Paidrag MacArdal
Where wisdom and valor fail, all that remains is faith. And it can overcome all.
~ Paidrag MacArdal ~
Paidrag's earliest memories were of the Ravennian streets where he was raised, in the long-standing city, Mendago. For much of his life, Paidrag never knew the comfort of a traditional home, only the warmth of his mother and father, Bridget and Fergus. They were members of the Narrow Clan, a prominent faction that had risen in the slums of the city, and Paidrag was raised under its cultural doctrine to look at wealth and coin with scrutiny and distain.
that open riots began filling the streets, fueled by the zeal of the Narrow Clan. Paidrag chose to remain hidden so as to avoid the danger, but his parents were not nearly as timid, as they became some of its choicest voices of the time.
It led to one of the most tragic periods in the city's history, known as the Night of Yellow Knives, as the Ravennian military dispatched into the city in the middle of the night to make mass arrests, or worse, murder against anyone accused of affiliation with the clan. Paidrag witnessed many killed and dragged off that night; he was forced to flee with his mother and father, who escaped with the rest of the clan across the Lucidity Bridge out west. He was relieved to see Blaine make it out as well.
Forced into the wilderness, Paidrag only watched the clan's, Blaine's, and especially his parent's, anger deepen. Deep down, he knew this was nothing he wanted, and he'd always felt shackled. Though it pained him, he'd finally had enough and left his family and the clan to become a wandering hermit, searching for a greater purpose.
He believed, somehow, it would bring him to true freedom.
But, he found none of it there. He fended for himself in the wilderness. He learned to hunt. He learned to forage. He learned the land. He learned to build. And yet, Paidrag still grew distraught over the years.
This hermeneutic life did little for him, either. The wildlife attacked him. The food went bad. The land was unforgiving, and everything he rose up came toppling down. Nowhere in this isolation did Paidrag find peace of mind. He needed greater purpose if he felt he was going to live a spiritually fulfilling life.
castle and never returned. In truth, Blaine believed Paidrag had every right to know about this and do everything he could to help save them. His respect for her began to rekindle.
With his friends, they all entered the Bramble Thicket and fought their way to a dead, run-down castle which Paidrag had only ever heard of.
Canum Castle.
In this place, a great many secrets were uncovered. He fought and defeated the corrupted dryad named Theonay, who was responsible for the forest's curse, and discovered he was part of the bloodline that had once owned this castle! However, he never found his parents. When he donned the famed Ring of Canum, an artifact wearable only to a descendant of the Canum bloodline, Paidrag helped lift the curse over the Bramble Thicket as life magically returned to it in a matter of days.
Feeling his power through the forest, Paidrag chose to remain in this forest and lay his claim by birthright to it, both as a domain, and as a holy realm in reverence to Igyn. Virel stayed as a tender to its groves, but everyone else left, including Blaine, his parents, and other clan members, who refused to change their ways. The renewed Bramble Forest became a region of life and sustained beauty from then on, and Canum Castle was restored.
He even met a Doppleclover named Edith, who he married a year later.
He was fifty-five years old, then.
Masses flocked to the Bramble Forest from across a dozen different Ravennian settlements. People he knew, such as Melantha and her family, took up refuge here after their homes in Pinebarrow was destroyed.
Paidrag never did see Blaine during this time.
Tenelean armies fortified the borders around the Bramble Forest, and Paidrag received many demands to retract his statement of sanctuary. But, he refused all accounts out of compassion for everyone.
As the war raged on, tensions between Paidrag and the Tenelean forces continued to rise. If war was inevitable, then Paidrag was prepared to call upon the ring to unleash the full might of the forest.
Thankfully, it never came to that. Instead, a month after the war's end, though the borders remained guarded, the Tenelean Emperor, Wulfick Civilius V himself made a diplomatic appearance before Paidrag. Over fruits, Paidrag listened to the demands of this man. First, the demand to become a puppet, which was refused. Then, the demand to give annual tributes, also refused. Though the strength of the Teneleans seemed overbearing, Paidrag gave this man no inch of ground.
Oddly enough, the emperor applauded Paidrag for his courage, and agreed to a peace treaty that saw the relief of the Tenelean armies that surrounded the forest.
The Bramble Forest remained a refuge for many, and the future settlement around Canum Castle was soon proclaimed as its own city-state named MacArdal.
Paidrag was sixty-seven years old, then.
As a child, Paidrag was unusually wise and patient, but because of this he saw past the surface of the clan's philosophy and found them to be just as materialistic as the society the clan was testifying against. He found no fulfillment in it, and particularly knew that such attitude was only creating a further divide between the poor and the rich alike. Despite this, he developed a good friendship with a girl who did not hold those views named Blaine.
After the War of Turmoil ended in Westerin, which the Ravennian kingdom had poured mass amounts of power and focus into, the unrest in Mendago became so great
With little else than fur clothes and skinned rabbits for shoes, Paidrag wandered these forested foothills for a long time, in search of something, anything that could be a sign.
It came when Paidrag approached a clearing on a hill one day. At the top of this hill stood a magnificent tree, which gave him shade from the scorching summer sun.
As he lay their next to the tree, a fair woman with vibrant orange hair emerged from the tree. Though shocked at first, the woman called out Paidrag's name and he stayed. Listening, she spoke to him these words.
