Yeldir Melfusor

Yeldir Melfusor
Gender	Male
Race	Elezen
Clan	Duskwight
Citizenship	Ul'dah
Deity	Nald'thal

Biographical Information

Given name: Yeldir Melfusor

Nameday: 20th Sun of the 1st Umbral Moon (4/14)

Place of birth: Bercedon.

Current residence: Ul'dah.

Home City: Ul'dah.

Grand Company Allegiance: Immortal Flames

Employment: Freelance goldsmith, artifact/trinket dealer, amateur archeologist/anthropologist.

Religion/philosophy: Yeldir is a chapter member of the Arrzaneth Ossuary in Ul'dah. Once excommunicated for blasphemous claims relating to the Order's history, Yeldir was reinstated shortly after the change of leadership precipitated by the Calamity at Certeneau. As a family-indoctrinated worshipper of Nald'thal, Yeldir finds himself frequently torn between his compulsion to venerate the dead, and his compulsion to unearth and discover. The latter always seems to win out, however pained he appears by the internal confusion, which is somewhat less muddling and agonizing than Yeldir likes to pretend.

History

Yeldir was born in Bercedon, a isolationist Duskwight enclave, located (as he puts it) "beneath and betwixt the 46th and 47th dial sub-Meridians of Nor'western Thanalan, depth 49 yalms.", (whatever that means). Bercedon is a city of tradition and overt racism that Yeldir finds stifling; at a certain point in his young adulthood, Yeldir found himself at odds with the attitudes of his people. This prompted Yeldir to set out for adventure, and after a period of wandering and hardship, tales of Ul'dah's splendor drew him in and enthralled him. He considers Ul'dah his home away from home, and it is his base of operations in his archeological forays. Yeldir immediately fell in with the Thamuaturgists of Arrzaneth Ossuary, and was something of a rising star in their ranks until the unfortunate accusations of blasphemy were raised against him. Yet the connections he made there, and a modest education in the making and care of fine things (owed in part to his upbringing in Bercedon) landed him several lucrative contracts with the lapidaries of Ul'dah, on the proceeds of which he established his own small holdings in Ul'dah.

Regarding his troubles relating to the Thaumaturgist's Guild and their accusations of blasphemy, Yeldir once employed the hands of a well-known mercenary company to provide escort and labor for an excavation in Mor Dhona, shortly before the Red Moon began its fall. There, Yeldir found evidence of a ruined civilization, and while what he was looking for was conspicuously absent, perhaps plundered, Yeldir's prescience of what lay in the cavernous networks beneath Mor Dhona was eerie and exciting to all - until it became clear that he intended to exhume remains and artifacts found in that already curse-riddled, blight-soaked region, for a return to Ul'dah for study. These intentions deeply troubled the salt-of-the-earth folk he hired for the job, and Yeldir shortly found himself shy of hands. The return to Ul'dah with his finds was an arduous journey, and when word of his find and his claims regarding what they might mean began to spread among scholarly circles, Yeldir found himself in grave troubles. Excommunication followed thereafter, and Yeldir disappeared for some time in a prudent self-imposed exile.

Yeldir's whereabouts during that period are not something he cares to discuss, but it is plausible that he returned to his kin. If he shared his findings among their order (Nald'thal worshippers, all), it is unlikely they were met much better than when they were presented in Ul'dah.

Yet, after the Battle of Certeneau (at which Yeldir was not present), and the calamity that followed, Yeldir returned to Ul'dah to find his chief critics in the Order missing, presumed dead, or oddly quiet. Hesitantly, he begins to drop hints of resuming his work, and this time, funds quietly change hands, nods of assent are given behind closed doors, and Yeldir's tale begins anew.

Behavior

Yeldir is a flamboyant socialite by day, and a rough-and-ready adventurer by night. He loves to chat, but his mannerisms can be off-putting, and his personality tends to polarize the opinions of the people who meet him. His eagerness to mingle conceals a deeply rooted fear of rejection. Yeldir feels he has something to prove, especially regarding the accepted history of Eorzea and her peoples, and every incident of disinterest or rejection quietly gnaws at him. This worry is perhaps Yeldir's defining characteristic, and at times of weakness can drag at him, making him sulky or standoffish. But he is always eager to talk about his work or interests with absolutely anyone who will listen.

Appearance

Yeldir has the features of his family and immediate kin; Limestone gray skin, dark hair, angular facial bone-structure, pointed chin, and a prominent hawk's nose. His facial profile would look appropriate on a coin. When on the town, he dresses with absurd ostentatiousness - fine silk in whites, browns and greys, his hands and face encrusted in jewelry. He wears his jewelers' loupe as a monocle. There is something off-putting about his choice of garb in the eyes of most people. Yeldir seems to think it's all perfectly normal. When out on a survey of the land, or an excavation, Yeldir dresses poorly by design. Soiled, boiled leather, sun-beaten cloth, stained headwrap, and weathered pick. His toolbelt is always nice, regardless of the occasion, and it is with him always.

Likes

• Crowds
• Exploring
• Beautiful things

Dislikes

• Gambling
• Excessive pleasure-seekers
• Overzealous law-enforcement officals

Hobbies/Talents

Yeldir is a natural musical savant; the harp and other plucked-string instruments, in particular. He is not truly aware of his talent, and is deeply embarassed by the thought of playing publicly.

He is extremely dextrous, and can perform shows of sleight of hand, simple feats of archery, pick-pocketing, and other tricks of quick hands. He does not take these pursuits seriously, and generally relies upon them to entertain guests.

Family

Yeldir has a mother and two sisters in Bercedon, one of whom, Aldrey, he communicates with semi-regularly in writing, to stay abreast of the goings-on in his original home. How he gets these letters to and from her isn't clear, but it almost certainly involves Goblins.

Friends

Kren Lockjaw, one of Yeldir's childhood companions and fellow citizen of Bercedon. She, like Yeldir, is among the few of their particular tribe who care to wander from their settled subterranean home.

Enemies

Yeldir is convinced he was not the first to the sites in Mor Dhona, and claimed to find signs of prior excavation. He did not seem entirely surprised, but he definitely seemed worried. Someone beat Yeldir to the pick on that job.