Adolyn Valenrow

“I’m sure the stories you hear about me are all greatly exaggerated,” - Count Adolyn Valenrow

Notable Noble Deeds
At the tender age of seven, Adolyn, his milk brother, Glendriel Assyrius, Sworn Sword Soven Kellen, and childhood friends London Griseweald and Nadoni Ashree were instrumental in assisting his father Palence and Crown Prince Eriol in sealing the wicked Elderian Sorcerer know as the 'Illich' back in his tomb.

At fourteen years of age defended Prince Eriol and the royal host from orcs during an expedition into the Lost Kingdoms.

Was sixteen when he and several others students of the Leonardt Knight's Academy rescued Princess Megan de Lioncourt from Eternian cultists who wished to use her Elioudan blood to revive an ancient evil.

As a Knight's apprentice squiring under Dame Esaka Morant of the Border Legion, a seventeen year old Adolyn would defeat the famous Dragon Blade; Casai the Red Eye in single combat.

During this time he would also gain notoriety for uncovering various magical artifacts and relics as he and his Knight's Masters ranged and adventured the far fringes of the disputed lands, venturing deep into dangerous places like the Mist Marsh and the sunken city.

As a full Knight of the Order by the age of eighteen Adolyn served in Evandale's Border Legion, becoming an officer within months. As part of a scouting party lead by academy friend Jonah Schwarzsturm, Adolyn was able to uncover a plot against the Faeorie, the Leverin descendants of the Eternian Zervai. Assisting the Faeorie Adolyn rediscovered the resting place of Durendal, the First Eldeidan, and claimed the Flames of Salvation. With it's power her slayed the Bone Dragon Garvos and exposed the conspirators among the Leverin nobility targeting the Faeorie, earning the title Hero of Ages.

At the request of Ashara Aslan, daughter of Archduke Keiron Aslan, Adolyn joined a quest to investigate a 'ghost ship' attacking trades out in the Nereid Ocean. There he slayed the Night Beast Haldon and discovered one of the original Eldeidan, Joyuese the King's Blade. He would gift the weapon to Jonah Schwarzturm.

Lead the Border Legion in turning back the Agorian’s at the Siege of Vonleah.

Aided the defenders of Fort Radegast and protecting Ashara Aslan.

Saved Queen Isylia of Leveria from Benecien Witches.

Lead the counterattack at the Battle of Hearld’s Keep, saving the then Prince Eriol de Lioncourt from a Saurian treachory. Defeated several Dragon's Blades, Wyvern Riders, and Saurian Dragoons. Adolyn was pivotal in the victory at Herald's Keep by defeating the Dragonborn High Wizard Yand.

At Twenty-Two he was named Primus Corvinus of the Sacred Order of Raven Knights for his valor and accomplishments at Herald's Keep, though he initially refused the honor. Is the youngest Primus in the history of the Order.

Appearance
Adolyn stands a little over six feet tall with a slim, but toned physique. He’s athletically built, but not overly muscular. He’s patterned much like others of his species. His tawny-brown fur is accented with beige fur at his muzzle, abdomen, chin and throat. He shares the characteristic of black tufts on the end of his ears with the rest of his species. He carries distinctive black markings on the tip of his tail and on his face horizontal above his eyebrows, that are usually covered with his red hair. His also black markings from his eyes to his nose, that aren’t nearly as pronounced as others of his breed. Under his hair, three black markings, two above his eyebrows and one in the middle of his forehead can be seen.

Adolyn is considered reasonably handsome by both men and women of various species. Though he isn't considered uniquely or overly so. He’s received marriage proposals from canines in Amarok, to Agorian Crocodiles. He’s even turned down a dragonkin; though this is mostly attributed to his reputation rather than his looks. He is said to have captivating blue-grey eyes that seem to disarm people. His dark red hair is probably his most noticeable feature, a common color for his species and his family. Adolyn tends to wear a disarming smile that masks his thoughts and intentions at all times, he’s described as looking trustworthy and almost calming to look at.

