[OOC & CS] The Order

Name: Faris Ward
Age: 27
Race: Human

Appearance: Faris' time as a mercenary has left him in good shape, his shoulders broad and strong from drawing a longbow in his company. Preferring lighter armour, he wears a simple gambeson over chainmail that sports the sigil of the Viligant as well as an old tattered green cloak that stretches from just under his right arm, over to his left shoulder and covers most of his left side. His left arm with significantly more armoured than his right to allow him to parry some blows. His boots are made of supple black leather, allowing him to move freely during combat.

Fortunate not to suffer many wounds in his time, Faris would be considered quite handsome, constantly smiling or smirking. His brown hair is crudely cut by himself, giving him a more rugged look while he takes great care to shave his beard, leaving him with dark stubble. With bright green eyes, the corners are quite wrinkled from his grins.

Personality: Jovial and charming, Faris seems to fit in well wherever he goes, be it feasting with nobility or slumming it with the common soldier. His bright and cheerful disposition is infectious, and he uses it well to keep morale high even in the darkest of times. After joining with the mercenary company, he took some time to become well educated, able to read and write in several different languages that he picked up along his travels.

Not a fan of arrogant leaders, Faris has come to believe that a leader should act as an example to his men, arguing that they should stand side by side not only in the heat of battle but by bonding in camp. His beliefs on this lead to his arrest and ultimately joining the Vigilant.

Weaponry: Having come to the Viligant as a prisoner, Faris was unable to bring any weaponry. Supplied from the Karuzgard armoury, his preferred weapon of choice is a two handed greatsword, thinner and narrower than the rest that allows him to strike faster and cut with more ease. His secondary weapon he carries with him is a longbow with a quiver of arrows at his waist, letting him support his allies from range and a reminder back to his days as a mercenary. Lastly is a small curved dagger that he uses for multiple reasons, including shaving, hunting and preparing food.

Vigilant Gift: Mark of the Phoenix

Having survived his Proving, Faris now possesses the power of the phoenix, contained within a small red mark upon his chest. Able to summon fire either to buff his weapon or cast as projectiles, he can also take flight with two fiery wings that allow him to move swiftly across the battlefield. He also cannot die of natural means, immune to sickness and aging, but also cannot be killed easily. Should he suffer a fatal wound, after time he will resurrect again with his healed, yet for a time afterwards he will be unable to use his powers. Dying too many times will lead him to eventually turn to stone, and then ash.

Bio: Originally from a small village in the Heartlands, Faris grew up helping around the village for whatever was needed. In the spring and autumn he often helped with the sowing of seeds and harvesting of crops, while in the summer and winter he would either assist at the stables or the local blacksmith. Growing up hearing the stories of the dwarves and Vigilant, Faris always dreamed of leaving his normal life and setting off to seek adventure. Before long it came however, his mother passing away before he was 14. He stayed to help prepare for her funeral, burying her next to his father before selling their land and using the coin to travel.

Having travelled to and from a few cities by paying to join caravans, he finally joined up with a mercenary company known of the Ironbreakers when he turned 16. Mostly he kept to smaller jobs like guarding caravans or defending towns and villages from marauding bandits, but after distinguishing himself as a talented archer, he was made a company leader and joined the rest of the commanders in larger battles and sieges. However when their leader was ousted in a coup and replaced with a human called Thomas Kane, things began to go downhill for the company. More of a brute than a leader, Thomas began to pull out of contracts and instead use the company as a well to extort money out of common folk by threatening them, raiding unprotected villages or tax collecting for greedy nobles. While Faris spoke out against their new direction, others kept quiet, before Thomas sent him to ambush a caravan. Or so he thought.

