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Callum Virtaernus


Wandering paladin running from a dark past in the hopes of finding a better future.


Campaign & Party

Played by
Claydowan
Thu 20th Mar 2025 10:18

Session 28 Journal Entry

by Callum Virtaernus

Thus begins a new chapter, however briefly we're allowed to bask in this moment of victory and peace. There are several aspects I take from this fight, and most of them are personal, if I'm honest with myself. I'm grateful the people of Waterdeep are protected, as are the rest of the inhabitants of the Sword Coast from the Lord of Blades and his armies. I'm grateful for the friends who have stood by me and I with them through this whole ordeal, even though we're likely going to face even greater threats than what we've encountered already. I'm overjoyed and relieved that Zora both stood beside me and made it through the fight unscathed, and as a father, I'm proud in a manner I've never known. She truly is the best of her mother and myself. I'm so grateful she's allowed me a second chance.
 
Second chances...that was something I never expected from Emperious and the rest of the council. It's my intent to visit them or call upon them again soon if they will speak with me. I pledged my service once again to my former commander, and I intend to honor that pledge. Though I have a different perspective on what service I might offer beyond my former station.
 
I know, and I trust my friends' and commander's judgement, that my heart is once again pure. But be that as it may, I still bear Hell's influence. I know my battle with the darkness of that realm, its lord, and the darkness within me, is far from over. More than that, it's exactly because of that darkness that I'm allowed a unique opportunity I wonder if anyone else can access.
 
If I can be saved...redeemed even...others among the fallen can too. Uriel might be saved. Even Zariel. I have to believe that it's an endeavor worth pursuing. For my sisters' sake. And I, the Hellwalker, can take this upon myself without fear of condemning others as I once so foolishly did before by asking them to follow me.
 
No...This time, one tarnished by Hell might save those who are being influenced and manipulated by darkness. There is light and redemption within the darkness. Not just wrath. Not just rage. And not just vengeance. Perhaps, moving forward, that's what this victory over the Lord of Blades can precede.
 
Such is my hope. Such is my prayer. To Torm, and to my fellow Solar should they choose to hear it.

Callum Virtaernus's Journal Ordered oldest to newest

  1. Session I: Fate?
    14 Nov 2021 04:34:26
  2. Session II: Deadly Intrigue
    12 Dec 2021 05:49:53
  3. Use
    08 Feb 2022 03:39:09
  4. Session 4: Finding Floon
    21 Feb 2022 04:22:29
  5. Session 5: Found Floon...And a lot More
    20 Mar 2022 03:07:06
  6. Nomad and Durnan
    13 Apr 2022 08:03:34
  7. Session 6: Nomad's Reflection
    19 Apr 2022 01:30:19
  8. A Beast Escapes
    05 May 2022 12:46:55
  9. Session 7: Nomad's reflection
    17 May 2022 07:51:56
  10. Old Wrongs and Kindred Souls
    23 Jun 2022 10:22:03
  11. Session 8: Nomad's reflection
    27 Jun 2022 02:25:01
  12. Session 9: Nomad's Reflection
    22 Aug 2022 08:44:54
  13. Session 10: Nomad's Reflection
    06 Sep 2022 03:19:06
  14. Session 11a: Nomad's Reflection
    20 Oct 2022 02:54:05
  15. Session 12: Nomad's Reflection
    18 Nov 2022 08:36:47
  16. Session 13: Nomad's Reflection
    17 Jan 2023 04:26:56
  17. Session 14: Zora's Reflection
    24 Jan 2023 06:38:49
  18. Session 15: Nomad's Reflection
    20 Feb 2023 04:30:40
  19. Session 16: Callum's Reflection
    27 Mar 2023 06:42:03
  20. Session 17: Callum's Reflection
    27 Mar 2023 06:51:02
  21. Session 18: Callum's Reflection
    21 Apr 2023 10:29:02
  22. Session 19: Callum's Reflection
    15 May 2023 07:38:17
  23. Session 20: Callum's reflection
    26 Jun 2023 03:12:47
  24. Session 21 Journal Entry
    30 Jun 2024 07:26:04
  25. Session 22 Journal Entry
    30 Jun 2024 11:10:29
  26. The Journal Entry’s title
    30 Jun 2024 11:10:29
  27. Session 23 Journal Entry
    30 Jul 2024 02:49:49
  28. The Journal Entry’s title
    30 Jul 2024 02:49:49
  29. The Journal Entry’s title
    26 Sep 2024 07:13:42
  30. Callum's Reflection: Session 24
    26 Sep 2024 07:13:43
  31. Session 25 Journal Entry: Callum's Reflection
    20 Oct 2024 05:32:36
  32. The Journal Entry’s title
    15 Dec 2024 07:21:28
  33. Session 26 Journal Entry
    15 Dec 2024 07:21:28
  34. The Journal Entry’s title
    13 Jan 2025 10:21:27
  35. Session 27 Journal Entry
    13 Jan 2025 10:21:28
  36. The Journal Entry’s title
    20 Mar 2025 10:18:14
  37. The Journal Entry’s title
    20 Mar 2025 10:18:15
  38. Session 28 Journal Entry
    20 Mar 2025 10:18:16

