Description
Standing with impeccable posture it would be easy to mistake this man for a
Voralian City peacekeeper. His heavy plate is polished to perfection and it
is covered with an ivory linen tabard with flashes of rich gilded embroidery
that is kept as flawless as possible. A thick gray cloak drapes over his
back and is secured to the front by the phoenix engraved besagew roundels.
Two short silver chains secure two books to his belt, keeping them always
within reach. You notice they are a thick book of prayers and the Paladin
Code. His thick brown hair is cut short and neatly combed to the side, while
a serious frown crests the forehead above his gray eyes. Cleanly shaven, his
square jaw juts out proudly and in defiance.
Role
MEMORIES - FARMLANDS
Added Mon Dec 7 14:03:33 2020 at level 1:
What darkness can hide behind poverty and ignorance? What terror is instilled
in people when they don't have the capacity to comprehend? What depths of
depravity are they wont to reach in such blindness? "Hyperactive. Disruptive.
Violent." How could a mother speak those words about her child?
"Demon-possessed. Cursed." How could a failure of a priest claim that as a
cause? What father would witness his own son be subject to suffer an exorcism,
and when no demon comes forth still declare that there is no recourse but to
take his own child into the woods to be put down as though he is some rabid
dog? How often do people lie to themselves only to make excuses and cover for
their own inability to cope? Maybe all people live lies, too afraid to admit
to themselves what they truly are. THAT is the ultimate corruption.
I remember only short vignettes from my early childhood. I remember the
exuberance and energy of a young boy. I remember the strength, quickness and
curiosity of the young that have yet to learn fear. I remember the death of an
uncooperative cat. A small sin, but one that led to a night of absolute
terror. I remember the frenzied chanting of the town priest, his sweaty lips,
his fat bald face, the trembling double chin. I remember his horrible breath,
stinking of rot and cheap alcohol as he shouted in my face. I remember his
anger when no demon came compelled to rush out of me at his holy words. I
remember what he attempted next. And what he attempted after that. And all
that followed in the night. I remember praying.
I remember the woods, a grown man broken by guilt as tears streamed down his
cheeks. Bawling like a lost child, the strength gone from the grip on the
handle of his axe. I remember him claiming righteousness but abandoning a
small child none the less. His son, his blood.
I remember learning fear. A night of dark woods and empty fields. And I
remember a dark city that I saw as hope for salvation. I remember the long
shadows of the city's alleys consume me and give me nothing but despair and
starvation. I remember the pain, the acute sense of injustice, and that is
where my memory starts to fade.
MEMORIES - ARDENWOOD MANOR
Added Mon Dec 7 14:04:27 2020 at level 1:
I do not remember the kind soul that took pity to a homeless child, the one
that took me to the Ardenwood Manor. I wish I could recollect the stranger's
face. I wish I could meet them, and thank them, for they surely saved my life.
But there is no hope in that any longer. If there was any record of the
stranger's identity, it has been lost in the fire that consumed the Manor.
I do not remember much of my time at Ardenwood Manor. I presume it is normal
for all people not to remember some parts of their lives. I remember dreams.
Dreams of immense power and destruction. Dreams of demons trembling at my
feet. Pleasing dreams. Dreams that would banish fear. Ones that would make me
feel faster, stronger, bigger, more terrifying. Apocalyptic dreams in which
fire and lightning rained from the sky and the town that banished me burned.
From all of those, I would wake up smiling.
MEMORIES - HOME
Added Mon Dec 7 14:05:19 2020 at level 1:
My memory seems more accurate at a slightly older age. I have clear memories
of seeing the jewel that is to become my home. The shining walls, the bridge
of the Eastern Gate of Hope and the Square of the Unbreakable Blade beyond it.
I remember the older half-elven couple, educated and well off, sitting next to
me. I remember their kind eyes and accepting smiles. I remember the pendants
with a broken looking glass hanging around their necks, swaying in soothing
motions as the carriage rolled along the road home. I learned and grew to
admire their kindness, compassion, understanding and forgiveness. I grew to
love them and they have replaced the place in each child's heart where the
birth parents ought to be.
Under their loving roof, they provided for me what every child needs. Love,
constancy, acceptance and security. Their demands were always just, and the
punishment was never cruel. They showed me a world in which fear can almost be
forgotten. They showed me a goodness to which someone could aspire to. They
are godsent. They are the Light.
