Lorant Endronil's page

It was a cold, moonlit night when Masilda Endronil stumbled into the village of Grayce seeking a place to stay. She came to the Chapel Bridge shrine, and spoke with the three priestesses that tended it: Ylenia Adamache, cleric of Pharasma, Juliana of Lastwall, the shrine's new priestess of Iomedae, and Old Diona, a mystery cultist of the Empyreal Lord Andoletta. She claimed she had been thrown out by her parents in a town far away for carrying a child from a man she did not know. Begging for sanctuary, the priestesses took pity on her and accepted her as an acolyte. In the following months, Masilda became as regular a fixture of Grayce as the priestesses themselves, helping them maintain the Chapel Bridge and assisting the locals with whatever she could. As her pregnancy progressed, however, it was clear that something was wrong.

Masilda became ill often, and seemed to grow frailer and frailer with each passing day until another cold, moonlit night when she finally went into labor. Ylenia prepared to serve as her midwife, as she did for all the others in the village, but soon realized that Masilda's pain was far worse than the ordinary pain of childbirth. She screamed that it felt like her soul was being ripped apart, and the baby that was beginning to emerge looked like a stillborn. Thinking quickly, Ylenia called on Juliana and Diona to use their healing magics to keep Masilda alive. They obliged, and practically blasted Masilda with as much holy power as they could muster, but it wasn't enough. Ylenia joined in, knowing they had very little time to save either of them, but it still wasn't enough. They worried they'd lose both mother and child, and very well might have, had fortune not brought Ruxandra, a wandering cleric of Desna, to their doorstep that day. Ruxandra did not even have time to greet the priestesses before they cried for her help and prayers, and the kind-hearted woman did not hesitate, her healing magic helping Ylenia to deliver the baby as midnight came, weak and pale, but alive. Unfortunately, it was too late for Masilda, who was fading quickly. They barely had enough time to put the boy in her arms so she could see him, and the last words she spoke named him Lorant.

After much deliberation, Ylenia, Juliana and Diona decided that they would care for Lorant as a final favor to Masilda, and raise him in the faith that they shared. The Chapel Bridge was Lorant's home for the majority of his childhood, as he learned how to help deliver babies from Ylenia, how to fight from Juliana and delivered charitable offerings from Diona to the less fortunate townsfolk. Every so often, Ruxandra would stop in Grayce too, telling him of the many strange places and interesting people she met in her travels. Lorant, like his mother before him, became a familiar figure to Grayce's people, and even to the Knights of Ozem who would occasionally cross the border from Lastwall and pass through the village, who he watched eagerly and would imitate when playing with other children. Even though his childhood was relatively happy, he started exhibiting behavior the townsfolk and even his own foster mothers found eerie, such as his preferring the darkness of night to the light of day, his fascination with blood, staring at it hungrily when he'd help Ylenia deliver a baby, and having conversations with the Chapel Bridge's occasional rat. It soon became clear in Ylenia's mind that Lorant's father must have been a vampire, for she knew how their children, the dhampirs, would show these signs.

After sharing these findings with her sisters, Ylenia decided that Lorant would not be safe in Grayce forever. Dhampir lived a long time, after all, and the townsfolk would become suspicious as the children he played with grew old while he remained young. Contacting Ruxandra, the three asked her to take Lorant with them on her journeys. Ruxandra agreed, and Lorant excitedly joined her. He spent the next few years travelling with her, until Ruxandra passed away from old age, leaving Lorant all alone. He carried on on his own for many years, wandering Ustalav's paths and backroads. He would help deliver children in villages he passed, help drive off animals haunting the roads, and while passing through Barstoi he even served as a conscript in the infamous War Without Rivals. Shortly after that terrible experience, Lorant returned to his home in Grayce, as he did sometimes, even after Ylenia, Juliana and Diona had passed on, where a chance encounter on yet another cold, moonlit night changed his life once again.

On the outskirts of the village, he spotted a Knight of Ozem engaged in battle with a group of undead creatures, and saw that one of the corpses was about to strike down his travelling companion, a young man in the garb of a scholar. Lorant leaped into the fracas to save the man, and not only helped them win the battle but saved the village to boot, as the monsters would surely have killed many of its people. The scholar introduced himself as Petros Lorrimor, who would later be called Professor Lorrimor, and he was immensely grateful to Lorant for saving his life, swearing he'd never forget him. The knight, Sir Ardoin of Lastwall, was equally impressed with Lorant's prowess and quick response. It turned out Sir Ardoin had come to Ustalav in an attempt to recruit Ustalavs for the Knights of Ozem, hoping that some would take an interest in defending their homeland from the undead and watching the remnants of its horrific past in Virlych. Sadly, Ardoin had had little luck, as for all the good it did, the Knights of Ozem were still regarded as foreigners who weren't to be trusted. He extended an offer to Lorant to join him on his return to Lastwall, where he might make a name for himself in the Knights. Lorant agreed, but was quick to inform Ardoin of his unique condition. Ardoin reacted with surprise, as he'd called a great deal of holy power down on the undead monsters, and Lorant had hardly seemed effected, as he knew the dhampir were as vulnerable to the channeled energy of the gods as their vampiric parents were. Lorant's only guess as to why was that the energy his four foster mothers had blasted his mother with during his birth had left some lingering effect, giving him a greater tie to life than other dhampir. Ardoin shrugged and said if Lorant's heart was as strong as his sword-arm, the Knights would not care. And so Lorant followed the pair from Ustalav to Lastwall, where he would remain for a number of years.

