Ardest

Ardest is a creative bogsneak with a terrible habit of making things up. A talented mage since he was a hatchling, he didn't pursue magic until he was old enough to strike out on his own and, unfortunately for him, leaving this talent untouched for so long left him well behind any other candidates for proper teaching. So, left with the choice of either studying alongside hatchlings or giving up on the idea entirely... Ardest chose a third option and took some "creative liberties" with his resume. Selling himself as a magical prodigy and a supernatural expert, he managed to lie his way into the halls of the Arcania Tower and somehow maintained the ruse long enough that by the time he was found out, he had already learned enough on the fly to earn a place in the Tower by actual merit.

Despite his success, however, Ardest ultimately left the Tower to give them more room to house students who belonged from the start. Deciding to learn from different places across Sornieth, he had barely begun his travels before he found himself in more situations where a little bending of the truth paid off and he started to find fun in seeing how far he could push his luck, so long as doing it didn't harm anyone. Usually, the only one winding up in harm's way was Ardest himself.

Possessed of a good heart beneath all the little lies and appearing to have boundless optimism, Ardest tends to be an uplifting presence and likes doing little things to put a smile on someone's face. He regularly sends money and letters to his parents out of love, claiming to be paying "debt collectors" whenever someone asks. Between this and his tendency to spend money on others, he's perpetually low on funds. It was during one particularly cashless day that he ran into Quinn for the first time since leaving the Tower and she had little trouble convincing her benevolent friends to let him tag along for a while, knowing he'd likely poison himself with his own dreadful cooking if they didn't lend him a hand. Making friends with Tydel and Iridymus fairly quickly, it wasn't long before he permanently joined their adventuring party.

Another connection Ardest has made on his travels is with Cade, a tough obelisk who once fished him out of trouble with an angry mob. Taking an immediate liking to Cade's calm and confident demeanour but initially dismissing it as gratitude towards a "cool" dragon, Ardest insisted on keeping in touch so he could find a way to thank the obelisk for the help. In time, Cade directly confronted Ardest on his real reason for constantly visiting the obelisk, prompting the bogsneak to realise he was in love and confess his feelings after some persuasion. The pair made their relationship official after only a couple of dates, with Ardest loving every moment spent around his chill and supportive obelisk boyfriend.