Ariovistus of Helm.

[Delexos]

A development of the personal history of Ariovistus of Helm.


I.


Although unknown to Ariovistus, the paladins legacy can be traced back to the notable house of Crassus in his distant homeland of the Vilhon Reach.

The tradition of house Crassus saw male offspring taken at birth by the Helmite temple to be educated and trained by the formidable clerics and paladins who held the high honour of protecting the most sacred temple situated within the whole of the Vilhon Reach.


During their rigorous physical and mental training the young boys underwent constant observation and evaluation, testing designed to determine whether the novices would be taken under the wings of the religious clergy to one day become the next generation of dedicated clerics or guided under the watchful gaze of the battle hardened, holy paladins. Groomed to one day join their elite battle brothers and sisters on the front lines of holy war, leading the first charge against the foul heretic, the necromancer, the cultist and the vile minion of the corrupt pantheon of evil.


From the first day of joining the temple until the completion of a sacred vision quest the novices would never know their family name, having no existence beyond that granted to them by their duty to Helm. Each child would receive a first name by the Senior Steeleye of the temples forces, from that day forward they would be addressed by this name with the addition of the suffix "of Helm" to reinforce the idea that they belonged first and foremost to Helm.


And thus it was that the temple admitted and named Ariovistus of Helm.

[Delexos]

II.

It became quite apparent from an early age that, the often silent, Ariovistus possessed a natural force of presence beyond that of the other candidates. Despite rarely speaking with any of the other boys it was observed by his trainers that the novices seemed to feel more confident and calmed when Ariovistus was nearby, his presence alone reassuring and inspiring the others.


This positive influence was often most notable during combat drills, through sheer force of will Ariovistus demonstrated a resilience and an ability to push himself past physical exhaustion. Silent and stoic he would deliver blow after blow upon the training dummy, hands cracked and bleeding from the rough wooden handle of a carved oak bastard sword, never once uttering a sound. So inspired were the remaining novices that they would push themselves harder still in an attempt to impress him.


It was not long, however, before word of Ariovistus reached the Senior Steeleye of the "vigilant eyes of the Deity". As supreme authority of the forces marshalled within the temple his decision was quick and simple, though its effects would further forge the young novice into a sacred defender of the faith.

[Delexos]

III.

The order was given and Ariovistus was removed from the cramped, bunk lined, novices barracks and found himself in a small, narrow, spartan room. The remaining novices were further spurred on by promises that, should they continue to push themselves like Ariovistus, they too would soon rejoin with him once more.


A simple wooden cot draped in a rough woven hemp blanket adorned one wall of the tiny chamber, and facing it, no more than two paces away stood a small wooden desk and stool. Placed upon the desk were a collection of assorted items. Several, half used, candles occupied one corner, thick trails of wax had secured their position of prominence long before Ariovistus had ever entered the temple, and stood as a silent testament to the children who had travelled this path before him. The remaining items consisted of a large sheaf of loose parchment, several pots of ink, two raven feather quills that had seen perhaps decades of usage and two sheets of uncured leather hide with a spool of rough thread and a needle.


Finally there sat, unopened, a thick, leather bound tome containing the teachings and holy words of Helms most sacred faith. Written entirely in Draconic, a language used primarily by those involved with the arcane, it was the young candidates task to translate and copy the entire tome into common, the new holy tome would be proof of the novices intimate understanding of the faith as well as to arm the young holy warriors with knowledge of the language of his enemies.


Above the door a wooden effigy of Helm had been affixed. The eye of the ever watchful Helm, tireless and unblinking to forever stare down upon the young prospect, a notion that was drilled into Ariovistus at every opportunity.


Despite it all, or perhaps because of it, Ariovistus rose to the task, under the strictest and most regimented of conditions the novice flourished.

[Delexos]

IV.

Shoulders squared and jaw set firm, carrying the weight of doctrine and the expectations of his elders, Ariovistus of Helm stood resolute, unrelenting. No matter the strain he would not bend, would never falter. By the age of twenty two, now with an almost permanently stern brow, he had earned his first station as an official novice of the "Vigilant eyes of the Deity" and only now did the young man come to realise just how long the road to paladinhood would truly be.


It was during this time that Ariovistus was introduced to Overblade Ezekiel Skorn, an aged paladin with a long and storied past of distinction. Overblade Skorn had long since been rewarded the honour of his family name having had served the temple as Inquisitor in the distant frontier settlement of "Frontier Falls", enacting the divine providence of Helm he had rooted out, and eradicated, Heretics, Necromancers and Vile Cultists.


Overlord Skorn did not rest upon his laurels, he was further rewarded for distinction as he stood fast and aided in holding the line against an unending torrent of undeath in a cursed land that became known as "Necrosis".


Skorn was a harsh taskmaster to serve beneath. Full of hellfire and righteous damnation, his sermons were delivered full of the tales of holy crusades against the forces of corruption, all the while the crack of a cane resounded throughout the room as the heavy cane struck the students exposed and scarred back.


This indoctrination of pain and religious ferver conditioned Ariovistus further still. The more pain he withstood, the longer he resolutely accepted the pain the closer he came to ascending to the storied greatness of those who had come before.

