Belende "Bell" Svalk's page

Bell’s eyes were once described as two emeralds full of love and wonder. They stuck out against her fiery red hair like stars against the night sky. But that was before her inheritance. Now her eyes are milky white, Like many of Ulfen descent, Bell is tall and of broad stature. Her hair curls past her shoulders and freckles faintly dot her cheeks, but are only really visible in the sunshine.

Bell wears full plate mail adorned with the regalia of Iomedae. Though the whites of her tabard and cloak are marred with blood, the golden holy symbols still shine brightly. She keeps her sword and shield with her at all times, determined not to be caught off guard by the next demon attack.

Belende, or “Bell” as she prefers, was born to members of the crusade, as were their parents before them. Bell grew up hearing her parents stories of their family, instilling a zeal and devotion to the crusade.

Unfortunately, Bell’s time with her parents was not long. Both perished on mission when she was young, leaving her to be raised by her Uncle, Eilif. Despite being a veteran crusader, Eilif did not approve of Bell following in her parents footsteps. Considering a mother, father, sister, leg, and an eye were more than enough sacrifices to the crusades. He strictly forbade his niece from training. While Eilif was able to prevent her from training, he was unable to do away with the devotion that had already been instilled in her. To add to his difficulty, Eilif ran a tavern, mostly patroned by crusaders. While none would insult Eilif by going against his wishes, Bell nonetheless continued to grow up with stories of the crusades and the men and women who served.

Despite not being allowed to train and serve in the crusade, Bell still had a strong sense of duty and desire to to serve. Bell took great pride in working in her uncle’s tavern, where she fulfilled this sense of service. The tavern was constantly brimming with crusaders, many of whom were far from home with no other friends or family nearby. The food, beer, and lodgings they provided were simple but good and cheap. Eilif charged little more than enough to keep the doors open, the fire lit, and Bell taken care of. Many of the patrons had been coming to the tavern for years, becoming almost like family to the Svalks. More than a few actually were family, as seemingly all crusaders of Ulfin descent were at least distantly related.

Bell also took great pride and care in tending her garden. While not a true healer, Bell had become quite proficient at tending to minor ailments and injuries that army medics didn’t have the time or resources for.The numerous herbs and plants in her garden were great for making poultices and salves for small cuts, coughs, sore throats, aches and pains, and other such discomforts that life, especially a life of travel and war, brings. Not to mention flavorings and vegetables for cooking. More than one crusader has claimed Bell’s care packages of pasties, remedies, and tea was the only thing that got them through their tour.

Still, though she found plenty of ways to serve, Bell’s mind still turned to the crusades. More than one fight had been had between uncle and niece on the top. Especially when Eilif caught her looking at his old sword. And while it was easy to clamp down on the topic while she was a child, it became more difficult to do so the older she got. Despite this, as Bell came of age she found herself at a crossroads, unable to pick a path. She had long planned to join the crusades when she turned 16, but when the time came she found she couldn’t leave. She had promised her special stew when the 8th division returned. She just couldn’t bear to not be there with that stew. So she set another date that came and went. Again and again there was some reason, albeit a good good reason, to stay. Now, having seen 19 winters, Bell wondered if she would ever leave. Unfortunately for Bell, the fall of Kenabres would choose her path for her.

The day of Armasse is usually one of the happiest days of the year in the city of Kenabres. Feasts, festivals, and tournaments are thrown in celebration of the day. While the main festivities take place in the plaza, plenty of events take place throughout the city. Including the Shield Roof tavern. Bell had been handing out another round of beers when the sound of a thunderous explosion ripped through the air and earth, along with a violent tremor that knocked Bell off her feet. Before Bell or any of the crusaders could make sense of what had happened, the doors to the tavern exploded in a shower of splinters as demons flooded in.

Blood sprayed across Bell’s face as a crusader she had known for years was decapitated. Several more fell to claws and teeth before a counter could be mustered. The tavern filled with the smell of blood and filth. Bell merely sat there, frozen in terror as people around her were cut down. She would have likely been cut down as well if not for her Uncle. Eilif moved faster than he had in years, throwing Bell behind him as a winged demon thrust a spear into his side. With a grunt of pain, the old crusader yelled for his niece to run as he fought with his last few moments of life to buy her time.

With her uncle’s last words ringing in her ears, Bell ran. Ran towards her uncle’s room, towards the chest his old sword was in. She didn’t know why or what she’d done once she got it, but something at her core told her the blade was the only way she’d survive the nightmare. She locked the latch just as something large threw itself against the door. Repeated blows threatened to buckled the wood, and Bell knew she had only moments. Lifting up the lid of the chest, Bell saw her salvation, her uncle's blade. Despite its age and years of disuse, Eilif had kept it oiled and sharpened out of respect. The blade came away from the scabbard with ease. Holding the blade meekly, Bell wondered what she would do with the sword. It felt so heavy, so unwieldy. What could she possibly do? She’d be dead soon, she could see it. The door giving way, the demon moving across the room, knocking away her weak attempts to defend herself and tearing her apart. She could see it as clearly as she had seen anything else. Closing her eyes, the young woman said a final prayer to Iomedae as she prepared to meet her fate.

But in a flash, Bell saw something else: Herself holding the sword. Not as an adult cowering, but as a child, training. And she couldn’t just see it, she could feel it. The sweat on her brow, the hot spots where her hand gripped the leather of the hilt, the tingling in her arms from the force of repeated blows. The sharp sting of a stick striking her knuckles.

”Mind your form!” The voice of the woman who had wrapped Bell’s knuckles echoed out, carrying far more power and volume than a human of her size should. The woman was beautiful, with short dark hair and wearing a full plate of gleaming armor. She seemed oddly familiar to Bell, yet Bell couldn’t place it. Somehow, Bell just knew the woman was her teacher.

