Sir Gilbert Laedak, the Dawn Star - Faith, Honor, and Conviction

[The Samophlange]

Gilbert Laedak, affected the Dawn Star by his Knight-Procurator for the weapon he wielded, has finally died. Though I am sad to see the character go, I consider him to be my most successful character to date. Originally conceived as a potential Auxiliary, Gil was a naive mercenary from Aglarond who had never seen any actual combat. More used to polishing spearheads and stocking catapult ammunition than actually fighting, when he arrived in Sanctuary he was an incredibly idealistic and impressionable young man. The original plan was that he would buy heavily into the Spellguard propaganda, idealizing the Agents for their role in keeping him safe.

And then, something amazing happened. Charles Argentaeu made a sending to speak on the Chalice, and after a while of learning of their function he offered Gil the chance to become a Squire. I was shocked, and yet... I could not think of a single reason the young man would ultimate refuse. Thus began the growth of him from a young man with a nervous stutter and no faith in his own ability to the fearless bulwark of the Golden Chalice. His growth as he became more confident in his abilities was a joy to play, and I immensely enjoyed the way the Knights of the Golden Chalice shaped him and watched him turn into some kind of horrible Gary Stu model of perfection as a result of their confidence in him.

[Hide=Squire]

Gilbert was a mess when he arrived. Full of anxiety and never formally trained, he barely knew which side of the flail to hold onto!







At first Gil was incredibly uncertain of his position as a squire. While he looked up to Charles as the example of everything he wished he could be, he had a difficult time believing that he could actually meet the older man's expectations. The result was a warrior who was constantly anxious, on the battlefield and off.





Laedak's spent much of his early time learning from his fellow squire Don Throgg and his knight, Charles Argentaeu. Though Throgg was resentful of the way the knights flocked around the new human lad he still put Gil through the ring often, teaching him the basics of battle that would carry him until the end of his career. Charles favored a much more hands on form of education, leading him into the most dangerous places in the Underdark to acclimate him to the dangers of their work. [/Hide]

[Hide=Cape Harrowden]

Not long into his time serving beneath the Summer Knight the Golden Chalice was called to their first task on their quest. The sought the Wellspring of Eternity, a font of eternal life that could return Siamorphe to her full power once more. To do this they would need to follow the tracks of Josiah Bamberg, an explorer rumored to have found it in the Underdark some two-hundred years ago. They were forced to secure an uncertain craft, approaching the fell isle under cloak of mist.



On the isle they found a village filled with warped men and women, their bodies twisting into horrid fish people. Among them was a pair of shipwrecked travelers, their captain lost in the wreck. They warned the knights of a coming Solstice ceremony, during which they would have a chance to attack the mysterious temple in the center of town without anyone noticing.



They snuck in through an abandoned asylum, which was discovered to have been holding sacrifices for the coming ceremony. The only way to the temple was through the murky waters...



The temple was truly ancient, older than mankind itself. Gil found courage in his fellows, facing the warped fish-men without breaking. At least, until the ritual completed and their wicked master emerged!



Foulest Dagon! The demonic Lord of the 89th level of Hell stepped into Faerun once more, aiming for the total destruction of all life that did not bow before him. The only hope to stop him came in the critical moments after he stepped out of the hole in reality, still weak from his transit. Alas, the knights were in no position to do battle! Throgg fled at the sight, and Gavrilov lay slain by its minions. Gil stood frozen in fright, unable to move before such a terror! As it advance upon Charles, it was Maestrari Vauclair that read desperately from an ancient scroll...


Dagon was banished once more back to his realm of brine and hatred. Without the mage the battle may truly have been lost. As it was, Vauclair was well beyond saving.


They took the fallen knight outside once more, preparing for the long journey home. Before they could load the ship a dazzling light came down. From the heavens descended Aznael, His blade still slick with the blood of the Dread from the war in Celestia, he could spare little time to aid them. All that could be done was to bring Gavrilov back to the living once more... though, not without its risks. The knight would return changed, seeing enemies within every shadow. With their full number hale once more, the knights returned home.



The nightmares of Harrowden would not fade easily, however. A small cult that had once seemed innocent now held greater meaning in the light of Dagon's menace, and the Celestial Carp offered its followers a mean to adapt to the waves below.



A trial was held, starting a long process of scrutiny that eventually saw him exiled. The cultist Highgull would die in Lower, leaving the events of the wicked isle to fade into memory...
[/Hide]

[Hide=Djinn]

For his efforts during Harrowden, and for accepting a duel to defend the Chalice's honor from the slander of Ordinant Cline, Gilbert found himself knighted. He was affected the Dawn Star, named for the holy flail bestowed upon him by Aznael following Dagon's defeat. This would cause a rift between him and Don Throgg, as the senior squire was troubled to see the younger and less experienced man attain the purple cloak before him.



Gil would wear the armor bestowed upon him by the Knight-Procurator for the rest of his days, proudly displaying the colors of the Golden Chalice wherever he went.



