Tartarus

The Paladin of Dreadfall

There was a time when he was shunned, ignored by our people as we attempted to cast one of his kind out, but we all must agree that we were wrong to do such things. The Paladin of Dreadfall chose to save this city when our own people could not, when the abilities of the Silver Elves failed us against the Calamities. Without the wielder of Timebreaker, the city of Dreadfall would have ceased to exist, erased into the abyss that surrounded us.

Let his name be remembered in the history texts as more than the Paladin. While he became our hero, we erased his name in favor of simply referring to him as the Paladin of Dreadfall. Even when we accepted him as our savior, we still tried to ignore his differences, to cover the name of his heritage with a title that could hide his true identity. When tragedy struck us, it was a Nephilim that stepped forward, not a Silver Elf or a Gem Dwarf or any others that hail from our dark lands.

When his tragic end came, we enshrined him in the city he loved, dedicating our shrines and temples in reverence of a man far beyond what could be expected of mortal men. As long as the city thrives and voices fill its halls, no one shall forget what the Paladin of Dreadfall did for his city, nay, the entire world. With his strength and sacrifices came protections that should extend through the millennia.

— Snippet of Lost Text from Dreadfall

Tartarus, a Nephilim originally from the Fire Islands, became the Paladin of Dreadfall through a number of heroic acts that saved the city he so loved. Having lived and entered into myth more than a millennium ago, his story has mostly been lost to those who are not long-lived enough to remember the days when the city flourished with Djinn technology.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

If only we all could have the convictions and the knowledge of the world that the Paladin held, then maybe so much darkness would not blanket us forevermore.

— Unknown

Born the middle son of five children, Tartarus was often the keeper of his younger sisters as his older brothers went to school and his parents worked various jobs as part of the local merchants' guild. His parents traveled frequently, often leaving the children home alone for weeks at a time. The older boys were not interested in taking care of their siblings and often made Tartarus serve as the adult of the home. Because of this, Tartarus very rarely left his little village, but that did not staunch his interest in learning outside of school, something his brothers often did since they shirked their responsibilities.
In what free time he had when not caring for his sisters, Tartarus read whatever tomes he could get his hands on, often asking his parents to bring home rare and unique volumes from their travels. His escape was reading anything he could get his hands on, but he particularly enjoyed stories about the Djinn and their fantastical cities found across the Southern Continent. He dreamed of one day traveling to the Djinn Ruins and answering some of the mysterious questions that even wizened Scholars could not.

Crest of the Paladin of Dreadfall

Crest of the Paladin of Dreadfall by RiverFang

This crest picturing a moon reminscient of a halo was the symbol of the Paladin of Dreadfall. Throughout the city and on the armor he wore, this crest denoted those that fought against the greatest evils that could be found throughout Káto.

Mystical Interests

His opportunity to follow his dreams came in the form of a Majinn that was welcomed to the Fire Islands in order to expand trade. Why this person came to their small village may never be known, but Tartarus listened to the stories the Majinn told of a large city in Káto that used Djinn technology, automating their city and bringing to life the myths from the Southern Continent that had been lost to the Djinn. With the stories still in his head, he decided to travel with the Majinn to Kato, hoping to begin following his dream in the recreated city of the Djinn.
There was opposition from his family to this decision, his fanciful ideas seen as childish by his brothers. Tartarus didn't care, wishing to finally make his own decisions as his older siblings did. His sisters were old enough to fend for themselves, and he had taught them much, so reluctantly, his parents agreed, sending him off with a pack and a simple polearm. Little did anyone know that Tartarus would never return to the Fire Islands, not even in death.

