Rhodry

Rhodry was born in the small village of Beregost. His father, named Cullyn, was a mercenary, and his mother, called Egwene, a prestress at one of the local temples. Unfortunately Rhodry never got to know who his father was. On the night of his first birthday Cullyn was called away on a job and was never heard of again. The only thing Rhodry has to remember his father is a silver dagger that was given to him by his mother. Rhodry grew up hearing stories about how great his father, both as a husband and a fearless fighter who had never lost a duel, was from his mother. These stories only made Rhodry sad, but he let his mother tell them because it seemed to make her happy remembering Cullyn.
Rhodry spent most of his growing years helping out in the temple with his mother. He did stuff like chop wood, move furniture, and other odd jobs which contributed to his massive strength. Life was good for Rhodry and his mother at this time. Little did Rhodry know but an event that would forever change his life was right around the corner.
One night, around the time when Rhodry was nearing manhood, Rhodry and his mother, Egwene, decided to go for a late walk. Rhodry's life would never be the same. While they were returning home some thieves attacked Rhodry and his mother hoping to get some gold or a nice piece of jewelry. Egwene told Rhodry to run as fast as he could to escape the thieves and he did. It was not until the next day that Rhodry found out that his mother had been murdered for her belongings. A mere 10 silver coins and a necklace that Rhodry had made for his mother. The only clue Rhodry had about the thieves was that their leader had 6six fingers on his left hand.
Rhodry was devastated. With his father still missing and his mother killed by the thieves, led by the six fingered man, Rhodry had only one place to turn to. His mother's Temple. After speaking with the high priest about how he wanted to avenge the death of his mother and find out whatever happened to his father, the priest gave him two options. The first option was to remain at the temple and train to be a priest. The second option was to train to become a Paladin and help rid the world of the evil that took away both his mother and father. Naturally Rhodry decided to train to become a Paladin hoping that somewhere in his travels he could find the six fingered man and serve him justice.
Rhodry trained for six long hard years learning the arts of fighting, riding. He was also very intelligent so he studied the lands and became knowledgeable in heraldry and etiquette. Rhodry was very thankful for the help he received and vowed that in return he would fight to rid the world of all evil. The way he saw things the more evil he destroyed the more his mother could rest in the other world.
And so Rhodry's quest begins. Will he ever find the six fingered man? Will Rhodry ever find out the story behind his father's disappearance? Only time will tell. But in the meantime there is a lot of evil to be destroyed.
Rhodry had no clue where to begin his quest. After much though he decided that Baldur's Gate would be the best place to begin his search for the six fingered man and his lost father. Rhodry's Paladin teacher, Farmalius, wouldn't let Rhodry go until he had some equipment to help him in his travels. As a gift the church bestowed upon Rhodry plate male and a Claymore sword. Using his life savings of 110 gold coins Rhodry bought the rest of his equipment. Rhodry was now ready to head for Baldur's Gate.
It took three days for Rhodry to reach the nearest town, known as Friendly Arm Inn. Here Rhodry heard gossip of a six fingered man that was leading a band of thieves. Rhodry instantly knew this was the man he was looking for. After asking numerous questions he found out the band of thieves was hiding out just north of Friendly Arm Inn. The thieves were attacking people that were traveling on the main road to Baldur's Gate. Rhodry knew what he had to do. To help these people and to help his mother rest he had to kill the six fingered man. For without him the thieves would all go their separate ways.
