Apemantus ‘Oldcastle’ Vernisant knows little of his past life: Vignettes of ephemeral nightmares and sudden emotional reactions to certain smells or sounds. He was Evil. He served some ArchDevil or Infernal Prince. Hungrily he had sold his immortal Soul in Blood.
Neither does Apemantus Oldcastle Vernisant know the circumstances of how he died, or remember other than his repentance from unspeakable wickedness, and genuine embrace of Righteousness, as an Ancestor in Celestia offered one last chance.
He remembers frightfully well of the Rage of The Nine Hells at his “flight” from Infernal Punishment and Wrath — and that of the suspicious gods of Law and Celestia refusing an ascension to The Light.
His ancestor, a Warpriest of Sarenrae who fought alongside General Arnisant and Iomedae of Aroden in The Shining Crusade against The Whispering Tyrant, came briefly to this descendant at the moment of death, in an effort to bring back redemption and reverence to The Dawnflower. The Reincarnated Apemantus Oldcastle Vernisant is his legacy.
(In the year 3826 AR the Warpriest of Sarenrae, King Leontes, was sent by The Dawnflower to aid Taldane Clerics of Sarenrae at the close of The Shining Crusade. King Leontes fought for Taldor alongside Iomedae of Aroden, General Arnisant, and the Knights of Ozem, against the hordes of The Whispering Tyrant. Killed in the battle moments before the Shield of Aroden was sundered (a fragment of which mortally wounded Tar Baphon) Leontes' fiery angelic form was cast back to Everlight. The Soul of Leontes was disturbed to learn that the descendants of his comrades in arms during The Shining Crusade had made the teachings of Sarenrae illegal in Taldor. He had fought alongside many Clerics of Sarenrae against The Whispering Tyrant and wanted to redeem Taldor for Sarenrae. But he also saw among his descendants a man of evil, a worshipper of Devils, and on ‘his’ deathbed came to offer redemption for true repentance.)
And that it was his ancestor -- in the bloodline now of Earl Calhadion Vernisant – where Apemantus Oldcastle Vernisant was reincarnated. Hermione Vernisant, a distant descendant of General Arnisant is a quiet daughter of an unremarkable branch of House Vernisant -- but the Spirit Leontes felt honorable traits in the lady and taught her of The Dawnflower through her dreams. In Merciful Bay, where several Angels of Light are revered, it has been more easy for Hermione Vernisant to practice worship of Sarenrae. But Leontes' duration on Golarion was to expire soon, and his responsibilities for Sarenrae, campaigns in Hell, Abaddon and the Abyss, could wait no longer. So Apemantus Oldcastle Vernisant was Reincarnated there, and placed in the custody of his, well, Somehow Cousin.
Apemantus Oldcastle Vernisant also knows, with cold certainty, that this life, his new life, is a Test. It is a Crucible that will determine if he is genuine in his moral Alignment. And that most likely, unless he does something of epic goodness, his Soul will be condemned to Hell. He must leave Merciful Bay and the quiet worship of Sarenrae with Hermione behind; he must achieve some epic victory for justice, peace and righteousness; he must try to help the very empire of Taldor herself in the name of Sarenrae. So he goes to Oppara.
You can see Apemantus Oldcastle from time to time lost in a thoughtful pall, moving his hand deliberately over his campfire, gazing in the ineffable mysteries of the flame, wondering why his hand feels the scorching heat of fire — as if that was not meant to be — and pondering the ramifications of such new weaknesses.
