Theophilus Chandler
Brother Theophilus Chandler
Former Master Chandler, now an Adept of the Ordo Magna Mater Misericordiae.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Normal, if a bit taller than average human. 5'11", 175lbs
Identifying Characteristics
Tonsured.
Special abilities
"Soothing word" - can counter fear or sway mob/hostile crowd twice daily.
Clerical turn undead.
Abililty to perform minor acts of theurgia.
Apparel & Accessories
In public he is in ecclesiastical garb. On the road or in a tight spot he is in leather armor.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Background: Village near Varim
Former Profession: Acolyte, Master Candlemaker
Theophilus, 3rd son of Lucernus the Chandler. Grew up in a family of master chandlers, known for their fragrant tapers ("Strands of Maya's Hair") made from the beeswax of the wildflower fed honeybees of the local apiaries. A normal progression into the family trade; 'prenticed to his father, then a journeyman along side his brothers, finally recognized as a Master of the Worshipful Guild of Chandlers (Varim based).
While preparing extra tapers for Sypheros, the outbuilding Theophilus and his brothers were working in caught fire. While Theophilus was quickly able to exit, his brothers were caught. Crying aloud to Maya for mercy, he swore he would dedicate his life to her if his family would be spared... Theophilus rushed back in and as the other family members recounted, he seemed to miraculously emerge with a brother under each arm. The brothers had some scorches, and a bit of smoke inhalation, but recovered quickly. Theophilus was completely untouched and unharmed.
Theophilus told his family of his vow, and it was agreed that in light of Maya's intervention, that he should enter into the service of the Mother of Mercy.
Gender Identity
All man, baby.
Sexuality
Must remain chaste until marriage, straight.
Education
Master Chandler.
Standard priestly education at seminary.
Employment
Adept of the Ordo Magna Mater Misericordiae
Failures & Embarrassments
Nigh slain by...frogs.
Mental Trauma
Frogs, man....frogs.
Morality & Philosophy
To promote Maya and her faith, those of the Ordo Magna Mater Misericordiae devote themselves to the following:
1. Feeding, clothing, and sheltering those in need
2. Comforting the afflicted and imprisoned
3. Ensuring all receive the dignity a proper funeral
4. Advocate the granting of forgiveness to all who sincerely repent.
Must remain chaste until marriage, Must be tonsured until marriage, May not slaughter livestock or eat slaughtered meat (pescatarianism)
Taboos
May not slaughter livestock or eat slaughtered meat (pescatarianism). May not own or sell slaves.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Service to Maya, for the saving of his brothers.
Social
Contacts & Relations
Family outside of Varim.
Family Ties
Family of Master Chandlers near Varim.
Religious Views
Adapt of Ordo Magna Mater Misericordiae - follower of Maya.
Social Aptitude
Comfortable in public roles, advising the Great.
Wealth & Financial state
Modest.
Priest of Maya, Mother of Mercy. Former Master Chandler.
View Character Profile
Alignment
Neutral Good
Current Location
Species
Ethnicity
Honorary & Occupational Titles
- Master Chandler
- Adept of the Ordo Magna Mater Misericordiae
Year of Birth
89 PR
26 Years old
Birthplace
Outside Varim
Children
Current Residence
Itinerant
Gender
Male
Eyes
Brown
Hair
Brown
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Somewhat light olive
Height
5' 11'
Weight
170lbs
Quotes & Catchphrases
- "F-f-frogs!"
- "By the Hammer of Ator, you shall be avenged!"
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Related Reports
- A Brush with Death in Morbida Swamp!
- Journey to Akbyset: Once Was Lost
- Nomen Infernale XLV: Its Tail Sways Like a Cedar
- Nomen Infernale XLVIII: I Shall Fill Abythos with Djinn and Men Together
- Nomen Infernale XLXXV: They Are Routed Before Us
- The Forgotten City IV Report
- The Forgotten City VII
- The Forgotten City VIII
- The Forgotten City XIV
- The Forgotten City XIX
- The Forgotten City XV
- The Forgotten City XVII
- Aeriscan
- Church Rexan
Universal...?
So much I have pondered. My stout comrades seem to be interested in naught more than grave robbing - even my wild threats have been turned aside by honeyed tongues, and distractions.
But...am I being distracted by minor transgressions...from the larger goal? Mayhaps. Many a night have I struggled with the joint charges laid on me. Was it just the soothing words and the pleasing visage of Sister Sophia of Eknopolis that led me down the path of the Porta Clavans? NO! I truly believe it is so! I felt the fire of Eylos, and have accepted the path of the Paladins. It is just and so it must be.
