Aiden Malachy and Lady Seli'sona

Born and raised under the feudal banner of Rinden, Aiden Malachy is the eldest child of three between Sir Aleron of House Malachy and Rhian Abhinetri. His father is a well-respected human knight within one of Rinden's famous orders of emerald knights, the Order of the White Lily, a banner of knights defending the northern territory of Rinden. His mother was an elven sorceress hailing from Boru, visiting the Rindenland during one of her many adventures across Uresia. As fate would have it, their paths crossed in the form of "cooperative" rivalry. Friendship followed the completion of their mutual quest, and love soon followed after... for a time.

Within the long-lived perspective of an elf, eight years and three children was naught more than a fling, and the fire for adventure that burned in Rhian's heart was far too fierce to be quenched by idle family-building. And so she left. Not more than a year after their youngest child was born, Aleron was left to raise them himself--not counting the family's personal servants, of course.

As the eldest of three--Aiden, Messena, and Bowen--Aiden was groomed to eventually be formally inducted into the Order of the White Lily as a knight. He was raised upon the tenants of chilvary, taught the ways of the sword and spear, and shown to revere the memory of the gods. The young, bright-eyed highborn child took happily to his lessons and showed no lack of passion in such pursuits. As Aiden came of age, however, the mystic, elven blood in his veins began to stir. Though he did not quite understand it at the time, he demonstrated a certain sensitivity to the latent magic that spread across the Rindenland in the wake of the Skyfall. Gradually his interest in his lectures turned away from the gods themselves and wandered toward that of the power they left behind in their passing. The latent magic in his veins yearned to spread its wings.

Rinden is a kingdom of honored, ageless tradition and its knights are the shinning pillars upon which those traditions stand. The emerald knights, in particular, are the incorruptible protectors of the kingdom from both within and without. They are, by some definitions, the very essence of what it is to be a Rindenlander. Because of this, those who currently or will potentially wear the banner of an emerald order are held to the highest, strictest standards of behavior. The Order of the White Lily was no exception. Of particular note, these standards include strict guidelines upon the use and study of the arcane. In short, magic deigned to sully the memory or intent of the gods is either banned or heavily frowned upon. 

Demonology is one such school of magic that is heavily restricted. Unlike within Winnow or Sindran, there is no fine line between Common Demonology and Demonology. Considering that in the northern reaches of Rindan along the border of Winnow, strange and vile otherworldly beings are a common foe for the emerald knights stationed there, there is little love for extra-planar creatures among the Order of the White Lily. 

Aiden, however, disagreed with that sentiment.

Though Aiden thoroughly adhered to the letter of tradition within his upbringing, there was always a part of him that was reserved for free-thinking. He took the teachings of his mentors and did no simply absorb them, but made them his own. He soon came upon his own belief that the latent magical energy left behind by the fallen gods was not just an entity for reverence, but a gift to be used to bring about benevolence. Like metal that can be shaped into a deadly blade, it too could be hammered into that of a shield to protect the meek and innocent. Moreover, Aiden believed that not all entities from outside the material bounds of Uresia were ultimately agents of evil and chaos. Unfortunately, among his father's order, he was virtually alone in such beliefs.

While Aiden strongly believed in his viewpoint, he also very much wanted to eventually be inducted as an official knight within the emerald order. Thus his study into the art of Demonology was kept a careful secret. 

In the time that followed, trouble in the northern Rindenlands did not stay abated for long. It never did. The borderlands between Winnow and Rinden were notorious for the otherworldly beasts and creatures that haunted the region--and the Order of the White Lily was no stranger to dealing with such creatures. The latest influx of these troublesome beasts, however, was far different from the norm. Where the Order mostly concerned itself with capturing or smiting demons, devils and the like that were attempting to cross over the border and infiltrate Rinden's society at large, the knights soon found themselves amidst a small-scale invasion of otherworldly monsters.

Rima, a small trading town just north of Rinden's border, was all but destroyed over the course of a single night. A massive, screaming fissure of fire and scorching light tore open in the center of the town, shattering or swallowing all in its wake. Where the victims of the disaster disappeared beneath, wicked creatures climbed out, unleashing chaos upon the survivors and spilling across the border en mass. The Order of the White Lily acted swiftly in its response, entering into several skirmishes and a small-scale siege along with Winnow's local forces to retake Rima's shattered remains. This was Aiden's first actual engagement with the Order's enemies.

Eventually the knights were triumphant, but the victory was Pyrrhic. In truth, Rima and the vast majority of the population that live there were lost as soon as the fissure had opened. Now there was just a smoldering husk of ruined buildings and corpses amidst a massive, sealed-up scar in the ground Nonetheless, this was not just an attempt at infiltration, but an attack on Rinden by the knight's definition. Despite this, however, as Rima was within Winnow's territory, the main investigation was out of the knights' jurisdiction. This did not prevent them from keeping a keen eye on the proceedings and offering assistance where warranted, however.

Regardless, what was clear even outside the investigation was that this was some sort of coordinated effort. As far as the whole of the Order was concerned, otherworldly creatures were was varied as they were malicious and this level of cooperation among such a large group was... uncommon. Someone or something had planned this attack and somehow united a host of inherently chaotic beasts under their command. The Winnowan investigators suspected a greater demon. The emerald knights sought for a greater conspiracy. Aiden, however, had his own hunch.