As Faris set up his men to ambush before springing their trap, they found alot more guards than originally expected, and waiting for them. Most of his company were killed, while he and a few others were taken prisoner and brought with them to Al Zizas where they were imprisoned. It was here he learned, through their laughing and mockery, that Thomas had approached them before they left to inform them the ambush was waiting and to hire more protection. Betrayed, Faris and the others awaited their execution. While he agreed to join the Viligant to escape the noose, his brothers did not follow his example, and so as he joined the Bladesinger on his way back to Karuzgard, he watched as the men who supported and relied on him were hung. Now approaching his 28th birthday, he rides with in a locked cart on his way to Karuzgard, to join the fabled order he had heard so many stories about

Name: Marcus Attano
Age: 27
Race: Human
Appearance:

Personality: Marcus is a calm person, able to keep his wits in the most chaotic of situations. When it comes to interacting with people he's social and can be quite a partner. Despite his socialness among the other Vigilants, Marcus often prefers to venture out into the Forsaken Lands by himself.
Weaponry: Two Swords and a bow.
Vigilant Gift (Read 'The Order of the Vigilant' lore):
A Split Soul
Marcus' body upon his initiation absorbed the black blood and some say they bonded to well. Marcus, upon entering the Forsaken Lands becomes a shadow that haunts the landscape becoming nearly invisible at night with glowing eyes.
After this transformation, he gains super human abilities being able to run faster, jump higher, and greater strength. Enough to rival some of the lower beasts of the Forsaken Lands. He can sense something attacking and move to block or dodge before the strike is even close. Also, through his strong bond to the darkness of the Forsaken Lands, Marcus shares a connection with a beast. When Marcus is in the Forsaken Lands it is never far away from him.
However, when outside the Forsaken Lands and at Karuzgard, Marcus appears as a man instead of shadow, the beast remains in the Forsaken Lands, and his heightened senses are limited.

Bio: The first Attano at Karuzgard came with Grandmaster Reynold. The Attano family has been a family of honor and respect. The Attano family is a relic of an ancient time. Every Attano has joined the Order of the Vigilant and served until their death. Marcus is the last surviving member of the Attano family.

Name: Alyona “Allis the Ship Rat”
Age: 19
Race: Half-elf

Appearance: Alyona has dark brown, messy, shoulder-length hair and tan skin full of freckles. She has hazel eyes and slightly pointed ears and a small, slight build. Usually seem wearing too big clothes that make her seem smaller and weaker than she really is. Since her means of escaping are often by water, her feet are covered in old bandages, as it's hard to swim and run in shoes. She also usually wraps her arms and chest, for both support and to keep up the appearance of a child. Her most common attire are big, baggy knee length pants, simple tank tops and long coats with lots of hiding places for knives and other objects, usually stolen.

Personality: Towards any outsider, Alyona is highly suspicious and cautious, especially if those outsiders are adults. Once settled, Allis is almost surprisingly social, active and curious about her surroundings. She makes up for her lack of reading or writing, by having a decent memory, learning and moving fast and adapting to any new situation or challenge. The last to head straight into danger without thinking, unless she believes her "pack" is in danger. She generally doesn't care too much about appearance, other than her instincts of wanting to appear smaller and younger than she actually is, often getting underestimated and able to quietly slip away from danger.

Weaponry: Variety of knives and daggers

She likes to collect knives and has a preference for a simple, ragged look. And a sharp edge.
Carries around a few throwing knives. Not that sharp, but hurts like hell and gives her a bit more of a range.
Especially made stakes, also great for throwing. Mostly used with rope, as an anchor for when climbing the sides of boats or platforms.
A rarely used dagger on a chain. Other than her name, it's the only thing she has from her parents. Great for throwing, but terrified of losing or having someone think she stole it.

Vigilant Gift: Poisonous Blood
(Still working out the details on this..)

Bio: Allis had no memories of her parents, only had a simple, beautifully elven-crafted dagger with a chain, engraved with her name. Instead, she grew up as one of several orphans in Atlaval and would usually be seen hanging around the older boys of the group. Referred by the locals (and eventually the kids took great pride in this,) as "the Ship Rats" Allis learned to survive in the city on the sea. Not only did she learn to steal and beg for food money, but also how to swim, climb boats and use a knife. She eventually took a bigger role as a scout and decoy, using her smaller body to her advantage by either sneaking up on unsuspected victims, keeping an eye and learning the schedules of rich nobles, luring naive tourists to ambush and quickly slipping away from guards. Allis was surprisingly quick to befriend the local smaller businesses and the "Ship Rats" would leave them alone, in exchange for good bargains and leftover food. She had a generally peaceful life among abandoned boats and her "pack", until the day the naive tourist turned out to be a Bladesinger.

