Conrad Felden

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Character Appearance:

Age: 22
Alignment: Paladin
Affiliation: The Vanguard
Personality: Having been raised and educated in the depths of Meldiniar Conrad has stiff and precise manners among the public. When in private with people who know him, Conrad shows a slightly rough but loyal attitude. He knows well the danger mages pose to the peace of his people, and will do what he can do protect that peace. Beyond that, Conrad has an incredibly high sense of honor and justice when it comes to dealing with other people.

In regards to the other Paladins, Conrad Felden has a little bit of awe and resentment. (So far as he was taught, all Paladins share similar experiences to his own when using their spells, but learned to control their emotions much better than he has ever managed.) Conrad possesses deep respect for what his comrades in arms do, and the sacrifices they make to keep the peace.

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Bio: Conrad was born an experiment. A child of a mage, guaranteed to wield magic as a gift- or curse- of his parents. He was given to the Inquisition willingly as a result of this lineage- but light magic showed little effect on the infant. Conrad possessed so little mana that it did little but spark and cause him to cry. Instead of disposing of him with other means, a plan was made. It was a waste of a perfectly weak mage to throw the child away when so much could be learned. A Inquisition ultimately decided to take responsibility for this particular project with a suggestion that satisfied law and amused the higher ranks. Raise the boy to a decent age, and put him through the ritual. A mage couldn’t survive the ritual, the obvious issue being their own magic abilities would likely backfire. But a mage with almost no ability? It was possible. And if such a mage could survive, his own magical advancement would slowly kill him over time. In the end, his own magic would eat him alive.

The experiment was approved as there was no risk to the institution itself, as someone with so little magic could be easily subdued by the weakest Paladin. Conrad Felden began life with a promise of an early death. The time of it dependent solely on his own advancements. As for his actual life, it was of beatings and constant learning. When he could walk and talk, he learned two arts, staying quiet and cleaning floors. Later came kitchen duties, and when he turned seven- life as a serving boy to the Paladins. This came along with some basic education, as it was important to the experiment that Conrad was heavily indoctrinated with the core beliefs and principles of the Paladins. As far as he was concerned, he was training to become one. His preparation to become a Paladin began when he turned ten. Monthly Conrad was ‘tested’ by the inquisition to observe his readiness for The Ritual. (Specifically to see if he was nearing the point where it would kill him.) The training was rough, and the suitability tests every month seemed increasingly unbearable to the boy. But, when he turned twelve, Conrad was relieved to know that he was ready.

The Ritual left Conrad fingertips from slipping off into The Abyss.

It was just over two moons before he recovered enough to leave his bed, with great pain. That was enough to continue training. As far as he was concerned, the loss of memory and his injuries were a sign that he had failed, as was the push to train harder. But he hadn’t. The next monthly test had shown no results. No pain, no burning, nothing. He must have passed, or failed horribly- no one would say anything. But the training stopped, and Conrad went back to the monotonous and harsh labor of upkeeping the Plateau. Testing stopped after it failed the next month. The failure and disgrace ruined him. The few other servants his own age scoffed and beat him. Conrad wasn’t a highandmighty Paladin in training anymore, just a regular servant like the rest. Before long Conrad was withdrawn and quiet, the perfect obedient servant. This carried on until his sixteenth year as the experiment. Conrad disappeared from management, and none of the other servants knew or cared where he went.

The Inquisitional branch that had created the experiment was determined to continue it, and that meant a continuation of training. As a boy Conrad had been incapable of some of the learning and tasks required of a Paladin, but at sixteen his body was prepared both mentally and physically to continue. And so they did.

Conrad reawoke one day roughly in his eighteenth year to the (false) information that he had just retaken and succeeded in the Ritual to become a Paladin. Of course he couldn’t remember the ordeal, no one could. But training extended to the use of his abilities, showing Conrad the true cost the other Paladins paid to create peace in the land. Each use of ones sacred abilities was painful, like thrusting ones hand in the fire. With time and practice Conrad’s abilities increased, as did his pain. It was just bearable, his entire life had been framed with pain, and this one was a familiar one. Each testing had brought this pain before his failed attempt. As a result, he could bear it and use the Blazing Light granted to him. On his twentieth year of life Conrad Felden became an official Paladin.

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Power Description: Conrad wields raw light magic with a rarely seen amount of power. Every use of magic causes immense pain, dependent on how much he uses, and how. The reason for this, and for unusual power he possesses, is that whenever Conrad uses his abilities as a Palidan, they are fueled by his own mana as well as that power granted him. The forced burning of his own energies is the cause of the incredible pain, and the gradual increase in power over time will lead to his own death. (Experts among the inquisitors have estimated this point to be between age 30-40, at his current growth of power.) This pain is also the reason he lacks refined control over his abilities.

Spells:
Blazing Body (Passive): The more magic Conrad uses, the brighter his body glows- this is residual of his mana burning, and is the cause of his pain. Spells focusing on certain body parts will affect those areas more. He has no choice in the matter, it just happens. Nearby mages can also be burned by this fire, and in a close situation, this could be considered for hand to hand combat.

Blazing Spirit (Passive): Conrad’s magic is greatly augmented by the mana he is burning. Despite the fact that the mana itself doesn’t represent a ton of power, it augments the power gained during the Paladin rituals. Because of the mana being burnt, Conrad’s light magic burns with heat like a real fire.

Blazing Beam: A beam of light magic, varying in diameter dependent upon how much energy is expended. The concentration of light is such that striking a mage with it is comparable to a soldier shot with an arrow. This can be predicted with careful attention, wherever the beam will come from will glow intensely a second from casting- and afterwords the beam will leave a slight trail in the air- displaced moisture and smoke.

Blazing Wall: A solid wall of raging light magic, useful for shielding against magical attacks, and even assaulting large groups. This can be predicted simply by watching Conrad’s gestures; a stomp forward to shoot a raging wall of fire out him, a wide sweeping hand gesture to indicate a wall in front of him. This magic will start at whatever limb casted it and sweep outward to form the wall.

Skills:
High Pain Tolerance: Conrad has lead a rough life, and can take a lot of pain easily. This tolerance is barely enough to stand using his spells, but Conrad can easily take kicks, punches, and even light cuts/stab wounds with barely a flinch. Doesn’t mean they won’t bring him down though.

Hand-to-hand Combat: Conrad practiced martial arts almost exclusively while training, and can be considered much more than proficient in it.

Equipment:
-Traveling Cloak
-Leather Armor, metal armguards
-Leather Traveling Pack (Rope, bread, money pouch, flint/steel, cup)
-12” dagger

Other: Conrad has a brand on the back of his right shoulder, marking him as both property of the Inquisition and a legitimate Paladin.