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Description
In the Lhazaar Principalities, and in seaports across the world, there are still some who shudder at the name Cedric Regal. During the Last War, Regal worked as a freebooter out of Regalport, plundering enemy vessels and taking them a-prize for the government. Tales were told of his high-flying derring-do and swaggering exploits. However, Regal’s ego was matched only by his greed, and it wasn’t long before his cunning observations led him to markets for his own people’s goods as well as those of the other side. He amassed a fortune as a war profiteer - some of which is still said to be buried on the outermost islands of the known world.
  It all came crashing down, though, with the Day of Mourning. Those who had been harmed by his pirating called for his capture and, as part of the effort to unify the principalities, evidence of his activities at home were “suddenly uncovered” by bribed officials who had been turning a blind eye.    His own crew offered evidence in exchange for leniency, and Cedric Regal learned that there was no honour among criminals. He was locked away in the dankest pits of Dreadhold, where he seemed destined to spend the rest of his much-shortened life.
  While incarcerated, the once-wealthy pirate was subjected to all manner of degradation, depravation and malignity, until he lived as little more than an animal. Stripped of all that he once was, it seemed that his old life was gone. This was the ultimate crop of the malice he had sown.
  At his darkest hour, Cedric was approached by a representative of the Church of the Silver Flame named Brother Ignus. Ignus had come to speak to some of the most infamous inmates of Dreadhold and offered them a choice: spend the rest of their lives rotting just above the waterline in the sea caves of the prison, or make some kind of use of the time they had left in atonement. With literally nothing to lose, Cedric accepted the offer.
  Along with fifty inmates from around the Five Nations, he was legally stripped of his family name, and given the name “Cedric the Unforgiven,” to remind him that he had not been pardoned of his crimes. In a harsh 28-day cleansing ritual, he was shaved, and magically bereft of any tattoos, piercings or other marks of his past, and branded with the name of his crime (“pirate”) across his forehead. Between the cramped ship-ride to the Ardent Monastery of Thrane, the unrelenting trek overland and the rigid (some would argue brutal) training program that followed, only twenty-five penitents survived. Those twenty-five were instructed that they had proved the worthlessness of living for their own purposes. Their purpose now was to live for others, and to serve their life sentences at hard labour for the good of Khorvaire’s people.
  Cedric now roams the world. As one of the Unforgiven, he must not hide his brand of shame (the mark on his forehead) except in the pursuit of aiding others - e.g. as a disguise to infiltrate a bandit camp, etc. He must explain his crimes to any who any who ask, and plainly, without seeking justification. He may not own property or goods, and is considered property of the Church.
  It is whispered that, if one can gain the pardon of those they wronged, the mark of shame will vanish, and they will be considered pardoned. However, even if this is so, Cedric sees no way that he could gain the pardon of dozens of ships’ crews, and those to whom their goods travelled - especially since many of them now rested in the deeps. All he knows for certain is that he has seen the black heart within the temptress called glory, and she left him worse than dead. Perhaps the path of humility and stewardship will prove more rewarding.

****

  Cedric is a character I created for the Dungeons & Dragons world of Eberron - an interesting blend of noir and fantasy. He is a human monk of the Open Hand path, with the sailor (Pirate variant) background.
  The DM who will be running the campaign is new to the setting, and new to GMing in general. As such, I rolled up three characters, complete with back story and offered her the option to pick the one she liked best for her story. She chose my previous character, Ratatoskr ( www.deviantart.com/djake/art/R… ) - but I liked the other two as well, and figured I would give them a bit of attention too.

Created in GIMP, using a Wacom Intuos Pro Large
Creation Time: 12 hours
Greater-than-usual shout-out to www.obsidiandawn.com/category/… ; I used a ton of their brushes in this piece - including their cloud, glitter, sparkle, trees and animal prints brushes. They're a great resource; go check em out!

Description
In the Lhazaar Principalities, and in seaports across the world, there are still some who shudder at the name Cedric Regal. During the Last War, Regal worked as a freebooter out of Regalport, plundering enemy vessels and taking them a-prize for the government. Tales were told of his high-flying derring-do and swaggering exploits. However, Regal’s ego was matched only by his greed, and it wasn’t long before his cunning observations led him to markets for his own people’s goods as well as those of the other side. He amassed a fortune as a war profiteer - some of which is still said to be buried on the outermost islands of the known world.
  It all came crashing down, though, with the Day of Mourning. Those who had been harmed by his pirating called for his capture and, as part of the effort to unify the principalities, evidence of his activities at home were “suddenly uncovered” by bribed officials who had been turning a blind eye.    His own crew offered evidence in exchange for leniency, and Cedric Regal learned that there was no honour among criminals. He was locked away in the dankest pits of Dreadhold, where he seemed destined to spend the rest of his much-shortened life.
  While incarcerated, the once-wealthy pirate was subjected to all manner of degradation, depravation and malignity, until he lived as little more than an animal. Stripped of all that he once was, it seemed that his old life was gone. This was the ultimate crop of the malice he had sown.
  At his darkest hour, Cedric was approached by a representative of the Church of the Silver Flame named Brother Ignus. Ignus had come to speak to some of the most infamous inmates of Dreadhold and offered them a choice: spend the rest of their lives rotting just above the waterline in the sea caves of the prison, or make some kind of use of the time they had left in atonement. With literally nothing to lose, Cedric accepted the offer.
  Along with fifty inmates from around the Five Nations, he was legally stripped of his family name, and given the name “Cedric the Unforgiven,” to remind him that he had not been pardoned of his crimes. In a harsh 28-day cleansing ritual, he was shaved, and magically bereft of any tattoos, piercings or other marks of his past, and branded with the name of his crime (“pirate”) across his forehead. Between the cramped ship-ride to the Ardent Monastery of Thrane, the unrelenting trek overland and the rigid (some would argue brutal) training program that followed, only twenty-five penitents survived. Those twenty-five were instructed that they had proved the worthlessness of living for their own purposes. Their purpose now was to live for others, and to serve their life sentences at hard labour for the good of Khorvaire’s people.
  Cedric now roams the world. As one of the Unforgiven, he must not hide his brand of shame (the mark on his forehead) except in the pursuit of aiding others - e.g. as a disguise to infiltrate a bandit camp, etc. He must explain his crimes to any who any who ask, and plainly, without seeking justification. He may not own property or goods, and is considered property of the Church.
  It is whispered that, if one can gain the pardon of those they wronged, the mark of shame will vanish, and they will be considered pardoned. However, even if this is so, Cedric sees no way that he could gain the pardon of dozens of ships’ crews, and those to whom their goods travelled - especially since many of them now rested in the deeps. All he knows for certain is that he has seen the black heart within the temptress called glory, and she left him worse than dead. Perhaps the path of humility and stewardship will prove more rewarding.

****

  Cedric is a character I created for the Dungeons & Dragons world of Eberron - an interesting blend of noir and fantasy. He is a human monk of the Open Hand path, with the sailor (Pirate variant) background.
  The DM who will be running the campaign is new to the setting, and new to GMing in general. As such, I rolled up three characters, complete with back story and offered her the option to pick the one she liked best for her story. She chose my previous character, Ratatoskr ( www.deviantart.com/djake/art/R… ) - but I liked the other two as well, and figured I would give them a bit of attention too.

Created in GIMP, using a Wacom Intuos Pro Large
Creation Time: 12 hours
Greater-than-usual shout-out to www.obsidiandawn.com/category/… ; I used a ton of their brushes in this piece - including their cloud, glitter, sparkle, trees and animal prints brushes. They're a great resource; go check em out!