Joser Cinderbluff

Joser Cinderbluff was born on the 14th of Harvestal, 1491 CE in Northlon, Palprofundia in the Holy Empire of Acolytius. He is the only child of his parents, Danfer and Meree Cinderbluff. Like most Halflings, he lived on a commune with multiple generations of the Cinderbluff family. Located on the outer edges of town, Joser was very close to his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins while growing up. Many members of his family worked on an apiary on their property, which amply provided for the commune. While efforts were made to teach Joser how to help around this apiary, it was discovered that he possessed crippling apiphobia and wasn't fit for apiculture work.

Growing up in Northlon put Joser and his family in close proximity to the Altar of Giants, and it wasn't uncommon for the Cinderbluffs to make a day trip there to explore the ruins and have picnics. As young as 5 years old, Joser took a special curiosity to the Altar and Giant history. When he began going to school in 1497, his interests quickly broadened to include all kinds of ancient history, such as that of the Dragons, Altauri, and other civilizations that existed before the Cataclysm. This passionate interest led to personal study and research, and Joser quickly proved himself as one of the most brilliant minds at school regarding the subject of history. His fixation on this topic, however, led him to struggle with others, and he had moments where he performed somewhat poorly with mathematics and the sciences.

Joser also gained an interest in Magic when he was 12 years old, when the Empire's school system begins teaching Magic to its students. While he didn't express a strong interest in the subject before, his hands-on experience with Magic led him to pursue further Magic study. By this point in his life, Joser had decided that he wanted to pursue a life of adventuring to discover more about the ancient civilizations he was still primarily interested in. He viewed Magic as a useful tool for this future lifestyle, potentially offering insights into these Magic-heavy societies while also keeping him safe on the road. When he eventually graduated from school in the spring of 1508, he immediately left from home to pursue a higher education in the Arcane arts.

Joser moved from Northlon to Palprofundia's capital of Fallowburn in Harvestal 1508, enrolling in Biffany's School of the Arcane and devoting himself to the study of Magic and ancient history. He would spend the next 4 years of his life there, most of which was spent as an apprentice under Oswin Cellam: One of the eldest and most experienced Magic professors at the school. Joser first met Oswin by chance at the school's library, having mistaken the professor's personal office as a private study room. During this initial encounter, Oswin noted that Joser shared his interest in ancient history based on the book Joser was reading. It was after the Halfling explained his interests and future goals that Oswin decided to take him in as an apprentice. Oswin served as an excellent mentor for Joser throughout his college years, and the two of them grew quite close shortly after Joser's arrival at the school. This later introduced Joser to Oswin's daughter Camilla Cellam, who would later become Joser's lover. To prevent any potential consequences for Joser's apprenticeship, however, they kept their relationship a secret from Oswin.

An overwhelming majority of Joser's time at Biffany's was devoted to his studies, whether this was learning Magic from Oswin or conducting research on ancient civilizations. Joser took a special interest in the Dragons, choosing to write a thesis on the subject to graduate as a historian. Conducting research on this thesis actually granted Joser the opportunity to briefly travel to places across Asobria, exploring historical sites in the Empire, Estlan, and even the Carcharian Isles. While many of the sites he explored still have their purpose shrouded in mystery, his visit to Carcharia in Auburan, 1511 did provide a new path for his study to follow. While exploring ruins in the Kautawhi Mountains of Hammerhead Isle, Joser discovered a fragment of what would later be known as the Chart to the Lifeless Spires. While he didn't know it at the time, this fragment would play a major role in his future life of adventure. Until then, he would keep this fragment with him to discover the object's significance and serve as a motivational charm for his future endeavors.

