Orion Fald’ir
Orion Fald’ir lives on the outskirts of Alliria, where he tends his own farm and stables. Once a knight and devout paladin, he carries the weight and consequences of those years with him forever. His life, once defined by acts of grand devotion and unwavering faith, is now characterized by a curse that overtakes him every full moon. In the aftermath of chaos and loss, he tries to live a simple life with simple purpose. He is a grounded, polite and dependable man, far kinder than his imposing presence suggests.
Appearance
Orion is a large, broad-shouldered man in his early fifties. His appearance is rugged and weathered, with graying black hair and wrinkles in his face. His hair is wavy and shoulder-length - often pulled back into a bun. It’s evident that Orion is a man shaped by years of physical labor, shown in both his build and the many scars marking his skin. His deep brown eyes are steady and welcoming, though those who look a little longer will notice a quiet sorrow. Despite his imposing stature, his manner is polite and approachable.
Skills and Abilities
Growing up on a farm and returning to one later in life has made Orion a very capable rancher and solid farmer. He knows how to handle horses, grow crops, care for livestock, and manage the everyday grind of hard, physical work. He’s good with animals in general, patient and calm around them, as they give him peace of mind.
Orion has a talent for sketching and writing, something he’s made a habit of throughout the past ten years. His sketches are often practical and may serve as reminders or a way to sort his thoughts. Writing in his journal comes from the same place; a habit that grounds.
From his many years as a knight Orion still has the knowledge of a trained fighter. He is proficient with heavy tools and weapons; hammers, greatswords, axes. Anything that relies on strength and a solid stance. He’s not graceful but he’s efficient, and he hits hard. Even after years away from battle, his instincts are still there.
Orion is cursed with lycanthropy. He cannot shift at will or under any normal circumstances. His transformation into a huge, manlike wolfbeast is tied to the full moon. But there have been a few rare occurrences, under extreme circumstances, when the line began to blur and something stirred beneath his skin, threatening to boil over..
Orion has a talent for sketching and writing, something he’s made a habit of throughout the past ten years. His sketches are often practical and may serve as reminders or a way to sort his thoughts. Writing in his journal comes from the same place; a habit that grounds.
From his many years as a knight Orion still has the knowledge of a trained fighter. He is proficient with heavy tools and weapons; hammers, greatswords, axes. Anything that relies on strength and a solid stance. He’s not graceful but he’s efficient, and he hits hard. Even after years away from battle, his instincts are still there.
Orion is cursed with lycanthropy. He cannot shift at will or under any normal circumstances. His transformation into a huge, manlike wolfbeast is tied to the full moon. But there have been a few rare occurrences, under extreme circumstances, when the line began to blur and something stirred beneath his skin, threatening to boil over..
Personality
Orion comes across as grounded and approachable man; somewhat quiet maybe, but friendly, and easy to be around. He is patient and slow to anger, though this lack of outspoken emotions also means he finds it hard to share his deeper thoughts or troubles. There’s a heaviness to him, the kind that comes from old wounds and hard memories, but asking him about it results in nearly unbreakable walls. Despite all that he has lost, Orion tries to do right by others, his animals and his community.
He enjoys the rhythm of farm life and finds real comfort in caring for his horses, working the land, taking walks, or spending time sketching and keeping his journal. He likes simple routines and honest work far more than the busy streets of Alliria, even though he used to spend most of his life there, before the Siege. His current living situation results in him living a more secluded life, but he doesn’t mind company - actually prefers it to being completely alone.
Despite all his efforts to live quietly, trouble has a way of finding Orion. He tells himself he wants peace, yet whenever someone needs help or a risky job comes his way, he feels that old pull toward action. It’s like a part of him is still wired for danger, conflict, and doing what others won’t. He struggles between wanting a simple, uneventful life and being the kind of man who can’t quite walk away when something or someone needs his help.
He enjoys the rhythm of farm life and finds real comfort in caring for his horses, working the land, taking walks, or spending time sketching and keeping his journal. He likes simple routines and honest work far more than the busy streets of Alliria, even though he used to spend most of his life there, before the Siege. His current living situation results in him living a more secluded life, but he doesn’t mind company - actually prefers it to being completely alone.
Despite all his efforts to live quietly, trouble has a way of finding Orion. He tells himself he wants peace, yet whenever someone needs help or a risky job comes his way, he feels that old pull toward action. It’s like a part of him is still wired for danger, conflict, and doing what others won’t. He struggles between wanting a simple, uneventful life and being the kind of man who can’t quite walk away when something or someone needs his help.
