Oro

Background
Oro was born in Sharn, City of Towers. He lived a relatively normal childhood, cared for by his loving parents. They weren’t rich, but they lived a distinctly comfortable, middle class life.

Oro learned from his earliest days that his true appearance and name weren’t to be known by anyone but trusted family. His primary appearance was that of a human girl named Ella. Ella had long brown hair, brown eyes, tanned skin, and spoke with an unremarkable middle-common accent. Disguised as Ella, Oro apprenticed under his mother as a weaver, running a simple garment shop out of the first floor of their home.

One fateful day however, Oro’s idyllic life was shattered. It was a day unlike any other, the sun was mid-sky, and his mother and he were busy working away at a particularly large wedding commission. Suddenly, the loud rapping of a steel gauntlet resounded through the shop.

A moment later, the door was smashed in, the booming voice of a bearded soldier soon following, “MARA CENDABRE, CHANGELING COURTESAN, YOU HAVE CONSPIRED AGAINST DUKE GERDIL, AND ARE HEREBY UNDER ARREST.”

Five armored men stepped into the shop, his beaten, bruised, father in manacles and chains among them.

“DAD! What did you do to my Dad?! DAD! DAD!” Oro cried, his father’s head barely moving in response to the sound of his son’s voice.

Oro can still remember the look on his mother’s face. She wasn’t looking at the soldiers, she looked right into his eyes. Tears streamed down her face as she clung tightly to him.

“Please, please! I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m a weaver, not a courtesan. You’re making a mistake. PLEASE!”

But the guards didn’t care. They tore her from him. She wailed, pleaded, and struggled in their grasp as Oro futilely beat at the soldier’s leg. “Stop! Mom! Give my mom back! MOM!”

Yet there was no way he could overpower the soldier, let alone all 5 of them. The bearded one shoved him back into a shelf of cloth bolts, knocking it over and leaving him dazed and in pain. Another spit on him, “Faceless scum. You best be thankful we’re not under orders to take you too.”

And with that, they were gone. Oro got up and tried to chase after them, but they took off in a sky coach and were lost amongst the traffic and towers.

Oro returned home, confused, heartbroken, furious, and filled with hate for those awful men. He closed the shop. All he wanted to do was grieve, but he remembered the lessons of his parents. He filled a bag with all the money they had, his belongings, keepsakes, shifted out of Ella, and left his home behind.

He took on the face of a young man who would come to be known as Ezra. Not knowing where else to go, he purchased a sky taxi to the upper levels. Specifically, his aunt and uncle’s mansion.

Upon hearing the story of what happened, they graciously took him in. Uncle Ren swore to Oro that he would do everything in his power to find out what happened. That gave Oro hope to cling to, hope that this was a nightmare he might yet wake up from.

Youth
Oro’s life was transformed overnight. Gone were the days of calculated loom work and careful stitching. Replaced by lessons in table manners, social etiquette, horseback riding, sky coach driving, book study, and swordplay -- the latter of which Oro took particular interest in.

Oro trained under Aereni, an elvish swordsman known far and wide for his unrivaled mastery of more than a dozen styles. He taught Oro fencing primarily, the sword art known well for its use by both noblemen and pirates. Oro didn’t protest, as he felt it played well with his skills built as a detail oriented weaver, focusing on finesse over brawn.

Aided by his instructor, his uncle’s seemingly endless pockets, and a deep-set desire to never again feel as helpless as he did the day his parents were taken from him, Oro was an exemplary student.

As the years passed, Oro grew more and more doubtful that he would ever come to know the fate of his parents. His uncle was never able to unearth anything that happened to them, other than the word-of-mouth retelling of events from onlookers. Oro found it easier to simply assume them dead. It allowed him the closure he needed to move on, to become a man they could be proud of, one to keep their memory alive.

