Name: Carl Age: 41? Experience: Been a gamer since original D&D. Time Zone and Availability: CST Most times after 8:00pm Wed,Thur,Fri,Sat,Sun. C haracter's name: Servant Race: Elan Class: Forsaker Background Story: PROLOGUE
Davis Altoon was a powerful young man. His noble title
was put to good use as a Baron. He was rising in the circles of power,
doing what was necessary to advance his career and the fortunes of his
house. His power base grew quickly due to the help of his Regent
Tavin. Tavin was a man of magic, a shaper of the weave. He used his
considerable talents to advance the fortunes of Davis Altoon, evening
conspiring with him to murder Davis' father to promote the young man to the
head of his family. Due to Tavin's influence, spies, and magical arts,
Davis Altoon soon became one of the most influential Barons on the
council. As the other Barons tried to move against Davis, they realized
that they must remove his protector, Tavin. Spending enormous amounts of
time and money, they formed a secret coalition to gather evidence against the
dark wizard. At last, armed with their proof, they were going to reveal
it at the Barons' yearly council, thereby striking a mortal blow to the Altoon
family. Tavin's spies, however, ferreted out the plan and came to Davis
with the information to develop a counter plan.
Knowing that some of the more moral members of the Barons' council were going
to use Regent Tavin's dark studies to sink Davis in the council standings and
advance themselves, he preempted such an investigation by outing the man
himself. After years of closely working together, Davis knew his Regent's
secrets, the meeting places, the dark works he had done. With the
statement that Davis Altoon was going to remove corruption from the land and he
was beginning by getting his own house in order, he revealed that he had found
out his own Regent was a practitioner of the Dark arts and had been plotting to
take over the Altoon family. Tavin was outraged that he should be thrown
to the dogs and from his circle of judgement, he vowed before all the Barons
that he would have his revenge on Davis Altoon, be it in this life or the
next. Davis had prepared a highly paid assassin to deal with Tavin in his
prison cell. When news reached Davis that Tavin had been killed by
another prisoner while awaiting trial, his relief was profound. Two
problems solved and a kingdom within his grasp. Unknown to Davis,
the body that was removed from the prison tower was NOT that of his one time
confidant, but the very assassin that was sent to deal with Tavin. Tavin
made good his escape..............
BACKSTORY
Jarus Altoon was a talented young man, but not overly so. He was nothing
special at swordplay and he tired of learning tactics and warfare
training. Though he enjoyed his families
money quite liberally. His station as
the 3rd son of the Altoon family allowed him the privilege of learning what he
wanted and the freedom to apply it how he willed. He was always smaller
than his brothers and as the third son received only cursory attention from his
father Davis. This always grated on him as he craved his father’s
attention as do all young boys. But
father always seemed to favor the other two.
Being that they were only two years apart and Jarus was 5 years behind
them, he always seemed left out of the grooming that was done. He was always the baby, too young for this,
too weak for that, “wait until you’re older”, “you can’t do what your brothers
do”. He might have accepted that lot in
life and been another ne’er do well 3 rd son of a noble had it not
been for the timely arrival of an old hedge wizard to the Barony. This man, old Sammis as he was called,
befriended the friendless baron’s son and offered himself to Davis as a teacher
for the boy. The boy it turned out, had
some talent in him to manipulate the weave and old Sammis would teach him the
basics in exchange for a place to live and the right to sell his services as a
local hedge wizard. He would never be able
to teach the child great magics, but he could certainly cover all the basics
with him. Upon Baron Davis’ agreement, old Sammis took the young boy
under his wing and began to give him instruction into all things magical. He offered these lessons ostensibly to curry
favor with the great house of Altoon, but Jarus cared not for the old man’s
reasons. Little did he know, but these
lessons had a dark purpose. Slowly but surely, old Sammis was setting the
stage. He fed the young boy's desire for attention and respect. Ignored by his family, Jarus looked elsewhere
for connection and acceptance. He found
this with old Sammis. As Jarus’ skills
with magic grew, Sammis colored his perception of Jarus’ family. “They never respected you”, “They can’t
understand your ability and they will fear it”, “You have 10 times the worth of
your brothers and they will notice and begin to hate you for it”, “Your father
will realize that he has made a grave mistake when you show your mastery of the
weave”, “You will blossom as others finally recognize you as the only truly
capable heir to the family Altoon”. As
Sammis turned Jarus against his brothers, so too did he fill Jarus’ heart with
the poison of power and feed the young man’s ego.
As his skill manipulating the weave developed, Jarus’ hunger
for knowledge and power grew. He would never inherit the Altoon family
crest, not with his brothers in the way. But this, THIS was a way to
limitless power. It would dwarf whatever meager opportunities lay at the
head of a paltry noble title. He would reach out to the powers that be
and would know TRUE power. Those who warned against such things did so
out of fear. They knew they could not control the magic and so they
turned others from its path in order to keep the power for themselves.
