Isaac Abriani

All stories are good, all roads are long, and all general statements are false.

Isaac Abriani is the adoptive father of Holly. Other names include Jack, Horatio, Aramis, Robin Goodfellow, and whatever else comes to mind. His friends may call him any of the above, though his daughter calls him Isaac, the only truly Elvish name in the lot.

Isaac is a wood elf, and somewhat tall for his kind at 5'7". He wears an ankle-length blue coat everywhere he goes, and has shoulder-length sandy blond hair.

He makes his living as a wandering musician, playing the flute and violin. As a hobby he also had a friend teach him to juggle, and takes great pride in tossing around random objects like beer steins and fruit for the amusement of his audience. He loves to tell stories, and occasionally wanders off with strangers until he's certain he's heard everything they have to tell him. He then passes these stories on, not wishing for the daring deeds and amusing anecdotes of his friends to go to waste. It takes a lot to get under Isaac's skin, as he much prefers to laugh, buy rounds of drinks, and in general make sure his audience, whoever they may be, is enjoying themselves.

Sixteen years ago he was travelling along Inustan's northern coast, near Barius. He was shopping for a friend in a preposterously upscale clothing boutique. Most of his fellow patrons didn't bother him. However, one couple irritated him a bit. Surprised by his own reaction, he watched them picking out tiny white leather shoes for a little girl with the brightest blue eyes he'd ever seen on a human child. He watched as they yelled at her for not sitting still, and watched as they pulled her away from everything her curious hands reached for in the store. He watched and his annoyance grew. He watched as they set her down to haggle over prices, walking further and further away from the child.

Isaac picked her up and walked away. They were in Kalshana before two weeks had passed. Isaac, by obtaining the services of a seer, found out the girl's birthday and named her Holly. They stayed in the Elven nation for another couple of months until he was certain no one was looking for them. After that, he simply set out from a border town and kept going, wherever he wanted, wherever seemed interesting. He showed his daughter secret ruins he'd discovered in his travels and heard about from friends. They visited temples both beautiful and terrifying, with the lesson that each was no less important than any other. Isaac himself has a fancy for Farlanghn, a mostly-forgotten god of roads.

He raised Holly to speak Elvish in addition to Common, and taught her that despite being human, she shouldn't live a life of perpetual vexation as humans tend to do. Whether her lifespan will be the same as an elf is irrelevant. Elves don't want to spend centuries in misery, worrying about everything. For a human like her it's even more important. Be happy, and make sure your loved ones are happy. Help strangers if you want, or let them take care of themselves. Take care of your loved ones before you tackle the big problems.

When Holly was fifteen, it occurred to Isaac that she might be needing to take her own path out into the world. She had picked up his wanderlust, and how could he be anything but proud? After some discussion of where she might be interested in going, Isaac bought her anything she might need and sent her on her way with promises to keep in touch.

Isaac and Holly leave each other notes everywhere they go, each with a story from their current travels and a guess as to where they're headed next. They met briefly in Doma a few months ago, and Holly introduced him to a few of her friends. He couldn't stay long enough to meet his daughter's guardian, Xevan Lunelestros, but presumably will make a point to do so at some future time.