Artax was a half-elf ranger, raised by his human father and trained in the arts of hunting and survival. The two led a solitary and nomadic existence in the wild outskirts of the smaller human settlements in East Aglia, occasionally trading animal furs for provisions while surviving on their prey in peace, shunning the materialistic lifestyles of the humans in the larger cities.
Artax knew very little of his elven mother, only that she came from the continent of Usta, home of the elves and a place rich in arcane forces. His curiosity about his past is what drove him to leave his home and travel overseas.
Artax intended to continue his solitary life in Usta, but after he and the party were shipwrecked, he was forced to learn how to coexist with others and come out of his shell. His loyalty to the party grew steadily as he realised how brave and capable his new comrades were, and by the end he would have laid down his life for any of them, which he was forced to do while defending the Capstan Castle from hordes of fiendish goblins and ogres. While facing down the enemy atop the castle walls, Artax was thrown to his death by Zorok Demon-born, the wicked ogre chief of the attacking army.
Stern and quiet, but resourceful and extremely skilled in the art of tracking and wilderness survival, Artax often found himself in the leadership role when the party made its way off the beaten track. His razor sharp eyes constantly darting from the land to the sky to the trees and underbrush, his elven ears keenly attuned to the sounds of the wild, friendly or otherwise, he was the nerve centre of the party in some of its most desperate moments. While at first he could appear a little cold, Artax was a character capable of surprising kindness and warmth, being a gentle creature disposed more to survival in nature than the ruckus of battle or the unfriendly clamour of the busy human cities. His detachment from petty concerns meant he often took on the role of the cool headed diplomat when internal conflicts arose in the party.
Artax was able to see through Mornington’s flamboyance and recognise the good hearted and brave fighter underneath. Fenris was his more natural ally in combat, the two of them being hardened men with steely hearts, Artax from his time as a hunter and Fenris as a soldier. Edward looked up to him, partly in awe at his mysterious elven countenance, but also as an example of leadership and no-nonsense wisdom.
