Alduin

Alduin was an azlanti warpriest of Irori who was imprisoned before Earthfall and sentenced to life in stasis buried in the Abyss.

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

As a pureblood Azlanti and disciple of Irori, Alduin maintains peak physical and mental conditioning on his road to divine "self-perfection".

Specialized Equipment

Alduin had several powerful magical items. However, the most powerful item was an aeon runestone known as the Heart of Azlant. He used it as an ioun stone to fight the Faceless Ones and their aberrant minions. After his betrayal and imprisonment, the Heart of Azlant was returned to Alduin's secret lair and protected by the construct Nigel until Alduin could retrieve it. The construct was equipped with medical protocols, and Alduin had Nigel imbed the aeon stone in his chest to prevent it from being stolen from him again.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Over ten thousand years ago, the azlanti known as Alduin, devout warpriest of Irori, fought against the aboleth who had enslaved humanity. He was part of an organization known as the Phoenix Crusade, freedom fighters who hoped to free his people from their control.
The aboleth, the faction known as the Faceless Ones, could not stop him directly. Instead, they used subterfuge and turned his allies into thralls to manipulate Alduin into walking into a trap. He was caught, tried and found guilty of treason by "his people." However, rather than killing him and creating a martyr, Alduin was sentenced to a stasis term. He was entombed within a stasis pod and Plane Shifted into the endless void of the Abyss, never to be heard from again. Time, and the event known as the second darkness, would erase him from the history books.
As fate would have it, Alduin's pod would be discovered by a group of adventurers known as the Guardians of Golarion. They freed him but were hesitant to remove his bindings. After all, what kind of person is bound and dropped in the Abyss? Questions were asked. “Why are you chained up?” was their most important.

Because I did terrible things to terrible creatures. In my attempts to root out the corrupting entities within the halls of power and leadership, I was forced to do many unsavoury things. I had to do the unthinkable to keep the Faceless Ones off-balance. I am not proud of my actions, and while unfortunate as they were, I can only hope that the blood spilled was enough to wash away the corruption. I did what I did for the betterment of my people. People died on both sides of the conflict. I hardened myself to the fact that, with enough blood, the Faceless Ones would lose their grip and my people would be free of their control. Are you familiar with Alghoullthu? Powerful and ancient creatures. They dominated key people and played them like puppets, indirectly controlling us all. They were clever. We were ruthless. Ultimately, the Faceless Ones gained control over my allies and I was captured, tried, and punished. I can only hope that, after I was sent away, my people could rally against the Faceless Ones and gain their freedom.

When it was explained that thousands of years had passed and his people were no more, Alduin was obviously shaken. He was taken to the great library of Minas Amer, where he could be brought up to speed. He met a gnome there named Naebler who spoke Azlanti, and together they worked to integrate Alduin into his new reality.

Brave New World

Alduin and Naebler set out on "field trips" to expose Alduin to the new world before him. The Azlanti wanted to gather some personal items that had been hidden away before his incarceration, but he had no idea if the area existed. It turned out that it did exist... at the bottom of the ocean. They needed a ship.
Captain Joseph Lorune needed to make some serious money. Luckily, Alduin and Naebler had that serious money and hired them to retrieve some personal items near the ruins of Old Azlant. The crew was hesitant, but several platinum bars later, the ship set sail.
After spending weeks with the azlanti, his presence seemed to have an effect on the crew that the Captain was not pleased with. Alduin was tall, handsome, physically imposing, and had bold confidence that quickly won over the crew. Despite Alduin assuring Lorune that the Captain was just that, the crew seemed to look to Alduin for guidance.
After weeks of sailing, they reached the location Alduin needed. He dove over the side and swam to a doorway concealed in a coral reef now hundreds of feet thick. Several minutes later, Alduin breached the surface with a hoarse gasp. The air in the cavern was cool and fresh, just like he knew it would be. Even after all this time, the enchantments still seemed in place. He swam to the shore, pulled himself up on the smooth rock, and then collapsed in exhaustion. The exertion from shredding his flesh against the sharpened stone-like coral while holding his breath had taken a toll on him. He pushed aside the frustration of not being at full strength. Spending several millennia in the abyss had extracted a terrible price he continued to pay.
But he was Azlanti. He would endure. Just as soon as he caught his breath.
He heard the sound of metal scraping against the stone but did not move, even as the sound approached him. He lay on his stomach, bathed in a new, dim light. "Hey," said a metallic voice. "You are naked."
"Your eyes still work," Alduin said as he stood up. "What about the rest of you?"
A metallic humanoid covered in dust. His eyes glowed, as did a triangular pyramid embedded in his chest. "I am well. It is good to see you again."
For a moment, Alduin felt a wave of emotion wash over him. Nostalgia. Connection to the past and his life before his betrayal. "It is good to see you too Nigel."
The construct looked at Alduin's bloody fists. "You are injured."
"It is not important. What is the status of Sanctuary? Have there been any visitors since I left?"
"Just one."
Only one other person knew the location of Sanctuary. But since he had betrayed Alduin, it was possible he may have told others. He had to be sure. "Oromir?"
"Yes. It appeared that he gained access using one of your scrolls."
Alduin frowned, the anger of the betrayal still quite raw. The Faceless Ones had mentally enslaved Oromir, but that didn't lessen the sting. "What happened?"
"I killed him before he could react. I stripped him of his belongings and destroyed his remains. There have been no other intrusions since then."
"My armour?" It was more of a question rather than a statement.
"It is where you left it."
Alduin breathed a sigh of relief. "Very good," he said with a growing grin. "Very, very good."
He walked past the construct and moved deeper into the cave. Lights magically came to life, illuminating the cavern. It was filled with various items - treasure, weapons, everything a resistance might need. Alduin walked past all of it and stopped in front of a glass cabinet. Inside was a full suit of armour, finely crafted out of metal scrounged up from across Golarion and beyond. Things might have turned out differently if he had been wearing that armour when the Faceless Ones made their move. There might not have been an Earthfall. The Azlanti would rule the planet.
But for now, a sole Azlanti would have to do.
After Alduin had successfully retrieved his hidden cache, he hosted a celebration for the captain and the crew. They opened the cork on several recently discovered bottles of azlanti wine and spirits, which turned out to be borderline toxic. Alduin's superior constitution helped him fend off the adverse effects, but the rest of the crew became staggeringly drunk. Far too deep in his cup, Captain Lorune confessed to Alduin his desire to become a great adventurer but admitted he didn't know what skills he needed.
Alduin smiled, something rare for him, and claimed he could help. He took Lorune back to his quarters, something Alduin had never allowed before. He presented the captain with one of the items he had retrieved from his cache. It was a crystal shaped like a small egg that glowed a faint blue hue. Barely able to stand, Captain Lorune tried to eat the egg. Alduin kept him from choking and told him to look at it. Lorune watched the crystal for several long moments. The room began to spin, and just before he lost consciousness, Joseph Lorune thought he saw something inside the crystal move. The Captain then fell unconscious.
Captain Joseph Lorune woke the next morning to an unfortunate and unbelievable sight. His ship was parked on the side of the Lost Coast Road, and the azlanti was gone along with most of the crew of the Mighty Maiden.

