Kelka the Oathbound

Kelka is small but sinewy — a creature honed by necessity rather than training. Her body carries the balance of a seasoned hunter: every muscle purposeful, every movement controlled. She is lean rather than wiry, built for precision and endurance over brute strength. Her reflexes are sharp, her breathing steady even under duress. Decades of scouting through tunnels and tangled undergrowth have given her exceptional balance and spatial awareness; she can move silently even across loose stone or shifting roots. Her left shoulder bears a faint stiffness — the result of an old leyline burn sustained during the Oathbinding ceremony. Though mostly healed, it glows faintly during storms or when Zythera channels strong magic nearby. She often rubs the scar absentmindedly, as though it hums beneath her skin.

• Scales: Deep emerald green with faint gold shimmer along her jawline, shoulders, and tail. When exposed to leyline energy, the gold markings pulse faintly in time with her heartbeat.
• Eyes: Amber with slit pupils; the irises glow faintly green in darkness, like distant lanterns.
• Horns: Small, backward-curving obsidian horns, polished smooth by years of handling her hood and armor straps.
• Tail: Long and expressive, ending in a slight curve where a spiral scar marks the site of her Oathbinding brand.
• Hands & Claws: Fine-boned, with blackened claws suited for both climbing and carving. She keeps her bow hand wrapped in soft moss cloth to avoid catching on the string.
• Markings: A thin, branching vein-like pattern of light runs from her collarbone down her left arm — remnants of the leyline surge that sealed her vow. When channeling, it flares with a soft golden-green glow.
• Teeth: Sharp but slightly uneven — one fang chipped, a small imperfection that Zythera once called her “proof of patience.”
• Posture: Upright for a kobold, her stance mirroring draconic bearing — chest lifted, tail steady, head angled slightly forward as if always listening to the air.

Kelka dresses for silence, survival, and symbolism. Every piece of her attire serves a function — and a memory. Her armor is a finely crafted set of moss-hued scale mail, its plates cut from auric dragonhide and etched with faint Draconic runes of endurance. Despite its strength, it moves quietly; the scales overlap like leaves rather than metal. Beneath it, she wears lightweight, flexible leathers dyed in deep forest green and trimmed in gold thread — a nod to the colors of her oath. A hooded cloak of woven spider-silk moss drapes from her shoulders, treated with oils to resist moisture and muffled against sound. When she pulls it close, she can blend into almost any woodland backdrop, vanishing into the shimmer of foliage or mist. Around her neck rests a dragonbone charm, carved with a single rune meaning “Promise.” It hums faintly near leyline energy and warms when Zythera channels magic. She touches it before every battle — a small, instinctive ritual of grounding. Other small adornments: - A braided cord of dried ivy and sinew around her wrist, gifted by Mara. - A carved wooden bead tied to her cloak clasp — shaped like a dragon’s eye, whittled during long night watches. - A tiny leather-bound journal, always at her belt, filled with runes and sketches of leyline patterns she studies during travel.

Longbow of the Hollow Pulse - A leyline-infused yew longbow, pale green in color and strung with thread spun from silken wyrm hair. When drawn, faint motes of green-gold light trace the air around the arrow’s path. - The bow channels small bursts of leyline energy through its strikes, allowing Kelka to infuse her shots with radiant or lightning energy depending on Zythera’s nearby influence. When she whispers her Oath under her breath, the weapon’s runes flicker in sync with her pulse — earning it its name, *“Hollow Pulse.”*

Twin Shortswords — “Fang” and “Echo” - Balanced blades forged of folded steel mixed with faint draconic ore. Each bears a small inscription in Draconic: “I guard” and “I remember.” - When used together, the swords produce a subtle resonance that hums in harmony — a side effect of their shared enchantment.

Oathbound Scale Mail - Custom-forged by Honeyknell craftsfolk and later reinforced by Zythera’s leyline magic. Grants enhanced protection when near her oath target (+2 AC via Oathbound subclass feature). - The scales shift slightly in hue to match their surroundings, offering mild camouflage in forest or ruin environments.

Dragonbone Charm (Focus) - Serves as her divine and magical focus for oath and ranger spells. - When used to channel spells like Hunter’s Mark or Zephyr Strike, a faint echo of Zythera’s draconic aura manifests around her hands — invisible to most, but palpable to sensitives and druids.

Utility Gear - A compact satchel of herbal poultices, dried moss, and leyline-reactive dust. - A collapsible spyglass made of brass and rootglass (a translucent, leyline-grown material native to the Vale). - A small vial of emerald-tinted liquid — distilled from a leyline bloom, used only in dire moments to heighten her perception and reflexes.

