Maximus Merilander

(a.k.a. Champion of Greed)

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Maximus is the son of Brindalyn Meralander, a noblewoman of Parga, in the Archduchy of the Heartlands (aka “the Heartlands”), Cheliax. Her husband, Dalvein was an adventurer. He had been an adventurer for many years, and in that time he’d suffered injuries and dodged death while many of his friends had not. He’d also amassed a tidy nest egg. Dalvein had long wanted to court Brindalyn, but she would have nothing to do with a filthy adventurer. Once he purchased land and a title, he didn’t seem so filthy to her. So they married and couldn't wait to start a family.
After a few years of Dalvein coming and going, Brindalyn gave birth to Maximus. She would dress young Maximus in the finest clothes, and purchase him cute toys and baubles, all to impress her friends that couldn’t believe she’d “settled” for a “common adventurer”. She threw his money in their faces. She may have cared about him, but she loved the status that he provided even more.
Dalvein and his adventuring party (Hellhound Company) had traveled to the Mwangi Expanse looking for an obelisk that was believed to hold great power within it. The group followed an old map that led them close to a grippli village. Dalvein was trying to get information from the villagers when a gnome wizard named Jubadeem became impatient and felt a stronger approach would loosen their tongues. He began using magic to make examples of a few of the villagers. This started a fight between the party and the grippli.
The party quickly discovered that the grippli were far from helpless. However, despite their combat prowess, they were overwhelmed by the party’s magic. A warning signal to a group of Mwangi elves was intercepted and the party realized that if the elves were warned, they would be forced to abandon their mission. The only option was to ensure no one could send a warning to the elves. Hellhound Company slaughtered everyone, planning to leave no survivors.
One grippli family fled the village, hoping to get to the elves for aid. The party pursued them and trapped them in a bog, backed up against a cliff face. Jubadeem cast a lightning bolt on the trapped family but they were all standing in the water - grippli and adventurers alike. Jubaddeem had not been in the water and was not affected by the lightning. The grippli father had set his infant son on a cliff shelf just as the lightning struck him. Everyone was killed except for the child being held out of the water - the child who would grow to be the swashbuckling paladin of Desna, Jayvielle.
Jubadeem panicked and returned to Parga. He told Brindalyn that the party had come to the grippli village to get information and the grippli attacked them to hide their secrets. Dalvein had been slain in the attack. Brindalyn became twisted with grief. She had lost her sole means of status, a husband, and now had to raise three-year-old Maximus alone. Once she discovered what a grippli was, she was embarrassed that frog people had killed her husband. She had lost everything, and the only one she could blame it on was the grippli child that lived.
Brindalyn's "bodyguard", a bladeswoman named Sasha, consoled her and assured her that she would be taken care of. Sasha would provide for her. But even a thief could only do so much, and certainly could not keep Brindalyn in the lifestyle she had become accustomed to. Jubadeem was terrified that Brindalyn would learn that it had been he who had killed her husband. But before he could flee, Sasha “persuaded” him to stay and help her make something of young Maximus. He swore to train the child in the ways of magic and diabolism. The boy would bring House Meralander back to - perhaps even surpass - its former glory.
For years, Sasha and Jubadeem drilled the child. Sasha taught him stealth and thievery. Jubaddeem taught him magic. Bindalyn taught him how to be a noble, how to be the man of the house, and taught him to hate. Hate for everyone who looked down on her, and him. Hate those who mocked her for wearing costume jewelry to maintain their appearance. And hate for the grippli child that dared to survive while her husband - his father - did not.
Jubaddeem did confess to Maximus that the grippli that survived may have been marked with something that could lead to an item of great power. Should Maximus find and kill it, try to salvage the skin if he finds the marking. Maximus said he would try as long as the grippli died.

The Long and Winding Road

Maximus began his search with a handful of criminal contacts (thanks to Jubadeem) and a sack filled with platinum pieces. He hired local guides to escort him through the Mwangai to find where his father died. From there, his search expanded to villages and settlements in the region. Naturally, no one wanted to speak to the outsider. Even his guides began to turn on him, feeling he had overstayed his welcome. Maximus returned with his animated suits of armor and, ironically, followed in his father's bloody footsteps. He and his iron brigade began killing their way to answers.
It did not take long before a grippli shaman approached Maximus with information. He said a young child had been taken into the care of humans. The shaman had no other information except that the child had markings on his back. This confirmed what Jubadeem had told him, which was enough for Maximus to leave the Mwangai and begin his search elsewhere.
Jubadeem, at the behest of Brindalyn, would reach out to Maximus consistently. He would inquire about his progress and remind Maximus that the family coffers were not bottomless. Jubadeem would speak, but Maximus could hear his mother's words. He would assure Jubadeem, and his mother, that he had not forgotten his obligation to his family.
From the Shackles to the Mainland, Maximus took bloody side jobs. He dealt with criminals and killers from all walks of life, from human nobles to drow matrons. His preferred jobs became bounties, taking payment in both gold and information. Many who worked in the shadows and hired Maximus found themselves "owing him one." With the coin he did receive, Maximus would send only a portion of it home. The rest would go into his own coffers. His research was not cheap.