MEMORIES - THE VORALIAN ORDER
Added Mon Dec 7 14:06:22 2020 at level 1:
From the moment I met my parents, the dreams never returned. I still dreamed,
but those were dreams of far less dramatic proportions and all of them are now
forgotten. Father (Elyas Moonrunner) was a ranger in his youth, he would
frequently take me small game hunting, sometimes even as far as the hills
surrounding Tir-Talath. At other times we would go fishing along the banks of
Voralian's Tears. He would even let me club the fish with a small cudgel so
that we would show them mercy and end their suffering. I always loved our time
outside the city and on our way back I would incessantly make him promise over
and over that we would go out again soon.
My mother (Amrunel Everglade) had inherited an alchemical laboratory and a
prospering business within the city proper. She would frequently take me with
her about town and whenever she would need to visit the guilds on business. I
loved every moment of it. Within the guilds there were always new people, all
of them with a new story about monsters and heroes to tell. Whenever we left
the paladin guild my mother would smile at me and nod toward the guild guard.
"Look at how strong you've become," she would say with that kind voice full of
love. "You would look so fetching in a uniform. When you grow up, if you want,
you could become just like them." And so I did.
A dark trepidation gripped me the day when I joined the Voralian Order. I
could hear the dreams call out to me, the promise of endless power and
ecstatic violence pulling at my soul. My hands shook as I put my mark in the
guild's ledger as I was half expecting the holy book to smite me for making a
fraudulent claim to purity. It didn't. My parents were beaming with pride. It
made me cry, seeing them so happy. I would prove that I am good. I would prove
that I am worth loving.
DAPHEDEE
Added Mon Dec 7 14:07:03 2020 at level 1:
Are we who we are born to be, or are we that which we aspire to be? Or do we
exist in a limbo, always torn between the two? I do not know who I am. I know
what I aspire to be. I know that I cannot stand injustice and feel that all
injustices must be rectified. Maybe, through this struggle, I will find out. I
fear the Gods. I fear that they will judge me for my dreams and fantasies and
not for my aspiration and conduct. My only path lies with the Goddess of
Flaws. The one that can pierce through the veil of lies and see us for what we
truly are, fears, flaws, aspirations, all of it. With her blessings alone can
I face this dilemma and through her guidance alone can I reach for victory.
SUMMARY - "YOU ARE DROWNING IN THE LIGHT"
Added Thu Dec 24 16:07:35 2020 at level 51:
- Ahrloire has met with most of the children from the Manor. Most of them seem
to feel some kinship to one another, yet this is not the case for Ahrloire save
for few exceptions.
- From the small amount that he remembers he feels the wrongs done to the weaker
children are his to rectify. He projects on them what he sees as injustice and
he projects his experience with fear on them as well. Because of this he will
do what he can to help Nastrella, Feldscren, Andraste and Dollerveim. And he
is curious what type of a man Erithan has grown into.
- For the same reasons he despises Vrimold (the prick) and even though he
suspects Tristhana (the witch) might not be lying about all the things that she
has suffered, her admission to having poisoned the first people to show her
kindness makes him angry.
- He is cautious about Umbrand. He understands that he may be a different man
now, but if the accusations Tristhana has leveled against him, of torturing her
in the basement of the Manor, turn out to be true, Ahrloire believes it will be
his duty to rectify that injustice as well.
- Some of the children think that there was something sinister about the Manor.
Ahrloire plans to find out the truth behind that claim. What he knows for
certain is that something needs to be rectified, either the injustice of abuse
of children in the Manor, or the incurred slander on a good man's name.
- He is awestruck by Daphedee. She navigates morality with ease and is wise
beyond words. He tries with all that he has to understand what she is trying to
teach him, but it frustrates him to no end that he is failing.
- She had sent him to Gaspare, and his reception was not what he expected. "You
are not drowning in darkness. You are drowning in the Light." said the lich,
and the words keep echoing in his head. If he was sure that this was the case,
he tells himself, he would not resist breathing.
- The dreams and the dark urges that he had thought were in his past have
returned. He is frightened by it and what it says about him. He instinctively
ascribes blame to others. It is either Umbrand's doing, or Tristhana's, or some
other external force that he can raise a sword against. He intends to fight,
for as long as there is a breath in him. He is good, he tells himself, and he
will be worth loving.
- SUMMARY - FORTRESS - LOVE - HELP FROM OTHERS
Added Thu Jan 14 14:46:32 2021 at level 51:
- Ahrloire is not a reliable narrator. He doesn't lie, but his is a subjective
rather than an objective truth.
