Yar'rag Stetab? I Presume

Yar’rag Setab

Human Male Wizard & Former Thief

ex Student, ex Thief, ex Scholar, ex Wizards Apprentice

Yar'rag Setab was my first ever alter ego, persona and in an odd way role-play character. He was born of boredom, loneliness and an over active imagination. He was born in my bedroom on a day which was over cast and filled with rain. I was sitting at my big desk looking out of the window. Then as with now I loved to write in Black n Red books and although they where considered expensive when I was younger my mother had managed to pick one up cheap in Grays market.

It was a Sunday and I was bored, most of my friends at the time where stay in types and the weather was of no help. I did not have a computer, nor did we have mobile phones to play around with. I had been out horse riding that morning and was now utterly bored. It was then that I had the idea, I would start a journal, a captains log. 

However a nagging thought came into my mind, I had tried that before and it had never lasted or worked, how could I make sure this time was different. The answer write it as if I was a character from a book. I quickly modified that idea to no why not write it as if I was a character of my own devices.

I decided he would be a Wizard, but a wizard who had been a bit of a rogue in his younger life and so had some other skills to rely on. I did not want him to be a fighter, but I did want him to have fought and so I came up with my ex thief turned Wizard. In this I had been inspired by films such as Knights of the Round Table, 7 Faces of Doctor Loa (1964), Camelot (1967), Wizards (1977), Excalibur and Dragonslayer (1981) all influenced my choice in persona.

My room at the time was black, red and white and so would Yar'rags clothing. Black breeches, black shoes, sandals or boots with a white shirt. His over robes where black and red lined. A pointed hat was a must as was a plane black staff with a red knob on its end!

I started by imagining his study which was in his mage tower. A big high backed chair behind a big black oak desk a window which let out to a balcony and book shelves either side of the study door. Yar'rags Tower I named the Tower at the Edge of Reality.

The Tower became an important part of my life as did Yar'rag we had many adventures together, well not quite together as I was him and he was me. I would write up mundane events as fantastical adventures. For example one day I had a row with my parents and I wrote the encounter up as a battle with two powerful Ogres who I had disturbed whilst exploring a set of caves.

Trips to the sea side would become trips to the desert searching for lost ruins or dungeons, a visit to the library would be a day spent in arcane research, a run in with bullies on the way home and ambush by bandits and brigands.

Over time I added three other companions, my dwarven man servant Gortex. He was a dwarf with a shady past who had taken refuge in the tower after he and Yar'rag had helped each other out of a sticky situation involving undead!

Next came my familiars Boris (who was based on a toy Bogling I had received as a Christmas present) and Crow my pet raven who was based on a replica raven I bought with real raven feathers. I have the toys that all three of them where based on to this day and in my mind and on my adventures they still accompany me to this day.

I am shortly to begin a new set of adventures with Yar'rag and these ones I will be writing up in a journal and then writing up here to share with others. I am very grateful to Yar'rag as he has kept me san over the years and allowed me to experience some wonderful things and places such as the Great Sea of Stones, the Plane of Dust, the artificial planet of Hub, the Great Spell Moot and many more. Through him I have met general Tilia, the ranger Aelfgyth Elf Friend the shield maiden Mucca and her two brothers Curra and Wocca skilled hunters, warriors and trackers. Also Henri the Grey a mage of no small water and his friend father Bretwald of High Well.

As a scholar, a wizard and as a former rogue Yar'rag has developed an impressive skill set. These include Acute Hearing, Ancient History, Animal Lore, Anthropology, Art, Arcanology, Archaeology, Basic Alchemy, Basic herb Lore, Binding, Brewing, Bypass Security Systems, Climbing, Chronomancy, Computer Use, Conjuration, Dancing, Discern & Disarm Traps, Divination, Drama, Enchanting, Evaluate, Fencing, Folklore, History, Library Use, Local History, Monster Lore, Mythology, Navigation, Occult Lore, Orientation, Perception, Picking Locks, Pick Pockets, Planer Lore, Pugilism, Read & Write (Angelic, Black Speech, Dark tongue, Demonic, Draconic, Dwarf, Elven, Infernal, Stealth, Egyptian [Ancient], Greek and Latin), Research, Ritualism, Sleight of Hand, Story Telling, Streetwise, Summoning, Swimming, Thaumaturgy, Trans Dimensional Mechanics, Transmutation, Use Security Systems.

As well as those fairly mundane skills he is also noted as having: the ability to Hypnotise people, Iron Will, Lesser Telepathy, Object Reading, Sixth Sense, Sense Magic, Sense Magical Alarms, Telekinesis, Immune to magical scrying and locating spells, abilities and powers. Of course he is also a skilled spell caster and ritualist.

Even today I enjoy dressing up as Yar'rag and going on wild adventures and exploring the realms of my imagination.  I know that whilst I have Yar'rag with me life never needs to be dull, boring or mundane.