Savior

Maximus strengthened his mind and body as he continued his search across Golarion. He would study magic from different cultures and practice with weapons he had never seen before. He also delved into studies of philosophy. As a boy locked away from the world outside his manor, Maximus read many such books to try and understand why things had to be the way they were. That desire continued as an adult. Maximus wanted to understand.
While following a lead to Sothis in Osirion, Maximus seized an old Osirian scroll. The scroll discussed the Akashic Tapestry, time, and fate. Maximus felt as if pieces were falling into place with every word for him. Fate was malleable, not fixed, and shaped by the powerful. Maximus spent a year searching the sands, not for vengeance but for answers.
Naturally, this did not sit well with Brindalyn or Jubadeem. Maximus lied to them, saying he was close to a lead. Eventually, Jubadeem came out to see how Maximus was doing. He found that the boy had become something of a cult hero, being worshipped by the locals in a village. Maximus had impressed the locals with his magic, defended them with his swordplay, and they worshipped him for it.
Jubadeem confronted Maximus, accusing the boy of having forgotten his father. "I was a child when he died," Maximus said. "I do not remember his face, kindness, or anything about him except that he was important to Mother. And you."
Jubadeem began to panic, worried the boy had abandoned his mission. Maximus told him not to worry. Finding the grippli child was now more critical than simple revenge. He had been marked as an infant and survived something he shouldn't have. Maximus believed that significant. Some may have seen that as the gods sparing the child, thinking he was meant for more extraordinary things. Maximus believed that the gods had overstepped by saving him. That caused a tear in the Akashic Tapestry, causing misfortune to everyone in contact with him. "He is but should not be," Maximus said. "For everyone's sake, that must be rectified before everything falls apart."

The Runelord of Greed

Maximus left Osirion and continued his quest, now fuelled with the belief that he was on a more critical mission. His mother and Jubadeem kept in contact but did not push him. Jubadeem had seen how powerful and mad Maximus had become. Best to keep tabs on him but not push too hard.
In Korvosa, Maximus picked up a lead that led him to Magnimar. Once there, he began asking questions. His search led him to Xanesha, and for the first time in many long years, Maximus was given accurate information. The grippli was real and had a name - Jayvielle Deverin.
Before Maximus could move against him, Xanesha warned him about the group Jayvielle travelled with. They were a powerful bunch, and Maximus was alone. She offered him the chance to obtain a powerful artifact to help turn the tides in his favour. A sword had recently been unearthed from a private collection, and that sword once belonged to none other than Karzoug, the Runelord of Greed. An item created by a runelord would be a welcomed weapon in Maximus' arsenal, so he agreed to steal it.
What Maximus found out too late was that Chellan, the Sword of Greed, was sentient. When he picked it up, the sword tried to dominate Maximus. It reached into his soul and dug roots into every shred of greed inside him, which was a considerable amount. Not long after, Karzoug himself spoke to Maximus. The sword's owner was his champion, making Maximus the champion of Karzoug the Claimer.
Karzoug told Maximus what his plans were and what he expected of his champion. When he mentioned that a grippli and his friends were becoming a nuisance, Maximus felt a peace inside of himself. This was why he had been put on the path. This was why he had been trained. Karzoug was meant to be free and reshape Varisia into New Thassilon, and the anomaly disrupted matters again. With renewed purpose, Maximus Merilander began to plan.

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

Growing up, Maximus spent a great deal of time by himself. When he wasn’t training, he would read books on philosophy. He twisted his view to “invent” reasons to hate Jayvielle because his mother wanted him to. She would punish the child and blame it on “frog people.” On some level, her reasoning never made sense to him, so he subconsciously found a way to justify it.
According to Jubadeem, Maximus' father Dalvein was supposed to be alive. The trap that killed everyone should have only killed the grippli. Fate marked the grippli known as Jayvielle because he was “wrong,” a deviation in fate. He is not the Chosen One; he is the opposite. He is the mistake. Maximus focuses his magic on divinity, time and fate because he believes he must make things right. Jayvielle has disrupted the proper flow of history, and put a tear in the Akashic Record. He has caused a ripple that, if left unchecked, could cause the Akashic Record, the psychic library of all knowledge, to fall apart. For the sake of everything, and his Mother, Maximus must end Jayvielle.
However, once he possessed Chellen, the blade twisted his purpose. His sole devotion was to Karzoug the Runelord of Greed. No one, not even Jayvielle, could be allowed to get in the way of the Runelord's conquest of Varisia.

Social

Family Ties

• Brindalyin Merilander (Mother)
• Dalvein Merilander (Father, deceased)
• Sasha (Mother's "Bodyguard")
• Jubadeem (Gnome wizard, former friend of Dalvein)

Hobbies & Pets

While not a pet, Maximus does have a fondness for animated suits of armor. As a young adept, Maximus would animate suits of armor so he would have someone to play with.  As he became older, the armor became more refined.

Current Location

Xin-Shalast

Honorary & Occupational Titles

• Lord of House Merilander
• Champion of Greed

Gender

Male

Eyes

Brown

Hair

Brown and Shaggy

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Light skinned

Height

5'11

Weight

184 lbs