Greagoir Otto

Greagoir - in full Knight-Vanquisher regalia - on crusade in Tirisifal Glades, his place of birth

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'Demons of the nether can be likened to hungry and rabid wolves. The shepherd should not waste his time hating the wolf that attacks his flock. He should simply destroy it.'

Character name: Sir Greagoir Otto
Alias: n/a
Gender: Male
Age: Fifty-nine (59) at time of death
Race: Human
Class: Shadowbreaker, Paladin,

Birth region: Tirisfal Glades (The Kingdom of Lordaeron)
Specific area/town: A small farm close to the border with Alterac
Family: The Otto Family, a land-owning lowborn farming family: Jan-Calvin Otto (Grandfather - deceased), Meredith Otto (Grandmother - deceased), Matthew Otto (father - deceased), Heidi Otto (mother - deceased), Emeric Otto (uncle - deceased), Michael Otto (younger brother - alive), Catherine Otto (sister-in-law - alive), Greagoir Otto II (nephew - alive).
Known friends: Validar, Danic Faloren, Rolf Eisensturm, Shem Blackmoor, Osmand Lightguard.
Known enemies: As a Shadowbreaker and zealous Anethionean, all heretics, witches, apostates and traitors to the Crown and/or Chapter were considered enemies of Greagoir, some notables ones being: Jezzek 'the Fel-Father' Duncreigh, Ireth, Sophyra, Lexgrad Barrow, Aldric Essalus Helmfrid, Mellinda Dufresne.

Description: Since reaching maturity, Greagoir stood at a height of 6'5", with a lean, muscular physique - borne out of intensive military training and a strict, temperate diet and way of life - that stayed with him right up until his death. Structurally, Greagoir's face had a strong, angular regality that was quite lacking in birthright; marked by a defined jaw profile, high-cheek bones and an aquiline nose. His skin however, bore the marks of battle; being peppered with small scars while the right side of his face was covered in burn scar-tissue, resulting in the loss of his right eyebrow and corneal opacity, rendering his pupil a 'milky' colour. At one point, Greagoir had thick, long, curly brown hair that reached his shoulders; however, as it begin to thin-out and grey as Greagoir reached his forties, he shaved it all off and remained bald until his death. Such a fate never met his beard however, which; the size of a fist from his chin, speckled with white hairs as he aged, stayed with him throughout his life. However, despite the cosmetic changes to the Greagoir's appearance: the scars, wrinkles, hair-loss; the grim expression of humble, pious determination rarely left his face, just as the pressure that weighed down upon his shoulders never deterred his purposeful gait, his lifted chin, or straight, disciplined stance.

It was rare to see Greagoir in anything other than his Shadowbreaker uniform: a cassock robe of white, black and gold, embroidered with holy inscriptions and recitations from the Book of Revelation along the hems covered the suit of chainmail and plate-armour protecting his forearms, chest, thighs and shins underneath. His gauntlets and sabatons were made of far finer quality than the chain mail suit and plate armour that protected his body, constructed from a mix of blessed truesilver and steel cooled in holy-water over night. Flowing down from his shoulders to his heels was usually a simple, very-worn black cloak that was embroidered with a large white-cross. Hanging from his belt by metal chains were three pocket-sized books and one large libram, the Book of Revelation. As leader of the Shadowbreaker order, when on crusade or during important ritual, Greagoir diverged from orthodox shadowbreaker uniform in favour of The Regalia of the Knight-Vanquisher, which swapped the traditional black and white great-helm and shoulderguards for ones of gold and black, which were made one-of-a-kind by the Chapter master-blacksmith specifically for the Light's chosen leader of It's army, blessed by the Vicar of Anethion himself.

Personality: Above all, Greagoir was a fiercely zealous and conservative man, a puritanical adherent to the orthodox Anethionean faith since he knew what such words meant. Thus, he loathed all things unholy and sinful, living a modest, spartan life of celibacy and abstinence within one of the cloisters of Northshire Abbey, without any formal property to his name; propagating the Church and fighting heresy, through word or sword, as well as being an outspoken supporter of the House of Nobles and the King, as well most other religio-conservative institutions. Viewing himself, like his view of his teachers before him, as a kind of Patriarch, he was deeply protective and 'fatherly' to any Anethionean he came across, Shadowbreakers of the Chapter in particular; while, on a darker note, leading him to take a more positive view of men as beacons of Light's Word than women, viewing the latter as prone to sin, incapable of firm leadership and - if not Anethionean - inherently impure. Despite this patriarchal view of himself, he was humble and deferential to those superior to him, namely the High-Inquisitor Regelius Renn and Vicar Osmand Lightguard.

