Lucian Galanodel
Lucian Galanodel (a.k.a. Glucian)
Early Life
Only the toughest survive.
Common belief
Lucian grew up in the Amiro Empire. His earliest memories were of captivity: his mother (Llena Galanodel) and him chained in the cellar prison of a tower. He never met his father. His mother never spoke of him. They were the prisoners of Ergeldon the Red, a wizard living on the outskirts of a small village north of Alturn.
Lucian and his mother were Ergeldon's servants, responsible for keeping the interiors of his tower in pristine condition or as pristine as they could be with the bloodstains and goos that constantly dripped from the laboratory in the tower's top room. Ergeldon was an experimenter and many of his experiments were on people: children snatched from the streets, prisoners purchased from the city, and, when all else failed, Lucian and Llena. Many times they were put under his scalpel and spells.
Lucian lived in this existence for five years before he finally escaped. Ergeldon kept Llena and Lucian under a close watch and the tower had many wards to prevent their escape but a huge storm in the summer of 2303 AC bashed part of the tower in and created a gap just large enough for Lucian to squeeze through. Llena could not follow but pushed her son on. Lucian left the tower, his first steps into the new world, never knowing what happened to his mother when Ergeldon found him missing.
Lucian's new life on the streets of the Amiro Empire was, in many regards, no easier then that that he had led in captivity. His scars, although many healed over eventually, lingered for his early years and made him a target for the other street kids and made many of the places he sought help at shun him at the door. To survive, Lucian learned to pickpocket and steal his food. It was this that eventually obtained him the notice of the Emperor's Shadow.
In 2314 AC, Lucian was recruited into the Emperor's Shadow. The choice he was given was clear: eventually be executed for the crimes he had committed or join in stopping the crime of others. Seeing an opportunity to prevent the same injustices that had occurred to him he wholeheartedly joined. He even participated in a raid that ended in the killing of Ergeldon in 2321 AC, though no sign was left as to the fate of Llena Galanodel.
Becoming a Coal Crushers
The lad has potential. He is by far the lightest of foot among us and in the Argaldar mission even managed to get inside the target house to open the doors and disarm the traps for us. However, he does not seem to be mixing with the other members of the squad.
Unsigned missive
After several years within the Emperor's Shadow Lucian became disillusioned with how the organization operated. The squad he was assigned to were his only contacts within the organization and the manners in which they treated people made Lucian question the effectiveness of the Emperor's Shadow. Although his squad lead was alright and tried to integrate him into the group, the others were brigands and bullies at best, torturers and assassins at worst.
In particular, the squad's magician was a known kidnapper and on a few occasions Lucian would happen upon him in the middle of interrogating a prisoner or some random person he had found on the streets. The knives and experimentation capability the man possess reminded Lucian far too much of his earliest years. When the magician and assassin finally realized the reason for why Lucian avoided them they went out of their way to torment him.
This finally culminated in Lucian leaving the Emperor's Shadow, even knowing that it would mean his being pursued and, if found, killed. He fled northwards, across the Sandswept Wastes to the Stonebrook Dynasty where he met the other members of the Coal Crushers.
After the Darkness in the North
Only by opposing the shadows can the corruption be cleansed. Darkness breeds disease.
Lucian Galanodel
After the Coal Crushers defeated Arcalturn and disbanded, Lucian returned to the Amiro Empire. His old squad had been killed, the assassin secretly being a member of the Cult of the Black Bones and servant of Arcalturn.
Lucian made the decision to create a new organization to remove the corruption present within Amiron society, particularly within the Emperor's Shadow. This led to the founding of the Knives of the Dawn in 2327 AC. Although a small organization, it had several well placed agents and allowed the Knives to counter many of the expansionist moves made by the empire.
Additionally, Lucian set about researching the Cult of the Black Bones. He quickly ascertained that, while Arcalturn and his allies had been killed, the death would not be permanent due to the dark pacts they had sworn. This led to a constant vigilance as he set agents to protecting those who had been involved in defeating Arcalturn the first time. On at least five occasions the Knives of the Dawn, including Lucian, intercepted assassins intent on killing members of the Coal Crushers. Twice this occurred within the Leaf and Lightning Tavern with the occupants being none the wiser.
In 2359 AC, Lucian undertook his crowning mission. Under cover of darkness he led a crew of four agents to infiltrate the Communication's office of the Amiro Empire and forge the documents and place evidence to frame numerous members of the nobility of Alturn. The goal was to leave only one viable candidate to replace the recently deceased communication lord, a certain Antwine Sildor who was being pruned to be Lucian's successor as the leader of the Knives of the Dawn. After laying the evidence (which later successfully installed Antwine Sildor as the new Communications Lord), the team slipped back into the streets where they were ambushed by agents of the Emperor's Shadow. Despite facing odds of two to one, the victory in the end was held by Lucian. Three of his four agents fell and Lucian himself was mortally injured facing off the Man of Many Faces whom he, during the fight, gravely injured forced to retreat. Lucian died two days later of a poison that had been coated on the Man of Many Faces's blade.
Due to the resulting instability within the Knives of the Dawn it took nearly three years for the confirmation of Lucian's death and the letter he wrote on his death bed to reach the other members of the Coal Crushers.
Any mission is possible as long as there is no climbing involved.
Lucian Galanodel in Records of the Great
Author Unknown
Current Location
Species
Life
2298 AC
2359 AC
61 years old
Birthplace
North of Alturn
Place of Death
Children
Sex
Male
Belief/Deity
Craorloc
Aligned Organization
Major acts as a member of the Coal Crushers
- Was kidnapped by the Man of Many Faces but survived
- Struck down the final manifestation of the Ancient One, preventing their return to the living world
- First known person outside the Cult of the Black Bones to have held and translated the [tooltip:The book is believed to a relic connecting the cult to the will of the ancient races. It holds the names of those who need to die for the rebirth to occur
- Only known holder of two separate relics of Craorloc
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