Eric Armash (inactive)

## History

### Introduction

To truly understand the life of Eric Armash, one must understand the rise and fall of the Armash family.  Only then can one understand the actions of the men who come from such a family...and what actions may come next.

### The Rise of the Armash Name

The Armash name rose when its first recorded founder showed great bravery in battle, ultimately saving a person of great importance. Since then, his family was treated as a noble family, and has worked hard in both business and war to display their courage and honor.

### The Fall of the Armash Name

The fall of the Armash family came just over 10 years ago.  Under mysterious circumstances, the head of the Armash family was slain - and with him, most of the family's contacts, influence, and business.  As time went on, less and less people associated themselves with the Armash family.  Now, with its wealth whittled away, influence gone, family crest unrecognized, and it's name all but forgotten, it is debatable whether the Armash family could even be considered a noble family at this point.

### Aftermath of the Fall

The only surviving members of the Armash family are as follows: Rebecca Armash, the widowed lady of the house.  Eric Armash, the eldest son and true heir to the Armash name.  Leon Armash, the younger brother of Eric and current heir to the Armash name. After losing his father, Eric redoubled his efforts of his studies.  Being from a noble family, he was trained from birth in languages, swordsmanship, horsemanship, debate, discussion, discipline, honor, integrity, and respect.

When he was of age, Eric utilized his skill and studies to apply for (and successfully be accepted into) the Order of the Sword as a Cavalier. As Eric left for the Order, his mother gifted him Linthen - a fine thoroughbred and the only horse remaining in the family's care.  (The rest had been sold to cover the family's finances.)  He gratefully accepted Linthen and then - much to the surprise of his mother and brother - he made his brother the heir to the Armash name.

When asked why, he explained:  "I go to do many things: I go to make money, and so that I can send some back to you.  I go to help others, and to bring honor to the Armash name.  I go to find the truth about what happened to our father... and to finally see justice done. But there are things I cannot do.  I cannot make our family great, as I will not be here.  I cannot recover our family's honor, as I will not be here.  The heir of the Armash name must do these things, but I cannot, because my skills are best utilized elsewhere.  I will go, dear brother, but I must know the Armash family will be taken care of in my stead.  That responsibility - being the heir of the Armash name - is one I can only leave to you." With those words, his brother conceded, and Leon Armash became the current heir of the Armash family.  Shortly thereafter, Eric left for the Order of the Sword.

### Order of the Sword: Missions

At the Order, Eric (and Linthen) received additional training and equipment.  After honing their already impressive teamwork and skills, they were assigned a few different missions by the Order.  First, he was to assist a senior member of the Order in defending a town from marauders.  After completing his first mission, he was given his first solo mission:  to reconcile some differences between a few different groups of farmers.  This mission went by fairly peacefully; it was on his return trip that things took a turn nobody expected.

After he made peace between the farmers, Eric had sent back word to the Order that his mission was accomplished successfully and he was returning.  Upon returning, he was traveling along the road when he heard a woman scream.  He quickly directed Linthen in the right direction and found the cause.  Two women in strange clothes were standing over a third woman on the ground.  Around them, a pack of seemingly feral dogs snarled at the women, ready to attack.

Drawing his sword, Eric joined the fray astride Linthen.  He utilized his sword and Linthen utilized her hooves to great effect - but there were simply too many for them to take down together.  Fortunately, they were not alone - the women, who had been chanting under their breath, began using powerful magic.  In truth, by the end of the fight many more dogs were felled by magic than by hoof or blade, but intervention of the two bought the women the time and space needed to cast their magic.

This victory was not without its cost, however.  The dogs were smart - almost too smart - as they attacked Linthen where her armor did not cover, and she suffered great wounds as a result.  Near the end of the battle, Linthen fell, which ended up crushing one of Eric's legs as a result.  With his leg broken and Linthen in even worse shape, things looked bleak.

Fortunately, the ones with magic knew healing magic as well.  It would take time to heal their wounds completely, they explained, so they offered Eric and Linthen lodging until they had both fully recovered.

### The Coven and The Bluff

Eric found himself recovering in a small bundle of natural houses.  These houses were called home by a coven of witches.  While this fact originally worried Eric, he soon found he had nothing to fear.  These witches didn't engage in evil practices, and a good number of them owed their lives to Eric and Linthen.  (It was a small Coven, so the three they saved was a good number of them.)

