Airies Lander
Human Warrior/Mage
Airies was born in a small village a day and a half outside Ordulin in the country of Sembia. Airies' mother died during his birth due to complications, so his father raised him himself. Airies' fathers name was Storn Lander. He was a great blacksmith. Storn was very tough on Airies; he started to work him at a very young age. He was making weapons and armor with his father every day. There was never a day off. They would wake at sun up and start work and work all day until dinner. The only time they would take off is when they would travel to visit Airies' uncle Zulldan. Other than that, they would work all the time. As you can see, Airies' father was a very well disciplined man and taught that to Airies. If Airies made a mistake on anything, the punishment would be very harsh and he would have to work through the night without sleep, so they would not get behind on the next days work. This just made Airies do everything perfect, so he could make his father proud of him.
As Airies got older, he would start to practice with the swords that he made. He loves the power and the rush that he got while wielding his swords. His father was a master at creating weapons But Airies wanted to be a master at both creating and wielding. This was his motivational drive. Airies was getting pretty proficient with the sword, he also picked up the spear and practiced with it sometimes, but the sword was his preferred weapon.
Working as hard as Airies did, made him very large; bigger than all the other children his age. His father was not a small man either; but Airies was going to be a lot bigger. Airies just didn't stop growing. By the time he became 12 years old, he was already 5' 8" and weighed about 200 lb. This kid was solid. You could say that they sure ate their wheats and oats in this family.
Airies was well adapted to this lifestyle, but it was about to change. Airies was 13 years old and his village came under attack. The slavers were coming out of the north to get more slaves to sell. There was a big battle. All of the men in the village fought. They fought brave but the slavers were overwhelming. Airies and his father fought off the slavers that had come into contact with them, slaying some of them. As they ran into the forest to hide, some of the slavers were chasing them, shooting arrows at them. Then, all of a sudden, one arrow hit Airies’ father in the back. His father screamed out loud, "run and not to look back just keep running and to go to my brothers house!" Storn grabbed his sword and turned to the slavers and charged. He fought them off with just enough time to give Airies the time he needed to find a good hiding spot. That was the last time Airies saw his father.
Airies cried for days, he was all alone. The life he had was just torn away from him and he had to start all over again. After many days of traveling, he reaches his uncles house. His uncle Zulldan was also a warrior/ adventurer. Retired now, he enjoys spending his life reading books all the time. When Airies got there and told his uncle what had happened, that his father was dead. Zulldan told him not to worry that your day for revenge would soon come, and that he would show Airies the way to do it.
Zulldan was a warrior and very powerful with the sword, but he also knew some magic and was going to teach Airies how to use them both together in combat. A new beginning was about to start for Airies. He started reading all night long, learning the arts of magic and practiced with the sword during the day. Sometimes, Zulldan would find Airies pounding away at the forge making a new sword with a waterfall of tears would be flowing out of his eyes. Zulldan just walked away and let him go, knowing that this would make him a stronger man, physically and mentally. It did. After five years of this work, Airies grew and grew. At the young age of 18, Airies was 7'1" and about 380 pounds of solid man.
Then, another event would soon happen that would change Airies’ life. He and his uncle were sparring one day and his uncle was pushing him to go harder, reminding him of the day that he lost his father. He was saying, "If you fought like this when you revenge your father you will die the same way your father did." This was getting to Airies making him fight harder. Just like pounding a sword out with the hammer He would let his emotions take over. The more he thought of his fathers’ death the harder he would pound with the hammer. He used these emotions to control his actions in wielding the sword also. It was all coming together, he was moving faster and faster. The swords where dancing beautifully like a great ballet. But something was going on in Airies’ head; he didn't see his uncle any more. He saw the men who came that terrible day and slaughtered his village, and killed his father. He could not stop. Then Airies heard a scream that made him drop his sword at once, then, he came back to reality and saw a very large gash in his uncles’ chest and blood was gushing out of it like a river after the spring thaw. Airies reached out for him, but it was too late, the wound was fatal. Airies fell to the ground just as fast as his uncle had fallen. He crawled toward his uncle and screamed out loud, "I killed him, I killed him!" He said it over and over again.
