Aranath Turambar
Name: Aranath Turambar
Aliases: The Lion, Shiny, Cutter
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Age: 30
Profession: Paladin of Torm; Squire of the Order of the Radiant Heart
Languages: Common
Accent: Waterdhavian
Physical Information
Height: 6ft 1in
Weight: 245lbs
Body Build: Big and broad-shouldered, as a farmer might be.
Skin Type: Tanned and weathered. He has a large scar on his chest
Hair Style: Long with a full beard
Hair: Brown with a hint of auburn.
Eyes: Green
Skin: Tan
Mental Information
Alignment: Lawful Good
Philosophy: Honor is more important than life itself. We serve ourselves by serving others.
Deity/Beliefs: Torm
Personality Traits:
- Bold: "You take the fifty on the left, i'll take the fifty on the right!"
- Calm: "I've been called worse than that before!"
- Driven: "Some prices are worth paying."
- Loyal: "Unfortunately you're stuck with me. Unless you kill me. Please don't kill me."
- Religious: "May the Loyal Fury keep you True."
- Sarcastic: "These orcs strike harder than a dragon! Did I forget and wear my paper armor today?"
Additional Information
Gear: Aranath wears a set of silver plate highlighted with gold. Underneath he usually keeps a tunic of Tormtar blue on. His cloak is blue also, but unadorned. Forgoing a helmet, he will occasionally lift his hood if the weather demands it. Strapped to his side is a large hand-and-a-half sword kept in a basic scabbard.
Habits/hobbies: His most telling move is that he pinches the bridge of his nose whenever he is exasperated. He also stands often with his arms folded cross his chest. There is always a lopsided grin on his face, unless the situation is quite dire.
General Health: Aranath has been fortunate enough not to receive any "showing" scars, though he does have a large one on his chest from a greatsword piercing him. He has the general paladin immunities to disease and a strong fortitude.
Favorite Drink(s): Ale, Cold Milk, and Cherry-flavored grog
Weaknesses: At first glance, Aranath can seem a bit flippant or comical, leading many to doubt his commitment or resolve. While not true, it does have the effect of ostracizing some of his own brethern. Aranath also spent ten years in the temple of Torm serving as a priest, coming to his paladin training late. As such, he is not so skilled with a sword as some of his contemporaries.
Associations
Organizations and Societies:
- Order of the Radiant Heart (Squire)
- The Triad (Paladin of Torm)
History
The youngest of three children, Aranath's early years were spent on his father's farm. His upbringing was quite normal for a boy of his station, and he seemed destined to live his life as the rest of his family did. However, when he was seven years old a band of orcish marauders descended on the farming community and razed many homesteads to the ground and plundered all of their crops. The Turambars survived, but their home and livelihood was destroyed. Any seeds the farmers had left wouldn't have time to grow before the chill of winter set in. Things looked bleak.
To their rescue came a man named Brand of Hightower. A warrior-priest of Torm, the man appeared out of nowhere with a retinue of servants and bags full of coin. Out of his own pocket he bought many of the farmers new equipment, and vowed he and his men would help replant the fields. Through the sacrifice and goodwill of Brand and his men, none of the farming families starved that winter.
The entire community erupted in a groundswell of thanks to Torm. None moreso than Aranath's father. The boy was offered up as a donation to the church in Waterdeep, to take him as a page or servant, to serve the priests. An unusual offering, but one the temple accepted. Aranath was now a possession of the Tormtar.
It wasn't slavery or indentured servitude however; the boy had offered to be the donation. So enamored with Brand Hightower, Aranath had visions of glory and a future where he could be the conquering hero. And the temple trained him. Though he acted as a page he was soon an acolyte, and he studied often and diligently with the goal of becoming a priest. That path would take him another ten years however, and at the age of seventeen, Aranath was annointed as a priest of Torm.
There he would have been content to live out his entire life, preaching sermons and serving the goodwill of his god. But Torm remembered Aranath's aspirations of glory, even if the young man himself had forgotten them. For ten more years Aranath served as a priest in Waterdeep, though his dreams were often filled with visions of himself on a battlefield, sword in hand, fighting off evil hordes. Finally one night soon after his twenty-seventh birthday, the man had a vivid dream where Torm spoke directly to him. The dream was ornate and intricate, but the message boiled down to this: "Shed your priestly robes and don a breastplate. You will be a paladin."
And so the transition began. At twenty-seven years of age, when most paladins are seasoned veterans and noble warriors, this awkward priest was beginning to learn to use a sword. It took nearly a year of training but he finally impressed the instructors enough to be sworn as a true Paladin of Torm.
Since that day, Aranath has found his way southward, finding the constant crises of the Baldur's Gate region of the Sword Coast to be a fitting location for an aspiring paladin to serve his god. Not the mightiest or most experienced, Aranath nevertheless brings twenty years of wisdom as a priest and the devotion of a lifetime of willing service to his cause.
