Damos

"I detect evil on the carrot." Damos

Damos is a human paladin in The Faultless Arrow. He joined the party for the journey to Two Sisters, and part of the Dewport campaign, but probably guessed where the wind blows and left before the party murdered the grandmaster of the Knights of the Holy Flame - his church's military order. His Lawful Good alignment is thus intact. He spent some time hunting vampires in the forgotten elven city of Osh Allanar under Dewport, after he learned that the Knights (for some reason) stopped searching for the bloodsuckers (the Faultless Arrow didn't tell him that they replaced the grandmaster with a doppelganger). Eventually the war came, and he joined with the rest of the Knights at battle of Kaedwen crossing. He recently lost his mount so he was unable to keep up with the cavalry and had to join the main forces, which saved his life - all the Knights perished in that battle. After the Royal Army retreated he decided to stay and help from the shadows. He tried his best to save the local villagers from being enslaved or pressed into the service of the Crimson Tide. He shared what little food he had with the hungry and healed the injured while the Tide was hunting for him. Somehow he survived that ordeal and made his way to the besieged capital just in time for the battle of Oringrad. That time he fought till the bitter end, he took part in the final desperate charge against the Legion. He died with Pelor's name uttered with his last breath. His faith in the righteousness of his cause never faltered, he assumed that the evil forces joining the battle were just enemies of the Imperium, not allies of Rubia.

With Pelor's help
The events that followed are unclear. Below is a possible way of how things ended up the way they are, clearly not to be trusted because the Church of Peloroften embellishes stories about saints and martyrs, especially when nobody knows what truly happened.

In the besieged city of Oringrad, there was a small but luxuriously decorated church of Pelor, under the care of Father Randomname (a possible relative of captain Randomname). The congregation spend the battle praying for help from Pelor but as the Crimson Tide entered the city most of them fled. Still, there were 12 devout servants of Pelor that, despite the chaos and destruction around them, kept praying on their knees. Among the 12, there was a righteous family with 4 kids, ayoung couple who just got engaged and gave a generous donation to the church, a charitable nobleman who donated regularly, and three beggars who lived near the church. Father Randomname knew that there was nothing he could do to save these people, only their Faith could deliver them from this evil, so he set up everything for a last mass, where he would call upon Pelor's power.

First, he summoned a servant of Pelor from the Outer Planes (he casted Lesser Planar Ally) and a Blink Dog appeared. Someone in the church laughed "How is a dog gonna help us?", but the 12 devout believers kept praying. Father Randomname said to the dog: "We offer all the riches in our church, we offer everything we have to Pelor, in exchange bring me the one who is most blessed with Pelor's power, bring me our Savior" thinking that he had no idea what he just said. The dog though listened attentively, barked two times and disappeared. So did all the gold, gems and ornamentation. Minutes felt like hours. There was banging on the doors of the church, and claws scratching the roof: some of the Tide's griffons lost their riders fighting Zoralth, and were searching the battlefield for easy prey.

Finally, through the wall where the altar used to be the dog reappeared, dragging the body of a man. The dog then barked two more times and disappeared. Most people in the church were angry: "Pelor is defeated! His champion is dead!" but the 12 believers kept praying. Father explained: "Our savior will rise from the dead!" and started the Raise Dead ritual with 3 diamonds that he kept in his robes. All this time he was thinking that he shouldn't even have had this spell prepared, they are all going to die within minutes anyways. The griffons meanwhile tore a hole in the roof, and got inside. People were screaming and trying to hide in corners, but it was all in vain as the predators poured into the church. The 12 believers kept praying, kneeling on the floor. Then the through the power of Pelor the wounds of the dead champion closed and he awoke. Father Randomname besought him: "Who are you, young warrior? Do you know how to save these people?" "I'm Damos, father, a paladin of Pelor. Let His Light be with us, and His Wisdom will show us the way"

