Joshua Grayson's page

-A prayer, spoken at dawn on the day of his mothers passing

Joshua's story is not unheard of in Cheliax or even in Westcrown, though it does have a few twists. His mother was a salve from a far off land captured by raiders. She was bought by his father, a noble of Cheliax with 'exotic' tastes. The resulting union was Joshua, a lad with deep skin like his mothers and black hair like his fathers. And golden yellow eyes that reflected light like that of a cats.

He grew up the child of a slave, not a slave himself but certainly not a person in the eyes of true Cheliax citizens. His father, of course, denied his existence, and Joshua made the mistake of claiming to be the mans son only once. He learned his lesson. But he committed a worse crime then to be born to a slave, even worse then to be born a bastard.

The foul truth of his birth was that he was a tiefling. It was clear in those golden eyes of his or the black striped tail he had. Even if he could hide the latter the former let everyone know what he was. But those in the know, devil summoners and tieflings alike, knew he was something worse then a typical mistake with a devil. He was Rakshasa-Spawn, sharing the blood of creatures even devils were wary of. His father had a theory, made during the one time he had been allowed in his fathers study. The dark powers that the noble man wielded likely awoke the ancient heritage in Joshua. A mistake, nothing more, and one he has since learned to guard against.

And so Joshua grew up with even fewer friends then his birthright would have granted him. Even the tieflings of the city avoided him, out of fear, superstition, or the chance to finally look down on someone lesser. The young man found companionship where he could. A few thieves, a few former actors. It was lucky his mother was so devout and intent on passing her faith to her son or Joshua probably would have traveled a much less kind path.

In secret, she raised him not as a servant of Asmodeus but as a faithful of Sarenrae. In secret, she taught him the goddesses prayers and even more then that the Goddesses dance. For that was what she had been before being captured, an artist who danced. And finally, she passed on one more thing to Joshua. Her skill with a blade.

Since her death, Joshua has felt little need to return to his fathers home, and instead makes a simple living dancing in the streets to entertain others or picking the pockets of nobles who he feels have it coming. At least, during the day. At night this young man has an entirely different goal, one perhaps a little misguided but full of good intention. He wanders the streets covered by a heavy cloak, one that jingles when he wants it too, and a scimitar on his hip.

To those in need, that jingle of the ornaments on his cloak is a godsend. To the thieves and crooks and savage that would take advantage of the weak, it's a warning. He has to be careful of course. Getting caught or too entangled means earning the ire of his father. But he does what good he can in this hellish city.

But something new has come. Or perhaps something old. He hears talk in his favorite haunts of a Council thought destroyed, working its way into the shadows once more. At first he was worried they were simply another gang but the more he has learned, the more he wishes to join their cause and better this cruel city.

OOC- I will say this about the character, he's a little melodramatic. He does like to wander the streets at night and will help anyone being mugged or the like but it rarely comes to fighting and he's only been lucky enough to stumble upon such encounters a couple times. This isn't to detract from what he has done, but to make it clear that he's not quite a Batman or near there. At least not yet! XD

He is a tiefling of an unusual kind and that means he has some unusual features. Aside from the golden eyes, he has a long tiger like tail, striped black and gold. More often then not it's curled around his waist looking like a very fancy and fine belt. His lower half is also often hidden in heavy, baggier clothing with long boots to hide the fact that it is not what it seems.

His legs are bent backward in a fashion that would seem painful to those not born with it, covered in fur matching his tail, and rather then feet he has paws at the end with claws. Learning how to walk in boots has always been a trouble for Joshua, so he revels in the nights where he can kick them off and move with the feline grace that comes so naturally to him.

To distract from his nature and his tendency to pick pockets, Joshua wears gaudy clothing he purchased in the market. It is in the fashion of his mothers homeland, but it is the kind of imitation that is more myth then truth. Joshua plays up his dark skin and eerie eyes to earn more attention while he's dancing. And at night he lets his fancy clothing and heavy, ornamented cloak distract from the silent blade hidden in the many folds of cloth.

Traits- Infernal Bastard, Dancer of the Sun (Maestro of the Society)

But there's more to the peculiarities then that. Unlike his sister, Sarah, Joshua does not have pointed ears. Instead he has a shockingly white smattering of hair on his head instead and grey eyes that were once brighter then they are now. He believes, along with his family, that it's simply an oddity of his elven heritage on his mothers side mixing oddly with his fathers human heritage. This belief is wrong, though it would take an expert to know this is so. He is, in truth, an Aasimar, though the angelic blood in him appears to be very weak, hence why he hasn't been outed as such yet.

