Kedaros

(13th June 2006 - 18th July 2006)

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Kedaros, along with the three martial artists Antonine, Danot Peres and Jaeden Jeremar, was hired by the veteran sorcerer Pelmas as a bodyguard initially. Although this brought him opportunities to confront Willowstar and Elena's followers, and kill them, the relationship was uneasy, with Kedaros always suspecting Pelmas was trying to prevent harm coming to his targets.

After encountering a dragon skeleton which marked all his companions with expanding magical leaf-pattern tattoos (variously explained as Jezharrain and Elena symbols by people they asked), the group headed north, initially hunting the alleged fountain of immortality drunk from by the thief Hebrillias. However, after Kedaros' rather overzealous pursuit of his paladin-slaughtering tendencies, there was a change of plan and the group headed north towards the Arbor Desert, in search of the mysterious queen Jalissra. Pelmas abandoned them at this point, probably to avoid having to choose between attacking the paladin and betraying his companions.

Purchasing a deep desert Arborean - a Duner - from a slaver, the companions discovered that he was in fact Jalissra's brother Severos. Crossing the desert with him, they learned the secrets of survival in the deep desert, and won his trust, so that, when they reached the habitations of the Duners and found what was going on, he was prepared to support them.

Things were grim. The monastaries established by the Arboreans to teach battle and survival skills had been visited by Elena's followers, and all non-Arborean students were staked out in the desert to die. Severos was incensed, determined to find out what was going on and to stop it, and this suited Kedaros perfectly; it gave him the chance to kill more priests. This wish was granted when the companions reached their first monastary and overcame its' Elenian inhabitants. Kedaros and the three brothers of the fist slew five powerful paladins, and a priestess of Elena called Sumia, who had been directing things, was overcome, outraged, and released to bear the message of defiance home. Antonine collected several Skorryn paladin skins that day.

That night, Kedaros dedicated the blood he had shed to his dark Master, and received the glorious agony of his approval. Malakar told his Dark Knight that his next challenge was the white champion of Elena Ishylgor, the muscle behind the priestess Miroadien.

The next day, rejoined by Pelmas, the group reached the new city of El Arbor. Created and sustained by the leafy magic of Elena, the place was a paradise for Arborea; flowing water, trees, fields, deer, all that stuff. Severos was appalled at the corruption of the essential Arborean way of life, and demanded to see his sister. Through a ring of white-cloaked steel, the questers approached the priestess, the queen and the paladin.

An argument broke out almost immediately, with Antonine and Kedaros demanding answers to the accusations of atrocity, and the Elenians trying to wriggle away from the subject, and Pelmas desperately trying to keep negotiations from breaking down. However, almost nobody else wanted a peaceful resolution, and on a hidden signal, Antonine and Jaeden leaped to the attack, closely followed by Kedaros.

Pelmas flung a Wall of Force around the combatants, whether to try and shield the Elenians wasn't quite clear, but perhaps fortunately what he achieved was to wall off the immediate combatants from the hordes of Skorryn Elena soldiers outside. While Severos' hidden warriors assualted these outside, Kedaros and his companions squared up to Ishylgor, Miroadien, Sagan (another paladin) and Jalissra.

Severos and Jalissra engaged each other in argument rather than battle, leaving the paladins supported by the priestess' spells to fight the four questers. A noble fight was put up, but finally Antonine was cut down and things began to go badly. Kedaros lost two fingers from his right hand, and dropped his greatsword Faithbreaker, having to resort to another weapon. Clearly toying with his opponent, his cruelty confounding the supposed good of Elena's servants, Ishylgor then hewed Kedaros' left arm off. Half-blinded by pain, the Dark Knight played his last card; reaching out with his halved right hand to Lay On Harm to the paladin's stomach. It wasn't enough, however, and Ishylgor took his head off with his milk-white greatsword. Pelmas, choosing his side at last, had already fallen, but Jaeden Jeremar put up a valiant fight alone, dealing several more telling blows before finally falling.

The group had been called on to surrender several times by the Elenians; but the idea of doing so crossed no mind. Their motives pure, the Dark Knight and the Brothers of the Fist died together as they had lived.