Whyso, do I doubt? I ask this in vain...I truly know. It is the failure to save Zahur. Was it the lack of power of Lamos? NO! Was it a failure of Maya's mercy? NO! I...I am to blame. I was able to save the young betrothed of Zahur...but why not him? The lack was in me...not Lamos, not Maya, nor Eylos nor Ator. I...I am not as strong as was needed to save. This redounds on my lack of purpose.
As I was first instructed...as a Porta Clavan...this is good, but is it enough? No. Evangelize the Wem? This is a right and holy purpose! The name of the Plague God - is this just the Greatest Distraction? It may be. Yes, it is a dire and grave thing...but what if it is more, than just this simple, demonic threat. What if there is more to what I, Priest of Maya, Adherent of Eylos, has to do?
What if, as I was instructed - the evangelizing of the Wem is more than a simple good deed? What if the TRUTH of the Pantheon is about us all? That the obedience to the Law of Ator, the Mercy of Maya, the Observance of Bira, the Healing of Lamos...is not just for some? What if ALL can pass through the Porta Clava, and gain Ourana? Is not the opening of the Door more than just a help for a few - is it not the help for any that are favored now, but ANY that would honor Ator, Maya, Bira, Lamos, Eylos, and the Pantheon? Can not they ALL gain Ourana?!
Mayhaps it is my purpose in Tel to proclaim that ALL, no matter who they be - Human, Wem, Keb, Oumani, Dwarf... can gain Ourana, if they Follow the Law of Ator, show the Mercy of Maya, heal and comfort as Lamos, Honor Life as Bira, and all the Pantheon. Will this not Seal the Age Of Tel, and bring us to the next, Golden Age? A "Universal Porta Clavan Church of Tel"? GUIDE ME MOTHER MAYA, FATHER ATOR!
I must ponder this...as I seek to instruct or chastise my company fellows. We have a greater purpose than the simple robbing of tombs and despoiling of graves.
...and the need to depose the Lich King Of Rexa.
The Northern Company's Agreement
After so many trials, perils and shared danger... entry into the Keb royal domain pushed me to cure an early neglect. Tho' we are a registered Company with Her Majesty, we have no formal agreement amongst ourselves.
It shames me just a bit, to ask this from stalwart friends and comrades such as The Company...but Ator's Justice may need this to be on hand someday. So, I have humbly crafted a few pages, for our Company to swear, promise and vow to uphold.
The Agreement of La Compagnia Septentrionale
We, the Members of the Company, do promise upon our sacred oaths, to follow this Agreement.
I. The Company shall only undertake voyages, quests, errands, assignments, hired tasks or duties upon a majority of Members being agreed.
II. All payment for any acts shall be divided equally among the members of the Company, with a one-half share being set aside for retainers.
III. All arms, armor or equipment acquired during a Company activity, shall be delivered to any Member of the Company that would improve their arms, protection or equipment. Any dispute shall be mediated by a mutually agreed being, or a member of the Company, who stands to gain no item.
IV. All items that are magical in nature shall be delivered in the same way as Part III. Should an item not be understood as to what it does, it shall be retained by the Company until it’s powers or nature can be determined. If not useable or beneficial to any member of the Company, it shall be sold as soon as practicable and the sale proceeds split as in Part II.
V. All acquired coin, gems, jewels, jewelry, art, furniture shall be disposed of as in Part II, with the following conditions;
a. Hirelings are paid all agreed sums due,
b. All debts incurred by the Company are paid (to the extent possible),
c. The Company Common Purse shall be granted enough to keep the Company victualled, mounted, lodged, healed, clothed, supplied and armed as needed to continue on any further voyages, quests, errand, assignments, hired tasks or duties.
VI. All Members of the Company shall use their abilities as best they can to support, defend and aid other members of the Company. Members of the Company shall not knowingly attack or harm other members of the Company, the Company’s hirelings, or retainers.
VII. All training, arming and equipping of retainers, followers, apprentices of individual Members of the Company are the responsibility of that Member. The Company may agree, by majority vote, to provide arms, armor and equipment for such, out of the Company Common Purse.
VIII. In the case of irreversible death (within one week of demise) a member of the Company shall be entitled to a burial or disposition according to their wishes, faith, creed or whim.
IX. Hirelings, retainers and those rendering assistance to the Company shall be treated with care and regard for their safety. If needed, the Company shall make proper burial or disposition of both remains and property of such beings that aid the Company.