Airies was devastated by the accidental death of his uncle. He blamed himself for losing control and allowing his emotions to gain control over what he did. From that day on, Airies swore that he would never lose control again. He thought of the day that his father died. To be free of this, he would have to learn to control his emotions and to accept the death of his father and to go on with life. He also had to forgive himself for the death of his uncle. That was the answer he was looking for. This was the only way for peace of mind. Airies made an oath to himself… he would always stay in control. The unfortunate accident with his uncle would never happen again to anyone he cared about. This is something Airies could control himself; no one can do it for him.
A few months later, Airies found himself working for a blacksmith in Ordulin. Then, one day, an old Mage came into the shop, holding a piece paper. He asked if the blacksmith could forge a High Steel rod with these markings on it. The blacksmith said, "I could, but would take me about six months to get started on it. For I'm real busy and I am backed up, but I got this kid working for me and he might have some extra time to help you, sir." So, the Mage asked Airies, "Would you be interested in making an item for me? There would be something in it for you." "And what would that be," replied Airies. The wizard just said, "We can talk payment in private." So, the wizard and Airies went outside. He said, "I just made some protection rings and I would give one of them to you for the work," Airies said, "no problem I will take the job." For about a month, he worked all day for the blacksmith and then goes over to the old mage's home and works on the rod for the Mage. It was going great. It was the best work Airies' has ever done. The wizard was very happy with the work and as he promised, he gave Airies the ring of protection for the work.
The wizards name was Fallon. He was an old, funny man, and Airies enjoyed being around him. Airies would show up to say hi and to have a glass of wine quite often. Besides, Airies loved to here the stories Fallon would tell. Then, one day, on Airies many visits over, Fallon offered Airies some more work. Airies of course took the job. Fallon said "now, for your payment this time, lets see here, what would you like?" Airies said, "You are a friend to me and there doesn't have to be a payment. You have paid me in friendship." The wizard replies, "Well now, there has to be something you want." Airies refused so the wizard sat back and said, "If you ever need something, a place to sleep or spells to learn, my house is always open for you. Now go to work," the old man chuckled. Airies did the work for Fallon and when he had spare time, was learning new magical spells. It was a great trade for the both of them.
Airies was getting bored staying in Ordulin. He needed to find out what living is all about. He wanted to see what the world had to offer him. So, Airies got a job working as a guard on a caravan, traveling to the great land of Cormier. During that run, the caravan was raided four times buy Orcs in the Thunder Peaks. Needless to say, it was an exciting trip. Airies stayed there working with the caravan for a while. He met some very interesting people. One such person was named Kailyn. Not the smartest guy Airies has ever met, but he was a good guy to have around if something was to going wrong. They ended up traveling together a lot. Airies and Kailyn went as far west as boulder gate, then turned around and headed for Ariabor. That is when Airies met some of the best people he has ever met.
First, there was Lazarus, the Arch mage; then, Uriek, the battle hungry dwarf; Derik, a priest of helm and Ivar Trapfinder, the rogue. They all got hired to take taxes back to Cormyr. The pay was a fair amount for this job to be done. There were a lot of people after the taxes, the tube of gems. The group even gave the taxes to the wrong person. They did correct the problem though, and delivered the taxes to the correct persons. They stayed together for a while to help Lazarus find his love, but it didn't work. The group of friends had to give up their search. At that point, the group broke up to do what they needed to do. They all said their good-byes and went their separate ways. Airies' knew in his heart that this is not the end for this group. The group would get back together in time.
