Harwa Ahmestep
"No soul is irredeemable. None are beyond the forgiveness of the Great Father."
Art by Fetsch ___________________________________ P R O F I L E Age 59 Race Human Sex Male Height 5'11" Weight 220lb Alignment Lawful Good Class Slayer Level 1 Health Points 32 ___________________________________ I N V E N T O R Y - Water Skin. - Bed roll. - Begging Bowl. - Flask of distilled liquor. - String of Prayer Beads. - Loaf of Bread. - Bronze Face Mask, broken. ____________________________________ E Q U I P M E N T - A two handed Twaran Battle-Axe. - The Shafrat Alrahma, a thin curved dagger, used to kill mortally wounded opponents. - Tarnished Bronze Scale Mail, with brightly coloured ragged arming garments. ____________________________________ A T T R I B U T E S Athletics: 16 (Class bonus +2, +4) Dexterity: 10 Intelligence: 10 Wisdom: 10 Charisma: 12 (+2) Constitution: 16 (+6) ___________________________________ S K I L L S (A) Strength: 6 (Class bonus +4, +2) (A) Agility: 0 (D) Stealth: 0 (D) Acrobatics: 0 (D) Trickery: 0 (I) History: 0 (I) Nature: 0 (I) Arcana: 0 (I) Religion: 1 (+1) (W) Perception: 0 (W) Medicine: 0 (W) Survival: 0 (C) Persuasion: 1 (+1) (C) Deception: 2 (+2) (C) Intimidation: 2 (+2) (C) Performance: 0 | ____________________________________________________________________________ A P P E A R A N C E Harwa Ahmestep is a heavyset Tawran man, who is rapidly leaving his middle years behind him and entering his old age. The effects of the passage of time are evident all over his person. His long mane of coiled braids has lightened from black, to grey, and at last to white. It stands stark against his dark skin, and though time does not whiten that, it does not escape its grasp unscathed. A spiderweb of scars and wrinkles stretches across its surface, testament to a lifetime of experiences. His physique gives the impression of solidity. Though not overly tall, Harwa more than makes up for it in his girth, with wide shoulders, thick arms, and a heavy belly. In his youth, he was hard and chiselled all over, his body a tool forged for violence. Age has softened and blunted him, but there is steel at his core still, and muscle beneath the fat. Like his body, his face is well fleshed, with full lips and a broad flat nose. Harwa was not considered a particularly handsome man, even in his younger years. A beard hides most of his chin and jowls, it is normally scruffy and unkempt, much like his hair. The eyes that look out of this worn and craggy face are dark brown, warm, glinting with humour... at least, that's what they look like most of the time. Sometimes there is another man looking out from that kindly old face, one with eyes colder than a desert night. One who has the eyes of a killer. Harwa dresses slovenly, in brightly coloured but much patched and repaired garb. It is the motley uniform of the Tariqa Al-Shahadh, the Order of the Mendicants. Holy warriors of Sharaqan, they distain all property and instead live by begging, they are recognisable by their brightly coloured patched robes, sewn from many different coloured rags. His armour, made of overlapping plates of bronze scales, is dull and tarnished, though still servable enough to offer Harwa protection. ____________________________________________________________________________ P E R S O N A L I T Y Philosophers and scholars of the world are in frequent disagreement as to the fundamental nature of man. According to one camp, humans are savage beings, violent animals whom are only tamed through the application of civilisation and society. To others, hatred and cruelty are traits that we are taught by the harsh realties of the world, and our truer nature is that of the innocent guileless child, fundamentally good. Harwa is inclined to agrees with the latter, and his greatest fear is that the former are correct. He believes that there is no one that is not worth saving. That there is grace in every person, no matter what they have done. That redemption can always be earned. In his person, Harwa is kind and gregarious. Always willing to share despite having very little himself, and equally open to receiving hospitality with graciousness and enthusiasm. Despite the somewhat ascetic nature of his order, he has an immense appetite and enjoyment of the physical pleasures of life, in particular food and drink. For a supposed beggar warrior, Harwa eats rather well. He is pious, without being dogmatic or taking himself and his faith too seriously. His lively sense of humour frequently makes pointed jokes at his own expense, and when Harwa laughs, he laughs loudly and deeply. He is a loud person in general, from his bright multicoloured garments, to his deep and booming voice and outgoing personality. It is rare that he is raised to anger, but should it occur, it is a terrible sight to behold. ____________________________________________________________________________ B A C K S T O R Y For all the loudness about Harwa Ahmestep, there is one thing he is more definitely quiet about - his past. There are some things however, that would be evident to anyone who had the opportunity to observe him for a decent length of time. Firstly, he speaks Tawrish like a native and has a noticeable accent when switches to Equarish or Urkun. It can easily be assumed that he was born there, or at least grew up in the lands of the Maatrho God-Kings. Though his familiarity with the diverse languages of Dahard imply that he has some familiarity with the region, despite only being recently arrived. Secondly, he clearly does not share the faith of his country men, for he is of the Tariqa Al-Shahadh, the Order of the Mendicants. They are beggar warriors, sworn to protect those in need and live off of the charity of others. And they do not subscribe to the cult of the Maatrho, instead they follow the teachings of Sharaq and worship the Great Father Arhanphast. If you were ask Harwa how a Tawran native came to live in the service of a foreign God, he would be more than happy to tell you. The faith of Sharaq came to him at the lowest point in his life, when he had lived a bad and selfish existence that had led him to nothing but ruin and misery. He had been saved by a holy man who saw something good in him still, and had given him a new life though he himself had no worldly goods of his own. Ever since he had been inspired to live by such an example. It is a good story, and Harwa has gotten better at telling it with each recounting. The truth of these events are now distorted to the point it no longer hurts to tell. If you got to know Harwa a little better still, you might catch glimpses of the painful past behind that well worn story. He lets them slip sometimes, normally late at night when he's had a drink and his thoughts turn sombre and a little melancholic. He was married once, back in Tawr. They had a farm and a family. They grew fields of cotton and grain, raised goats and girls. All his children were daughters, he still smiles ruefully when he thinks of them. At first they were happy, but it did not last. He drank, too much and too often, and back in those days Harwa was much more... violent... when he drank. It all ended badly. Before that he was a soldier. It's evident enough by his martial prowess, even at his advanced age. He still carries himself like one, even though its been years since he wore that uniform. Years since he hid his face behind that bronze mask. But for all your prying, you would not get him to talk about it, despite his normally gregarious nature. Speaking of it makes him remember. And he does not want to remember what he did. ____________________________________________________________________________ M O T I V A T I O N A N D O U T L O O K Harwa is drawn to Dahard to do as he had been trying to do since he left his old lives behind and joined the Tariqa Al-Shahadh. He is desperately trying to atone. And he feels that Dahard is the place where he can best do this. ____________________________________________________________________________ M I S C E L L A N E O U S Harwa's Holy Order, the Tariqa Al-Shahadh, although a martial organisation focused on fighting and combat, distains the taking of life unnecessarily. Its members are sworn to try and resolve all disputes peacefully before resorting to violence, and only kill in defence of one's own life or the lives of others. The one exception to this is in the use of the Shafrat Alrahma, the mercy blade, which a warrior may use to end the suffering of a mortally wounded opponent, as a final mark of respect. |