Darvin Rodwood

A mysterious and recognizable journeyman, he often makes for a good friend and fellow traveler.

### Age

Unknown, seemingly mid twenties to early thirties.

### Relatives

A brother and many cousins in his homeland

## The Man

Darvin Rodwood, also known by usually only himself, The Red Rover, The Wanderer, The Traveler, The Journeyman, Old Roddy, and Rodwin. He is said to have walked from the mountains of Hallengard to the jungles of Aedwin.

Travelers will know him by his distinct wardrobe. He bears a fine mustache and set of eyebrows with a low grin. He markedly wears a vibrant outfit of scarlet red cap and coat, contrasted against his black trousers and pack, his white gloves, and his fair complexion. Among this attire is his favoured armour of a soldier's cuirass and a type of kettle-helm, which he wears while on the road. He is said to always be helpful and good to fellows of the road with many fantastic, though slightly embellished, tales to accompany his warm and friendly atmosphere.

## Early Life

Few if any know the early goings of this fellow.

He grew up on a homeland he refers to as Rodiri, for he himself is a Rodirin. His home was that of a small estate with fields at the edge of his woods. His father was craftsman while his mother was a shepherd. He and his brother would often travel and play in the creek. The small amount of wealth that the family had granted him a good education from scholarly tutors and pages of the noble courts.

The family was one of many "working-nobleman" families, made up by the upper echelons of the working classes and nobility work their land for the state. His being that of a cadet branch of ruling family of Rodiri, the Rodimi.

The security and stability that his position afforded him and his family allowed him to leave for increasingly extended periods of time from the estate, often leaving it with his brother in charge of it as their parents grew older.

## How He Stands

Darvin, being a stranger and non-native to the Hales, took a very neutral stance regarding the reigning factions. He does try his best to maintain friendly relations between them all, however, has no respect for petty bandits and thieves, especially those that harassed or harmed his fellow travelers and friends. Despite this, his constant traveling often entangles him into emerging conflicts or tales as he joined or had been joined with another traveler or group.

He takes great pleasure in his walks through the Hales with a penchant for people on the road and fellow man. His travels often take him across the world with his goals of exposing every nook and cranny to the land. Constantly collecting souvenirs or items in his expeditions.

Standing as a man of principle, Darvin takes many of his values and friendships seriously. He can be seen as polite and formal despite his usually casual speech to the common man he meets in the towns or on the roads. He most strongly values respect and loyalty, which in part lend to his reluctance and neutrality towards most factions. Despite his leanings and moral compass, Darvin is not a stranger nor opposed to using subterfuge to escape dire or perilous circumstances.

## Traveling Tales

* "Journey to Hallengard"
* "Adventures with Christopher Volten"
* "Smuggling of Arthur Vadmir into Hallengard"
* "The Peasant's Siege of Aedwin"
* "Death's Siege of Aedwin"
* "Kingly Crisis in Hallengard"
* "Flight from Aedwin"
* "
* "
* "Template Tab"

One day, on his travels through the land, wandering through a waterfall to discover a warhammer, Darvin had spotted a handful of men accosted by a strange man in a cloak and later a guard in blue. A man lay dead by the feet of the stranger. Prodding him away with a weapon, Darvin dived and swam for shore only to catch a stranger whom he would meet, Earl Redguard, being accosted and threatened by a man in helm and blue armour.

Following after him, he would meet and rapidly gain his trust as Darvin agreed to help him find and save his friend. They promptly found him, Charles Xander, wounded from a prior encounter. Charles Xander, had a friend he needed to save as well, so, once again Darvin agrees to help him in his en devour as well as of course, Earl. They would never find him for as they began their search, a strange man known only as "Spoopy" (or perhaps, maybe to others as Ace), came running and shouting.

His running and shouting proclaimed, "They're after me! There are twelve guards and they're after me! The king is with them! Run! Run for your lives!"

The group, confused and alarmed, ran with the stranger for some many meters. They however were drastically slowed as Charles suffered from his wounds and was made lame for a time. More often or not, the party of Aedwin guards lead by their king, Marcus Fields the Second, would appear in the distance, closer and closer every time.

