The Ideal Hero

"What do you think sis?"

An image of Talin immediately came to mind. Auriel sighed. Unfortunately, that wouldn't do.

After a little more thought, Auriel began, "Well, I suppose if you would like our hero to look like someone that isn't you, we can make someone up. So, yeah, its probably best to think about your race first, then work on your appearance from there. The primary races we really have to work with are humans, mages, elves, or some mixture of those. Other races are either much rarer to this area, such as dwarves, gnomes, and fae, or are generally viewed in an unfavorable light, like orcs, drow, and demons. You'll probably find yourself in numerous dangerous combat situations in the coming weeks, so handicapping yourself by not using magic is not a good idea. That rules out non-mage humans. That leaves mages, elves, and hybrids. A surprising amount of people look down on half-breeds as if their mixed heritage has corrupted them or something, so being a half-elf or a half-mage is probably not the most ideal."

Auriel took a breath and shifted in her saddle. "That leaves pure-blooded elves and mages. At this point, I think we need to consider who you are going to be a hero to. In this case, you are fighting for the oppressed slaves of this area. Most of the slave masters here in Dalen are either humans or mages, so many of the slaves we want to free probably won't look fondly on mages for that reason. And most of the elves here, like LeLu, have been or are currently, slaves. Many of the slaves may feel inspired if they see someone like themself rising to greatness. Therefore, I think our ideal hero would be an elf..."

Sorta like Talin, she thought to herself silently. "...but anyway, maybe there is something I'm missing. Do you guys have any more thoughts on the matter?"