Deeran
| Deeran | |
|---|---|
| Campaign 2 character | |
| First appearance | Campaign 2 - Episode 1 |
| Voiced by | Mike Ellison |
| Information | |
| Full name | Deeran Lincoln |
| Gender | Male |
| Affiliation | Black Scale, Adventure Incorporated |
| Religion | The Enlightening |
| Nationality | Varina |
Deeran Salder Lincoln was born to his loving parents, Calliope and Gaulder Lincoln, at the appropriate time for parents to have children, in an appropriate setting, with appropriate precautions taken for the family’s financial outlook and the child’s education sorted out. Anything less from two leading researchers in Magical Theory and The Deep Historia would be unconscionable.
Raised devoutly in the religion of the Ancient Path, Deeran was taught from an early age to identify signs and notice the connection all things share. His ancestors would point out the Path as it spiraled out from the sands of time, bridging the divide between their lives and his current steps. This instilled in him a curiosity – if the path traveled could become so clear, couldn’t the future also be read by someone focused enough, smart enough, dedicated enough to do so? If the connections between all things could be so obvious to those who came before him, why shouldn’t he be the one to put those things together now? And, if he could put together the pieces of the present-day’s puzzle, surely it would unlock the path to stop The Fading.
Deeran had seen village elders afflicted by memory loss, a condition associated with aging normally, but he suspected it was connected to The Fading in ways that the other members of Touched societies simply hadn’t discovered yet. Infinitely curious, though not always fully-educated, Deeran made these arguments futilely with the academics his parents would invite for discussions and dinners; they dismissed his notion that there was a connection to be made.
In the circles where Calliope and Gaulder spent their time, Divination magic was derided as an imprecise, impractical aspect of the magical tapestry of the universe. Its volatility and open-to-interpretation nature “lends itself to an unacceptable level of signal-to-noise for a real, hard magic course of study.” Hearing their son’s interest, needless to say, was a disappointment to the Lincolns, who did their best to refocus him on a course of study more acceptably-structured… and yet, every time they tried, they were met with resistance from their son, who quoted ancestral stories he’d gleaned from time in the temples.
Using this to their advantage, then, would be easy. If they could simply connect with Calliope’s own parents, passed before Deeran had been born in a tragic accident at a far-off Black Scale research center off the coast of The Demon Isles, surely he would listen to the combination of reason and ancestry?
On Deeran’s 16th birthday, he was presented with the crystalline sphere containing the spirit memory of his grandparents, Trellan Lincoln and Parrow Lincoln. Eager to connect with them and understand their connection in All Things, Deeran’s conversation with them immediately drifted from where they had been to where he was planning on going. Neither Trellan nor Parrow had any supportive words for him, behaving just as Calliope had thought they would. They pushed against his “wild imagination,” discussing the importance of understanding the basis of magical knowledge in order to push existing boundaries in respectable, repeatable, observable fields, and in no uncertain terms expressed their disdain with the idea that Deeran would be able to accomplish a feat no one had previously. They told him unlocking The Fading was not a matter of determining where its source was and breaking through that barrier, but simply a fact of the world, and the sooner he started to accept this, the sooner he could follow in his parents’ footsteps and do some real scientific research.
Deeran was crushed. His own grandparents wouldn’t support his dreams? What had happened along his ancestral pathway that some of those spirits would have been so understanding and approving, but the last two generations of his family’s lineage would be so against this course of study?
He tried his best. He let things go. He decided to continue his education at the Black Scale Institute of Prosperity, leaving behind the comfort of his home on the coast of Varina. Yes, there were many options for prestigious universities in the city of Varina, as well as in Morevia, with its historical significance and massive libraries dedicated to the research and knowledge of history and magic, but if Deeran were to leave Federation Bay for anything, it would be something he’d never experienced before. The dense forests and soaring mountains of Grey Woods seemed the perfect place to find himself on weekends away from studying, socializing, and debating in the taverns and canopy gardens of Grey Woods’ capital city. The drawings he’d seen of the city were almost too fanciful to be real, but upon arrival he realized how muted they’d truly been. Arcane lights flickered throughout the trees, interspersed with torches and laughter and music and shouts from an innumerable number of people, all experiencing the life he’d hoped would be out there. Truly, in Prosperity, urban and remote had connected to become one, and he felt at home here. He still carried his grandparents with him on a chain around his neck, but over time, felt his connection to the teachings of the Ancient Path wane as he spent more and more time talking with friends of other religious backgrounds. As his first year came to a close, he realized for as many religions as there were, they all contradict one another in some ways, and share certain universal truths. The universal truths were the ties that bound them, and there was a moment of realization for Deeran as 2nd Lanaren carried in the new forest growth – The Enlightening accounted for this. Deities had no individual tie to magic – belief in The Celestial Host or The Ancient Path or The Agrestal Spirit, or even believe in oneself, allowed the most faithful to perform the same magics – there had to be something beyond; something that connected everything. Even Dennar would have to believe in the connection of everything here!
Upon the end of his first year, he moved out of student housing, and into a shared space with other Enlightened. He made the decision not to return to school in first Fom, as was expected. He took his leave of the Black Scale, and made a promise to begin doing instead of thinking.
His first order of business was flyering the school and drumming up support for a new group; Seekers of Truth. He knew the reputation the Seekers of Discovery carried, and wanted to continue having an “in” on-campus for any research texts or equipment they may need to borrow, so he imprinted the symbol of the Black Scale on the crystal containing his grandparents. They wouldn’t mind, he thought; if anything it helped tie them to the organization they’d given everything to – their lives, their legacy, and their children’s lives. Given Deeran’s generally-academic look, he was almost never stopped, and when he was, he gave answers to his interrogators that made the Seekers sound like a new club on-campus.
When he visited his parents for 1st Celian, Deeran neglected to inform them that he’d abandoned his course of study. His parents funding his current lifestyle would not have gone over well, so the more they thought he was in school, learning, the better. He’d spent the majority of time back home in Federation Bay with old friends from home.
Terran (Fusetrack) had become a blacksmith’s apprentice early on, and was getting ready to take over for old Smith Wellan in the first few months of Elared – living in a beach town, folks tried to work as little as possible during those months to enjoy their lives, but Wellan had decided he’d had enough. She was ready to take over, as she’d always been the oldest soul in their friend group, and hard as steel.
Dennar (Tris) was feeling excited about planting season coming up. Something about the relatively wet, but warm, Celian forecasts was… Deeran zoned out. He didn’t ever pay attention when Dennar had talked about farming, but he really appreciated their positive outlook and general lighthearted approach to life. In the same way Dennar zoned out about Deeran’s insistence that everything was connected, and life was a cosmic mystery, and Deeran never took offense, Dennar didn’t mind Deeran’s inability to muster care about crop rotation. They were happy to keep things simple, grounded, and vibrant.
Deeran found himself happy to spend time with his old friends, but excited to get back to his new ones. His mentor in The Enlightening, Thelir (Nightpath) would be excited to hear about everything, and to learn that Deeran’s parents hadn’t discovered the ruse of continued schooling, so Deeran could continue to stay with the rest of the group.
- * *
Not two months returned to Prosperity, Deeran’s deception was discovered and he was told in no uncertain terms that, “until such time as proof of re-enrollment at The Black Scale Institute is provided, no further support will direct itself into your accounts from The Lincolns of Federation Bay.” By that point, though, he’d already met a group as action-oriented as he was… maybe moreso.
