Name: Arden Barnett
Age, Gender: 25, Male
Appearance:
He often wears a grim countenance, and his gaze seems far away. But when they return to the present, more often than not it is with a kind of intense focus that makes meeting his eyes a daunting task. When he does smile, it doesn't quite reach his eyes.
Personality: Despite his gloomy demeanor, Arden is what one might call a "perfect example" of the chivalrous and honorable nature of a knight. He does what is right no matter the cost to himself...and sometimes, to others. This is his primary flaw: he sees the world in stark contrast between good and evil, and values the order of law above the more realistic concerns of the common man. Against a direct threat, meeting the forces of the Night in the pitch of battle, he is a stalwart ally. But often he misunderstands the plights of others, and his attempts to help are too heavy handed. Nor is he quick to forget a grudge, and when his ire is roused he acts without thinking and--hypocritically--takes the law into his own hands. One might say, however, that he has another flaw of being too generous. Despite his hard stance on evil, he treats others well. He often refuses a reward for a good deed, and is willing to give what he can to those in need. Often times this leaves him with an empty purse, or lets others take advantage of him.
Backstory: The son of a noble knightly lineage going back for generations, Arden held himself to a standard set impossibly high by his forbears. Their line had loyally served the Kingdom and the Church for centuries, and long ago had been given a mission they carry out to this day: delivering the righteous judgement of the Crown upon those deemed to be oathbreakers, those most foul of nobles, knights, and other men of high standing whom the lesser magistrates could not bring to trial. In cases where the watchmen could not seize a criminal of this standing, or when the King could not risk a civil war, the men of House Barnett would seek honorable challenge, or serve the Crown's interest in Trial by Combat. It is for this they are not well liked by the rest of the nobility; those who call them friends merely try to stay within their good graces with honeyed words, and those who have too much pride for such groveling decry them as no better than assassins or hired thugs.
Not long after Arden came of age, he married a beautiful young woman named Diantha. They were deeply in love, but as time went on Diantha never became pregnant. Arden didn't love her any less for it, but with such a standing as his it was vital that they conceive a child. They tried many medicines by the royal doctors, visited the cathedrals all over the kingdom to receive blessings and prayers, and did as best they could. Still Diantha remained barren. She began to fear that Arden would leave her, or else take a mistress. No matter how much he reassured her, the gazes of his relatives from their lofty arrogance bore down on her more and more heavily.
Late one evening, though she feared the Night, Diantha covered herself with hood and cloak and made her way to a lonely cottage to speak with an old, withered woman. When she returned, before Arden could ask where she had been she coerced him to the bed. Within weeks they came to know that she was with child. For a time the two could not be happier, though Diantha began to make trips out into the town on errands later and later. Soon Arden began to fear that she would encounter some foul Nightkin if she stayed out any later, and he left in pursuit when she had not returned by sunset one day.
He found her, dancing in circles in the forest around an alter covered in blood, alongside others all dressed in black. Crying out to her, he charged forward with drawn sword in hand to strike down those that had kidnapped her. Though he felled one, the others all fled. They screamed for Diantha to follow them. Arden reached out to her, though only now did he see that she had begun to change into something horrible. With a wicked smile she embraced him, kissing his cheek.
He screamed as he felt her lips brand him. He pushed her away, and pointed his sword at her. Each saw the betrayal in the other's eyes.
Arden hesitated. Diantha ran. And so the quest began...
Equipment: Arden wears armor of plate steel and chain mail, along with a thick gambeson and a tabard bearing his family crest. Slung across his back is a wooden heater shield, also bearing the coat of arms, reinforced with strips of metal along its edges.
Theme: Ron Morina - The Fallen
Other: Arden has quite the reputation as a warrior, and a rumor about him says that he once fended off a dozen armed men on his own when a treasonous knight tried to have him killed before the trial set later that day.