Greagoir's zeal, it could be argued, was brought about due to the trauma caused by the Fall of Lordaeron, the pragmatic necessity belief in the Light served for those who remained behind - like Greagoir - to fight the undead after the Fall, and the indoctrination by his deeply pious grandfather Jan-Calvin, and his uncle - an Anethionean miltia-man - Emeric Otto. The Fall undoubtedly played a large role, forcing Greagoir to strengthen his conviction that the Light still had a plan for him amidst the destruction, that It sanctioned the acts he had to commit in those dark years and that, ultimately, it would protect him and his people. Fighting in the Plaguelands lent Greagoir the 'crusader' mentality and military skill to become the Knight-Vanquisher of the Chapter later on in life.

Despite the pressure Greagoir felt during the later days of his life as Knight-Vanqusher - which lead to doubt Greagoir had hitherto not known, resulting more harsh and harsh penance and seclusion - he never wavered in the vow that he would lead the Shadowbreaker Order until he perished.


History: Born the first child in Tirisifal Glades to Matthew and Heidi Otto, Greagoir was raised by his parents and grandfather, Jan-Calvin, on the small rather solitary, secluded family farm on the Tirisifal border with Alterac. Being faithful Anethioneans - quite atypical of Tirisfallians at the time, as the creed of Anethion had not yet spread to Tirisfal from its birthplace, Tyr's Hand; but had reached the Otto family through word from Greagoir's uncle Emeric Otto, a disciple of Anethion and later militiaman of the Prophet - they prioritised teaching Greagoir to be devout, learned in the ways of the faith and respectful of the Church other the farming techniques of which his father was skilled in; in fact, faith was so prioritised that Greagoir, until the age of 14, was not allowed to leave his farm lest it was to visit the Church. In addition to reading scripture, Greagoir was taught in the art of combat from a young age, both to fulfil the fanatical Jan-Calvin's dream of Greagoir one day becoming a paladin, but more pragmatically, to help defend the Otto's property from wolves or bandits attacking from the Alteraci mountains.

However, as Greagoir hit fifteen, the plague of undeath hit Lordaeron, and Greagoir was sent to Tyr's Hand, to join his uncle Emeric Otto as a member of the Anethionean milita. Though he did not meet the Prophet, fighting as a part of a such a organisation increased both his fanaticism and combat abilities. Greagoir fought countless battles against the undead as a militiaman until the deaths of both the Prophet Anethion and later Abbot Bernard lead to the dissolution of the militia, the formation of the 'Chapter of Holy Anethion' and its succession to the Scarlet Crusade, Greagoir being based a military advisor and trainer in the Scarlet Monastery.

However, when the time came, Greagoir's obedience to the Chapter overode that of his duty to the Scarlet Crusade and Lordaeron and so he left the monastery with Waldemar and the Chapterite-Anethioneans heading to Northshire. With the formation of Shadowbreaker Order, a brotherhood of holy-knights lead by Lord-Protector Richard, around this time; Greagoir found a whole new purpose, curing the depression and shame he felt at having left Lordaeron by becoming the squire of an Anethionean knight, so as to become a brother of the Shadowbreaker order. He succeeded, but, due to his relative inexperience, was made to stay behind with several other Shadowbreakers in Northshire by Lord-Protector Richard to guard the Abbey and train White-Cloaks - a new version of what Greagoir was once was, militiamen loyal to the Anethionean faith.

