Caerdren sol Ironfaith

## Description

Caerdren must once have been a great brute of a man... his shoulders are broad, his jaw square, and he's taller than many humans. What bulk he may have had is gone now, however... his mighty frame is strung with thin tendon and the wiry remnants of once-powerful muscle. His eyes are a piercing and strangely vibrant golden hue, but set in deep sockets, and his cheekbones are strong yet hollowed. His nose is aquiline, hawkish, and not entirely straight, like a blade that's been broken and reforged too many times. His features are lined... possibly with age, but also by weather and hardship, his skin tanned to leather and creased with innumerable scars.

And yet... he doesn't seem -old-, exactly. His movements are careful, his steps sure-footed, and his posture is straight and true. His hands do not shake, nor does his voice, which is quiet, even, and deep of tone.

His armor seems uncharacteristically lightweight for a man of his calling; in many places it's simply mail or leather. What hide it doesn't cover is a veritable mess of keloid; slashes from blade or claw, or twisted burn scars. Over much of his visible skin, however, are great swaths stained inky-black, the surface hardened and twisted... the tell-tale legacy of once-grevious fel burns. Yet against the blackened surface is an irregular pattern of pale white asterisms, paler by far than even his normal skin color, as if something had bleached out the blackness in irregular patches.

On his right bicep is a brand in the shape of a Light-cross, although its outlines are badly marred at this point in time. Recently, he's acquired a large scar that runs from his right ear to his forehead. Aside from being fairly obvious, it tends to glow in the presence of Light magic. In addition, his once-graying hair has lightened to a pale cornsilk-blonde, touched with gold.

## Public History

Caerdren just sort of showed up on the Company's doorstep one day; a gaunt figure in leather expressing interest. No one really seems sure when he actually showed up, or how long he'd been there... for a long while, no one would even seem to notice he was attending meetings or other functions until he did something to specifically draw attention to himself. Assigned to the Security division, the quiet, pale-haired man spent most of his time apparently just.... watching. When he was noticed at all, anyway.

Over time, however, he seemed more willing to interact with company members, although his characteristic stern scowl (or 'resting bitch face' as some have labeled it) and taciturn demeanor has meant that few people have made the effort to get to know him any better than superficially.

The most drastic changes have come quite recently, however. Whatever turned his graying hair and green eyes golden has gifted him with a potent connection to the Light... although it doesn't seem to have returned strength to his hollow frame. As a result, he has transferred (mostly) from Security to Medical, and alternates duty between the MoCo infirmary and the Argus assault aboard the Vindicaar. Presumably he still has some sort of duties with Security, but either they've taken a major back seat to his current duties, or else they're being purposefully kept in the background.

Caerdren has one surviving family member; his much younger brother Gydien, also a member of Modan Company.

## Locked Files

### (*Please note that this section is in locked company files; it should be treated as OOC knowledge)*

Caerdren is a man of secrets, some of them buried much deeper than others. Of the ones he's shared with certain members of the company, a few are more commonly known. One is that he was, up until a few years ago, a devout Scarlet crusader. A series of dire events, up to and including the arrival of Acherus to New Avalon, seem to have severed those ties for the most part, but it likely explains a lot of his behavior and demeanor (and probably a lot of his scars).

Those involved with the Uncrowned know a different story... that Caerdren came to the organization a few years ago, and has made a quiet name for himself since then mostly by being excruciatingly efficient at what he's been assigned to do, as well as being very subtle. Although not the best fighter (it's hard to hide the fact he's not much on raw strength anymore), his knowledge of poisons and traps is not to be underestimated. He was assigned (or possibly assigned himself) to the Company with the express intent of making sure none of the artifacts the Company finds end up in the wrong hands, and if anyone gets replaced by dreadlords, to remove them as discreetly as possible. It's fairly well known Caerdren absolutely -*loathes*- dreadlords, above anything else that walks the face of Azeroth.

Only a rare few know why his hair has turned golden of late, or why his eyes glow with the Light. During the initial assault on Argus, Caerdren was engaged in his most usual pastime of closely watching entities of power... in this case, the altercation aboard the Vindicaar. On the positive side, he had a marvelous view of the proceedings without being noticed. On the downside... he (along with everyone else present) could not foresee that Illidan would literally shatter a naaru, and was therefore much too close when it happened. The blast blew him clean off the platform and down into the lower levels of the ship... and left him full of shrapnel. In a surprisingly short time (or perhaps not so surprisingly), his wounds healed... and for the first time in years, his ability to connect to the Light was returned. It hasn't done much for his physical strength, but his ability to use it for curative and healing tasks has been greatly amplified. He has also been behaving somewhat erratically in the aftermath, at least compared to how he was before. It's hard to say if it's directly related, or if it's simply that he's more comfortable around the Company.