Post by General Raulik on Jan 29, 2020 17:48:10 GMT -5
Galeran DuCortois
Early Life
Not much is known of Galeran's childhood, except that he was born into the DuCortois merchant family in the city of Athkatla. At a very young age, probably in large part due to his auspicious lineage as an aasimar, Galeran was adopted into the church of Lathander, where he received meager accommodations at his new home in the Dome of the Rose. It was there that he learned of the gods and the divine, and began education to become an acolyte in the service of Lathander. As it became clear, however, that he had much greater aptitude for physicality and tactics than the wisdom and patience that would be expected by the clergy, Galeran began training in service to the Brotherhood of the Glorious Sun. By them he was taught the art of war and the importance of strict adherence to the teachings of Lathander, and the necessity of glorifying him through worldly deeds. When he came of age, Galeran became apprenticed to a traveling knight named Ralon Blackwell who hailed from Rhyester's Matins in Silverymoon. His early adulthood was unremarkable except for a chance meeting with a young half-elf named Avelyn Vadithas - a budding sorceress and student at Arkhen's Invocatorium. The two became fast friends, and then more; spending together as much time as they could whenever Galeran and Sir Blackwell were not traveling.
Crisis of Faith
For as long as she had been studying the arcane, Avelyn always had a thirst for knowledge only barely constrained by morality; though this was easy enough to overlook for the love-struck Galeran. By the time he had concluded his time as Sir Blackwell's squire and took his own oaths of knighthood, Galeran and Avelyn were betrothed to be married. For two short years, life was wonderful; Galeran would go on quests at the behest of the Brotherhood and always return to Avelyn's loving embrace, while she meanwhile pursued her studies and became tenured as a professor of transmutational principles at the Invocatorium. Unbeknowst to her fiancee, however, Avelyn had begun to further her power by delving into forbidden tomes deep within the bowels of the Invocatorium archives. It was there that she discovered something which would alter the course of both of their lives forever. Whether it was a profound glimpse into the future or an unknowable truth which drove her mad, it cannot be said - but it drove Avelyn to travel to the manor of a noble family and blanket it in a torrent of arcane fire, resulting in the deaths of everyone trapped inside.
Just returning from a quest, Galeran was quickly upon the scene and immediately took Avelyn as a prisoner in the name of the Brotherhood, seeking to shield her from the Spellguard and the penalty for her crime, which was death. Not wanting the political consequences of such a standoff, the local Brotherhood hierarchy ordered him to give her over to the authorities for sentencing, but Galeran resisted. Struggling to understand the motives behind his lover's actions, he took Evelyn into hiding and sent a desperate plea to the High Morninglord of Lathander asking to reverse the Brotherhood's command, to commit resources to finding the truth of the situation, for Avelyn surely was not beyond redemption. The reply came quickly and was simple: Hand over Avelyn to the Spellguard for a fair trial, or his own brothers of the Order would be forced to track her down and slay her for murder. Feeling out of options and facing the implied threat of excommunication, Galeran relented, and brought Avelyn in to face the authorities. As he feared, the trial was immediate and the proceedings short - no meaningful attempt was made to defend Avelyn or come upon her side of the story. That evening, Galeran watched his life's light burn before his eyes.
It was in that moment that Galeran's faith was shattered. His pleas had gone unheeded and his prayers fallen on deaf ears. Lathander had repaid a lifetime of devotion with apathy. The Dawnbringers who sung sermons of mercy and redemption had none to spare for their own flock. And the knighthood to which Galeran had sworn is oaths had proven themselves to be little more than a pack of beasts ready to hunt down and destroy one of their own. The following morning at first light - so he was certain that Lathander would be watching - Galeran shattered the blade by which he had been knighted and rescinded all of his knightly oaths, declaring fealty to no man or god or nation, but Righteousness alone.
Galeran had expected to be struck down in that moment, but he was not. For hours he waited to be stripped of his powers, or for Lathander's divine justice, but none came. He had cast down and cursed the name of all that he once swore to, and... nothing. Finally, he understood - this was the ultimate cruelty: to be unworthy even of retribution, and denied the an end to his suffering. No longer willing to be bound by the whims of an uncaring clergy or unfeeling deity, he began a life as a mercenary seeking to end the most vile and dangerous foes. In this way, he hoped, he could at least do some good in the world before death takes him.
The Feil
You learned of him after dispatching a band of Orcs led by an Ogre Magi whom almost killed you. He carried with him a story of a child lost in a cemetery but fed by the corpses there. In time this eternal cemetery became his home and finally his resting place. He lived his whole life in this cemetery that had no end, where the souls of all mortals came. He was their majordomo, their friend. Upon his death the souls of the cemetery grew restless but the story ends there. This story was called The Untamed and after reading a child came to you in a dream and offered you what you couldn't have in life, if you served him. He promised he was not interested in your eternal soul, or that he would sell you to demons or devils.
You woke up the next day after saying "I'm down" and the story was finished. The child was no more and the spirits were restless. They shattered the frail barrier between death and life. This thin line is called The Feil. Within the Feil powerful creatures devoured the spirits and took them from the cycle of life. This had to end. The spirits decided to find a mortal and in bargain a piece of his life would be used to close The Feil and have The Untamed child be reborn. While there was a champion in the mortal realm, his soul would fuel this connection, keeping the spirits safe from The Feil, and the cycle of souls untouched.
The Untamed explained your lover's soul went into The Feil, but before being devoured he managed to save it. Gnawed and hurting the soul would not be completely healed until 200 years had passed. So The Untamed promised that when the time had passed he would collect your soul and hers and send them back into the cycle to be bound for eternity. So while you might not be able to meet her as Galeran, you will be with her in time. But you must give The Untamed your life so that he can protect The Feil.
Notable Items:
Galeran still carries the hilt of a shattered longsword with him. Both sides of the hilt carry a holy emblem, Lathander on one side and Amaunutor on the other. It was a gift from Sir Blackwell, the blade he was knighted with, and the sword he shattered when he lost his faith.
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