It has been some time and Airies wanted to go visit his friend Fallon, the wizard in Ordulin. He packed up his belongings and started his journey back home. It took Airies a while for he did a lot of sight seeing along the way, going to new towns and different places. Finally, Airies arrived in Ordulin and went right to his old friends’ house. Fallon and Airies shared their many new tales from the years that they have been apart. After a couple of days, Airies explained to Fallon that he needed a favor. Airies wanted Fallon to enchant a sword for him. Fallon said that it would not be a problem but that he needed some kelp that only grew in the Moonsea. Airies agreed to this. He packed up his belongings and stocked up for his long journey north.
It took Airies many months of traveling, fighting many monsters along the way. He knew the Dale Lands would be very dangerous but what he came up against was beyond his imagination. Airies became physically and mentally stronger on this journey. He thought to get help but he wanted to do this on his own. Airies finally made it to Hillsfar.
As Airies approached the gate, a squad of the Red Plumes welcomed him. They asked Airies, "What is your business in Hillsfar?" Airies replies, "I am here to restock my supplies and rest for only a few days and possibly see what your market has to offer a traveler. I also have heard of the arena here and would like to see a fight. I am willing to pay a gate tax if there is one." Airies held up a small pouch filled with five gold pieces and ten silver pieces. The guards took the pouch from Airies and aloud him entrance to Hillsfar. Once inside, Airies knew he had to be safe and not to start any trouble for this town is trouble. Airies went to the Inn and checked himself in. He got a great night sleep.
The next morning, Airies woke up and went straight to the port. He had an idea of offering his services to clean the rudders of ships to see if he can find any kelp for Fallon. He found a few captains willing to let him do the work for Airies only charged two copper pieces for each ship. For one weeks work, Airies found enough kelp for Fallon. Airies quickly packed his belongings and left Hillsfar thanking the gods for getting him out of there alive. The journey was just as hard getting back, but he did survive.
Airies arrived at Fallon’s house. He handed over the kelp. In return, Fallon handed over the enchanted sword. Airies looked at Fallon and said, "Thank you friend." The two sat there for days telling stories again, continuing where they left off. One day, a gentleman that looked very familiar approached Airies. It was the merchant that he first left Ordulin with. The merchant needed Airies' help again for he was traveling to Suzail. Airies had no problem because the merchant paid very well. Airies said his good-byes to Fallon and left for Suzail.
Airies was sitting in a bar thinking about his goals and how he needs to make some money, to make them happen. He didn't want to go back to blacksmithing. At that moment, two individuals walk up and asked if he was Airies Lander. "Who's asking?" asks Airies. "I am Gathen and my brother Malaken. We could use your help. We heard of you throughout the town," Said Gathen. Gathen is about 6'2" and weighs about 235 pounds. He wears a suit of plate mail and has two swords at his side, a short sword and long sword. Malaken was a little shorter than he, about 5'10'' and weighs about 195 pounds. He has a long bow strapped to his back and also a short sword strapped to his hip. They asked if they could sit and talk with him about what they do for a living. They told Airies that they were bounty hunters and they have a job that pays 5,000 gold pieces for this one man, dead or alive. They could use his help in hunting down that man. Airies sat back and said, "I will help you and be a partner as long as we always try our best in bringing the criminals in alive but never to sacrifice our safety to do so." They looked at each other with a smirk on their faces and said, "Sure." For the rest of the evening, they sat in the bar and got to know each other.
That next morning, they set off, leaving the great city of Suzail. They headed north to the Stormhorns. That is where the search begins. The individual that they were hunting is a known supporter and member of the Zhentarim. This man, named Steazen, a high level fighter by trade, has six individuals working for him. Each man of high levels, two of them we know are assassins, and one a mage, one a priest of unknown religion, the other two, and we have no information on at this time. Each one of the six has a bounty of 2,000 gold pieces. It would be a great find to catch these men and put a thorn in the Zhentarim side. They say once you take actions against the Zhentarim, they will haunt you for the rest of your life.
