Cordell Steelheart

Cleric Extraordinaire

A Study on the Life of Cordell Steelheart, Cleric of Team Treebark and current High Priest of Solis.
Documented by Hamendi Farmane, Researcher at Sky's Watch.

Childhood: Fleeing from Destiny?

For a very long time there had been a lot of uncertainty about Cordell Steelheart's past. He hadn't mentioned his childhood or family a lot and seemed to be reluctant to talk about it. After his death to one of the members of the Scarlett Score, Cordell even seemed to have lost part of his childhood memories as well. This makes it quite difficult to document this as of writing this article. However, sometime after he became the High Priest on Isle of the Sun, we managed to learn some details about his path.

Sketch of Umara - Source Unknown

Cordell Steelheart was born as Thurag in a small village named Klane within the Grizzly Hills as the son of Umara (human) and Bragvuk (orc), which is why Cordell is a half-orc. For years Thurag was harshly trained by his father with the goal to join the Blood Tusk Tribe, which he was a warchief in, when he were to come of age. His training even led Thurag to go on raids with the tribe to towns such as Marth and even Surothel. While Thurag did enjoy the "orc life", being lead to believe that it would be his destiny, some worries did start to appear after seeing such an amount of violence.
At the same time his mother Umara tried to teach Thurag that there is more to life than raiding with a tribe, despite their not-ideal living conditions. Her teachings and loving upbringing caused Thurag to see the proverbial light in life, causing him to doubt about a life within a ruthless orc tribe.
This way of living continued for year until Thurag made the decision to not live a life of battle and raiding. However, Bragvuk did not take this well in any sense of the word and attacked him. We believe that this is the cause of many of Cordell's scars on his body. After seeing Bragvuk's true nature Thurag decided to take a risk and flee Klane with the help of Umara, just days before his coming of age.
However, Thurag did not have anywhere to go unfortunately and thus took a chance at living in the wild.

The Hermit Life

Unfortunately, not a lot is known about this part of Cordell's past. It is known that he lived out in the wilderness of Aurleen, surviving day by day, for quite a while. Over the span of an unknown amount of years Thurag travelled from somewhere near the Grizzly Hills to a forest near Bright Keep. While it is unlikely he would live together with anyone during that time, it does appear that it was a very formative part of his life. Over the course of these years Cordell seemed to have reflected on life, changing his perspective drastically compared to only a few years earlier. He even went so far as to change his identity during that time, as Thurag was left behind and Cordell Steelheart came out of the wilderness.
One day while scouring for food he noticed a man walking around, who seemed to be looking for Cordell specifically. How did he know Cordell was out there? During his time living out in the wild, he had not seen many people, so why would this guy know he was out here?
This man introduced himself as Jerrard and explained to Cordell how he managed to find him out there. He noticed a strong magical aura in the area, which seemed to be originating around Cordell. Cordell himself never noticed, but it seems like he has had some hidden magical potential.

Cleric Training for Dummies

It turned out that Jerrard is

Solis' Crest

a monk from Isle of the Sun, an island to the south-west of Aurleen. The monks from Isle of the Sun are devoted to Solis, who they worship as god of the sun and proper crops. Jerrard explained that the Monks of Solis try to harness their power to help people in need.
Since Cordell aspires to make a change (for good) in the world, he decided to join Jerrard on his way back to the island, where he trained in the ways of the cleric.
During his training at the Golden Sun Academy, Jerrard became Cordell's mentor, teaching him as much as he could. Due to his now-discovered potential in magic, Cordell was able to gain strong powers in the domain of healing at a faster pace than any other trainee.

His teachers had their fair share of issues with Cordell over the two years he was there. First of all he was different then everyone else due to him being a half-orc and not a human like most of the monks. Secondly, he can be kind of impatient and has a slight temper sometimes due to his orcish nature.
However, due to his sheer potential and willingness to do good in the world, his reputation is decently good among the monks. Of course the problems he caused and him being different than the others caused some weird looks whenever he was on the island, but he also has gotten some respect from the people for what he has done.

Cordell completed his training after living on Isle of the Sun for around two years, which is faster than usual.

"Yes, Cordell was an interesting student to say the least.
An incident comes to mind with doors and windows being blown out by a strong thaumaturgical surge when Cordell lost his patience. This was quite early during his training, ironically while working to trying to control some of his magical power… He was certainly eager to learn though!"
- Master Daylon, one of Cordell's teachers at the Golden Sun Academy

A Chaotic Duo

While he was at the Golden Sun Academy, Cordell made a good friend in Kethra. She was also a student at the academy and, just like Cordell, was pretty chaotic of nature. While she is human like most people living on Isle of the Sun, she was still different than the others.
However, for some reason these two chaotic personalities seemed to cancel each other out, since they seemed to be each other's only friend at the academy. Together they could talk about everything and relax after a long day of training.

