Arcturus Shatter-shield

### Family

Mother - Priscilla Shatter-Shield (Deceased)Father - Caradog Shatter-Shield (Fate Unknown)

Brother - Gorrister Shatter-Shield (Fate Unknown)

## Stats

### Level

12

Arcturus Shatter-Shield is a Half-Orc warrior who strives to learn as best he can from every experience he is put through, wielding an arsenal of weapons into battle, preferring the dual-wielding style the most. During Insidious Insurrection, he briefly became a Champion to the mythical beast of Thunder, and as a parting reward, was bestowed a thunderous arm to replace the one he had lost in battle.

## **Description**

### **Appearance**

Arcturus has reddish brown skin, blonde hair and yellow eyes. Due to events in Insidious Insurrection his right arm has been replaced by a purple glowing arm of thunder bestowed to him by the mythical beast Tonitruam. He proudly wields a variety of weapons, most notably his newly crafted Dual Memory, a twinblade created by one of Thelora's finest smith's as a gift from one of its late inquisitors, Ei. He travels in light clothing, covering his glowing arm with a cloak of protection. Carried on his back is a banner proudly displaying a symbol of a wolf's maw with daggers replacing the fangs, emblem of his fallen clan.

### **Personality**

Arcturus has undergone a variety of experiences to shift his personality at such a young age. Primarily though, he is a kind-hearted, brave, and proud warrior who relishes a good fight. He is quick to approach strangers he wants to meet and is mostly amicable. Due to past trauma, he regards magic and its wielders with disdain and distrust, at least until they've proven themselves to be a capable ally. He values friends and family highly, willing to put his life on the line for them and is always training to continue to protect that which he cares for most.

## **History**

Arcturus was born to a nomadic group of tribals in the land of Pyrnes. His clan, clan Shatter-Shield, were a group of proud warriors that lived off the land. They trained as capable martial fighters, often having to defend from raiding parties or settle disputes with other clans through skirmishes. He was the son of the clan Chieftain, Caradog Shatter-Shield, who was well known for his large stature and his ferocity with a hefty greatsword. His mother, Priscilla Shatter-Shield, was a great shield-maiden, who fostered the kind nature Arcturus would come to have. His brother, Gorrister Shatter-Shield was a deft wielder of daggers, moving like lightning on the battlefield.

### **Background**

As he moved from infancy to teenage years as a half-orc, his training became tougher as he prepared for his clan's rite of passage, a tradition that marked a young tribal as an official warrior in the tribe. However, on the day of the rite his clan was attacked by an enemy of unknown origin. Though he was more than eager and willing to prove himself that day, his father and brother went ahead to fight while he was held back by his mother to defend the camps. Sounds of warriors meeting gruesome deaths filled the air as the enemy wielded volatile magics rather than blades in their attack. Quickly, devastation met the Shatter-Shield clan, as the last memory Arcturus has of that day is being protected beneath his mother's shield as her cries of agony rang above him.
He awoke to ashes, dust and smoke as he wandered the ruined lands in search of survivors. Finding only the tarnished remains of his mother's shield and his brother's dagger, he was left alone. As he wandered, soldiers investigating from a nearby town discovered him and took him in for shelter. Since then, Arcturus continued to hone his martial training, adapting to life as a mercenary, wondering if he will ever truly become the warrior he was meant to be in his clan. His jobs would lead him overseas, protecting cargo and personnel, eventually leading to a caravan job from Thelora to Medil, beginning his journey in Insidious Insurrection.

### **Insidious Insurrection (I.I.)**

Arcturus meets a variety of characters whom he would soon forge strong bonds with over the course of the next few months in his life as he introduced himself to new arrivals of the caravan heading to Medil. At the start, communication was rough as he had not fully learned the common tongue and was incapable of reading or writing. One fateful day, when the caravan had stopped to rest, he and a few others investigated a nearby mineshaft out of worry of bandits hiding there. After a terrifying fight, they stumbled upon a dying magnificent beast of thunderous power. Arcturus approached, wishing to aid the fallen beast and he was given a mission with its dying breath. The beast known as Tonitruam, would bestow vestiges of its power to Arcturus in exchange for promising to track and take down its killer, a notorious criminal known as Lotte. Arcturus accepted honorably, though was ill prepared for the new surge of unnatural power that now coursed through him.