Age, Gender: 25, Male
Appearance:
An even six feet tall and rather handsome, Arden strikes a noble figure. His hair is a dark brown, his eyes a vivid green, and the steel of his armor burnished lightly with a dark blue gloss. Signs of wear here and there are a testament to his experience, but he keeps his equipment well maintained. He has a slight pallor of the face, but is otherwise hearty and hale.
He often wears a grim countenance, and his gaze seems far away. But when they return to the present, more often than not it is with a kind of intense focus that makes meeting his eyes a daunting task. When he does smile, it doesn't quite reach his eyes.
Personality: Despite his gloomy demeanor, Arden is what one might call a "perfect example" of the chivalrous and honorable nature of a knight. He does what is right no matter the cost to himself...and sometimes, to others. This is his primary flaw: he sees the world in stark contrast between good and evil, and values the order of law above the more realistic concerns of the common man. Against a direct threat, meeting the forces of the Night in the pitch of battle, he is a stalwart ally. But often he misunderstands the plights of others, and his attempts to help are too heavy handed. Nor is he quick to forget a grudge, and when his ire is roused he acts without thinking and--hypocritically--takes the law into his own hands. One might say, however, that he has another flaw of being too generous. Despite his hard stance on evil, he treats others well. He often refuses a reward for a good deed, and is willing to give what he can to those in need. Often times this leaves him with an empty purse, or lets others take advantage of him.
Backstory: The son of a noble knightly lineage going back for generations, Arden held himself to a standard set impossibly high by his forbears. Their line had loyally served the Kingdom and the Church for centuries, and long ago had been given a mission they carry out to this day: delivering the righteous judgement of the Crown upon those deemed to be oathbreakers, those most foul of nobles, knights, and other men of high standing whom the lesser magistrates could not bring to trial. In cases where the watchmen could not seize a criminal of this standing, or when the King could not risk a civil war, the men of House Barnett would seek honorable challenge, or serve the Crown's interest in Trial by Combat. It is for this they are not well liked by the rest of the nobility; those who call them friends merely try to stay within their good graces with honeyed words, and those who have too much pride for such groveling decry them as no better than assassins or hired thugs.
Not long after Arden came of age, he married a beautiful young woman named Diantha. They were deeply in love, but as time went on Diantha never became pregnant. Arden didn't love her any less for it, but with such a standing as his it was vital that they conceive a child. They tried many medicines by the royal doctors, visited the cathedrals all over the kingdom to receive blessings and prayers, and did as best they could. Still Diantha remained barren. She began to fear that Arden would leave her, or else take a mistress. No matter how much he reassured her, the gazes of his relatives from their lofty arrogance bore down on her more and more heavily.
Late one evening, though she feared the Night, Diantha covered herself with hood and cloak and made her way to a lonely cottage to speak with an old, withered woman. When she returned, before Arden could ask where she had been she coerced him to the bed. Within weeks they came to know that she was with child. For a time the two could not be happier, though Diantha began to make trips out into the town on errands later and later. Soon Arden began to fear that she would encounter some foul Nightkin if she stayed out any later, and he left in pursuit when she had not returned by sunset one day.
He found her, dancing in circles in the forest around an alter covered in blood, alongside others all dressed in black. Crying out to her, he charged forward with drawn sword in hand to strike down those that had kidnapped her. Though he felled one, the others all fled. They screamed for Diantha to follow them. Arden reached out to her, though only now did he see that she had begun to change into something horrible. With a wicked smile she embraced him, kissing his cheek.
He screamed as he felt her lips brand him. He pushed her away, and pointed his sword at her. Each saw the betrayal in the other's eyes.
Arden hesitated. Diantha ran. And so the quest began...
Equipment: Arden wears armor of plate steel and chain mail, along with a thick gambeson and a tabard bearing his family crest. Slung across his back is a wooden heater shield, also bearing the coat of arms, reinforced with strips of metal along its edges.
Theme: Ron Morina - The Fallen
Other: Arden has quite the reputation as a warrior, and a rumor about him says that he once fended off a dozen armed men on his own when a treasonous knight tried to have him killed before the trial set later that day.
