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Character Description:
Kilinthanos SerpentHelm is a man of great mystery. He knows
little of his true background. All that he knows is that he grew
up amongst a family of Wood Elves in the forests north of
Highmoon, in Deepingdale. He is the son of a great human warrior
and ranger, Gunther SerpentHelm, and his wife, Thalina
SerpentHelm, a silver dragon who was cursed to live in human
form. The circumstances of his mother and fathers death are
unknown, but his soon to be Elven family happened upon the
SerpentHelms burnt down cabin while traveling through the woods.
The SerpentHelms had been a known friend of elves in the
forests, and Faerun had lost a noble warrior that day. The elves
found the only survivor, the infant Kilinthanos, remarkably
still alive amidst the rubble of the wood cabin. Taking the baby
back to their home and raising it as their own, Kilinthanos grew
up among the trees, learning from the elves all about the
harmony of nature. His practiced swordplay with his brothers,
all capable warriors, and learned of the ways of the Ranger from
his father. At the age of 15, Kilinthanos traveled with his
eldest brother to Waterdeep, to pick up something for his father
in the City of Splendor. Captivated by the city, Kilinthanos
stayed behind while his brother returned home. Kilinthanos, a
young boy not accustomed to the fast paced city life, soon had
near all his belongings stolen from him, and himself had to take
to a life of thievery to get by. He caught the eye of a skilled
Assassin, Jonathon Evermoon, and the Rouge took the young man
under his able wing. Learning the ebb and sway of the back
alleys, Kilinthanos took to the life fairly quickly, himself
becoming an able Rouge. He petioned a local Bladesmaster to take
him in as an apprentice, fascinated by the art of swordplay. The
master, sensing something within Kilinthanos, accepted the
student. Kilinthanos studied under his master by day, and moved
about the allies with Jonathon by night. It was during this time
the two thieves ran afoul of a Wizard by the name of Lichtor
Amalith, an elven mage of moderate power. Instead of being
insulted by the attempted robbery, the Mage offered to buy the
two a drink, and the three have been friends ever since. Soon
after this, the blademaster informed Kilinthanos that he had
nothing left to teach him, and gave Kilinthanos a magical blade
of great power. Kilinthanos was honored but confused, as he had
only studied under the master for a year and a half, not
traditionally long enough to learn all a master had to teach.
But a ten-day after Kilinthanos was dismissed, his master died
of natural causes. Apparently having foretold his own death, the
master wanted to give Kilinthanos one last gift before he passed
on. Kilinthanos was still young, a tender 17 years, when he
decided to travel back to Deepingdale to visit his family.
Jonathon and Lichtor agreed to travel with him, and they soon
set out for Kilinthanos' homeland. It was during this trip that
Kilinthanos discovered that he was truly more gifted than anyone
had thought. The group was ambushed during the night, camped
somewhere near the High Forest. The attackers outnumbered them,
and easily overtook them. Tying them up, hanging by a tree from
their arms, the thieves began to take their belongings.
Apparently not content with just robbing them and stringing them
up, the bandits took turns whipping them. All three companions
still bear the scars of this encounter to this day. Kilinthanos
felt his skin burning with anger...but the burning sensation
soon began to grow, and he swore his skin would soon burst into
flames. His blood boiled, and sweat leaked from his pores.
Suddenly a bolt of silver fire burst from his hands, severing
the rope holding him to the tree. He dropped to the ground on
his feet, and turned to face his attackers. The muscles in his
arms strained and corded as he snapped apart the rope that held
his wrists together. His eyes glowing with flames, and waves of
heat rolling visibly off his body, Kilinthanos cut quite the
intimidating figure. The brigand with the whip launched an
attack at the Ranger, but Kilinthanos shot another bolt of
silvery fire from his outstretched left hand, which hit the man
square in the chest. The man was thrown to the ground, a smoking
hole in his chest. The others turned tail and ran, but
Kilinthanos managed to shoot another down before they
disappeared into the forest. He cut his friends down the mundane
way, with a sword, and the three recovered their belongings
before sitting down to discuss Kilinthanos' newfound powers.
Kilinthanos remained awake for the rest of the night, pondering
the origins of his power. Kilinthanos spotted a figure on the
horizon, approaching the camp. He quirked an eyebrow as an
ancient looking sage sat down beside him, his other companions
still asleep. The mage looked Kilinthanos over before speaking.