Delusions and nightmares of his family plagued him, stunting his confidence in battle, speaking to his weapons as though his family were wielding them alongside him still. In one particular walking nightmare, he disturbed the restless Daiyu Meiyou, prompting her to extract the memory of his fallen mother. In the following days, whether by remorse or frustration, Daiyu offered tutelage to Arcturus, so that his speech would match something closer to her liking. Arcturus proved a capable student, eager to improve in any aspect of himself. To her surprise, when he became literate and fluent in common, Arcturus requested she continue her teachings in the form of her arts. A strong bond of trust was forged between the two moving forward.

Arcturus helped a local village named Oranil that had been plagued by an unknown beast. He and the party discovered a woman in the swamps known as The Wetlands Witch, who guided them to a friendly werewolf village in exchange for drops of their blood and silence of the knowledge she provided. He worked with the werewolves to find the true culprit of the attacks on the village and it was there he encountered his first Chagrin.

Arcturus left the caravan behind with his party, sensing Lotte would be in the heart of Panton rather than Medil. He accepted a job from a Theloran Inquisitor known as Ei, and traveled through Panton's dark swamplands. In Panton's cities, he witnessed plenty of criminal activity and mistrust from the common folk. In a run-down tavern known as Hun's Tav, he met Adrian and Hunter. He learned from Hunter that Lotte's notoriety reached a bounty in the tens of thousands of gold. Adrian accompanied the group as he was searching for his brother, Shao Len, whom had fallen into Lotte's ranks.

Regardless, Arcturus and his party continued through Panton. They reached the city of Enthin, whereupon disaster after disaster befell them all. During a period of rest, Daiyu's ink demons absorbed even more memories from all of the party, taking memories of Arcturus's brother this time. Later, in a cataclysmic surge of wild magic from Tylenol Brand, a rain of thousands of crows followed by the meteoric impact of a colossal turtle devastated Enthin overnight. It was here that Arcturus accepted becoming Champion of Tonitruam as he struggled to save whoever he could from the chaos, escaping into the sewers. One week later, the party awakened to Daiyu becoming possessed by the ravenous hunger of her ink host, Mattaka, killing Tylenol in the process. Pacifying Daiyu, the group searched the underground to aid survivors, eventually returning aboveground to find that a group of Tortles had claimed the colossal turtle's corpse as a new haven, dubbed Tortoland.

While Tortoland was a breath of fresh air from the oppressive miasma of Panton's surroundings, the peace did not last a day. During a friendly spar with the denizens a portal opened and from it stepped out Magnar, The Blasphemous, scattering anyone in his path with ease and raising the turtle from the dead and to the sky. Barely escaping with his life once more, Arcturus was reminded once more of why he abhors magic, recalling the distorted fragments of memory of his fallen family and clan. From there he and his party continued to march to Panton's capital, Riz'Arion, swearing to get stronger to face down a foe like Magnar when the time came. Though Panton continues to be ever-treacherous, they're able to reach the capital, crossing paths with members of Chagrin Carnival, whose investigations had led them to Riz'Arion at the same time.