Forming a Band of Adventurers

Team Treebark logo

After completing his training High Priest Talanjo told Cordell his future lies at the SunFare festival. Uncertain as to what th High Priest meant by this he set out for Mossvile.
In Mossvile a wooden noticeboard stood in the center of town with two scrolls nailed on it: "SunFare Festival in town!". Next to the scroll another one says "Company wanted for SunFare Festival. Meet me in Treebark Inn". Cordell took the second scroll and makes his way towards the inn, not knowing this was going to change his life…
In the Treebark Inn Cordell met three other adventurers: Gudrun Inamenor, Eshkira Eldanash and Pethorn Joysword.
Together they traveled to the SunFare Festival, which can now be seen as the start of the adventures of Team Treebark. Later on they were joined by the human wizard N'emundill Twinsoul, who rescued the party from the clutches of Sul'jhin. While escorting a group of refugees from the now-destroyed Bright Keep the party met a hunter named Valí the Restless. He later joined Team Treebark on their adventures.

Team Treebark in Treebark Inn by Thesleepypencil

"Here we see Team Treebark in their natural habitat, an inn with lots of ale. We always liked to talk about our adventures afterwards in Treebark Inn."
- Cordell Steelheart

Mister Worldwide

Being part of the adventuring group called Team Treebark has allowed Cordell to visit many parts in the world of Aurleen. Lately this has become even more convenient with the help of griffons the party got as a gift from King Graham.
What started in a small inn in Mossvile lead to infiltrating Kelna to rescue Kethra, defeating daemons below Violet Chapel, chasing a bandit through Halmstad and much more. He has even visited The Feywild and went on a massive assault on the red planet Dralgus with the help other adventuring parties. Some of Cordell's favorite places he has visited have been Redmond, Herwarin, Sky's Watch and Torda (despite it being a lot busier than he normally would've liked).
However, there is no place better than the always-comfortable Isle of the Sun or Mossvile.

Good as New?

Before and after resurrection

During an intense battle on 1st of Ny 395 with a band of mercenaries calling themselves the Scarlet-Score, Cordell was disintegrated by one of the enemies. His ashes, together with some of his magical items were taken to Isle of the Sun by the rest of Team Treebark. Cordell was then resurrected by an intrinsic ritual performed by High Priest Talanjo, with the help of King Graham and Team Treebark.
Because of this ritual Cordell is now back in the land of the living. However, some things seem to have changed, and not just physically...
Of course the physical changes are most apparent: some of his orcish features seem to have become a lot less visible; his ears are less pointy, the tusks are nearly invisible now and his skin color seems to have lost some of the grayish tint. Overall Cordell looks a bit more... human?
Some people close to him have mentioned that Cordell has been acting a bit differently lately as well. He seems to be a lot more protective of his friends and steers away from necromantic magic if possible. One of the negative side effects of this drastic resurrection ritual is that Cordell has lost some of his memories. This is not helped by the fact that his notebook was disintegrated as well. While he does seem to remember most of what happened since he first met Jerrard of Solis, what happened before has become hazy.

Reminders of the Past

Some time after Cordell was resurrected at Isle of the Sun, some elements of his past seemingly came back to Cordell. While he hasn't talked about anything specifically yet, he does seem to act a bit differently since then...
While basically walking straight into Hogg's Feet and defeating its king Varbuk is certainly an impressive feat from Team Treebark, it did seem to influence Cordell quite drastically. After the killing blow was dealt by Gudrun Inamenor, Cordell was found sitting down in the throne room in some sort of catatonic state...

Is there a title above "Heroes of Aurleen"?

On the 12th of Ny 395, Cordell and the rest of Team Treebark partook in the The Assault on Dralgus. This massive assault and battle with the Daemon Prince Masxrox resulted in the destruction of the evil red planet Dralgus.
Achieving such a victory caused Cordell to start reflecting on his past and current life. He seems to have become very determined ever since, but to do what?
While the battle was a great success, it did leave some... dark marks within Team Treebark. During their time on Dralgus they were apparently fooled by Galdur, and now carry some Daemon blood within them.

"I have a particular set of skills. I will find you, but I will not kill you. However, I will heal the one who is going to kill you..."
- Cordell in a Sending message to Galdur after discovering Team Treebark was fooled.

