The Il'Dien were a family of highborn wood elves. They lived in a small village called Nhilmandniir where Tandil and Quilla Il'Dien where the governor and governess. Nhilmandniir is located in the south west part of the High Forest, just north of the Star Mountains. It is an old land with trees as round as human houses and plenty of game and fish for the hunter and fisherman. This deep in the High Forest, however, there also exist dangers, dark magics, and creatures of the night. The village was well guarded and Tandil saw to that.
They had always dreamed of a large famliy; Tandil's own parents had six children themselves with Tandil being the oldest. He dreamed of having a son he who could share the experience of harvesting a white stag with and maybe one day sit in his seat on Nhilmandniir's grand council. However, the gods apparently had a different plan in mind. They were unable to concieve despite years of effort, the herbal concoctions from a nearby sage, and even hiring a wizard with talent in this area.
When Tandil and Quilla were well into the second decade of their second century, Quilla finally became round with child. It was a troublesome pregnancy which her mother had always warned her was a bad sign. The day came when the child was delivered and not to Quilla's mother's surprise, the child, a boy, was deathly ill. A cleric was called in immediately, but magic healing was equally as ineffective as medical practices. When the babe's breathing had completely stopped and his skin turning an ashen grey, Tandil grabbed the babe, ran off, and took to his fastest quarterhorse. Before anyone could object or get in his way he made his way through the gates and out the city. He rode for two hours with babe in hand until arriving at a great tree in the High Forest few knew. This special tree hosted an ancient communication link to the Archfey Hyrsam, the Price of Fools.
Tandil dismounted, knelt before the tree and prayed that the Archfey would save his son. Immediately, Hyrsam's voice was heard in his head. It had a light and musical quality. The words sounded half as if they were singing and the other half mocking.
Your firstborn son
Before me you've brought.
What will you spare
To have his life bought?
You only come see me
In your deepest dispair
For what other god
Would give you a care?
I'll see that he's well
Just know this one thing.
My stories he'll tell
Forever my songs he will sing.
With that the color started returning to the baby's face. Finally a huge breath was taken and Tandil could feel the small heart beat. With tears in his eyes he thanked Hyrsam, turned and flew on horseback back the way he came. He couldn't stop thinking what Hyrsam meant, but he had to make himself believe his son's liefe was worth whatever deal had been struck. He never told a soul what happened past the gates that afternoon, however the older and wiser of the village couldn't be stopped from floating a rumor there and a few whispers here.
Tandil and Quilla's son, named Kelthar after Tandil's father, grew slowly and with frailty. He was often sick as a child and even into his adulthood, he remained emaciated and without good constitution. He ended up being an only child and although raised well, Tandil and Quilla did their best not to anger him beyond reason. At these times he'd display a horrifying display of arcane power which would often manifest in fire, bright lights, or items in the house being thrown around. Tandil convinced Quilla to remain quiet about these acts, and she agreed since it was the best way to keep the house proud.
Through time, Kelthar learned to harness these powers as much as he learned to quiet Hyrsam's jolly mocking voice in his head. He came to understand that the unique power he possessed came from this strange binding he had to an Archfey, although he knew not from whence the pact came.
After Kelthar finished his education, he took on woodworking. He joined the woodworking society Fine Shavings. This artisan guild was ran by his uncle, a burly wood elf named Rairdon, Tandil's brother. It was one of the few things which helped to silence Hyrsam, and he was also very very good at it. Despite not having the braun to build houses, or even bookshelves, he took to being a bowyer. Even so, he often needed help with some of the more brutish tasks.
Through the years of perfecting his trade, he actually started to get a bit of renown in the bowcrafting field. A bow came out of his shop every 3-6 months, and they were perfect. He had even gotten a bow commissioned by Qualith Loshatar, one of the best archers ever to set foot on Faerun. Another bow of his ended up in the hands of a human warrior named Drake Ro'Khar who had won the White Knight Tournament held yearly in Calimport with it.
One bow held a special part in his heart. It was a short bow lovingly named Twine because the grain pattern gracefully wrapped around the arms from one tip to the other. The bow was also light and thin, and Kelthar had little trouble using it himself depsite his poor physical stature. He kept Twine for himself, his only creation he allowed himself to keep until now.
Kelthar was in the final stages of finishing a new longbow for himself. The arms were from a flexible alder tree and the body was of a rich mahagony. Crushed jade was inlaid in a graceful and beautful elven pattern throughout the whole piece. Once again this was constructed with himself in mind. The arms were flexible and the bow was light but not weak. The curing process for the bow had one month left when it was announced that Shae Kitariak, the most legendary of all bowyers, would host a 2 week bow crafting class in Neverwinter.
Travel costs to Neverwinter and the class itself was just slightly less than what Kelthar had saved during his time under his uncle. Despite this fact, he set out with Twine, rations, a couple daggers, and note-taking material with eyes set on Neverwinter. Before leaving, he asked Rairdon to have his longbow shipped to Neverwinter when it was completed. Kelthar said he'd pay for shipping of the longbow to and Twine back from Neverwinter. He arrived in Neverwinter without a problem after a fortnight of travel. The class went well and Shae herself could not help but notice the talent in the young Wood Elf's hands. Everything seemed to be going well until the class ended and Kelthar hardly had a gold piece to his name. It was then he started looking for a way to earn payment for a trip back to Nhilmandniir...