On a cold, winter's night, a boy was born out of wedlock to a minor, Ustalavan noblewoman. In an effort to keep up appearances, the noblewoman's advisors gifted the boy to the Knights of Ozem, to whom the realm owed a dept. The holy Knights took the boy south to Lastwall. His only inheritance was the surname carried by every illegitimate child of Ustalav. It is said that the "Grave" is a heartbeat away for all fatherless Varissians born within the cursed, fog-shrouded land.
The boy soon arrived at the vigil kingdom. A kingdom tasked with holding back Tar-Baphon's remaining orc and undead armies. The Order tried to train the boy in the arts of war and valor. They had hoped he would become a great Paladin. But, for all their efforts, he could not master the soldier's craft. The boy did not want of faith. A life guarding the walled nation seemed dull. And, the tactics that the old knights taught seemed, to him, a sure way to get a man killed. "Why would I face an orc on equal footing," he thought, "when they are so much larger than I? Would it not be wiser to use the beasts' strength against them instead of meeting it head on?"
Over the years, the boy's heart drifted away from Vigil and towards the road. He longed to travel and escape the wall. Then, on his 18th name day, the Order granted the boy with his wish...
For over 20 years, Rois has been a recruitment officer for the Knights of Ozem. His sacred task is to find able, young men and woman to subscribe to a soldier's life. He then guides the new recruits back to Lastwall where they will live and die defending Ustalav from the Belkzen Hords. For this reason, Rois' offer of military services is called "an escape" by some and "mother's bane" by others. He has had to escape a village by the cloak of darkness more than once because of unhappy peasants. Rois fully understands that loosing sons and daughters to Lastwall is hard on families and the harvest. But, his first, and only, loyalty is to the Kights of Ozem and the protection of the realm.
But, recruitment has been down recently. The order is at a loss to what could be causing the problem. So, they have sent Rois across the border to southern Ustalave to investigate, and, if possible, stop whatever problem that is affecting the people's loyalty to Lastwall.
Description Most people think of the Knights of Ozem as large, powerful individuals in gleaming armor as bright as the sun. Rois is anything but. His armor is dinged and dingy from a life of long travels. His face is usually unkempt and his hair is matted with dirt. Every day on the road brings him closer to being indistinguishable from peasants he is sent out to recruit.
Personality Rois is an excellent recruitment officer and the vast number of soldiers he has brought to Lastwall has earned him a title. He knows the people of Ustalav well and tries to be kind and soft spoken as not to frighten them. The typical recruitment is a form of bait and switch. First he will talk to the recruit and tell them tales of glorious battle. He will let that fester for a few days. Then, when speaking with the parents, he will give more practical information - that their son or daughter will receive three meals a day, that they will be cared for and be educated, and that their soldier's pay will be more than enough to hire a replacement hand in the fields. The end goal is for all concerned to see that the recruit's new life as a soldier has zero drawbacks.
Some recruitment officers resort to kidnapping, but, Rois has found that his tactics yield better soldiers. Many of his recruits survive the first month of combat - an excellent record by all accounts. Part of this is because he understands the fear of the common people. Lastwall was founded with Ustalavian land to protect. The war does not exist for war's sake, but, because it serves a purpose. That purpose is to bring safety and justice to the long abused Ustalav.
