"Ours is a cause of great good. And to die for it is the greatest of honors"
- Sir Riss, Knight of the Templar Order
A young yet hardened warrior, struggling to find his purpose in a life filled with monsters and tragedy. A common soldier, now too far from the ranks of honor, a wandering soul seeking whatever evil he can find, to rid the world of its blights. That is the tale of Aldren Cordale.
Aldren Cordale
Appearance
Aldren is a fairly built and a bit of tall lad, for his age. Although young, his training and exercise routines put him in a quite athletic form which he likes to preserve, for his own health. He likes to keep a beard with two long points that adds to its style, as he likes to say. It's kinda of a way for people to think he's older than he is, an intimidating charade. Cordale also has two very visible scars on his face, parting gifts from monsters and sword practice.
Aldren's general outfit consists of his Templar armor, gold adorned plates with a sturdy vest of mail underneath. His natural strength and mass makes the armor feel quite light, not hindering his combat abilities too much. When travelling, Aldren wears a cloak over the armor along with a hood. He also wears a dark plated and red helmet with golden bits adorned, concealing his identity as both Templar and Monster Hunter on the road, wary of the common folk's reaction to his line of work. He carries with him a circled necklace with a Templar crest inscription and a magically imbued cross in his left gauntlet, allowing to cast his defensive spells without using much of his magical reserves.
Skills and Abilities
Magic Overview
Divine Shield: Using his own form of combat-oriented magic along with Templar training in nullifying magic, Aldren can create a powerful barrier to shield him from certain attacks. Although the barrier itself is strong, its core strength lies in defending against magical attacks, and so it breaks quite easily against physical ones. But when used with care, Aldren can avoid certain death with it.
Holy Enhancement: Aldren can also focus and channel his magic into his own attacks, enhancing his weapons with pure flow of magic, as well as enhancing his own reflexes, making him a deadly powerhouse in the battlefield. Extended use of this particular branch of magic can take a incredibly high toll on his body, leading to exhaustion and increased need of rest.Skills Overview
Tracking: As is required by his profession, Aldren is a good tracker and hunter. He can survive in the wilderness without fearing of running out of food, and his disciplinary focus is a useful tool when searching for clues in his investigations. That's a trait that can be further enhanced with his magic, augmenting his senses into seeing things that the ordinary human eye would certainly miss, such as concealed steps and traps.
Darksbane
Personality
Cordale is a calm, level-headed man most of the time, but his quick changing temper can get the better of him in dangerous situations. Before joining Edenham's army, he was very undisciplined and spoke out of his mind most of the time, but after years of training and the occasional beating as punishment, Aldren learned to control his mouth and actually think before he speaks. However, after the events concerning his would be joining of the Templar Order and the death of his master, Aldren's childish behaviour began to fade away and give room to a more centered and overly serious man, with years ahead of his own. The horrors of the world, so to speak, took their toll on the young man.
Biography & Lore
Aldren was born in a small village in the outskirts of Edenham, born to a servant at Fort Wallace and a knight who passed away when he was still in his mother's belly. Even though Aldren's mother couldn't provide him with much, he took solace in the comfort and somewhat easy life that he led there. That was, until the dreams began to happen. Glimpses of lights from all over the horizon, sometimes they would get close and he would be hot as fire in the morning, but other times he would be almost freezing to death even with three sets of blankets. That's when his mother knew that she had passed down her magical talents to him.
Even though she was no mage herself and only had little understanding of magic by her visions, Aldren's mother taught him enough of magic for him to be able to control his newfound abilities. That is, until his powers just suddenly vanished.
He completed his home education and when he came of age, Aldren was finally told of the stories of his father, a knight that ended up deserting his unit after an ambush by monsters. The shame was so great that he hanged himself in the woods near the city, but not before making Aldren's mother swear that he would only tell of his tale to the young man when he was ready to hear of it. Even though he was embarassed to have a "coward" father at first, he understood that sometimes fear can dominate someone so that they become blind to consequence. Aldren swore to his mother that he would be a better man and decided to enlist in the army.
Cordale passed his initial tests with easy, attracting the attention of some senior officers who paid close attention to his development as a recruit. A full year of training passed by as fast as a wild wind and Aldren befriended many of the recruits, gaining their trust and learning the value of a good friend. He was disappointed when he was separated in a another unit from most of his friends, and his behaviour started to worsen as his magical abilities resurfaced in the form of pure combat magic.
After that, Aldren was mostly seeing doing laps around the main courtyard with some officers shouting at him, and a few of his friends laughing. His temper was a mystery; some days he would be calm as a cloud, others he would be lashing out against orders of cleaning the garrison's bathrooms. That got him beaten and educated many times, but he never let go of that strong will.
A strong will that would eventually fade away.