After many days travel, we arrived at a city just before the Stormhorns. Looking up, Airies thought of the journey that he came through with his friends Lazarus, Derik, Uriek, and of course, Ivar. That journey was an adventure in itself. We looked around the town and asked questions about the men but as you say they were a day late and a gold piece short. They did receive information about the men that fit the description. These men were headed toward Arabel. Airies and the brothers restocked their supplies and headed toward Arabel. That was the next leg of our journey. They found out they were five days behind them but no clues on what they were up to. As we were headed toward Arabel down the road, Airies noticed that the long bow that Malaken had looked a little different and asked if he could admire its work. Airies has never seen a bow like it. Malaken replied, " It is a strength bow, specially made for me and my strength. If you could find someone to make one for you, that bow would be impressive. With your strength behind every pull, I would put gold pieces on it that it would go through a solid tree." Airies thought of that, and said, " You're right. It would be an impressive bow for I cannot use my full strength on any bow, this would allow me to use all of my strength, and I must have one! " Malaken explained to Airies on who made his bow. "When this is all finished, would you be so kind to introduce me to him? I would appreciate that immensely," says Airies.
Soon, they found themselves in Arabel, and quickly got on the trail of their prey. Airies knew that the Zhentarim always played in many roles of slavery. They hired many bands of outlaws, bandits and raiders to kidnap innocent people and make them into slaves. Just like the group of bandits that attacked his village many years ago, which killed his father. Airies knew that it would take a lot of control to keep from killing these individuals outright. Airies has grown up a lot sense the time his uncle died and he has faced many enemies, some in which have died, but Airies new he had control. Killing is not right, but evil people must be stopped and sometimes death is the only way to do it. It is a control issue Airies deals with every day, and he grows stronger mentally every day because of it.
The trail of the Zhentarim was hard to find but Malakin got a great tip off the street, which had cost a lot of gold. That tip led them to an inn. The plan was to go in quietly and tie the Zhentarim members up, one at a time, while they are sleeping. This is when Airies played a big part of this team. Airies went invisible and cast it on Gathen and Malakin. They went into the inn and quietly walk up stairs to the rooms. They came to the first room. The plan was to rush in and gag the individual sleeping there. It was time to do it. They rushed in and grabbed the body sleeping in the bed and when they went to gag the individual the head rolled off, on to the floor. It was their contact from on the street. "It is a trap!" yelled Gathen . Just then, the door slammed shut. Aires yelled, "Get out!" Aires ran to the window and jumped through, breaking the glass. Gathen and Malaken were right behind him. As melanin jumped through the window, a big explosion filled the room with fire. They all fell to the ground; it was a good 25-foot fall. They hit the ground hard, with a thud.
Aries jumped up quickly and pull his sword, as so did Gathen. They did the right thing. At that moment, four individuals came charging. Airies saw one right in front of him; he used the magic power and cast a bolt of light right at one, slamming him to the ground. Airies turned to another one that was in a full charge toward him with a sword aimed at Airies. He just missed him. They faced off and went to battle. Aries went to a defense stand. He tried to study his opponent and see if he knew his fighting style. During this time, he also threw up some defense spells. Gathen had his hands tied, with two opponents blocking every attack. He was just waiting for the right opportunity and just then one stood straight up and fell to the ground he had two arrows in his back. Aires was still toe-to-toe with his enemy. He did yell to Malaken, "Look for the Mage, he is still out there." Gathens individual started to run away. Gathen let him go. Just then, Airies went to strike the Zhentarim warrior, but the warrior vanished. Just in time to avoid Airies' strike. He looked to the one that he stunned and he was still there, out cold. he look over to his friends and they where picking up the dead one that Malaken had killed with his bow. Airies tied the unconscious one in a hog-tie and also gagged him. They went straight to the local guard to turn in the two Zhentarim for the bounty now owed to them.
They were back to square one now. They wanted to interrogate the one that is still alive, but they needed sleep and would be back in the morning to get answers for the questions they have. The next morning rose and the group met to interrogate the captured warrior. They interrogated him all day and got nothing. They felt that they needed magical assistance. The information that they then received. There was a base along the thunder peaks. That was the information that they needed. They stayed for a few days to equip themselves for their journey. They also wanted to stay to see the execution of the one captured Zhentarim member. After the execution, the group set forth toward the thunder peaks.
