Zarek, Hero of Old

An incredibly popular hero-figure of the late Cumaean age, popularized in a series of tales focused on personal honor, protection of the innocent, and on seeing beyond cultural stereotypes. Zarek was an actual historical figure, a half-ogre raised by enlightened adoptive parents in an unenlightened time. He joined the priesthood of Elia Nauthiia at a young age, and by his middle adulthood had learned that a contemplative life is simply a selfish life under a more palatable name. He then undertook a series of adventures fighting the monsters and saving the innocent of the old Cumaean days that have made him a household name for well over twelve thousand years.
Zarek was remarkable for his vow of poverty which precluded him from engaging in mercenary work or from requiring payment from anyone he helped. Not only did this allow him to maintain his humility, but it also forced him to depend on the kindnesses of others and the providence of the gods, rather than his own strengths and skills, which were prodigious.
He lived most of his life in the Green East, and his funerary complex is a popular tourist attraction to this day in Naugor. He is normally portrayed as a huge man with olive colored skin, shirtless with a staff and bindle, in simple cloth pants and sandals, with a shaggy beard and friendly glint in his eye.