<strong>CC APPROVED:</strong>yes<br/><strong>SHEET APPROVED:</strong>yes<br/><strong>PLEASE CHECK:</strong>no<br/><br/><div class="floatleft">(https://www.worldanvil.com/uploads/images/a9bedee131c54bf4d9ab0094545a282b.png)</div><hr/><strong><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;">Arawn Mathonwy (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2464609)</span></strong><br/><hr/><strong>Race:</strong>Aasimar<strong>Class:</strong>Cleric (Evangelist)<br/><br/><strong>Brief History</strong>:<br/>Born to one of the major noble houses of his homeland, Arawn's birth was regarded as an especially auspicious event. Not only was he the firstborn son, the birth itself happened during an eclipse. An eclipse was, according to the legends, a brief struggle between the sun god and the moon goddess caused by the trickster god's words or deeds. If the scriptures were true, every time a child was born, they were said to throw a coin up in the air and decide whether the child would be born a genius or a madman. Those born during an eclipse were going to be both. But is there really a difference between the two?<br/><br/>The child was considered marked by the divine as a birthmark was found on his body that looked a bit like the Trickster God's symbol. Both his father and mother were overjoyed when he was born and it was only when the boy started growing up that whispers at court could be heard wondering about the boy's appearance and how he looked nothing like his father. His hair was red even though there wasn't a redhead in the duke's line for at least five generations, and his eyes were violet-purple, not even remotely similar to his father's eye colour.<br/><br/>Jealousy would not let his father love or even accept the boy. He couldn't look at him without thinking of his wife's betrayal, no matter how many times she promised that she had never been unfaithful to him and that Arawn was indeed his son. At times he wanted to punish his wife for all this but he knew that he couldn't. She was, after all, his lawfully wedded wife and he had acknowledged Arawn as his son. There was nothing he could do. That changed, however, the moment the ship his wife was travelling on to visit her relatives, was lost at sea. (Many years later it was revealed that the ship was attacked by pirates and some of the passengers, including Arawn's mother, were captured and sold to slavery.) Although he was still deep in his grief, Arawn's father agreed to remarry and soon his new wife was with a child. His legacy secure, he finally got rid of his late wife's bastard - he sent him away, out of sight, out of mind. Realizing the value of discipline, he sent him away to be raised by law-priests serving the stern goddess of law and contracts, and the main rival of the trickster god.<br/><br/>Having realized that his dreams were visions sent by one of the gods, he expected the clergy to quickly accept him and recognize that he was blessed by their patron with preternatural knowledge beyond his age. Imagine his surprise when not only were the priests uninterested in what he had to say, they viewed his dreams as a curse by their patron's nemesis and a sign that his father did good by sending the boy to be cleansed by the holy scriptures of their god. Arawn would soon discover that he needed to learn how to conceal his true feelings and passions, and especially his visions, from his teachers if he wanted any of them to take him seriously. It took him time to adjust and stop being the daydreaming kid, lost in his own thoughts, humming to himself a melody of a long forgotten song, and start being the studious initiate. He channeled all his artistic talent into the art of oratory -- one of the few arts the priests allowed and even encouraged the acolytes to learn. Years later, he was ordained a priest and was positioned as a law-priest in one of the goddess's many temple to watch over the faithful and keep the fear of the goddess in their hearts. By that point, after so many years of indoctrination, he came to believe most of what he spoke, and while the visions never stopped, he came to view them the way he was taught -- that they were a curse, that it was a sign of weakness and that each day he had to repent and pray to the goddess to deliver him from his sinful fate.<br/><br/>It was only with Gwendolyn's arrival at his temple that he realized how wrong he was about everything. The visions were a blessing, not a curse. The voice in them was Zhar's and it was He who in His infinite wisdom shared the melody and the words with Arawn for all those nights. He accepted Zhar's commandments and converted. As a final step on his path to serving His will, he carved out a new symbol in his flesh, transforming the birthmark that he was born with, into Zhar's.<br/><br/><strong>Brief Personality</strong>:<br/>Confident, polite, and always smiling, Arawn knows how to conceal his true feelings and passions if needed. When he is free to speak from his heart, however, he pours all his passion into it. He is a gifted orator whose words can inspire others to greatness or strike fear into their hearts with fiery speeches. He prefers to use kindness and charm in his dealings with others as experience shows that this kind of behaviour brings them easier under his sway than the opposite but he isn't afraid to manipulate or intimidate if they need more than just a smile to see His greatness.<br/><br/>Arawn often has dreams in which a voice speaks to him of secrets beyond his imagination. He often wakes up and desperately tries to recall what he just heard but all he can usually remember is an eerie melody he would later hum for days, or a few words he would then incorporate into his vocabulary and use it during the day, no matter how odd the choice of words was. He is known to daydream or be lost in deep thought or communion with His divine patron, or at least, that's what he presents this as.<br/><br/><strong>Ons &amp; Offs</strong>:<br/>Bisexual, with a slight preference for other men. Throughout all his years as a cleric, Arawn repressed his sexual desires and never engaged in them even though he always found the idea of having power over others in the sexual sense tantalizing. It's not just about him having the power -- he doesn't mind someone else taking the charge. He will gladly submit to others if they show that they are powerful enough to exert their will over his.<br/><br/><strong>Adventuring Party:</strong><br/>A member of the Children of Zhar and His priest.<br/><br/><strong>Connections:</strong><br/><ul class="bbc_list"><li type="square"> parent <em>This could technically work as his mother was lost at sea when he was a boy, and, while he doesn't know it, she was, in truth, captured by pirates and sold into slavery.</em></li><li type="square"> sibling <em>His father remarried after he was cast away so this could also work if anyone is interested.</em></li><li type="square"> love interest</li><li type="square"> former love interest</li><li type="square"> friend</li><li type="square"> enemy</li><li type="square"> other <em>Fellow acolyte from his past?</em></li></ul>