Steven

Art by Mike Kooistra

### Affiliations

Church of Helena, The Cloaks, Tasha's Will, Ranger Enclave, Council of Howling Rise

### Signature Weapon

Holy Longsword: IthildinSilver Handaxe, Radiant Soul, Hunter's Mark

## Physical Description

### Eye Color

Blue

**Steven** "Steve" Rogers is a founding member of The Cloaks and is married to Aurelia Rogers.

### Appearance

Steven is human in appearance but is an Aasimar. He is tall, well muscled, and incredibly athletic. He has dirty blonde hair and blue eyes with an old vertical scar across his left eye. He has a nasty gash scar across his chest as well. He currently has a full beard. Has a tattoo of the Goddess Helena on his neck.

### Personality

Steven is a caring man that is usually in tune to the needs of his friends but sometime misses conversational cues. He wants desperately for his friends to be happy and well and he will usually go out of his way to help those in need. Steven has loved and lost...making him a man who does not take for granted those he cares for the most. Steven's faith in the Goddess Helena is a central part in his being, and most people around him learn this quickly. He is not overbearing in his evangelism, but it shines through by his example; his unselfish giving, his desire to care for others, and his dedication to making everyone feel at home.

### Martial Prowess

In battle however, a different side comes out. He is a relentless hunter. He locks on to his opponent and figures out a weakness and exploits it. Steven is equally comfortable fighting two-handed with longsword and handaxe, or fighting with his sword and a shield. He has a primal distaste for fiends, and seeks them out first, if possible, in combat. In fights against tough odds, Steven will use his Radiant Soul ability, calling upon his Celestial Heritage to call forth wings of light that allow him to fly and cause his attacks to add holy damage. During this time his eyes radiate holy light as well.

## Biography

### Background

Steven was born near the forest village of Brookland. In a tragic incident, his parents and siblings were slain by an unknown force near his house. Steven was a young boy at the time and was spared because he heeded a voice that led him to hide beneath the shrine to Helena that was next to the hearth in his home. He was found later by an Elven woodsman and taken to Fairwater.

Steven grew up an orphan in service of the Fairwater Cathedral of Helena. He always enjoyed exploring the wilds of the southern forests and swamps and travelling as an assistant on church business. In his early twenties, a maiden from town that he had been courting went missing while travelling between Fairwater and Golden Keep and was never seen again. This lit a new passion in Steven. After consulting with the clergy and cooperating with the Enclave in Howling Rise, he set out to train to become a Ranger, ready to assist those in need to make it back to a warm hearth. He trained for years in Howling Rise, where he fell deeply in love with one of Council Members/top Rangers. Upon graduating, he returned to Fairwater and patrolled the area for a couple of years until he was contacted by a guild in Yeti's Call. He traveled all the way there to investigate a closed mine and rumors of dragons. There he met the other adventurers who he would join with and form the group now known as The Cloaks. They at this time joined the Adventurer's Guild, Tasha's Will.

### Adventures of the Cloaks

Steven rapidly made friends with the other members of the Cloaks, finding faith as a common ground with Adrian, and getting along with him despite the normal rivalry between their churches. He initially got along just fine with Malark but a deeper trust took longer to cultivate. After spending a bit of time with and making it through a couple of battles, Steven and Janis developed a quick respect for each other's abilities, and soon realized that they were becoming best friends as well.

Steven's adventures with the Cloaks have taken him on many travels and expanded his perceptions on the world. They fought against Dragons in the mines of Yeti's Call and a deeply evil Winter Wolf controlling Dire Wolves and wolves in the mountainous forest nearby. After departing Yeti's Call, The Cloaks encountered a Mystic Graveyard where they fought zombies, skeletons, and shadows. After exploring the crypt, they came face to face with a Vampire Knight. Steven thought that the creature was trying to take Janis away from them so he attacked. The encounter ended terribly for The Cloaks. Steven received a terrible scar across his chest. They were defeated and came too at a nearby crossroads being mended by kindly old Priest of Prudis, Melty Face. Zinnasadi was missing, and Steven's horses had been slaughtered.

The Cloaks continued on towards Howling Rise. It is here that Steven reunited with the woman he loved, Aurelia. The Cloaks stayed in the South Region for a while and did some quests, finding a way through the mountains, meeting some giants, and discovering a plot involving the Fairwater Undercity guilds. During this time Steven professed his love to Aurelia Jelen, one of the council members of Howling Rise, and they began a romantic relationship. Also during this time, someone murdered Melty Face, who it turns out, was from the Kingdom. The Cloaks had also been invited to the Kingdom to take part in a Festival/Tournament, so they embarked on a diplomatic quest to carry word to the Cathedral of Prudis and compete in the Tournament.

The Cloaks traveled to the Kingdom and did NOT like it. They were initially arrested trying to enter capitol city of The Gate, but were later released. They went to the Cathedral and then prepared for the Tournament. The Cloaks finished an admirable fourth place amongst much more experienced competitors and won the new Arena competition right out. While leaving the Kingdom, The Cloaks had a portal accident and were transported to a Void plane, where they had to fight their way to an escape. Aurelia, who just happened to be bringing Steven a gift, was using another portal at the same time and was trapped in the Void. She was badly wounded in body and mind, taking months to heal and her mental illness lingering.

The Cloaks made their way towards Fairwater next, meeting Aurelia's siblings at their Inn, and meeting Milo as well. This is where Milo joined the Cloaks and they declared war on the Slaver's Guild. They struck two strong blows against the guild, taking down one of their lords, and his warehouse, then setting up an exchange and slaughtering a massive force of slavers and freeing the slaves. Now they were all over the Slavers' radar.

It was during this time that Helena herself summoned Steven directly to her celestial home and awakened his angelic bloodline. She gave him a holy quest to unite her children, the people of the lands...get them to work together and break the Tyranny of evil and corruption. She gifted him with a holy sword as a symbol of her love and trust in him. Steven informed the Church leadership of what happened and they had forseen it. They made a plan to form a network. The Cloaks headed West with the freed slaves. Steven had a plan to build a Helenite Church in Howling Rise. He also needed to spend time with a very sick Aurelia.

See Year Downtime