Leomord

Once a sworn knight of Ridgeburg, Leomord was forced to shatter the oath he made with his own sword in an unfortunate turn of events. Since then, he had borne the curse of the Mist and guarded the land abandoned even by death. The light had faded, yet his watch had just begun... Perched upon the crags of the Lantis Mountains, the colossal spires of Ridgeburg overlooked the blackened plains of the Abyss. The rot had almost crept up to the city's outskirts, but no farther. For thousands of years, the fortified towers had stood guard right at the doorstep of the Abyss, keeping the Moniyan Empire untouched by its blight. 512px|center Leomord was born in this border fortress. Coming from a long line of Royal Guards under the Lords of the South, he was pledged as personal squire to Atticus, the son of the Duke of Ridgeburg, not long after he was born. Together, the two boys trained under the finest champions of the Ridgeburg army and listened to grey-bearded tutors droning on about history and politics. Atticus excelled in every lesson, showing remarkable maturity beyond his years, while Leomord found it hard to keep up with his young master. Reluctant to being left behind, he kept training in secret, toiling alone day and night to further hone his skills. Being the slightly older one, Atticus would often help the young Leomord during their training. Leomord, in turn, looked up to Atticus as not only his future lord but also an older brother. Upon reaching the age of seven, the two boys took part in the birthing of their horses, as was customary among the people of Ridgeburg. Leomord named his pony Barbiel, with whom he grew to become allies and close friends. Although Leomord never openly expressed his feelings, Barbiel always seemed to know what he had in mind. And whenever Leomord felt down, Barbiel would rub his head to offer some form of relief. Over the next few years, the two boys grew into formidable fighters on the training ground, and that was when fate struck. After the Old Duke's untimely passing, Atticus was forced to take on his father's mantle as the new Duke of Ridgeburg, with Leomord standing beside him as captain of his Royal Guard. The boys had never had a taste of real battle, but seeing the gravity of the situation, they shortly set off to rid the border outposts of demonic intruders. For years, the two fought endlessly, until they finally cleansed every trace of the Abyss from the outskirts. Once the city regained some respite from the onslaught, Atticus decided it was time to start forging bonds with other noble houses of the Empire. He sought an alliance with the Royal House of Gaius, offering a marriage proposal to Princess Vexana. Lord Gaius welcomed the offer and promptly arranged for the Princess to set forth for Ridgeburg and meet her betrothed. And yet, fate had something else in mind for the young Duke. Shortly before Vexana was expected to arrive, he received a letter from one of the border towns. An unusually vicious br