Personality
A cheerful and upbeat man, Sir Adolyn is rarely if ever seen either upset, angry or distraught. His ability to stay calm and cheery during some of the worst situations has earned the notice and admiration of his fellows. Sir Adolyn is intelligent, loyal, honorable and charming. His entire disposition screams, trustworthy. He is not known for telling lies and prefers to treat others with respect and dignity despite their station in life. He does not take for granted or abuse his nobility and shows concern and empathy for all of his fellow Knights. He’s been described by his childhood friend Dame Jonah as unbearably optimistic and sees the good in most people. Despite this, he is also known to be deceptively clever and cunning. His disposition and outward personality causing many to believe him a cheerful fool. Underneath his smile and sincere niceties is a calculative mind that is aware of most everything around him. He is incredible at reading others, but does not judge them their faults. He believes in the oaths he’s taken and will uphold them. With that said Adolyn is incredibly lazy when it comes to paperworks or any kind of bureaucracy or administration. He is openly condescending to the eccentricities of the aristocracy and refuses to be embroiled in any court intrigue. He is a hands on Knight and prefers to be in the field instead of in some castle. As a Valenrow, he is marked as an Elioudan, those mortals with the blood of the Eternians. The Valenrow bloodline descends from the great Eternian Athren, one of the Five Claws, the trusted generals of the God King Leodin. Because of this most attribute his prowess and impressive accomplishments to his bloodline.

Childhood
Adolyn Valenrow was born under the Amber moon one hot summer night in 231 AC, to Countess Elania Christin and Duke Palence Valenrow. A bright and precocious child, Adolyn mastered reading, writing and the pleasantries and courtesies of the royal court by the age of five. In addition to his scholastic studies, Adolyn trained in swordsmanship and martial skills under his mother Elania. The young caracal excelled at it far above his peers and soon began practicing it whenever he could. He was an earnest young child who shared his father’s respect for others and his disregard for the formalities of his status. Because of this he was well liked by his servants and lessers. This is a constant source of headache in the aristocracy who do not approve of his family's preference for commoners over the nobility.

At the age of seven while his father and he were accompany an envoy of nobles, including the prince, Eriol de Lioncourt to Amarok, he was embroiled in a plot by tribal cultist to unseal ‘the Illich’. During the conflict many warriors of Amarok and Lioncourt were killed. Adolyn’s life would change dramatically when in danger the natural gifts of his bloodline became apparent. Adolyn, faster and stronger than any normal child of his age, took his mother's sword, ‘The Christin Blade’, a powerful Eldeidan and assisted his father and the prince in sealing ‘the Illich’. He was injured gravely in the conflict, but his Elioudan blood saved his life and accelerated his healing. This was considered his first ‘Knightly Deed.’

After the incident in Amarok, his mother announced one night that Adolyn would be take away for further training. No one, ever said where he went exactly. Though they did tell close family friends that it was for 'his own good.' Though Adolyn kept correspondence, the communication was in one direction.

Upon returning home, he was greeted by his father with love. Despite obviously wanting to know, his father never asked him about his time away. Instead, he spent every free moment spending time with his son and teaching him the in’s and outs of becoming a Knight of the Realm. The Duke wished for his son to follow in his footsteps and one day lead the Border Legion, the Knights of Evandale who patrol the Eastern borders of the Kingdom of Lioncourt. A free command that held both Knights of noble blood and commoners on equal footing. He enjoyed the time with his father and when he was allowed at the age of twelve, became an initiate within the Knight’s of the Order.

As an Initiate he had no equal in combat or scholastics. He was well liked by most of the other initiates and his knight instructors. It wasn’t long before he was made a full fledged Squire, the youngest there was at the time. Despite his hard work and diligence, there were many nobles and even other Squires who felt that his high marks and high regard was the result of favoritism or nepotism. Many of his fellow Squires refused friendship with him for fear that they’d be seen as groveling to the Duke’s son. He’d have a rough go of it until he met his first real friends.

At thirteen he was sent from Evandale’s Knight Academy to the Knight Academy in Bast, the capital city, where all the exceptionally talented squires were sent. There, though still quite a great deal more powerful than most any he encountered; Adolyn for the first time met others who could challenge him. One such squire, was Jonah Schwarzsturm. Jonah was the top squire in the Academy before Adolyn’s arrival and it did not take long for them to clash. Jonah, or Jo as she was called; resented all of the rumors about Adolyn’s skill and challenged him to one on one combat in the proving grounds. Sword to sword, Jo was more than a match for Adolyn with her aggressive combat style and deceptive strength. She’d pressed the younger squire the entire bout. Adolyn’s sword skills were nearly on par with Jo’s, but his Druid training gave him the edge, however he refused to use any of his arcane skills to overcome Jo’s physical advantages. In the end, neither Squire could truly best the other. Jo had been too strong and too skilled for Adolyn to defeat with only his skills and wit; and that skill and wit were just too much for Jo to overcome.

