Haweswin Drago - Dog's App

[DogTheGoblin]

Name: Haweswin Drago. 
Character Concept: A desperate man looking for a way to undo his pact, unknowingly acting out his patrons will.
Class, Race, Background: Warlock (Great Old One), Human, Haunted One (Campaign Primer)
Description: A slender man of average height, Haweswin holds himself in a distinguished and proper manner. Keeping himself dressed in fitted outfits of gentle fabrics, those with the eye for fashion would clearly out that they were cheaply brought. His hair is groomed in an obvious lackadaisical demeanour - a quick brush of the hand to rid oneself of the bed hair -, with more focus on trimming his beard to free his mouth of any prickly nuisances. Despite all this effort to portray a man of either importance or noble birth, there is an glaring underlaying tone of sorrow. The way the sparkle in his tired, bagged eyes seems to have dimmed, the unconfident way his voice carries his words, the lurch in his shoulders that lower his head ever so slightly.     
Origin: In the north of Faerûn, nestled on the fields between the forest of Cormanthor and Battledale, connecting the roads of Scardale, Ashabenford and Hillsfar, sat the town of Bridgeford. A small town of a thousand peoples of all walks of life that found themselves stopping for longer than a break. Life there was simple, just perfect for a quiet kid like Haweswin. If farming didn't take his fancy, there was ample opportunity for trading. 

Start of Darkness: At some point in the past, you have been touched by darkness. Something happened to you, a loved one, or something is actively happening to your character. What was it, how did it affect you, and how does it linger?

Two years ago, Haweswin agreed to help his friend Carona - A red-haired Half Elf who he found himself smitten with but never found the right time to bring it up - with a job. It was a straight forward delivery. Take the cargo to Archendale and get back. Short and simple. Alas, life is never straight-forward. Along the journey, the weather took a turn for the worse. Grey clouds formed overhead with a loud clap of thunder. It was Coranas idea to travel through the wood to break up the weather, dismissing the rumours as hogwash, and not having the ability to say no to her Haweswin agreed. 

The twists and turns of the maze-like forest floor seemed to go on forever. The more they pressed on, the more it felt they were getting further and further lost. Their emotions mixed with the pouring rain and looming darkness before they lashed out at each other and split up out of anger. 

There, in the long forgotten groves, Haweswin stumbled upon a ruin. Elven at a guess and unbelievably old. Regret set in for his harsh words, Carona would have loved this place. If only-. His thought paused as a sound came from the ruins. A whisper, unintelligible but definitely there. Beckoning him to come closer. If someone was here, maybe they'd know the way out. He followed the whispering to what must've been a chamber, that now stood as an open roof-altar. There was a pedestal stood in the middle of the moss-covered cobblestone, entangled by roots and leaves. Atop it laid a book, untouched by time as it looked pristine. Haweswin neared the tome, his curiosity taking the best of him as he reached out to open it. His hands moved subconsciously and-

 

Horror. Pure horror. He couldn't stop his hands, they moved on their own. Each page more depraved and mind-bending as the last, his eyes flicked through it all till the build up mounted into a echoing scream. Haweswin slammed the book shut, tossing it as far from him as he could. But it was still there, behind his closed eyes, in the darkness. Those images, those unnatural images and the words! How they plagued his mind. 

 

Burning the book was all he could do to make sure it was gone from the world. Even if it still swirled within his mind, only he had to suffer it. 

 

Deepest, Darkest Desire: Carona. She never made it out of the woods, even Haweswin lucked out by entering a pact. She never made it back to town nor was she ever seen again. It was assumed she was eaten by Owlbears but without ever actually knowing, Haweswin would still long for her. If only to say sorry for what he said. Would she still like him after all this time? Knowing what he did while lost in the woods...

Deity: Before his patron, Haweswin looked to Selûne, goddess of the moon. Simply for the fact he fell in love with the moon as it hung in the sky.  
Music: Haweswin's Lament
Posting Rate: Once a week would be fine, but I check daily and post daily if possible
Impressions: 

Dynaheir Minscthara of Rashemen. Someone who could easily take hold of Haweswin and break him like a stick. (Hell, even the real me.) Personally for me, I love a good berserker. Blame the Vikings for that. But more importantly, it's that focus on "Is this the life I want?" Given she's been taught to fight from an early age, having that doubt would be an interesting conflict for her that I'd love to see if I get the chance to play longside her. As for Haweswin, she just reeks of Intimidation. From the sheer size of her, both in height and muscle, he'll want to stay on her good side.

Images: 

Edited September 10, 2022 by DogTheGoblin (see edit history)

[Gregorotto]

Ooh, appropriately spooky 40k music.

 

I'm as curious as you likely are for your patron, and I'd love to hear your ideas. I have a few, but I'm curious what you've concocted, because right now it's spooky and got my mind going different places.

 

What exactly did Carona and Haweswin split over? What words were said? Were the feelings mutual, was there ever a hint?

 

What did his home life look like before his pact? What does it look like now? Why is he in Daggerford, so far from the Dalelands (which I almost placed the game in, as I love Daggerdale)?

 

A very solid start, I look forward to your ideas.

[DogTheGoblin]

Sorry for the late response!

 

For the patron: I was leaning towards Dendar, the Night Serpent. A god that eats nightmares and fear would love a troubled mind. I also loved the idea of the scene where she approached Haweswin alone in the forest, whispering promises of helping him for a price.

 

That's really the only one that stood out to me from the small list that the handbook mentions, but if you have any examples of others I'd love to hear them!

 

For the argument: It was a misunderstanding of stances. For Carona; the cargo drop was the first job that she was allowed to take by herself. To show her independence and competence to her parents. Which didn't help, with Haweswin coddling her all the time, she wasn't soft! For Haweswin; the moment in the forest was going to harm her, or at worse kill her. He couldn't have that. He tried to subtly hint that they should turn back as to not hurt her pride, but her stubbornness was too blinding. Now they were caught in the rain, deep in a dark - supposedly haunted - forest and she keeps pushing forward. It bubbled up where he stood his ground and said they were turning back. And that was the catalyst. They shouted who was actually to blame to be in the forest, how neither of them listened to the other and ultimately led to Haweswine stating "I don't know why I bother with you" out of anger. "You won't have to." was all she said back, before marching off into the thicket. 

It hurt, because for Carona she hoped that this job would be something more between the two.

 

For Haweswin's life: In a very short answer, simple. His father was a tailor, mostly known for his cobbling skills, while his mother was a full-time house wife. Being the only son, most of the focus and responsibilities were placed on him when he was readied to take over the business. But he was happy, idle hands made him crazy. After the forest however, he was noticeably different. Haweswin had grown quieter, twitchy. He avoided Carona's family entirely, as he did with friends. Instead keeping himself locked away in his house, only answering for work. At night, it was worse. Glimpses of what he had seen flashed and blurred into terrifying nightmares. From haunting monsters to ghostly images of Carona blaming him for her disappearance, he couldn't sleep. He needed to get out, away from the familiar faces; from the memories of her and the guilt.

 

So he left. He left home, he left the Dalelands and headed southwest. Washing up here and there till he finally stopped in Daggerford - out of its near resemblance of Daggerdale and for its poxy-home feeling.  

 

 

[Chylopan]

Love this trope for a warlock! The whole: undoing my evils but inadvertently doing the evil's will kinda thing is always fun to see play out. Seems very Ravenloft to me.

 

Plus, I dig the name.

[Gregorotto]

Dendar! Ma boi! I dig that.

 

Solid on the background, I appreciate the answers. It makes the image of home life and the tragedy of Carona's loss clearer for me. No further questions at this time.