Description
General Landor Vess of Vel Enweir is an elf carved from discipline itself. His armor, though worn from decades of battle, gleams as though duty alone keeps it polished. His dark hair, falls neatly to his collar, and his expression rarely betrays more than the faintest flicker of emotion. His eyes—cold, assessing, and impossibly steady—seem to see through excuses as easily as through smoke.
On the battlefield, he moves with controlled precision, a commander who wastes no motion and permits no error. In the hall, his mere presence commands silence. He carries his sword like an extension of his purpose, not a weapon but a promise.
Personality
Landor Vess is methodical, deliberate, and utterly unamused by frivolity. He has no patience for boasting, and even less for incompetence. His humor, if it exists, is locked behind the same fortress of self-control that guards his grief and doubt. To his soldiers, he is both mentor and warden—a figure of unwavering standard rather than warmth.
He believes deeply in order, loyalty, and quiet endurance. He does not inspire with passion but with precision; not through speeches, but through the example of a life defined by service. It is said that if Landor Vess ever laughs, the war must surely be won.
Background
Born into House Vess, Landor’s early life was shadowed by tragedy. His father, Lord Serath Vess, was found dead by poison when Landor was still a child. His mother, Thalara Vess, vanished soon after, leaving behind whispers of addiction and criminality. Though no proof ever surfaced, the stain of those rumors followed Landor for decades.
It was his aunt, Elwynn Vess the Queen’s chief advisor, who took him in and raised him alongside her own son, Elarin Vess. The two grew inseparable—brothers in all but name. While Elarin’s gifts drew him toward the mystic paths of flame, Landor’s grief and discipline forged him into steel.
He entered the Queen’s service young, distinguishing himself in the unification campaigns and rising swiftly through the ranks. His leadership was marked by a ruthless clarity that mirrored Queen Sylanthiel’s own—he fought not for glory, but for stability, for control, for the fragile peace his childhood never knew.
Despite his closeness to both the Queen and her late advisor, Landor has always been careful to remain apart from politics. Yet, after Elwynn’s mysterious death, the weight of House Vess now falls upon him—and though he hides it well, some say the loss carved the last trace of softness from him.
Story
Queen Aelra assigned Landor and two hundred elven soldiers to help Southaven deal with goblin raids—a reward for the party’s role in saving Balandel. Landor was not pleased. He had just returned from defending against Sandwalker raids in the Northern Elfwood and made no effort to hide his frustration. But he obeyed. On the march south, he proved his worth in an ambush, cutting through cultists with cold precision—then nearly drowning a captured assassin when the party’s questioning moved too slowly for his liking.
He led the diversionary assault on Southaven’s northern blockade during the siege, losing roughly seventy soldiers to buy the party time at Aramond’s Lookout. After the defense of Southaven, Landor began to warm to the party—not with words, but with the quiet shift of a man who recognized that the threats they faced were larger than any assignment. Velara sent him with the party to Solaris to seek aid. At the Gilded Dragon Tavern, Jorin slipped a memory-wiping agent into the wine. Landor drank freely and remembered nothing by morning.
In Session 34 - Ashes and Radiance, when Jorin returned to the tavern without the party, Landor grabbed the Hammer of Elandria and the Crown of Judgement and went after them alone, intercepting the fleeing group in an alley with both relics in hand.