Conrad Mendelson's page

Conrad Mendelson is the eldest child of a family of six. His father moved to the Lost Coast as a young man to find work as a woodcutter, and he eventually got married and settled down in one of the small settlements spreading across southwestern Varisia. The Mendelsons were known for being meticulous workers but rather discreet neighbors, pleasant enough to everybody but mostly keeping to themselves.

Irreproachable as they were, it came as a big surprise for the whole town that Conrad did not turn out that way at all.

It started with difficulties in church, where he struggled sitting through sermons and learning how to read, write and count. Then, it moved to unpredictable bursts of rage whenever another kid taunted him for being "slow", even escalating to physical violence more than once, or breaking objects against walls.

When he became a teenager, things got even worse. Any work requiring discipline was too much for him. An apprenticeship with the local blacksmith ended in absolute disaster, and he was fired from the town's guard after only two weeks. Woodcutting was out of question, as nobody wanted to place an axe between his hands. He was finally hired for the sole task of helping loading up carts with lumber, a job offered out of pity, that bored him to death. To bring some more money to the house, he secretly started taking part in illegal fights with other woodcutters keen to make some easy cash with bets. Through all this, his parents wept and despaired, wondering what to do with him.

It was some months after his sixteenth birthday that Conrad's life changed radically, when a group of Shelynites on their way to the Swallowtail festival stayed at his town for the night. The artists took this opportunity to entertain their hosts, who mostly followed Erastil and knew little of the goddess of the arts. Music was played, ballads were sung and jigs were danced, in-between explanations about the precepts of Shelyn and her faith.
Through most performances, Conrad sat transfixed. After the show, he approached the faithful to timidly ask questions, and got enthusiastic lectures on the importance of art, beauty, kindness, and about how everyone could have a place and a role to play to turn life into a masterpiece. A young woman gifted him a small statue of the goddess carved in silver, assuring him he would need it more than she did. He went back home shaken.

For months, Conrad kept thinking about what he had seen and heard. He eventually resorted to asking cautious questions around about Sandpoint, the Swallowtail Festival, and the Shelynites. The impreciseness of the answers only piqued his curiosity further, and although a few people derided his newfound interest in Shelyn, it did not deter him. From what he had understood from the Shelynites' explanation, everything could be an art form worthy of Shelyn- even the art of fighting. To know that there could be a way to channel what he was truly talented at into something that a goddess of unconditional love might find beautiful filled him with a new sense of purpose.

It took nearly two full years of hard work to gather enough savings to prepare his trip to Sandpoint for the Swallowtail Festival and the consecration of the Cathedral -two years during which everyone thought him mad. Conrad made great efforts to improve his behaviour, and never returned to illegal fighting, the mockeries he faced made it difficult to control his emotions. More than once, he nearly gave up on his project; only the thought of the silver statue would keep him grounded.

It was the support of his parents, in the end, that made the difference: although they could not understand their son's newfound obsession with Sandpoint and Shelyn, it was one powerful enough to drive his efforts to improve on his behaviour – or shatter his morale if he lost sight of his goal. They gave him some of the money they had initially saved to give him an education, and sent him on his way.

While it is not unreasonable to think that Conrad's plain features might have once been agreeable to look at, a few years of taking punches to the face did a lot to mess them up. His nose has clearly been broken once or twice, never to heal back to its initial state, and he's missing quite a few teeth -which, come to think of it, might be why he always seems awkwardly tight-lipped when he smiles.
He sports short and scruffy hair, of the same indifferent brown as his eyes. He would look incredibly unremarkable if it was not for the impressive, well-defined muscles that can be spotted underneath an old, worn-out leather armour that looks like it was bought for cheap from a peddler. Although relatively small, Conrad is broad-shouldered, and looks every bit the type of guy who spent a lot of time working outdoors -down to the tan on the face, forearms and legs.

Never entirely at ease in social contexts, Conrad is meek and rather easily flustered. His bad stutter, as well as his lasting difficulties with reading and counting, are still a source of great shame, and it takes time before he feels completely comfortable around others. This shyness utterly disappears during his fits of anger, which he gets when provoked, or when defending a loved one. His blinding fury is so overwhelming that he often goes non-verbal.

Although most Shelynites would disagree with his interpretation of her precepts, his dedication to the goddess is absolute, and he genuinely strives to honour her with his actions. To defend the innocent, he does not hesitate to rush into fight with a courage that borders on recklessness, with the statue of his goddess tucked safely in his backpack.