Biography & Lore
Orion Fald’ir was born as an only child on a modest plot of farmland just outside Alliria. His mother was a soft-spoken, sweet woman, his father an iron-willed follower of the Celestials and a believer that discipline and obedience were the cornerstones of both faith and family - enforcing these ideals with an unforgiving hand. Daily prayers, strict rituals, and hard labor shaped Orion’s childhood. He grew to resent the harshness of it, yet he still found comfort in the rhythm of farm life, especially when tending the horses. But even then he felt the need to prove himself, longing to be something more than just his father’s farmhand.
At seventeen, Orion left home and joined Alliria’s military. The harsh training there suited him, for he was strong, dependable, and unafraid of hard work. As he left home his faith wavered; without his father’s rigid structure, the Celestials felt distant, and religion seemed more like old habits than true belief. But Orion’s faith returned to him years later when at twenty-six he was assigned to a rescue mission. Several Celestial priestesses disappeared from a small sanctuary near the Falwood edge. No one knew exactly why, but the rumors went far and wide, and one thing was certain; werewolves were involved. The truth however was not as black and white as most people thought: the priestesses hadn’t been taken for sacrifice or to kill and eat, but out of a desperate attempt from the werewolves searching for a cure.
Alliria didn’t know that. Orion didn’t know that.
He entered the forest with a detachment of soldiers and paladins, blades drawn, ready for a righteous battle. When they found the priestesses still alive the soldiers launched their attack and tore the camp apart. Orion fought fiercely, killing several werewolves in the process. The priestesses were rescued, and with their safety hanging in the balance, the paladins withdrew rather than press the fight. As the group retreated back toward Alliria, howls echoed behind them, swearing vengeance upon them.
Only after returning to the city did the truth surface. Elara, one of the priestesses rescued that day, explained to the soldiers what she had learned; the werewolves had not intended harm and they had believed the priestesses might help them break their curse.
Orion struggled with this revelation. The mission had been justified by faith, but perhaps the werewolves hadn’t meant any real harm. They were still part human, after all. Questions like “Why would the gods allow such a fate?” haunted him, and he turned to Elara for help.
Their bond grew into love from the conversations they had, from shared meals, from late-night talks in temple courtyards. Elara helped him understand the gentleness of the Celestials, a version of faith his father had never allowed him to see. Orion’s faith grew and he became a paladin instead of a soldier.
They married within a year, and when Orion was thirty, they had a daughter, Lyra. Balancing fatherhood with paladin duties was not easy, but he tried his best to be the kind of father he wished he’d had; present and loving.
When the Siege of Alliria erupted a decade later, Orion was among the defenders on the front lines. Amid the chaos, a section of the city collapsed under bombardment, and Elara was caught beneath the falling rubble. It took two days for rescuers to find her body. Orion pushed on, as his daughter was still lost. He held onto the hope that she was still alive, somewhere.
Unfortunately tragedy rarely comes alone. During the siege, Lyra had been taken; targeted by the remaining pack of werewolves he had fought all those years ago. The siege had been the perfect cover for revenge. Lyra was bitten and left alive, turned into a weapon meant to ruin Orion’s life the way he had ruined theirs.
He found his daughter - and the bite marks - the night after Elara’s body was recovered.
Desperate for a cure, Orion spent months watching Lyra’s transformations, trying to find a way to help her. On the full moons he had to chain her up so she wouldn’t hurt herself, a girl just twelve years of age. Eventually, believing there must be hope, he confided in a priest of the Celestials; just as that pack had done. The priest promised a cure and instructed Orion to bring Lyra in secret to the healing chambers. Blinded by grief and clinging to his faith, Orion agreed.
But something felt wrong the moment he handed her over. There were too many attendants. Too many blades. Too many whispers about “mercy” and “purification.” As the priest escorted him away, Orion heard the familiar sound of metal chains; the kind used on beasts, not children. His stomach dropped. He shoved past the priest, forcing his way into the chamber.
The attendants tried to stop him. Orion killed them.
He lifted his terrified daughter into his arms and fled. Guards were alerted and arrows flew. One struck Lyra in the side, causing her to transform from both the pain and he panic. She bit her father in a blind panic, but he didn’t let her go, he just kept running, trying to save her from the religion his whole world revolved around.
Only when he reached the safety of the city outskirts did he realize she had gone still. Lyra had bled out in his arms, her curse passed on to him with her final bite.
Something inside Orion broke completely. He cursed the Celestials, cursed Alliria, cursed the guards who shot her, cursed the world that took everything from him. His faith shattered completely in one single night.
Within the week, he left the city for good. Taking a horse and what little he owned, he moved outside the walls of Alliria and bought a farm where no one would know him as a paladin, only as a farmer. It took years before he could bring himself to enter the city again, and even now, he does so reluctantly.
