Saber

* Mutant (Current)
* Without Disguise
* With Disguise
* Old Art
* Lon Masquerade
* Sabre

**Adrian "Saber" Hemu** is a player character in the Main Party controlled by Joe. He is a Fane Antipaladin/Monk who once wore a disguise-first a special mask from his God and later a Greater Cap of Disguise-to appear as human at first glance. He stopped wearing this disguise after nearly dying in the woods outside of Fuerygar.

Saber notably dresses in expensive clothing, wearing dress clothes that are made of materials that allow him to move and fight easily, with a cloak on top. He wears a large, golden tie pin and a pork pie hat with a large, pin emblazoned with the symbol of the Magic God, of whom he is a devout.

He became the ruler of Le Gao after a successful coup to overthrow the despot Hu Chang and is engaged to Celeste Veranova, queen of Lon.

## Weapons

When Saber first joined the party, he fought with an estoc in each hand. However, after the party's first engagement with the Cult of the Rift, he reworked his fighting style to drop one estoc in favor of a buckler, and strike at a great range relative to his own size. This remaining estoc came to be known as **Forseti**, a Masterwork Keen Corrosive Burst Estoc.

After the conclusion of the Lon Masquerade, the party was temporarily split up as they were each sucked through a portal. Saber lost most of his equipment, but managed to grab Envy of the Red Sin Series from the corpse of Nikoli Veranova.

Upon returning to Le Gao and reaching Go Lin, Saber came across a vial of Strange Fluids that changed his body to render his eyes useless and give him four arms. After this, Saber also began to use a scythe called **Indignation**, a Keen Agile Sharding scythe made of Scythewood.

After defeating General Hu Chang, Saber began to use the General's former weapon: **Royal Decree**, a +2 Keen Impact Estoc made of Gold that grants its user the ability to use Greater Command once per day to force opponents to kneel, inflicting a penalty on opponents who are dissidents against a country ruled by the wielder. It was at this point that Saber also acquired Rhapsody.

Saber also held Need for some time, but did not use it in combat.

## Saber's Fiendish Companions

Through his Antipaladin powers, Saber has gained the aid of a number of evil creatures during his travels. Saber is only capable of maintaining one of these creatures at a time, with the old creatures disappearing as Saber becomes powerful enough to summon new ones.

According to Saber, the creature he receives comes from the Magic God and is based on what he feels he needs most at the moment he receives it.

### Scyphus

Upon reaching Level 5, Saber's first Fiendish Companion was a Fiendish Blink Dog called Scyphus. As a blink dog, he possessed the ability to teleport, enabling him to be an effective scout and provide flanking in combat.

Saber had a great relationship with Scyphus, often showing an unexpected soft side towards him.

### Kapa

Upon reaching Level 7, Saber gained the aid of Kapa the Fiendish Tiger. As a tiger, Kapa was capable of pouncing on opponents, grappling them and tearing them apart with his claws. Saber was also capable of using Kapa as a mount and fighting from atop his back.

Kapa later reappeared for a brief moment when Saber was Level 9 at the Lon Masquerade. Saber had recently been retraining to add Monk powers to his combat capabilities, and temporarily lost the aid of Calix for the ultimate encounter with Nikoli Veranova and the Cult of the Rift.

### Calix

Upon reaching Level 9, Saber gained the aid of a sadistic Babau by the name of Calix. When first summoned, Calix fought with his preferred longspear; however, after Saber invested in equipment for him, Calix began to fight with a keen scythewood scythe stolen from a Redcap.

As a Babau, Calix is a horrific sadist who enjoys tormenting his victims. This often leaves him at odds with most members of the party. Calix seems to fear Saber, and often behaves sheepishly and obediently when given any order by him, no matter how demeaning it may be.

### Long Elk

Long Elk is not one of Saber's typical fiendish companions - instead, Long Elk is a bloody skeleton created from the body of a paracyte-ridden elk that once dwelled in the forests outside of Fuerygar. While scouting with Tholgar for supplies for the besieged town, the two happened across a pair of monstrous forest animals. While the fight initially seemed impossible, Saber's smite proved critical in dispatching the beasts. Upon felling them, Saber used Animate Dead to create a companion out of the beast, which Saber uses as a mount in combat.

