Viresse (originally Vir'es'fa'sáh'íl-drén Salén'maachán or Vir'es'fa'sáh'íl-drén'salén'maachán) is a writer, researcher and artist for the Santharian Compendium, though she hails from the Ifér'hém elves of Nybelmar. Her knowledge of elven tribes (especially drow) and of animals garnered her a good standing among the mostly-human writers.

Picture description. A self-portrait of the famous writer for the Compendium, Viresse. Image drawn by Viresse.

Biography. Childhood. Viresse was born to relatively gentle parents in the Coór'hém capital of Sevari. The status of Ahmán and Corách (mother and father, respectively) was not particularly high, but they were some of the few Ifér'hém of the Quiet Death clan, one of six clans that controlled the Sevari Gates.

Viresse was well-taken care of by her parents. One was regularly by her side to teach and guide her in all things, especially knowledge. Viresse had an insatiable thirst for learning. She read what she could and queried all manner of folk - often arising in death-threats from impatient Coór'hém. At the age of 25, to keep herself and her family safe, she often wandered out into the forests around Sevari, picking up all manner of knowledge of wildlife. But it was not a formal education, and Viresse was embittered by this. She read what she could from the books that she found in the Sevari libraries, which were quite few and mostly pertaining to history and warfare.

As a Coór'hém, the information here was valuable, but Viresse wished to learn of more natural things. As her own society had proven - things come and go with the twist of a blade. She had shrugged off studies of death and malice to learn of Life and Nature, which boggled her parents immensely, but they pretended to understand and allowed her to continue. By the age of 40, the studies Viresse partook in dropped her rank in the Quiet Death clan immensely, and was bested several times by younger elves.

The Love for Books. To save what honor her parents had as well as fulfill her own wishes, Viresse left the Sevari capital and the Coór'hém alltogether. At 45 she travelled to Fullanwooth - a place where she would be accepeted considering her drowish heritage. In the beginning of her stay, she visited libraries and wandered the forests, still educating herself though with out any money. She knew that soon she would have to earn wages to continue living in Fullanwooth.

Viresse went to one of her favorite libraries to see if she could take a book-keeping job. After much persuading (and a small threat made by Viresse) she was hired. While Viresse worked, she perused what books she could while she filed, ordered, retrieved and dusted all manners of text. She found that many of her favorite books were in an odd language that she could only begin to comprehend. But the pictures were glorious, and she saw all manner of folks within the pages, some of which looked to be of drowish lineage.

The Bookmaster - slightly afraid of his dow apprentice and fearing a dropoff in visitors, suggested to Viresse that she attend a School of Knowledge. Viresse was surprised, she had not known of one in Fullanwooth. They made agreements to allow Viresse to work while she schooled (therefore able to pay for her courses) and attended the School of Ames in Fullanwooth at the age of 50.

The School of Ames. At the School of Ames, Viresse did not delve into one type of subject - she wished to know as much as possible. Her focus would continually shift from nature to language, from peoples to races, so on and so forth. She learned very much, and was pleased to know that by her 45th year of attendance (at the age of a young elven 95), she was respected and queried by many of the teachers of the institution. By the time she finally left the School of Ames on her Centennial, she knew most of the natural Flora and Fauna of Nybelmar, could speak and read Tharian, and grasped Santharian Elvish (which was a fair amount different from Nybelmar Elvish, especially Drowish) and knew a substantial amount of Nybelmar tribes, of their people and of their politics.

Viresse, feeling quite proud of her accomplishments and knowledge, decided to move further in her education. She took a short trip back to Sevari, to inform her mother Ahmán (her father had been bested and killed several years earlier) that she wished to be schooled further and was going to Santharia. Ahmán was confused by this preposition - why go there, if one can just stay in Nybelmar?

Viresse listened to her mother's arguments, and agreed to stay for some time, but staying away from the politics of the Coór'hém. She learned slowly as she stayed in Sevari, and lived a relatively calm life for about 20 years. But soon, Viresse's drive for knowledge pushed her away from the limited world of the Sevari. She left home at the age of 123 - her plans to go to Sarvonia beginning to come into fruition.

The Call of Sarvonia. The first sea travel for Viresse was quite rough. She had a hard time keeping food down her throat, and had never been on a boat before. Most of her time was spent in the galley within her bunk, or leaning over the rail. She got a mild food illness, but it resolved itself within days of going ashore.

Viresse finally reached Sarvonia at the age of 125, at the Sea Port of Strata. The heat was relatively difficult for her to handle, and the quickly began to travel north. To keep track of what she had learned in her travels, she wrote in a journal - of things she had seen and learned, and of encounters with people and various factions. These journals became integral to her later studies.

In Bardavos she halted for some time, taking up learning in the School of the Quill, as well as a small stint in the School of the Colors. She spent a good 20 years in tutelage there. While immersive in its studies, Viresse never seemed to get on top of things as she had in Nybelmar. She felt challenged in the Bardavos schools, and she adored it.

The Santharian Compendium. In 1612, Viresse heard rumors of a book being compiled by the King of Santharia, Mardan. It was to research all the topics of the world- politics and arts, tribes and nature... the things that Viresse had been enamored of since her youth. She felt compelled to become a part of this project, and left Bardavos hastily to meet with the staff entitled to realize the idea.

In 1615, Viresse presented herself to the staff (under particularly heavy guard due to her drowish heritage) as a resource for the Compendium. She outlined her knowledge and teachings, and even presented one of her journals. However, Mardan stalled in allowing Viresse entry into the project. For two years Viresse asked Mardan entrance, and eventually he did let her into the project. Viresse, upon entering into the development of the Compendium, turned to the library chambers to change her journals into productive Compendium entries. That process took 5 years, with several travels into the forests and past treading grounds to gather research she had originally not noted. Several times her life had been threatened on these travels, but her uniqueness (as of not being one of the Eophyrhim indeed confused people) did save her hide, as fear usually outranked anger.

At the age of 157, Viresse returned to Nybelmar, to research her own home and tribes. The boat ride was a little better this time around - she was able to stay on deck in the day-time, and learned a great deal about the Sea from deckhands - even picking up some mermish.

Further Travels. Viresse felt she needed a small vacation and the return to her homelands were very soothing. While her mother had passed on, the Quiet Death clan recognized her and welcomed her. They even attemped to bring her back into the fold, but many Coór'hém realized that she was no longer of the clan mentally. They left her alone to do her work.
 
Instead of returning straight to Sarvonia, Viresse took a detour to Aeruillin. She took up residence among the Aeolrhan for a short time, and researched them extensively. She noted this as being some of the oddest years of her life. When she felt she had enough material for an entry, she left Aeruillin. As in recurrence of her first trip, she docked in Strata and travelled north to turn in what entries she had done.

Since 1627, Viresse has travelled most of southern Sarvonia, researching the continent and creating entries for the Compendium. Her drowish lineage is cheerfully overlooked by many of the other copendium contribuitors - creating bonding friendships with the Ylfferhim Avennía "Wren" Asaiá, and the human writer Dalá Valannía. Viresse currently resides in Seraia.

Importance. Being one of the few drow Compendium writers, the Ifér'hém Vir'es (called Viresse by many) has become a fastidious researcher and artist for the Santharian Compendium.