On the surface, Orion Fald’ir is just a rancher. But beneath that quiet exterior lives the ghost of a knight, a broken believer, a mourning father, and a man who carries his daughter’s curse like an open wound that will never fully heal.
At seventeen, Orion left home and joined Alliria’s military. The harsh training there suited him, for he was strong, dependable, and unafraid of hard work. As he left home his faith wavered; without his father’s rigid structure, the Celestials felt distant, and religion seemed more like old habits than true belief. But Orion’s faith returned to him years later when at twenty-six he was assigned to a rescue mission. Several Celestial priestesses disappeared from a small sanctuary near the Falwood edge. No one knew exactly why, but the rumors went far and wide, and one thing was certain; werewolves were involved. The truth however was not as black and white as most people thought: the priestesses hadn’t been taken for sacrifice or to kill and eat, but out of a desperate attempt from the werewolves searching for a cure.
Alliria didn’t know that. Orion didn’t know that.
He entered the forest with a detachment of soldiers and paladins, blades drawn, ready for a righteous battle. When they found the priestesses still alive the soldiers launched their attack and tore the camp apart. Orion fought fiercely, killing several werewolves in the process. The priestesses were rescued, and with their safety hanging in the balance, the paladins withdrew rather than press the fight. As the group retreated back toward Alliria, howls echoed behind them, swearing vengeance upon them.
Only after returning to the city did the truth surface. Elara, one of the priestesses rescued that day, explained to the soldiers what she had learned; the werewolves had not intended harm and they had believed the priestesses might help them break their curse.
Orion struggled with this revelation. The mission had been justified by faith, but perhaps the werewolves hadn’t meant any real harm. They were still part human, after all. Questions like “Why would the gods allow such a fate?” haunted him, and he turned to Elara for help.
Their bond grew into love from the conversations they had, from shared meals, from late-night talks in temple courtyards. Elara helped him understand the gentleness of the Celestials, a version of faith his father had never allowed him to see. Orion’s faith grew and he became a paladin instead of a soldier.
They married within a year, and when Orion was thirty, they had a daughter, Lyra. Balancing fatherhood with paladin duties was not easy, but he tried his best to be the kind of father he wished he’d had; present and loving.
When the Siege of Alliria erupted a decade later, Orion was among the defenders on the front lines. Amid the chaos, a section of the city collapsed under bombardment, and Elara was caught beneath the falling rubble. It took two days for rescuers to find her body. Orion pushed on, as his daughter was still lost. He held onto the hope that she was still alive, somewhere.
Unfortunately tragedy rarely comes alone. During the siege, Lyra had been taken; targeted by the remaining pack of werewolves he had fought all those years ago. The siege had been the perfect cover for revenge. Lyra was bitten and left alive, turned into a weapon meant to ruin Orion’s life the way he had ruined theirs.
He found his daughter - and the bite marks - the night after Elara’s body was recovered.
Desperate for a cure, Orion spent months watching Lyra’s transformations, trying to find a way to help her. On the full moons he had to chain her up so she wouldn’t hurt herself, a girl just twelve years of age. Eventually, believing there must be hope, he confided in a priest of the Celestials; just as that pack had done. The priest promised a cure and instructed Orion to bring Lyra in secret to the healing chambers. Blinded by grief and clinging to his faith, Orion agreed.
But something felt wrong the moment he handed her over. There were too many attendants. Too many blades. Too many whispers about “mercy” and “purification.” As the priest escorted him away, Orion heard the familiar sound of metal chains; the kind used on beasts, not children. His stomach dropped. He shoved past the priest, forcing his way into the chamber.
The attendants tried to stop him. Orion killed them.
He lifted his terrified daughter into his arms and fled. Guards were alerted and arrows flew. One struck Lyra in the side, causing her to transform from both the pain and he panic. She bit her father in a blind panic, but he didn’t let her go, he just kept running, trying to save her from the religion his whole world revolved around.
Only when he reached the safety of the city outskirts did he realize she had gone still. Lyra had bled out in his arms, her curse passed on to him with her final bite.
Something inside Orion broke completely. He cursed the Celestials, cursed Alliria, cursed the guards who shot her, cursed the world that took everything from him. His faith shattered completely in one single night.
Within the week, he left the city for good. Taking a horse and what little he owned, he moved outside the walls of Alliria and bought a farm where no one would know him as a paladin, only as a farmer. It took years before he could bring himself to enter the city again, and even now, he does so reluctantly.
On the surface, Orion Fald’ir is just a rancher. But beneath that quiet exterior lives the ghost of a knight, a broken believer, a mourning father, and a man who carries his daughter’s curse like an open wound that will never fully heal.
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