[Delexos]

V.

The process of transformation from novice to full paladinhood was a protracted event that could not be stopped. With the passing of days into months, months into years Ariovistus of Helm became ever more focused, determined, relentless in his studies and utterly devoted to the holy mandate of Helms watchful gaze. The testing continued, sermons echoed through draughty halls both day and night, the crack of wood upon flesh became like the mechanism of some great clock keeping pace with the slow, eternal march of time.

At long last Ariovistus was elevated, accepted into the full service of the Vigilant Eyes of the Deity, he had earned the honour of full paladinhood.

Service to the order required Ariovistus to travel the length and breadth of the Vilhon Reach, often he would be dispatched to aid in guarding merchant caravans or to seek out the practitioners of the dark arts and purge them before their corruption might spread and infect the innocent. Heretics, cultists and the impure fell before the vigilant warriors blade, Ariovistus became a symbol of the unrelenting determination of Helm's divine faith, unshakable and unwavering.

It was at the age of thirty when Ariovistus of Helm received a moment of divine clarity, a moment that would forever alter the Paladin's path. During the seventeenth hour of continual, silent prayer, whilst stood before the holy altar of Helm in the main temple chamber, the Paladin suddenly found himself overlooking a large sprawling valley, it was a place completely unknown to Ariovistus, a place he had never visited during his years of travel within the Vilhon Reach. The setting rays of a blood red sun dropped slowly behind a distant range of snowcapped mountains to the west, the dying light cast a glare that reflected in the Helmites eye and momentarily dazzled the Paladin. Raising a hand to shield his eyes Ariovistus discovered that he was naked, no longer armoured in the full plate he had come to rely upon as his second skin, as these confusing details registered in his mind he regained his focus and found himself now watching a scene beyond all imagining.

A great shaking of the land began to occur before his unblinking gaze, the world around Ariovistus began to rupture and crack apart, a giant dust cloud formed around the epicentre of the geological activity and with a massive groan that rumbled and reverberated around the whole valley the dust cloud was unleashed, spewing forth at terrible speed.

This was the power of an entire city breaking free of the valley floor.

Stunned by the incredible sight Ariovistus was caught flat footed, standing in awe of the steadily ascending city the dust cloud was upon him. Bracing for impact and expecting to feel the very flesh scoured from his bones the Helmite stood in readiness but found himself perplexed that he felt no pain, the dust and debris passed over and around him at a truly monstrous speed, the vicious howling of the wind deafened him to all but the sound of his own beating heart.

As the Paladin glanced down at his own body he began to detect a subtle shimmering radiance that appeared to encase his entire form. Suddenly a searing pain erupted from his left shoulder, turning his head he watched as a much more powerful glow erupted from his skin and a symbol of Helm began to take shape emblazoning itself upon his bare flesh, Stoic and silent he accepted the pain as he had accepted the many lashings of the cane, as he had accepted being stripped from paternal love as a babe.

"Your Faith, your Armour"

The words appeared from nowhere, before his very eyes they illuminated themselves against the backdrop of the raging dust storm that even now continued to swirl around him. The light of the glowing letters began to spread, becoming brighter and more encompassing until the scouring maelstrom of debris had been replaced a warm infusing radiance that flooded Ariovstus' senses. As the glow subsided the Paladin now found the scene before him had transformed. He now stood at the edge of a giant crater, huge blocks of earth and rubble cascaded down from far above, some small dot in the sky marking the resting place of the unknown city that had taken flight.

The image faded once again and now Ariovistus found nothing but darkness, the glow that surrounded his naked body had gone and he could feel the oppressive gaze of malignant forces, somewhere out there in the inky blackness was a power of corruption far beyond anything he had encountered during his work for the Temple, suddenly he detected a light seemingly buried in the dark that flooded his mind and sought to take hold in his heart. The light was faint and barely noticeable at all but determined and steadfast Ariovistus he pressed forward, slowly, ever so slowly the light became more constant until finally, after what had felt like an entire age, the dauntless Helmite reached his destination.

There before his eyes was a holy relic of antiquity, a blade forged of a material that glowed with a divine radiance even in the world so utterly devoid of light that he now found himself within. Ancient holy sigils shimmered upon the flat of the blade which cast their reflection deep behind his eyes and seemed to penetrate to his very core, he had never seen marking such as this and yet, as if by instinct alone, he knew what he now beheld.

"Ever Vigilant"

He knew the name, though he had never heard it mentioned before.

"Ever Vigilant"

The words swam in his mind and the symbol of Helm upon his shoulder glowed. Ariovistus had never once considered himself anything less than complete, and yet now he knew what it truly meant to be whole. The blade resonated within the core of his being and he reached out to grasp the hilt in his rough and calloused hands.

"Ever Vigilant", it was one of the children of Helms own most holy blade "Ever Watchful", as these thoughts passed through the mind of Ariovistus the glowing mark upon his shoulder faded and like a fine morning mist the image of the blade and the utter darkness that surrounded him became as smoke and drifted away to once more reveal the dark granite slab of the altar to which he had been holding his silent prayer.

Ariovistus of Helm, at the age of thirty had received his holy vision quest.