Lander Helman

**Lander Helman** was a human Cleric and member of the Heroes of Azuríl. Hailing from the Temple of Aurelius at the peak of Mt. Aurum, he was a disciple of a group of devout believers of **Aurelius** the God of Weather.

Along side the other Heroes, Lander defeated **Draug the Dragon Priest** and brought about a new age of peace and prosperity to Terazan. This victory earned him the respect of Aurelius, and he was awarded the deities' shield as a thanks for protecting the realm. He was thereon referred to as Lander the **Champion of Aurelius**.

## History

### Birth and Early Life

Born on a farm not far from Sunfire Point, Lander spent a lot of his time being at the mercy of the elements as all townsfolk. With harsh snows and storms hitting the mountain town regularly, many felt as though Aurelius the God of Weather had cursed them - dooming them to frozen deaths atop the snowy banks of Mount Aurum. Lander's parents felt the same way, forever blaspheming the deiety for ruining their harvest and dusting their crop with frost.

Though he grew up in a house of apostasy, Lander himself felt very differently about the God. He had always marvelled at the beauty of his snow covered world, playing in it and feeling the crisp refreshing air on his face. It was not the God's fault that the weather around a mountain-top, a location known for having harsh terrain, was always suffering with terrible storms - and Lander knew this all too well. The God had received a lot of criticism from the townsfolk and it had likely been a while since he had heard any kind of praise, so Lander did just that. Getting on to his knees, he prayed silently to Aurelius for a more bountiful crop and went to sleep.

A few days later on, Lander was awoken by his parents laughing and screaming with joy. Upon looking out the window he had seen that crops had finally began to burst through the snow against all odds. His prayer to Aurelius seemed to have worked, and from that moment on he became a true believer in the mercy and power of Aurelius - regardless of what his parents thought. This was his calling, and Aurelius had heard and listened to him.

### Joining the Temple of Aurelius

On the day of his sixteenth birthday Lander decided to join the Temple of Aurelius, a monastery atop the mountain top dedicated to the praise of Aurelius and living by his sacred creed. The path was to be perilous, and Lander had heard all kinds of nightmares and tall folk-tales about those who challenged the Stairs of Aurum. He took with him enough supplies for two weeks and a simple shield forged by his father to protect him from any animals that would seek to do him harm. The journey took Lander four weeks, where he was truly put to the test in both body and spirit.

Upon arriving to the monastery Lander was greeted by a young priestess named Elle Atar, a fellow Disciple of Aurelius, who welcomed him and congratulated him on his efforts to reach the peak of the mountain. He was presented with his first set of robings and so he took his first steps in to being a follower of the revered father.

For many years after that first introduction to the monastery, Lander studied many languages, prayer techniques, schools of magic, and participated in vigorous training regimes to test his abilities. Finishing his initiation at the age of eighteen, Lander had become proficient in channeling the elements of the storm through magic and proven himself as a warrior with sword and shield. During his studies he had come to realise that Aurelius did not seem to like him much - as he very rarely offered further help after the prayer about his parents crops. He assumed that this was due to him being from Sunfire Point, a town known for cursing and disowning the God, as well as his parents being some of the most apostatizing citizens of the town.

At some point during his training, he and Elle had also formed a very close relationship which turned in to a romantic one with very little force. Though instructed to down-play their relationship during the days of prayer and whilst inside of the monastery, they still shared moments watching the sunrise with one another and glancing across the plains of the Heartlands from atop the mountain-side. It was during one of these visits to the top that Lander found a curious shard of Aetherial metal, which was later identified as a segment of Aurelius' **Aurum Shield**, which he took to wearing around his neck as a symbol of his devotion to his God.

### Calling to the North of Azdaran

Years later during his sleep, Lander was presented a vision of a burning world with a mysterious man holding a cyan orb. The figure instructed him to "Find the others and save the land", followed by a glimpse of a burning cave in a magical forest. Convinced that this dream was part of a blessing from Aurelius, a foreshadowing of his role in this land, Lander set off for his destiny and to the forests of Azdaran where it awaited him. He bid goodbye to the other disciples of Aurelius and thanking them for their teachings, and bid a farewell to Elle who he promised he would returen to and marry. With his fate uncertain and only his faith guiding him, Lander made his way back down the mountain-side and travelled across the roads of Terazan to the forests of the north.

During his travels he encountered many hardships, from losing material items to fighting the monsters of the night, and it began to take a toll on him. For the first week he felt like the burden of this destiny was going to be too much, but yet he persevered. Lander visited many places and met many people, stayed at many inns and lit many campfires. Lander kept a personal journal of his travels which details some of the more exciting parts of his journeying including a battle with a Wendigo during the night. In total Lander walked the lands of Terazan for one month until he came to the **Nosey Goblin Inn**.

At the inn he learned of a new party walking the forests, who had been spotted by locals, as they were chased through the forests by people in dark hooded robes. There was another group who chased after them also, which contained a Gnome, a Goliath, and a Tiefling - who Lander later came to know as **The Mighty Three**. Retracing their steps through the forests, Lander allowed his faith to guide him to them. He passed a young Elven girls in the forests, who he later learned was Faye Leenita-Nún, but she did not provide him with much information as to whether or not she had seen anybody.

He set up camp after travelling for the rest of that day outside of a cave that looked similar to the one he had seen in his vision, and waitied for the sunrise of the next morning.

### Joining the Heroes of Azuríl

At the start of the next morning Lander was awoken by a group of people exiting the cave he had set up camp nearby. It was then that Lander first met Aleus Stormriver, Idira Melkor, Sylas Costus, and Esteban Ramirez. Unfortunately they were not alone, as over the shoulders of Aleus lay a dead Wood Elf who Lander came to learn was named Tethrandir of Nowhere. The party detailed a battle that they had had in the cave with a demon of fire, and that Tethrandir had lost his life whilst defending them. Lander attended the funeral and said a quick prayer for their fallen comrade, before introducing himself solemly.

From there Lander journeyed with the group to the Dwarven citadel of Bhuul Ghnesh. Whilst walking to the citadel they ran in to a half-orc named Sharn Ogorag who pleaded for their help in rescuing her brother