Character Bio – Ebon Mordain
Description:
Ebon is a soldier. His poise and bearing mark him as someone who has been trained in martial disciplines since he was a boy. Although his youthful looks, dark tousled hair and slightly swarthy cast lend him a handsome roguish appearance, he tends toward being taciturn and restrained. Often adopting a curt, business-like temperament when interacting with others. This rather sober demeanour is primarily a consequence of spending the majority of his life conforming to the dictates of a strict military-religious order known as the Theocracy of the Pale, which he has recently left behind. Beneath his somewhat rigid militaristic exterior there is a lot more to Ebon than meets the eye. His training has instilled in him a capacity for calmness and self-control and there is watchful intelligence behind his dark eyes. He is level headed and his words and actions are typically careful and well measured, though he can be somewhat introspective and insular at times. He is capable and dependable, and there is a sense of inner strength and solidity about him that inspires trust and confidence in others. He is also a man of integrity who is strong and steadfast in his beliefs, who leads by example and who does not expect others to take risks that he would not take himself. In addition he is fiercely loyal and protective of those who have earned his friendship and respect.
Ebon’s Homeland:
Ebon comes from the Theocracy of the Pale, a cold, harsh region, where the Church of the One True Path lead a single religion devoted to the Lawful Good god Pholtus. Though he is a “good” god Pholtus demands unfaltering devotion from his followers and strict adherence to the One True Path. He makes no allowance for moral ambiguity and shows little tolerance of other faiths. Despite Pholtus’s intransigence however the people of the Pale are loyal followers, proudly embracing the principles of law, order, discipline, community, family, loyalty, dedication and justice that he stands for. On the western borders of the Pale a war has raged for many years between the forces of the Theocracy and demonic minions of Iuz that occupy the neighbouring lands of Tenh.
Ebon’s Childhood:
When Ebon was a boy the war briefly spilled into his hometown and, as it passed, his mother and father were left among the dead.
The girl was perhaps fourteen. Even in the amber glow of the flames she seemed pale. She might have been pretty but her dark locks hung lank upon her shoulders, and her eyes were red and puffy from the smoke. She shivered and hugged herself tightly until her knuckles turned white. And then a deep sob welled up inside of her and grief overwhelmed her. Her tears mingled with the raindrops that ran in rivulets down her face.
The boy stood a few paces ahead of her, somewhat closer to the blaze. He was small and wiry and looked no more than nine or ten years old. He sniffed and wiped his nose on his arm, but he didn’t cry. Instead he pressed his lips tightly together and clenched his fists, watching the black shadows that fluttered within the fire begin to break apart, and their ashes swirl upward toward the heavens. There at the heart of the conflagration, among the other bodies, burned the dead shells of his parents. His father and mother. Soon all that would be left of them would be dust in the wind.
Afterwards Ebon and his sister, Blanca, were taken into the Church and encouraged to fill the emptiness inside them with the teachings of the One True Path. Seeking retribution for the murder of their parents, Ebon elected to join a martial arm of the Church and trained diligently to become a warrior-priest, while Blanca chose a more tempered path, that of a priestess, supporting and protecting her little brother, as she had always tried to do. In the years to come Ebon rose through the ranks and joined the fighting in Tenh, where he gained a measure of satisfaction from slaying the demonic followers of Iuz. However, as time passed, he began to lose conviction in the righteousness of the Holy War. Undoubtedly the destruction of the demons was warranted but there seemed to be little discrimination between good and evil and more often than not all non-believers were slain.
The Day Things Changed:
One day Ebon found himself in a small settlement much like the one he had grown up in as a boy, however it was not the demons that had done the killing. The people of the village had been put to death for heresy by the Enforcers of Pholtus led by their Captain, Marann. As Ebon viewed the aftermath of this so-called justice, he was approached by a mysterious stranger called Hallam, a man who in time would change the course of Ebon’s life by showing him a new path, one that gave him the purpose that he sought but had never truly found.
Excerpt of the conversation when Ebon and Hallam met:
Hallam: “Is this the path you choose for yourself, Ebon Mordain?”
Ebon: “And what do you know of me old man?”
Hallam: “That you are destined to a higher purpose. Your birthright and responsibility are not to be found here with the Theocracy of Pholtus, they lie along a different path. It is why you have always felt out-of-place here and why the fervour of your colleagues was never your own.”
Ebon: “Be careful what you say. I would not wish to see another heretic join the pile. Too many have died already here today.”
Hallam: “And yet you sense the truth in my words, do you not? You do not belong here Ebon.”
(Ebon is surprised at the power of the stranger’s words and how much of a chord they strike within him, but he is prudent enough to do his best to hide that fact. He wonders if his discontent with the Church has really become that obvious, but he senses that there is more to it than that. Inexplicably there is the ring of truth about what the stranger has to say.)
Ebon: “Indeed there is some truth in what you say but tell me mystic, who are you to speak to me of such things?”
Hallam: “You may call me Hallam, and I can assure you that I know far more about you and your purpose than you would easily imagine. Though most of it I am not allowed to share with you at present. What I can tell you is that there will be no attempt to coerce you into accepting your birthright, that is not the way of such things. You do not belong in this place, but the choice to leave or to remain is yours and yours alone.”
Ebon: “So it is a leap of faith you are proposing? And you demand it of a man whose faith has been poorly placed o’er long and is not to be trusted. I’ll say one thing for you. You are an intriguing fellow Master Hallam!”
Main Character:
Prelude: Beginnings and EntrancesMain Character:
Episode 1.1: Helping a Cat Help a BookMain Character:
Episode 1.2: Jysson’s DeedsMain Character:
Episode 1.3: You Can’t Escape Your Past (Part One)Main Character:
Episode 1.4: You Can’t Escape Your Past (Part Two)Main Character:
Episode 1.5: In Search of the Fallen (Part One)Main Character:
Episode 1.6: In Search of the Fallen (Part Two)Main Character:
Episode 1.7: Shoals of Intrigue (Part One)Main Character:
Episode 1.8: Shoals of Intrigue (Part Two)Main Character:
Episode 1.9: Modrons and IngredientsMain Character:
Episode 1.10: The TrialMain Character:
Episode 1.11: More IngredientsMain Character:
Episode 1.13: Tangrel and TanemousMain Character:
Episode 1.15: The Truth About TanemousMain Character:
Episode 1.18: To Free a Friend (Part One)Main Character:
Episode 1.20: To Free a Friend (Part Two)Main Character:
Episode 1.21: The Conjunction (Part One)Main Character:
Episode 1.22: The Conjunction (Part Two)
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Episode 2.1: The Return HomeMain Character:
Episode 2.2: RevelationsMain Character:
Episode 2.3: Sigora BrernMain Character:
Episode 2.4: Legagog the KnowingMain Character:
Episode 2.5: Ashes to AshesMain Character:
Episode 2.7: Elsabeth in Danger