The major events and journals in Callum Virtaernus's history, from the beginning to today.

Session 28 Journal Entry

Thus begins a new chapter, however briefly we're allowed to bask in this moment of victory and peace. There are several aspects I take from this fight, and most of them are personal, if I'm honest with myself. I'm grateful the people of Waterdeep are pr...

10:41 pm - 20.03.2025

Session 27 Journal Entry

And so it comes to this. We have the answers we need to appease the Lord of Blades, and all we can do now is hope that will appease him enough so that he doesn't unleash his entire army upon Waterdeep. Given what I know of him, even if he agrees to come...

10:30 pm - 13.01.2025

Session 26 Journal Entry

A certain conversation I had with Gweihera comes to mind as I contemplate the actions of the last day and what lies ahead. Long ago she and I spoke atop Mount Celestia after a particularly brutal skirmish with the forces of Hell. It seems what I did to ...

07:43 pm - 15.12.2024

Session 26 Journal Entry

A certain conversation I had with Gweihera comes to mind as I contemplate the actions of the last day and what lies ahead. Long ago she and I spoke atop Mount Celestia after a particularly brutal skirmish with the forces of Hell. It seems what I did to ...

07:43 pm - 15.12.2024

Session 25 Journal Entry: Callum's Reflection

When I swore my oath of vengeance against the dark realms, perhaps I was naïve in thinking that my quest was only against the fiends that plague all of existence. It was easy to focus my ire there. After all, they were responsible for any number of unc...

05:46 pm - 20.10.2024

Callum's Reflection: Session 24

A heavy blow has been dealt to evil this day, and it's a day I'll not soon forget. If I ever doubted it before, I have no excuse or reason to cling to such disbelief. What I once was is still alive within me. However small, however distant, the being I...

07:27 pm - 26.09.2024

Session 23 Journal Entry

More and more I start to see Torm's hand at work in my life. Whether it be the people he brings into it, or their influence on it, I start to realize that there is a plan in everything. Not everyone ascribes that particular belief. Still working on Ori...

03:00 am - 30.07.2024

Session 22 Journal Entry

Well...if Zora wasn't going to kill me before, she definitely is now. I don't expect her to understand. Truth be told, she probably doesn't understand a lot of what I do or why. Granted, in the past, my indifference to her opinion was misguided under t...

12:49 am - 01.07.2024

Session 21 Journal Entry

I wish I could explain better what happened down in that infernal pit. The Cassalantors were about to bring Vecna back, and with it, the destruction of everything we know. My friends and I saw the threat, moved to neutralize it, and succeeded. That's t...

07:38 pm - 30.06.2024

Session 15: Nomad's Reflection

...Maybe I should be writing this in the assumption someone else will eventually read it. Between Honorine and Zora... Who am I kidding? I'm glad they did, especially given what the end result was. And I'm truly sorry, Zora. I couldn't let a friend...

04:30 pm - 20.02.2023

Session 14: Zora's Reflection

Didn't think I'd find this. I'm only writing in it now because I don't know what else to do. Reading these pages, seeing dad's thoughts and words... I'm so fucking mad at him! I'm so fucking mad at all of this! And I can't believe... He's gone. ...

06:38 pm - 24.01.2023

Session 13: Nomad's Reflection

In two hours, I undid two years. I want to justify it. I want to say I did it for Honorine. For Kal. Like I did when we were in the sewers. Even for Ushen and freeing his soul. But now, with the frequency with which I apply that logic, the only just...

