Bendroden Lightbringer
 Bendroden Lightbringer, Paladin of Lykora | ||
| Bendroden Lightbringer of House Erulan | ||
| Alias | Ben; The Lightbringer | |
| Class | Paladin | |
| Race | Human | |
| Hometown | Danberg, Pineborough, Canton Kingdom | |
| 14|1412 | }} | |
| Gender | Male | |
| Height | 5'10" | |
| Weight | 168 | |
| Alignment | Lawful Good | |
| Deity | Lykora | |
Bendroden Erulan-Lightbringer is one of the 12 Scions of Lykora, the assembly of Lykoran paladins who bring justice to the clergy and any other Paladins who violate Lykora's law. They meet yearly in The Hall of Justice to judge the guilty, and to set policy for the paladins of Lykora over the next year.
History
Bendroden was born on 14 Ostern 1412 DR [988 WE|1 GWR] to Bendroden Erulan-Brightshield, a paladin of Lykora and Arianna, a common woman. The Erulan Family is one of twelve that make up the Scions of Lykora, the council of 12 paladins that dictate policy and deal with transgressions among the clergy and paladins of lykora. They also head up the military wing of the church of Lykora.
Bendroden set out adventuring at the age of 20, working for Brysten Marcus' Lion's Trading as a caravan guard, along with a fellow Lykoran paladin named Haldrin, the on a trip from Danberg to Andel Boum - a very simple route. On the caravan's return from Andel Boum to Danberg, they were set upon by a group of orcs that were the vanguard of the orcish invasion on Danberg in 1422 DR. Marcus, who was related by marriage to the Duke, asked the group to warn the twin cities of Senta over the mountains to the east of Danberg. After evacuating the cities and returning to Danberg, the group noticed A girl being carried away by a gargoyle to the mountains. They gave chase and discovered a cave where several orcs were holding her. They confronted the orcs, and discovered the girl was the Duke's youngest daughter, Krysta. This was the first indication something was wrong, as they orcs had a magical saucer that through which they stated a "dark one" had contacted them, to set up the attack, and the abduction. The identity of the dark one became clearer several months later, when Bendroden and his crew were assisting Brysten Marcus, who revealed his true name to be Aldar Loshren, reclaim his throne in Loshmere. Behind Marcus' ousting was a lich named Sevris, who also held one of the strange saucers, and whose journal also contained referenced to a "dark one" that called himself the Blackguard. It was Sevris who provided the magical spell that opened a portal for the orc invasion to move onto Danberg undetected, but who's master was elsewhere. Bendroden and his crew then returned to Danberg to find it under attack by an undead army. Thier former ally, Haldrin, was also being tried by the Scions for abuse of his powers as a paladin. He also discovered his father had been mortally wounded while helping in the defense of the attack, meaning he was now the Scion. They were charged by the Duke to travel south, the direction from which the attack was coming, and find the source, and took Haldrin along to give him a chance to redeem himself. What they found was the mist surrounded remains of the country of Riverkeil. Moving into the mysts, they found the capital of Riverkeil destroyed and filled with gargoyles. Sitting at the center of the ruins was a massive sepulcher, which they assaulted. The attack on the lord of the sepulcher, a vampire lord named Garishal Raintree, who also identified himself as the Blackguard, was costly - one of his long time friends, Thalinbar, a Continental Elf wizard, was killed by Raintree, as well as the paladin Haldrin. Another ally, Bahen Stihl, was reduced to a gibbering fool by Raintree's magics. Bendroden and his company discovered Raintree had an unnamed master himself, that had charged him with the abduction and subversion of Krysta Carver, claiming her to be a prophesied Neutral Child who would, in a time of great strife, be vital to the gods in maintaining The Balance. Raintree's master wanted her power, apparently looking to challenge the gods themselves. Complicating the matter was the discovery of the szellem, a race of demons that were apparently the lackeys of Raintree's master, and the church of Azak-Dul, a lesser god of tyranny and strife that was also involved somehow. Bendroden put together the Order of the Emerald Circlet, a unit of five of the best female fighters in the known world, who's sole purpose was to defend Lady Krysta. This proved vital as, two years later, when Haldrin made his reappearance, not dead, but apparently the new Blackguard, having been confined in a far away realm where he was turned away from Lykora by Raintree's master. Haldrin ordered a cloud of Szellem to attack the city, a fight which resulted in the deaths of several citizens of Danberg, including the duke's wife and the entire Order of the Emerald Circlet. Despite the heavy losses, Bendroden and his allies were able to assault the floating island of Haldrin, and face the blackguard himself, destroying him, and sinking his base into the ocean off Danberg. Wishing to better protect the young Krysta Carver, Bendroden retired from adventuring and took his father's former job with the Duke, as a religious and moral adviser. He's been doing that since. Currently, Bendroden acts as the duke's seneschal, handling day to day administrative tasks and overseeing his protection. Bendroden is unmarried and has no children, however he has raised his sister, Aydrin, since his father's death.