After being promoted and now a proper soldier, Aldren was put as second in charge of a small recon unit that was sent to the woods near Edenham to investigate rumors of groups of mutilated bodies, with suspicions of heavy bandit activity in the vicinity. However, what was awaiting for them was something far worse than a few grunts.
When the unit set up camp to rest the night, the monsters swarmed them, bringing carnage and death from the skies, the ground, from the very air near them. Aldren himself was nearly killed but managed to get away, but not before seeing the last of his friends being torn apart as if he was nothing by the monsters. By the morning, he himself was considered as deserter for not dying valiantly with his comrades, but that mattered little. They were all gone.
After nearly bleeding to death, he was saved by a nearby Templar, who himself was investigating the appearance of dark magic in the area, as he called. The man, in his early 50s, called himself Riss and demanded no gratitude for saving Aldren's life, and consoled him after he told the story of his friends' deaths and his cowardice. He told that fearing death is not a matter of choice, but that brave men choose to face it rather than run from it. Aldren took those words to heart and was left to rest. In the next morning, Riss returned, battered and bloodied but victorious against the monsters. It was in that moment, as he saw the man with a bloodied sword in hand and some of the monsters' heads being tossed in the fire that he decided to do something worthy with his life, instead of brooding about his lack of fight.
He spent a whole week pestering the man about becoming a Templar, but Riss always refused him, saying that the Order that was once glorious, was not crumbled. Aldren cared little for his stories of past glory, and so he insisted and insisted until the man gave in and decided to take him in as a recruit, but warned Aldren that someday he would end up being disappointed.
Aldren and Riss traveled together for a full year, bonding to an extent that Aldren even referred to him as a father, to which Riss said that only had one child and that he was the one to bury him, a fate that he wouldn't wish to repeat. Sometimes, Aldren would ask when he would be properly initiated in the Order or even if they would reach one of the Templar strongholds that Riss kept blabbering about. Aldren's training as a Templar recruit was even worse than as a soldier, but he absorbed the lessons quickly enough that Riss agreed to continue the regime, impressed by the young man's abilities
Cordale's questions about the Templar Order would go unanswered, as they were ambushed by unknown mercenaries in a old ruin, with Riss giving his life to cut down the men to their last, saving Aldren, who lost his fiery will after failing again. Riss's last words to him were that he would find the answers he sought very soon, and bade him to be strong, especially in the face of danger.
Angry and frustrated, with the mercenaries and himself. Aldren took up his master's armor and weapons, assumed the mantle of Templar even though he felt he would never really become one and vowed to live his life by the blade, swinging it against every evil he could find. He carried with him a small cross necklace that was Riss's, hoping that it would give him strength and resolve.
Aldren, even lost in his way, battered and angry, now had at least some sort of purpose: protect the weak and purge the damned, even if it costs him his own soul. And to find the real Templar Order that Riss talked about, to honor his oaths and vows and to really take on the mantle of a defender against the dark forces that conspire against the land.
---
Aldren went on to properly join the Templar Order, but instead found a conspiracy deeply rooted into the Order, one that went as far as consorting with demons. This took him on a battle all over the region near Alliria, from the haunting wilds near Falwood to ancient and long forgotten crypts. Aldren found a new resolve and vowed to fight on to recover his place within the Order, eventually defeating the conspiracy with the help of new and old friends. After those events, Aldren was introduced into the Order, skipping the common Initiate training. He sought permission from the new Master to keep wandering the world as a holy weapon against the darkness, and after receiving such task, he continued his ventures and battles as a defender of the weak and innocent against the evils that plague Arethil.
(Aldren in full Templar plate, without his cloak)
References
- In The Absence of Light: Aldren returns to the Templar fold to face his destiny and uncover a deep and dark conspiracy against the Order and the kingdoms. With no other option, he has to face his demons and take a stand in the name of the Holy Knights to safeguard their name and uphold their Holy Call of defending the weak and innocent against the evils of the world.
- The Shrouded Lords: After the events that saw him become a true Templar, Aldren returns to his journeys. He discovers a monster slaying guild and helps his new comrades in a fight against a cult trying to bring ancient demon lords from times long forgotten.
- Crouching Urchin, Hidden Templar: Aldren arrives at Mericet for a night of rest before heading out into the wilderness to hunt monsters again, but ends up saving a young girl's life. The act plunges him into a whirlwind of death and courtly intrigue, taking him to the core of a rotten political struggle in the city.
- Ink On Paper...: Aldren along with a bunch of intriguing adventurers take Vel Anir by storm, thanks to Ynsidia's thoughtful kill of a powerful nobleman. What started as a unintentional fight in a alley between the group and some ruffians end up with a chaotic chase throughout the city, threatning the very heart of the city's estate. Even so, the Templar ends up befriending all those strange individuals, his impromptu comrades in arms.