Ela: Ela is a human woman who, in one stroke, lost both her brother and her best friend and sister in law, and then was saddled with two children she liked but never reckoned she'd be caring for. Many in her situation would react poorly... and she did. Ela always had a tendency to be just a little free with certain habits, such as drinking, but after the loss of her brother and her best friend, things took a turn for the worse. Joshua and Sarah learned to stay out of her way s they were growing up in her home, but now that Joshua has been injured something seems to have changed in Ela. She drinks less, sleeps more, and never yells at either of those living her home anymore. She seems... listless though, as if she spent many years mourning and is now simply empty. Sarah is doing what she can to try and bring her aunt out of her shell and start living a more healthy life, since the young woman figures Ela is family.

Captain Reynold: Reynold is a hard human soldier who never wanted to make officer. He was a career fighter and liked it that way. He's older, in his middle years now, and is involved in everything he despises. Politics, back room dealings, and worst of all a commissioned role as an officer. Despite being a direct man who doesn't care for the subtleties of politics he's quite sharp and has some how managed to rise in rank year after year, believing it to be necessary. There's a corruption in the city, and if his 'betters' won't take care of it then he's determined too. He thinks fondly of Joshua, both as a drinking buddy sometimes and as a former Dottari, but has little time these days to shoot the shit with the half-elf.

Benny: Benny is a sometimes thief, sometimes smuggler, all time coward. The man is Joshua's former contact in the local crime who somehow seems to know everything, but is rarely if ever willing to give it up. After all, he learns these things to protect himself, and if everyone knows that he'll start spilling what he knows he won't last long in this city. That said, Benny still gives out small tid bits, usually only for a very hard price. Joshua despises the man, but his encounter Benny made him realize that sometimes letting a little fish go helps you catch a bigger one.

Lieutenant Kadrak: Lt. Kadrak is a particularly cruel and vicious human dottari who was responsible for the suicidal assignment for both Reynold and Joshua. Despite this and Reynolds, he is still an officer of the guard, mostly because he had himself transferred to another Captains authority the moment Reynold earned the rank. He's not untouchable, but he's got someone in his pocket and has managed to resist or turn aside all investigations of illicit behavior brought against him.

Why Westcrown? Their father, John, had a sister named Ela living there. They were to stay with her. For a time, things were well, and the Aunt was able to keep quiet her... habits. Joshua's favorite past time was to read as a child, and he did so a lot. Not of anything useful, of course, but tales of knights and warriors defending the innocent. He was fascinated by what they did, not because they got glory but because they did what was right. He remembered tales from his folks about such things and always dreamed of being able to become one of those fabled heroes. When he came of age, at least physically, he joined the Dottari, and unofficial the common dottari.

Unlike some of his colleagues, Joshua truly believed in doing what was right, and though he wasn't the best or strongest he learned quickly and had a keen eye and mind. Not to mention he could be quite persuasive, often talking down criminals before violence ever became necessary. He hadn't been a Dottari for more then year though when... the incident occurred. It has forever haunted him, and to this day Joshua lives with the pain of his decision. Still, he knows he would have made that same choice again, no matter the suffering it brought on him.

Because of his more goodly and heroic ideals, Joshua was not that popular amongst the other Dottari, at least not the lieutenants who were often not on the up and up. One in particular took offense at Joshua using what he recalled of some obscure law to go around the lieutenants authority and have freed a man he knew to be innocent. Truth was, the man was innocent, and Lt. Kardak knew this. He had been accepting a bribe to see the man, a merchant, executed for something he didn't do. The one bribing him was another wealthy merchant who was trying to get rid of his competition. What Joshua did ruined the merchants plan and angered Kardak greatly. So the lieutenant arranged, with what he had managed to save from his bribe money, to have an understaffed patrol sent with Joshua and a couple other 'trouble makers'. Instead of a lieutenant, they got a sergeant who was often questioning orders and finding round about ways to go around them when they screwed over innocents, a scout who had learned to much of some illicit dealings on one particular mission, and Joshua.

Three soldiers going out at night in Westcrown is suicide, but the only other option was desertion, which carried a death sentence. The scout ran anyway, leaving the Sergeant, Reynold, and Joshua to fend for themselves that night. As to be expected, they were attacked. The shadows swarmed over the weak patrol and attempted to kill them. It was only through clever thinking, using an alley way to limit their numbers and fighting back to back, did Joshua and Reynold even -survive- the encounter. Just before dawn, the shadows fled, seeking shelter from the coming sun. Two battered, worn, scared, and injured Dottari remained. But damn it, they had survived. They were grinning, laughing even, and clapping each other on the back when Joshua saw something. A brief flicker in the corner of his eye. He reacted on instinct and dove, thrusting Reynold out of the way as a shadowy creatures claws descended.