Greagoir began to make a name for himself, however, aiding the Inquisition in several witch-hunts, and fighting valiantly at the 2nd battle against Ireth and the Purging of the Athanasian Heresy. When Vanquisher Thonian the Tyrrean stepped down from his position, Greagoir was chosen as the Knight-Vanquisher, the first-among-equals. During his time as Knight-Vanquisher, he performed several considerable feats and has gone down, according to Chapter scholars, as one of the most influential Vanquisher's on modern Anethionism with the exception of Lord-Protector Richard, by consolidating the power and furthering the role of the Vanquisher in the everyday affairs of the Chapter, fleshing-out of the codes, customs, monastic and knightly traditions of the Shadowbreaker order, leading the Chapter in several crusades and military campaigns such as the October Crusade, the Barrens Campaign, leading the Chapter in the destruction of the arch-heretic Jezzek Duncreigh, defending the Abbey from numerous attacks notably an assault from the Ravenholdt Sanctuary and Lexgrad Barrow, ridding Darkshire of Andrek the Defiler after a brief return and establishing the Theocratic Military Provisional Government of Darkshire, as well as compiling Abbess Ioanna's teaching on Verdicts and the Anethionean school of divine magic into a codified book for use by Shadowbreakers, and the training of Shadowbreakers in the Anethionean school.

It could be said, that for two years, no matter what the Chapter went through internally or externally, Greagoir was the one constant; a pillar of the Chapter. However, after successfully defending against the treachery of the apostates, former High-Inquisitor Helmfrid and High-Librarian Mellinda, and stopping a schism; Greagoir was forced by circumstance to take up the title Grand-Inquisitor - assuming both the roles of High-Inquisitor and Knight-Vanquisher - in the absence of suitable replacement for the excommunicated Helmfrid. The treachery hit him hard, but he continued his duty nonetheless; it was not until the numerous battles he lead against the demon Balthasar and its minions, that cracks began to show in Greagoir's leadership. After being deceived into slaughtering a hamlet populated by those of the Anethionean faith by Balthasar, who had made it seem as those a malignant heresy had taken root, it became too much; Greagoir secluded himself and retreated into a deep penance.

It was not until after the death of Abbot Osmand Lightguard, when Greagoir was called to the Vicar's funeral, that he left his cloister. Reminded of the finite-nature of life by the loss of his close friend and mentor, the Vicar of Anethion Osmand Lightguard, Greagoir realised he had little time left to wallow in guilt if he wished to do his duty to the Light and Anethion; immediately leading a retinue of shadowbreakers - after the funeral - to the Burning Steppes, to hunt down a witch Greagoir had received report of that day. He and his retinue found the witch, Sophyra, but in battle he was slain, by his former-apprentice and recently ordained Shadowbreaker Jereyma, dying quickly on the ashy ground of the Steppes. His ashes are kept in an urn beneath the Abbey of Northshire, with the specicid wish of Greagoir to have them spread around the island in the middle of Brightwater Lake in Tirisfal.


Things you may know about this character:

• Greagoir was an ordained Shadowbreaker-Knight - and later Knight-Vanquisher - of the Chapter, a sure-sign of religious fundamentalism and zeal, but also of expert military skill, holy magic and military strategy.

• Greagoir is from Lordaeron.

• Greagoir added to the monastic laws of the Shadowbreaker knighthood originally written by Lord-Protector Richard, establishing the current codes and customs of Shadowbreaker-knights.

• Greagoir was, as a teenager, part of the Chapter at its inception.

• Greagoir was the formal leader of the Chapter in many crusades and military campaigns.

• Greagoir's former squire Alfred Von Kaslain is currently a Shadowbreaker of the Chapter.

• Greagoir was imprisoned as part of an inquiry into the possessions contained within the Chapter's vault, but was found innocent and released.

• Greagoir's face was brutally scarred during an encounter with the demoness Ireth.

Things you may not know about this character:

• Greagoir was great patron of religious art, commissioning over 50 paintings detailing supposed exploits of Anethion's life and 10 detailing exploits of himself, Lord-Protector Richard and the Shadowbreaker order in general.

• Greagoir was celibate and died a virgin.

• Greagoir was part of the Scarlet Crusade, based in the Scarlet Monastery.

• Greagoir's brother's son is named after him.

• Greagoir dreamed of leading a crusade into Tanaris and converting the tribes there to Anethionism.

corleth wrote:

• Greagoir was imprisoned as part of an inquiry into the possessions contained within the Chapter's vault, but was found guilty and released.

well, that certainly worked out well for him!

L O L

Freudian slip? I think so!

Possibly the best written Character Sheet on the entire forum I've read.