Johannes Forrawyn

"Enemies as far as the eye can see and power burning in my blade. Are you certain I haven't arrived in paradise? Those who scale the pinnacles of glory have the furthest to plunge into the abyss."
-Johannes Forrawyn
== History ==
Family told tall tales about being descended from exiled elven aristocracy. Grew up in Primrose Abbey, where his mother was a nun. His father, Conrad Forrawyn, had been a mercenary who died mysteriously in battle trying to found a kingdom, possibly killed by his own men. Johannes considered becoming a priest, but was persuaded by a retired knight-turned-priest at the Abbey that the monastic existence would be a waste of his destiny. He was trained in combat and horsemanship, and left the Abbey to become a mercenary and win glory for himself. 
During his time with the Steel Jackals, Johannes took on more of a leadership role, managing inventory, logistics, and supplies, as well as often speaking for his compatriots. He learned much from his conversations with the better-educated Niles Andarme. He began to doubt the pursuit of glory for glory's sake, and pursued instead the task of training savage beasts. 
After becoming a griffin knight and acquiring Leviathan, Johannes became increasingly brazen in utilizing his martial prowess to exact his own will. He had come to believe, not without cause, that he was the greatest living warrior in Löthur, demonstrating his belief by hacking countless enemy knights to pieces. He believed that as long as he had his griffin, he could even defeat his martially-inclined companions, Bronze and Skree - although Skree, for his part, believed he could grab him off his mount before he could even attack. The only warrior who daunted him was the renowned packmaster mercenary, Sturth Redshade, and he harbored some doubts about the paladin master-at-arms, Varro Eder. 
In Cinderloft, Johannes met Alaga, the undead vessel of the priestess Sytra, an elven revenant with oracular powers but no memories. The two would become inseparable, with Johannes becoming her protector and teaching her how to fight. 
Of the Steel Jackals, Johannes and Bronze would take up cursed weaponry in their war with the dragons. Unlike Bronze, who did not care about the corrupting influence of his axe, Johannes knew that he was doomed to fall to evil from the influence of his greatsword, Leviathan. He told Alaga that if, in her judgement, he ever crossed a point of no return, she was to command Skree to kill him. Alaga was horrified, and Johannes was not convinced that she would follow through with the request. Not long afterwards, he would indeed fall to evil, making the determination that he wished to become undead, partially for might, and partially so that he could protect Alaga forever. 
During the Battle of Quartz Mouth, the Steel Jackals were the vanguard for the allied forces, the Black Wolves closely following at their heels (and their leader, Simon, deciding overall strategy). Johannes Forrawyn would strike out ahead of the entire army, taking the gatehouse of Ash Strike Burrow, and killing one of Nethrazi's spawn. Throughout the battle, Johannes fell further and further under Leviathan's influence, losing sight of everything except his quest to slay Nethrazi. 
After slaying Nethrazi, Johannes would found Or-kalya Abbey, a temple in Stormhold meant to serve as a successor to Primrose Abbey. Anticipating his own fall, he would bequeath the abbey to Alaga. 
After the death of his griffon, Dragonlance, Johannes would give in fully to the corruption of Leviathan, deciding that the time had come to test whether or not humanity was was worthy of his protection. After slaying Nexxvanis, he would transform into an undead entity, and brought the blood of the dragons to a hidden altar to bring Nelgeroth back from the dead and summon the Tenebrous Legion into the world. 
Despite despising one another, Johannes and Nelgeroth would join forces and travel to the Bloodfall Labyrinth to free the Dark Lady. There Johannes would try to gain entry to the Labyrinth by attempting to sacrifice Alaga. The sacrifice was unsuccessful, and Johannes, who did not want to face her after her resurrection, had Dragonlance take her body and bring it to the ruins of the Azure Grove. 
== Battle of Bloodfall Labyrinth ==
In the Bloodfall Labyrinth, Johannes reunited with the Steel Jackals to fight Lord Korgin and his demons. Johannes fought Dar'roth for the last time, this time dispatching him with ease. Upon his victory, Nelgeroth cast the spell necessary to destroy the demon forever. Johannes and the Steel Jackals engaged Lord Korgin. Though the fight was closer than before, the demon lord began to methodically dispatch them, until Johannes approached the gem that contained the spirit of the Dark Lady. There, the wailing chorus of voices in Leviathan became one, and urged Johannes to free himself from his feelings of duty towards her. In a moment of clarity, Johannes shattered the gem, killing the Dark Lady and consuming her soul. In the act, Johannes merged fully with Leviathan, becoming a lich with the sword as his phylactery. He also transcended the limitations on magic in Löthur, becoming a mighty warrior on par with the ancient champions. Wielding Leviathan, Johannes fought Korgin one on one, killing the Nightripper in a close, climatic duel. Nonetheless, the demon lord disappeared, and the Steel Jackals knew that he would reappear elsewhere. 
== Aftermath ==
Though the Steel Jackals disbanded, Johannes and Skree would hunt down Korgin, which required them to track him down to another continent. After killing him, Johannes would hand over Leviathan, Soulreaver, and the Ebon Battleplate to Skree, who would throw the latter two into the ocean, and keep Leviathan - Johannes' phylactery - for safekeeping. 
== Personality ==
Unlike other cavaliers, Johannes is neither a strategist nor a leader of men. He is not a particularly smart man himself, but he is a skilled warrior, reasonably courteous (albeit quiet), and good with animals. His current horse is named Reckless; it was named by the keeper of the stables at Primrose Abbey to remind him not to take needless risks. Truly feels alive and exalted when in the state of a battlefield challenge, where he can truly ignore danger and give into the urge to destroy his foes.  
Johannes is too mercenary and unsympathetic to be a truly good person, but he believes in the laws, traditions, and preservation of humanity and its kingdoms. The existing social order, with the king at the top supported by his knights, is worth fighting for. Though he identifies firmly with the cause of humanity, Johannes does not look down on other races, and is respects warriors of any culture. Johannes does not hate the enemies of humanity, but truly despises humans who threaten the unity of mankind, single-mindedly hunting down cultists, rebels, and traitors alike. During the massacre at the Black Rose Convent, the paladin Raynald was horrified to see Johannes take the law into his own hands, give no quarter, and even kill prisoners, even though his foes were misguided, uncorrupted paladins defending a place of worship. 
After falling under the influence of the sword Leviathan, Johannes would slowly but irretrievably fall from grace. He began to revel in bloodshed, a though committed to mankind in an abstract sense, he came to despise the majority of human beings for their weakness and inability to protect themselves. In his mind, the only thing of value was might - specifically skill at arms. He began to think of himself as a weapon wielded by humanity, merging his identity with that of Leviathan. 
== Ancestry and Descendents ==
* Fridwald Forrawyn
**Franz Forrawyn
***Reise Forrawyn
*Florian Forrawyn
** Siegfried Forrawyn
*** Adrian Forrawyn
**** August Forrawyn
***** Conrad Forrawyn
******Johannes Forrawyn
*******Erwin Forrawyn
Category:Player Characters
Category:Lands of Löthur
Category:Forrawyn Family
Category:Lawful Evil
Category:Fallen Paladin
Category:Tenebrous Legion
Category:Undead
Category:Lich