Though the match was called a draw, Adolyn sought to befriend the haughty piglet, who begrudgingly accepted his friendship. During his time at the Academy he made fast friends with two other squires. One of which was a fellow noble, the daughter of the Eridanus Family,  Vidame Aritrea Angelica Eridanus. A cheerful and sarcastic young lioness who excelled in archery and swordsmanship equally. The two had met when Adolyn had stood up to her for picking on one of the other squires, a young outlander named Cress, whose family was new to the nobility, an award his father had earned only two years before his birth. Aritrea had never had any male stand up to her before, especially not another squire. The daughter of Marquis Harlem Eridanus, Captain of the Royal Guard; she and her siblings lived a charmed and pampered life. A naturally gifted warrior, she didn’t take her training seriously and often bullied lesser nobles and commoners, something Adolyn would not stand for.

Far from embarrassed or contemptuous over his intervention, Aritrea was quite taken with Adolyn, who had his reservations about her friendship. However she’d made a concerted effort to impress Adolyn with her behavior; learning how to treat others with equal respect and not lord her station above them. Likewise she began to take her studies more seriously, if only to keep up with Adolyn as he quickly rose through them. Eventually, her determination won him over and the two became nearly inseparable friends.

His best friend in the Academy had been the young Cress, an effeminate young thylacine he’d been asked to look after by his superiors. Cress was an archer by trade, whose blade skills were below average when the two met. Most other Squires regarded the fresh faced Cress with either indifference, scorn or outright antagonism. Adolyn fought many battles with other Squires on behalf of his friend. Eventually he taught Cress to defend himself better by teaching him techniques he’d learned under the Druids that weren’t considered forbidden to the world at large. The two developed a close friendship that would last through their Academy days and into their adult lives.

As Knight’s Apprentice he served under Dame Angel Ross a Blade Knight and veteran of many battles. Dame Angel or Mama Angel as she prefered to be called, took him on as her apprentice. Despite many Knights wanting the ‘honor’ of being his Knight’s Master, he’d chosen to train under Dame Angel because he’d known her growing up. One of his father's most trusted knights, she was High Warden of the Border Legion. Under her he would see vigorous combat and go on many adventures. Though he didn’t learn much of combat and martial talents under Angel, he did learn insidious and cunning ways to employ his skills on the battlefield as well as how to lead men. He was an apt pupil earning the respect and admiration of even seasoned knights as he fought beside them in Border skirmishes with Agorians, Saurians and even the savage barbarians in the Moorlands.

Adult Life
By the age of Sixteen he was an experienced Borderman. His Academy friends, Cress, Aritrea and surprisingly even Jo had become Border Knights as well, each taking apprenticeship under a Knight within the Legion. Though most Knight’s tended to keep their apprentices close by, Adolyn in his friends were given an autonomy that even seasoned Knights would envy. With Jo as the de facto leader of the group, they had many adventures in the Borderlands and proved to be an invaluable asset to the Legion. This was no more apparent as when Prince Eriol’s daughter was kidnapped by Eternian Cultist.

Out late one spring night bird hunting, the eagle eyed Cress noticed a large creature flying from the lands toward the Moorlands to the North. When the princess’ bracelet fell to the ground from the creature, he alerted his fellows and they gave chase. Adolyn and his fellow Knight Apprentices braved the ruins of the Kingdom of Garman in the Moorlands to the heart of the former nation. There they found cultist who worshipped the Eternian Gods of old, these cultist wished to use the blood the princess, in a ritual that would break the seal on a Eternian creature known as the Baldimorg. With serious help from his friends, Adolyn defeated the cultist leader and slayed the Shade of the Baldimorg, preventing it’s true form from being unsealed. This earned him and his fellows many accolades and the permanent adoration of the young princess Megan.

The world at large took notices after that, Adolyn and his friends were named full fledge Knights by King Legault himself. Despite the honor for one so young, his knighthood was bittersweet. His friends and he would be separated. Jo was sought after by the Home Guard in Assyria and Nemea. Cress and Aritrea had been given an opportunity to train as a forward scouts, with serious considerations of being trained as Rangers, though Aritrea would have moved the heavens to follow him back to the Border Legion had he asked.

Adolyn, however did not stay in the Borderlands for long after his knighthood. In the fall on 249 AC as a favor to his father, he was sent along with other Bordermen to Forest Kingdom of Faeorie. The Faeorie were experiencing an unnatural drought and strange forest fires had become common.Their Rangers were taxed keeping the people safe from the Wilderings, forest hare’s whom were outcasted from Faeorie society. In the course of his adventure, Adolyn discovered the troubles were caused by a sect of Faeorie Witches who plotted to reanimate the bones of the great dragon Garvos and use his power to conquer the Kingdom. Eventually with the help of Faeorie Rangers, the surviving bordermen of his Legion and the support of his childhood friend and rival, Dame Jo; he was able to brave the Meandering Woods and defeat the feral beasts within and claim the sword Durendal. With it’s power Garvos was slain and the Faeorie, and perhaps all of Theria were saved.

