Varick was born a commoner. His parents Bronson and Lilith, were millers for the lumber camps located outside of Restov. At a young age Varick excelled at almost everything he put effort into. Sometimes even excelling at things he did not try to do. He was a handsome young lad who at birth had a heart full of goodness. He always worked hard helping his father with chores around the house and even offering to help his father with his work at the Mill. When at home he helped his mother with her chores and also defended her from obnoxious men at the markets. When not helping out around the house he played “Knights and Wights” with the local commoner children. Varick always insisted he be a Knight for he had no interest in ever playing the undead menace. He loved playing the game and pretending to be a great adventurer. Saving the princess from the snarling trolls and vanquishing the evil undead in the name of the Gods. Growing up he always pushed for his father to tell him tales of epic adventures that the local heroes had undergone. Varick’s parents loved their son and wished they could have provided more for him or afford better education, but their pay and social class made things hard.
One day while out playing K&W with some of his friends Varick found himself wandering into the noble’s quarter. He was declined his presence here by the town’s guard. Varick frowned and thought the social classes were dumb. Although it was here that he saw something that would shape the rest of his life. Soldiers from Gorum marched in their armor and another band of warriors bore the symbol of the Longsword on their coat of arms. They held themselves like they lived a higher standard of life than all others. Varick was absolutely in awe of the simple sight of them. He overheard one of them mention life under the “code.”
Weeks later Varick once again found himself venturing near the noble quarter. Peering in to try and witness the knights and warriors he saw before. To his dismay nothing. But he did however happen to hear the scream of a young girl. He followed the faint cry and saw two younger men hovering over a young adolescent male and a frightened young girl. It looked as if the young men were thugs trying to mug the two noble children. The boy stood fast in front of the girl trying to protect what looked to be his younger sister. The men engaged the young noble lad and began to beat him up pretty good. Left cross to the jaw staggered and dropped the boy to his knee. One of the men kicked him in the stomach which caused the boy’s whole body to keel over. The other man then kicked the boy in the head and knocked him out cold. Varick began to feel the need to help them. To protect the innocents from these thugs. Varick grabbed a sturdy rock and hustled at the men. One of the men at this point had drawn a small blade from his belt and taunted the female with it.
“Your brother is going to pay for trying to save you.” cackled one of the thugs.
“No!” Varick yelled as he lunged at the man with the blade and met his face with the rock. The thug dropped the blade as he clutched his left eye that had been split open from the rock. The thugs partner although shocked from what had happened tackled Varick. The two men entered into a wrestling match. Even as young as 12 years old Varick was as strong if not stronger than the older man he grappeled with. As they wrestled back and forth Varick manged to get the man’s weight and center of gravity shifted over his right leg tripping the man. He punched the thug twice in the mouth before getting grabbed from behind. He was being choked by the man he had hit with the rock earlier. Gasping for breath Varick shoved his thumb into the man’s gaping wound above his eye and slid his thumb down into the man’s eye socket. The man release the choke and Varick and he began to box. Punch after punch they exchanged. Varick took a stout blow to the nose that brought water to his eyes. Passing through the pain and glaring through teary eyes he managed to give the thug a clean right uppercut coming right up underneath the man’s jaw. Life left his mind as his body went limp like a sack of bricks. By this time the other man had gotten up and was making his way to the blade that was lost earlier in the fray. The young girl tryed to move forward and grab the blade before the thug but she was scared as the man came closer.
Varick shouted, “Stay back, go run and get help!”
The girl nodded and ran off. The thug glared at Varick clearly realizing he now had the upper hand.
“It is time for me to teach people like you a lesson. The world isn’t a place for heroes. This isn’t the fables your father tells you. Cause here you die!” the thug lunged the forward at Varick and caught Varick with the blade across the lower abdomen. Varick tryed to jump back and dodge the blade but he was caught. He felt the blood run from his stomach and slowly poor over his lower half. It was only a mere scrap from what it could have been but now Varick was thinking this could be the end of his life. All the days of playing K&W over the years flashed before him. The hero wins. Good overcomes evil. Snapping back to reality Varick readied himself for the man with the blade. The thug lunged in again with a wicked smile crossing from ear to ear. Varick warded off the blade with his left arm and then moved in close to the thug. They fought back and forth for control over the blade. Varick felt stronger, but couldn’t manage to keep the blade completely away from his body. He took a few knicks on his arms and hands, but that was nothing to the wound that found his right breast. Two slashes one vertical and another horizontal found his chest. Varick screamed in agony and then took a deep breath and with all his might managed to break the thug’s wrist thus forcing the man to drop his blade. At this point Varick began to feel lightheaded as his vision began to fade to white. He noticed more and more blood all over himself. The two men separated from their dance. Both men out of breath and tired. But the thug realized he had the upperhand as Varick’s eyes began to flutter in and out. The thug ran at Varick. THUNK. An arrow protruded from the thug’s left breast. He fell to his knees and then finally straight to the floor. Varick took a knee and when trying to gain his breath he passed out.
Later, Varick would wake up half nude with bandages covering his wounds. He found himself in a place he had never seen or could even dream of. Lavish decorations of gold and clean white linens decorated the room. He noticed symbols of what looks to be a woman with the sun behind her. He overheard some low voices of two men.
“He is just a boy how could he have done the things in which you speak? You mean to tell me he practically took down two thugs by himself?”
