Serve no one but Bane.
Fear him always and make others fear him even more than you do. The Black Hand always strikes down those who stand against it in the end. Defy Bane and die -- or in death find loyalty to him, for he shall compel it.
Submit to the word of Bane as uttered by his ranking clergy, since true power can only be gained through service to him.
Spread the dark fear of Bane. It is the doom of those who do not follow him to let power slip through their hands. Those who cross the Black Hand meet their dooms earlier and more harshly than those who worship other deities.
Fear him always and make others fear him even more than you do. The Black Hand always strikes down those who stand against it in the end. Defy Bane and die -- or in death find loyalty to him, for he shall compel it.
Submit to the word of Bane as uttered by his ranking clergy, since true power can only be gained through service to him.
Spread the dark fear of Bane. It is the doom of those who do not follow him to let power slip through their hands. Those who cross the Black Hand meet their dooms earlier and more harshly than those who worship other deities.
Age: 27 (born 17th Hammer 1330 DR, Year of the Marching Moon)
Race and Ethnicity: Human, Damaran
Origin: Moonsea; the city of Zhentil Keep
Partner: Yadira Morozov - married Midsummer 1354 DR in Mourktar.
Deity: Bane
In the aftermath of Narfell’s fall, scattered groups of Nars, Rashemi, and Sossrims struggled to survive as a wave of Chondathan emigrants settled in the lands of the Easting Reach. In time, these four populations gradually coalesced into a relatively new ethnic group known as Damarans, so named for the first human realm to be founded by this integrated population. -Races of Faerûn
The people of the Moonsea view the rest of the world and even the other Moonsea cities with suspicion and distrust. In return, the rest of Faerun sees the people of the Moonsea as unfriendly, sullen, dispirited, crafty, and most of all dangerous. In truth, they are no more universally evil than the well-respected Dalesfolk to the south are universally good. But travellers here are best forewarned to remain wary nonetheless. -FRCS
'Mooneye' is a slang term for Moonsea folk. The Moonsea folk in general tend to be a suspicious, unfriendly, morally corrupt lot, and the term is evocative of the look they give strangers. However, never call them 'Mooneyes' to their faces unless you desire a burial at sea. -The Moonsea
The people of the Moonsea view the rest of the world and even the other Moonsea cities with suspicion and distrust. In return, the rest of Faerun sees the people of the Moonsea as unfriendly, sullen, dispirited, crafty, and most of all dangerous. In truth, they are no more universally evil than the well-respected Dalesfolk to the south are universally good. But travellers here are best forewarned to remain wary nonetheless. -FRCS
'Mooneye' is a slang term for Moonsea folk. The Moonsea folk in general tend to be a suspicious, unfriendly, morally corrupt lot, and the term is evocative of the look they give strangers. However, never call them 'Mooneyes' to their faces unless you desire a burial at sea. -The Moonsea
The first human city built on the Moonsea, Zhentil Keep has always been rich with mineral wealth mined in the Moonsea North. -FR Adventures
Sitting astride the River Tesh where it empties into the frigid waters of the Moonsea, Zhentil Keep has long dominated the region through trade and war. Sometimes also called the Thargate City, Zhentil Keep has historically served as the home of the Zhentarim, also known as the Black Network, a secretive trade organization bent on financial, political, and military domination of the entire region. The city benefits from the vast wealth of natural resources mined from the mountains surrounding the Moonsea. But it, like all the communities of the Moonsea region, also struggles to resist the humanoids and other fell creatures that sweep out of the harsh wilds in the hope of destroying the civilizations encroaching on their homelands. -Mysteries of the Moonsea
Sitting astride the River Tesh where it empties into the frigid waters of the Moonsea, Zhentil Keep has long dominated the region through trade and war. Sometimes also called the Thargate City, Zhentil Keep has historically served as the home of the Zhentarim, also known as the Black Network, a secretive trade organization bent on financial, political, and military domination of the entire region. The city benefits from the vast wealth of natural resources mined from the mountains surrounding the Moonsea. But it, like all the communities of the Moonsea region, also struggles to resist the humanoids and other fell creatures that sweep out of the harsh wilds in the hope of destroying the civilizations encroaching on their homelands. -Mysteries of the Moonsea
Appearance:
Vadim is tall and harsh featured, his dark hair cut neatly and his beard perfectly crafted. His eyes are a pale blue, as cold as the waters of the Moonsea. The tan he earned while on assignment in Mourktar is long gone. Vadim carries himself with purpose, his motions reserved and stiff in public, seemingly priding himself on maintaining a controlled public presence.
He wears dark armour of full plate and a red cloak, the ceremonial vestments of a priest of Bane. At his hip hangs a morningstar shaped like a sceptre.
Out of his armour, Vadim dresses in finery wherever possible, although he favours the colours of his god at most times. He wears a golden wedding band with a small obsidian stone set into it. Unless illegal by local law, a holy symbol of Bane is on display at his neck hanging from a silver chain. A bound book is evident upon his person at all times.
