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Brother Aeron
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APPEARANCE: Aeron’s flesh has a deathly pallor, making his grey-blue veins all the more visible. His skin clings taught to his bones, revealing a strong set of cheekbones. He wears a neatly-maintained beard that tapers to a point. The hairs on his head are a deep brown, cropped closely to his scalp. Pale, hazel eyes peer behind a sturdy brow. Aeron’s build is that of a soldier – solid and well-defined, with rough, calloused hands. His height is not altogether impressive. When clad from head to toe in his plate armor, Aeron is an awesome, and dreadful sight. His blackened armor is inlaid with symbols of Nethelin and death, from skulls and bones to hourglasses.
RACE: Human
DEITY: Nethelin
PERSONALITY: One might expect a servant of Nethelin to be exceedingly grim, but this is not the case. Aeron has a demeanor to match his god’s. In spite of his hardy appearance and profession, the Operathian is quite amicable and good-natured. Although he maintains long bouts of silence, it is not difficult at all to find him in a content mood, and he flashes smiles with ease. Perhaps it is necessary to be so affable, when tasked with dour responsibilities such as his.
Make no mistake, Aeron is a man dedicated to his cause. As a Knight of Nethelin, his duties include guarding graveyards, funeral processions, and travelling pilgrims. His is a life of constant vigilance, ensuring that the dead pass seamlessly into the realm of his god - and stay there. Aeron has a disdain for the undead and necromancers - heretics who would violate the natural ebb and flow of life and death. He believes firmly in the sanctity of this transition, and so observing proper burial rites is of utmost importance to him.
SKILLS: Masterful: Swordsmanship
Skilled: Riding, Athletics
Adept: Divine Magic, History/Lore
Novice: First Aid, Ceremony/Oration
TRAITS: Aeron has a habit of remaining calm in even dire situations. It is a rare sight to see him lose his temper, or panic. In the face of adversity, he maintains a serene control of himself, acting however he might best defuse the danger. Outside of conflict, he appears to be content, at peace with his surroundings. One might believe that he’s made his peace with death, trusting in Nethelin to safeguard his soul when his time comes. This acceptance of the inevitable may be what gives Aeron his airy demeanor.
BACKSTORY: The
Order of the Grave, more formally known as the
Brotherhood of Knights of the Grave of Nethelin and Saint Roland, is a religious Order dedicated to the god of death and the protection of the deceased. It has its origins in individuals associated with a funerary temple in the northwest of Opthelon, dedicated to Saint Roland. The temple provided services for the deceased, blessing them in rites so their souls would pass to Nethelin undisturbed. It also provided meagre protection from graverobbers.
Sometime after Aith Anur’s disaster of 1011, the organization was elevated as a religious and military order, tasked with safeguarding the deceased from necromancy, and the living from the undead. At the outbreak of the first Undying War, the Order mobilized its militant arm to safeguard Opthelon from the damned. It saw little action, with most of the fighting occurring in Melfic and Naul Rahn. Only when the waves of the second war crashed upon the south did the Order fully commit itself, joining the armies of the alliance in the heat of the conflict.
The Order of the Grave is the smallest knightly order in Opthelon; the association with Nethelin and the dead likely make it an unpopular candidate for most. Yet, it is also one of the most zealous. Most of its members are not true knights or clergymen, but laypersons who vow to carry out the Order’s missions. The Order’s warriors are broadly classified into knights and sergeants - soldiers of high and low status, respectively. Its brother-priests tend to the spiritual needs of the Order, and are usually the ones in charge of rites.
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Aeron knows nothing of his birth parents, or the rest of his family. All he’s ever known is the Order’s monastery. As a boy, all the brother-priests could say was that his parents wanted to leave him in the Order’s charge, should he become an orphan. Fate had decided that would be the case. It was the priesthood of the Order that raised and trained him to become a member when he reached adulthood. In this sense, the Order of the Grave
is Aeron’s family, his fellow peers his brothers.
The closest of Aeron’s fatherly figures was a man by the name of Bertrand, a high-ranking knight within the organization. It was his influence on the boy, and the kindness he showed him, that prompted Aeron to follow the path of the knights, rather than become a brother-priest. His parents’ status, while not the cream of the nobility, was high enough to make him eligible for knighthood. Bertrand filled his fatherless void, instructing him in the ways of the Order, and guiding his training. His tutelage included lore, histories, rituals and rites that priests would be expected to memorize, but this was supplemented with lessons in martial activity - fighting, horse riding, and exercise. Bertrand did what would be expected of a father, and in many ways, he was one to Aeron.
Aeron was born well after the War of Ruin, but by the age of twelve, the War of Perseverance began, and the warriors of the Order marched in defense of the southern nations. Too young himself to fight, but old enough to serve, Aeron assisted his mentor and other knights of Nethelin. As the war raged, he became a man, and was elevated to knighthood two years before its end, on his twenty-second birthday. He only participated in two minor battles, although he outlived Bertrand, who perished during the fighting. The death of Aeron’s tutor and father figure shook him, although he remembered what the man had always said - “We are but dust, and as dust Nethelin welcomes us.” The old knight’s lessons gave Aeron some comfort, and he took to his newfound duties as a knight with zeal - the better to honor his memory.
Now, as Duchess Ailida calls the War of Reclamation to bear, Aeron rides among her host. For the honor of the fallen and the sanctity of the dead, he hopes to undo the heresy in the north and bring stability to the souls of the deceased.
WEAPONS & ARMOR: The armor Aeron wears is a blackened suit of plate, bedecked in symbols of death and Nethelin’s domain. It creates an imposing image, contrasting with the knight’s benevolence. Despite its make, Aeron manages to walk in it with an unnerving amount of silence. His close helmet is topped with an impressive set of horns, adding height to his figure. From the ornamentation drapes a length of silk, and a tabard runs over his armored legs.
Aeron is proficient with a range of weaponry; the longsword is his principal arm of choice, and his hangs within a scabbard. The pommel is topped with an hourglass icon. He also carries a poleaxe for fighting on foot. It is a versatile weapon, combining armor penetration with the ability to trip block, disarm and entangle an adversary.
GEAR & POSSESSIONS: Aeron carries few personal effects, the most important being a chain, from which Nethelin’s icon hangs. Asides from being a symbol of his devotion, it acts as a focus for divine spellcasting. It is also a badge of his office, as a Knight of Nethelin.
Also of importance is his destrier, a jet black horse with a powerful build. Aeron calls him Mistweaver, and is careful to take excellent care of the steed. Like its master, it is covered in armor; steel barding protects it when ridden into battle.
Member
AP Ottovan