Malaroth Deucalios

Malaroth Deucalios
Information

Appearance Malaroth stands at just over six feet in height. Though he has been in Myrken Wood for only a short period of time his appearance has changed considerably. He most often sports a blue or green sleeved shirt topped by a black tunic, cinched at his waist by a stout belt, that bears a silver shepherd's crook surrounded in ivy  : the symbol of the knightly order accompanied by dark brown pants tucked into black leather boots whose cuts and caked grime speak of long journeys. His blond hair is long and thin, often falling about his haggard features in thin wisps although lately they have become streaked with silver. Similarly his countenance, an angular construction softened by a rounded nose, while always pale now bears a slight ashen coloration. And yet he only purports to have seen twenty-four winters. The Grand Master of the Shepherd Knights is never seen unarmed, most often bearing an iron-shod staff or a broadsword and occasionally chain mail armor as well. He also carries a length of chain coiled on his belt that he dislikes commenting about. He is known for slouching, scowling and sighing - gestures that have earned him the nickname "Malaroth the Miserable." Before Myrken Wood The man speaks willingly enough of the past although usually only to remark that his memory is not entirely clear. This has changed in recent days though he has not said why. Malaroth readily claims to serve as a nobleman and knight in service to King Malcolm II of Zachea - a theocratic nation ruled by the Priest-King that also dominates one third of a large island some distance across the "Great Sea." His duties largely consisted of keeping the borders safe from the marauding elves that dwell in the neighboring wasteland and from the tyrannical magocratic Kingdom of Leshgaul. He has also claimed to have stood toe-to-toe against a dragon during a bloody siege upon an important Zachean city, and that he is a widower. Myrken Wood For undisclosed reasons he left his country behind and began a perilous journey towards a place called "Myrken Wood" although he had never heard of the land before. The name came to him via strange dreams and imaginings that struck him as memories - though they were of things he knew he had never said, thought or done. He soon fell in with Councilor Aloisius Treadwell and calls the man a friend. It was this friend who lent him the money to purchase his new clothes after he was left tied to a tree by Teron Ashfiend to serve as food for hungry crows. When a cry for supplies went out to help the wounded left in Madame Swinton's Tea House following a riot, it is rumored that Malaroth gathered many supplies on his own and that he spent his last coins to do so. Malaroth was briefly connected with the slaughter of twenty cut-purses, brigands and thieves in Myrkentown as his sword was found at the crime scene. Although he was cleared of the charges the blade, which he claimed was stolen, has evidently been stolen yet again. This latest theft, as well as his being left as carrion food, has wrought a melancholy but also hopeful change in the apparently listless foreign nobleman. He now dwells at the chapter house for the Shepherd Knights of the Silver Staff, is known to possess a semblance of honor and compassion but also an occasionally violent temper. The Shepherd Knight Malaroth is the Founder and Grand Master of the Shepherd Knights of the Silver Staff. The Knighthood is an attempt, spearheaded by Malaroth, to combat and protect the citizenry of the Amasynian Province from militaristic, sorcerous and mundane dangers as well as assist in maintaining a general peace through both word and deed. Malaroth's primary motivation behind the order was a desire to bring light into a land that is often darkened by villainy. Since the knighthood's inception Malaroth has spearheaded several small and often unsung efforts to reach out to the community particularly during the summer food shortages in which whatever extra food the knighthood raised was to be distributed to the starving. He also marshaled an alliance of Knights, Constables and Grey Lancers for the attack upon Snowstill Priory in order to confront the monster known as Teron Ashfiend. While many displayed acts of bravery that day, the knights were forced to offer of their own flesh, some willingly burned alive, to provide time for Zalin Savoy to work magic for the sake of several lives. According to Malaroth, the knighthood retains the right to overrule the will of the Governor and Council should the interests of the King be at stake - something he claimed in order to bring the hunt to bear upon Snowstil Priory in light of the Council seeking a diplomatic solution. Many have claimed this was merely a convenient excuse to gather support to destroy an enemy.