Persona Thingy: Aidon

Accepting the Offer

After some thought, you decide to accept his offer. The grin never leaves his face as he replies: "You've probably heard that Talon Nest is a day's worth of walking away from here, but there are several quicker side routes into the place. With Tomalak's blessing we can make it there by nightfall!" He mutters a quick prayer, snuffs out the candles, grabs his pack from a corner, and sets off along the road. You easily keep pace with him.

Surprisingly, it is Aidon who starts talking. "Thank you for coming with me here. As you can expect, I don't get many visitors, and most of them are, shall we say, less than eager to stay any longer than necessary." Again the half-smile. "So I assume you don't mind hearing a little more about me..."

"My parents died when I was very young. I was raised by the Order of Tomalak. I see you haven't heard of it; don't worry, no one ever has. We have never been a large sect, and the brothers prefer to remain in the monastery and debate theology rather than go out into the world. I can remember no other childhood except surrounded by monks. As a boy I was fascinated by exotic animals: firedraces, anarods, eledranis, but especially dragons. I always wanted to become a dragon rider and fly anywhere I wanted to. My teachers disapproved of this and tried to make me into a philosopher like them, and they succeeded. Somewhat.

"Although I am an ordained priest of the Order, I never got along well with monastery life. I always thought I could serve Tomalak better by going out into the world and living as an example to the common folk. As a youth I was innocent, exuberant, and optimistic. My teachers at the Order warned me it would be a cruel shock compared to the sheltered life with the Order, but I was young and invincible. So I left the monastery to seek my own road when I was 13. I traveled most of Antilo looking for adventure." Here Aidon pauses for a moment, the crystal blue eyes clouding over with remembered agony. His step falters a bit, but drawing on some inner strength, he manages to continue. "Suffice it to say I should have stayed home." With a gesture toward his bald head, he says, "That was when... this... happened. I still don't remember too much about those days, but I do know that my hair will never grow back. The exuberance is still there, but the optimism and innocence is gone forever.

"Afterwards, I moved here and buried myself in my own private world. By meditation I can focus on the reality of the One Master and forget these temporal sufferings. I have somewhat of a reputation among the townsfolk as a crazy man, but they still come to me when they need something settled and don't want Talon Castle involved." A small smile returns to his face as he moves on to more pleasant topics. "I had been everywhere except to the dragons and salrinds; I had never ventured into their realm before because, as I said, the Order looks on association with them as a sign of spiritual weakness. I was not created for the sea, and so I turn to the lords of the air and their riders."

Aidon is silent for a minute, then remarks: "I think we have gone far enough now. It's time to stop for lunch." As you eat, he digs into his pack for a minute and comes up with a sheaf of papers. "I have spent the last few months writing a book to train Order novitiates, would you care to read it?"