Not until they stopped at the bridge, did the war party finally catch up with them. They however were confused by the flight of Darvin and the group. They simply said they meant no harm and went on. Soon after however, Darvin and the others would meet Spoopy's friend, Raymond.

Raymond and Spoopy boar grudges against Aedwin. They would investigate the Aedwin visit to Hallengard further. Charles, also nursing a grudge against Aedwin would join them. Earl, followed his friend earnestly, while Darvin would do so with reluctance.

Taking the opportunity to explore Hallengard in full, Darvin would wander off about the castle as his fellow travelers spied on the Aedwins and Hallengarders from the rafters and windows. A short while later, Darvin would come back upon his fellow travelers with Raymond and Charles believed to be dead after attemptin an attackon an Aedwin man.

Raymond would secretly walk away with his life with Charles truly dead. Disguised as Jacob Hall, Raymond rejoins the company of Spoopy. Together with another, Waylon Barister, the three plot to take down the Aedwin king where he stands. They break into the armoury, stealing weapons and gear, though the Aedwins having long since been aloof. They attack a lone Hallengarder who watched them steal everything. In their pursuit they are cut down by the man and other Hallengarders.

Earl and Darvin would soon be the only survivors of this journey, as with the death of the last of the other travelers, they would make a departure from Hallengard. As they leave, Darvin reunites with a fellow traveler, William Wolfblood and others outside Hallengard. The group makes it way back to Aedwin under the stalking of a stranger in black. The stranger was promptly brought down, however, all in the group would lose vision in the desert, getting lost and blacking out.

Darvin and several of his new friends in the form of Fredrick Cunningham, Earl Redguard, and William Wolfblood, venturing into the desert to see the desert village with their own eyes. To their disappointment it was nothing but a small cave with a wall and shacks. Shortly there after they would walk different paths for a time after that. Fredrick and William would be off to Hallengard for weapons and work. Earl was asked to stick with Darvin for a spell while they were separated. Sadly however the two would swiftly lose each other in the dark.

Darvin would wind up meeting with another traveler in Aedwin on their way to the forest. With no other plans Darvin promptly adopted the same destination. Despite having crossed the lands to it before, they were lost, a stranger offered to take them over. The two accepted his offer. They would travel through Hallengard into the magnificent valley and to the other end of the forest. When met with the river crossing however, they struggled long and hard. The traveler Darvin had met would be lost to the falls and disappear into the night. He and the stranger remained, determined to cross. Not long after, yet another stranger and traveler appeared. A farmer. He would attempt the crossing as well, but unfortunately his dexterity could not meet the challenge that the task proved to be. The heavens so deemed he remained safe despite his many pitfalls as he both survived in thanks to them as well as Darvin and the stranger. He at last accepted he could not cross and left in the morning.

The stranger and Darvin would at last make it across the river. They would at last formally introduce themselves. Darvin Rodwood and Christopher Volten. They would then trade stories on the road. Darvin would come to the discovery that Raymond, Waylon, and Spoopy were all acquaintances of Volten. Darvin did not care much for their losses nor their criminal lives, he however looked past Christopher's own past in light of the demonstration of his character and history before his own criminal mischief.

The two would become good friends and traveled off into the forest. It would be a long and tedious journey until they cross out to the other side and separate after they returned to Aedwin.

The good man Darvin began his usual round-a-bouts on the roads with one of his friends when a rather ragged man approached them.
He announced himself to be a servant of house Hoesenbroeck. He asked for the way to Hallengard; Darvin told him the directions, even taking him all the way to it himself. He would leave him there while hanging in the inn for some time.

Little to his knowledge, this servant would in turn obtain far more power than he had initially posed, becoming the deacon of Hallengard.

Darvin's day began in the early morning. He greeted his acquaintances and friends, had is cup of herbal water, and set off down the road to venture on paths yet untrodden. He would however come upon a crowd gathering by the farms. A Hallengarder gathering men together to investigate the death of a farmer from Hallengard. Darvin joined out of curiosity and his usual thirst for insight, however becoming extremely displeased with every passing moment of the investigation. A mere note made mention of "The Aedwinians..." amongst a single body. Two bystanders in white so claimed it to be true. The peasents, pagans, and others all suddenly became enraged, each one egging on the other, insisting upon the death of Aedwin for any number of lowly reasons they could think of with any justification they could've mustered.

