Griffith Blackthorn, known as "The Titan" in his younger days, was a powerful Goliath warrior and paladin. Throughout his life, he championed nature and the growth of those around him, and was an important founding member of The Frightful Freaks Mercenary Company, which went on to found the settlement of Lavish south of Cormyr.

 
As he grew older, along with his comrads, he was sent into the Hells. This experience would change his life's trajectory forever, as once he emerged from the pits, he was a changed man. He was no longer a selfless champion of nature, and the downtrodden. He was a battle-hungry mercenary, eager to face any challenges he could find. He assisted the Shades in the north with their hunt against the phaerimm in exchange for artifacts and a cure for personal afflictions, later disappearing again into the pits for a while. He left most of his affairs in the hand of his long time squire, Gary Whiskers, who he tasked with establishing a keep of his new knight order, which he called the Blackthorn Knights, in Cormyr.

 
When the civil war against Azoun Obarskyr IV broke out, his knight order initially stayed neutral, until Griffith himself appeared some time into the war, and declared them against the king. This turned out to be especially beneficial for the knight order, which saw a quick rate of growth during the conflict and directly aftwards, their numbers swelling to nearly 1,000 members. Following the war, Griffith would return to assist the City of Shade in the north once again, and no long after, Griffith's divine spark was formed within him. He became a powerful demigod, and he left for the outter plane of Ys to train with the valkyries and einherjar and hone his power further.