Doric Rubicant

(a.k.a. Dreamsweeper)

In a life long since forgotten, Doric Rubicant was known throughout Vilesephith as a man who would buy and sell just about anything and get it wherever you wanted, no questions asked. His services were pricey but evidently necessary, especially as revolution came to Vilesepthith.

One Final Score

Though funneling weapons to Bytherio separatists was lucrative, his notoriety would come at too great a cost when Vilesephith authorities of Grot Hinraio began to enact harsher methods to control the uprising. Sensing the net closing in, Doric pursued one last gig before escaping the city's turmoil for a quiet retirement in the Drembari Isles. As luck would have it, the gig went south, and in a moment of cornered desperation, Doric murdered Alan Abernathy, a well-loved baker and family man who only wanted an escaping fugitive to not hide in his daughter's bedroom.
Doric was stabbed in the fight and lost consciousness. He later awoke in chains, the wound in his stomach patched with moldy gauze and tar. Grot Hinraio had strung him up in the town square to show everyone what happened to Bytherio traitors and murderers. They kept him there for days, Hinraio clerics healing his wounds just enough to keep him alive while soldier and citizen alike eagerly wounded the man again. Mercifully, when tensions with separatists escalated and a curfew put in place, Doric was removed to the Hinraio dungeons. There he was left.
The raging revolution above kept his torturers away long enough for Doric to regain his wits and realize that he was not just alone, but completely forgotten. Though a small tap provided him water, no guards checked on him or brought him food. Doric soon began to starve. He screamed for help, but was only ever answered with the resonating echo of some unidentifiable surface calamity. That was when the dreams began.

To Drink of Dreams

He floats in a starless void, without form or physicality. He knows no hunger, no fear. He knows nothing of guilt or pain, of Alan Abernathy or little fatherless Bella. All he knows is the absence of everything. It reminds him of peace. In remembering this idea of a feeling, he realizes he is not alone in the void. A hand grasps the hand he suddenly has again and draws it down, and he remembers direction. The hand places his hand in a pool of nourishing ethereal liquid energy, and he walks a world of beautiful dream. He remembers to wake and remembers Doric once again.

Doric woke from these dreams strangely energized, his belly no longer rumbling and his wounds healed. Though hunger had become a thing of the past, Doric felt newly wracked with guilt over his brutal crime. He could only remain awake for a few hours before being pulled into sleep again. The dreampools were filled with enchanting scenes from lives he never knew, and Doric began to resent waking to his terrible situation in the Hinraio dungeons.
He spent more and more time asleep in the dreams of others and in the care of the Ulam, the name he found himself calling the being that gently guided him through sleep. Doric soon lost all understanding of the difference between the waking world and these healing excursions, but the peace did not last. Soon, the Ulam began to walk him through black pools of nightmare, the healing touch becoming a searing burn. He woke drained again, the nourishment only coming when he was on the brink of death. The nightmare pools soon only contained scenes from his time in the stocks in Vilesepthith's square or when he drove his knife into Alan Abernathy's ribs as Bella screamed. All the while, the Ulam's crushing grip remained, the pain second only to the regret that tore his heart to shreds.

The Penitent Man Shall Pass

Then, Doric awoke. Rather, he was violently wrenched from his slumber and thrown thousands of miles across space and time and through a wooden door. Doric skidded across a recently mopped floor and slammed into a set of table and chairs, knocking over the seated patrons and scattering their drinks. He opened his eyes on a brightly lit tavern and a collection of strange beings standing over him. They helped him to his feet as a very large and severe looking one-eyed goddess walked over to him, extended her hand, and said, "Welcome to Eldheim, Penitent."

The Embers of Redemption

Somehow, Doric had been pulled into the interdimensional tavern known as Eldheim. This tavern not only served as respite to weary travelers, but was headquarters for The Penitent, a group of heroes answering the prayers of those reaching out to Brelvonis. In this service, these heroes seek redemption for past crimes. Or something like that.
Doric served The Penitent for a number of missions across the multiverse, bringing justice to the worshippers of Brelvonis while providing janitorial support in the bar itself. Doric brought an earnest attitude of near-constant optimism and good will with him across space and time, despite his unsettling appearance in everyone's dreams quietly pushing a broom in the background. Even this the residents of Eldheim got used to, the strange visage eventually even bringing comfort to frequent customers and his compatriots.

Where There Is Memory...

Eventually though, during a mission to The Tomorrow Bazaar, Doric found an opportunity to give up a painful memory. In his mind, Doric either believed or convinced himself that this was his reward for all his hard work. That after everything, he would finally be rid of the memory of the worst thing he ever did, and all the guilt and shame that came with it. With barely any hesitation, Doric relieved himself of the memory of the murder of Alan Abernathy.
Doric soon left Eldheim along with his former Penitent Immeron. With him went the strange sweeping man that once haunted the dreams of The Penitent.

The Dreamsweeper

Where Doric is now, none may know, but the legacy of the Dreamsweeper remains. Across space and time, tales of the Dreamsweeper brooming through one's subconscious often accompany times of great change or redemptive justice. To evildoers, the Dreamsweeper is a haunting witness to their dark dreams and secrets, while the pure of heart see him as an omen of change to come, where nightmares may come to life or dreams finally realized.

Current Status

Retired from The Penitent

Birthplace

Charhyan Federation

Eyes

Gold

Hair

Stringy white

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Pale

Height

5'10"

Weight

185 lbs

Belief/Deity

Brelvonis

Aligned Organization

The Penitent

Related Reports

• The Penitent: Blackwave Breakout
• The Penitent: Down & Out in Deadtown Part 1
• The Penitent: Down & Out in Deadtown Part 2
• The Penitent: Dream Cleaning
• The Penitent: House Call
• The Penitent: Madame Murkminder’s Medicine
• The Penitent: Riders of the Furious Dawn
• The Penitent: Shrine of the Snakedoctor
• The Penitent: The Restless Ruins
• The Penitent: The Slumbering Violet
• The Penitent: The Tomorrow Bazaar
• The Penitent: Wake in the Break, Part One
• The Penitent: Wake in the Break, Part Two
• The Penitent: Whispers & Echoes