###  Lily Sitri

Upon reaching Level 13-Level 11 in Antipaladin-Saber gained the aid of a succubus known as Lily Sitri. She was summoned when Saber sacrificed Calix in an advanced monster-summoning ritual to call her. She introduced herself as a "remediator" sent by the Magic God to help Saber in his personal growth, though she offers to help the rest of the party as well if she is able.

Lily is a Lawful Evil succubus who holds a deep enmity for her Chaotic ilk. In service of the Magic god, Lily offered her profane gift to Saber and his allies and tried to corrupt his purpose for seeking power; however, after being banished by an enemy in Go Lin, her connection with the Magic God was severed and she was sent to Traston, where she bargained with Red for her and Saber's "Freedom"; the demon lord's contract broke the hold of the Magic God over the duo, and in fact enabled Saber to continue to draw holy power from the deity with no threat of consequence.

As a consequence of Lily's freedom, she lost many of the abilities normally inherent to a succubus, though she regained the use of her ability to teleport normally restricted by being the companion of an Antipaladin. Additionally, her profane gift turned into a sacred gift. Over time, her appearance has begun to change, along with more of her abilites.

While the party visited the Fey Realm to beseech aid from Queen Titania, the Fey Queen offered Lily a trade. In exchange for her vampiric touch, she gained the ability to shapeshift into many different Fey forms as well.

## Meeting the Party

Saber met Lusine Vavrad, Sobek, and Tholgar Ironfoe on the evening of March 21st, 1765, upon exiting the mysterious portal at the Desert Temple. Before anyone could introduce themselves or get a grasp on the situation, the four were quickly thrown into combat with three unknown incorporeal undead, a Dire Ghoul Wolf, and a mummy. The group defeated their attackers without any casualties. Not seeing any civilization around, the group opted to rest for the night.

When morning came, the party opted to head east in search of civilization. After traveling for four days and nights, the group came to a canyon on the morning of March 25th. There, they encountered a Young Blue Dragon and its prey, a Dire Ghoul Wolf. A passing Half-Orc named Aamir Al-Yasin assisted the group in the fight, and provided first aid for Saber and Sobek, whom had been paralyzed. He insisted the group follow him back to his camp, which to which the group obliged. While there, however, they were provided with an ultimatum: Pay for the aid they were to receive, or be forced to work off their debt. The party learned of Aamir's affliction with a unique form of mummy rot that could not be cured by conventional means, and of an artifact in a nearby dungeon that could potentially aid in the curse's removal. The party decides to take on this quest to save Aamir and recruit the aid of the camp in a time of need.

## Saber's Philosophy

In Summary: Session A021, Saber discusses his ideals and code of justice for the first time.

Saber explained that his ideal world is one that is governed by just laws, in which he could live a quiet life. He believes that so-called "Vermin" include people who exploit the law to their own end, or people who do not know their place in the hierarchy of a just society. To that end, Saber wishes to purify the world of people who pervert the natural order and bring undue harm to the innocent.

When provoked by Sobek, who believed that Saber's motivations were to seize power for himself, Saber expressed that he wishes for no such burden. He then went on to say that, in a perfect world, people who do the dirty work he does would not need to exist.

## Past in Le Gao

After killing Alister in the City of Rain, a high-ranking member of the Cult of the Rift arrived, who revealed Saber's name as Adrian Hemu. This enraged Saber, who threw his estoc at the man before the teleported away. After taking time to calm down, Saber decided to reveal his past to the party once and for all.

