Artemesia Family/Iksandros

Iksandros Arcturus

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Allegiance: Melhed

Class: Warrior/???

Alignment: True Neutral

Appearance: Rarely seen openly anymore.

Personality: Serious, hard-working warrior. Feels duty-bound to personal morals more than the law of the land, but will follow the latter so long as there is no conflict with the former.

Equipment: Ceremonial sword from Batesaor, broadsword, lockpick, various bottles of various contents.

Skills: Expert Swordfighting Mastery, Expert Jousting Mastery, Basic Infiltration Proficiency, Basic Bureaucracy Proficiency, Basic Leadership Proficiency.

Guardian of the Flame

When Iksandros took the oath to be a Guardian of the Flame, he made a few changes to reflect the life he was born into:

I swear to fight for justice, for the unjust world can always be righted.

I swear to fight for honor, for that is my claim to humanity.

I swear to fight for education, for ever we are perpetually learning.

I swear to fight for tolerance, for there is value in perspective and mine is not absolute.

I swear to fight for civility, for that is the pillar upon which our society stands.

I swear to fight for patience and logic, for the clouded mind quickly descends to wrong.

I swear to fight for the good people, for they deserve not the wrongs of injustice.

I swear to fight for understanding, for never shall I unwittingly be a tool of evil.

I swear to fight for fairness, for all humanity is equal before the absolute judge.

I swear to fight for brotherhood, for one chooses not to be born a man but chooses to live as one.

I swear to fight for love, for it sustains me against the overwhelming tides of evil.

In Service to Humanity

As our ancestors did in past, so too shall we do at last.

The armies of man unite, and darkness feel our might.

The Daimons of terrible flame, shall fall to us all the same.

The Monsters of hunger and blood, cannot stand against our flood.

The servants of Light and hope, will learn too that humans can cope.

The Undead to honor the Pact, we give ourselves this sacred tract.

Life and Death now face to face, rules of the world will now erase.

As we who now live one day grow old, let then our story be told.

Lineage

House Arcturus was the third ancestral line that eventually united under the name Artemesia. Alexandros Arcturus, as he would have been called had he been born a hundred years ago, is the last living member of the Artemesia family to have the original Arcturus blood.

Past

Several years ago

A mother clung to her child as the two plunged through several feet of snow in the pure white forest, where the snowflakes still fell heavily. Blood marked the woman's footprints as the child's cries fell into silence amidst the apathetic trees and snow.

The effort became too much for the woman, who at last fell into the deep white snow, her body covering the child. A faint light appeared only a few paces ahead, and the woman weakly raised a hand, trying to reach for it. But the cold quickly sapped whatever strength she had remaining, and the arm went limp, the hand fell softly into the snow, leaving a depression where it landed.

Warmth from the mother's body soon waned, and the child felt the heat escape his body. He began to cry, but those were muffled by his mother's body. They became weaker as he lost heat and air, and was almost silent when he suddenly saw a bright yellow lantern glowing above his face.

Blinking slowly, he saw a bearded man in a heavy fur coat lift his mother's body off him. The man shook the child, asking for his name.

"Marshal Iksandros, we should keep moving."

One of the scouts woke Iksandros from his reverie. He looked around at the dark region around him aptly named Waiting Wood. There was no snow on the ground, but the air was still chilly. Iksandros nodded to the scout, gathering his belongings and moving out once more.