The peace would not last for long. A frantic mother called for brave souls to find her daughter. Gilbert vowed to bring the young woman home safely, joining with Maestrari Vauclair, Sir Randolph Gavrilov, and several other citizens. Upon their arrival they found space changed around them, changing the appearances of several of their party. It was during this time that he first met Celia Riovane.



The strange realm seemed to only vaguely follow the rules of reality. Immediately the people of the realm enlisted to aid of the 'heroes', seeming to recognize Gilbert specifically and calling him the brave knight of their legends. Only he could vanquish the vicious King Crowdan, whose evil castle lay beyond the dark woods.



Crowdan was a terrible foe, yet even as evil as he seemed there seemed to be something staged about the entire fight. After he was vanquished and the princess was saved the farce became all to clear.



Their adventure had been nothing but the dream of a girl who had wished to live in one of her storybooks. The strange man that greet them outside of the fantasy was amused by their actions, offering them the same deal he had given the girl: Any one wish, in return for one's soul. Gavrilov spoke out, admitting that it was his fault that the creature was free. He attempted to trick the Djinn, wishing to know its True Name. Yet, it was too powerful to be snared easily, and left with the knight's soul. To forge a proper prison they would need to gather several potent reagents.



They braved an Efreeti's prison...



Faced a fearsome Ice Troll on behalf of the Svartalfs..



And even faced down a massive deep wyvern!



The ritual was prepared, and the Djinn was snared. Even if chains it sought to mock them, proclaiming that it would keep the souls devoured through its games. They were faced with a choice: To seal the ancient Djinn and allow it the victory of keeping its stolen souls... or to descend into its lamp, and face it while it wielded power like that of a God's.



They brought war to the Djinn.



And crushed the wicked creature for good. The battle was not without its cost... Gavrilov's brother, once animated by a wish, was dead once more. The pain of this loss, and his part in the release of the creature, weighed heavily on Gavrilov. He would hang up his blade, and depart from the Priory.
[/Hide]

[Hide=Vauclair's Demise]

Celia Riovane found a place as a ward of Albrecht Vauclair. Gilbert took a fancy to her during the course of their trials, beginning a quiet romance that he would hide from the old Maestrari. Though the two were an odd pair, a farmer's son and a nobelwoman, the bond they began to form would form a rift between the young knight and his elder.



During a political talk with Sanctuary's diplomats the Spellguard Agent Rourke would attack Vauclair, stealing a holy relic of Siamorphe and giving it to the wicked giant Magnatz. The blood mage used the symbols of the surface royalty to draw Sanctuary's nobles to his mound, stealing their blood. Vauclair raised a challenge, seeking to reclaim his relic...



A battle that would ultimately claim his life. The old man's passing cast a shadow over the knights, foretelling the hard days that would soon come to pass.
[/Hide]

[Hide= Ysinode and The Raid on the Pyrimo]

Director Szul and the Spellguard, working with the Society of the Ordered Mind, raised up a plan to make an assault upon a lab outside of Ysinode. No longer a young and timid knight, Gilbert volunteered with Celia to take part in the dangerous raid. They were to descend to the Lowerdark, breaking through any Dread forces that lay in their path and freeing hundreds of unenthralled souls from a fate worse than death.



They met heavy resistance. In addition to the typical soldiers of the Dread army they found themselves facing many strange new abominations alongside the wicked Illithid themselves. They poured out from every corner, shrieking and putting the entire facility on high alert.



The battle rose to a fevered pitch. The Spellguard prepared a portal to tether to the beacon placed beforehand, offering and escape if the prisoners could be brought safely to it. Knight, Ordinant, and Watcher fought side by side to keep the tide at bay, buying enough time for the hundreds of desperate slaves.



The end result would be talked about for weeks, seeing all participants named 'The Heroes of Tarkash 6th'.



Embolbed by this act, the Knights met with Director Szul to discuss a similar mission. They would attend one of the Pyrimo's events, fighting not for the Dread creature's treasure, but for the life of a descendant of Sanctuary's founding families: Alexander Archibald.



They were faced against a warped flesh monstrosity, an augmented minotaur, and a terrible implanted Wyvern that breathed deadly poison all throughout the arena. The battle was not without is casualties, dairy or otherwise.



Even in victory,the Illithid was cunning and vile. It removed the implants and restored Archibald's mind, but only after destroying most of his body and leaving him as little more than a slurry of pink gel in a vast tube. The unmade man shrieked in constant agony, unable to accept his own fate.



There was nothing to do but end his anguish.
[/Hide]

[Hide=The Descent to Hell]

Their spirits heavy, the Knights continued on their Holy Quest to find the Wellspring of Eternity. They assaulted the lair of a band of demon-hunters, the Orderic Oculamus. Through them they came across a tome that would see the to Hell, into the prison of a fallen angel named Belariel. First among Siamorphe's servants, he was outraged when the mantle of its power was passed to mortal kind. To find the location of the Font they would need to challenge his generals.