While Eric recovered, he could not train but he could talk.  He began conversations with the witches - why they were there, where they had come from,  what they hoped to do.  With his prior deeds, charisma, and friendly demeanor, he ended up befriending each Witch in the Coven in short order.

His leg healed in about a week, but Linthen's wounds were more severe.  Not content to merely sit and wait, Eric made himself useful however he could.  Another week passed before he found something he shouldn't have:  another ferocious dog.  It was alone, so Eric defended himself adequately, but its mere presence meant something was amiss.

He informed the witches of what had happened, and he learned the truth:  the dogs were war-dogs, trained to hunt and kill, by bandits that resided at the edge of the forest.  These bandits believed (wrongly) that the witches could grant them great power, and when the witches said they could not, the bandits began killing them for their 'defiance'.  They said they will not rest until the witches granted them power, or until they were all dead.

Eric also learned why there haven't been more attacks:  the witches set up illusions, hiding their homes away so the bandits couldn't find them.  The 3 witches Eric saved were witches who had briefly wandered outside this protection.  The witches noted that while their illusions worked fine against humans, the dogs were a different story, and the bandits are using them to try and find their hidden homes. Thinking on this, Eric realized that he couldn't simply leave with Linthen when the witches had finished healing her.  He would be leaving a Coven of innocent witches - innocent people - to die.  With a new resolve, Eric began coming up with a plan.

A few days later, the bandits' dogs got the scent and started leading their masters to where the witches were.  A man clad in armor stood in their way.

"WHO DARES APPROACH MY DOMAIN?" boomed the figure, the forest shaking with his every word.

The dogs and bandits stopped.  Who was this?  WHAT was this?  Then they realized - it was the witches' power! At first, they grew excited - they could have this power for themselves!  Then, as the trees began to uproot themselves and gather behind the figure, their excitement turned into terror.  Would...would they have to fight the entire forest?  Their dogs started wimpering, and some of the men began to panic.  Their leader tried to get them to focus, but it was no use. The figure and all the trees behind him gave one loud, bellowing order.

“LEAVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” The dogs ran for it.  Seeing their war dogs in such a panic, their masters quickly followed suit.  Before long, the forest was ridden of the bandits and their pesky hounds.

After the threat had passed, the illusions dissipated.  The witches thanked Eric for the idea of using a bluff to scare them off (which Eric knew was dependent on the fact the bandits viewed the witches as powerful), and in turn Eric thanked the witches for...well, everything.  They had healed his leg completely.  They were finishing healing the last of Linthen’s wounds.  And they had reinforced an important lesson - that he should judge more on action than on words or looks.

Not too long after, Eric and Linthen left to go back to the order.  Before they left, though, the witches gave Eric a potion and told him to drink it.  He was puzzled, but drank it anyway knowing the potion to be a sign of their gratitude.  He noticed nothing different (other than a slight bad taste in his mouth), and asked what the drink was supposed to have done.  They responded that one day it would ‘unlock his potential’.  He was puzzled by their words, and hoped one day he would know what they meant.

### Returning to the Order

Upon returning to the Order, Eric was questioned on his near-month long absence.  He did not lie, giving his report on what had happened with the witches.  He refused (or rather, left out) any information regarding their whereabouts; he figured the Order had no need to know where they were, and the witches’ best security was nobody knowing where they were.

The Order was unsure of what to do next regarding Eric.  They had a man who spoke of and befriended witches, and had drunk some unknown potion without much hesitation.  They knew of his good intentions, but were unsure of what to do about the rest.  Ultimately, they decided they would test him.

The head members of the Order summoned Eric, and gave him an opportunity:  he could choose a quest of his own to pursue, for as long as it took, as long as he abided by the Order’s Edicts.  For the Order, this was a way to keep him at arm’s length, test his character, and uncover any unforeseen side-effects - all of which were warranted, in their eyes, due to his recent activities.  For Eric, this was the opportunity of a lifetime.

He accepted right away.  His quest:  to discover the truth about the mysterious circumstances surrounding his father’s death, and by extension, restore his family’s name and honor.  The Order approved the quest, and Eric then swore to complete it.

### To Falador

Before Eric had left the Order, one of his fellow members informed Eric that Falador would be a good place to start (although he didn’t mention why).  Eric thanked him and finished his preparations to leave.

