Cyrus Drake

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Cyrus Drake is the judge, jury, and executioner of the Nalatheshi town of Lonerock. Lonerock is a small town on the southwest border of Nalathesh, overlooking the Great Chasm a couple days’ ride south of Bridgemoor.

Cyrus’s total authority in the town would be cause for tremendous social outcry if he were not so level-headed and even-handed. As it is, the small town looks to him as a tremendous leader and he is widely respected and accepted throughout his entire community.

Cyrus is a human in his thirties with brown skin and close-cropped black hair. His goatee was once black and has lightened with traces of silver. Along with the care lines starting to form around his eyes and mouth, his gray hairs are the only indication of the toll that leading this town has taken on Cyrus. His bright green eyes hold both warmth and cunning that allows him to lead his town with great success.

Wearing his holy vestments and wielding a magical weapon that has been consecrated by Cyrus’s patron god, Judesaril, he protects Lonerock from all manner of threats, from roaming bandit gangs to prowling monsters.

Religious Conviction

Cyrus believes that he was set apart for righteousness from a young age. His family were traveling merchants that were murdered by bandits, and Cyrus managed to escape the carnage through sheer providential luck. He struggled as an orphan on the streets of Aridala for some years before he was taken in by the Luxxors and given the finances to travel to Bridgemoor, where he studied religion in the University.

Through his studies, Cyrus came to agree with the Luxxors’ baseline belief that Neferu’s quasidivine monarchy needs to be changed. Upon graduating from the university, Cyrus joined the Order of the Darkscourge, a religious order that worships the Celestial Council and is sworn to finding and eradicating evil.

The Order sent Cyrus to this backwater town of Lonerock to protect and serve it. Many would have grumbled at what might feel like a demotion, but Cyrus leapt at the opportunity to serve his order and return to his home country. Nothing is beneath him, and he is devout in his faith and resolute in his purpose.

Lonerock Mines

As Lonerock overlooks the Great Chasm, it holds rich potential to produce gems, gold, and coveted Avadrium. When Cyrus became the leader of Lonerock, he immediately hired prospectors to locate valuable veins of minerals for mining. Lonerock’s mines are not the most lucrative in Nalathesh, but given the town’s small size, it generates far more wealth per capita than many larger cities.

Cyrus and Aridalan Nobles

Just as Lonerock has an outsized influence on Nalathesh’s economy thanks to its mines, Cyrus Drake has an outsized reputation with the nobles of Aridala, the capital of the country. Cyrus is quite vocal about his beliefs in the Celestial Council and his dedication to Judesaril in particular. This has obviously led Godking Neferu to take severe issue with Cyrus. However, thanks to Cyrus’s massive popularity with his community and his success with Lonerock’s mining industry, Neferu is not willing to risk having Cyrus deposed at the moment. Furthermore, the Luxxors publicly support Cyrus’s leadership and commend him frequently, further preventing Neferu from doing anything untoward.

The Radiant Blade

Cyrus is a brilliant leader and is not incompetent in combat, either. His fighting style is dramatically enhanced by his radiant blade, a sharpened shard of Avadrium that has been consecrated in Judesaril’s name.

For details on the Radiant Blade, see Appendix B.