monstrous threats, protecting lost souls seeking passage through the shifting mists. Though possessing a cold exterior, Ashwalker is fiercely protective of innocents and has a reputation for cryptic wisdom and unerring marksmanship. Deep down, he seeks both justice for the past and a place he might truly call home, even as the memory of his vanished kin haunts his solitary vigil.

Secret Backstory:
Hidden even from his closest confidants, Ashwalker carries a burden that torments his dreams: he was present during the destruction of his homeland, and though he fought valiantly, he believes his actions doomed his people to ruin. A fleeting, forbidden pact with a shadowy spirit during that night of fire—struck in desperation to turn the tide—binds him to the shifting glades, unable to leave for long or find true peace. His wanderings are not only acts of heroism, but penance, and he fears that his soul is forever marked, neither fully of the living nor dead. Should this pact ever come due, he dreads losing what little remains of his former self.

Age: 167

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Personality:
Ashwalker Raid is notably stoic, with a disciplined wariness born from surviving centuries of shifting allegiances and unseen dangers. He speaks sparingly, preferring actions over words, but expresses rare moments of dry wit and pointed insight. Ashwalker is solitary by choice, but not by nature—he has a deep, if rarely shown, empathy for the lost and a protective instinct toward the vulnerable. He possesses a relentless will, driven by both vengeance and a need for redemption; he cannot ignore injustice and harbors little patience for cruelty or wastefulness. While he respects tradition, he does not let it bind his actions, often choosing the pragmatic path over the prescribed. Allies find him loyal unto death once earned, while his enemies know him as an implacable hunter, appearing and vanishing with the evening ash and dusk. He keeps his emotional wounds close, masking pain with lean humor or silence.

Mannerisms:

• Tends to fade into the background, watching before acting.
• Fiddles with an obsidian arrowhead when deep in thought.
• Draws sigils in the ash with his boots while on watch.
• Keeps his hood half-lowered, even indoors.

Catchphrases:

• “Ashes guide me.”
• “Step lightly, for the shadows have teeth.”
• “The hunt never ends.”
• “Sometimes, what is lost returns in the dark.”

Speech Style:
Quiet, measured, and direct, with a low, slightly raspy voice. Each word is chosen carefully—speaks in practical, evocative imagery, often with a somber or darkly poetic undertone. Rare smiles are fleeting but sincere.

Preferred Conversation Topics:

• The nature of loss and memory
• Tactics and survival in wild lands
• Strange omens and the shifting of the Veil
• Ancient ruins and their lingering spirits

Preferred Personality Types:

• Stoic survivors
• Earnest idealists
• Fellow outsiders or exiles
• Those who value loyalty over law

Likes:

• Dusk and twilight hours
• Silent, untouched forests
• Simple acts of honesty
• Well-crafted bows and arrows

Dislikes:

• Betrayal and needless bloodshed
• Arrogant authority figures
• Senseless destruction of nature
• Idle conversation or flattery

Hobbies & Interests:

• Fletching and bow-making
• Tracking legendary beasts
• Stargazing
• Carving small animal figurines from ashwood

Fears & Weaknesses:

• Losing control to his shadowy pact
• Failing to save innocents from his past mistakes
• Isolation becoming permanent
• Fire; both as memory and living threat

Appearance:
Ashwalker Raid is tall and sinewy, with skin the color of old, pale ash and long, wild dark hair often gathered back with a strip of faded cloth. His weathered features are angular and keen, with high elven cheekbones, and his presence seems both otherworldly and quietly predatory. Dark, ash-stained leathers and a soot-grey cloak blend him into the twilight or smoke-shrouded wilds, while intricate tattoos and scars spiral up his arms in patterns reminiscent of drifting embers and ancient runes. He carries a longbow and a curved hunting blade, both engraved with runes and scorched in unsettling patterns. Despite an air of exhaustion and loss, his movements remain cat-like and efficient, betraying strength and acute awareness—an ever-watchful warden half-in, half-out of the living world.