Alaster Bastion

Alaster Bastion serves as the Lord of Trudgedale and one of the Lords of Karthmoore. Constantly harassing his butler and servant, Jeeves, Alaster is relatively apathetic to politics and nobility in general and finds ways to entertain himself, commonly through having Jeeves perform absurd tasks for him. Despite his lazy appearance, Alaster is well read, capable in a battle of wits, and once earned the title of Champion of the Arena in Trudgedale at the age of 19.

## Early Life

### Childhood

Born as the second son to the Lord and Lady of Trudgedale, Alaster grew up wishing to be a gladiator after his parents took him and his older brother, Rick, to the arena. His parents scoffed at the idea considering that gladiators were typically in the arena against their will during his youth. Ignoring his parents' disapproval, Alaster began to train himself in the way of the sword with help from the family butler, Jeeves. Alaster's older brother was often bored with most things and subsequently was too disinterested with joining or even helping Alaster with just about everything. Rick's detached attitude towards his brother resulted in Alaster confiding in Jeeves about his problem, dreams, and every day life. The subsequent strong bond between Alaster and Jeeves grew quickly as Rick separated himself from the family.

### Young Adulthood

As he grew older, Alaster began to develop similar apathetic qualities like his brother which worried Jeeves. At the time, Rick had shown no interest or skill with politics and the lord grew worried about having a successful heir. This led Jeeves to convince the lord to grant the title to Alaster instead on the condition that he permit Alaster to do as he pleases in an attempt to pull him from the depths of apathy before he turned out like his brother. Reluctantly, the lord agreed and Alaster was thrilled to learn that he was allowed to compete in the arena.

After two years of steady training, Alaster had become a muscular sword master who was ready to take on any opponent in combat. Though still worried sick about their son, the lord and lady attended every arena competition to support Alaster. Jeeves began to doubt his decision as Alaster's injuries increased on every entry to the arena which was further supported by the lord's anger regarding his son's injuries and failures. Desperate, Jeeves wrote to his brother, Niles, who served the Lord of Dunmire, Nigel Idun. Niles arrived within days with permission from Nigel to further instruct Alaster in the ways of combat. Though Jeeves was embarrassed by his failure to adequately teach Alaster, he was relieved that he swallowed his pride to have Niles instruct him considering that Alaster's skills improved drastically within weeks.

Upon his following entry to the arena, Alaster brushed past his opponents without receiving much of a scratch. In one of the most memorable battles of the arena's history, Alaster took on Chrass the Shadow Knight who favored a lance and insisted on battling on horseback. Though outmatched at first glance, Alaster maneuvered his way around each thrust of the Shadow Knight's lance and was able to topple him under his horse. The battle ended when Alaster struck the Shadow Knight's helmet so hard that his sword broke which force Alaster to use the lance against Chrass, impaling his heart.

### Lordship

Following his victory, Alaster served as the Champion of the Arena under the pseudo-name "The Beast" for three years until his father and mother passed away from an illness that afflicted them both. Keeping to his promise, Alaster surrendered his title as arena champion and took up the title of lord. Jeeves worried for Alaster as he did not say a word during the funueral or service in honor of his parents. Rick left the manor shortly after to pursue a stable career as a prison coordinator leaving the mansion empty bar Alaster and Jeeves. Alaster's apathy for certain topics returned but not to the extent of Rick's. Despite his disinterest in politics, Alaster has been commonly known to do an exceptional job at governing Trudgedale. Though it is generally customary for the Lord of Trudgedale to attend as many arena sessions as possible, Alaster intentionally avoids returning to the arena because he becomes depressed seeing other do what he loves.

## Campaign

Alaster has served as the Lord of Trudgedale for 8 years when the party meets him. Despite his advisor, Lars', odd behavior, he did not suspect anything regarding the plot to control the Lords of Karthmoore considering that Lars did not attempt to manipulate Alaster. Subsequently, He is surprised to find that Lars was intended to be a part of the conspiracy. Initially, Alaster is skeptical of the claim because the party entered his home by way of Astrid becoming the new Champion of the Arena instead of using the letter given to them by William, Nigel, and Ricken. Furthermore, the group splits up during dinner leaving Alaster to find Thran'duin in the basement naked with a giant Fairfax (Courtesy of an accidental enlarge humanoid spell) and an unconscious, naked, and tied up Lars. Ultimately, however, Lars confesses and admits that he was afraid of Grimdark. He spent the past several years trying to contract a curse of lycanthropy or vampiracy in order to make himself stronger than Grimdark, but had failed up to that point and had mild deformations as a result. Alaster trusts the group after Lars' confession and writes a letter of his own and insists the group use it to gain access to the mansion of Erikton.

Once the party has successfully defeated Yorgon in Erikton, Alaster is summoned by Lord Wilhelm along with Lord William, Lord Emeritus Nigel, Count Duke, and several military leaders to discuss plans for taking back Karthmoore from Grimdark. Appropriately, Alaster brings Jeeves with him and has him carry his luggage. Alaster is proud when Jeeves defeats his brother and servant to Lord Wilhelm, Reginald, in fisticuffs immediately following their arrival. During the war meeting, Alaster agrees to accompany the other Lords of Karthmoore in a campaign following south along the west coast to flank the capital from the south and cut off support to Kartmire.