Joshua remembers little of what happened next, but Reynold has told the tale. Apparently one of the creatures had not fled, but remained in the alley, hiding beneath some magic or something to strike out when they let their guard down. Joshua had pushed Reynold out of the way and saved the Sergeants life. The thing instead tore through the half-elfs arm before Reynold was able to thrust his sword into the creatures chest and forced it to run. The sergeant spent the next hour dragging Joshua's unconscious form to a temple he knew some Iomedae clerics were holed up in. They healed the half elf, but there was nothing they could do about the missing arm.

Since that day, the twos lives were forever changed. Reynold saw the corruption in the guards ranks as something more then a small problem to be circumvented now. He spent most of his time earning as much power as he could and attempting to clean out the guard ranks. He is now one of the few captains not owned by a merchant or noble or criminal, and he is notoriously hard on corruption within the Dottari. The problem is, he's one of several captains, and while his own force is relatively clean these days, he's been undermined at every turn trying to clear out corruption elsewhere, and now that the nobles know what his game is his authority is slowly being limited.

Joshua could no longer serve as a city guard. Not only had he lost his arm, by he came down with an infection that tore away at most of his strength and for weeks after his loss he was bed ridden and ill. Because he couldn't afford magical healing on his own, and his aunt didn't care, Joshua was left in the care of his little sister. The once strong warrior wasted away, but eventually he managed to beat off the infection. His body however was never the same, and even now its taken great diligence to gain the strength and stamina he has now back. But without his arm, he will never serve Westcrown.

The problem is, Joshua was stubborn. His mother and father had both been adventures, both telling him as he grew up in their care to do what was right in their own ways, usually by showing him. He saw first hand how they rescued people and how doing good for goodness' sake spread good. The half-elf was determined not to let his injury get the best of him. His physical training now is for more then just to be able to move about again. Its so that he can protect himself during his investigation. He wants to know whats going on the city, and he's determined to do whatever it takes to stop the evil that fills the streets every night.

The sigil that will appear on his forehead will be the name of the angelic ancestor he is related to so far down the line. I may, in fact, make part of the ritual for him becoming what he is calling out that name, ala Shazam style.

Fused, Joshua will look very much like the picture. His hair will have changed from a soft white to a cold silver and his eyes will have changed from a deep gray to hard steel. He will not wear armor, but the silvery raiment's he'll have will be as tough as any armor (eventually). They will appear like fancy silver tunic and pants otherwise. He is bare foot. The serrated greaves he'll don when he changed will be made of silver as well. (Going for a sort of theme here color wise). Joshua we'll have the same build and height in both form, save that he'll have two arms fused. What was sickly and frail about him though will seem soft and gentle instead. The sharp edges his face has now will seem roguish instead of starved. Basically, that 20 Cha he has is going to be inner and outer beauty when fused. XD

The man blinks awake, surprised to feel the wetness of a raindrop staining his cheek. He blinks and looks up into the sky and sees that it is dark with clouds. Even as his eyes gazed up into those dark clouds, more rain began to fall. He raised an arm quickly to protect his eyes and reached for the can that held the coins he had earned for the day. The rain pattered of the change within, but he protected it with his body, refusing to let the rain cause him to lose any.

Joshua had once been proud to be a guard for Westcrown, but now he was little more then a beggar. He stood and ran down the road at a hurry, one of several people clearing the streets. He ran not because he didn't want to get wet or couldn't afford to be sick, though those were good reasons, but because the creatures that came at night sometimes came in storms too. Not always, but... sometimes.

His shoes, worn and ragged, slapped against the wet pavement as he finally turned into his district. It wasn't the poorest of districts, but it was close enough that Joshua was careful as he scrambled down the road. By the time he reached his home, a small two story building near the end of the main road into the district, he was soaking. But he hadn't lost a single coin. He is, unfortunately, forced to knock on the door with the hand holding the can. It rattles with coins as it does. He can hear the soft patter of footsteps, and then the door opens just a little. Nearly half a dozen different chains obstruct Joshua's view of whoever answered the door, but the small voice that spoke out was unmistakeable. "Joshua?"

"It's me brat." Joshua says in a gentle and kind tone totally at odds with his choice of words. A squeal loud enough to make a dog bark from the neighboring building comes from the other side of the door and it shuts. The clinking of metal heralds the undoing of the chains and locks Joshua had spent good money having installed, and the door suddenly springs open to reveal a half elf girl in her adolescence who looked maybe half that in age physically. She jumped at the man, causing Joshua to stumble with a chuckle as his arm wrapped around her to embrace her in reply. He was careful not to spill any of the coins in his can.