Conflict
Shortly after his 17th birthday, Oro was introduced to Alastair, Captain of the King’s Guard. Uncle Ren, thanks to his marked wealth and position among the nobles, was one of the few changelings that spoke freely of his heritage. Thus, when a diplomatic mission to wrest control of Fairhaven from a slaver dictator named Hilgard was being put together, Oro’s particular skill set fit the bill perfectly.

It was a chance to make something of himself. If Oro could get in the good graces of the captain of the King’s Guard, and by further extension, the King- well, he couldn’t imagine a better way to make his parents proud.

He signed on to the mission. He was put through basic training, given a complete breakdown of names and backgrounds to memorize, and the King’s wizard conjured an image of a particular half elf woman for Oro to take the appearance of, a trusted consort of Hilgard. Lastly, he was given a magic sword from the palace armory, Rassaegrim. Rassaegrim possessed the unique ability to hover and be controlled by the wielder via the use of a command word, making it an invaluable boon.

The mission went smoother than anyone had anticipated. It seemed reports of Fairhaven’s forces were overblown, and through the work of Oro’s subterfuge in combination with Sharn’s naval and ground soldiers, its defenses didn’t stand a chance. The pitiful army of mercenaries and slaves was quickly cut through. Meanwhile within the palace walls, Oro dealt the killing blow to the defenseless dictator with Rassaegrim, calling the sword to stab him in the back while he was distracted making love to Oro disguised as his believed-to-be consort.

While pushing a bleeding, lifeless, lump of an ogre of a man off himself wasn’t necessarily the most pleasant experience, it was after Oro got washed up, dressed, and shifted back to Ezra that he saw a true horror. Walking the town, he saw countless soldiers raping young girls, pillaging homes, killing citizens and livestock needlessly. He called at them, ordered them to stop, but his words fell on deaf ears.

Finally Oro found Alastair. Only… the captain was dick-deep in what couldn’t have been more than a 10 year old girl. He laughed at Oro. “This is the best part of war, son! Come ‘ere, this ones got a sister with your name on it.”

Oro knew he should return the frigate, ignore the twisting of his stomach and collect his reward, his title, his praise, but… he swore to never feel helpless again. To make his mother and father proud.

Opening his mouth, Oro spoke- “Leithio nin” The words were all but inaudible, drowned out by the grunts of the Captain, but Rassaegrim responded. It sliced Alastair’s jugular clean across, punctuated by nothing but a wet gurgling as his body went limp and fell to the floor.

Oro pulled the captain off the young, sobbing girl. Doing his best to soothe her, he urged her to go hide somewhere safe. As soon as she was out of sight, he got to work. Oro shifted into the form of the captain, shedding his clothes and donning the golden armor. Covering the captain’s lifeless body in a blanket, he strode out into the streets- beckoning loudly in Alastair’s gruff voice.

“BY ORDER OF THE KING, CEASE THIS IMMEDIATELY! OUR FORCES ARE NEEDED BACK AT SHARN. FAILURE TO COMPLY WILL BE CONSIDERED AN ACT OF HIGH TREASON!”

That did the trick. It took longer than Oro had hoped, but the soldiers began to file back towards the ships. When questioned as to why he wasn’t joining, Oro lied that he had been ordered to stay behind to establish order within the newly liberated Fairhaven.

As the ships set off, Oro slipped away into an alley, shifting this time into the form of a mid-20's human male, pulling clothes off the corpse of an old man. and stowing the golden armor amongst scattered rubble. He returned to retrieve Alistair’s body, hauling it into the distant woods and burning it that night.

Oro never returned to Sharn. Rather, he took up the mantle of an adventurer. Traveling from town to town, doing his best to leave the world a brighter place than when he came into it.

Present Day
Oro currently resides in _____ (town). It’s been years since he’s seen his aunt and uncle, and he still sometimes wonders about what they must think happened to him.

Oro was recently forced to pawn off Rassaegrim in order to make bail after being caught stealing from a particularly vile nobleman. He seeks to gather enough gold to repurchase it before it’s sold off. Fortunately, he still has his fencing foil and a small dagger with which to defend himself.