Caelum

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Caelum is a Shadar-Kai Wizard affiliated with the Four Keeps adventuring party.

Early Life
Caelum was orphaned. He was found on the steps to the Temple of Selune in Vaarinoak, where he was taken in. There he was raised as an acolyte of Selune.

As a child, Caelum was locked in a tower by the man in charge of raising him. This man, known to Caelum as Father Lynar, was an older dwarvish fellow. He was cruel and abusive. Caelum bore the scars of having been whipped on his back. Father Lynar chose not to reveal Caelum's heritage to him; Caelum grew up knowing he was an elf, but not shadar-kai. He did not know what shadar-kai were, nor what that meant for him. Caelum was forced to adopt human behavior patterns over elven ones- Father Lynar insisted that Caelum sleep, instead of trance. Father Lynar chose to refer to Caelum as "Sebrak," the dwarvish word for "broken."

Caelum was isolated from others during his childhood and adolescence, and had to learn social skills as an adventurer.

During the isolation of his childhood, Caelum prayed to Selune for a friend. Selune bestowed upon him a shield, emblazoned with the two eyes and seven stars that are her symbol. Every full moon, a child's spirit would emerge from that shield. This spirit, Amaris, became Caelum's first friend. Every full moon, Caelum would read to Amaris.

The Temple where Caelum dwelt was ransacked (presumably by bandits), when he was 23. He had locked himself in his tower. Caelum was the only survivor of this attack left on the premises. When the adventuring party Off Constantly travelled through the area, they took Caelum with them. Caelum accompanied Off Constantly to Shroudport.

A New Dawn
Caelum enters Shroudport with his adventuring party, Off Constantly. Caelum is shy, unsure of himself. He is vegetarian and does not drink. He meets Cori, Blake, and Gwen in the Zesty Anchor, where they stop the Paper Mache bandits from robbing the bar. After witnessing how well these four worked together, Caelum leaves Off Constantly to join his new friends. In departing, Caelum's father-figure from Off Constantly, Ferrin, gives him a goal- Caelum must get his name into a bard's song in a year's time.

Discovery
Gwen offers to wingman for Caelum to find him pleasureable company for the night. Caelum declines. It is the night of the full moon. Caelum spends the night with his shield propped on his lap, reading a book out loud. While he does, he falls into a trance. Caelum then awakens on a plateau that is unfamiliar to him. He's standing outside large double doors marked with the eyes and stars of Selune. He unlocks the door with his keys (dried elven fingers). He takes a few steps in, and notices there are black feathers behind him.

When the party takes the job investigating the fish men, Caelum reveals he does not know how to swim. The party ends up fighting sharks in the ocean and a sahuagin. The sahuagin flees from the initial confrontation, only to return and throw a harpoon through Caelum's chest. Caelum is then beset by sharks in the water, and goes unconscious. Cori heals him, but Caelum insists he must rest. He consumes the Stonedrop Ale (containing catnap), and passes out. While asleep, Caelum finds himself on the plateau again. He falls through spacetime and emerges in a circle of acolytes, reading books. There is a place and book reserved for him. He goes to take his place, and opens the book. As he does, he is caught in a spray of raven feathers.

Caelum asks Cori about trancing. Caelum attempts to trance deliberately. He returns to the Library of Selune, to find it unlocked. There are ravens around. Caelum finds a book teaching him how to swim. Upon awakening, he talks to Cori about his trance.

The next day, the party must descend into the sewers at the behest of the Guard Captain, Skavex Slaughterhouse. When they do, Caelum becomes separated from the rest of the group. He finds a strange white, foamy substance coating the walls and ceiling of this sewer. And contained within them is the Big Cheese, the gnome mob boss who is now being transformed into a meenlock. The party finds Caelum and arrests the Big Cheese

Hallowed
The party is filthy from their exploration of the sewers. They go to a bathhouse to clean up. The party can see the scars on Caelum's back, evidence of having been whipped.

The party returns to the Zesty Anchor and talks to Off Constantly. Caelum arranges to spar with Ferrin. Prescott talks to Cori, and reveals that when they found Caelum, he was locked in the ransacked Temple of Selune. There were charred corpses around the door Caelum kept locked.

Caelum and Cori attempt to trance together. Cori hears a bard's song, a memory of her previous life. The memory withers around them as ravens gather. As it does, Gwen witnesses the memory take physical form as a glass sphere. A raven flies through the open window, grabs the gemmary, and flies away. When Cori awakens, she is horrified. Caelum internalizes this as an indication that he's broken, there's something wrong with him. He grabs his gear and jumps out of a second story window, trying to run away. Gwen jumps after him and Cori chases. They stop Caelum in the alley, and calm him down. Gwen refuses to let go of him.

Trivia
The name Caelum refers to a constellation known as The Chisel.