In a flash, Bell found herself at a table, various texts and ingredients scattered throughout. She was older than before, and this time holding a small knife. ”To heal pain, you must understand pain. And if you hesitate due to fear, it is others that will surfer.” The woman’s voice once again filled Bell’s mind.

Bell readied herself before sliding the knife against her thumb. She grimaced and hissed as the smell of blood filled her nostrils. ”Good, now, focus.”

Taking her mind past the pain, Bell began to focus on the cut. Slowly the pain began to fade as light stitched the small wound back together. ”I did it!” Bell shouted in joy.

Another flash found Bell cleaning the tavern, covered head to toe in what appeared to be makeshift armor. Bell was struggling to move chairs, sweep, and clean glasses. Chores she could normally do blind. ”It isn’t enough to wear armor, it should be as a second skin!” the familiar voice boomed.

Flash after flash, scene after scene, memory after memory of training with the mysterious armored woman. It all became a whirlwind that Bell could not keep track of. She didn’t know how long she stayed in that whirlwind, but it felt like a short lifetime. Opening her eyes, Bell found herself back in her uncle’s room, a demon knocking down the door. Her eyes burned with a million new moments, while her mind raced to contemplate what just happened, Bell realized she was holding a different sword.

The blade was lighter and felt perfectly balanced. She could move it as an extension of herself. It took her a moment to realize that the blade wasn’t different, her hand was, her arm was. The calluses were different, her biceps bulged with muscles. Whatever had happened, Bell had no further time to contemplate it. The door finally bucked as the demon stepped into the room. It’s guard was down, thinking it hard cornered helpless pretty. As it reached out to her, Bell severed it’s arm with a simple flick of her wrist. As the beast cried out in pain and surprise, Bell twisted, bringing her blade back around and removing the demon’s head from it’s shoulders. Nearly as surprised as it was at what had happened. However, the sounds of more approaching demons did not leave her time to think about it. Taking a stance with her back against the wall, Bell held the sword in front of her and waited.

The sun was beginning to set when Bell woke up. The corpse of a demon lay on top of her, and several more around her. The floor was sticky with black and red blood, the air almost tasted of it. The sharp pain in Bell’s side left no question as to the source of the red blood. “Remembering” her lessons, the pain faded away as glowing energy knitted the wound closed. She began to move without thinking, pulling her uncle's old armor from the chest and putting it on as if she had done it a hundred times. Her uncle had stood nearly two heads taller than Bell, but still the armor fit as if it had been made for her. She worked quickly, the darkness of the room not bothering her. Soon she was fully outfitted in her uncle’s old equipment. Heading downstairs, Bell braced herself for a room full of demons. Instead she found a room full of corpses. How she wished it had been demons. Two lifetimes couldn’t prepare her for the sight. The bodies of friends and family strewn about in pieces. Every inch of her beloved home was covered in gore. She couldn’t even tell where the body of her uncle was. She wanted to scream, to cry, but the sound of a large demon flying overhead snapped her back to order. She quickly went through the area for whatever supplies she could find. She had no idea where she would go, but she knew she couldn’t stay there. It wasn’t until she made her way to the street that she realized something was wrong with her eyes. She could only see about 6 paces ahead of her, past that everything faded to a blurry grey. Not only that, but she realized she was able to see whether or not there was light. Unsure what it meant, Bell made her way out into the night, her future uncertain.

Belende “Bell” Svalk
Female Human Oracle(Pei Zin Practitioner) 3
Lawful Good, Medium, Human
Init +1; Senses Vision Limit 30ft, Darkvision(30ft), Perception +6
Defense
AC 22, touch 11, flat-footed 21 (+1 Dex, +9 armor, +2 shield, +0 size, +0 natural armor)
hp 24 (1d8+2)
Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +3
Defensive Abilities
Offense
Speed 30 ft. (Armor 20ft)
Melee
Mtw Cold Iron Longsword+8 (1d8+4, 19-20/x2)
Power Attack Longsword +7(1d8+6, 19-20/x2)
Dagger +6 (1d4+1/19x2),
Warhammer +6(1d8+4/x3)
Abilities
Cursed: Clouded Vision - You cannot see anything beyond 30 feet, but you can see as if you had darkvision.
Master Herbalist: ½ levelto prof(hebalist) cha instead of Wis
Healer’s Way: Lay on hands, 2d6 4/day
Revelation: Skill at Arms - prof with martial and heavy
Revelation: War Sight - Roll for initiative twice
Revelation: Longsword - Weapon focus
Spells
0th: Create Water, Detect Magic, Grasp, Guidance, Light, Mending, Purify, Spark
1st: Cure light wounds, Enlarge Person, Shield of Faith, Divine Favor, Obscuring Mist, Bless
Base Statistics
Str 18, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 16
Base Atk +3; CMB +4; CMD 19
Feats Extra Revelation, Extra Revelation, Weapon Focus(Longsword), Power Attack
Skills Acrobatic: -5, Appraise:-1, Bluff: 3, Climb: -2, Diplomacy: 3, Disable Device: -7, Disguise: 3, Escape Artist: -5, Fly: -5, Handle Animal: 3, Heal: 6, Intimidate: 3, Linguistics: -2, Perception: 6, Ride: -5, Sense Motive: 5, Slight of Hand: -5, Spellcraft: -1, Stealth: -5, Survival: 0, Swim: -2, Use Magic Device: 3, Knowlege (Noblity and Royalty): 0, Knowledge(Religion): 3, Profession(Cook): 4, Profession(Inkeep): 4, Profession(Herbalist)10
SQ Skilled
Traits
Child of the Crusade
Fate’s Favored