Dain Tornbrook

General Information

Name: Dain Highmantle "Tornbrook" Race: Human Age: 25 Height: 6'2" Weight: 200 lbs. Hair: Short, well-kept blond Eyes: Blue, varying in intensity based on mood, with golden flecks around the pupils Titles: High Judicator of the Triad, the Dragonslayer, the Demonbane, the Warden of Wrath

Appearance

Dain stands with firm posture and typically wears a calm half-smile on his always-clean-shaven face. He wears rather unique plate, its deep blues and gleaming gold accents standing out against the common soldier's or mercenary's armor. He wears a long sword at either hip, the scabbard at his left hip seeming rather opulent, strung with pearls and encrusted with a flawless emerald.

Background

Origin

Born to the land-owning, noble Highmantle family in the Cormyrian countryside, Dain had a childhood of privilege and study, his time devoted to various guided academic and athletic pursuits. His father was an aspiring statesman who spent days, weeks, and months at the capital city of Suzail. Dain's mother was the consummate matron, insistent on Dain's studies but generally hands-off in his upbringing.

Dain held little interest in the disciplines his parents prescribed to him. Still, he managed to gain some competency in swordsmanship, horseback riding, music, and dancing. His tendency to disappear from his family's manor and be found near the twisting stream a few miles into their property earned him the nickname "Tornbrook." He'd often retreat to the torn brook to escape his studies and ponder life beyond the far-reaching borders of his family's land.

As Cormyr descended into political chaos and violence, the patriarch of the Highmantle family decided to book his family passage to Neverwinter, via Waterdeep, where they could escape the brewing turmoil until the state righted itself. Dain's mother went first, to be followed by Dain and his father. At seventeen, Dain traveled to Suzail to meet his father, but upon arrival at the designated location was attacked by three inept assailants. Dain escaped with his life, though he bears numerous scars on his back from the botched assassination. He continued on to Waterdeep, then Neverwinter, but found no sign of either parent. He took in with an eccentric frontiersman who lived beyond Neverwinter City: a man with an eccentric, dramatic mustache an incredible skill with a blade.

Dain spent some years there but grew restless, and he decided to head to Sundren to embark on his new life, independent of the nobility and expectations his last name implied. He booked passage under the name Tornbrook, and Tornbrook he's been ever since.

Sundarian History

Dain's first close friend after arriving in Sundren was a Sunite named Priya Sera. While Dain was passing time in discussion with her at the Sunite temple in Aquor, two Talessans attacked the temple, setting fire to it and destroying most of its artwork, furniture, and shrines. As flames quickly spread and threatened to engulf all those inside, Dain braved the smoke and fire to pull victims to safety. After the temple was evacuated, Dain collapsed in a heap among the shrubs outside the temple, and in his bleary reverie, he received a vision from Tyr, the Even-Handed. Some days later, he took the paladin's oaths and began his training at the Temple of the Triumvirate.

Since taking his oaths, Dain has been active in the defense of Sundren and her peoples. His earliest battles against evil ended in failure; his dearest friend, Priya, was abducted by the powerful Banite vampire Clive Tarsus, and Dain was powerless to stop the vampire's designs, losing the fight without so much as pressing the Banite. Priya was later released after serving as a blood meal for the vampire.

However, time passed, and he grew in strength. He helped lay waste to a cult of corrupted Lathanderites that threatened to taint true, goodly faiths in Sundren. He and a handful of others crippled the Dark Advent's attempted resurgence, decimating their undead army. With companions Damia Winterhaven, Tigen Amastacia, and Bram Drismon, he embarked on a quest that stretched beyond Icewind Dale and ended in the destruction of a powerful Dracolich.

Since gaining the mantle Warden of Wrath, Dain has done endless battle against the Myrkulite necromancer, Vraer. With companions Centurio Peridan Twilight, Mara Brinsbane, Tigen Amastacia, and his sworn swordguards Ursus Ahrahl and Tigen, Dain reclaimed Mirakus Post from the Black Hand and used his holy sword, the Embodiment of Wrath, to purify the grounds surrounding the site.

Relationships

Priya Sera: Dain's dearest friend and lover, Priya Sera is a well-respected lecturer at the Sundren University. She is extraordinarily beautiful, gifted, and knowledgeable on several subjects. She is his truest companion, giving him balance and perspective when he has difficulty finding it elsewhere.

Her pacifist philosophy sometimes conflicts with Dain's need to punish the wicked, resulting in many long discussions.

Centurio Peridan Twilight: The gruff, one-eyed elf of the Sundarian Legion, Peridan shares Dain's rare conviction in the fight against evil. Dain counts Peridan as his closest ally in the field, and he feels no need to project the air and authority of a paladin when around the Centurio. Dain enjoys the Centurio's company, perhaps because the dour elf's company is a reflection of a man destined to do good but who has seen too much evil.

Ursus Ahrahl: Thayan Knight, sworn swordguard to the Warden of Wrath. Ursus follows Hoar, god of vengeance and whose allegiance competes for against Bane. As such, Dain has taken an interest in the Mulhorandi Knight of Thay, and he admires the man's sense of honor and duty.

Jonathon Ironson: One of Dain's earliest friends in the valley, Jonathon tries to be the rock that breaks the wave of bloody conflict between his Vale and the Exigo Syndicate. Dain admires the man's idealism.

Tigen Amastacia: Dain's alliance with Tigen came about unexpectedly as Tigen swore himself to the Warden's protection when Dain gained the mantle. Since then, they've battled several fell foes, with Tigen's unique set of skills often weighing the scales heavily on the side of Wrath. Though Tigen's brashness and willingness to toe the line between right and wrong sometimes puts him at odds with Dain, the two usually resolve their differences, and they complement each other well in the field.

Bram Drismon: Responsible for Dain's "Dragonslayer" moniker, given because the Legion wizard usually found the paladin in the company of some attractive woman at most times. Bram assisted Dain in destroying the dracolich, and he's traveled with the Warden on several other lesser assignments.

Xaayne Zek: An insane halfling that seems not to understand the consequence of action. Dain pays special attention to this berserker, often bringing him along to hunt vampires or demons. Dain hopes that his influence will temper the halfling's wild spirit.