Piers Garetson

Piers Garetson is an aasimar from the Lost Woods. As far as his memories are concerned, he spent his entire life there until just recently. Raised by fey creatures and gentle woodland spirits, Piers eventually became a paladin who swore an oath to the ancients to defend his mystical home from harm and help those in need.

Physical Description

Identifying Characteristics

A pair of angel wings permanently on display due to his high celestial blood content.

Specialized Equipment

• Serentar, a longsword forged from a Moon's Tear.
• Shield of Farore, an enchanted shield.
• Last Stand Plate: Upon death, possibly banishes certain creatures to their home plane.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Backstory

Piers was born on the 27th of Spring in the year 96. His mother was Sarael, a powerful celestial in the service of Olimandias, and she was often away from the family because of her duties. He had an older sister named Selena. Their father, a knight named Roland Garetson, raised them for several years. Sarael claims that this was for the best, as being raised around mortals would instill them with unique values.
According to legends, Roland enjoyed his time in the limelight while he was together with Sarael, but in her absence he entered a downward spiral after losing his influence. Desperate to retain relevance at court, he eventually found himself pursuing a relationship with a noblewoman in Resden. She did not wish to be partnered with anyone who had children from a previous union, though, and so Roland abandoned both of his children at the edge of the Lost Woods, having heard that lost children either turn into skullkids or become adopted by the fey. It is a legend that is told to warn against making too many sacrifices for the approval of others.
Piers only has a few scattered memories of his arrival in the Lost Woods. He remembers arriving with Selena, but she was unwilling to stay, as she refused to accept this fate and wanted to return to civilization. If Piers wanted to stay, so be it!
Piers was then raised by the local fey and wildlife, learning many important and innocent lessons from them. But the Lost Woods has an unstable and dangerous connection to the Feywild, allowing huge roaming pockets of the Feywild to seamlessly merge with the material plane. Piers became subjected to the effects of time dilation. Time in the Feywild shifts erratically, after all.
So, for Piers, he is only 30 years old. For everyone else on Verden, he's been missing for 600 years.
He began escorting caravans between Hatena and Resden in exchange for armor, or books, or other goodies. He then started working for the Legends Alliance in Hatena and met the rest of the party. He's been adventuring with them ever since.

Hatena

In Hatena, he helped rescue an Alliance agent named Kassan from a succubus, killing his first fiend with an impressive radiant smite. The succubus was a fallen angel named Valonis who hadn't realized that she 'turned,' and she wanted to train Piers for an upcoming war against the forces of Lazu. He was an aasimar. They were meant to work together. This alarmed him, as he never knew that he was different from anyone else. Much less part celestial.
He bonded quickly with Kira after realizing she was undead, with the two having an early session of "real talk," and he vowed to help her fix her ailment.
Together with the party, Piers helped eliminate Alleviator Torrin to prevent the Free City from being forcibly acquired by the Hegemony. During the battle, he managed to convince Hatena's former mayor, Angelo Risanna, to flee for his life -- which prevented him from being used as a hostage.
The Alleviator had a Sending Stone on his person which the party investigated. On the other end was Sarael. Who turned out to be the mother of Piers. Alleviator Torrin had reported Piers the moment he saw him. Sarael asked Piers to meet him in Glenien or Resden. So they might be reacquainted.

Glenien

Once reaching Glenien, Sarael met with Piers and his companions in the palace. She was pleased to see that he was safe and the fey had not treated him harshly. She revealed that he also has a sister. Selena Nadir. One of the rulers of the Labyrinth. According to Sarael, Selena was kidnapped by Chikara Nadir, the evil queen of the Labyrinth, and fell from grace. She is currently trapped in the Labyrinth somewhere Sarael cannot reach, and she would like Piers to go free her, as his half-mortal lineage allows him to bypass the dark wards that guard the underdark realm from full-blood celestials.
Piers's new friends later warned him that Sarael seems a little detached, less concerned with Piers and his wellbeing, and more concerned about what Piers can do for her. Taking this advice to heart, Piers now views his mother with a hint of suspicion and seems to understand that Sarael doesn't truly know what mortal affection is. Only duty. He is willing to free his sister anyway, though, because he's eager to meet her and it's the right thing to do!
Sarael also suggested the group take care of a warlock cult in town to "train" for the battles ahead. In reality, Sarael seemed to know that this cult was being powered by a dangerous osyluth known as The Scarred Devil, and wanted to see how Piers dealt with it rather than dealing with it herself. She likened it to a lioness giving her cub wounded prey to practice hunting.
During this battle with the Scarred Devil, Piers entered a state of radiant power that he'd never tapped into before, able to fly and deal extra radiant damage with every strike. In this state, he eviscerated the devil and showed it no mercy. He has no memory of the event.
He also learned that he is effectively Krud's "uncle," as his sister once adopted Krud! He also learned that his best friend Kira was the reincarnation of an evil queen of the Underdark, but Piers is not deterred at all, for she's clearly a good person and just needed a change of scenery to find the right path in life.

