Aesculos “Ajax†Thanos (Whitesword, various)
After the battle in Portet, Ajax remained for several weeks trying to hunt the more powerful
undead, but with little success. With the city largely abandoned, and the presence of so many knights and clerics, most of the powerful undead dispersed into the wilderness. Ajax then headed north to probe Greysnows and assess the Strife Lands. After weeks of
investigation, and several battles against fiends and undead, the party withdrew to the Guardian Vale. After a brief rest, Ajax spent the next two years hunting undead and searching for Nilas’Anor’s servants in western Icefia. With no sign of Uscis or Marius, and the undead avoiding him, Ajax felt a call to return to the Main Continent. Rather than Gate, as time on the upper planes assert a strong pull on him, he rode the breadth of Icefia, stopping in the Vale, Colonye and Castle Gemblade.
The king Arion sought to bestow a knighthood on him, but Ajax declined, feeling it would be a breach of his vows. He requested instead that a watchtower be consecrated to Stasis on the northern border of the Protectorate. Arion, who is less tradition bound than his predecessors, bestowed the title of Knight-In-Merit on him anyway. The Shining Tower is now the first line of defense against the evil in the north. After a term counseling initiates at the paladin school, and a month in prayer at the High Temple of Stasis, Ajax returned to Southgate in Yellowia; where his quests began years earlier, seeking Gregory Steelblade and Hanai Winterstar.
Ajax found Southgate little changed from his visit years earlier. The hardy folk of the south went about their business with little care for the political scheming of the nobles. Gregory and Hanai, now the parents of three, were content to protect the people of the south.
Hanai had fought at Castle Gemblade and Portet, but now accepted Yellowia as her home. Ajax was frustrated by what he found, as he thought Gregory had been the first just ruler revealed to him by Stasis. Still, unless Stasis directed him to shake them from their contentment, he had no reason to remain. With a deep uneasiness, Ajax bid farewell to his fellow paladins and rode north.
What he found only further deepened his concerns. The people of the Kingdom fared no better than when he left. Though the Kingdom appeared more ready for the Mulataven, or the hordes of Borkondorf, Ajax could tell the common folk bore no love for their leaders and could easily have their spirit broken by a new war. Resolved to help as best he could Ajax rode north, stopping in towns and villages to preach, heal and mediate disputes. Along the way the signs and talk of Iott’s ascendance were common. Though it concerned him, Ajax felt no call to take action. Eventually he reached the small town where he had posted his letter of challenge to the government years earlier. The townsfolk looked on in shock as the orc who had left decades ago and become a figure of legend, now returned to fulfill his promise.
After spending time in northern Yellowia, and incredibly frustrated that he cannot get satisfaction for the long unanswered slander, Ajax wrestles with the idea of riding to Saint Lawrence. His time in Norhern Yellowia is one of the calmest of his life. The people enjoy his presence. As the king and the nobles battle of Iott's so called control of Yellowia, Ajax is able to keep one small section of the kingdom free from trouble. On several occasions, the governor of Yellowia, a native by birth but having long lived in Iott before his return, sent warning to Ajax not to interfere with the nation. Ajax dissmissed the warnings, but equally had no interest in affairs of state. He only waited and hoped Stasis would direct him to a new ruler.
Word reaches him that Gregory and Hanai are seeking him and implore him to return to Southgate. Knowing they would not make such a request lightly, Ajax opens a Gate and travels to reach them quickly and safely. Upon arriving he is surprised to find the Steelblade estate is on guard. Gregory receives him alone. “Word has reached us of a new threat. Assassins are at work, not only are they targeting paladins but they are killing the children of paladins and feyalin. They struck in the jungle and slew the daughter of Jaelata’linoan, the Feyalin of Treetop. They struck in Icefia against William Summerlight’s family but were not successful. Esetia of Magenthia, the Feyalin of Falan has not been seen for months. Escalon has ordered that no paladin associated with the Temple may travel alone. We cannot make the journey to Icefia or Pacyr but I beseech you to take Hanai and our children to Mydyr. In the summer of 795 Ajax and Hanai travel to Pacyr with her children and a small number of squires.
Knowing that taking small children into the upper planes could have long term consequences, Ajax and Hanai set out on the road to Pacyr with her children and a small number of squires. The road was long and not without challenges. Monsters, including bands of giants, had no concept or care for Ajax and Hanai’s reputation. They took the road through the Jungle in the hope that they could learn something of the assassins, but in his grief Jaelata’linoan had departed to seek revenge. Despite their mission to see the children to safety, the paladins could not set aside their vows, and along the way, particularly as they drew closer to the border of Hertopowlis, they defeated many who sought to exploit the chaos following the Day of Broken Magic. Still there was no sign of the agents of the dark powers. Their trip took them through Loahk, a place Ajax had never gone through before. He was shocked to see the land of hundreds of kingdoms was thriving. While poor in magic, they appeared better organized they he had been lead to believe. He also heard talk of the leader, above the kings, Lord of the Plateau. Had it not been for his mission, he would have stayed. Just before reaching Hertoplowis, they heard word of the orcish crusade heading for Iott. It would come this way soon. Again, Ajax stayed the course despite the interest. They passed through Hertopowlis with less difficulty than usual as the country was more concerned with Iott.
Upon reaching Pacyr, they learned that the assassins had already struck there. Aegis Malconroy was missing and many prominent knights and paladins had been slain, along with their families. Most believed the assassins were fiends, or vampires taking revenge for their long imprisonment in Portet, but Elizabeth Toppin, Stasis’ mightiest cleric and Guardian, was certain that they were neither. The orphans of the slain were given to the care of the High Temple of Hemator or the Radiant Shield of Stasis. With the family safely delivered, Ajax returned to Southgate via a Gate.
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