A deeper voice responded. “Yes father Luther, the guards said the boy had already knocked one of the thugs out after apparently wrestling a knife away from the other to save his own life. The guards took down the man before he could make his last assault on the boy, but it still is incredible this young commoner could do such a thing.”
“Does anyone know who he is?” asked Luther.
“No, just a commoner who wandered away from the markets. The noble’s children said the boy saved them.”
“Noble’s children?”
“Yes the son and daughter from House Meridoth. From what the girl says her brother tried to protect her after the two thugs tried to grope her. They knocked the noble boy unconscious and were going to kill him before raping the young girl.”
“So the commoner saved the two noble children?”
“Yes.”
Some time passed and eventually Varick would learn that he had saved the lives of Jessera and Demitri Meridoth. The only son and eldest daughter of the Meridoth household. Father Luther priest of Sarenrae attended young Varick’s wounds and explained everything that had transpired, even though Varick was at the fight, he did not know everything at hand.
“You have the heart of a paladin young man.”
“A paladin?”
“Yes a knight who swears oath to protect the innocent and defend the people. A knight who lives and fights not for himself but for a greater cause.”
“But I am just the son of a miller sir. I can only dream about being a knight.”
“That is not completely true young lad. There are things that perhaps you do not understand. You have impressed people that are near impossible to impress. Sir Ulric Bardeax champion of Iomodae is very impressed with you. I wish I would have heard about this first, because I would have taken claim to you, but it seems Sir Ulric has beat me to it.”
“Claims?”
“Perhaps, I should have told you. The noble’s who’s children you saved have offered to pay your tuition to join the paladin’s of Iomodae.”
“What why?”
“Because of your great courage and bravery you displayed something that not all men possess. You have the heart of a true defender of good. Sarenrae smiles upon you, but it is through the honer and duty of Iomodae that you will serve.”
“But what if I don’t want to?”
“Do you not wish to be a knight?”
“I do, I have always dreamed of being a hero. I have always wanted to help people.”
“Then what seems to be the issue? Your parents are being spoken to by Sir Ulric now. It seems that the Meridoth family has agreed to sponser you for your courageous actions and thus your status among men will be elevated.”
“What about me family?”
“They will always be your parents. But you will live a life similar to mine. You will swear oath to the church and live witin its walls. You will breath its principles and die for its causes. You are to become a servent to the Goddess of Iomodae. Sarenrae will watch over you closely, for you show a great fire that burns inside you. A fire of goodness that can only be matched by the Dawnflower herself. I wish you luck and know you will prosper. Feel free to stop in at your convenience. I wish to hear great things about you in the future. You will always have a friends here.”
Luther finished up his wounds and put Varick on his way to the small makeshift church that Iomodae housed in New Stetsven. A knight in gold and silver plated armor spoke to both his parents. His father Bronson held his mother as she wept into her husband’s chest.
“Your son will become a knight after he is put to the test of Iomodae. A better life to him than just that as a commoner. You will not be able to see him for years because he must travel miles away to receive the proper training. The noble house of Meridoth has sponsored your son and I cannot thank them more. Your son shows great promise and has proven to be worthy of Iomodae’s cause.”
“Lilith, I know you will miss our son, but we have to let him go. We can’t offer him the life he deserves.”
“You’re right, can I at least say goodbye to my son?”
And that was the last time in 5 years that Varick would see his parents. Varick got a later than usual start at the academy but he picked up everything quickly. Once again Varick excelled at everything. He outshown other students that had been there for years more than Varick. He worked the hardest, helped out more than the others, and he even treated everyone with a greater respect. Varick was the top in his class but never took claim or note of it himself.
After the his training was finished Varick went home on a leave to vist his family. His mother and father both cried tears of happiness when they saw him. He had grown so much and had become a man. He carried the title of Sir. Sir Varick Mueller, champion of Iomodae, defender of the innocent, vanquisher of Evil. It seemed as if Varick’s dreams had come true.
While at the academy he recieved letters from the Meridoth offspring. It seemed Jessera found him to be a hero and wrote often to see how his training went. Demitri would write as well thanking Varick and told him they would be life long friends when he had time after his training. It was here Varick would develop life long relationships.
Varick was fond of the beatiful woman Jessera came to be. He often thought of asking to court her but still was weary of how social classes worked. Besides perhaps it would have been weird if he married his best friend’s sister.
Varick and Demitri became close friends. Demitri looked up to Varick even though he was younger. Demitri wished to honor his house and name by competiting in the seasonal competitions and tournaments. Both Varick and Demitri would enter and participate but both waited for their day of greatness.
After serving the church for his entry years finally Varick was granted some time for leave. Sir Ulric actually had to give order to Varick that perhaps he needed to leave the church for a time and move out into the world to protect innocents wherever he could.
“I hear that the mighty staglord has fallen in the Greenbelt Varick. It is a shame you didn’t have time to go down there yourself and clear the way.”
“You joke often good Sir Ulric, but Iomodae had calling for me here. Perhaps I will take my leave and head to the Meridoth household and visit old friends.”
“You mean that beatiful young girl you saved when you were just a tad lad?”
“You give me too much credit, but yes my friends Jessera and Demitri.”
And so his journey begins. After years of service to Iomodae and the church, Varick takes his training to Brevoy. To meet up with his friends and see what he could possibly get himself into next….