Naydra and Sarael's Fall

Piers accompanied the party to Saravoss, where they met Rhys Cairthel and took his ship to the Naydra Archives. Piers was not selected for the infiltration team for clank-related reasons. Instead, he would remain in the cavern beneath Naydra and rush up to help if needed. Fortunately, Krud spoke to a lovely octopus and the cave team found a secret way into the central vault -- through the trap door normally used to drop criminals into the cave!
It was revealed that the curator of Naydra was a fearsome blue dragon named Zephyran. After grabbing precious items, the party narrowly escaped by way of magic, and then narrowly escaped again by sacrificing Rhys's ship and hiding in the Tiny Hut underwater.
The group then returned to Glenien to rest at Biscus's manor. Later in the evening, Sarael arrived to seize and kill Meera after her identity was revealed. Piers refused to hand over his best friend, doing his best not to lie to his mother -- but rather delay and confuse her with deliberately vague answers. Sarael eventually lost her temper with Biscus's fiery behavior and stabbed both him and Rhys. Leaving Biscus wounded and Rhys in critical condition.
This act caused Sarael to fall from grace and become fiendish in nature. Piers was left in shock, and Sarael was horrified by her own transformation. Sarael fled, and the party decided it was time to leave. They had an.......... axe to grind with the undead in the Lost Woods.

The Lost Woods: Sunniva

Piers enjoyed his return to the Lost Woods and was very happy to be the party's guide. They traveled north toward the ruined Hall of Heroes, which seemed to be the gathering point for the wandering undead. Early in their travels, hints were given that creatures like Redcaps were not allowed to harm Piers. Because of "the lady." Strange. More strange events kept popping up during their hike through the forest. A wandering group of wood elves warned them about a powerful fey woman further ahead, and each member of the group had a dream warning them of grave danger ahead, granted by their various deities or higher powers.
The party found themselves lost in a fog, and Piers saw a ghostly figure in ancient armor in the distance holding a lantern. A strange sense of comfort came over him. He followed the ghost and was led to a quaint little cottage on the other side of the fog. A woman named "Lady Sunniva" was pleased to meet Piers and insisted that he come inside. Piers remained cagey at first, but Sunniva offered her aid to the group. She could give them what they all desired and heal the wounds in their hearts. As a "free sample" of this gift, she transported everyone to a private demiplane.
In this demiplane, everyone was met with people who were important to them -- idealized scenarios of everyone overcoming their troubles. Piers met his mother and sister, both redeemed of their evil natures and happy to see him. The others each received their own visitors. And it was very nice. But a lie. Everyone rejected the gift.
Piers made one deal, though: He wanted to know about his childhood. Sunniva relented and told him the truth. Roland was a gallant knight who loved both his children very much. He wanted to hide Piers and Selena away from Sarael, in a place she could not see even with magic. She told him that would require great power. She asked him if he was the type of man willing to die for his children. He said yes. And in that moment, unknowingly gave his life force to power the ward that would protect Piers and Selena from the Lost Woods and prying eyes.
Selena eventually sensed something was wrong and rebelled against her new caretaker, wanting to take Piers with her. But Sunniva caught her. She was obligated to maintain her promise to protect Selena from harm, but could not keep her there. So Sunniva found a loophole. She used magic to slice off Selena's wings, making her look like an ordinary human, and banished her from the Lost Woods. No one would notice her now. Brilliant!
Piers and the others were deeply troubled by this news. But Piers made a promise to spare her in exchange for the tale, and so he did. After all. His father had made a deal, and Sunniva had technically upheld her end of it.
This act of peace infuriated many members of the team, especially Kira. She reacted violently to his decision, but managed to get over it and move forward after Piers explained his thoughts. It nevertheless left him rattled. And Piers is not a man easily rattled.