10:42 pm - 12.12.2022

Session 12: Nomad's Reflection

Destiny is a fickle thing. Is it ours to control or are we mere puppets of its whim? I've never been sure. Through different lives, different places, different times, I've wondered what mine would be and if I can do anything to change it. I've seen mo...

08:36 pm - 18.11.2022

Session 11a: Nomad's Reflection

The moment she said it, I knew in my heart there were far more powerful forces at play. Forces I'd hoped wouldn't be Zora's problem. But I'm starting to wake up to the truth, like Lady Silverhand said, that much like Dagult's hoard, there's far more hap...

08:02 pm - 12.10.2022

Session 10: Nomad's Reflection

The lights go out, the furniture comes to life, undead are everywhere, and the battle is on. Don't know whether to punch Lirelle or kiss her next time I see her. I know she had a hand in training Zora because I see a lot of how she fights in my daughter...

03:19 pm - 06.09.2022

Session 9: Nomad's Reflection

Just keeps getting better and better. Lots of confusion surrounding this stone, and before we can even get to ask it anything, we have our friend the inspector breathing down our necks. Can't fault him for doing his job. I know he needs to maintain ord...

08:44 pm - 22.08.2022

Session 8: Nomad's reflection

Always when I draw my sword, I only wish to do so when there's a necessary reason for it. When I wield it, I only wish to do so with valor. Having an enemy in front of me, someone or something that seeks to do me or mine harm, something that makes it cl...

02:25 am - 27.06.2022

Old Wrongs and Kindred Souls

That dwarf had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. He'd made the wrong moves too. It wasn't the time to try and pick a fight, but he'd tried it nonetheless, with a grieving opponent who only needed a reason. The dwarf had given him a reason...

10:22 pm - 23.06.2022

Session 7: Nomad's reflection

Sometimes I wonder if things are changing too fast. I've often noticed there's not much I can do to alter the course of history, fate, divine will, whatever you want to call it. I just try to get by in this world and do the best I can, but here I am get...

07:51 pm - 17.05.2022

A Beast Escapes

"How many has it killed?" the chain devil managed between gasps. Each breath was ragged after miles of fleeing in an attempt to regroup, the monster in pursuit and showing no signs of tiring. Fueled by its rage, armed with a weapon of hate, and driven b...

12:46 am - 05.05.2022

Session 6: Nomad's Reflection

I would have thought fate was intervening the moment I saw that demonic circle. But there was the dream before that, the familiar faces after, and everything else that's happened since. I wonder what this means for me, but more importantly, for Zora. I...

01:30 am - 19.04.2022

Nomad and Durnan

"That Nomad is asking for you," his server informed him. Durnan lifted his eyes from the contract the mason had provided for him to fix the hole in the eastern side of the Yawning Portal. Upon doing so he remembered he also needed to contact the mag...

08:03 pm - 13.04.2022

Session 5: Found Floon...And a lot More

These Xanathar mercs know how to secure the place, I'll give them that. After the boulder comes down, magical glyphs, oil traps, and giant, swinging logs all bar our way. If Regulus cares at all, he doesn't show it. Barges right through the worst of it...

03:07 pm - 20.03.2022

Session 4: Finding Floon

Day starts off well enough. Rainar is meeting us at the Portal. I keep making contacts with the Zhentarim agents here. Hoping I can do what I came here to do and stay out of the worst of this. Doesn't seem like a place for any would-be heroes. Regulu...

04:22 am - 21.02.2022

Use

He'd tracked it to the private wharfs of Lord Valenier. Old senses from Heaven and Hell had their uses, especially when it came to tracking fiends. This creature was a bit too infernal to keep it from registering on his divine senses. It might have eve...

03:39 pm - 08.02.2022

Session II: Deadly Intrigue

Right away we all know this is going to be a rough fight. Sturges all over, flying up to both floors and going after everyone, and that troll is covered in puss and rot, poisoning everything around it. We all get to it, Honorine striking first and getti...

05:49 am - 12.12.2021

Session I: Fate?

We gathered at the Yawning Portal. Not my first choice, but it's not for me to decide. Turns out that's where everyone else was anyway, which already puts me on edge. When that newcomer, Jain, I believe, talked about his dream, then we realized we all ...

04:34 pm - 14.11.2021

The list of amazing people following the adventures of Callum Virtaernus.

AtkaMarduk
Ashe the CPSS

Played by
Claydowan