Jarus knew that all it required was the right rituals and the will to make it
happen. With this, he would have all the
riches and power that a person could want.
Everyone would HAVE to respect him then.
They could no longer dismiss him as “the Baron’s extra son”. He would have won.
Using his magical knowledge, Jarus opened a portal to an
ugly place and summoned an unspeakable horror.
It was through this method that he made pacts and promises in exchange
for pledges of power and knowledge. His
road was set. Knowing he could control
the powers he summoned, he reveled in his new found source of information.
With these benefactors, Jarus drank in what they gave
him. He was a smart young man and had a
powerful will to succeed. As he learned,
others around him could see a change. As
they mentioned these things to Jarus, he could see the envy in their eyes and
could hear the fear in their voices.
They obviously would want to keep him from reaching his potential. The worst of all were his brothers. He could positively FEEL their animosity and
knew that unless he took steps, they would be his downfall.
They were crafty, no one else seemed to see the machinations
in which they were engaging, making him look bad in front of father to enhance their
own position. Always showing off the
things they were good at while placing him in the most embarrassing situations
possible. He knew things were bad but
one day as they were sparring in the courtyard, there was a “slip of the
sword”, and Jarus was almost impaled. Of
course everyone thought it was an accident, but Jarus KNEW that his brother had
tried to kill him. With that
realization, he knew he must take steps to protect himself. Going to old Sammis with his fears, his old
teacher guided the young man, always feeding his fears and paranoia. That, accompanied by his descent into
darkness through his pacts made with summoning demons twisted the young man’s
heart and soul.
This lifestyle
progressed and worsened until Jarus ended up eliminating his two brothers by
“accidental”means. When his father
realized the truth and confronted his son, old Sammis was there to witness his
triumph. The vengeance of Tavin against
Davis Altoon was complete. As Sammis
revealed himself as the long disappeared ex Regent Tavin, only then did Jarus
understand. His father’s house broken,
and he the instrument of it all, the look on his father’s face as the old man
understood what had been done to him. It
all came crashing down around Jarus as he realized what he had become. In that moment he lashed out against old
Sammis and summoned a demon. Unbeknownst
to him, however, Sammis (Tavin), had suborned that particular demon and
corrupted the summoning, causing the demon to turn on the Altoons. As the demon ripped through his father,
Jarus’ mind broke. The power he had
sought, the control he thought he had, all illusions crafted by an evil
mind. Everything he had supposedly done
to enhance his position in the world had led him inexorably toward this
ultimate conclusion, he would be the instrument of destruction against his own
family line. All because he sought to
build himself up and listened to temptation rather than the sound counsel of
love and humility. In this, his most
anguished moment he called upon the universe to take him if it would and let
his evil actions be erased. To this
humble, repentant, and honest prayer, the light responded.
Jarus awoke in the presence of the light, a radiance so
powerful and bright it could not be looked upon. This was the light of the world and to feel
its caress could bring the greatest joy or the most horrible pain depending on
the heart of the individual. Faced with
his past evils, Jarus faced an agony he had never known. He could not bear to be in the presence of
this pure goodness. He begged for
forgiveness and knew he would never be worthy of it when a voice from the
brilliance spoke. Jarus would be given
an opportunity to redeem his immortal soul, but he would have to give up
everything that he had sought in his attempt to create his own greatness. He would lose his very identity as a servant
of the Light, until he proved himself worthy to stand in its presence.
As he had sought dominion of magic to propel him on the road
to power, so now would he have to forsake this same power completely in order
to draw upon the blessings of the light.
As he had consorted with the most heinous evils in his
working of dark magic, so now would he be required to root out supernatural
evil wherever possible and protect humanity, the very race he had sought to
dominate.
As he had sought riches and power, now he must forsake
completely the material things of the world.
If he could resist the temptation to follow after these things, the
Light would then infuse him with power, and let him shine as a beacon for the
world.
As he had sought evil knowledge in order to control others
and raise himself up, so now would he be placed in a time and place where he
knew nothing, yet he must uphold the ideals of the light and protect the world
from darkness and evil.
As he had sought to make himself a great name and stand
above others at any expense, he must now give up his very identity to be a
servant of the Light. No longer would
his name be his to use, he would be a nameless champion of goodness. Not a mere servant of some petty deity, he
would have to rise above such things. He
would serve the Light of the World itself and all that is good and noble,
without regard to pantheon or portfolio.
This was his chance at redemption, this was his chance to
atone…………..
He wakes up as a young man with nothing to his name and only
muted memories of his past life. He
remembers enough to understand very clearly how others end up on the road they
walk. This gives his almost supernatural
insight into the workings of others motivations (hence his very high wisdom
score). Having touched great evil he can
clearly empathize with those who travel that path.
He knows not what the Light has in store for him yet he will
walk this path in faith that he was placed here to fulfill his mission of
shining light into dark places.
