The Background of Caitlyn

            Caitlyn, the paladin aspirant, is fifteen years old. She hails from the Kularian Empire, the so-called “Empire of the Sands”, far to the south of Fishside and the Malabolian Empire. Caitlyn was born in the Sharmoon Oasis, a Kularian city renowned for gambling, prostitution, and intoxicants. Caitlyn’s birth name was “Khatlin”, meaning “innocent one.”

            Caitlyn’s mother was Dalia, a slave and a whore. Caitlyn never knew who her father was, but she and Dalia were owned by Tae-nu the Snake, the foul tempered proprietor of Ishtar’s Slipper, the most notorious brothel in the Sharmoon Oasis.

            Dalia was a loving mother, but she was addicted to Parva Oil, one of the intoxicants that made Sharmoon infamous, and made Tae-nu rich. Most of Dalia’s time was spent either working or indulging in the oil, so Caitlyn was often neglected and forced to fend for herself. Tae-nu made sure she had plenty of food to eat and fine clothes to wear, and he made sure she was not bothered by the brothel’s patrons, but beyond that he did not care for her. Because Caitlyn was one of the only children of the brothel, she had few playmates, and love was largely absent from her life. Her only friend was Naga, Tae-nu’s massive attack dog, who shared his master’s nasty disposition. Even Tae-nu was afraid of Naga sometimes. But Naga warmed up to Caitlyn. He followed her around, and made her feel safe.

            When Caitlyn was five, she found Dalia beaten to death in their private quarters in the tower above the brothel. Tae-nu and his bodyguard were in the bedroom, covering up Dalia’s body. Caitlyn never found out what had happened to her mother, and Tae-nu rushed her out of the room. Within a week, Tae-nu sold Caitlyn at the Slaver’s Market.

            Caitlyn was purchased by a scarred and sunburned old northman, bent and crippled by the toll of his years. The old man traveled with a huge slave, a younger northman who never spoke. Just by looking at the shape of the younger man’s face, Caitlyn could tell he was simple minded. These two men frightened her immensely, and she was certain that her lot in life had taken a turn for the worse. She missed Naga, and she even missed Tae-nu.

            The two men took Caitlyn from the Sharmoon Oasis and traveled north. It was a month before she started to believe that they honestly meant her no harm. The old man was named Amos. Like Tae-nu, he was imposing and he did not speak much, but there was also something very different about him. He was kind to her, and there was much sadness in his eyes.

            When she asked about his slave, the mute, Amos laughed. “Caleb is no mute. He just hasn’t had much to say for the last twenty years. And he’s not my slave, either; he’s my son. And once we get home, if you want to be, you can be my daughter.”

            Amos and Caleb took Caitlyn to a beautiful horse farm outside of Fishside. She learned that this was Amos’ childhood home, long, long ago. He introduced her to the horses, and showed her to her room. Inside the bedroom, alone for the first time in weeks, Caitlyn finally allowed herself to grieve for her mother. When she was done, she decided to stay.

            Caitlyn spent the next five years living on the farm with Amos and Caleb. Amos became her father, and Caleb became her big brother. He even spoke to her once in a while. He seemed to be unable to pronounce “Khatlin”, so she became “Caitlyn”. It was a new name for her new life, and they were both wonderful.

            Amos was gruff and scarred, but inside his crippled and withered body beat the heart of a great paladin of Tayne. Amos embraced his role as the protective father for his two adopted wards, now that his days of venturing out to challenge evil monsters were over.

            Amos taught Caitlyn about the Path of Honor and dedication to Tayne. He told her that it was Tayne’s will that led him to rescue Caleb and adopt him, just as it was Tayne’s will that had let him to her. He told her that he saw inside her the potential to someday become a paladin even greater than himself.