While Joser didn't have too much time outside of his academics, he did find himself involved with a student organization on campus. This group, of which Joser was among the first to join, was the Shadow Wizard Money Gang: A small and secretive collective of students who shared the belief that Magic policy at the school, and in the Empire's law as a whole, served as an obstacle to future advancement. In autumn of 1509, Joser became close friends with the group's founder Caspian Alkell through classes they shared. Over time, Joser learned of Caspian's views on Magic policy and came to agree with them, leading to Caspian inviting Joser to join the SWMG. Joser officially became a member of the organization on the 18th of Fadewind, meeting the harsh requirements of dyeing his hair purple and secretly casting spells on unknowing citizens of Fallowburn. His involvement with the SWMG led to him and Caspian being very close friends, where Joser began to pick up on some of Caspian's prejudiced beliefs towards other races in Asobria. Joser remained in the group until his final months at the school in the winter of 1511. He officially left the group on the 27th of Frostveil after Camilla, his lover at the time, spent weeks pleading with him to leave the group and distance himself from rumors about its members. While Joser quickly changed his perspectives on Magic policy, the racist beliefs stuck with him for quite some time.

Despite having a mostly smooth experience throughout his college years, Joser's final few months prior to his graduation came with some trouble. Having moved to Fallowburn upon enrolling at Biffany's, Joser lived in multiple rented properties with various roommates over the years, including a small home that he shared with Caspian and other SWMG members. During his final academic year at the school, he lived in an apartment with Pavel Kirsten: A fellow apprentice of Oswin's who was studying alchemy. The two were acquaintances prior to rooming together, but sharing a space severely sabotaged any chances of a friendly relationship. Both students were passionately devoted to their academics and the pursuit of Oswin's approval, eventually forming an academic rivalry that later turned into a mutual detest for one another. This petty hate grew so intense, in fact, that Pavel told Oswin of how Joser was secretly dating Camilla. The consequences of this caused a falling out between Joser and his mentor, and he saw no choice but to disappear from his lover's life. As all of this happened just before graduation, Joser was luckily able to avoid any potential academic consequences. He successfully graduated on the 7th of Blossian, 1512, returning home to Northlon for a brief break after the final stressors of academia. Later that month, he set out on his first steps as an adventurer.

Setting out from home on the 16th of Blossian, 1512, Joser went eastward into Towerfirth for his earliest travels. The dense forests held a multitude of ruined towns from before the Silvan Retribution, which Joser chose to explore as practice for his later travels. He was already quite familiar with the history of Towerfirth's past, so recording observations on the places and artifacts he found mainly allowed him to determine how to organize his notes while on the road. Many of these early observations were made on the simpler findings of his, recording the remnants of mundane life instead of anything groundbreaking. While his dreams still involved him discovering the previously unknown, he did find some enjoyment in determining the stories of the common folk of the past. He chose to keep his practice observations in a personal journal, adding to this collection any time he could during his future travels.

After a month of traveling, Joser arrived in Towerfirth's capital of Kemitsu Lons on the evening of the 16th of Solvial. The following day, his plans to explore the city were interrupted when the Crimson Cruor attacked. Through his skills in Magic, he was able to successfully defend himself and the townspeople from the Cruor alongside other adventurers who were in the city at the time. Joser and these fellow travelers were promptly summoned for an audience with Queen Ayako Watanito of Towerfirth. She hired the group to put an end to the Cruor and their crimes, and the five travelers formed what would later be known as the Arcane Asobrian Adventurers. Seeing this as an opportunity to earn some money for the road, Joser opted to remain with this group for the time being.

Joser spent the next month working to stop the Crimson Cruor with this new group, helping to defeat the cult's leader Vorcanth in Kakaku Bend on the 14th of Emberis. He was a bit hesitant to trust this group at first, but that quickly shifted more to curiosity. With the variety of differing backgrounds present across Triple A's members, he was intrigued to see how well the group was able to work together, if they could at all. As their efforts uncovered more of the Cruor's crimes, however, Joser knew that he couldn't stand by. He found himself sharing the group's staunch determination to stop the Cruor and be a force of good in the world. While Joser didn't fully trust all of Triple A's members by the time Vorcanth was killed, he had a suspicion that sticking with the group for future travels would be best. And when their quest for the Dragon Aspects suggested that they'd be traveling across all of Asobria, he knew he had made the right choice.

