Solomon Steele's page

About Solomon Steele

The Tempering of Solomon Steele

Solomon Steele was born and raised in Falcon’s Hollow in the Darkmoon Vale. Steele’s father was a Varisian who had relocated to Falcon’s Hollow for reasons he never revealed. Steele’s father married a local girl of exquisite beauty who was swept away by his exotic charm. At first the local citizens resented the marriage, claiming an outsider had stolen the rose of Falcon’s Hollow. But Solomon Steele’s father was a good man and through his good deeds, won the good will of the town’s folk.

The Steeles had two children, a daughter Serenity Steele who inherited her mother’s beauty and then a son Solomon Steele. Solomon’s father often referred to his family as the “beauty, peace and wisdom” of his life.

Solomon’s father worked as a hunter for the Lumber Consortium supplying meat to the camps. Solomon’s father was an excellent bowmaker, but the Consortium would not allow him to sell his bows. Life in Falcon’s Hollow was not easy. Abject poverty and the cruelty of the Consortium abounded seemingly without limit.

When Solomon was born, his father had him blessed by Erastil. As he grew, Solomon’s father taught him how to hunt and to craft bows so he would have a trade for later in life. But he also trained him in the use of the Varisian war razor, a weapon he never displayed to anyone but Solomon.

One day as Solomon was nearing puberty, word arrived that his father had been slain by a wild beast while hunting. The Steele family was devastated. Suddenly they had no means of support. Solomon’s mother tried to find work but there was little available except for Kabran Bloodeye’s brothel, the Rouge Lady. Bloodeye harassed Solomon’s mother nightly insisting she and her daughter work for him, but she stoutly refused.

One morning Solomon awoke to find his mother and sister gone and their house ransacked. Anything of value was gone. All Solomon owned were the clothes on his back, his craft tools and his father’s war razor that he had hidden. The Consortium officials arrived soon after stating his mother had been found dead at the edge of town, killed by wolves. There was no sign of his sister. It was assumed she had been dragged off by the wolves. Since it was obvious he could not pay the rent on the house, Solomon was immediately thrown in the streets to survive as best he could.

No doubt Solomon would have suffered greatly had it not been for Dr. Falcon. Dr. Falcon was a disgraced Taldoran exile who fled to Falcon’s Hollow to escape death. Falcon was not his real name and he was not truly a doctor, but he knew enough to treat the town’s folk and the loggers and so the Consortium let him be for a fee.

Dr. Falcon took Solomon in claiming him as his apprentice. Falcon taught Solomon about the human anatomy and where the most vital organs are. He taught him to read and write and to speak Kelish and Osirian.

“Just because you come from humble beginnings is no reason to remain ignorant” he would often say. Falcon also taught Solomon the use of the rapier and how to move quickly and quietly and many other strange skills as well. But most of all, he taught Solomon that the worst thing a man can do is allow the tribulations of life to poison his happiness. Falcon revered Cayden Cailean and always looked for the good in any situation.

As Solomon approached his maturity, he noticed people looking at him strangely and avoiding his company. Solomon remarked about it to Dr. Falcon at breakfast one morning. Falcon became incensed and stormed out of the house. Solomon tried to follow but the good doctor was already out of sight. Puzzled, Solomon went on about his business doing handy work about the town.

Solomon returned to the house for mid-meal with the doctor and found the room demolished and the doctor on the floor in a pool of blood. Dr. Falcon was barely alive and beyond Solomon’s skill to save. Before he died he revealed to Solomon that Kabran Bloodeye had arranged for the murder of his father so that he could take his mother and sister. When they refused, he had them kidnapped and taken to the Rouge Lady. Kabran Bloodeye and his men violently abused Solomon’s mother and she died as a result. Bloodeye sold Solomon’s sister to a slaver from Qadira who was traveling to Absalom. The town’s folk all suspected it but since the Consortium seemed disinterested, they kept quiet out of fear. Bloodeye wanted Solomon dead as well so there would be no loose ends but Dr. Falcon intervened. Now that Solomon was nearing manhood Bloodeye was going to kill him. Dr. Falcon confronted Bloodeye and threatened to a vendetta against him if any harm befell Solomon. Unknown to the doctor Bloodeye had already arranged for the doctor’s demise. The doctor was ambushed as he stepped through his front door.

Dr. Falcon told Solomon to leave Falcon’s Hollow quickly and find his sister. Someday he could return and make Bloodeye pay for his wickedness, but that day was not today. Solomon was not yet ready. Dr. Falcon gave Solomon his rapier and dagger and passed away.

Solomon fled the town but only to the edge of the wood. There he waited until nightfall and reentered the town. Moving like a shadow, Solomon hunted until he found the man responsible for his father’s death. The murderer was staggeringly drunk and presented no challenge to the vengeful lad. Solomon sliced the man to ribbons with his father’s war razor and left him in the street as a message to Bloodeye. Solomon learned that night that as long as he felt justified, he could kill without compunction.

Solomon Steele traveled to Absalom and joined the Pathfinders Society hoping to discover anything that might help him find his sister. He despises slavery of all types, physical and economical. Solomon Steele has no mercy for slavers and works diligently to thwart their efforts.
Solomon’s motto is:
“Eat, drink and be merry, but suffer not a slaver to live.”