Arnoth
nBackstory of Arnoth, Aspirant of the Gray Oath
Arnoth was not raised in the war camps of orcs, nor in the courts of men. His youth unfolded in the mist-shrouded Morgani Lowlands, where jungle swamps climb into the cloud-kissed foothills of the Thunderhead Mountains. There, hidden from the eyes of kings, lies the stronghold of the Order of the Gray Oath — a reclusive martial brotherhood devoted to an ancient code of honor, restraint, and service to the powerless.
For generations, the Order was viewed with suspicion by the Kingdom of Falinor. Their refusal to serve the throne, and their open opposition to unjust decrees, led many to label them as rebels, traitors, or worse. Time and again, they took up arms not to enforce law, but to protect the common folk from it. They were hunted, mistrusted, and kept to the shadows.
Then came the Great War.
As the forces of the Dark One swept across the east, and as doom encroached upon Falinor’s borders, the Gray Blades — the Order’s fully initiated warriors — entered the fray. They fought without command or heraldry, turning the tide in critical battles on the eastern front. Where they stood, evil broke. Their sacrifices saved cities, villages, and thousands of innocent lives.
Their deeds could not be ignored. In the war’s aftermath, the Crown issued a royal pardon for all past acts of sedition, and across the eastern territories of Falinor, the Order is now held in popular reverence. Their once-secret gray sash is now seen as a mark of hard-earned honor, particularly by those who lived to tell the tales.
Yet for Arnoth, the path remains steep. He is an orc in a kingdom that still clings to old prejudices. Though the Gray Oath earns him leeway, suspicion lingers — in looks, in whispers, in clenched fists when he enters a room.
More than that, Arnoth is not yet a Gray Blade. He has earned his sigil — the wolf, the emblem of the Order — but not the blade itself. He now walks the world as part of his Rite of Initiation, a pilgrimage to prove that he lives the Oath not just in ritual, but in action.
Arnoth was not raised in the war camps of orcs, nor in the courts of men. His youth unfolded in the mist-shrouded Morgani Lowlands, where jungle swamps climb into the cloud-kissed foothills of the Thunderhead Mountains. There, hidden from the eyes of kings, lies the stronghold of the Order of the Gray Oath — a reclusive martial brotherhood devoted to an ancient code of honor, restraint, and service to the powerless.
For generations, the Order was viewed with suspicion by the Kingdom of Falinor. Their refusal to serve the throne, and their open opposition to unjust decrees, led many to label them as rebels, traitors, or worse. Time and again, they took up arms not to enforce law, but to protect the common folk from it. They were hunted, mistrusted, and kept to the shadows.
Then came the Great War.
As the forces of the Dark One swept across the east, and as doom encroached upon Falinor’s borders, the Gray Blades — the Order’s fully initiated warriors — entered the fray. They fought without command or heraldry, turning the tide in critical battles on the eastern front. Where they stood, evil broke. Their sacrifices saved cities, villages, and thousands of innocent lives.
Their deeds could not be ignored. In the war’s aftermath, the Crown issued a royal pardon for all past acts of sedition, and across the eastern territories of Falinor, the Order is now held in popular reverence. Their once-secret gray sash is now seen as a mark of hard-earned honor, particularly by those who lived to tell the tales.
Yet for Arnoth, the path remains steep. He is an orc in a kingdom that still clings to old prejudices. Though the Gray Oath earns him leeway, suspicion lingers — in looks, in whispers, in clenched fists when he enters a room.
More than that, Arnoth is not yet a Gray Blade. He has earned his sigil — the wolf, the emblem of the Order — but not the blade itself. He now walks the world as part of his Rite of Initiation, a pilgrimage to prove that he lives the Oath not just in ritual, but in action.
