Aleksandr the Sharpshooter
The man Aravia knows today as Aleksandr the Sharpshooter was not born a legend. None would have imagined the only child of humble merchants to be destined for heroic deeds, but fate had many cruel trials in store. And where hardship would have broken a lesser mortal, Aleksandr faced those challenges head-on and was forged into something far greater than he was meant to be.
As a babe, he saw his family slaughtered before his very eyes by savage Orc raiders who had descended upon their trade caravan like vultures. They spared none in their bloodthirsty fury, and had Aleksandr’s mother not hidden him under an upturned wagon, he too would have perished by the blade. By a stroke of luck, local farmers found the trembling child amid the carnage when they investigated the attack and took him in as their own.
Named Aleksandr by his foster father, the young elf spent his early years in relative peace. He learned the peasant’s craft and worked the land, helping his new family eke a living in the harsh hinterlands of Kaerok. Alas, that would not last for long. The Dark Elves of Durham learned that an elven child had been adopted by humans and brought up as a peasant - an insult to their noble race. One of their cohorts invaded the farmstead and demanded the boy be surrendered to them. Otherwise, everyone’s life would have been forfeit. Though it pained him greatly to abandon home, Aleksandr went with the Dark Elves willingly in exchange for sparing the peasants’ lives.
Thus began the most harrowing period of his life. His new masters sought to purge the “taint of human weakness” from him and reforge Aleksandr into a weapon to serve their will. He went through arduous, downright sadistic training until he excelled with the bow, learned to hunt and kill without remorse. The Dark Elves were canny and stoked the flames of hatred in Aleksandr’s heart, directing his fury at the Orсs and Ogryns who had deprived him of his true kin. Fortunately, those savages bred like rats, and Aleksandr had no lack of prey. He took no small amount of pleasure in honing his skill and hunting Gaellen Pact raiding parties.
However, one final twist of fate was yet in store for the Sharpshooter. A twist that took him back to the path he never thought to tread again. One night, Aleksandr cleared out an Orc encampment in the forest and found a prisoner the raiders had held - a priest of Lumaya. Intrigued, Aleksandr chose to free him, but he could not imagine that talking to the old man would resonate so profoundly with half-forgotten memories in his heart.
After that meeting, Aleksandr fled his previous life and sought acceptance in the kingdom of the High Elves. Many adventures and perils awaited him, but his skill and determination never wavered. The ruthless assassin was dead, and in his place, Aleksandr the Sharpshooter, captain of the Aravian Rangers and protector of the weak was born. To this day, he keeps his vigil, ever-ready to battle evil no matter what form it takes.
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