The Lost Woods: Killing Jericho, Freeing Hoo'Ax'Dyuu

Piers then focused on helping Abbit free Hoo'Ax'Dyuu. A battle at the Hall of Heroes culminated with a harrowing battle against a death knight named Jericho, a powerful undead caster named Chrono Magus, and a strange adventurer named Gabe -- the last of whom had Hoo'Ax'Dyuu embedded in his back. Krud managed to dislodge the axe and deprive Gabe of some of his unlimited power. Piers once again tapped into his radiant power after Kira was blinked out of existence by Chrono Magus and unleashed powerful attacks.
Eventually, all foes were defeated, and Hoo'Ax'Dyuu ascended to godhood! Piers is not quite sure what the implications of that are, but Abbit is such a nice fellow and would only make good decisions. So another day's act of kindness has been done! With Jericho's defeat, the undead army was destroyed and the Lost Woods was saved.

Vanadiel Missions

Next, the party focuses on their next goal: Freeing Nali Goldenclaws from captivity in Van'Duras. They teleport to the city and meet Eliana, the local enclave leader. They are assigned two additional jobs. First, they are to kill a corrupt wizard named Aurylon Dawnkeep. He hurts students at the local academy by hosting fighting rings at his house. Piers is enthralled by an Elder Oblex in league with Dawnkeep and nearly killed by it in the basement. The party rushes to his aid and chaos breaks out.
Piers is killed for the first time when Dawnkeep uses Power Word Kill on him. He is quickly revivified by Abbit mid-combat, while Kira and Krud intercept the wizard in a blind rage. Both Dawnkeep and the Oblex are eventually killed by concentrated furious group attacks.
The party then saves a village of Gorons from a Hegemony battalion. An exhibition fight at the Van'Duras arena follows but is quickly cut short when Nox accidentally kills someone in battle -- Piers very much attempts to make amends with both the arena owner and the other team. He also spends the night removing all the plants that he grew during the match.

Estuvaris Infiltration

While infiltrating the tower, Piers is forced to use his wings again after a Zal'saar agent frees one of the malice-tainted Clocktown Giants from captivity. He deals considerable damage, using nearly all of his smites. Piers, Nox, and Eliana are badly wounded and fall unconscious during this battle, but are aided by the party after Kira lands the final strike against the abomination.
Nali is then freed from captivity, and Piers vows to stay close by her for the duration of the escape, knowing how precious she is to Krud. With everyone low on energy and power, the party uses their last remaining magic to punch a hole in the walls of Estuvaris and escape with the lower floors of loot left untouched.

Piers Discovers His Protector: Farore

A brief stay at the Lost Woods to rest sees Piers help Nox break his bond with Majora. He invokes the aid of any deity who would listen, and Nayru intervenes. After Nox is freed of his pact, a conversation leads Piers to learn the name of his lifelong guardian: Farore, the Goddess of Courage. She presides over heroism, nature, and wind. Nox is flabbergasted that Piers has never heard of her.
Piers is excited to talk to her again after learning her true name, and finally learns who has been looking after him this whole time.

Chamber of Sages

While Nox trains to become a wizard, Piers spends four months at the Chamber of Sages learning to be a better healer. He asks a high priest at the Temple of Time for assistance with healing his sister's mind. Sage Pruitt offers him the use of a rare device to rapidly restructure her broken mental health, but asks for Piers's help in exchange. Sage Pruitt often travels to the villages south of the Chamber and gives the common folk free medical aid. Piers will help him for those four months -- a deal that Piers is more than happy to accept.
Through those four months, Piers learns how to channel his own reserves of health to cure others more effectively with his healing hands, and he becomes even stronger as a result.

Rescuing His Sister

Piers eagerly goes to the Labyrinth to finally rescue Selena from her Imprisonment spell. It is a place full of fiends, so Piers can smite to his heart's delight! This quest is still ongoing.

Sexuality

Deeply asexual.

Social

Family Ties

• Father: Roland Garetson (deceased)
• Mother: Sarael
• Sister: Selena Nadir
• Nephew: Krud

Religious Views

Piers doesn't necessarily pay close attention to the world's organized religions, but he does receive some lovely chats from a mysterious ethereal voice who claims to be his angelic guide. That's neat!
Even neater: Apparently she's Farore. That's a new name for Piers, but it seems like she's not just a voice, but a goddess! The Goddess of Courage and the woods and life itself!

Social Aptitude

Piers is most notable for being remarkably innocent and out-of-touch with society. He is pure of heart, wants to help anyone in need, and only has the best of intentions. Surely everyone else feels the same way? He's just blissfully clueless and takes things very literally.

Current Status

Active; With Party

Date of Birth

27th of Spring, 96 AC

Year of Birth

96 PC 637 Years old

Parents

Sarael, the Sword of Diel

Roland Garetson

Gender

Male

Eyes

Blue

Hair

Blonde

Height

5'8"

Aligned Organization

The Lost Woods

Known Languages

Common, Celestial, Sylvan