First Name: Gyren
Last Name: Edwood
Appearance:
Race: Human
Age: 32 (as of 1356)
Height 6' / 1.8m
Weight: 215 lbs
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Dark Brown
Facial Hair Style: Short beard
Personality Profile:
General Health: Great. No deformation. Muscular Build.
Deity: Lathander
Initial Alignment: Lawful Good
Profession: Pilgrim and Paladin-in-training
Base Class & Proposed Development: Pal
Habits/Hobbies: Reading, Traveling, Riding
Languages: Common, Chondathan
Weapon of Choice: Morningstar
Notable Possession (in the order of obtainment):
A suit of plate armor of a legendary paladin - purchased from Gideon the Smith
A cloak of the same paladin - purchased from Mister Mudd's consignment
Two Lathanderite artifacts - an amulet and a gem purchased from Ulla of the Treeghost tribe
A jeweled tome of Amnish history - a gift from Isabella the Gatewarden of Candlekeep
A helmet of the above paladin - a gift from Boris the Knight-Commander of Thay
A suit of "Earth Plate Armor" - a gift from Richard Caine
Background:
Childhood
Gyren was born in Daggerford in the year of 1324 DR. His father is a rancher and supplies animals of all sorts, horses, sheep and cows, to the small town. As a rancher, Gyren's father and mother are devoted Lathanderites and go to the Morninglow Tower in Daggerford regularly even they live out of the town. With them they often dragged the little Gyren to the worship of Lanthander despite his reluctance because he found it boring. He was not as religious as his parents did. It is there, however, he met his friends - children with a similar background from the other agricultural families. They spent most of their childhood together and gradually he grew a sense of belonging to the church, a place he is so beloved that he calls his second home.
Teenage
Besides church life, early in his childhood, Gyren had been exposed to the tale of Tyndal, which gave the namesake of the small town. The tale influenced him a lot as he always played games with his friends reenacting the scenes in the tale, of how Tyndal defended the town from lizardfolks. At his young age, he already aspired to become a hero defending his hometown. The nearby sprawling hills of the town poses as a staging ground for the raiding orcs and goblins. This provides ample opportunity for the teenage young Gyren to hone his martial skills defending his father's ranch and Daggerford.
Paladinhood Training
His life completely changed after his eighteenth birthday. By the year 1342 DR, Gyren was already an experienced fighter, defending the town and surrounding environs for several years. As his teenage came to an end, he had to consider his career path. As a devoted Lathanderite and interested in pursuing a martial career in defending his hometown, he decided to take up arms as a paladin of the Morninglord to better serve the security of Daggerford. Despite receiving paladin training in a relatively old age of 18, he nonetheless had an upper hand in martial training with his practical experience in defending his ranch and at times the small town against the threat of orcs and goblins.
Pilgrimage
Thanks to the militia and the effort of many living in the small town, the safety of Daggerford is secured and its environs are relatively peaceful. Gyren, thus, decided to go on a pilgrimage as part of his paladin training in 1345 DR. Originally, he planned to go to the Spires of the Morning in Waterdeep first as it is the nearest major Lathanderite temple. Yet the Night of Temple Fires broke out and destroyed the temple. Although the temple was quickly rebuilt in a year, unknowing to him at that time Gyren changed his plan and headed east instead.
From 1345 to 1350 DR, he traveled from the Sword Coast to as far east as the coast of the Dragon Reach. He visited most of the major temples in between and spent around one year each place serving the temple and learning from the paladins and priests there as part of his training. First he arrived the Healing House of Lathander in Scornubel in the Western Heartland via the Trade Way. Then he continued east to Eveningstar and Morningmist Hall in Marsember in Cormyr. From Cormyr he journeyed northeast to Morningdawn Hall in Shadowdale and Lathander's Light in Dagger Falls in the Dalelands. Eventually through the harbor of Harrowdale, he reached the Morning Halls in Tantras in the Vast. Gyren's pilgrimage was rather uneventful at this point. Notwithstanding, he gained a lot of experience and insights as a paladin - he became more matured than his days in Daggerford.