FORTRESS
- Ahrloire is convinced that the reason why he was removed from the Fortress is
because he wouldn't be cowed by Umbrand and Ganndretia to hide the truth.
- He is convinced that he was a shining example of a Squire and that he had
never broken the Code or the Creed.
- Outside of the Fortress it is harder for him to follow the Maran as an example
and make the right choices. His grievances will always fester with time.
- When Azorinne tried to explain to him the reasons of his dismissal he heard
only the "you should have been thrown out the moment you threatened Umbrand with
physical violence", which vindicates his side of the story that for refusing to
hide truth he is seen as a paladin without virtue, while Umbrand is celebrated
as an Elder Prophet. Most of all, he sees this as a declaration from the Light
that it isn't your actions that speak for your character, but dreams, thoughts,
even words spoken in anger are seen as far more important.
- All of this is a personal slight against Ahrloire. He is wronged by Azorinne
and Umbrand, and it is a grave injustice.
WORTHY OF LOVE
- 'Worthy of love' is never romantic or sexual in context. When he uses the term
it can refer to some of the following:
- Worthy of love by the Light. He sees himself as worthy for his years in the
Brigade, never harming the Light, all of his actions and having resisted all the
temptations he did. He feels slighted as he sees others of his cohort bask in
newfound blessings and powers each day.
- Worthy of love by his parents. His adopted parents love him, it is his own
sense of self-hate over the darkness that is within him that will never allow
him to see himself as worthy of such love.
- Worthy of love by the Goddess. When Daphedee told him that she could help him
but doesn't want to, it hurt Ahrloire deeply. He will never admit to it, nor
will he talk about it. He doesn't see it as a guidance that he is to
find help from other sources, he sees it as a declaration of him being
unworthy.
HELP FROM OTHERS
- He doesn't think that mortals can help him with anything that is troubling
him, and he doesn't trust other people. The good ones will judge him, he thinks,
and the bad ones will just abuse whatever it is that he would reveal.
- He opened up fully, by Daphedee's suggestion, to Derrideigh. As he was
discussing, for the first time and in great detail his childhood, she had to
immediately depart. Ahrloire sees this is another intentional slight, and as
indicative of how the Acolytes are never there when you need them, but always
there when you don't want them. As Daphedee told him "you should take help when
it is given, some doors open only once", he is convinced that he did ask for
help and it was not given and that door he will never open again.
SUMMARY - DAPHEDEE - ARDENWOOD MANOR - DESPAIR
Added Thu Jan 14 14:48:44 2021 at level 51:
DAPHEDEE
- He loves the Goddess, but feels like she doesn't care about him and doesn't
understand him.
- She tells him that he doesn't understand what adversity is when he feels every
breath of his life had been spent in calamity and distress.
- She repeats that he is dense and doesn't understand what she is telling him,
and he agrees. He hates himself for that failure. A failed priest, those deserve
only death.
- She keeps telling him that she doesn't care about his aspiration to be good.
To this, he is stumped by the question "What use is prayer then?". The dark
corruption of his dreams does not require divinity.
- She sent him to the Lich to hear that he is drowning in Light something he
disagrees with. She told him to look for other allies, there are none. She told
him to ask for help from the Acolytes, none was found there. She tells him that
he is blind and stupid. Maybe the lesion is one ought to rely only on oneself.
RELATING TO THE MANOR
- He hates Umbrand. He wants to see him suffer.
- He is in conflict with Dollerveim because he keeps asking for more time to
find out whatever is to be found out. Ahrloire thinks that attitude would see
most of them dead by old age or failing health before anything is brought to
light.
- He doesn't trust Haelior and the others. They keep talking about power and
freedom and promise greatness, but whenever pressed for specifics, they offer
only sophistry. They know nothing and they are trying to use whatever
misinformation they have to learn more. He would never be a pawn. All the others
are hedging, waiting for Daphedee knows what, non-committal, weird, silent,
complacent. It seems only Ahrloire is upset over the injustice done to them.
- Ahrloire sees himself as betrayed and abandoned by the Light, without any true
allies in sight and feeling impotent to right the wrongs that are around him. He
finds that he no longer cares for the holy war. There is no sense in bleeding
for the Light that rejects you. He looks about him, and terror grips him. He
knows that feeling. He remembers the streets of the dark city. He can see the
incoming cloud of despair. And he also knows that beyond that dreadful fog lies
the dark rapture.