The combined groups intercepted a meeting in a lone warehouse, discovering information relevant to their goals. Arcturus had learned that Lotte would be somewhere inside the poison creating workshop known as Sweet Death. While resting before continuing the search, Arcturus confronted Daiyu to explain the gaps in his memory. There he confirmed what had been already taken, and made a choice to appease the unsated hunger of her ink demons. Arcturus willingly sacrificed all memory of his childhood spent in Pyrnes, so that the other members would be spared that for the time being. Despite such a burden being lifted from him, he knew something had been taken, and planned to visit a certain The Wetlands Witch for possible answers, or recovery, should he survive the journey ahead. He and his party then split off to search the building, and in a lower level, they found their employer, Ei, deceased by an artificial monstrosity. A disastrous battle ensued, whereupon Dariusz Roshiak gave his life to save Bag o' Rice. They briefly stopped to lay the bodies to rest, and continued into the heart of darkness. At the lowest level they find the gestating egg of an abominable experiment, guarded by Shao Len, Hunter and two other mercenaries. During the ensuing clash, the egg absorbed sufficient energy, whereupon Lotte was reborn, infused with the raw energies of a myriad of mythical beasts. While Shao Len faced his leader with ecstatic admiration, Arcturus sensed pure malice and rushed to throw Shao Len aside as Lotte's maw reached out, tearing his right arm off in the process. Having been sufficiently weakened from the battle before, the party decided to run while they could, aided by Zaman's interference by teleporting them into a realm outside of time.

Arcturus and his friends spent one week within this realm, resting, training, talking, and preparing to face down whatever Lotte had become. Arcturus spoke with Shao Len, chastising his beliefs, reminding him that Arcturus only kept him alive at Adrian's request. Upon exiting Zaman's realm, they find that a number of hours had passed and that they were seemingly to blame for Sweet Death's collapse. With little time to spare, Arcturus ignored any accusations made by Riz'Arion's Don and worked with his party to locate where Lotte could have disappeared to. They deduce Lotte is on his way to kill Il Padre, Panton's leader and head of the Thieves Guild. Before leaving Riz'Arion, they are approached by a passionate journalist, Lorence Tarik Tenevon, who accompanied them to find out the truth.

Arriving at Il Padre's manor, their suspicions were confirmed as the the gates had been torn asunder. Stepping past the gates, vicious combat quickly ensued. In a few moments, Il Padre himself stepped out of his manor to investigate the commotion, following behind him was Magnar to everyone's surprise, even Il Padre's. A colossal snake was summoned, tearing apart anything in its path, though Arcturus was able to convince Il Padre of him and his party's honest intentions to put an end to Lotte. The battle reached a halfway point when it seemed that the chaotic beast was felled, speared into the earth by Arcturus. While everyone took a moment to gather their breath, Lorence appeared from his hiding place, admonishing the corpse of what he called his brother, and ripped out the remaining source of power from it. Lorence was revealed to be the twin of Lotte, two figures operating under a single identity. Lorence however, was somehow able to control and perfect the energy he absorbed, and he summoned forth mythical beasts to fight with him, including Tonitruam. As a testament to his warrior's spirit and diligence, Arcturus's words and actions broke through the chains Lotte used to control Tonitruam. With the combined efforts of the party, they weakened Lotte enough for a final attack as Arcturus rode Tonitruam to ram Lotte, jumping off to crush him with one last punch.

Their journey into Panton had ended here, though there was still the matter of Magnar, who had vanished after having been entertained enough by the battle. They were invited into Il Padre's manor to recover and prepare to enter Magnar's floating fortress. Arriving via a summoned Quetzalcoatl, they meet up once more with members Chagrin Carnival, learning that Joka has revived Dariusz, and ate a feast in preparation for Magnar's arrival. As the feast was ending, Magnar appeared. He sat down to explain why he has gone to such lengths, envisioning a new world of his design, spurned by the loss of his lover, the Goddess of Life. Magnar offered any present to join him, however after none took the offer, the battle to change the fate of the world began.

In the end, Magnar succeeded in momentarily achieving Godhood, but was at last cut down through everyone's effort and sacrifice. The few moments Magnar existed as a God caused a ripple throughout Luctus that Arcturus and company would return to discover and would be known as The Day of Aquamarine. For the time being however, they returned from whatever plane Magnar had whisked them to, celebrating in the streets of Riz'Arion. Arcturus crossed blades with Daiyu, having earlier in their journey promised a duel should they make it out of everything alive. Daiyu was the victor, and Arcturus promised to join her as her family's guardian once he had finished seeking his answers and rewards in the coming months.