> "I never wanted to talk to any of you about this. I didn't want to think about my past and I certainly didn't want to drag you all into it. But now that someone who knows who I... was... has come calling... It's becoming increasingly clear to me that I have some greater role in all this. It's time I tell you a story.
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> Adrian of Hemu. A Fane child from the slums of Le Gao. Truly, the dregs of the dregs. He had not a mother, nor a father, but he had a family. Brothers and sisters. Le Gao has a bad reputation. Martial Law. Forced worship. And they regularly conduct... purges... where they kill their own people over the slightest dissent... or the slightest imagined dissent.
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> "Perish ill thoughts lest they grow into ill actions."
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> And whom do they use to conduct their purges? Their poor, their weak, their easily controlled and fearful, led against one another. Adrian was conscripted, alongside the rest of the able-bodied people of Hemu, into the army as a child under the purview of one Major Mutrek. And so he served for some time, turning his blade against his countrymen for fear that he would be next if he did not.
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> Well, one day, Major Mutrek deserted. He had enough of his peoples' blood on his hands and fled with a caravan of thieves. The unit was disbanded effective immediately, of course. Like hell they would allow a group of peasants with swords run around without a leader. A leader who was a deserter, who may have corrupted their love for their country. So they sent Adrian and the people of Hemu back to their village. The purge came for them next. All around, the people of Hemu were being slaughtered as they had done to others. Hope seemed lost. Adrian called to the heavens for help, begging for the aid of Asmodeus. Pleading for salvation from Lissala. Casting aside his pride and beseeching every deity whose name he knew...
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> *…but nobody came.*
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> And then, he heard in his head, or perhaps then became aware of, the name of a God that he had never known. And he begged them for help. What he saw next was a terror unlike any he had ever seen. An unstoppable swordsman, brandishing an estoc and moving with ruthless efficiency, slew everyone in sight. Hemu citizens. Le Gao soldiers. Livestock. Not a maggot left to pick the scraps off the bones. Nothing save for Adrian was spared.
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> That night, Adrian Hemu died nonetheless. The only remnants of Hemu were the nameless ghost that used to go by the name, and two sisters whom had left some years before the conscription. With the guidance of his new God, the ghost set out on a journey to become a hero. To avenge the people of Hemu by cutting down the tyrannical General Hu Chang, and exacting justice on the so-called Purifier that seems to have aided in it. After traveling for some months, slaying remnants of the army, the ghost was called through a portal to a desert. It was there that he-I-received the name "Saber"... from you, songstress.
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> This is difficult for me, but I want to ask you all for your aid. I cannot abide allowing the general's crimes and cult of personality to go unpunished. The Purifier wields Rhapsody of the Song Series. I will have answers from him about why he was there that night, and why he slew my people. When our business is finished in the Skan States and we have grown just a little stronger, I would ask you to accompany me home so I can finish this, once and for all."
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-Saber, on his past

## Trivia

* Saber was previously unable to speak to the party, as some Fane are only able to speak Necril. Through the use of an Ioun Stone, though, Saber was able to understand the party. With some help from Lusine, Saber has since learned to speak and write common.
* Saber smokes frequently, and cannot become intoxicated from alcohol.
	+ *Spine Twister* is a notable exception to this, and Saber can become intoxicated while drinking it.
* Saber has been a member of the Adventurer's Guild since a few months before the start of the adventure.
* It was revealed in Session A018 that Saber is an Antipaladin.
	+ Saber was formerly an Antipaladin with the Virtuous Bravo paladin archetype.
	+ After retraining, Saber became an Antipaladin with the Enforcer archetype.
* Mutrek mused in front of the party that "Saber" was merely an alias, but neither Mutrek nor Saber himself made any comment as to Saber's real name.
	+ It was revealed in Session A081 that Saber's real name is Adrian Hemu. He later reveals that he no longer goes by this name because he considers Adrian to have died in Hemu alongside his slain countrymen.
* In Session A061, Saber equipped a cursed belt that changed his sex to female. This curse was later removed. Saber did not seem to care about the shape of his body so long as he could use it to fight the way he wanted to.
* Saber claims his Antipaladin Oath is the so-called "Oath against Vermin" - this oath is not actually an oath against typical vermin, but rather an oath to destroy those he sees as unfit to wield their power. It is unclear whether this oath is truly sworn to the Magic God, or even real in the first place.
* Saber's favorite breakfast is rice porridge topped with nuts, vegetable meat buns, and a crepe stuffed with fried egg and scallion, served with black tea.