Aeryx's page

Aeryx had always been a bit…different. His odd, amber eyes were unusual enough, made even more so by his small size and almost birdlike movements. From birth, folk in his village in Mendev thought him some sort of half-breed, though none could say what the other half might be. Their ignorance made them fearful, however, and they judged him to be the scion of some foul mating - a harpy somewhere back in his bloodline, or some other abomination. But Aeryx felt in his heart that he was good inside, and even destined to do great things in the cause of good, though his kin and the other villagers mocked when he said so.

Outcast that he was, for his strange looks and seemingly baseless belief in himself, Aeryx was often alone, and that made him a target. Cultists, worshippers of some foul demon-lord, came upon him as he played by himself in the forest one day, distracted by his day-dreams of defeating evil and showing everyone what he was made of. They kidnapped him and other young folk from the lands around the village, though Aeryx was among the youngest of them. He remembers little of what he went through, other than the fact that it was soul-searingly cruel and brutal, and that he and a handful of others managed to escape, and many more children did not. He made his way back home, but his life would never be the same.

He suffered strange, indistinct nightmares for years afterwards and, as he approached manhood, the dreams grew worse – and other changes in him began to take place. His eyes changed, ever so slightly at first, then the skin on his face grew taut, and his nose sharper, so he came to resemble a bird more than ever – and a bird of prey, in fact. This was very disturbing, but was nothing to what came next. Gradually, in a bizarre likeness of an egg hatching, a pair of wings sprouted from his back. He was able to hide them at first, but over a number of weeks they grew too large, and eventually came to be near as tall as Aeryx. Considered in the abstract, his wings are beautiful – a mix of cream, dark grey and a dark, coppery red, like the red-tailed hawk that hunts in Mendev in the warmer months. When seen on the back of a young man, in a small village in a land beset by demons, they are frightening indeed.

Aeryx was no longer welcome in his home or his village, and he decided the time had come to find out what lay behind his dreams, and his belief that he was meant for great things – before he was stoned as demon-spawn by those who grew up with him. He set out for Kenabres, where the knowledge of demons and the opportunities for greatness were in much greater supply than in his small village of Isterov, on the western edge of the Estrovian Forest. As he travelled, he fantasized that he would arrive in the great city and be welcomed, and understood, but it was not to be. Soon after arriving in Kenabres, Aeryx’s appearance attracted the attention of a group of ‘witch hunters’ intent on rooting out evil infiltrators in the city. They decided there was something wrong about Aeryx, and that he was weak and alone enough to make a suitable target. Aeryx was just barely able to fight them off and escaped, and has managed to avoid them since, but the experience galvanized him. His life experiences so far – the suffering under the cultists, the rejection by his own people, the persecution in the very stronghold dedicated to rooting out Golarion’s greatest evil – none of these have shaken his conviction that he is good, and that he must prove this to the world, until no one can doubt it.

In his brief time in Kenabres, he has learned more about the nature of good and evil, and creatures on either side of that balance. He wonders quietly if he might be an aasimar, a descendant of angels, and thus destined to fight evil. Though he is not certain of his identity, he’s fiercely proud of what he now believes to be his angelic blood, and takes great insult at any who might suggest otherwise or comment on his unusual appearance. He has set himself to the study of demons, and has learned a good deal about fighting them, though his experience with actual demons is quite limited indeed.

Aeryx does not know if he will ever fit in anywhere, but in his zeal to learn more of demonkind, and his clear determination to fight them, he has earned the respect of some of the older Crusaders in Kenabres. This gives him hope that he can become part of the war against the Worldwound and its denizens, and find brotherhood, and show the world who he truly is.

At first glance, Aeryx looks like a short, slender human man. A closer look makes clear that, rather than an elaborately-cut cloak on his back, what he has is a pair of large wings. Mostly dark grey in color, with touches of cream and a dark, copper red, the wings extend from about the level of his ears down to where the tips just brush the floor. His hair, longish and swept back from his face, is of the same coppery color as the flecks in his wings. His face is narrow, with large, alert, amber eyes and a hooked nose. He carries a small, well-worn bow behind his left shoulder, and a brand new longsword with a black blade rides at his hip.

In his movements, Aeryx varies between two extremes. At times he sits watchfully and still, eyes calm and alert, occasionally turning his head to a new position, and looking for all the world like a man-sized hawk - albeit a small man. At other times, and particularly in a fight, he seems filled with unnecessary energy, hopping about and appearing to move in several directions at once.

Aeryx dreams of becoming a renowned demon-hunter, or in some other way showing the world that he is worthwhile and good. Many people in his life have judged him harshly and treated him even worse. This has instilled in him a fierce, even violent, pride in himself and what he believes to be his angelic heritage. His belief in himself as a descendant of angels, and his early experiences with demon cultists, have also bred in him a deep-seated hatred of demonkind, and a part of him just wants to kill demons for the sport of it.

[dice=Shortbow]1d20+4[/dice]
[dice=Shortbow damage]1d6[/dice]

[dice=Shortbow, PBS]1d20+5[/dice]
[dice=Shortbow damage, PBS]1d6+1[/dice]

[dice=Cold iron longsword]1d20+4[/dice]
[dice=Longsword damage]1d8+3[/dice]

[dice=Perception]1d20+7[/dice]
[dice=Stealth]1d20+8[/dice]