About Gabriel Belmont*"Evil is eternal in this cursed world. What is the worth of one man's will when Darkness is inevitable?" Short Story:
It was a terrible night to have a curse...
The child, blue linen dress torn from the brambles and thorns, hid behind her parents’ burnt-out barn, holding her tears. She held her breath in the silence, and looked over the barn’s side, eyes flickering desperately to find the ungodly walking corpse, whose shrill wails broke the night's silence. The full moon’s light revealed nothing at first, but just as the girl started to the road that would lead her to the village proper, a terrible crunch sounded as she stepped on dried autumn leaves. The ghoul gave another wail, and emerged from the bloody dog kennel, slaving behind the girl. She screamed a blood-curdling scream as terror went up her spine, kindling her feet to a fear-fueled flight. Ghouls are not outran by little girls, however. The shrill shriek of the ghoul came closer, and the girl could hear, even above the pounding of her heart against her ears, a shadow of her brother’s voice in the ghoul’s torturous screams. A shadow appeared in the other side of the road, approaching the farm, and cold terror sunk into the girl’s stomach, and she collapsed to the dusty ground, knees bloodied against the gravel as the figure approached. The shadow had a long tail and ran on two legs--and had great flapping wings. The girl, numb with the sight of impending doom, recalled stories her mother told her of werewolves or monsters or twisted flesh-beasts who appeared in full moon nights, taking away bad girls who did not listen to their mothers. “But I did listen...” she said helplessly, as the two foes closed in. But the tail she imagined was no tail at all, and the ghoul’s shriek of endless hunger was drowned out in a crack of a chain whip as a chain of silver lanced over the girl’s helpless form, glittering in the moonlight. The whip struck once, letting out a spray of blood and a pained squeal from the ghoul. The creature that was once the girl’s older brother staggered back against the onslaught, as the figure dashed silently forward, bringing down the whip again, and twisting the ghoul away from the girl. Blackened blood scattered on the gravel, glinting pale in the moonlight, as the girl turned slowly to witness the deed. The stranger landed one final strike—a practiced stab up the ghoul’s neck, striking from the nape of it’s neck to its brain, silencing it completely. Silence reigned for a moment, as the stranger plucked out a silver nail, and pinned it between the ghoul’s eyes, said a quick prayer in a tongue the girl did not know, and turned. The girl said nothing, and said nothing for the few days to come. But when she found her voice again, she remembered the question the stranger asked upon rescuing her from her undead sibling, and finally spoke to the void. “No...I’m fine, Mister Belmont.” Personality Traits
Background Feature (Official Inquiry). You're experienced at gaining access to people and places to get the information you need. Through a combination of fast-talking, determination, and official-looking documentation, you can gain access to a place or an individual related to a crime you're investigating. Those who aren't involved in your investigation avoid impeding you or pass along your requests. Additionally, local law enforcement has firm opinions about you, viewing you as either a nuisance or one of their own. Personality Trait. I refuse to become a victim, and I will not allow others to be victimized. Ideal. I like to know my enemy’s capabilities and weaknesses before rushing into battle. I kill monsters to quell my own deep fears and to cauterize the terror I felt as a child, and savor bearing the legacy of the hero. Bond. I keep my thoughts and discoveries in a journal. My journal is my legacy. I secretly wish the Outer Gods could hear us and save us. Flaw. I find it difficult to balance hope and ruthlessness with handling victims of my enemies. One murder is all it takes to cross the threshold from victim to target. Backstory:
Backstory
Gabriel Belmont is an orphan raised in an isolated monastery that seeked the return of the gods and their deliverance from the cursed land of Ravenloft. This seemed to have offended the Dark Powers that looked over Barovia, as a savage vampire struck the monastery one rainy night after apparently seeking shelter from the rain. When the she-vampire was invited in, she spoke to each of the monks and priests in turn, clad in a veil that hid her vampiric features, to inquire as to their purpose. The head priest spoke to her over dinner, and she rose to stoke the fires. They explained that they take in orphans who survive the raids and attacks of evil beings, and she asks with a small smile whether they can actually protect the children, or if all they do is just end up gathering all the sheep in one place. The priest feels the wrongness of the question, and attempts to channel goodly energy to himself, but the vampire is too quick, stabbing the priest's arm with the fire-poker, soon tearing into his flesh and twisting his neck brutally when he called for help. The vampire gave herself up into a blood craze, and ravaged the temple, murdering any who stood by her. Gabriel was told to hide by his matron-priestess, and was told to not speak a word. She tried to hide the children and ran away loudly to distract the vampire, but the vampire caught her, tearing her fist into the priestess's back and out through her front, cracking her spine. Several of the children cried in fear as the vampire approached, but Gabriel was stunned into silence, instead creeping back in silent horror as the vampire walked in. She smelled the human children. She stormed into the room, killing the helpless children relentlessly, until her bloodlust was sated--only feet from the hiding Gabriel. She wiped her nose, trying to smell more children, but turned as she heard the distant horses of the night's watch of the nearby town, who seemed to have been spurred to pay a surprise visit. The vampiress escaped before they neared, and Gabriel was discovered by the night's watch captain. The monastery was abandoned, and the shivering young boy (and whatever few survivors lived through the black events of the night) saw the night's watch captain regard a stranger with high respect. The captain told the children that they will live in the nearby city, and it was thanks to the vampire hunter that they survived the night. The stranger wore a breastplate but was otherwise lightly armored and armed--but with strange gear. He bore a gleaming silver shortsword, a chain-whip with a censure-head, and bore dozens of potion vials and holy symbols, and a black cloak and high hat. On the way back, the survivors were shocked into tearful silence. The stranger saw Gabriel notice him. The man gave a small smile back, but noticed Gabriel was looking at a necklace around the hunter’s neck—that bore a white vampire fang. The man smiled, and handed the boy the necklace, saying, “The best thing that extinguishes fear is knowledge.” When the survivors reached the town, and were set to sleep in the inn’s common room, Gabriel spoke for the first time in the night, and told the vampire hunter “I want to go with you.” It was that night Gabriel became a Belmont, as he joined Ashton Belmont. With memories of his robbed childhood, slain friends, and mother-figure brutally killed, and with nightmares of the vampire--appearing as a dark figure with gleaming red eyes, he promised his life to the vampire killer if only he could stop him from feeling fear. Build:
Paladin (oath of vengeance) 3 Divine Sense (3/long rest Lay on Hands (5x level healing) Fighting Style (Dueling) Spellcasting (gets better the longer I stay on track) Divine Smite (1d8 + 1d8/level) Extra Attack Sacred Oath (Vengeance) > Spells (Hunter's Mark, Bane, Hold Person, Misty Step, Haste, Prot. Energy, Banishment/DD, Scrying) > Channel Divinity (Abjure Enemy; turn enemy for 1 minute, fiend/undead have disadvantage) > Enmity: Advantage on attack rolls vs. creature until unconscious Extra Attack Rogue 3 (Inquisitive)
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