After he resupplied, Rhodry headed north on the road to Baldur's Gate. Less than a two miles out of town he saw a elderly man being attack by eight thieves. He ran to the aid of the old man and was able to kill three of them before the others were able to react to him. The old man was able to run away and escape with this distraction. All at once the remaining five thieves jumped Rhodry. They were not prepared for the raw power and fighting skill of this young Paladin. He threw them all off and killed two more thieves before they had a chance to react. The remaining three thieves seeing that Rhodry had already killed five of them decided it best to run. Rhodry began to chase them but stopped when he heard a chilling voice behind him. "Very well done young Paladin.", said the man. Rhodry slowly turned around to see who had spoken. Upon seeing the man he realized it was the same man that had given him so many nightmares over the years and had ruined his life. For the man who spoke was the Six Fingered Man. "You!!!!", yelled Rhodry, "You killed my mother years ago just outside of Beregost!!! Prepare to suffer your penalty of death!!." The Six Fingered Man just laughed and Rhodry and then said, "I remember that night. You ran away without lifting a finger to help your mother. Oh, what fun I had with her before we took her life." Enraged Rhodry charged the man. The six fingered man was ready for him though. He stepped to the side and Rhodry flew past him and fell to the ground. As Rhodry was getting back to his feet the Six Fingered Man drew his sword and prepared to fight. Rhodry charged again but this time the man used his sword to fend off the attacks. Rhodry swung wildly and the six fingered man did not seem to have a hard time defending Rhodry's attacks. The Six Fingered man began laughing and then started to mount an offensive. It was all Rhodry could to keep away from his enemies sword. Rhodry knew he was in trouble. For on the sword of the Six Fingered Man were the marks of a Master Swordsman. Rhodry began retreating trying to keep the Six Fingered Man's sword away from him. Rhodry knew that his only hope was to forgo defense and mount an all out attack. Rhodry jumped at the man hacking, and slashing at him trying to do at least some damage. The Six Fingered Man once again began to laugh. With swift fluid motions he parried all of Rhodry's attacks and then thrust his sword at Rhodry. Rhodry stopped attacking and looked down. In his chest was the sword of the six fingered man. He dropped to his knees and the man removed his sword from the chest of Rhodry. "Mother.... I have failed you....", whispered Rhodry. "Do not feel bad Paladin", began The Six Fingered Man, "you are not the first man I was forced to kill and you surely won't be the last." Rhodry glared at the Six Fingered Man as he fainted on the side of the road. He was losing a lot of blood and would not last long.
When Rhodry woke up he was very confused. He tried to get up but he was too weak to do so. He looked around and he saw that he was in a room and there was a woman sleeping in a chair in the corner. She was the most beautiful woman Rhodry had ever seen. He tried to speak but could only mutter a gasp. The woman woke up immediately and came over to check on Rhodry. "Hello there. I am called Mierin. That is a nasty cut you have there.", the woman said in the smoothest voice Rhodry had ever heard. Remembering the encounter he had with the Six Fingered Man he looked down at his chest. It was bandaged nicely. "It will heal nice enough. I thought for sure you were dead when I found you.", stated Mierin. Rhodry nodded at Mierin and gave here a nice smile. "M....my...my...name....is....Rho....Rhodry.", was all he could muster. "Pleased to meet you Rhodry. Now go back to sleep. You need rest.", replied Mierin. Rhodry did not want to upset this beautiful creature so he did as he was told. He slept for another full day and all he dreamed about was this woman who had saved his life. When he awoke he vowed to himself that he would follow this woman and be her protector until he could repay her favor. Little did Rhodry know that he would soon fall in love with Mierin and would never leave her side.
After two full weeks of rest, and a little help from his healing skill, Rhodry was ready to carry on his quest. To his surprise Mierin insisted on staying with him the whole time he recovered. They became good friends during this time and was glad that Mierin had agreed to be his traveling companion. Rhodry even hoped that they could become more than just traveling partners but he didn't think it was appropriate to bring that up now.
They soon left Friendly Arm Inn and headed out to explore the country and to rid the land of whatever evil they could find. Rhodry vowed to himself that he would do everything within his power to not let Mierin get hurt. He had to protect her at all costs because Rhodry felt that if he lost her he would not be able to go on living. Rhodry and Mierin walked down the road, arm in arm, and prepared to fight for the good of the people. Their accomplishments would go down in history as some of the most selfless acts ever committed. Submitted by DaiShan