Eaves is a Mountaineer and was a moderator at the Basecamp 33 Forum. He is the current de facto leader of Basecamp 34.
Personality
A Gossmere, Eaves is the heart of the Mountaineers. Kind, funny, light-hearted, and compassionate. Qualities that are in stark contrast to his upbringing. His parents were found unfit to care for him as a toddler so his uncle raised him as his own until he died when Eaves was sixteen. He’s been on his own since then. But that tough midwestern childhood never hardened him. Now in his late 20s, he still sees the best in people, even when it hurts him.
Biography
During The Monarch Papers, Eaves worked in a customer service call center, listening to hundreds of people’s stories every day. Like Endri, the Mountaineers are his family, but part of him is still trying to find someone to look up to who can tell him who to be, and how to find his place in the world.
He’s quick to make friends and builds lasting bonds easily. But he worries if he sometimes uses human connection as a way to protect him from the truth, that no one can tell him who he’s supposed to be, but him.
On the Basecamp 33 site, Eaves managed the Weekly Recaps as well as the mailing list for the Mountaineers. Eaves was one of the “core mountaineers” recruited by Ascender, and one of the youngest guild masters of the group. Initially, he spent his time moderating at the Basecamp 33 Forum, but eventually switched roles with Endri to take on the Weekly Recaps. He acted as the first point of contact for all new Mountaineers, sending them a welcome message after they completed the test at Ackerly Green’s Guide to Magiq.
When Ascender left the forums after the events of Fragment Three, Eaves responded with confusion and hurt, saying “So he’s gone for two weeks and I’m a guild master now? Am I supposed to be doing anything differently? Am confused.” Eaves continued to try to reach out to Ascender for months, hearing nothing from him, which only increased his frustration. This culminated in the post, “A Letter to Our Leader,” in which Eaves sent an open response to Ascender’s disappearance.
After Ascender responded that he was never coming back to the Basecamp, Eaves was saddened but took it in stride. “It’s just weird, you know? And sad. The Mountaineers have been the closest thing to a family that I ever had, but everybody’s drifting away, doing their own thing. And I don’t really know what I’m supposed to be doing. I don’t really know what my thing is. Eh, don’t worry, I’m good. Don’t freak out.”
Eaves continued to diligently work on the recaps, popping in on the forums from time to time to give encouragement. His last post was The Week of May 28th in which he noted that he hadn’t been available due to some issues in his personal life. He also lamented the death of Itsuki, stating that “Ascender found me, but Itsuki made me feel like I belonged somewhere for the first time in my life. I’ll never forget that.”
In Endri’s post alerting the Mounties of a new Deeds Done post, she noted that Eaves had been AFK for several weeks and that she would be filling in for him at the Basecamp blog. In a comment on “The Week of July 23rd” Endri noted that “the last time I heard from Eaves he was going on a trip somewhere with Bash but wouldn’t say where. I just have hope that if they were in any kind of trouble they’d let us know.”
The Search for Magiq
In the summer of 2019, the Mountaineers learned that their mysterious contact person from the enigmatic “searchers” was Eaves, speaking to them from a place called the Sanctuary, where those who had found magic could gather and live in safety under the guidance of the herald. Eaves was eventually able to circumvent the “leaden veil” the Mountaineers were placed under and post directly to the forums again.
After the Sanctuary was threatened by the Storm, they were forced to retreat to a secret location in the mountains of Hungary, an old castle called Lion’s Heart. It was there that the Sanctuary decided to rename themselves Basecamp 34, with Eaves as their new de facto leader. Eaves continues to serve as the go-between for the Mountaineers and other familiar characters who are still obscured from the forum, such as Martin Rank, Portencia, Alison, and all the members of Basecamp 34.