Ramin

"*Hate is the only feeling that make sense. But I know what hate does to a man. Tears him apart. Turns him into something he's not. Something he promised himself he'd never become.*"
—Ramin regarding hatred.

## Ramin

### Date of Birth

1239 A.K. in Torrance

**Ramin of Goldshire**, commonly known as **Blackpatch** and sometimes **Black Goat**,is a Demon Hunter hailed from Torrance. Renowned for his tracking capabilities, Ramin joined the organization of Demon Hunters many years after the Emergence of Evil. His broad connections and intermingles with other organizations has made him a resourceful individual.

## History

Ramin was abandoned as an infant and taken in as an orphan to the Zakarum Church of Waystruck. While serving as a page to an aging Zakarum cleric and learning how to read and write, Ramin wrote hundreds of corresponding letters on his behalf over the course of several years. His upbringing in the religion made him a zealous follower in his later years. Ramin was also exposed to harsh punishment for what his guardian's regarded as sin, and thus he was constantly disciplined or beaten for his insubordination.

Ramin eventually left the church and turned to a life of artisan work; he lived under the innkeeper Gwen and was taught how to use a bow and arrow at a young age. Waystruck's town leader, Delpha, involved him in small exploits surrounding the Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye, earning Ramin a reputation among his peers. Traveling bounty hunters would often recruit him into their company for temporary work for his knowledge of the surrounding realm.

### ***Life Upon the Hollowed Kraken***

Circa 1249 while accompanying a group of warriors as a squire, Ramin's group was attacked near the Gulf of Westmarch by a raiding force of corsairs. Ramin and several surviving members of his group were captured and sold into a trafficking ring controlled by pirates. After several weeks of captivity Ramin contemplated killing himself and attempted several times, but never succeeded. For nearly eight years Ramin was brought up and forced into service upon the pirate ship *Hollowed Kraken*. He occasionally crossed paths with pirate lord Zulu, and served under him for a short duration.

Ramin's ability to read and write efficiently led him to become a correspondent upon the *Hollowed Kraken*, thus he played an important role in several campaigns and missions. Highly valued among his peers and masters, he was kept under special care aboard the ship as he grew older, and even began to teach others aboard how to read. King Charle's foreign policy was largely defensive, and in 1254 began to recruit several pirate vessels to disrupt trade among the other Western Nations. Bestowed by his masters, Ramin became a central figure in corresponding with the Entsteig Monarch.

Outside his role as a correspondent and educator, Ramin continued to practice as a bowman and would hunt when on land. He made a small fortune in the eight years he served aboard the ship, despite his inability to leave. In 1257, Ramin was rewarded his freedom and returned to Torrance to settle down as a poacher. Utilizing the contacts he made during his years of piracy, he would later join a splinter gang controlled by the Thieves Guild and aid local fences in their dealings.

### ***Hireling of the Forest***

During the War of the Black King, Ramin fled the kingdom during a great exodus and trekked north with a group of refugees to escape the madness of King Leoric. His group witnessed to the conflict known as the Resistance of Southgate. In 1264, one year after the war, Ramin settled in the Sharval Wilds where he worked prolifically as a hunter and pelt merchant. He worked occasionally with the Greenguard and would oftentimes collaborate with their members, particularly cleric Argo Ruffly, on collecting bounties and aiding denizens. During a mission to capture a crazed hermit in the wilderness Ramin was attacked and was stabbed in the chest, and managed to survive by the healing touch of a traveling priest.

Ramin spent months traveling the Sharval Wilds until he eventually settled down and built a cabin in the small village of Goldshire; there, he continued to hunt for pelts which he used for trading and selling. He betrothed a young woman from the village, offering her family a dozen pelts for her hand in marriage, and lived with her after the cabin was built. Their marriage did not last however, as his wife, Christine, ran away with a traveling merchant. Unknown to Ramin at the time of Christine's sudden departure was that she was pregnant with their child; the two never saw each other again. Not long after she abandoned Ramin, and kept no promise of ever returning, he soon left Goldshire and began living as a vagabond.

As a means to distract himself in his work, he began working closer to the Greenguard, taking on multiple contracts within the following year. Simultaneously, he collected gear and provisions stolen from his bounties and sold them to fences within the Thieves Guild, further building his fortune. Ramin's allegiance to both the Greenguard and the Thieves Guild became a conflict of interest, resulting in his exile from the former in 1268. He received a pardon for his crimes but was threatened with imprisonment should he ever return to the Sharval Wilds.

### ***Joining the Hunt***

Following his banishment from the Sharval Wilds, Ramin journeyed north into the Dreadlands where he began working closely with several warriors to hunt down demons, receiving both praise and rewards in the process. His endeavors in the fallen kingdom lead him to cross paths and collaborate with several organizations, including the Veradani, Zakarum Inquisitors, and several uprising mercenary factions including the Iron Order and remaining Barbarian Tribes. His broad connections across Dreadlands made him a reputable warrior in the hunt to vanquish the demons. Among his closest companions were a passionate group of warriors, one of which had close ties with the leaders of the Viz-Jaq'taar.

Circa 1270, Ramin began utilizing magic runes, potions and elixirs with a Apothecary Muriel of the Alchemist Guild. Unbeknownst to Ramin was that Muriel secretly traded through a black market with a coven of witches within the Witchwood of Torrance, with Muriel visiting to acquire herbs, runes and ingredients. Ramin, meanwhile, would sell and distribute their final products to traveling merchants and towns he visited in the north. Ramin, acting as a fence through his association with the Thieves Guild, was able to distinguish himself to the needy denizens of the Dreadlands.

Later that same year, during winter, Muriel attempted to betray the Witchwood coven and in response they captured and sacrificed the priestess. Ramin, unaware of her murder, soon noticed her disappearance and attempted to locate her whereabouts but to no avail. Some months after her death, Ramin found in her home letters through her personal belongings that exposed her dealings with the coven. The Demon Hunters of the Dreadlands as well as the Viz-Jaq'taar, who were fighting a war against The Herald of Terror, bestowed the quest of eliminating the witches of the coven. Ramin's journey south was extensive and his investigation of Muriel's disappearance lead him to the Witchwood, but he awaited for a duration before confronting them.

### ***The Black Goat of the Coven***

Having returned to Torrance after a seven year departure, and seeing the ruined state of his motherland, Ramin became fixated on helping restore peace to the shattered kingdom. Though he did not abandon his quest bestowed by his northern allies Ramin was quick to distinguish himself by aiding warriors in the region at slaying demonic minions, especially the highly active groups controlled by The Herald of Terror. After sometime his investigation of Muriel lead him to a dense area of the Witchwood where he soon discovered the coven that had supplied her. Perceiving them merely as demon worshipers and heretics he planned to eliminate all the members for what he assumed had been the result of her demise.

### ***Warrior of the Wasteland***

During the winter of 1274, Ramin answered the call of the Demon Hunters and journeyed to the far reaches of the Dreadlands to join as an official member. Journeying with him was his partner Robyn, who he convinced to leave her coven, as well as Terji Joensen, who served as his prisoner and ward to carry out a sentence at Bastion's Keep.

## Character and Appearance

Ramin is a gifted and intelligent individual, versatile in a broad range of abilities from gadgetry, melee weaponry, ranged weaponry, multilingual, strategy, and great many others. Due to his vast knowledge and expertise, Ramin is highly sought after as a resourceful individual. His personality is dreary, his demenaor often unsettlingly. Due to these characteristics Ramin has many allies but few friends.