Divine Choices

The trip through Káto to Dreadfall was not difficult, but his arrival in the city was not as grandiose as Tartarus had believed. Having never stepped foot outside of his village in the Fire Islands, he was not prepared for the treatment he would receive as a Nephilim, a descendant of Demons. While people did not outright persecute him, he was often sneered at and ignored, making everyday life difficult for the young man. Within his first week in the city, he became little more than a street urchin, relegated to a life of scraps in the gutter.
His treatment in the city did not get better as time went on. He was eventually driven away from the central square and many other streets, making his existence even more miserable. Seeing himself as a failure, he

refused to go home and admit that to his brothers. As he wandered through the city plotting his next course of action, fortune smiled upon him in the form of a Paladin, one bearing a holy symbol that he did not recognize.
This introduction led to the greatest time of study in his life. He became learned in the ways of the Pantheons of Isekai, but he also learned the greatest truth of the world that the people of Dreadfall had known for centuries. The Paladin told him that this knowledge was why the city both thrived and was struck by tragedy. Those who lived in Dreadfall did not welcome outsiders due to the knowledge they kept, but that knowledge also drew beings of great power to the city that were not easily dissuaded.
Becoming a Paladin of the World took a great deal of study and training. Tartarus threw himself into this task, believing that the knowledge held in Dreadfall was worth keeping safe from those who wished to exploit it. He aided other Paladins in protecting the city from threats that came from the abyss and elsewhere, slowly gaining a reputation that kept those who had once sneered at him from looking at him with too much disgust.

The Four Calamities

Little is known about Tartarus from the time he entered the temple and became a Paladin until his name was entered into the legends of ancient times. It is unknown why he was the only Paladin of the World from Dreadfall to fight the Calamities that historically had fought over the city and the abyss at its gates. More myth than fact shrouds this time period, but it is agreed that at some point during this period, the simple polearm that he brought from the Fire Islands was given a power beyond imagination and became the legendary weapon Timebreaker.
The Four Great Calamities were Despondence the Ancient, Fisc the All-Seeing, Karithor the Undying, and Nizlek the Black. The deaths of these beings are attributed to Tartarus and his weapon Timebreaker, although the grandiose stories of these victories have been lost to the ages. After ridding the world of the Great Calamities, Tartarus would return home to Dreadfall as a hero.

Paladin of Dreadfall

Upon the end of the Great Calamities, Tartarus, once an outsider and outcast, was granted the title Paladin of Dreadfall. His name and deeds would be enshrined throughout the city, a tribute to the great service that he had done for the city that had once ignored and abandoned him. For many years, Tartarus would continue protecting the city he had come to love, wielding Timebreaker and its magic when the need arose.

Timebreaker

Timebreaker by Tim de Roos (Bonus Action)

Once a simple weapon, the Paladin of Dreadfall turned this weapon into something more, possibly using the Book of Exalted Deeds.

The end of the Paladin of Dreadfall came tragically, but accounts of his demise vary so widely that it is nearly impossible to determine what truly struck the legend down. A city indebted to him placed his tomb beneath the city, decorating it lavishly with depictions of the man's great deeds. Timebreaker was also enshrined with the man, never to be wielded again, not even by other Paladins of the World, as none could stand up to the legacy left by the one who was so different from the rest.

Current Status

Enshrined beneath the lost city of Dreadfall

Species

Nephilim

Ethnicity

Nephilim Culture

Date of Birth

Unknown

Date of Death

Unknown

Birthplace

Fire Islands

Place of Death

Dreadfall

Eyes

Purple

Hair

Long, dark

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Blue

Height

6'7"

Ruled Locations

• Dreadfall

Dreadfall

Dreadfall was a secretive city, even in the days when the Paladin of Dreadfall was still alive. Built on the edge of one of the great abysses of Káto, this city utilized lost Djinn technology throughout and was privy to knowledge that most of the world had no idea that existed. This created a dangerous mix that drew all sorts of evil beings, including the Four Great Calamities, to claim the city for their own.
Paladins were common in the city, serving a deity and order that was unknown outside of Dreadfall. These people caused animosity with other cities in Káto, such as Monitrex and other cities within a day's travel, making these other cities assist in anything that would remove the city, unlike any other from their world.

Those who wish to remove Dreadfall from the world only solidify our convictions, telling us we are following the right path as Paladins of the World. Our knowledge and this city must be protected at all costs.

— Unknown

Some reports say that the city of Dreadfall slowly disappeared after the tragedy of the Paladin of Dreadfall, but other snippets of text from that time hint that some great tragedy befell the city itself, erasing its people and memory, but not the automation that protected the city. In present times, Dreadfall is little more than a city lost to myth, something as impossible to find as the Djinn that once also disappeared.

The Four Calamities