Paidrag. As I hear the cries of the land, so too do I hear the cries in your heart. You search for purpose, and behold, I will give it to you. You are to be a light to the world, a beacon amid the sea of darkness that consumes life. When homes are lost, you will be their refuge. When fire rages and war beckons, you will be a grove of peace to those around you, for you humble yourself before the land. Hear my words and know I speak truth, that in my name these things may be granted to you, if you so solemnly swear. Hear my words and know I speak truth, that there will come a day when you will lay your very life down to protect both the land and those around you.The words this woman spoke both mesmerized and terrified Paidrag. He asked her name and she gave it. Igyn. Mother Nature itself. Truth be told, it was a foreboding feeling and he lacked courage at the idea of dying for a cause. But, in that moment, her words hung heavy on his heart, and he realized it was the only way he would ever make something of his life. He had hoped and prayed for a sign, and he believed this had been it, and so kneeling before the goddess, he swore his oath to follow her and obey everything she proclaimed. In return, Paidrag was granted a portion of Igyn's power, and he became a newfound paladin under her. He was forty years old, then.
The Avengers of Pallus
After swearing himself to Igyn, Paidrag wandered the land for the next several years, committing himself to every good deed he could do. He protected traveling families from roaming predators. He reaped and sowed with farmers. He cleared land with homesteaders and helped build their homes. Out in the northern reaches of Ravenna, Paidrag built good rapport with many people. But one day, while he was on his way to Mendago for the first time in a long time to deliver a cart of goods for a farm outside Kado, he met two particular people. Frederick Boulderdash, a Tenelean noble, and Melantha Greenwood, a Pinebarrow weaver. Together, they traveled south down to the farmlands of Pinebarrow, and then out west into the Trispire Mountains for what was intended to be a meager expedition into the ruined cities of Pallus, where Paidrag met Virel, a druid who also followed Igyn. Instead, the four of them ended up roped into the midst of a cataclysmic plot. A Yeenu known as Graak Clawfang was attempting to acquire ancient gems of substantial power and release a god named Yeenoghu, which would devour the entire world. At this time, they called themselves the Avengers of Pallus. As despairing and hopeless a fight like this seemed, Paidrag fought valiantly with these unexpected friends as, at the brink of Kustaanos' destruction when Yeenoghu was literally crushing Pinebarrow beneath its feet, Graak Clawfang was defeated, the gems eradicated, and that god turned to crumbling stone. But, done in the isolation of the mountains, Paidrag received no recognition from anyone but the closest friends he'd ever made. And after the land calmed down, they each went their separate ways, Paidrag returning to his hermeneutic, altruistic life. It was here, Paidrag wallowed, that the Avengers of Pallus dispersed. He was fifty-two years old, then.Restoration of Canum Castle
For a time, Paidrag appreciated the return to simpler acts of kindness, but an old name began to resurface. Because of its continued growth and changes in power, the Narrow Clan had turned into an aggressive underground crime ring that spanned almost the entire Ravennian kingdom. It was causing so many problems that Paidrag couldn't justify ignoring it. He had to do something to stop them. Which is why he was surprised when, suddenly, he received a letter from his childhood friend Blaine, who'd become the de facto leader over the clan. She said in the letter that she'd heard plenty of stories of Paidrag and hoped their friendship still meant something, because she was asking for his help on behalf of the Narrow Clan.Conflicted on what to do, Paidrag sought out Virel who instructed him in saying that if Igyn expected Paidrag to be a light to the world, then a mind changed would always be better than a soul slain. So, taking Virel, Frederick, and a group of others ready to help him, he traveled to where Blaine was hiding out; in a dark an cursed land called the Bramble Thicket, where no tree lived, fog covered everything, and terrible monsters lurked within.
Even when they met face to face, Paidrag was hesitant to help Blaine until she told him why he was here. Deep within this thicket was a cursed castle, and what Blaine said next shook Paidrag. His parents had entered that
The Great War of Westerin
Over the next decade, Paidrag's name and his domain became well known, and even respected across Ravenna and the Tenelean Empire. This power, coupled with his rural fame from years past made him one of the most proclaimed individuals of his time.But, this prosperity didn't last. In fact, perhaps Paidrag's hardest battle would come when all of Westerin found itself at war. In the Great War of Westerin, it saw the collapse of the Ravennian kingdom and the Endolish provinces, while the Tenelean Empire, a land built on strength, swept the continent and took full control of it.
In the midst of Ravenna's fall, Paidrag not only found this empire at his borders, but also saw Ravennian refugees — people he knew well — fleeing for a safe place. Though he remained neutral, he could not turn a blind eye to them all. He opened his borders to Ravenna, declaring sanctuary for those who entered.
Current
Today, Paidrag stands as the philanthropic leader over the city-state, MacArdal. Overseeing hundreds of Ravennian refugees, the Bramble Forest is quickly growing into its own small nation. Though the land seems stable, Paidrag can't ignore the state of Westerin which rests under terrible imperial rulership, nor does he not hear the cries of his people, who many say he shall be New Ravenna's next king. Where his story will lead next, only time will tell.To see calloused hands as his, that look so rough and strong, yet feel so soft. Never will the world see again a man like this, who is tough and just, and yet so full of compassion.
~ Edith MacArdal ~
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Year of Birth
1498 AC
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