Strife.



Wasting.



And desire. They were tested physically and mentally, tempted and taunted at every turn. Yet, they managed to perserve to find what they had sought for so long:



A dwarven sage, kept alive eternally. Upon the world's creation Moradin tasked him with the creation of a map that would detail every detail of the new world, including the Font's location. With him secured, they returned home to prepare for one final task.
[/Hide]

[Hide=The Wellspring of Eternity]

The Knights sallied forth one last time, meeting upon the edge of the Dark Lake. Celia Riovane did not stand among them, her presence missed even amidst the accusations against her character. Gilbert was consumed with anger and guilt regarding her perceived betrayal, though he struggled to hide it.



A spell was cast to locate the Wellspring with the Sage's knowledge, prepared by the wise MAgistrari who had helped to decode the clues of Bamberg's journal, and provided guidance every step of their journey. The spell would rob the Magistrari of his life. Vowing to make the most of his sacrifice, albeit uneasily, they continued below the waves



Within they faced many trials, and were pitted against their own fears and limitations. Gilbert was once more forced to face the dreaded Dagon, his limbs shaking as if he was a squire once more.



Deep inside they found Bamberg, still alive centuries after the fact. Yet, it was not a happy message that he carried: The Wellspring was not a font of life, but a crack in the realm of the Dead. The knights had been lied to by their Knight-Procurator. In a moment of doubt, Gilbert faltered. Perhaps it was the trust given to his liege, or the doubt regarding his judgement having turned his love aside. Regardless, it bought enough time to let Radzetsky descend into the Font to seek Siamorphe's essence.



The Knights of the Golden Chalice led one final charge against the betrayer. They fought with brilliance and skill unlike many others, bringing to bear and assault that would undo any mortal man.



But the Knight-Procurator was no longer mortal.



Charles leapt into the Wellspring, seeking to undermine its foundation with a celestial ring in his possesion. What his fate was, they would not know. The new Siamorphe struck through the recently knighted Donald Thruscaton, chaining his soul to the half-orc's body and forcing him into cruel thralldom.



A fate that Gilbert could not avoid, despite his pleas.



So ends the tale of Gilbert LAedak, the Dawn Star. Though his body continues on, there is no spark of the farm boy within him now. The purity and goodness, instilled in him by his brothers in arms, has bled out to leave only the empty aching of devotion to his new lord.

Long Live Siamorphe, the One True King.
[/Hide]

[Hide=Odds and Ends]

The Knights spent much of their time in the Dark searching, either for hints of the trail to the Wellspring or for the supplies needed to maintain their crusade. Along the way they would meet many interesting people
.


Laedak actually had a squire, albeit briefly. Leofric was a strong and capable soul, but the Underdark is treacherous, and he was lost shortly into his service. It was a failure that the Dawn Star never quite forgave himself for.



Gilbert did not have many friends outside of his order, but chief among them was the Scrapknight, Eileen. Though they could not travel together often due to their differences, he fondly recalled his days as a squire with her, learning much from her odd sense of justice and determination.


Gilbert faced many strange foes.




And saw many strange sights.



Yet, through it all he kept his sense of goodness and belief that the world could find the light of hope once more.
[/Hide]

[Hide=Loot]

A prized golden helm, earned for his part in the assault on the lab of Ysinode. It tickled the youthful pride in him, and made Gil feel as if he truly was a hero.



The Dawn Star, the holy flail that he was named for. A fearsome weapon against the forces of evil, it was the source of his confidence when facing them.



Gilbert's signature bulwark, awarded for the destruction of the Djinn and the return of the souls it has devoured. He took tremendous pride in his ability to face any danger, stemming the tide and guarding those weaker than him.
[/Hide]

It has been a long journey, but I do not regret any of the bumps along the road. I recommend that you allow Efu to sweep you along sometime, and see where it takes your character. You might find yourself less certain of your ultimate goal, but it can be incredibly satisfying to see how you surprise yourself with the path you wander down.



It's been real, Efu. I'll see you guys again soon.

[goate]

Very cool.

[Ryan]

Golden boy for a Golden Chalice. I'll miss how he grappled with uncertainty and cocksure confidence.

[Rookie]

Gil was awesome.  Overall, all you guys killed it.  Playing "good" in EFU is an uphill battle, and I can't think of a better played concept depicting it.  Awesome character, man.  Going to miss Gil being around.

[CondorHero]

Gonna miss the Golden Chalice, you boys were Mathew's best customers.

[Pentaxius]

Truly excellent samo!

[The Old Hack]

I loved Gilbert. One of the rare true heroes of EfU and unfortunately fully as subject to the brutal nature of the world he was in as the rest of the few heroes we have had. This world is brutal, man. It keeps up pressure until they break, and if they don't break, the world kills them.

Amber will miss him!

[Saturnalia]

A true knight. Excellent.