Darvin made an effort to calm the blood mob that was rapidly forming. It was a fruitless and useless effort. He rapidly made his departure back to Aedwin to warn the monarchy for the sake of order and for the sake of safety of his friends and peers. He would come running screaming at the top of his lungs "SHUT THE GATES! RALLY YOURSELVES!" Meeting with another guard and a friend they would quickly close all the gates and raise the draw bridge. Capricia and Addy would promptly be informed of the commotion.

Darvin would earn a solid ten gold shillings from Capricia as a gift for his actions. He and a number of others, of the royalty, of the citizenry, of Aedwin, of Hallen, and of Greenfields would all stand the walls, watching the horizon for a sign.

It wouldn't be until night that they caught sight of a handful of people. It was too dark to distinguish who it was that came though they shot at all who were present atop the walls. The next day was quiet with only handfuls of travelers pleading for entry. With strong reluctance they were admitted in. It continued to be eerily quiet as they all awaited an inevitable siege.

An army and mob composed of peasants, militiamen, and Hallengarders would soon appear along the road. Arrows would fly with little avail. The army rapidly reached one of the gates where it conspicuously opened. To this day its unknown if an infiltrator had betrayed Aedwin, a clueless civilian, or the Hallengarders mysteriously opened it themselves.

Irregardless of who what and why, the Hallengarders flooded and swarmed the city, killing anyone and everyone they came across. Darvin would jump from the walls only to discover an entire group of full Hallengarder soldiers. He would however swiftly retreat into darkness and back into the walls. A single soldier pursued him only to be pushed back with his tail behind him by Darvin's hammer and shield. Darvin would continue retreating up into a tower that stood in the center of Aedwin.

He would discover the Queen Capricia herself sat there with him. The two would disguise themselves and flee with an outgoing caravan to evade the besieging army. This would mark the first time Darvin has had to use a disguise in Aedwin as well as the first time he'd shave his facial hair much to his own dismay.

The two would quickly remove themselves from Aedwin only to be pursued by a single mysterious figure. The man called Corvo had followed them all the way to the farm only to reveal himself to be friendly though an infiltrator. Rhett were displeased and confused by the siege and offered to come along to assist in the escape. His help would be accepted.

The three would soon meet up with the king, the duke, and a disciple of Mignon in Greenfields. After debating as to where to go for the time being, they found that they would be unable to go back in the direction of Aedwin to reach the forest. Darvin would however lead them back through Hallengard into the forest. They would make their way to the valley unhindered. Under Darvin's guidance they would cross the valley towards the entrance of the forest. He would carefully direct and lead them across the river with mostly success.

Most of the others would make their way to the old Ghost Kingdom fortifications on their own, Darvin would stay behind with Capricia and a disciple of Mignon. They would wonder the forest for some time until Capricia had found a land mark. They three would soon be brought into the Ghost Kingdom.

Meeting with everyone else, some time had come to pass. They boldly decided they should return to Aedwin in their disguises. And so they did with little opposition. The town was empty aside from the handful of bodies of those that the mob had murdered. The castle was clear. And so the city was taken back without bloodshed.

As they all discussed what had happened, Sion would be seen approaching Aedwin. Riding on a small white pony he'd make a mere and simple apology for the siege. It was proposed that the Arthur Vadimir the Deacon or Giles Corey the Crusader was the cause of the siege though it remains unknown to them. Capricia and Addy demanded their heads, though such commands were never followed through. Then so, the siege had officially ended.
### Darvin's Departure

Darvin Rodwood would ultimately leave the Hales in its entirety to return and retire at his homeland for the rest of his days. He simply boarded a ship and left some time after learning of the death of Tomas and Azur. He sadly left marks only on those that had met him, many of whom had all died violently, some even in front of his very eyes. Darvin would occasionally look back at the Hales, rewatching the same horrors and gruesome reality of it all to haunt him for the rest of his days.

He would return home and marry his lover Aellnora and take up his estate with his brother and family. They would become a successful county as a decent agrarian foothold and a handful of strong artisan sectors. His family and name would remain small in the ever wide list of cadet branches and working noble families however.

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Personal reminder to add screen shots to wiki.

If anyone has traveled with me and I have forgotten the tale, do please tell me.