[Ransom]

New profile (rough draft):

Name: Ransom DeViolana

Age: 24

Height: 5' 7"

Home: None

Description: Dark, piercing eyes peer suspiciously around, flickering from table to table. The dark black cloak that normally obscures his face is flung back, revealing short cropped, dark hair and a deeply tanned face.

Weapons: Serrated bastard sword Ancalagon, poleaxe Ancalagon’s Claw

Armor: Suit of blackened plate mail w/knives, fleshooks, and various barbs protruding

Clothing: Dark leather shirt, green pants, well-worn boots, belt with assorted bags and pouches.

History:

Ransom DeViolana was born in a frontier settlement slightly to the west of the Firien woods, in the Duchy of San’diros. The area was well known for the unusual occurrences and assassinations, and the local governor, Lord Schrader, established an investigative official on staff. Ransom’s father, Sato DeViolana, was one such Inquisitor, specializing in the investigation of witches and assassinations. Lord Schrader was a harsh man, but an extremely capable leader. He did not wish for trouble with witches, and generally offered them two opinions: a peaceful existence with a large subsidy from the governor or death. Sato DeViolana generally spent most of his time traveling, hunting down any witches and attempting to convince them to live peacefully. Ransom’s mother was a healer and a priestess of Esta. His only other family was his older sister named Vaira.

Ransom’s early childhood was generally peaceful. His father taught his young son the art of warfare, for the office of Inquisitor was an inherited position. His mother died when he was eight. A nine-year-old Vaira generally cared for Ransom and her father afterwards. At the age of thirteen, Ransom officially became his father’s apprentice. Vaira, a talented healer in the tradition of her mother’s household, became a priestess of Nienna.

Four years later, Sato was killed by a witch who refused to desist from harming a nearby village. Ransom thus received his father’s office. His first act was to hunt down the witch. This was accomplished in record time, and the offending witch’s head mounted on a stake above Lord Schrader’s fortress. It was during this time that Ransom discovered Ancalagon.

Lord Schrader died the next year, and his elder son died when ambushed by orcs. Thus, the mantle of leadership passed to his second son, High Inquisitor Cross. Cross was a brilliant administrator and, unlike his father, a kind man. The Inquisition disappeared at his command, going underground. They worked in the shadows, ensuring the general peace of the area. It was during this time that Ransom was loaned to the late King Rafflensher the Thirteenth for a short time.

That winter, a force of orcs lead by a mysterious elvish figure sacked the temple-town that his sister was serving at, as well as stealing a shipment of gold mined in the mountains. Vaira was captured and sold. The orcs were ambushed by a small force of Cross’s personal guard under the command of Ransom. Over a hundred orcs were killed. Vaira could not be found.

Cross granted Ransom’s request for leave, allowing him to search for his sister. It took him two years to hunt down her down, locating her in an Easterling settlement to the east of Dale. Ransom, with the help of a few good friends, attacked the settlement and put ever free man in the town to the sword. The slaves were freed, and Ransom took her sister back to his home. She had been beaten and scarred by the ork in more ways than one, and she died the next year.

Rumors of elves commanding orcs trickled back to San’diros, where Lord Cross once again gave Ransom leave to pursue the matter. And so, Ransom traveled back to the lands of King Rafflensher the Thirteenth.

Personality:

Ransom is generally cool and blunt. His service in the Inquisition has taught him the art of dealing with people, and the correct application of force. He values his friends and allies above all else. He worships Mandos and Nienna, and strives to uphold their beliefs. While some consider him cynical and harsh, Ransom actually dislikes causing undue amounts of pain.

The Inquisition on a whole seeks to treat witches with respect, and Ransom generally follows this policy. To him, his responsibility is to protect both the witches and the general population. For him, witches are no different than the general populace. Happy witches are peaceful, helpful witches. Unhappy witches lead to general destruction, mayhem, and death.

While Ransom does know the more brutal methods of torture, he seeks to cause as little permanent damage as possible. A little pain mixed with the illusion of kindness does far more than pure pain. He does not delight in the death of his enemies, nor in causing them physical pain. The one exception are orcs, who he views as little better than animals and only worthy to be cleansed. Anyone trading with or leading orks share in their fate.

Comments? Criticism? I got a bit of my insperation from the Warhammer and Warhammer 40K wargames as well as assorted RPGs I’ve played.

Bit of explanation. I'm trying to give Ransom a bit more character depth then he has right now.

Elenna- Do you want Ransom to adopt a "I-hold-you-punch" attitude toward our new captive? Or a "just-wait-until-Elwyn-gets through with you" attitude?

Carnëiach-Up to this point, Ransom did not know Elanor was a witch. Overall, I don't think his interaction with Elanor will change much. He's just not going to reveal his general background in the near future. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

Edit: Further notes on Religion in San’diros and the Inquisition. Found when cleaning computer drive. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

The people of San’diros believe that the Valar are angelic servants of a single, more powerful god. Thus, they worship or pray to different Valar according to their personal situation. For example, Aule will be worshiped by craftsmen while Este is worshiped by healers and the sick. Mandos, Tulkas, and Orome are popular with soldiers, while Nienna is worshiped mainly by the Inquisition. A system of Valar-specific priests staff small parishes in the counties of the duchy, in addition to reporting any uprisings, assaults, or strange occurrences to the Inquisition.

They believe that Saurun rebelled against their god and that the orcs are those deceived and twisted by his power. The Inquisition supports this theological view, as it is rather useful for directing the rage of the peasants toward useful targets or inspiring soldiers to greater bravery. Anyone found trafficking with servants of the Evil One or plotting with his servants are usually subjected to a long and painful death at the hands of a veteran Inquisitor. For them, absolution for the fallen and lost only comes through death.

The ascendance of High Inquisitor Cross to his father’s position heralded an unprecedented expansion of the Inquisition beyond its original goals. Under Lord Cross, the Inquisition has grown beyond his father's investigative agency into the spheres of religion and the military. Cross granted the Inquisition several garrisons of troops. These troops, publicly Cross’s personal guard, were trained to combat all manners of internal and external enemies. As noted above, the Inquisition also receives some information from priests, though it prefers to stay out of theological matters. The actual number of inquisitors is small, for the High Inquisitor chooses only a small number of loyal individuals.

Cross’s expansion of the Inquisition’s power benefited San’diros as a whole in addition to giving him much more control over internal politics. Internal strife is almost non-existent, and trade with the more populated regions of Gondor to the south and Rohan to the north west have generally enriched the small population. Orcish raids, once a disastrous seasonal occurrence, now break against the highly trained troops of the government.

However, the nobles of the land objected to the Inquisition’s broad power. Some even attempted to rebel. Most of these rebels lost the support of their peasants, and were quickly crushed. A small handful retreated into the mountains, launching occasional raids on San’diros. The Inquisition responded by labling these nobles heritics and gathering forces to launch a decisive assault against the rebels. Back at home, the constant political battles between the Inquisition and the nobles have clamed somewhat in light of the recent stife.

[ October 03, 2002: Message edited by: Ransom ]