The ceremonial traditions of the church of Bane in Zhentil Keep are extremely strict and formal. They include bowing and kneeling to or kissing the hands (or boots) of a superior. It is unheard of for underpriests to contradict upperpriests, and members of the Inner Ring of Bane have unlimited control over their subordinates. -Ruins of Zhentil Keep
Hatred, strife and destruction were to be spread - but under clear duress and control, not unbridled chaos. -Faiths and Avatars
Hatred, strife and destruction were to be spread - but under clear duress and control, not unbridled chaos. -Faiths and Avatars
Personality:
In public, Vadim presents a refined, mannered exterior. He carries himself with the disciplined and calm demeanour one would expect of a Banite priest but, thanks to the diplomatic focus of his previous posting in Mourktar, this is leavened with a silvered tongue capable of charm and tact when required. He has a dry sense of humour and greatly favours sarcasm. He is also distasteful of purposeless physical violence, as it speaks of the very chaos which is anathema to him.
Vadim is obedient to his superiors in the faith and was trained and raised in the Zhentil Keep tradition of Banite worship. That said, he has been quietly influenced by Chessentan philosophy during his time in Mourktar, and his faith in Bane is now intellectual as well as pragmatic. He fancies himself as a man of culture, and indeed views art as a trapping of the civilisation that Bane protects and demands. Of course, his approach to art and literature is through the lens of his faith, and his own writings are largely theological.
For Vadim, all civilised society bases itself on domination and violence, but at least in Bane's dogma that truth is not hidden. He believes that among the faithful service, ambition and merit help decide who rules, not just inherited wealth and money. The Chessentan belief that some people are naturally servile, and some are suited to lead, is one that has found great favour with him and he believes Bane seeks to raise up those who are worthy to serve him by ruling others.
Given the limited combat that Vadim has seen during his time as a priest one could not call him a warrior compared to others in Bane's service. He is by no means unfit or weak, having adopted to practice regular physical exercise in line with the locals while away in the east. However, Vadim its more a man of letters and faith than a strong swordarm, and he knows it. He exercises great care with regards to conflict for this reason, so that he does not need to call upon Bane's gifts unnecessarily due to his own carelessness.
Zhentil Keep was once a huge, dark, stone city. Myriad multi-story buildings crowded together, turning the streets into dim urban valleys. Some thought that since Zhentil Keep was a city of evil, laws did not exist. Nothing could be further from the truth. Strong (albeit evil) law abided here.
Visitors often try to visit the infamous fur-cloaked, silken-robed pleasure queens of the city, in their upstairs rooms, but the streets are not safe at night, roamed by thieves, monsters -- and even worse, by the authorities! -FR Adventures
Visitors often try to visit the infamous fur-cloaked, silken-robed pleasure queens of the city, in their upstairs rooms, but the streets are not safe at night, roamed by thieves, monsters -- and even worse, by the authorities! -FR Adventures
Background:
Vadim's family is of the Zhentish mercantile class, the younger of two brothers, with one younger sister. The Morozov family made their fortunes in past generations through mining of gems and precious metals, although now most of their business is in metallurgy, whether forging ingots for foreign trade or jewellery for local sale. Although not the richest of merchant families, they are reasonably well off, having managed to avoid the dangers that dominate modern Zhentil Keep since the rise of the Zhentarim.
One means by which the family has maintained itself is its strong Banite faith, with many generations sending a second son to serve the temple, preferably as a priest. Vadim knew this to be his fate from an early age, and as he was tutored at home and matured into a young man, he had little thought but obedience to his parents' wishes and, consequently, to Bane. Given the insular way of life in Zhentil Keep, he had little experience of life outside his family, and his studies with his private tutor, to which he took with aplomb.
When the time came to commence his training, the harsh and unrelenting instruction he was put through to join the Banite clergy had the potential to break the young Vadim. He struggled to connect with the teachings at first, instead nursing resentment of his parents, and his brother for being the favoured son and heir. They continued to enjoy quiet family life while Vadim was reduced to little more than a servant, his title within the clergy being Slave at first, and paying for every failure with pain and humiliation. Yet this resentment eventually set his ambition alight, and all of a sudden, the theology of the Black Hand began to make sense.
By his twenty fourth year, Vadim was a junior priest of Bane at the Black Altar, undertaking his ceremonial duties with diligence and quick to jump to undertake tasks that might win him acclaim. He was successful enough to be chosen to be one of the underling priests escorting a Dark Mystery south to faraway Mourktar, for a diplomatic mission to the temple of the Black Lord's Cloak.
The city of Mourktar is a free city on the edge of the flat, sandy plains of Threskel. Mourktar claims to be independent of Chessenta, while the other cities claim that Mourktar is part of Chessenta. Since the other Chessentan cities are generally too far from Mourktar to threaten it, Mourktar is for all purposes an independent city. -Old Empires
The Largest temple of Bane in all of Faerûn is the Black Lord's Cloak in the city of Mourktar on the edge of the flat, sandy plains of Threskel.
