Galdor Tempest

Galdor, despite being a high-ranking noble in his kingdom as well as a powerful sorcerer, did not have an enviable upbringing.  As such, he prefers to keep to himself when he's not attending meetings of the royal council or his other duties.  While he comes off as very stern and austere, he is actually deeply kind, as he would never want to bring any more cruelty into an already harsh world.  He considers himself extremely lucky to have his wife and son, Alwien and Galrion, and would do anything to protect them.

Daedhel, his father, was a large and foreboding man with short hair and a bulky build.  Galdor, vowing to himself to be nothing like his father, hated that they both had blond hair and blue eyes.  Thus, he purposely grew his hair out and even attempted to grow a beard (but was only able to ever get some long sideburns and a goatee, as elves aren't exactly known for their facial hair).  Training his mind instead of his body, he kept himself thin - often concerningly so - so that he would not see the reflection of his father in the mirror.

Backstory
*Content Warning for death, abuse*

Galdor was born to Daedhel and Silephen of the house of Tempest, the highest-ranking house second only to the royal family.  His mother died during childbirth, which caused his father Daedhel to completely neglect him, leaving him in the care of the house servants.  Although his older sister, Galriel, was doted upon by her father for being a skilled knight and a worthy heiress, she held no animosity towards Galdor.  In fact, she was the only one in the household to show him true love and kindness, and encouraged him to study and learn for his own sake.  Sadly, on a mission outside of the kingdom, Galriel fell in battle.  Wracked with grief and frustration, Daedhel began to take his anger out on Galdor, and would beat him if he went against him in any way.

As he got older, Galdor learned to appease his cruel father by doing as he was told.  When he could get away, he would go to the royal academy to study sorcery and other various magicks.  One day, Daedhel told Galdor to come along with him on a mission to eliminate some bandits on the outskirts of the kingdom.  As they approached the small settlement and Daedhel began striking down the people residing there, Galdor saw that these weren't bandits at all - they were just a group of refugees who hadn't even been bothering anyone.  When Galdor tried to stop his father, he told his son that it was their duty to eliminate the "undesirables" within the kingdom, but that he could take a particularly pretty one as his partner if he saw fit.  In horror, Galdor realized that this was how his father had met his mother - he took her from her home after slaughtering everyone around her, and she simply went along with marrying him and bearing his children to survive.  As his father turned to continue his massacre, Galdor took the sword in his hand and plunged it into his back.  Daedhel laughed as he fell to the ground, saying that his son was just like him before dying.  

Galdor turned to a young woman from the settlement and begged her to strike him down.  Overhearing everything that went on between the father and son, the woman told Galdor that there had to be a reason that they were both left alive.  Taking a moment to calm himself, Galdor thanked her for her words, and took his father's body back to the kingdom.  He told the guards that Daedhel had died protecting him from bandits so that no one would suspect him.  Galdor, being the only surviving member of House Tempest, became the youngest noble to hold a spot in the royal court.  While no one knew of Daedhel's outright abuse, several other nobles worked with him on various shady dealings, and were shocked when Galdor wanted nothing to do with any of them.

One evening, Galdor sensed another presence within his home.  Suddenly a blade was held to his neck and a voice told him not to move.  However, he summoned an ethereal blade behind his attacker - if he was struck, his blade would plunge down, and both of them would be killed.  The attacker told him that she had just been trying to do a job, and was no real assassin - she only agreed to it because the pay of 10 diamonds was too good to resist.  Galdor realized that she must have been hired by one of the nobles, and told her that she would have never received that money.  She was hired specifically because she was inexperienced and thus would likely be killed out of self-defense, allowing the noble to frame Galdor for murder.  They both agreed to withdraw their weapons and find the man who had posted the job.

The noble was waiting nearby with the intention of bursting into Galdor's house and calling for the guards to see him there with a dead body.  Instead, however, the young mercenary caught the noble off-guard and grappled him, allowing Galdor to turn him in for charges of attempted murder and heresy.  Afterwards, the mercenary introduced herself as Alwien, and thanked Galdor for his assistance.  To her surprise, he handed her a bag with 50 diamonds inside, causing her to cry and say she didn't deserve it.  Galdor said that she did the right thing in the end, and that since the world doesn't reward people, then he would instead.  She embraced him and then ran off into the night,  Flustered, Galdor thought to himself that he didn't even ask where she was from, and wondered if he would see her again.

Years later, Galdor remained single despite many suitors asking for his hand in marriage.  The house staff (now being fairly compensated for their work instead of being servants) told him that he needed to find someone to carry on his name, but he refused, as he could only think of the young woman he met that fateful night.  When he was told that someone had arrived for him yet again, he almost asked the staff to send them away, until they said that she was a tall elf woman with dark hair and tanned skin who was very insistent upon meeting him.  He ran to the door and flung it open himself, seeing Alwien in an elaborate dress instead of her mercenary outfit.  She explained that her guardians were merchants, and the payment that he had given her allowed them to bring their family and village into wealth and prosperity, thus allowing her to finally feel worthy enough to ask for Galdor's hand in marriage.  He laughed and said he would have married her regardless.  The two embraced, and were wed not too long after.

Time passed, and Alwien eventually became pregnant.  Despite Galdor's nervousness due to the fate of his mother, both Alwien and the baby survived the birth.  Looking at his tiny newborn son, Galdor thought about how someone like him - the spawn of a monster - could still find love and help bring a new life into this world.  Both parents agreed to name their son Galrion in honor of Galdor's older sister.  Holding his son close to his chest, he sobbed as he promised to always be there for him and to make sure that he always felt loved.  

Backstory in Another Time, Another Place (DnD campaign):
Galdor was a kind and doting husband and father, living in the kingdom of Valenar.  However, he had noticed a peculiar star in the sky.  Upon further study, he realized that it was a meteor of unknown origin - thus, the Mythal protecting the city would not be able to stop it.  On the day of the Summer Solstice Festival, when he expected the meteor to hit, he told Alwien and Galrion to head to the teleportation circle under the city.  He briefly hugged them both and told them he loved them, and then he ran to the royal court.  He begged his fellow nobles, along with the king, to evacuate the city.  Unfortunately, they would not listen to his pleas - they were adamant that the Mythal would protect him, and they had the guards take him away.

When the meteor hit Valenar, he was presumably killed upon impact, being vaporized along with every other citizen present.