The Herald of Death's page

About The Herald of Death

HISTORY
Thelonius was born in a small village in the Salt Hills of Osirion, close to the Scorpion Coast. The village was comprised of Elves and Gnomes, a stange mix, but one which had been solid for centuries. The Desert Elves were the Hunters and Gatherers, garnering what little they could from the barren land, while the Gnomes were the Artists and Craftsmen, making the everyday items the village needed as well as the arms and armour for the warriors.
Thelonius' family were weapon and armoursmiths and of course he grew up as an apprentice to his family. He was always a wild one though, and often he would sneak away to watch the Hunters train and would occasionally spar with them, learning how to use the weapons and armour he created.
When Thelonius was still young (only 25) a group of Hunters went missing. Hunters were often gone for days, sometimes weeks at a time, but every one of them knew to be back in the village for their annual Founding Festival. The Pack of five experienced Hunters didn't show up for the celebration and the Village's Holy Man, a wise old Elf name Ka, who was said to have the Sight and also to have been a Paladin of Aroden in his youth, predicted the worst. Late that night, after a full day and night of merry making, one of the Hunters crawled back into the village, his back riddled with crudely made arrows. As the merry makers watched, another arrow came streaking out of the night to imbed itself in the Elf's back and finish him off. A gutteral howl then pierced the night air as a dozen armed Gnolls rushed into the square, weapons drawn and a feral glint in their eyes.
Thelonius awoke in a daze the next morning underneath a pile of rubble. Next to him was the unconscious form of the Holy Man Ka. He could hear the animalistic Gnolls talking to each other and also heard the cries and screams of both Gnome and Elf alike. Trying to move the rubble only resulted in him passing out once more.
The next thing he remembed was standing in the middle of the village square, a scene of carnage evident around him and no living being to be seen. He pieced to gether the fact that he must have awoken into some kind of Rage state and used his new found strength to shift the rubble. He returned to his former prison and found that Ka was still breathing. He pulled the Old Elf out into the square and went about trying to tend his wounds. Visiting the Healer's burnt out home and managing to find some intact healing mixtures, he was able to heal them both up. Thankful for the help, but saddened by the devestaion around them, Ka told Thelonius the short tale of what had occurred, both that night and while they both slipped in and out of unconsciousness the next day. It appeared that the Gnolls were Slavers and that they had found the Hunting Party while on a routine search for new slaves. They killed all but one and followed him back to the village, striking while there were few sentries and everyone was unprepared. He said the when he awoke for a brief period the next day, he overhead them talking about taking what little slaves they had managed not to slaughter and selling them off down south in the Slave Markets of Katapesh. The two packed some belongings, Thelonius being lucky enough to find his father's Khopesh, an heirloom that had been in the family for generations and they set off from the village, never to return.
Over the course of the next 40 years, Thelonius and Ka travelled all over both Garund and Avistan, tracking down every slave that was sold and freeing them. Both the initial destruction of the village and their subsequent journey took a toll on them both. Ka, already old, seemed to age more rapidly with each slave freed, whereas Thelonius seemed to slip further and further into a morose state, fueled only by his desire to see the villagers rescued, often by any means necessary. Both his skin and hair became paler and paler and he took to shaving his head, a rarity amongst Gnomes.
Once the last slave was freed, Thelonius then set about hunting down and killing the Gnolls who had perpetrated the act. He had already killed 3 of them by this stage, and it took another 10 years before he finally tracked down the last one in far off Katheer, capital of Qadira. There, both he and Ka parted ways. Ka vanished into the desert, although Thelonius later found out that he was living a hermitic life and chose to leave him in peace.
Thelonius himself found acceptance in the Hall of Pharasma, his association with death and his newfound desire to distance himself from his former friends and loved ones suiting the Temples needs perfectly for a position as a seldom used, but much welcomed enforcer.
He has been living in the Temple for the last 23 years, but a morning visit will soon shake up his daily routine and send him back out onto the road...

DESCRIPTION
The Herald looks like his name implies.
He has pale white skin the colour of bleached bone and wide black eyes, which he accentuates with black face paint. He is bald and all of this combined gives the appearance of a skull.
Scars criss cross his arms in no discernable pattern, some recent, but most look quite old. It's hard to tell if the scars are from battles or self inflicted.
He wears tight black pants and soft black boots. He also wears a sleeveless black shirt when not in his Breastplate (which is very rare, pretty much only when he bathes). The breastplate itself is carved to resemble a ribcage, black with white bands, which only adds to his skeletal appearance.
A large (for a Gnome) Hammer is strapped across his back and a strangely curved blade hangs at his right hip. Both hands are sheathed in wicked looking black Spiked Gauntlets.
All in all he is not your typical looking Gnome and his demeanour makes this even more evident. Whereas most Gnomes are boisterous and talkative, Thelonius is sullen and only speaks when he needs to (although when he does speak his Gnomish side can sometimes mean that he speaks more than is necessarily needed), in a monotone. The most emotion ever shown by him is when he enters one of his seemingly random Rages, not stopping until he is either exhausted or every enemy is dead. The only thing that will most assuredly bring on one of his Rages is combat with Gnolls, otherwise they strike with no apparent pattern, although only in times of battle.

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