The temple is named for its only relic, an animated black cloak once worn by Bane himself that became a sentient monster that envelops people from time to time and sucks them dry of all blood. -Faiths and Avatars
The temple is named for its only relic, an animated black cloak once worn by Bane himself that became a sentient monster that envelops people from time to time and sucks them dry of all blood. -Faiths and Avatars
The mission to Mourktar lasted far longer than intended, with the Dark Mystery Vadim was escorting getting wrapped up in local intrigues. The Black Lord's Cloak sought to prevent foreign interests supplanting its prominence within the city's politics and the Dark Mystery sought to curry favour by assisting the local clergy. In this, Vadim was a tool of his superior, deploying his guile, his charm, his prayers and his sword-arm, such as it was, when needed. Yet most of his duties involved nothing more scandalous than ingratiating himself with the locals and speaking in support of his master's agenda. As the months passed by, Vadim came to learn more and more about a foreign way of life, and came to quite appreciate it.
It was in the context of these machinations that Vadim met a local woman of Turmish descent, Yadira, the likes of whom he had never met before. Captivated by her striking beauty, the two grew close, particularly after the tragic death of her father. Yadira was a lay follower of Bane but grew more devout as her relationship with Vadim blossomed. Vadim and Yadira were married on Midsummer 1354 DR, theirs a love match. When Vadim's duties in Mourktar ended and he returned to Zhentil Keep, Yadira went with him.
Zhentil Keep's corruption so permeated the town that even everyday activities in private homes were tainted with its touch. Few Zhentish citizens went to the inns and taverns, preferring to seek their individual solaces in private. - The Moonsea
...Zhentil Keep has grown warlike again under the evil Zhentarim, controlling or occupying many nearby settlements, raising large mercenary armies, and seizing control of the Citadel of the Raven for itself. The Zhentarim... ...control the Zhentilar armies in a campaign of ruthless destruction or domination of all opposition in the way of their "Long Road to Riches:" a controlled caravan route from Zhentil Keep to the Sword Coast, via the Tesh valley, Daggerdale, the Stonelands, the Desertsedge and Goblin Marches, Yellow Snake Pass (guarded by the great Zhentarim fortress of Darkhold), Skull Gorge, Dawn Pass, Llorkh, Loudwater, and the River Delimbiyr. -FR Adventures
...Zhentil Keep has grown warlike again under the evil Zhentarim, controlling or occupying many nearby settlements, raising large mercenary armies, and seizing control of the Citadel of the Raven for itself. The Zhentarim... ...control the Zhentilar armies in a campaign of ruthless destruction or domination of all opposition in the way of their "Long Road to Riches:" a controlled caravan route from Zhentil Keep to the Sword Coast, via the Tesh valley, Daggerdale, the Stonelands, the Desertsedge and Goblin Marches, Yellow Snake Pass (guarded by the great Zhentarim fortress of Darkhold), Skull Gorge, Dawn Pass, Llorkh, Loudwater, and the River Delimbiyr. -FR Adventures
Zhentil Keep is never welcoming, but even despite that Vadim felt a heavy heart as he returned. The successes of the mission to Mourktar had allowed even junior members of the mission to rise in status, and so it was that Vadim's star was rising. Now married, he was to set up a household, and in preparation for this Yadira and he moved in with his parents. The Morozov's had never seen anything like Yadira before, and were taken aback by the newfound authority and ambition in their second son. Yet, while he was in their household, Vadim was bound to obey, despite the growing tension. Yadira, for her part, struggled with the weather and the constant harassment she faced as an exotic, beautiful foreigner.
It was soon apparent, as Vadim looked about for postings and considered where the couple may set down roots for their future, that despite his strong faith and commitment to the clergy, neither Zhentil Keep nor its temples were a place for the young couple to remain.
Yet opportunity there was on the Long Road to Riches. The couple spoke of where they might settle and live out a life whereby both could prosper and flourish. Only one place made sense, all considered. The western end of the Yellow Snake pass, Darkhold, and the lands of the Sword Coast. A land of opportunity, and some danger, but a land where Bane's faith was returning after it had been frustrated by meddlers and anarchists years before. A land where they could make their mark.
Habits and Quirks:
- Vadim has a tendency to clasp his hands behind his back and stand with strict poise when in conversation.
- As is customary for Banites, Vadim offers a prayer giving thanks to Bane before each meal.
- Vadim is fond of gnomic maxims and utterances, speaking various short phrases focusing on faith or pragmatic realism at suitable times.
- Vadim picked up a taste for diverse cuisine in Mourktar. In warm weather Vadim will often take meals in the Chessentan style, or in the style of his wife's Turmish family, all washed down with a tart white wine. In the colder months, however, he favours his native Damaran cuisine and its warming, rich heaviness.
- Vadim views spicy food, such as some of the chilli pepper laced dishes of Turmish, as a challenge; or as foes he has yet to fully dominate.
Hobbies:
- Vadim's brush with Chessentan learning has left him with an appreciation of philosophy, and his theology is phrased in these terms. He is an avid writer on the topic.
- Vadim writes prayers for personal use and for his sermons.
- Vadim shares his wife's appreciation of art. No artist himself, he welcomes the chance to study art that speaks to his philosophical and theological views. He is less keen on art for arts sake, particularly art he deems frivolous.
- Vadim has practiced daily physical exercise since his time in Mourktar. Colder climes mean he does not exercise in the Chessentan style, however.