Larrison Darkwood

The history of Amaun is filled with the deeds of adventurers of every stripe. Among these legends stand two especially unlikely heroes. These are Larrison and Avela Darkwood. Of the two, Larrison was the wild card. Always a troublemaker, none knew what his arrival heralded, least of all the man, himself.

Physical Description

Body Features

Larrison was a man of average height and lean, yet muscular build. This showed his above average strength. He was also incredibly graceful, and moved with a certain subtlety that lent itself perfectly to stealth.
He was most known for his handsome features, complete with a well-trimmed beard. Like his sister, he had fine, black hair and piercing, aquamarine colored eyes.

Special abilities

Larrison is primarily known by history as a swordsman. This is only half of the story, however. He was also an incredibly talented archer. His primary talent--and the one that got him in the most trouble--was his extreme talent for stealth.

Apparel & Accessories

Larrison Darkwood wore several different armors as his wealth and abilities improved. Primarily, this was a suit of black studded leather. Eventually, this was improved to lightweight armor made of the scales of a black dragon. His head was almost always covered with a black hood.
He also was known for carrying a wide variety of weapons. His main weapons were a longbow and hand-and-a-half sword carried on his back. The sword was Steelshadow, one of the legendary Falling-Star Blades. At his side he carried a short sword, and the famous Blackjack of Redundancy. He also carried numerous daggers concealed about his person.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

The story of the Darkwood twins begins from the lowest place imaginable. They were born of an anonymous woman found dead in an alley in Whiteriver. The city's beggers found them and kept the pair alive. The boy they named Larrison, the girl, Avela.
As would be expected, life for them was very difficult on the streets. Much of their meager income came from thievery, and they had to fight to keep what little they could scrape together. Larrison, being the more practical of the two, was the source of the lion's share of this elicit income.
Their activities brought them the attention of a gnoll crime lord named Cresh. He desired full control of the crime in Whiteriver, and so took a cut of any money the twins made. This portion grew larger and larger, keeping them in a state of perpetual poverty.
On one fateful day, the collector sent for the crime lord's "tax" went too far. When the twins couldn't pay, the man sent to collect the money offered to pay the rest in exchange for sex with Avela. As soon as he touched her, Larrison stabbed him in the back.
The pair knew right away that they had to flee, and so they left the city moments later. When they used the last of their money for a meal in a tavern on the road, Avela suggested that they remake themselves and become adventurers, helping others and slaying monsters for coin.
Larrison laughed at such a notion. He thought that their efforts would be futile at best, and fatally dangerous at worst. He even mockingly suggested giving themselves a dramatic name, such as "Darkwood". From that moment forward, he introduced them as "Larrison and Avela Darkwood", much to his sister's chagrin.
He did not take his life as an adventurer seriously at all. It was only when the twins were trapped in a dark crypt surrounded by undead that he truly made his objections known. The pay they received was more than enough to quiet those objections, and solidify his place as a true adventurer.

Accomplishments & Achievements

Larrison's life as an adventurer, was very eventful, in large part due to the fact that the man still took it far from seriously. Many were the troubles the pair found themselves solving due to the direct or indirect actions of Larrison.
Even so, the Darkwood twins are well-regarded in the history of the continent of Vald. The least of their deeds was their own liberation from the crime lord that had ruled their lives. They engaged in a two-person war against the gnoll's organization and won, bringing great wealth and respect to themselves.
In particular, Larrison had a rivalry with a bounty hunter known only as Snake. Nothing was known about this man, save that he was widely considered the greatest swordsman in the world. The two had a great many duels until, in an arena in the modern-day Qandaq City, he defeated his rival in single combat.
Another of the most famous stories of the Darkwood twins is their recovery of the Deck of Many Things. Larrison's draw was fortunate, granting him an opulent manor and instant lordship over the small town of Asherton, which legend states was created by the deck, itself.
He wasn't so lucky with Avela's draw, however. Her morality became somehow reversed, turning her to evil. She left Larrison's company and attempted a coup of the nearby kingdom of Candalia. He sought the help of his lover, the wizard Aranea. She was able to restore Avela's morality at the cost of her own life, but not before the coup destroyed the kingdom utterly.
By far their most famous exploit was the defeat of the Third Rising when the mind flayers rose up from their home in The Warrens and invaded all across the Twin Worlds. Any and all adventurers across the Twin Worlds went in search of the Overbrain that led the invasion, but most died or worse.
It was the Darkwood twins that found it and instantly fell under the mental influence of the Overbrain. It placed their minds in an elaborate illusion while using them as its thralls. Larrison resisted well enough to break free, and the siblings were forced to battle.
Larrison lost this confrontation deliberately, unable to kill his own sister. This act allowed her to break free, as well and fight against the Overbrain directly. After a great battle, Larrison struck the killing blow, and sending the mind flayers retreating back to the Warrens from whence they came.

Morality & Philosophy

Larrison valued freedom, especially his own. As such he had a very strong tendency to do the exact opposite of what those with authority commanded of him, getting the twins in trouble many times. He almost seemed to revel in the troubles that came of it.
At his heart, he was still a good person and preferred to help others as much as he liked to pretend he was the amoral mercenary. This kindness showed itself when he became a lord. He generally left the people of Asherton to their own, but protected them fiercely if threatened.

Social

Contacts & Relations

Larrison Darkwood was a well-known womanizer. In fact, a very large number of people across Vald are thought to be descended from him. He had a many, many one-night stands across the entire continent.
There were two women that had a place in Larrison's heart, however. The first was a powerful wizard named Aranea. Not a whole lot is known about her, save that she was an alchemist and weaver with an affinity with giant spiders. She was killed by Avela while ending the curse that had turned her to evil.
The second love of his life was far more famous. This was the silver dragon Isramacslimasticansit, better known as Isra. She laired next to Darkwood Manor, and met the twins while investigating the mansion that simply appeared out of nowhere. She is the one that bore House Darkwood's legitimate children and served as a guardian of the house until her recent death by natural causes.

Family Ties

Growing up, the only family Larrison ever knew was his sister, Avela. He had a community with the disadvantaged of Whiteriver, but this community was far from nurturing. He and his sister were essentially forced to raise each other for as long as they both were walking.
Of his parentage, he knew nothing. As such, he was always identified as "Son of None". Unlike his sister, he didn't truly care about the mystery, as he was mostly focused on providing for his more idealistic sister. It was only when adventuring that this mystery was solved.
After many successes in their adventures, an elven wizard named Selviar Hen'varasil found them and revealed himself as their father. He performed some tests on them for reasons he didn't truly explain. Even with Avela's magical studies she didn't understand their purpose.
Selviar seemed far more interested in Larrison while ignoring Avela. For the first time, he had a parental figure in his life. This affected him more than he was expecting, and drove a wedge between the twins.
Avela's investigation revealed that the wizard had attempted to forcibly breed psionic resistant warriors. He foresaw the Third Rising, and performed his horrific breeding experiments in an attempt to stop the mind flayers. The twins' mother escaped his prison.
They confronted Selviar, furious about his horrific methods. He was too powerful to be defeated right away, forcing the Darkwood twins to escape. They instead fought against his servants and followers until they had the ability to fight him directly. After a climactic duel, he was killed by Avela.

Alignment

Chaotic Good

Species

Half-elf

Honorary & Occupational Titles

Son of None, Lord of Asherton, Destroyer of the Third Rising

Circumstances of Death

Natural causes

Birthplace

Whiteriver

Gender

Male

Eyes

Aquamarine

Hair

Black

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Pale

Height

5 ft 10 in

Weight

185 lbs