On a mission to infiltrate a party at Barduk' Amaz on the 14th of Ny 395, Team Treebark got within a few miles of the city before being spotted by a massive horde of Gnolls. While N'emundill Twinsoul fought them off (see Battle of Bertaburg), the rest of the party (plus Lilly from The Sylvan Sorority) fled. However, soon after Mogarath teleported in and managed to kill Cordell in eight swift hits before he could manage to teleport the party away. Fortunately Valí the Restless had a hearthstone to teleport us all to Torda. Cordell was then also revived by Lilly, fortunately.
Since then Cordell and the rest of Team Treebark quickly got involved in some very important events within Aurleen. First they actually managed to infiltrate the party at Barduk' Amaz, right under Mogarath's nose. Here they met with Melebe Tilnabo, a high-profile accomplice from The Thieves Guild, in order to learn about the goals of the Assembly of Inferno, resulting in fighting the demon Dal' Larai below the Khala Jari Desert.
While recovering from said battle, the party learned that Arbor Keep was under siege by Mogarath's army. After quickly teleporting there and defending Arbor Keep valiantly, the situation seemed hopeless. The massive army laying siege even got support from Mogarath himself on his airship named the Foxhound. With help from Erryn and Azura, the team managed to land on the deck of the Foxhound. Here Team Treebark, with the help of Aloë, battled Mogarath and the rest of the Foxhound's crew in a long and intense battle. Cordell, Pethorn Joysword and Valí the Restless did fall during the battle, but after some mid-combat revival magic and help from the Goldon Lion airship, Team Treebark was finally able to defeat Mogarath.

A Legacy worth Remembering

After defeating Mogarath and returning back to a heavily damaged Arbor Keep, Team Treebark takes some time to rest up and reflect on over three months of adventuring in Aurleen. Lasting friendships have been built, which will even last after the every member goes their own way in life.

Cordell's life took him back on a hike to the Grizzly Hills, looking for his father Bragvuk in an attempt to prevent the orcs from causing more damage in Aurleen. While it does not necessarily go as planned, his father did not recognize Cordell anymore and imprisoned him for a while, he ends up leaving the hills with the knowledge that the orcs will not travel outside the Grizzly Hills anymore.
Afterwards he returned to his home on Isle of the Sun, where he was chosen as the new High Priest of the Monks of Solis. He had quite some shoes to fill after the death of Talanjo, but the same can be said for Cordell's legacy. Under Cordell's guidance, with the help of Jerrard of Solis and Kethra, the Monks of Solis expanded more into Aurleen to provide any help to those in need.

Next to that Cordell put his funds collected during is adventures towards the construction of Hope's Shelter. The goal of this organization is to help people such as Thurag without any real perspective, who were in need of help and guidance in life. Here they proceeded to help a lot of people with education, work and showing the power of doing good. It is said Cordell was most proud of the help he could provide through Hope's Shelter.
While both High Priest business and Hope's Shelter took up a lot of time for Cordell he made sure to visit his fellow adventurers often, albeit in Arbor Keep, Herwarin, Torda or anywhere else in Aurleen. Some say he even went on some adventures still, but no records have been found of those up until now.

Fun Facts

• Cordell spends a lot of time writing in his notebooks. This varies from actual notes, to diary-like entries or simple drawings. Unfortunately his old notebook was disintegrated when Cordell died on 1st of Ny, 395.
• Cordell has spent a total of 3400 gold worth of diamonds to revive members of Team Treebark (and quartermaster Zorth) over seven occasions.
• He is still not entirely sure why he was asked to travel to Mossvile initially...
• Between the start of 395 and 24th of Ny 395, Cordell has healed for a total of at least 5333 HP, excluding events from The Planetarium. That's an average of 444 HP per day!
• During a fight in The Planetarium, Cordell managed to do 170 points of damage in one hit. Not too bad for a healing cleric, if he does say so himself!
• Apparently Cordell managed to save The Obsidian from certain death without being anywhere near during The Assault on Dralgus. Never assault an evil red planet without having a Heroes' Feast!

Team Treebark in front of Arbor Keep by Thesleepypencil

"Look at us! We went from a simple adventuring party to Heroes of Aurleen, standing in front of our own freaking Keep."
- Cordell Steelheart

Physical Description

Body Features

Cordell (Early Campaign)

Cordell's skin color seems more similar to that of a human than an orc. It could be described as looking like an average "tanned" human skin color, but with a grayish tint due to his orcish nature. After Cordell was revived he seemed to have lost some of the orcish skin color. Furthermore, the orc-like tusks seem to have disappeared for the most part.
Those who have seen Cordell without his armor have also seen quite a few scars on his body. Where they come from is unknown (as of yet), but they were even visible on his "new" body after being resurrected...
He has dark hair (with some streaks of grey) pulled back into a ponytail, shaved on the sides and a short trimmed beard. His yellow eyes are said to change color whenever Cordell becomes extremely angry. Finally, he he used to wear a couple of small golden earrings in his right ear (unfortunately they were lost when he died).
A tattoo can be seen on Cordell's right hand, depicting the symbol of Solis. It helps him cast his spells, causing it to glow ever so slightly.