PK Wins
Dec 7, 2020 |Lv 13|The Eastern Road|Cejea vs 1: [13] Ahrloire (100%, flamestrike)
Dec 17, 2020|Lv 50|The Redhorn Mountains|Ahinu vs 2: [50] Ahrloire (79%, defilement), [46] Minverna (20%)
Dec 29, 2020|Lv 51|The Inn of the Eternal Star|Cejea vs 1: [51] Ahrloire (100%, strike of faith)
Jan 1, 2021 |Lv 51|The Redhorn Mountains|Ghigasa vs 2: [51] Ahrloire (84%, strike of purity), [51] Minverna (15%)
Jan 3, 2021 |Lv 51|Fortress of Light|Zraldar vs 3: [51] Minverna (15%), [51] Ganndretia (26%), [51] Ahrloire (58%, beating)
Jan 3, 2021 |Lv 51|Mount Kiadana-Rah|Toulouia vs 2: [51] Ahrloire (21%), [51] Ganndretia (78%, heavenly wrath)
Jan 7, 2021 |Lv 51|North Sutherspring Road|Vrimold vs 1: [51] Ahrloire (100%, beating)
Jan 14, 2021|Lv 51|The Imperial Palace|Phelan vs 2: [51] Ahrloire (58%), [51] Minverna (41%, punch)
Jan 15, 2021|Lv 51|The Redhorn Mountains|Vizgrathol vs 6: [51] Asaigai (25%, punch), [40] Lonfedric (43%), [51] Ralon (0%), [51] Ahrloire (25%), [51] Jackra (1%), [51] Derrideigh (3%)
Feb 9, 2021 |Lv 51|Domain of Eternal Night|Haelior vs 3: [51] Nateh (0%, ), [51] Ahrloire (81%), [51] Ganndretia (18%) *Assassinated*
PK Deaths
Dec 7, 2020 |Lv 13|The Eastern Road|vs 1: [15] Vrimold (100%, slash)
Dec 8, 2020 |Lv 15|The North Road|vs 1: [15] Zorellaia (100%, molten smash)
Dec 13, 2020|Lv 39|Voralian City|vs 1: [40] Jorda (100%, punch)
Dec 17, 2020|Lv 49|Voralian City|vs 1: [51] Kithervroy (100%, claw)
Dec 25, 2020|Lv 51|Fortress of Light|vs 1: [51] Zraldar (100%, spectral javelin)
Dec 29, 2020|Lv 51|Northern Foothills|vs 2: [48] Guiburuey (72%, punch), [51] Dinrehle (27%)
Dec 30, 2020|Lv 51|Fortress of Light|vs 2: [51] Zraldar (44%, torments), [51] Vrimold (55%)
Dec 30, 2020|Lv 51|The Imperial Palace|vs 1: [51] Vrimold (100%, slash)
Dec 30, 2020|Lv 51|Bramblefield Road|vs 1: [50] Omugug (100%, defilement)
Jan 2, 2021 |Lv 51|The Redhorn Mountains|vs 1: [51] Ahinu (0%, ) *Assassinated*
Jan 3, 2021 |Lv 51|The Imperial Palace|vs 2: [51] Vrimold (64%), [51] Zraldar (35%, piercing cold)
Jan 3, 2021 |Lv 51|Voralian City|vs 1: [50] Nulgha (100%, venomous slash)
Jan 4, 2021 |Lv 51|BattleRager Village|vs 2: [51] Dinrehle (100%, disembowelment), [49] Guiburuey (0%) *Disemboweled*
Jan 4, 2021 |Lv 51|The Redhorn Mountains|vs 2: [51] Toulouia (40%), [44] Gurt (59%, cleave)
Jan 7, 2021 |Lv 51|Fortress of Light|vs 3: [51] Zraldar (17%), [50] Burzbog (25%, cleave), [51] Zodslag (56%)
Jan 7, 2021 |Lv 51|Voralian City|vs 2: [50] Nulgha (41%, chop), [51] Zraldar (58%)
Jan 10, 2021|Lv 51|Balator|vs 2: [51] Zraldar (72%, torments), [51] Jalaric (27%)
Feb 6, 2021 |Lv 51|The Imperial Palace|vs 2: [51] Ahinu (55%, claw), [51] Laq (44%)