The young man looked into his little sisters eyes and chuckled. "I take it your happy to see me?" The girl frowned then, and let go of Joshua, dropping to the ground. Then she kicked him in the shin with a grunt of irritation. "You're late! You had us... you had me worried sick!" Joshua chuckled again and walked on past the girl, eager to get into the rain. Sarah glared at her brother angrily, but followed, not wanting to get any more soaked then she already was from the rain. "Is she still home?" Sarah nods, then shakes her long brown hair out. Joshua didn't chastise her this time since he was doing a lot worse himself. "Let me guess, sleeping?"

Sarah sighs and looks a little sadly at the stairs leading to the master bedroom. "Auntie Ela woke up for a bit today, I even got her to eat and talk for a while, but then she said she was feeling tired so I had her go back upstairs again."

"You did good squirt." Joshua sets the mug down on a nearby table and messes with the girls hair, then turns his attention back to the coins. As he counts out how much he made, he speaks. "You have a good day at the temple today? Learn anything new?" For some reason, Sarah liked learning things from books, and so it was the perfect question to distract her from their drunk aunt, who they stayed with.

The conversation went on like it usually did from there, with Sarah sharing all that the few priests of Iomedae and Shelyn could teach her. It wasn't much unfortunately, but it was more then they could afford, and Joshua was forever grateful that the priests offered such services for the younger ones for free. But about halfway through the conversation, Joshua stops listening. Was that...? Yes, it looked like it. He reached into the can and quickly pocketed the golden coin before Sarah had a chance to see it, then brought the rest over to his little pouch. The pouch was heavy, containing all that Joshua had saved over his years of working as a guard. It had a good amount of gold, that was certain, and Sarah and he would never go hungry with this here. The pouch went back into its hiding spot beneath one of the floorboards. Not a perfect spot, but one that would be hard to find without someone telling anything. He turns to his little sister, who trails off when she's sees his expression. "You're... going out again aren't you?"

Joshua shakes his head quickly. "Not tonight squirt. But yeah." It was a secret he hadn't kept very well, mostly because he didn't like lying. Despite having been let go from the city watch, Joshua still did something he shouldn't. Whenever someone was generous enough to spare him copper or silver, it went right into the pouch beneath the floor boards. It didn't keep him from whittling away at his savings, but it did slow the process down enough that he could last for a good while taking care of Sarah. But gold coins? Those... he was ashamed to say those did not go to his family. Not always any way. A gold coin wasn't worth a lot to nobles, but to other beggars and small time thieves it meant food for a week at a relatively clean tavern. It was the cost of the information Joshua was looking for. Something was wrong with this city. Everyone knew it, but no one knew why. Joshua? He intended to find out. He had too. For himself, for his family, for the city, and for those who died every night, taken by shadows and the things that lurked within them.

His sister, Sarah, disaproved when she found out. She didn't care about the city, the fat nobles that didn't care about us common folk as she called them, and while she felt bad about those who lost their lives at night, she reminded Joshua time and again that it wasn't his job anymore. She worried about him, especially now that he couldn't defend himself anymore.

He sighs and heads toward his room in the back, "Get some sleep Sarah. I'll be leaving at dawn, so we'll talk when I get back tomorrow." His room was the smallest in the house, since he had refused to let Sarah have one on the first floor. It had a bed... sort of... and a beaten down old dresser missing most of its handles. It was sparcely lit with two candles, which took about five minutes for him to light. Sarah usually lit them for him around the time he got home. She had done so tonight as well. It looks like, judging by the amount of candle that was gone, he was about an hour late tonight.

With the door shut behind him to his room, Joshua quickly changed out of his wet clothes and hung them up, then found a somewhat clean towel to dry himself off. The ordeal was... harder then it once had been. The man looked into the mirror across the room and saw a stranger. White hair. Thin body. Soft, weak muscles. The only thing bright about him was his white hair and grey eyes, which came from his mothers side of the family he was certain, and even that color seemed... wilted now.

But, as it always did, his eyes tracked down to his right arm. Or what was left of it. it ended halfway up the elbow, little more then a stump. When he looked at it, the pain returned to the surface of his mind and he grimaced. It always hurt, but Joshua was able to ignore it these days, simply because he had gotten used to it. But whenever he thought about that night he lost it, thought about what he couldn't do anymore, or even glanced at himself in the mirror the pain came back. That wasn't even the worst part though. Sometimes he could still feel his hand. Sometimes he accidentally tried to reach out with his right hand. He used to be a guard, a proud one who defended the innocent despite the corruption in the city. Now he was a beggar and a cripple.

In the frail, flickering light of the candle, the stranger in the mirror looked harder then he normally did. His features were cast in shadow, his scars dark and forboding. And his expression... The expression of the stranger in the mirror hardened to match that body and those pale grey eyes briefly flashed with the steel of his soul. It didn't matter. he was going to find out what was wrong. Somehow. He was going to protect his family, his home. His city. He would be its Guardian.