Kerrick’s General Thoughts
First impressions often linger longer than they should. Mine were not kind. I saw them as scattered, ill-mannered, and careless with the simplest courtesies. Misfits, I thought. Not the sort of company one would trust with matters of weight.
In time, I learned how wrong I had been. They welcomed me without hesitation, even when the truths of my past were revealed. In Mere I felt a stranger, my armor too polished and my voice too rigid for such a place. Yet they fit the streets as though they had always walked them, and through that familiarity they gave me direction. Their strengths became a guide when my own faltered.
When Mikhail fell, I understood the bond more clearly. This is not a band of convenience. These are companions I would trust to guard my back in places where light dares not reach.
Family is a word I rarely speak, for it carries weight. With them, the word feels right. If blood must be spilled to keep them safe, I will not hesitate.
Kerrick’s Thoughts on the group
Arispira
On any ordinary day I would have been ordered to drag someone like Arispira before the magistrates. She lives on the wrong side of the law and carries herself as though she owes nothing to it. Yet there is something different about her. It feels as though her thefts carry purpose, whether to help those beneath the heel of nobles or to fill her own purse. I cannot fault her for that. My parents were once treated as vermin by the noble class, so I know too well how heavy that boot can fall.
Rona
Rona often finds herself tangled in awkward exchanges, and I have had to step in more than once to ease the tension. Somehow she always lands on her feet regardless. There is something about her that feels split, as if she is always half-prepared to leave us behind. I wonder what it is that keeps her so divided, and I hope in time she will trust me enough to tell me.
Sariel
Sariel possesses a depth of empathy that binds this group together more than anything else. He gives of himself without hesitation, caring for us ten times more than he does for his own well-being. I cannot yet claim to know much about his history, yet I suspect it holds scars that explain both his distance and his kindness. It is a rare man who can be guarded and selfless at the same time.
Tarvo
Tarvo is in many ways the reflection of everything I was trained not to become. He is raw, primal, and driven by survival above all else. I understand, though, that this life was forced upon him rather than chosen. Learning that Tarvo was Adam reshaped my entire journey. I left Aerys nearly defeated, believing my mission had failed before it even began. Then came the revelation that Adam had lived through it all, and with it came new fire. If Adam could survive against the impossible, then perhaps Gwendolyn did as well. Protecting Tarvo is now my duty, not only for who he is but for what he represents. His survival has shaken my faith in the Empire’s words. They told me Gwendolyn was dead. Now I wonder what else was hidden from me.
Kerrick’s Thoughts on specific NPCs
Gwendolyn
She has always been the light in a world that grows darker by the day. No matter how close I came, she was always one step out of reach. She is my happiness, my goal, the reason I keep moving forward. I cannot stop wondering what drove her away from the Empire. When I find the truth, things will change, no matter what that truth is.
Zachariah
I have worked with Zachariah for years, but respect was never part of it. The only reason we have not cut each other down is our shared loyalty to the Empire of Aerys. In my heart I believe he stole Gwendolyn from me, and in doing so, he stole the life I could have had. I gave everything to earn recognition, yet the only reward I ever received was the mark of a Dragon Slayer. It was not an honor. It was a sentence. They wanted me gone, kept me at the edges of the Empire, hoping the life of a Slayer would end me quickly. Most of us do not live long, but I refused to fall. I had to come home. I had to see Gwendolyn’s face again, no matter the cost.