Unbeknownst to his brothers and sisters in arms, Aiden was now at least semi-fluent in demonology, and as far as his limited experience allowed, there was certainly some evidence there that pointed toward the work of summoners--several of them if not one of great power. While this information would certainly be of aid to the knights' own investigation of the battlefield on their side of the border, it was only garnered from his unique perspective from his studies into strictly-forbidden knowledge. Revealing it would certainly give away his secret.

And so, against an untold number of rules, codes, and political boundaries, Aiden launched his own separate investigation into the matter. 

While certainly nearly impossible without the combination of his status as the member of a noble house, his affiliation with the Order of the While Lily, some useful magic, a gift for wordplay and no small amount of luck, Aiden managed to pick up on the trail of at least one of the rogue summoners he sought. His search brought him south from Rima, down along Rinden's eastern coast to the port town of Nau until the trail grew cold. It was only through a happening of circumstance that Aiden received a tip that a strange individual was searching for passage to Temphis that his search was able to continue. An androgynous individual who simply went by Kieran.

Finally Aiden caught up to who he presumed to be the suspect in question. Though much of their physical features were hidden beneath concealing clothing, the individual question was no particularly imposing in terms of profile. Very little was gleaned from Kieran's appearance aside from the briefest shot of long, blue hair that draped down under their hood and behind a bestial, white mask they slipped on as Aiden approached. When he isolated his mark from public view and approached with damning questions and evidence, the mysterious individual replied by conjuring a summoning circle into existence and allowing a large, bestial demon to claw its way forth from the abyss. Though the rogue summoner was the true culprit, Aiden could not allow the creature to run rampant through the town and was forced to hold his ground to defeat the beast while its master escaped.

Though he was not a full-fledged knight within the Order, Aiden was no stranger to swordplay. But for all his practiced strikes and heroic defiance against the otherworldly beast, he was simply outmatched by its brutal ferocity; his attacks seemed to soft against some sort of infernal barrier surrounding the demon while his own armor offered little aid against its claws. The squire did not stand for long, and with one last, terrible strike, he was knocked prone with his sword flung from his grasp. Bloodied and unable to rise to his feet, Aiden reached his hand out in desperation as fear and faintness consumed him.

In the enveloping darkness, he felt a warm sensation press into his palm. A golden tether--a strand of light emerging from the cloudy heavens above. Holding tight, he pulled the light toward him and watched in awe as it took form: another hand holding his own. Suddenly there was an intense flare of energy around the whole of his broken body, surging around him like a shield of raw force-of-will. Then, all went dark.

When he awoke--a surprising occurrence on its own--his wounds were being tended to by an angelic entity clad in armor and freshly flecked with demonic ichor. In the friendliest possible way she quickly introduced herself as Lady Seli'sona, Knight of Elysium, an pledged from that day onward to serve as Aiden's loyal companion. It was certainly a lot to take in at once, starting with the fact that he still lived, but eventually Aiden managed to sort out through his previous studies that this Seli'sona before him was indeed an otherworldly eidolon that he pulled from the aether in his death-throes.

There was no doubt that Aiden was thankful for Seli'sona's intervention and dedication toward future cooperation, but in truth her existence made him very anxious. He needed to bring the fruits of his own investigation to his superiors at this point lest Kieran be allowed to disappear off the map completely. But now with Seli'sona at his side, it would have been impossible to explain away his study of demonology. It was certainly a difficult decision to make, but ultimately Aiden decided that bringing his foe to justice outweighed his own personal issues.

After the long ride back Order's base of operations, Aiden immediately reported to his superiors and organized a meeting with them. Laying both his lies and evidence at his feet, he spared no detail about his knowledge and his actions. Needless to say, they were not pleased in the slightest. 

There was no doubt that the information he obtained would be instrumental in bringing Kieran to justice, but Aiden's crimes mounted up like a pillar of shame: on top of studying the strictly-forbidden practice of demonology, he also willingly interfered with the affairs of a separate nation, tampered with the evidence of the Order's own investigation, knowingly withheld vital information, abused his position for personal endeavors, purposefully lied to his superiors, and broke an untold number of further codes and honors held by the emerald knights. 

By all rights, he should have been dishonorably expelled from the Order and put on trial for crimes against Rinden.

Aiden's only saving grace came in the form of Sir Aleron Malachy, his father. While Aleron was initially as furious and distraught as his fellow knights, he did not overlook the end to which his son's unfortunate means achieved. While he could not publicly condone Aiden's behavior, Sir Aleron was a well-respected knight of the Second Ceremony within the Order of the White Lily. Many of his peers, including some of those with higher stations than his own, either owed him their lives or at least a great debt of gratitude. It was through this chivalrous sway that he was able to pull some strings and barter for a lesser sentence for his son.

Begrudgingly, the Order's judicial council gave in--but not without a caveat. Aiden would retain his station as a squire within the order, however, he would be held responsible for spearheading a new investigation concerning the apprehension Kieran in Temphis. If he proved to be instrumental in bringing the rogue summoner to justice, then his previous infractions would be overlooked by the council. Should Aiden instead decide to flee or fail in his mission, he would be considered an enemy of the state and tried accordingly. It was honestly the best offer either he or his father could have hoped for.

And so with his mission clear, his powers renewed, and his newly-appointed companion from Elysium at his side, Aiden rode for Nau once more to book passage to the cursed lands of Temphis. 

The rest, of course, was history still yet to be written.