It took them a few days to reach the base of the peaks. They were thinking that they had no clue where to even start beginning to look for the Zhentarim camp. Airies had an idea. He thought that they would wait here until they see a caravan and explain to the caravan leader what was going on and see if they can join the caravan as guards with no pay. If the caravan got attacked, they could track the attackers back to their camp. The wait didn't take long; a caravan came through that evening and camped where they were. Airies went to the leader and explained their plans and intentions. The caravan leader had no problems adding more swords to his arsenal, especially free ones.
The next morning, they woke up as a part of the caravan and started their treacherous journey up the thunder peaks. After a few days of traveling up the mountains, they came across two fallen trees that lay across the road. Everyone in the caravan got a little nervous, as this was obviously an ambush. They took up defensive positions and waited for the attackers. But the attackers never came. They had a meeting and had decided to try to move the trees. While half stood guard, the other half worked to clear the road. It took about 30 minutes to cut the trees and to clear the road; they all got back on their mounts and continued their ascent. Just as they started, they heard screaming from the front as a stream of arrows came flying in. Some of fire and some not. Those not injured took cover as a slue of orc warriors came a running in a full charge and another battle was on the way. This one you cant lose.
The battle went on and on. The battle ended victoriously with only a few wagons destroyed. Airies, Gathen and Melanin went right to work and started to track the orc raiding party. They tracked the trail for a few days, always staying back far enough as to not warn the orcs of their presence. The plan worked. The Orcs led them right to the camp, a big complex right in the middle of the Thunder Peaks. They knew that this was too big for them. They needed help and spent all day scouting it out and getting all the information they could get. Then, they saw what this place is all about. They saw a bunch of cages on wagons filled with people. Airies and the brothers knew what they had to do, they could not wait any longer, and they had no time to find help. It looked like the Zhentarim were going to leave any day.
Airies and the brothers tried to come up with a plan that night but they couldn't come up with one. The trio knew what they had to do. They had to free the slaves. If they could free the slaves, and get them equipped with weapons, they had an army. They watched and got as close as possible to the cages of slaves. Airies and the brothers got within 50 feet and decided that this was the perfect moment for them to attack. There were only six guards awake in front of the cages, if they snuck in quietly and killed them all, they would be able to free the slaves. Airies knew in his heart that he could not kill them. He had no choice though. It was time for him to make a drastic decision in his life. He looked at the cages and saw children barely clothed and beaten. Little girls looked to be raped as blood was dripping between their legs. He knew what he had to do. The only way to save these people was to kill the Zhentarim members. Airies looked at his partners and gave them a nod.
Gathen moved in quietly while Malaken and Airies aimed their bows. Airies pulled his bow and locked in on his victim. Gathen was the sign, when his first victim was slain, that is when the arrows would be launched. Gathen reached the individual and quickly slit his throat from ear to ear. Malaken and Airies both released their arrows hitting their targets in critical areas. They quickly reloaded and found their other two targets. Gathen quickly grabbed the heavy crossbow on the ground and shot it at his other target striking him in the throat. Airies released his arrow swiftly, striking his target in the back. Knowing his strike was not deadly, he reloaded quickly and released. Malaken's shot was perfect again. Airies' victim did release a cry so time was short. The three ran as fast as they could to the cages looking for keys on the dead guards. They found the keys and started to release the slaves. The slaves were panicked and started to make a lot of noise. They tried to calm the slaves down as they were being released. The slaves were told by Airies and his friends that the only way out was to fight for their freedom.
Airies was looking at Gathen. Gathen had a smile on his face showing that he loved this. This is what he lived for. They released all of the slaves and most of the men and a few of the young adult boys grabbed weapons from branches to rocks. Even a few women were involved. It was just in time, as the Zhentarim were on their way. Airies walked up to Gathen and said, "let’s get out of here." Gathen nodded and said, "good idea." at that moment, Gathen screamed as an arrow struck him in the back and he dropped to the ground.