"Boy...just listen...don't speak. You are gifted with an
extremely rare ability, Spellfire. As you learn to use its
power, you will become more powerful, and soon you will have
little to fear from most mortal beings. But that is a long ways
off... you must consider the fact that evil men will want your
power...and you must strive to keep this a secret from all. Your
companions are trustworthy, but most others are not." The sage
handed him an object wrapped in cloth. "This was your fathers, a
blade whose power has waned in years past during a magical
battle. You must climb to the top of the Lost Peaks and dip the
blade into the Fountains of Memory. Trust your instincts boy,
and yourself." With this last statement the sage rose and
started off, slowly making his way down the road until he
disappeared over the horizon. He traveled to the Lost Peaks, and
restoring the swords magical powers, and made his way through
the deadly wastelands of Anauroch. While a challenging road to
travel this was, it paled in comparison to what lie ahead. The
story of how he met his ladylove is indeed a strange one, and it
lies next in the tale of his life. Traveling through the Thunder
Peaks, still on his way home to Deepingdale, the three
Companions decided to stop and rest around midday. They had
passed a small lake on their way through the gap, and
Kilinthanos split away from the others to backtrack there and
take a much-needed bath. Making his way through the small grove
of trees that surrounded the lake, his eyes caught something
moving in the water. Moving closer he noticed it was the form of
a woman, stripped of all clothing, wading waist deep in the
water, singing softly as she bathed. Kilinthanos blinked several
times, afraid that the beautiful woman before him was a mirage.
To his relief the woman was still there when he opened his eyes,
now washing her beautiful flame red hair. Her beauty stunned
him, and for the first time in his life, the Ranger felt
butterflies stirring in his stomach. So captivated was he, that
he failed to noticed as his heel settled back into a small
berrygobbler hole, throwing Kilinthanos off balance. He slid
down the sloped ground, the hilt of one of his swords getting
caught in a tree and ripping the scabbard from his belt as he
fell. He splashed loudly into the river below, and as he
surfaced, caught sight of the woman, now hastily dressed in a
white undershirt, coming straight for him with a sword. He
managed to avoid her first strike, yanking his second sword from
his belt and parrying her next attack. He scrambled backwards as
she continued her assault. "Pervert. You foul hearted pervert!"
the lady screamed as she attacked. He managed to stumble back
onto land and throw off his cloak, which while wet was quite
heavy. He gripped his long sword with both hands as he stayed on
the defensive, avoiding her attacks. "I'm sorry! It was a
mistake...I just happened upon you." "Right! That’s what they
all say you dirty bastard!" she screamed as she continued the
attack. "But your the most beautiful thing I have ever seen!" he
called back between parries. "Do you have any idea who I am
worm?" she yelled. About this time, several men in ornate armor
come running around the tree line, brandishing swords of their
own. “Your highness!" the man in the lead called as he rushed
towards Kilinthanos. He launched an attack at the Ranger, who
was busy dealing with the princess, but he still had time to
bring his sword back to parry the mans attack. He looked quite
the swordsman as he parried blows from both the woman and his
new opponent, the man who was apparently some sort of guard. But
he saw another man rushing to join the melee, and Kilinthanos
knew he couldn't handle three, especially since the woman seemed
to be gaining an upper hand now that his attention was diverted.
Kilinthanos slammed the pommel into the mans chest, and
snatching his sword from him, elbowed him in the face.
Kilinthanos turned to face his remaining opponents, the woman,
and the man who just joined combat, as the other man fell to the
ground. "You highness, are you okay?" the new man asked. "Yes."
she answered, and Kilinthanos looked confused. "That’s
right...I'm the Princess of Cormyr, dungbrain." The Rangers eyes
went wide as he studied the woman. The standing guard took this
opportunity to attack. Kilinthanos parried the less than perfect
attack, and countered with a foot to the inside of the mans leg.
The man fell to the ground on his knees, but a kick to the side
of the head saw him find the rest of the way to the ground
easily. The woman seemed impressed as she sized Kilinthanos up.
"And you are whom stranger?...Other than a soon to be dead man."
Kilinthanos bowed with a flourish of his swords. "Kilinthanos
SerpentHelm milady." He returned to a defensive position.
"Indeed...you are quite the warrior...but can you stand before
my blade?" What followed was a battle between two great
swordsmen, a dance of death so beautiful that one could not
describe it. But in the end, Kilinthanos prevailed, launching a
well-placed attack that saw the Princesses blade fly from her
hand, and into the ground behind the Ranger. He placed his
magical blade against her neck. " You are beaten, Princess." She
swallowed and stared coldly at Kilinthanos. "Indeed, I am yours
swordmaster." "Nay, I could not own a beauty such as yours...its
deserves to be free. But what I do desire is your heart..." With
that, he lowered the blade. He thrust the guard’s blade into the
ground and his own back into his belt. In a swift move that
surprised her, Kilinthanos embraced the princess, and kissed her
deeply. Also, to her surprise, she found herself kissing him
back. They remained this way for some time, before he leaned
back at the sound of more of her guards approaching. He slid his
family’s signet ring onto her finger, his most prized
possession, and moved back. "We shall meet again...until then."
he bowed and retrieved his cloak before disappearing into
forest. They did indeed meet again, in the lair of the dragon
Thraxata. In an epic inspiring battle, Kilinthanos saved the
Princess from the dragon’s mighty breath, absorbing it with his
Spellfire powers, and slaying the dragon. Soon after,
Kilinthanos and the Princess, Alusair Obarskyr, were betrothed
to be married, and Kilinthanos now makes appearances in Cormyr
as a Prince, and can currently be found somewhere in between the
Palace in Suzail, and his home of Deepingdale. |