Kelka hatched deep within the Warrens — a place where survival was measured by silence, and leadership came from cunning rather than cruelty. Her clutch was small, her scales pale and thin, and she learned quickly that to live was to listen. From her earliest days, she was drawn to the shimmer of the leyline threads that wound through the roots and tunnels. While others chased beetles and trinkets, she sat beside the faintly glowing stones, tracing patterns with her claws and whispering questions to the light. Some elders whispered that she bore a spark of the old scales — kobolds once descended from Brightscale’s ancient kin. Her first decades were spent as a tracker and scout, mapping tunnels that shifted like veins beneath the Vale. She grew into a quiet but capable survivor — one who learned to read intent in footprints, to taste weather in the air, and to find safety where others saw none. When she crossed paths with Zythera Minos, she recognized something in the dragonborn’s presence — the same pulse she had followed all her life. Though she has never spoken openly of that moment, she often says that “the earth remembered her name that day.” Since then, Kelka has walked beside Zythera and the party, her loyalty wordless but absolute. Few know of her beyond the group; fewer still realize that the small kobold in the shadows carries the weight of an oath older than any kingdom.

Kelka’s “education” was learned in motion — by claw, instinct, and the natural rhythm of the Vale. She was never taught to read until Zythera began showing her Draconic script, and now she keeps a small leather notebook where she copies runes and leyline sigils. Her knowledge of terrain, survival, and natural magic rivals that of trained scouts, but her understanding of the arcane is more intuitive — felt rather than studied. She often describes spells as “songs in the bones,” a phrase that unsettles and fascinates arcanists in equal measure.

• Survived the Hollow Collapse: One of only five kobolds to escape a leyline cave-in that consumed half her Warren. Her calm leadership saved dozens of hatchlings.

• The Hollow Exodus: Kelka’s first attempt at leadership led her party of scouts into a flooded tunnel network; several never returned. She carries their names etched beneath her armor plates.

The Hollow Collapse left deep scars. Trapped for days beneath stone and root, she listened to the heartbeat of the leyline above her — faint, pulsing, constant — and to the slow quieting of her kin’s voices around her. Since then, Kelka cannot stand total silence. She hums or taps claws against her bowstring, needing the reassurance of sound to keep from spiraling into memories. She also carries an unspoken fear of losing her vow — not because she fears punishment, but because the idea of being without purpose terrifies her more than death. ---

Kelka is pragmatic, observant, and quietly insightful. She absorbs patterns and motives more easily than facts, reading tone and motion where others rely on logic. Her intelligence is emotional and instinctive — she understands the hearts of others far more than she admits. Despite her dry humor and reserved manner, she’s deeply empathetic. She prefers action over speech, and when she offers advice, it’s often cloaked in metaphor or story. Her courage is not loud — it is the courage to remain when others flee, and to protect without recognition.

Kelka believes loyalty is sacred but must be chosen, not demanded. Her moral compass is guided by the idea that honor is proven through consistency, not glory — a lesson born from years of surviving among those who valued strength above truth. Her quiet creed: > “An oath is not a chain — it is a light to follow when the path turns dark.” She follows her instincts over written laws, acting in the moment for the good of those she travels with. To her, compassion is not weakness, but endurance given shape.

Kelka’s every step is guided by purpose and protection — not from fear, but from conviction. Her greatest desire is to preserve meaning in a world that so easily forgets. She believes that oaths, promises, and chosen bonds are the threads that keep chaos from unraveling everything worth saving. Her loyalty to Zythera is not worship, but faith — faith in the idea that even the smallest creature can serve a greater harmony. Traveling beside Zythera and the party gives her life rhythm: she guards them as she once guarded her warren, though now her duty carries deeper roots. Beneath that purpose lies a quieter wish: to prove that devotion does not require bloodline or birthright. Among her kind, kobolds are seen as remnants — scavengers beneath dragons. Kelka wishes to redefine that legacy through her actions, to show that courage is not born of size, but of steadiness.

• What truly drives her: -
• To ensure Zythera’s survival and the fulfillment of their shared purpose.
• To earn a place in the story of the world — not through name, but through continuity.
• “If my shadow can steady one step of her path, then I have done enough.”