Which character will be the Bladesinger?could name it after the Bladesinger or their power. Also, we could just give it a number or letter until we perform a great feat and earn a name

I kinda like the idea that we don't get a real name until we do something worthwhile, like argonaut mentioned. I kinda feel like a group half made up of criminal scum who's heading out on their first real test isn't really going to warrant the sort of squadron name that is... inspiring.

Well, I kinda imagine most (if not all) of our characters probably wouldn't be the first pick for anything, so I think it'd be kinda cool to lean into that.. Like.. The Outcast Company or something that sounds more cool or badass..

Orckin

Used to describe the most numerous enemy in the Forsaken Lands, Orcs and their kin have assaulted Karuzgard long before the arrival of the Vigilants. Made up of several sub-species, Orcs have specialised themselves to their respective roles in battle and war.

The smallest and weakest of the kin are the Goblins. No taller than a small child, goblins are naturally crafty and wicked, using devious tactics and numbers to overwhelm their enemies. The stronger orcs often rely on the goblins to carry out menial tasks and for building and crafting, which goblins have an affinity for. During sieges on Karuzgard, goblins will be the ones to prepare and operate the siege engines as well as barricades and traps. They often serve as cannon fodder for the orcs, their overwhelming numbers used to soak up enemy arrows and attention while the orcs move in behind, wielding crude knives and shortswords designed to cause bleeding. Goblins are also known to tame giant spiders and wolves to ride into battle as mounts. These small orckin worship the night and the moon, the most devoted becoming Nightkin who wear black robes adorned with small animal bones who work up the others into a frenzy. Most notable goblin ever was known as the Night Lord, so fierce and devious that even orcs served under him. The Night Lord was slain by the Dwarven High King after his sappers breached the lower halls of Karuzgard. These lower levels were flooded to keep any further tunneling from occurring.

Orcs themselves are tall, muscular and strong. With colours ranging from grey to dark green, they have two large tusks on their bottom jaw that proude out of their mouth as well as dark black hair that is normally braided. Orcs believe in scarification, and whenever an orc kills a worthy enemy, usually another orc, they tally their kill total on their body. If an orc should manage to kill a Vigilant and survive, they will mark themselves with a special cross to commemorate the event. Orcs bearing this cross are widely praised throughout their culture, and marks them as one of those allowed to bear offspring. Only those marked as such, as well as warchiefs, are allowed to mate with the females of the tribe, ensuring that the next generation of orcs are powerful, strong and cunning. They serve as the foot soldiers in their army, usually heavily armoured and armed. Crafted by goblins, their armaments are of a crude design, often unwieldy axes and choppers, and so mortal crafts are highly prized within their community. Orcs never stop growing, and will continue to get larger and stronger until their death. While an old and grey human wouldn't be considered a dangerous threat, an elderly orc is considered deadly. They are capable of using the common tongue, although as they do not have much to say to their enemies, they prefer to talk with their weapons. Orcs respect strength above all, and as such orcs almost rever the Vigilant as powerful warriors, one thing they hope to achieve themselves one day. The most notable orc is recent times is that of Bagruul the Black, know for his dark armour and unusually adept strategies, using his cunning to lure Vigilant rangers and scouts into traps. He was killed in single combat by Grandmaster Victarion, although he did manage to wound his leg in the process. This event is what led to Victarian being voted as Grandmaster.

Trolls and orges are the largest of the orckin, and are only born under a blood moon. Probably the least numerous and least intelligent, these are also considered the most dangerous by the Vigilants. Standing over 3 times the size of a normal man, these brutes wield tree trunks and stone pillars into battle as well as launch boulders and rocks the same as goblin catapults, and can hurl these over great distances. Research carried out on these two species found that while orges has tougher skin than the trolls, overtime the trolls would regenerate any damage done to them, unless they were killed outright by destroying the brain. Made up of multiple organs, it can be difficult to kill one without a clean blow to the head. Ballistas mounted on Karuzgard's battlements were placed as such just for dealing with these menaces.

Other than spiders and wolves tamed by goblins, other monsters and beasts are used by orckin for their own needs. A powerful warchief might beat a Chaos Beast into submission and use it as a powerful mount. This is partially why the Proving has the Initiates target this beast, to prevent orcs from capturing and riding them.