  |
Areas of Influence: Purity,
Kindness, Mercy, Guidance |
In the faraway land of Durenor, Cedric Lightshield was born into a loving family. His father was a farmer, a righteous and kind man who worked hard so the family would do well. His mother was quite beautiful and toiled endlessly so her children would have the best things they could. Cedric had several brothers and each of them wanted to stay on the farm to make their livelihood. Cedric, however, had another dream. He wished to serve Durenor as one of the famous Knights of the White Mountains. These Knights were an order dedicated to preserving goodness, law and peace in Durenor. Their name came from the symbol each knight wore, that of two snow-capped mountains below a bright golden sun.
Cedric worked hard for his father so that when he was of age his father could afford to send him away for his training. On his 16th birthday, Cedric set out from his home to the stronghold of the knights to live out his dream. He did well there and was to be promoted to a full knighthood within six months of the start of his training. The eve before the ceremony, an evil man stood outside the stronghold with an army of minions. With his mastery of the black arts and the dark incantations placed on his living and dead soldiers, even the valiant Knights of the White Mountains stood no chance. The stronghold was reduced to rubble and very few survived. None of the Elders lived, so there were none left to perform the ceremony that would make Cedric a knight.
Cedric's dream had been crushed, so he rode from Durenor through exotic lands far and wide. He rode for weeks, even months, searching for something to replace his lost goal of knighthood. On the day before his 17th birthday, a strange rift opened in front of him. He could not reign his horse in time, so he and the steed disappeared through the rift. When he awoke, his horse was gone and he noticed that he was surrounded by dark mist. He walked about to see this new land he had arrived in.
As he explored this new place called Thera, he learned of a group of people that were quite similar to the Knights of the White Mountains. They were holy warriors called paladins, and Cedric decided to join a guild of such noble men and women. It quickly came to his attention that Thera was a place filled with the darkest of evils, rampant chaos and large-scale warfare and murder. These things upset him, so he learned much in his guild and sought out the only house he thought that would remedy the problem.
At the rank of 25, he penned a scroll to the Tree of Life in hopes of defending the downtrodden and saving lives. Soon after, the tree collapsed and was soon renewed by Adorno. He once again sought to join this band of fighters for the light to do what he could for the people of Thera. He became close friends with an elf named Qahntak, his advisor in joining the Tree. He spent much time with those of the Tree, and even killed some of the "soulless" because he believed that it would help Thera in time. Soon this killing burdened him, and he walked away from the Tree before he was to be inducted.
Cedric did not know how he would aid Thera for a time, until he met another of the Tree named Stragen. This man was the Prophet of Cirdan, one who spoke a message of peace to the land. Cedric was immediately interested and learned quickly from him, and later from Father Cirdan himself. He was the second Prophet of Cirdan and set about teaching any who would listen his message of peace. Several days later, a scroll was sent to all Therans from the Grand Knight of Valor seeking worthy souls to join with him in bringing peace to Thera. Cedric was the first to join him, and was named the first leader of Valor by Cirdan himself.
Cedric passed away on a night when a great evil was released into Thera. The new city of Glyndane was assailed by several mists and a necromancer begging for skulls to be delivered to him. The evil was finally released, a great vampire by the name of Dracula. Cedric led a large group of those to fight the evil, even though he knew his aging body was growing weaker. At long last, he found himself alone in front of the vampire as it tried to make its escape from Glyndane. On the Great Eastern Road, Cedric fought his last battle. As the vampire killed him with a powerful blow, he was again resurrected at the temple. When he arrived at the spot of his death to pick up arms for another fight, the last of his strength left him and he collapsed.
In his final days, Cedric rode the lands of Thera on his trusty steed Freydun. He brought a message of peace and hope to all of Thera. Serving as Priest of Cirdan, he counciled Squires of Valor and young Prophets of Cirdan alike so they too would serve Thera and bring about peace. In this time he also worked with young paladins, teaching them to serve Thera to the best of their ability. His greatest lessons to all were about purity, kindness and mercy.
Ideology
Rules of Worship
Holy Days