### **Post-Insidious Insurrection**

In the months that would follow, Arcturus journeyed to the swamps at the borders of Panton. He sought The Wetlands Witch once more, believing she would have some way to retrieve his stolen memories. In a turn of events, the witch did have the means to fully recover his taken memories, however Arcturus would have to sacrifice a memory of value as an equivalent exchange. Arcturus came to the conclusion that a memory of such value could only be that of Daiyu, and everything he had come to experience with her. She had been the one from the start and end of his journey whom he shared the most rapport with, and was also the one to take, perhaps not of her own will, the memories he sought to retrieve. He spent weeks on his decision, writing down Memoirs of A Unique Friend and Teacher, in an attempt to remember her and everything she had done for and taught him once the process was finished. In the end, Arcturus accepted the Witch's offer, retrieving the burdens of the past.

When he recalled his original motivations, he became embittered, feeling weakness at having so easily lost such important history. Though he had the memoirs he had previously written in a caring, respectful and grateful detail, he could not help but feel having been cheated and felt for a time only resentment to the one known as Daiyu Meiyou. He turned back from the idea that he would be this Daiyu's guardian, and instead sought to return to his homeland once he finished matters in this continent. He thanked the Witch, bid farewell to the denizens of the werewolf village and traveled to the capital of Thelora. He sought to return the inquisitor items that were taken from Ei in the heat of battle. He also carried with him a letter written by Ei that promised a mighty weapon would be crafted in his honor should he request it. There he worked with the smith to design Dual Memory, a twinblade capable of separating into two scimitars, bearing the fangs of the past and the future.

As the last stop before returning to Pyrnes he reached the city of Medil where a newly formed Tonitruam had been gathering energy. Tonitruam had promised since Lotte's defeat that in three month's time Arcturus would be bestowed a gift for following through on his promise. Tonitruam granted Arcturus a right arm once more, one formed from thunder.

With his business wrapped up, he made his way to the docks of Medil in search of a ship making its way to Pyrnes. Along the way he had a fateful encounter with a kenku thief, a female adolescent he chased and caught when she managed to swipe his coin purse. Arcturus took his coin back and said "nice try" with a smile, permitting her to have some of his coin and food. To his surprise she did not touch the food, despite looking quite malnourished. Before she could leave, he asked her if she was going to eat, at which point another kenku appeared from the shadows, having witnessed this exchange. The new kenku, a much older male, seemed frail yet lighter of step than the girl. The girl presented the food to the older kenku, to which he shook his head, however she persisted and he reluctantly split the meal, insisting the girl take a portion. Arcturus learned that these kenku were father and daughter. The daughter, named Cruz, had been desperately seeking ways to keep her and her father, named Santino, in good health. Santino's health had been deteriorating for some time due to an unknown poison, but did not want Cruz to continue risking criminal penalty for him. Cruz communicated that she needs the gold to seek a doctor in Panton as it's the only clue she has for how to cure whatever poison ails her father. Arcturus perked up at the situation, having recently come from the heart of the poison country. He felt their travels through Panton would be met with a terrible challenge and though the answers they sought were there, they may not make it. His mind then to Riona, whom he remembered clearly. He was not sure where in Swanrunia she would be, but believed it would be a better option. He then remembered that Riona became recently betrothed to someone, checking his memoirs, he remembered it was to Daiyu. Arcturus offered gold to get Santino and Cruz to Swanrunia safely, instructing them to search for a doctor known as Riona. As the kenku's prepared their belongings, Arcturus wrote a Letter to Riona, explaining the family's situation, as well as his decision to leave the continent. Seeing the kenku's off, he turned towards the sea, embarking on a ship to Pyrnes to begin again.