Sorren Barrelband

Life Cleric - Hill Dwarf

Sorren’s bright eyes and friendly demeanor belies his age. While most dwarven beards are highly styled he wears his closely cropped, and his complexion is rather tan for a dwarf. Overall he gives the appearance of a short stocky man.

As a dispossessed “dirtwalker”, Sorren spent his early years as an itinerant metalsmith. Wandering between rural communities, living off the land, repairing household goods and farm implements. His worldly wisdom lead him to serve as a cleric of Chauntea; goddess of agriculture. He was known for solving many troubles of the commonfolk: corralling a stubborn mule, lancing a boil, or providing insight and guidance about a troubled marriage or a blighted crop. Though starting his practice calving, he became a local legend of sorts after delivering many generations of farming peasants where he could often be heard kicking of his legendary birthday celebrations with, “Bring clean linens, hot water, and two casks of ale!”

However, playing the local lush is a ruse, a cover. Sorren is part of a secret order of Chauntea devotees committed to preserving the lives of half-orc newborns which are not always welcome in the human realm. Despite the cultural enmity dwarfs have for orcs, he is often at hand to spirit the infants to safety in Orcish territory.

Mutual admiration for a paladin’s devotion or a cleric’s inspiration make for strong friendships, but a drunk dwarf and a soldier are often fast drinking buddies. Sorren befriended Thayne in the hope of negotiating passage through Thanye’s previously guarded sector in an effort to create a new smuggling route.

Sorren’s order is better known amongst the half-orc bands, as there are few travelers into their territory; especially ones that show up with infant half-orcs. Gringur recognized Sorren and seeks knowledge of her father’s whereabouts.

Gringur Toothsharp

Barbarian - Half-Orc

The son of a brutish orc mother and a human father, Grin always found himself a little different than the rest of his orc tribe. Far from the borders of civilization, his tribe often traded with goblins and other orcs, but made hardly any contact with other races - and as such, Grin developed no predisposition of violence to innocent people.

He became an excellent fighter and bear wrestler, but, more intelligent and curious than the rest of his tribe, he was not content to stay where he was. With a conviction that life held more opportunity and beauty than was truly available to him in his small, secluded tribe, as he came of age he made the decision to leave his tribe and experience life outside the wild lands - a decision tantamount to great betrayal, and one he knows condemned him to never return to his tribe. Despite the regret this gave him, he has explored vast oceans, valleys, and mountains, and integrated himself into civilization like few half-orcs have, learning much and owning little, but remaining more content than he could ever be in his tribe.

Grin owes Sorren a debt for saving his life as a baby and returning him to his tribe. Sorren is also the only connection to his father, whom Grin wants to find.

Thayne and Grin assisted each other in crossing borders safely, Grin knowing the lay of more foreign lands and Thayne able to let him pass near orc tribes undetected.

It would be unwise to consider Grin’s family and tribe allies; he has no idea how they reacted to his leaving, other than knowing it would not have been accepted well. However, his tribe, however secluded, is also old, and deserves some explanation:

Toothsharp Lineage: Grin’s family line, one of 3 in his tribe. They are known for their short tusks, often filed into points.

Sharp Tribe: Grin grew up in a tribe of orcs that consisted of 3 lineages: Toothsharp, Clawsharp, Axesharp. They liked sharp things. A tribe of no more than 50, they admire bears for their strength and ferocity – bear wrestling is popular.

Zera Themeros

Sorcerer - Tiefling

Born the third and last son of a wealthy merchant family from Kalazanbar, Zera led a childhood of mixed quality. He had all the benefits of a rich family - personal tutors, a comfortable home, no hard labor or material shortages - but lacked the benefits of a loving one. With parents who were trying one last time for a daughter, Zera was a disappointment to them from birth. His brothers, harsh as children often are, quickly picked up on this fact and treated him as a scapegoat and a target, almost encouraged by their parents. This was only made easier for them as Zera grew older. As he came of age, Zera showed exceptional magical power, even for someone from a family with a known sorcerous bloodline. It unfortunately manifested in very destructive or manipulative ways, quickly making him the first person to be blamed if anything went wrong - even when he had nothing to do with it.

By the time he reached his late teens, Zera had long since grown to regret his past destructiveness, instead focusing his studies and efforts elsewhere. However, his family never let that stigma go. Reaching adulthood, subdued but still wanting to prove useful, Zera became the Themeros family’s de facto errand boy. He unquestioningly took their requests for message delivery and deal brokering for potential customers and business partners. This eventually went south, though, when he dutifully delivered a letter, without knowing the contents, to what he would later find out was the criminal organization known as The Neighbors. In what could be no coincidence, Zera became the target of an assassination attempt the following night. After a quick and bloody struggle the assassins were easily winning, Zera and only one of his hired guards, Thayne Solosian, managed to survive and escape, becoming fugitives on the run. While in hiding, they came across two other travellers: Sorren Barrelband, an old acquaintance of Thayne’s, and Gringur Toothsharp, a half-orc man seeking the truth about his family. In this dangerous and unpredictable time, this group of strangers is Zera’s only certainty. Though he’d rather not admit it, he needs the protection they have to offer, as well as their knowledge of the land and what to do. They’re the only sense of direction he has until he feels ready to confront his family and find out where he truly stands.

While named after an ancient devil lord that the Themeros family claims to be descended from, Zera holds no more love for his devilish ancestry than he does for his immediate family. For example, he learned Infernal out of necessity, but also chose to study the Celestial language out of respect and love for its beauty (as well as some spiteful defiance). Bloodlines matter little to him, and he would prefer to think that they have little impact on a person’s power or virtue, despite his own sorcerous powers and subconscious biases.

Zera has few allies outside of his travelling party. His connection to his wealthy and decently influential family is dubious at best. After all, it was only after delivering their letter that he started to be hunted. Speaking of which, those hunting him are the Haldinia-based group known as The Neighbors. One of the 3 most influential criminal organizations in the kingdom, they appear to have placed a fairly substantial bounty on Zera’s head, making conspicuous work risky.

Atticus Rex

Warlock - Human

Atticus was abandoned at a young age, an unwanted bastard child, the result of a king’s indiscretion. He was discovered and raised by a small clan of high elves. He quickly developed a deep respect for the deity Selune, his adopted family members, and greatly venerated all knowledge and natural life.

Sadly, one summer night under the darkness that accompanies a new moon, Atticus’ elven clan was sacked under the cover of darkness by unknown forces. Atticus hid, unable to render aid, as he remained blinded by the darkness. His caretakers were brutally masacred one by one, as Atticus was forced to hear their screams of agony, until finally the last was snuffed out, and all that remained was an eternal silence: Atticus was once again alone.

Atticus began to sob, crying out in the darkness. Tearing his robe, he deeply mourned his beloved fallen. His cries of distress were soon met by a shadowy figure lurking in the darkness, exuding a calm female voice. “Hold no pity for those who suffer and die, for death is only the natural end to life.”

These tiding brought a strange comfort to Atticus, and a bargain was immediately struck with the Raven Queen. “Travel to the far reaches of this material plane. Accomplish grandiose deeds and bring glory and honor all in my name. In return, you shall never fear darkness again, but instead grow to know its power. Arise, my Raven Knight!”

Atticus gathered his belongings, as well as his resolve, and began to travel west. Always west. Atticus hoped that by countering the motion of the sun in the sky, he would maximize the hours of darkness, while simultaneously basking in the familiar warmth of Selune’s moonbeams…