A New Path

As Alduin continued to explore the new world, accompanied by his new band of cronies, Naebler began to get homesick. He appreciated the adventure, but he felt Alduin was doing fine on his own. The gnome bid him farewell, and the two parted ways. Not long after, many of the Mighty Maiden's crew who had joined him, also departed. They were used to life at sea, and not the life of discipline that Alduin inflicted on them.
Alone once again, Alduin met a fellow adventurer in a tavern. The woman was a member of something called the Pathfinder Society, and the premise intrigued the azlanti. He insisted on joining, hoping to use the society to gain knowledge of the lands he used to know and forge himself on the path of self-perfection and divinity.
Alduin joined the Pathfinder Society as a field operative. His divine healing was an asset, as was his hunger for knowledge and prowess in combat. In return, the Pathfinder Society rewarded him with coin, and more importantly, experience with the world and the people within it. The teachings of Iroiri and the exposure to a vast collection of peoples seemed to have softened the azlanti's view of himself and others... slightly.
For Alduin, the Pathfinder Society was his best avenue to discover if any of his people survived Earthfall, and what exactly happened to them during the events of Earthfall. He was not there to save them, or free them. He was betrayed, and in that betrayal Alduin left unable to prevent the destruction of the proud Azlanti people.

Fort Rannick

Venture-Captain Sheila Heidmarch offered his services to a group of adventurers known as the Saviors of Sandpoint who were sent to check on the Order of the Black Arrows at a place called Fort Rannick. Alduin, indebted to the Venture-Captain over a prior indescretion that she helped him out of, agreed to the arrangement.
The party ran into a group of ogres on a farm near the fort. Alduin watched as the party rushed headlong into the farm without any plan. Consequently, they were badly beaten and nearly killed. When they discovered that the Black Arrows had been overthrown and ogres now occupied the fort, the adventurers wanted to attack it. Alduin voiced his concern as a handful of ogres almost killed them due to their lack of planning. A fort filled with ogres who had killed a group of elite hunters was a suicide mission, especially when there were smarter options.
The Saviors of Sandpoint insisted on attacking. Alduin refused to throw his life away, as his goals of one day saving his people were far more important. He would get reinforcements from Magnimar, and soldiers would retake the fort. Alduin was teleported back to Magnimar by Kadrus Stormblade, an ally of the adventurers. He reported to Sheila Heidmarch, and within the day, Alduin was leading thirty militia to Fort Rannick.
Once they arrived, Alduin learned that the fort had been retaken by the three surviving Black Arrows and the Saviors of Sandpoint. He realized he should not have abandoned them and had enough faith in his survival abilities. He apologized to the Saviors and returned to the Pathfinder Society.

The Test

At the Starstone Temple in Absalom, a temple guard named Jylen met Alduin as he meditated outside the bottomless chasm surrounding the temple. Alduin admitted to having come to speak to the young man specifically, among other revelations. Alduin told Jylen that he would help the young man find his true path, much like he himself had. Of course, Alduin's true path was bolstered by the glowing Titanforged Wyrmstone embedded in his chest.

Failures & Embarrassments

Alduin views his greatest failure as not saving the Azlanti people from destruction. He had fought to free them from the enslavement of the Alghollthu so the Azlanti could achieve their true potential. He was stopped before he could defeat the Alghollthu. He was imprisoned in the Abyss during Earthfall. In Alduin's eyes, he was unable to free them or save them.

Morality & Philosophy

The teachings of Irori seemed apt for Alduin. As an Azlanti, perfection was always expected and never too far away. Being put on the path of self-perfection helped Alduin develop spiritual strength as well as physical.

Current Status

Interlude Five - Divine Might Makes Right

Species

Azlanti

Gender

Male

Eyes

Violet

Hair

Blonde

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Tanned

Height

6'5"

Weight

237 lbs