Isa Benus

"Look where your anger has brought you, Grimmispair. Falling down ten thousand feet with me. And you know what? I'm gonna be fine."

-A death-warded Isa Benus, before falling 10,000 feet and losing an arm.

Isa Morb Benus is a human paladin from Tonnesville, Ferriah. A town leader and warrior, he is a current member of the Puppets of Chaos adventuring party.

History

Plagued with Memory Loss

For a chunk of his life, Isa struggled with severe amnesia, unable to recall drastic measures of time from his past. Prior to finding himself in a refuge village in Alvericus, he was the leader of the town guard for Tonnesville, a small village in central Ferriah. Living there with his wife and daughter, Isa would enjoy a fruitful and relatively peaceful lifestyle as a family man.
The guards serving alongside Isa included individuals by the names of Gylaw Keen, Jerry Bo Jangles, Jorngel Jon von Gerard, and Mnard. Together, they warded off beasts and wretches and kept Tonnesville a safe place.
Unfortunately, the watch was caught by surprise one morning. A tirade of fierce and angry goblins tore through the town, ripping its architecture and its citizens to shreds. To say it was carnage was an understatement. The town was completely demolished as a result of the metaphorical tidal wave. Amongst the deaths were Jangles, von Gerard, Mnard, and Isa's family. The rest of the town was either dead or missing. From how it looked, Tonnesville's only resident was Isa Benus.
In a fit of confusion and rage, Isa worked to track down the settlement responsible for the destruction of his town. Going days without eating, he eventually found their camps in Nilbog Grotto. He proceeded to attack and kill the entire horde, powering entirely off of anger and adrenaline. Bloody and exhausted, Isa made his way back to what remained of his house and collapsed, his memory clouding from grief.
After a long period of isolation, Isa eventually found himself aimlessly wandering the neighboring country of Alvericus. He'd end up coming across a small pack of bandits plotting a theft on a hut in the woods. Isa followed them down and killed them before they could make an attack. The resident of the hut, an automaton by the name of "Emil," thanked Isa and offered him room and board.

Found Family

Still devoid of his memory, Isa would learn of a strange group of warriors forming in a nearby forest. He discovered that their leader was the combat commander of Ediburg, Viktor Lombarde. After finding out that the warriors were goblins, Isa felt an internal sting, one defined by anger. Learning that they were planning a takeover of a nearby refuge village, Isa swiftly departed from Emil's hut and made his way toward Valoriant. It was here where'd he meet the likes of Asherah Menkerah, Hush, Fufu, Ravi, and Caprese. They had all been brought here due to displacement caused by the Misstep.
Isa would continue traveling with the group over the course of half a year. During this time, they would give him an unofficial birthday, as Isa had forgotten his own.
Upon completing the climb of Mt. Zylrai, Isa wished to try and prevent the siege of Tonnesville. He was sent back into a pocket of time where he attacked the group of Goblins before they could torment his town. Upon his return, however, he didn't feel any sense of change or alterations to his life and memories; Zylrai explained that it was "fate, doomed to happen as it did," leaving him dejected.

Succeeding Lithuin's Death

When King Lithuin succumbed to his injuries, Isa picked up his blade: a strange greatsword by the name of Inildibhal. It was the only item he picked up before Millicus Lithuin arrived and forced him and the party out of the castle. With their goal of stopping the king's tirade reached, the group agreed to go their separate ways: Asherah and Eos heading to the town of Thetford, Hush heading back to Scourwall with the Talon Daggers,
Isa had an idea for a project, bringing Ravi and Fufu with him. The three would make their way back to the kingdom of Ferriah, where an old friend of Isa's was waiting for them: Gylaw Keen. Keen had survived the attack on Tonnesville and had been making ends' meet protecting towns near Mt. Zylrai. After learning of Isa's survival, he would have them accompany him on an expedition of sorts.
The project ended up being the rebuild of Tonnesville into a brand new, revitalized town. While the remnants of "old Tonnesville" were left in their original state, a new town came to fruition near it. Aptly nicknamed "New Tonnesville," the new settlement included a town hall, orphanage, inn, hospital, outposts, temple, and tavern.
Isa would eventually call upon the rest of his former group to aid in quelling a new threat on the outskirts of his town: an abyssal rift holding a spindly fiend. Making their way to Tonnesville, the group reconvened to take on the rift.

Appearance

Isa appears to be of a lean build, but demonstrates impressive strength. He is able to wield large weapons like greatswords and halberds with one hand.
Isa's facial features remain a mystery, as he has never shown anyone his face before. He is best defined by his Tonnesville military-grade guard armor, including a helmet with slits for his eyes. He continues to wear the armor, even when the group makes use of a bathhouse. He also wears a blue scarf around his neck. After meeting Siora Gaius with Ravi and Fufu, a piece of Darian Gaius' cape was sewed onto Isa's scarf.
When Isa attended the Alverica Synthesi, he wore a black cape lined with beast fur over his typical armor.

Personality

Despite his grim background, Isa is spry and jaunty. He often approaches tense situations with an optimistic outlook, even if it's due to his pure obliviousness. When approached by enemies far larger than him, he frequently attempts to belittle or scrutinize them, even if it means he gets slapped out. He will, however, get a little more cutthroat when a goblin is in the vicinity. He has also demonstrated some skill in the art of deception; during the takeover of a ship in Ediburg, he was able to convince the crew onboard that he was their captain in a new suit of armor.
Isa does have a tendency to forget what's at stake in certain situations; when Hush wore a disguise at the Alverica Synthesi, Isa completely disregarded it and let Consortium leader Alair Caedes know that the man under the disguise was, in fact, the person her organization was looking for. He also forgot that he was invited to Fufu's wedding, missing it as a result.
When it comes to issues threatening his town or his men, he will often cite the problems as stemming from a skill issue.
Isa has also been shown to have a soft side, often becoming quiet and reserved when he sees families bonding together.

Trivia

• Isa's portrait, alongside every main player character's portrait in the Puppets of Chaos adventuring party, was done by Xiushy, the player of Eos and Fey. More of her work can be found at twitter.com/xiushyy.
• Of the entire party, Isa has taken the most damage in a single instance. He survived as a result of a death warding spell, but his 10,000 foot fall with Grimmispair caused him to take 3,342 points of bludgeoning damage.

Species
Human

Pronouns
he/him
Status
Alive

Age
39 (mentally, just a baby)

Occupation
Town Guard (formerly)
Mayor (Tonnesville)

Relationships
Eva Benus (wife; deceased)
Elizabeth Benus (daughter; deceased)
Gylaw Keen (advisor)
Ravi Ollie (advisor; deceased)

Species

Human

Age

39

Eyes

Unknown

Hair

Unknown

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Unknown

Height

5'10