Savvies

• Tactical Instinct: Kelka reads battlefields like living maps, sensing ambushes or weak points with uncanny accuracy.
• Empathic Awareness: Despite her stoicism, she’s remarkably attuned to emotional undercurrents — often noticing tension, fear, or deceit long before others.
• Stealth & Survival: Her kobold upbringing honed her natural agility and quiet movement; she can vanish into a forest or ruin with ease.
• Discipline: Rarely distracted, she thrives on consistency and order, which makes her invaluable during prolonged missions or travel.

Ineptitudes

• Social Subtlety: Kelka often misreads humor or metaphor, taking words too literally — especially when dealing with nobility or scholars.
• Self-Worth: She undervalues herself, brushing off praise and struggling to accept affection without suspicion.
• Artistry & Creation: Lacks fine craftsmanship skills beyond practicality; she admires music and art but cannot create them.
• Impatience with Ideals: Philosophical debates frustrate her — she trusts instinct over abstraction, leading to conflict with more cerebral companions.
• Poor Sense of Rest: She sees idleness as weakness; it’s difficult for her to relax or accept peace without purpose.

Likes

• The Sound of Rain on Stone: It reminds her of the Warrens and of safety beneath the earth.
• Routine and Rhythm: She finds peace in ritual — cleaning her bow, fletching arrows, tracing runes before dawn.
• Campfire Quiet: The silence between friends, the kind that doesn’t demand words.
• Draconic Music: Deep, resonant tones — the kind Zythera hums when she’s thinking — calm her nerves.
• Small Acts of Kindness: She notes them silently — a shared meal, a hand steadied on the road — and treasures them more than grand gestures.
• Stories of Ancients: She listens intently when Feyolan or others speak of dragons, oaths, or history — even if she pretends not to care.
• Moss and Earth Scents: The smell of growing things reminds her of the Hollow’s heartbeat.

Dislikes

• Loud Environments: Overwhelming noise frays her composure.
• Broken Promises: Few things cut her deeper than betrayal of one’s word.
• Magic for Show: Arcanists who wield power carelessly unsettle her deeply — she considers it sacrilege. -
• Idle Chatter: Words with no purpose or truth feel wasteful to her.

Loyal: Once Kelka gives her trust, it is unbreakable. She has never betrayed a promise.

Disciplined: Years of survival in the Warrens forged her into a creature of remarkable control and consistency.

Steadfast Under Pressure: Her heart rate hardly changes in combat; she acts with methodical precision even in chaos.

Empathetic: Despite her stern exterior, she reads emotional pain with ease and responds in quiet, practical ways rather than pity.

Protective Instincts: Especially toward smaller or younger creatures — Mara most of all.

Respectful of Life: She hunts and kills only out of necessity, whispering a short Draconic blessing for each creature she slays.

Insightful Story Listener: Though not a storyteller herself, she absorbs oral history and memory with exceptional care, often recalling them in surprising detail years later.

Emotionally Guarded: She struggles to express affection or vulnerability, preferring silence to comfort.

Self-Effacing: Tends to diminish her own worth, deflecting recognition or praise with sarcasm.

Overprotective: Her loyalty can tip into possessiveness, especially when Zythera is endangered or questioned.

Distrustful of Outsiders: She warms slowly to new faces, assuming hidden motives until proven otherwise.

Rigid Morality: Kelka’s sense of honor can make her uncompromising — she has little patience for those who bend promises for convenience.

Grudge-Bearer: Once betrayed, she never forgets. Forgiveness is not something she gives easily.

Repressed Fear: Beneath her calm, she carries an unspoken terror of being left behind again — buried, forgotten, unheard. > “Silence is safer than trust… but sometimes, safety is the loneliest cage.”

Tail Flicking: Her tail moves almost constantly — slow, deliberate flicks when thinking, sharper motions when agitated. It’s her emotional tell, though she denies it when called out.

Humming Under Her Breath: When tense or uncomfortable with silence, Kelka hums a low, droning note — the same pitch as the leyline hum in the Hollow Warrens. She isn’t aware she does it.

Claw Tapping: She taps her claws rhythmically against her bowstring or armor plates — always in groups of three, the number she associates with balance: self, oath, and purpose.

Head Tilt: Tilts her head sharply to one side when assessing danger or reading emotion — a habit inherited from watching drakes as a young scout.

Scent Memory: When she encounters a familiar smell (rain, old parchment, woodsmoke), she pauses mid-sentence to breathe deeply — grounding herself through scent rather than thought.

Eye Narrowing: Her pupils thin when she’s studying someone’s words rather than their tone, a faint draconic instinct that unnerves those unused to reptilian mannerisms.