The shot came from the one individual that Airies fought before. Airies looked at his friend lying on the ground, there was still life in him but Airies would have to fight to get him out. He grabbed his sword and ran towards the assassin. The assassin was waiting for him with his sword drawn. The clash of steal was loud. As Airies was on the offense, Airies started to go to work on the assassin. He wasn’t going to stop until someone was dead. The fight went on and on. Airies was blocking every thing that the assassin threw while the assassin was blocking everything that Airies threw. The assassin started to get nervous because of the power behind the strikes. The strikes started tiring the assassin, he tried to get out of the way but it was to late. The ending strike came and severed the head of the assassin. Knowing the battle was not over Airies saw an individual who looked like he was preparing to cast a spell. Airies knew he had to stop it. He grabbed his bow and released an arrow, striking perfectly. The Mage fell to the ground and a mob of slaves crushed him. The Zhentarim were overwhelmed, Airies Quickly ran back to Gathen who was gasping for air. Gathen told Airies that the wound was not deadly so there most be poison on the tip of the arrow. He told Airies that in his pouch there was a potion of neutralized poison. Airies quickly got the potion out and fed it to Gathen. Within seconds, he was breathing more easily. He also ate an herb that brought him to his feet faster than when he fell to the ground.
The morning sun had just broken through the dark night and Airies and the brothers where able to look over the land for the dead bodies. They found the mage's body and the priest's body, who was a priest of Set. There was also the assassins’ body. Airies and the bothers could not find the other assassin and the leader Steazen. They must have escaped during the fight. Airies and the brothers gathered the free people and escorted them back to Arabel. When the group arrived, the Grand Duke of Arabel greeted them. He thanked Airies and the brothers for their work and generously rewarded the trio the bounties of the dead Zhentarim. The Grand Duke also asked if he could do anything on a personal note for Airies and the brothers. The brothers asked if the Grand Duke could put them in the best Inn with hot water baths for the week. The Grand Duke complied with their wish. Airies asked if there was a great bowyer/fletcher in town. The Grand Duke said, "I will introduce you to my personal bowyer/fletcher who creates all of my bows for me and my men."
Airies and the Grand Duke went to visit the bowyer/fletcher. The Grand Duke introduced Airies to him. The Grand Duke went on his way. Airies asked if it would possible for the bowyer/fletcher to create a strength bow for him. The bowyer said he could but it would cost a lot of gold. Airies said, "I have this much gold and I will always pay the payments. Will you start making it now so when I pay the final payment, I can take the bow? You have my word." The bowyer agreed to this arrangement and said, "When you have the bow, I want to see you shoot and arrow through a tree for I think it will go straight through." Airies agreed.
Airies went back to town and met up with the brothers for Airies also got a room at the Inn with the brothers. There, they relaxed and thought of what to do next for the three became good friends and for the next few years, captured a lot of criminals. This way, Airies had money to make payments on his bow. Their travels took them everywhere and met many new people. The only worry the trio had was the Zhentarim were still out there making the trio always watch their back.
One day, the trio was on the path going through the Cormyr Forest when they were ambushed. The ambush happened so quickly; they didn't know what hit them. All Airies remembered was kicking his horse to ride faster as he saw the two brothers fall. Airies woke up in a strange place with a strange old hermit looking over him. The hermit said, "you are a lucky lad, for you had only hours to live when I found you. I am glad I was in a good mood and decided to save you." Airies replied, "Me too, for I am Airies Lander." The hermit replied, "I am Uncle Joe. I am an herbalist." Airies stayed with the hermit for a few months to recover from the poison that was injected into his system. During these few months, Airies learned little about herbs. One night, Airies had a dream of Lazarus and he felt a strange calmness wash over him knowing in his heart that he would see his friend again.