X. Any member of the Company breaching a part of this Agreement may be cast from the Company upon a vote of 2/3rds of the Company members (not including the accused). If removed, the Company will also vote by 2/3rds as to whether any payment or provision shall be given to the former Company member.
XI. Members of The Company may only be added by unanimous vote.
The Members of the Company, as listed below, do so swear, vow and promise.
Alexandru Croitoru
Asbjørn Þórsteinnsson
Kegho of Ashkuz
Riven Telstandis
Teleptyon Marathonos
Theophilus Chandler
12th of Kythonia, 184 ED
The Loss and the Restoration
ABUTHOS! No! It could not be that I was falling into eternal damnation with my worthy companions... Mercy to your servant, Mother Maya! But I did not see the Mother of Mercy. Saint Stephanos, instead, came and laid a grievous accusation upon me. I had been severed from the Pantheon because I had participated in a sacrifice to a demon, Akhen-At-Im. Bewildered, I proclaimed my innocence to the Saint. But he said my condemnation sprang from throwing one of the mushroom creatures that pursued us in the Tomb into the pit below....where the demon lurked. My only path to redemption lay in the Monastery at Azda Oasis, where I was to seek out the Grandmaster of the Paladins of Aelos.
We set out after some business, to which I hardly paid attention, in the souk. Not far into the night, I was caught unaware and poisoned by a great scorpion of the desert. Only by remembering the Calming Words of Mother Maya, did I manage to not become an unwitting victim of the scorpion slaying avenger, Asbjørn. My connection with Maya and Lamos sundered, all I could do was try to employ my own miserable, secular healing skills. Brave Asbjørn knew of an herb that would help draw the venom forth, but it remained unfound by my companions.
Then the very winds turned upon us next...what more vexations could come down upon us? Was this all my doing?! We managed to survive the winds, but our faithful camel, Mercy, was gone. It appeared that thirst and hunger would now be our guides across the sands to Adza. But soon others wanted to forcibly join our band...the fierce Dogmen! My valiant companions managed to slay or drive off the terrible foes.
Our band managed to locate Mercy, with a band of Tarqite nomads. They wisely parleyed and offered hospitality, and we were reunited with our Mercy. After a rough night, we followed our Scout to Azda at last. It appeared a great battle had taken place, between the Paladins and the Dogmen. Were there no end of terrible doings in our path. I could only hope my way back to Maya would not be so perilous. I confessed my error and my dream, and was taken to see Grandmaster Prodromus. I had come to the right man! The Grandmaster had his own vision of a penitent brother who would restore the Monastery's fortunes by retrieving the Founder's relics and making a proper pilgrimage destination of Azda.
My penance was assigned - I was to be scourged by flame and by Aelos. To face this mortification of the flesh, I was fully healed of my wounds and the scorpion's venom. After being washed and stripped bare, I was set before the desert heat...and the burning rays of Aelos. My sin was cleansed in fire, and the voice of the Mother of Mercy was mine to hear again! And though my skin was burnt and blistered, I was back in the embrace of Mother Maya, the stern guidance of Ator and all others of the Company of the Heavens.
I knew my fortunes had turned, and insisted we set out for the tomb of the Founder. Good Fortune was with me, I knew!
Eknopolis Days
It took 3 days to shake of the torpor that overtook me, the result of our ordeals, and the bloody night that ended them. Finally, after prayer and fasting, The Mother of Mercy helped me to regain my wits and purpose...
I quietly sounded others out on their stance on the gladiator arena and it's apparent staffing with many unwilling men and beasts. Of course the Church's position is one of opposition to slavery, but this ... issue, was too close to both the Eknoi temporal powers and the culture that exists here. I did make some valuable contacts with those that feel as strongly as I do about this - particularly Sister Sophia and Father Elefthería - but I may have made myself an annoyance to some of the hierarchy. I must be more subtle in future. I have no desire to try and help, only to be sent to a priory at the ends of the world and only able to preach to terns and gulls. I must admit, also....to see the animation in Sister Sophia's eyes when discussing this, draws me further on as well.
But as I meditated and prayed over both the eyes of Sister Sophia and the Church hierarchy, something new came on the scene, and it distracted me and everyone else. The Porta Clavans have come to Eknopolis! I had only heard a faint rumor or two of the Sister preaching the Doors Of The World being shut to us. The very thought has terrible implications - for me, for all souls of the departed, and the worldly powers that care not to rouse themselves or stir the wrath of the Lich King. If she is right, that Mount Auronus can no long be the path for us all to reach the abode of the gods... then her call for a great Crusade would be impossible to not answer. The secular powers in this city-empire are quite dismayed by this new movement. They held fast by the sacrifice of the Martyrs, and they have become quite comfortable in their safety and their wealth. "Why should we provoke the King of the Dead?" they proclaim. Alas, the League is too scattered, small and weak to mount this kind of Crusade. Without Eknopolis' riches and her fleet - the Crusade would be nothing but a brave gesture.