Gyren's dull pilgrimage came to an end as he set foot on the harbor of Westgate in 1351 DR. He voyaged from the Vast to the Dragon Coast across the Sea of Fallen Stars. There he witnessed the corruption within the hierarchy of the Lathanderite church, the Morningstar Haven. But it is also there he met a lifelong friend - an ex-champion of the Morninglord. The ex-paladin was expelled from the church because he slaughtered a group of thugs of the criminal gang responsible for the death of his lover. Enraged by the news of his lover's death, the ex-paladin blindly killed them off one by one without trial. Instead of offering comfort and counsel, the church charged that he was unfit of being the champion of the Morninglord and expelled him. Fallen from grace, the ex-paladin lost his faith in Lathander and indulged alcoholism until he met Gyren in a tavern.
Although he was no longer a paladin, the heart of the ex-paladin was still filled with a sense of justice and honor. Together the two combated evil and criminal deeds in the metropolis. Gradually the ex-paladin rebuilt his faith and eventually the Morninglord showed a sign to him and bestowed a gift - a holy sword to the ex-paladin. With divine intervention, the ex-champion thus reclaimed his paladinhood.
Baldur's Gate and Sword Coast South
Successful in aiding his friend to reclaim his paladinhood, it was time for Gyren to move onward. From Westgate, Gyren traveled west over land. His next destination was Baldur's Gate as he wishes to relieve the suffering of the people caused by the war and plague there. After that he plans to move south along the Sword Coast to Amn to continue his pilgrimage and training in Beregost as he heard of the flourishing Lathanderite community there and in the Dome of the Rose in Athkatla.
Eventually he arrived at the East Gate of the Gate in the month of Mirtul in 1352 DR, the Year of the Dragon. See his journey through his journal.
There and Back Again
After spending a couple of months in the Sword Coast, he felt the urge to continue his pilgrimage to Amn and traveled south. He arrived at the Dome of the Rose in Athkatla in late 1352 DR and served the Lathanderite community there for four years. Those four years had been good to Gyren as they were peaceful four years for him, nothing major happened, and he continued his paladin training. But he also felt that his business with Beregost and with the Sword Coast left unfinished and decided to travel north again. See his return in his journal entry.
Goals:
- To complete his pilgrimage and master his skills as paladin
To get in touch with the Lathanderite community in Beregost- completed- To continue his pilgrimage to
the Dome of the Rose andthe Spires of the Morning - To join the Order of the Aster upon completion of his paladin training
- His weapon of choice is morningstar, although the favoured weapon of Lathander is mace, for its shape resembles the radiance of the sun. His weapon, whether enchanted or not, serves as his object of worship and a channel of communication between him and his God.
- He is an expert in fighting orcs and goblins as well as lizardfolks. He has developed his skill through long years of defending his home and Daggerford from orc raids. As a result, he also hates orcs and goblins. But his hatred reserves for the pure-blooded orc only. He sympathizes with half-orc as he sees them as the victims of the frequent orc raids. He even befriended some of the half-orc living in Daggerford.
- He is a natural rider and an expert of horse breed for his long years of working in his father's ranch. He also has connection to the Rancher Guild of Daggerford through his father.
- He likes reading and reads a lot. Most of his knowledge gained from books. He is also a collector of books. Still he is willing to part with his collection if someone deserves its knowledge as he believes knowledge ought to be shared around.
- He met and made a lot of friends during this pilgrimage, including fellow Lathanderite priests and paladins as well as clergy and paladin from the Triadic church. He has connections in Cormyr, the Dalelands, Tantras and Westgate.
- As many as the friends he made along his journey, he also made a lot of enemies, particularly those who oppose the Lathanderite and Triadic churches, when he was serving the church, fighting against evil and crime. Most notably was the Night Masks, based in Westgate. He combated this criminal organization numerous times and thwarted many of its plans. The master of this criminal guild still holds a grudge to him after he left for Baldur's Gate.
- He enjoys traveling and is curious about many things he unheard of. He had been to many different places from the Sword Coast to the coast of the Sea of Fall Stars in the past 7 years.