The next morning, Eric and Linthen began to head out. On the road, they stopped for a short while, and Eric patted the back of Linthen’s head.

“I do not know where this journey will take us.  I do not know who will be alive at the end of it.  And I do not know who and what we will encounter along the way.

...but I do know that we’ll face it.  Together.”

And with that, Eric and Linthen started down the road to Falador.

## Appearance

Usually covered in armor; where there’s not armor, you can see brown hair covering the rest of it.

That was Linen’s description, by the way.  She also has a white tip at the end of her brown tail, as well as a white streak going from the tip of her nose to the top of her head.

Eric too is usually clad in armor.  His white skin is usually not seen under his helmet, gauntlets, etc.  He carries a lance and shield on his back, and a sword on his hip.  His lance is left in a holster on Linthen when it is too unwieldy to carry around (like going through small doorways).  A banner with his family’s crest is usually, but not always, attached to his lance.

Eric is actually quite muscular, but his build and armor hide it quite well. His face and body lacks scars and cuts you might normally expect, given his profession, but that just shows how new he truly is as a warrior.  (Although he’s been in a few scrapes before, he is still considered green by many other members of the Order of the Sword.)

## Personality

Eric greatly respects those who show compassion, respect, and honor.  He himself tries to do the same.  When he thinks of knights and paladins, he often feels inadequate - like the training they’ve gone through and the oaths they’ve sworn are much greater than his own.  As a result, he both gets a little depressed and gets a little inspired (he wishes to be more like them).

Eric tries to judge people slowly based on anything other than actions.  Words, appearances - these can be deceiving or even contradictory.  But one’s actions show one’s character, and Eric will try to reserve judgment until he has seen someone in action for himself.

Despite this, Eric does not hold others up to his same (high) standards.  It was he who decided to become a Cavalier; it was he who swore edicts to uphold; it is he who is the eldest of the Armash family.  To hold others up to his own standards would be nonsensical.  He does think others should at least have some honor and compassion, however.  They are things he thinks no person should be without.

Eric is a bit strange when it comes to conversations.  When speaking with others, he is often loud, boisterous, or fanciful.  When dealing with animals, he is quite the opposite, speaking to them soothingly and with great care.  When asked on why this is, he reveals that he’s simply adjusting his speech based on his audience (like all people do - but he does it to a greater degree).  With people, it is those that stand out who do the best - the monarch who brings the most prosperity; the knight who saves the most people; the hero who vanquishes the most foes.  Those who are quiet and non-vocal are not remembered, and that’s the opposite Eric wants for the Armash name.  With animals, though, there is no reason to be so vocal - in fact, animals detest it.  For animals, it is hiding, going by unnoticed that is the best thing to do.  Therefore, being quiet and calm is best when talking to animals.

Due to his experiences, Eric is slow to actually trust others.  He can make friends quickly, but being friendly is easy; actually finding people you can trust is another matter altogether to Eric.  He often does not mention his distrust of others to people, as they tend to get offended by it though he means no offense.

## Friends

Despite his charisma, Eric has few friends.  Had he lived a normal childhood, he could have had many friends in high places and in other noble families.  However, after his father died children of other families, business people, and many others began to stay away from his family.  As a result, there are precious few people he could actually call ‘friends’. Among them, he can count his mother Rebecca, his brother Leon, and the witches from the coven he saved (see History). Although friendly with other members of his Order, he would not call them true ‘friends’ if asked.

## Enemies

Since he grew up in a noble family that was disappearing from everyone’s sight, he had no real enemies growing up. As a Cavalier, he has not yet made a name for himself, so he has no enemies from his profession either. There is but one man he might consider his enemy, but things are….more complicated than that.  He does not willingly share information about this man freely, and as such, he often gives the appearance of a man with no enemies.

## Aspirations

Eric wishes nothing more than the restoration of the Armash family, including their former glory, honor, prestige, and wealth.  To this end, he hopes to become more than just a well-paid cavalier: he wants to become an example, a conduit of honor and integrity.  In other words, he wishes to be a hero that can help others and restore his family's name.

Also to this end, he wants to find out the truth behind the mysterious death of his father.  In truth, Eric knows more about his father's death than anyone realizes.  But there are still many things Eric does not know, and until he does his quest cannot truly be considered complete.