Damos did not have his spells, but his sword never left his side. He unsheathed it and charged at the griffons, scaring them away. They perched on the ceiling bars, watching the congregation with hungry eyes. But then, through the windows of the church, a red glare appeared, replacing sunlight, which was dim by that time. Somebody looked out of the window and shouted: "An edict is being cast! We're all doomed! Even the Sun is gone - Pelor has abandoned us". Yet Damos did not give into despair, he looked at the approaching firestorm then closed his eyes and started the familiar chant: "Pelor's angels, pray for us throughout our life, and in an hour of our death...". When he finished he turned to Father Randomname: "Father, I know how to save us, Pelor showed me the way." In that moment of need his Faith triumphed over Despair and so Pelor granted him his Paladin Mount - a creature from the Outer Planes that he can summonr at his will, with intelligence far beyond that of an animal whose shape it assumes. He asked the crowd to make way, and called for his mount, but nothing appeared. Someone laughed again "Your Pelor is useless". At that moment, the church doors was breached and Tide fighters started pouring in. But as they entered, they stopped in fear. Everyone raised their eyes to the ceiling. A shining griffon appeared and descended in front of Damos. They communicated telepathically, and Damos explained Pelor's will: both Griffon and and the Father should Command the other griffons to Fall. They will only fall for a moment, but that should be enough for the brave ones among them to jump into their saddle. Someone interrupted: "But the griffons will tear us apart!" but Damos quickly overruled him: "That's what Pelor commands. No time to waste!" Father Randomname commanded the griffons to Fall, Damos's griffon cawed something 6 times, and all the griffons under the ceiling fell on the floor. Some men tried to approach them, but were pushed away by the Tide soldiers who jumped into the saddles of some of the griffons, hoping to use their former mounts to escape the burning city, but they were immediately torn apart by the beasts. The church floor was ran red with their blood. At the same time, one of the meteorites that came with the firestorm hit the roof and exploded, starting a fire and leaving a massive hole. Everybody started running, only the griffons commanded by Father Randomname were still on the ground, now with fear in their eyes as they smelled fire. Then 5 of the 12 believers stood up: three beggars, the nobleman and one of the young lovers, who always wanted to be a hero. He said: "When there's a fire, every animal flees, forgetting to hunt their prey even if its right next to it". Then he said "I will see you again My Love!" to his lover and jumped in the saddle. The griffon tried to shake him off, but didn't attack him. The three beggars and the nobleman followed, and also remained unharmed.

Damos mounted his own griffon, as that cawed for the others to follow him. Damos shouted: "Time for Pelor's last miracle, father! See you on the other side!". Father Randomname stepped down from the altar, joined hands with the other 7 of believers and casted Plane Shift, hoping to survive for a day in another plane and then Plane Shift back. All 8 of them disappeared. Griffons did not need to be instructed further, their only concern was to get away from the fire, they cared little about their riders. Once they were out of the valley, Damos's griffon grabbed the others from their saddles and safely placed them on the ground. The other griffons didn't attack them as they were still frightened by the fire, instead they kept on flying until exhaustion made them fall. Meanwhile Father Randomname managed to guide the other 7 true believers back to the Prime Material Plane although they ended up far from Oringrad. In the end the young lovers had to travel 600 miles to reunite, but Pelor guided them. Pelor be with us all.

Life goals
After her latest trip to the Imperial City K brought back a large number of useful and exotic items (which she "liberated" from their previous owners), including a copy of the A.I. 65 Winter issue of the Minthras Vogue. This periodical was mostly filled with useless speculations on whether next year red or white will be "the new black", with the exception of the last page which included a personality test. Damos always wondered what kind of person he is (apart from being a lawful good paladin) so he filled it out. Below are his answers:

Do you have some goal or ambition?

"Just to fight on as a Paladin is all I ever hoped for. Also, every day I have the opportunity to convince one of my companions to follow Pelor's way is a good day indeed."

'''Do you enjoy your current work and lifestyle? When do you plan to retire (if ever)?'''

"Questing is a must for a Paladin. Retire? Never! No matter how many times my arms need to be regenerated, if there's still strength in them to hold a sword I will fight."

Have you done something you are really proud of?

"Pelor! One time He addressed me directly. There is no greater honor."

Have you done something you are ashamed of?

"When I was cursed by the Sorrow my determination and faith faltered so I was forced to consume the souls of innocents. I don't know if I can ever atone for this sin, but I try every day."

Are there groups or certain people that you sympathize with?

"I met Prince Gregor, he was pretty cool. I also have respect for everyone who sacrifices for Pelor and the Gods, like Hierarch Hammelfarn, the The Burned Man or the Knights of the Holy Flame."

Opposite of the previous question: Are there groups or certain people that you despise?

"Whoever uses Edicts for slaughter. Griffon riders that are evil. Vecna shit. Illithids."

What are you afraid of?

"Illithids, Edicts, Eating souls, Being a slave. Resurrection (I don't want to die any more times, unless Pelor wishes it)"

Only after filling out the questionnaire did Damos realize that by evaluating this personality test he might commit the sin of vanity, so he started a two week long fasting to atone for that.