With their first quest done, Joser continued to travel with Triple A throughout other regions in the Empire. This took Joser back into Palprofundia, as he took the group to the library at Biffany's School of the Arcane to search for more information on the Dragon Aspects. This granted him an opportunity to reconnect with Oswin, and the two forgave each other for their previous actions around Joser's graduation. Joser was also able to see Camilla again, and the two reestablished the relationship they had previously. Triple A then passed through Northlon after leaving Fallowburn, so Joser was able to visit his family at the Cinderbluff commune. Knowing how long his future travels would be, Joser took the opportunity to say his goodbyes before continuing onward. Despite the distance that was later between him and his loved ones, he made the effort to write and even visit them when he could.

As Triple A continued into Minaltum, some issues with Joser began to arise. While he was a loyal team member who demonstrated his skills in Magic, his prejudiced beliefs towards other races had also become apparent to his teammates. As the group was encountering all sorts of people throughout the Empire, Joser would sometimes make remarks that were based in harmful stereotypes. The worst example was when the group encountered Trolls along their travels, with Joser deliberately insulting them in the brief interactions that were had. The rest of Triple A made an effort to call this behavior out when they saw it, especially after Skuldr Thorason joined the party around this time. At this point, Joser was far from ridding himself of such beliefs, but the efforts of his new friends and the positive interactions he had with Skuldr did help him begin to reflect on his own views.

Triple A eventually reached the Empire's capital of Vatepor on the 16th of Auburan, quickly becoming involved with the scandal surrounding the Imperial Election of 1512. It was with this involvement that Joser's future continued to look brighter, with him being the first member of Triple A to meet High Archmage Alistair Seraphus. As the two shared a devout passion for Magic, Joser was not only able to gain Alistair's assistance for his party but also a potential apprenticeship with the High Archmage. This connection would prove especially useful after Triple A succeeded in stopping the then Grand Steward Alarin Lucius, as the battle against Alarin's patron Demons resulted in Joser losing his right arm just below the shoulder. Thanks to his newly formed bond with Alistair, however, Joser was able to receive a state-of-the-art prosthetic arm while at the College of the Arcane. The arm, made of Magically conductive metals such as brass, silver, and copper, was able to function just like Joser's real arm and allow him to channel Magic energy for his spells. To ensure that his arm was properly cared for, Alistair officially took Joser in as an apprentice to teach him Artificing. This became the start of one of Joser's most important relationships, as Alistair became a deeply trusted friend and ally alongside a teacher. 

Alongside his new connection with the High Archmage, however, Joser was also forced to reconnect with Pavel. He was already an apprentice of Alistair's, furthering his studies of alchemy at the College of the Arcane. As Alistair was now very involved with Triple A's search for the Dragon Aspects, Joser and Pavel were forced to interact with one another regardless of their protests. Their rivalry reignited after having fizzled out, and the two continued to butt heads as Triple A continued their travels elsewhere in Asobria. Over quite some time, however, the two would find this rivalry becoming much more amicable, so much so that they now consider themselves friends.

Joser continued to hold a deep interest for ancient history along his travels, and the prospect of traveling outside of the Empire greatly excited Joser. Knowing what exactly the Dragon Aspects were and their significance was especially enthralling, with Joser knowing that the search for these artifacts would allow him to discover so many things that had yet to be made known to the world. It was at this point that Joser also discovered the significance of his motivational charm, with Triple A finding a second piece of the Chart to the Lifeless Spires from the late Sarti Garris. Whereas the rest of Triple A were focused on the next Aspect, Joser found himself just as interested in finding the third and final piece of the Chart. The rest of Triple A shared in his curiosity, and Joser began to truly feel more at home with the adventuring party.