Lorant's time in the Crusader War College was a major turning point in his life, as he trained in the ways of an inquisitor, his talents better suited to investigation and hunting than brutal combat, but he quickly found himself butting heads with his instructors. Their insistence on protocol and chivalry frustrated him, as sometimes he felt that doing the right thing meant leaping in and helping regardless of circumstance, and the prevalence of the Iomedean faith meant the Knights valued Pharasma, Andoletta and Desna less. Lorant argued that if the Knights opened up their membership to more faiths, they would gain greater strength against their enemies, to which the Knights replied that as Iomedae herself had been a member of theirs in her mortal days, to allow other gods into their hearts would be like turning their back on an old comrade. It soon became clear that Lorant would not rise to the higher ranks of the brotherhood, and might never even be knighted. He shared these frustrations with Professor Lorrimor, whom he corresponded with regularly following their parting. Petros encouraged him to stay his course, as there was enough blind zealotry in both Ustalav and Lastwall, and it prevented them from seeing solutions to problems right in front of their faces. This faith and perseverance that Lorrimor sparked in him paid off as he was finally accepted by the Knights of Ozem as a squire. Before long, however, he recieved a letter from Ustalav with the sad news that Petros had died suddenly, and he was a beneficiary in his will. Putting his plans on hold, Lorant packed his things and prepared to return home to Ustalav that cold, moonlit night...

Ecumenical; Lorant has carried the faith of his hometown of Grayce with him, calling upon Iomedae for strength in battle, Pharasma to give rest to the dying and make the future clear, Andoletta to bring comfort and security to those who are afraid, and giving praise to Desna for the wonders of his fog-shrouded homeland. He dislikes the monolithic Iomedean faith in Lastwall and Pharasmin Penitence in Ustalav, as he feels that even the gods can't do things alone, so different situations require propitiating differeng gods.

Sentimental; A dhampir can live a long time, and Lorant is no exception. Having wandered Ustalav for more than a century, he's borne witness to many turning points in its history, and has come to regard his homeland as a darkly beautiful place. It's another reason why he feels the Pharasmin Penitence goes too far, that it has an obsession with the afterlife that blinds it to the things in the mortal world that make life worth living, in his mind.

Gallant; Despite his beliefs, Lorant is no shrinking violet when it comes to combat. He is well aware of the dangers that lurk in the dark places of Ustalav, and how the ordinary person isn't prepared to handle those things. Following Iomedae's principles, he places himself as the bulwark between, though sometimes the bloodthirst of his heritage pushes through and he takes things too far.

Noctophiliac; A byproduct of his dhampir heritage, Lorant feels most comfortable and alive at night. While not as sensitive to sunlight as the average dhampir, he prefers to stay up late and drink copious amounts of coffee to keep going during the day.

Wolfish; Lorant enjoys investigating and hunting, whether for monsters, cultists or simply food, and when tracking things become eerily focused, with an almost predatory attitude that doesn't dissipate until he brings down his prey, or the trail goes cold, which makes him irritable.

Conscientious; Having seen both the best and worst of Ustalav and Lastwall combined, Lorant's sense of right and wrong is keen, and he'll stubbornly try to do the right thing, regardless of whether people or the law agree.

Ht: 5'7"
Wt: 165 lbs
Age: 136
Hair: Shoulder-length, Wavy, Black
Eyes: Pale blue
Skin: Deathly pale, almost sickly white

Lorant is of average height, with a lean frame. He has a decent amount of tone from the combat training he's taken over the years as well as his lifetime of wandering Ustalav. His glossy black hair is relatively straight, curling towards his neck at the ends, and he has a well-trimmed moustache and goatee with his cheeks cleanly shaving, a style that was popular among Ustalav's elite a few decades ago. His face is thin and angular, with a hooked nose and very light blue eyes, proud and stern of glance. He dresses in functional purple and red travelers garb with white and gold accents that hides the chain shirt beneath. He carries a small kite shield that bears a coat of arms with three crescent moons on a purple field surrounded by 16 red stars similar to the heraldry of Ustalav itself.