When we return from the great deserts, I must see how the Porta Clavans have fared. And if Sister Sophia is still there...
Theophilus Chandler
The Return to Fort Merula
Only by the Grace of the Mother of Mercy and the Justice of Ator did we make it back to Fort Merula. Hell-spawned nightmares of lethal frog-beasts being ridden by invincible goblins made sleep fitful and elusive. But finally we were back to whence everything started...Fort Merula. We were most shabbily treated, and all but held to ransom at the gates - apparently the Doge himself had been assassinated. This had not made the already brusque and surly town guard any more gentle in their manners. I unloaded my burden of books on the wizened official quizzing us, and he claimed he would see they made it to Father Decimus. I made no mention of the riches the others carried, hoping my show of indignation, and many pounds of religious tomes would tamp down any hopes of ill gotten gains to be taken from my stout companions.
Securing a space at the Inn (for two weeks, with a bit of the silver from my share of our...gains, I made myself presentable and reported to the church. I had to break the sad news of the apparent loss of young Tarn and his followers - but also the joy of the eventual triumph of Nayea, Maya and Ator over the horrid fish god of the Nar. I, of course, handed over a goodly portion of the remaining silver and gold I had been given...and it was readily taken and locked away. It saddened me to see quick attention (and strong boxes and locked rooms) being paid to silver and gold - as if they were relics of earlier virtue. But the killing of the Doge had men's minds fixed on this world, and earthly concerns. I had no word of the tomes I had turned over, other than an assurance they would make their way to the church.
Keeping a bag of cupric for my few needs at the Inn, I was determined to do what I could to spread the mercy of Maya on this downtrodden place. I observed the few mendicants allowed to beg for alms, tended to gather near a somewhat slovenly kept house, near the edge of the market area. Strangely enough, it appeared to be the domicile of a hulking, one-eyed half-orc. Putting aside my initial wave of suspicion, I decided to speak to the fellow. Ashnog, the half-orc, related to me that he had done what he could to help these pitiful beggars - but was at his wits end. Perhaps this was a fitting need that Maya had steered me toward? I agreed to return this evening to render what help I could.
I had hoped to bring along some of my companions, they all had skills or abilities that would be valued. In retrospect, it would have been much better to wait for them. However, Zhuge was determining if he would even remain here, or return home. Riven had never been seen since walking off from the temple, and I could not find Alex or Keg-ho. The brave wolf was not visible anywhere either. Perhaps the town was too confining for Keg-ho and the valorous canine.
I reached the slovenly house at sunset. Knocking, I was readily admitted by one of the alms-seekers I had seen earlier. I asked after Ashnog, and was directed to the next room to see him seated at a table. He stood and greeted me, and I blessed him in Maya's name. We discussed the poor situation here, in this house, and in Fort Merula. Had Ashnog not sought the aid of the Church here? An orcish snort of contempt was all I got in return. I mentioned that I still retained some coins of silver and gold, and might be able to buy in food and clothing to help... when suddenly a burlap sack was pulled down over my head from behind. I reached for my purse when my arm was wrenched away with a fearful crack. Crying aloud for Maya's aid, I was able to push backward and stagger back to the doorway of the room. My good arm was enough to get the sack off my head as I bolted from the house, limned with Maya's Light.
Back to the Inn, where I made my way to my room and appealed once more to The Mother of Mercy, to heal my arm, which was clearly broken. Bathed in her radiant mercy, the bones knit...but a scar where the break had occurred was still there. A fitting reminder of how I had erred, and one I shall leave be. Exhausted though I was, I went to report this to the night watch. I was met with disinterest and disdain. I returned to the Inn and vowed to take this up again in the morning...
I arose early and made my devotions. I broke my fast in the common room and went to the Town Guard. After my explanation, two bored looking men-at-arms accompanied me to the house. It was deserted - no mendicants outside, no half-orcs or waylayers inside. After a short discussion, the guards agreed to ask at the gate if such persons as I described had passed. And, to my dismay, they had. "First thing this morning, horse cart with a half orc and 4 humans rolled out...headed south. Seemed to be in good spirits, they did."
I can only hope that Ator will avenge his wife's servant by having them run into the giant f...f...frogs of the swamps.