Special abilities

Cordell has a lot of medical knowledge due to his training and has mastered the ability to heal anyone who needs it. He can also be seen as the postal boy of Team Treebark due to his ability to send messages across the continent.

Apparel & Accessories

Cordell (Late Campaign) by thesleepypencil

Most of the time Cordell can be found wearing his Adamantine Armor, with monk robes of Solis worn on top of it. These robes are mostly white with some gold accents and have Solis' crest on their chest.

Solis' Crest

In battle he wields a shield and his Sun Blade of Solis, a magical blade of pure radiance when activated. This specific blade has some complex engravings similar to the Mace of Solis, which Cordell carries at his side. The Mace of Solis is given to monks that complete their training on Isle of the Sun, but has been improved with a fire gem over time. Cordell also wears a red mantle on his back, engraved with the golden emblem of Solis. It is said to have some hidden power that helps the wearer with healing.
His most recent aqcuisition is a bronze locket which was made by Kethra while she was recovering at Isle of the Sun. It has been imbued with prayers to Solis.

Mental characteristics

Education

Followed Cleric training with the Monks of Solis on Isle of the Sun. This training mainly covered proficiency in magical spells from the healing domain. He also seems to have had some combat training, which is interesting since this isn't really taught at the Golden Sun Academy.

Employment

Cordell aims to provide support and healing to other party member in Team Treebark. He is currently also the High Priest of the Monks of Solis on Isle of the Sun.

Accomplishments & Achievements

• See Team Treebark's achievements
• Managed to warn King Graham of Alexander "Xander" Wilkinson's real identity (Sul'jhin) and intentions in Mossvile
• Rescued Kethra from Mogarath's clutches and brought have safely back to Isle of the Sun
• Resident healer of Team Treebark
• Revived Pethorn Joysword after a failed drug experiment involving some blue crystals
• Revived Emundill after a failed (drug) experiment involving some blue crystals
• Going from living alone out in the wilderness to having a great group of friends in Team Treebark as well as co-owning a keep (Arbor Keep)
• Managed to save Laria with the rest of Team Treebark, who got impaled during the daemon attack on Mossvile, albeit with a unconventional method

"I am proud of everyone I have been able to help, by healing them or in any other way. Hopefully it leaves a positive mark on the world! In the end I have already been blessed by meeting some amazing friends in Team Treebark and I wouldn't want to have missed any of this for all the gold in the world."
- Cordell Steelheart

Failures & Embarrassments

• Fooled _(twice) by Sul'jhin
• Failed to rescue Devon Beltrum from being poisoned by an assassin
• Disintegrated by a member of the Scarlet-Score
• Shut down mentally after fighting Varbuk, the Orc king of Hogg's Feet 

Another one bites the dust

Taboos

Cordell doesn't seem to want to talk (or remember) a lot about his past...

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

His aim is to help as many people as possible, show people that not all (half-)orcs are bad people and make a positive impact on the world.

Vices & Personality flaws

Cordell can lose his temper in extreme situations (or when people mention certain sensitive subjects), but he is has been working on trying to handle it better.
He also wants to prove that he is a good person, despite his looks, and wants to help as many people as possible. However, this sometimes makes him easy to fool.

Personality Quirks

"Hi this is Cordell Steelheart"

Social

Contacts & Relations

Isle of the Sun

• Mentor Jerrard of Solis
• Close friend Kethra

Team Treebark

• Gudrun Inamenor
• Pethorn Joysword 
• N'emundill Twinsoul
• Valí the Restless
• Eshkira Eldanash

Family Ties

• Father Bragvuk 
• Mother Umara

Religious Views

Praise the Sun by Runxforest

Just a half-orc cleric trying to do something good to the world. I am a follower of Solis and trained on Isle of the Sun, located in Aurleen. Trying to do as much healing and helping as possible, just don't get on my bad side because I WILL KICK YO BUTT!

View Character Profile

Alignment

Chaotic Good

Current Location

Isle of the Sun

Species

Half-Orc

Age

Twenty-something

Date of Birth

41st of Veal, ?

Birthplace

Klane, Grizzly Hills

Parents

Bragvuk

Gender

Male

Eyes

Yellow

Hair

Dark brown

Height

5'10" (177cm)

Weight

187lbs (84kg)

Aligned Organization

Team Treebark

Other Affiliations

• Monks of Solis

Known Languages

• Common
• Orcish
• Dwarvish