Uriven Tausis

Uriven Tausis was a high elf wizard that was among the first to explore the frontiers of Eskarya.

Background
Uriven has been a writer, a teacher, and many other academic careers in his life, but for the last seventy years, however, he has served as a painter, working for a guild in the city of Neverwinter on fine pieces of art. Melding his magic with his painting, Uriven has been able to craft masterworks, and many have come to see his moving images, from all across the Sword Coast. His early life was at best normal, and at worst downright boring, a son of a steward in an elven court. He was well educated, as all high elves should be, but he was not given the opportunity to do anything more. It was in his ninetieth year that he was given the chance to leave his home. From Baldur's Gate, a writer came, looking for an apprentice to assist him in his late years. Jumping at the opportunity, Uriven said his farewells and left for the city with his master.

In Baldur's Gate, Uriven became acquainted with writing quickly, and found himself skilled at it. Quickly, his skill with magic shined through, and within a year he was writing coded messages, between him and his fellow apprentices. After years of working as an assistant to the writer, at the age of one-hundred-and-ten, Uriven left his position and became a writer and scribe himself.

However, the role did not give him the satisfaction that he desired, and the solitary nature of writing chafed him. And so, when an opportunity came to teach the young people of Baldur's gate, Uriven quickly expressed interest. Primarily, his duty was to instruct children with writing, and no-one could say he failed at his duty. But it was no way to express the creativity that filled the mind of the high elf, and when minor illusions began to distract his students, bright colours flashing on the walls, and complicated drawings being found on his desk, Uriven was approached by an artist living in the city.

Neverwinter would be his next destination, as the artist invited him to join a renowned artists' guild in the city, having noticed the skills that the elf possessed. Fulfilling commissions, and spending his time in the courts of lords, Uriven drew the attention of many other artists with his blend of magic and painting, and quickly rose through the ranks of the guild. However, he reached a point where he couldn't rise any higher, and critics began to see his magic as more of a cheat than a skill. And so, he stagnated. He could not rise any higher, for the naysayers, and he could not leave the guild that he had dedicated years of his life to. All he needed was an opportunity…

After well over sixty years as an artist, the guild master came to him with a proposal. Lord Aldwin Thorne, of the Lord’s Alliance, was gathering an expedition to unknown lands, and the guild wished to send a representative, to establish a presence in the west, and to paint the lands there. As the only member of the guild with any real ability to fight, it fell to Uriven to represent them in the First Frontier.