Though Adolyn would complete many noble charges, as well as survive many dangerous adventures; he is most well known for his actions at the ‘Battle of Herald’s Keep’. What was to be an armistice in order to discuss peace, became a plot by the Saurian King to murder the Lioncourt Royal Family. Poisoned by ancient and black magics, the King was weakened and struck with a mortal blow by the Saurian King Mizer. Though King Legault was able to plunge his sword, ‘The Raven’s Wing’ deep in the heart of the Saurian King, it was not enough to stay the Saurian attack.

The Border Legion was called on to face the Saurian’s Wyvern Riders and their fierce and powerful Dragon Knights. Adolyn however was not at the Keep with his legion, but as a guest of Princess Megan de Lioncourt, along with his Academy fellows who previous helped save her life. It was during this battle that Adolyn again saved the lives of the Princess Megan and her brother Prince Vandell, stowing them away with the Raven Riders to return to Bast. With Jo, Aritrea and Cress by his side, he fought his way deep into the Keep to find their father, Prince Eriol de Lioncourt.

The prince and his Raven Knight’s were found on the Keep’s walls, trying to make their way to the more fortified eastern tower. Adolyn had known if the King were alive, the Royal Knight’s would have surely took him there. Lead by their Primus Corvinus; Sir Garret Jesstane the weapons master, the Raven Knight’s ferociously fought back the Saurian onslaught. Though few in number, the Raven Knight’s were warriors of incredibly ability, each wielding an Eldeidan. Their archers peppered the skies with explosive and magic arrows, keeping wyvern riders at bay. Their lancers fought back Saurian dragoons as they pressed the lines of the enemy. At every edge they were assaulted, the Raven Knight’s held the line, but the overwhelming might brought to bear against them seemed to be too great. Many of their number were lost in the battle.

Adolyn arrived on the battlefield with Durendal in hand, the blades power and legend were enough to give his enemies pause. With it in hand, he did not fear revealing his druid taught skills. Most would credit the feats to the Eldeidan he carried. Though only four, he and his fellows were enough to push back the assault of the Saurian soldiers. All seemed to turn until the a High Wyvern attacked. Massive and breathing fire, the feral beast began to lay waste to the defenders. Sir Garret and his Knight Commanders took on the beast, stabbing their weapons into it and disappearing into the night, leaving Adolyn to command the remaining forces and defending Prince Eriol until the Captain of the Royal Guard, Sir Harlem Eridanus and a few of his men arrived.

Though Adolyn acquitted himself in command and protection of the Prince, he was not nearly in time to save the life of King Legault. He and his men were slaughtered to the last, having held out in a hall beneath the east tower, their intended escape route destroyed and covered in debris. The Prince had seen his father's final moments, too weak from magic poison to defend against the onslaught any longer, he and his final Royal Guard, the wife of Sir Harlem Eridanus and mother of Aritrea were killed. Adolyn could only watch as sorrow and fury overtook those around him and the king’s killers were butchered to the last. His life, his kingdom, would never be the same.

With the Saurian attack beaten back, the Kingdom of Lioncourt mourned the death of her King. Eriol de Lioncourt was named King of the Pridelands in the wake of the disaster. The King’s first order was to dismiss the Royal Knight’s whom left his father's side during his darkest hour, especially The Captain of the Guard, Harlem Eridanus who was banished from ever stepping foot in Castle Ravenclaw. This dishonor was seen as both harsh and unnecessary, carrying with it not only significant damage to the Eridanus family as a whole, but leading to Adolyn’s friend Aritrea resigning her post. When Adolyn and the King requested her to reconsider, she spat in the King’s face. Though many wanted to see her hung for this insult, King Eriol forgave it and allowed her to leave without incident, with the offer to return to Knighthood if she so chose.

With Sir Garret Jesstane seriously injured and his Raven Knight’s devastated by the battle, Adolyn was offered apprenticeship under the great warrior and the role of Primus Corvinus of the Raven Knights. Dame Jo and Sir Cress were also offered places within the great order. Though Adolyn refused, wishing to return to the Border Legion, the King denied this and named him the future Primus anyway. From that day forth Sir Adolyn’s life would never be the same. No longer just a Knight or a Hero, he was now Champion of Lioncourt and the most recognized name of their order at only twenty one years of age.