After Triple A had finished their business in the Empire, they traveled north and entered the Kingdom of Kalvete on the 27th of Fadewind, 1512. Along this part of the group's journey, Joser was able to devote his full attention to contributing his skills to his party and his personal studies on the region's history. Triple A's quest would take them to nearly every corner of the Kingdom, so Joser had the opportunity to learn about history and culture from all sorts of regions. One of the spots he remembers the most is the Titan's Throne, as exploring the site reminded him of the Altar of Giants back home. There were countless other small ruins that offered Joser insights into Kalvete's recent history, allowing him to learn more about the region than he ever did in school. Another major focus of Joser's studies while in Kalvete involved the Chart to the Lifeless Spires, as Triple A was able to obtain the final fragment when visiting the Great Monastery on the 23rd of Frostveil, 1512. With the artifact's completion, Joser could then work alongside Alistair Seraphus to decipher it. They wouldn't complete their work until quite some time later, but their findings would prove much more important to Joser than he could have ever predicted.

His time in Kalvete also helped Joser to further see the error in his racist beliefs, as he was consistently having his assumptions about the Kingdom's people proven wrong. Prior to Triple A's arrival in Kalvete, Joser believed that the Kalvetian race were violent savages that sought only to raid and pillage; a stereotype that emerged from the Kingdom's war-torn history. His interactions with the people of Kalvete, however, showed him that they really weren't different from the people of the Empire. His perspectives on the entire region shifted greatly during this leg of his travels, and Joser would eventually leave Kalvete with a great respect for the nation and its people. In addition to this self-reflection, Joser further found his perspectives changing after Cayne Garrison, a fellow member of Triple A, was turned into a Brandkin. Like many across Asobria, Joser viewed the Brandkin as innately malicious individuals who chose to follow evil for their own gain. With Cayne, however, he saw how this transformation instead stemmed from manipulation that took advantage of how Cayne was mourning the loss of her sister. Joser yet again found himself reevaluating many of his long-standing beliefs, eventually coming to regret many of his past actions and remarks.

After Triple A left Kalvete on the 27th of Perswyn, 1512, they briefly stopped in Fallowburn on the 4th of Stellara to rest along their journey back to Vatepor. It was here that Joser ran into Caspian Alkell by chance, with this being the first interaction the two had shared since they both graduated from Biffany's School of the Arcane. Caspian would shortly become a target for Triple A's heroics, as he revealed to Joser that he was conducting cruel experiments on who he deemed as "lesser races:" Individuals belonging to minority populations within the Empire. These experiments had Caspian force these individuals to undergo ceremorphosis by making them hosts for modified Illithid tadpoles, with his goal being to create a "superior race." While Caspian initially invited Joser to join him in his experiments, Joser quickly denounced Caspian's actions and refused his invitation. Joser would then quickly reunite with the rest of Triple A, leading the adventuring party down into the Underlands to find and stop Caspian and his experiments.

After successfully navigating through the Underlands' alien environments, Joser and Triple A would corner Caspian inside an abandoned temple on the 5th of Stellara. The battle was a fierce one, with Caspian subjecting himself to his own experiments and turning into a towering, deformed creature still capable of utilizing Magic. Joser fully demonstrated the extent of his own abilities to secure Triple A's victory, ending the battle by defeating Caspian in a spell clash. Caspian was gravely injured after this, attempting to bargain his past friendship with Joser to be spared. This did not work, and Joser chose to leave Caspian to be devoured by the very horrors he had created.

Despite the close bond they once shared, Joser does not feel any regret or guilt for ending Caspian. While he was briefly hesitant to take action due to their friendship, the full discovery of what Caspian was working towards instead led to feelings of horror and a staunch determination to put a stop to his demented schemes. It did not take long for Joser to accept that Caspian needed to be stopped for good. Joser did experience some feelings of guilt and regret, but they were not for his actions against Caspian. Instead, Joser felt an intense shame and even disgust at himself for once sharing such prejudiced beliefs. He realized that, if he had never met his friends in Triple A, he could have easily traveled down the same path as Caspian while never realizing their old friendship was formed on mutual ignorance. The events of Joser's reunion with Caspian now serve as his permanent indicator of just how far he has grown as a person, and he has been free from his prejudiced hatred ever since.

After dealing with Caspian and his crimes, Triple A would travel to the Carcharian Isles in search of their next Dragon Aspect. Upon arriving in Reefway, a colony of the Empire on the 28th of Dawnspring, 1513, Joser had the opportunity to devote himself to his personal studies yet again.