            Caitlyn learned that although Caleb was not a smart man, he was sensitive and wise. To the outside world, Caleb was just Amos’ idiot son, a man who was good with a horse, but who had never been known to speak. But Caitlyn learned the truth about her brother. Caleb was in fact a cleric of Tayne, trained by their father. What’s more, Caleb was not fully human, he was actually a half-orc. Caleb wore a magic amulet which allowed him to masquerade as a human. He could have worn a fully normal human face, but he and Amos had decided that it was better to wear the face of a simpleton. A few observant people had some idea that Caleb was a holy man, but only Caitlyn and Amos knew that he was a half orc.

            Amos and Caleb taught Caitlyn as much about Tayne as they could, but Amos knew that he was no longer young enough and strong enough to properly train her. He would need to send her elsewhere before she was ready to begin to walk the Path.

            When she turned ten years old, Amos sent Caitlyn away to the Academy of the Sun, in Malabolia. The Academy was administered by the Church of Throntis, god of Strength and of the Sun, and a great patron of paladins.

            Caitlyn knew of Throntis, because there was a temple dedicated to his worship in Fishside. She knew that Tayne and Throntis were companions, but she was skeptical about going to the Academy. While Tayne was thoughtful and altruistic, Throntis was militant and intolerant. But she followed her father’s instructions, and enrolled in the Academy. She also knew that Throntis was a much more popular god than Tayne. While Throntis had an actual temple dedicated to his worship in Fishside, Tayne only had Amos and Caleb, and a few gray haired townsfolk who would occasionally trek out to worship at the farm.

            The Academy of the Sun was where all the soldiers of Throntis were sent to learn their craft. The Church of Tayne, being much smaller than the Church of Throntis, had no counterpart to the Academy. Tayne’s soldiers were usually trained by individual mentors, but they were also sometimes accepted by the Academy in order to foster good relations between the two similar faiths.

            Caitlyn arrived in Malabolia determined to make her father proud. Superficially, she was treated well, but she faced a distinct undercurrent of prejudice, both because she was woman, and because she was a follower of Tayne. The Church of Throntis directed female devotees to become priestesses, and not soldiers. And Caitlyn was the first devotee of Tayne to enroll in the Academy in twenty years.

            As the first few weeks passed, and Caitlyn had not dropped out of school, the hazing began in earnest. Her primary nemesis was a young man named Marco, who was the same year as she. Marco Laurentis was the latest in a lineage that dated back to the founding of the Academy. He was a purist, who objected to any student not devoted to Throntis. He maneuvered against Caitlyn during the whole of their five years at the Academy, but she persevered and graduated with honors.

            During her time at the Academy, Caitlyn spent each summer at home on the farm outside fishside, and these summers were the only times she would see Amos or Caleb. Each summer, Amos had become increasingly weak. When she saw him at her graduation in Malabolia, she was shocked at how frail he had become. His wits were still sharp, and the power of Tayne still resided within, but the mighty paladin had become a mere shell.

            After the graduation ceremony, she and her family traveled back to the horse farm. Within a week of their return, Amos took ill. He told her that he was proud of her, and he made her promise not to stay at the farm, and instead to carry the word and the deeds of Tayne out into the world. She made her promise, and a month after her return to Fishside, her beloved father was gone.

            Amos had a small funeral, held on the farm. Caleb performed the ceremony, which was attended by only a few friends from town, some of which were shocked to find out that Caleb could speak, albeit in broken, simplistic common.

            The Church of Tayne in Malabolia sent no dignitaries to pay their respects to Amos. They did however send a letter, delivered by halfling courier, offering their gratitude for a lifetime of service. The Church of Throntis, never one to be outdone, sent a silver holy symbol of Tayne, as well as a similar, albeit more ornate, letter of commendation. The letters have been framed, and are now hanging on the wall of the farm house. The holy symbol hangs around Caleb’s neck, next to a simple wooden amulet. The wooden holy symbol which Amos wore in life now hangs around Caitlyn’s neck.

            It has been a week since the funeral. Yesterday, Caleb let his little sister know that he would hold her to the promise she gave to Amos. She cannot stay on the farm forever; it is time for her to begin to walk the Path of Honor.