Ridley Spurling

The Crazed and Kind Benefactor of a New Creed

A man of mid-to-late twenties who towers above most. An excessive height of six feet eight inches with a lanky, light, and thin frame. His skin is fair untanned, and holds no blemishes or marks from work or labor. He has a mass of shoulder length blonde curls as well as a well trimmed golden goatee. The man's eyes are a gem like blue in their brilliance. Ridley is very sparingly clad. His only attire is an ankle length hooded robe made of pure white satin and a black sash that is often wrapped around his waist.

Cheerful, outgoing, and optimistic. Ridley loves nearly everyone even those that do not, for the moment, share his beliefs. He is a very pious man taking his new found beliefs very seriously, but he knows better than to just throw the topic around willy-nilly. He is a socialite he will often sneak into town just to converse with new and old faces. However, this lighthearted and friendly disposition is only one half of his coin.

Sporadic, maniacal, and controlling. He is prone to violent outbursts and spiteful rage and to those who have fallen victim to or witnessed it were given little if any warning at all. He becomes very controlling and closed minded when like this acting like a stubborn, if not much more dangerous, child. It is hard to say which side of the coin is the real Ridley and which is the clever facade.

Ridley's main power is his social prowess. It's what allows him to keep his small group of followers together through his outbursts as well as draw in any new participants. Whether it be extraction, manipulation, or weaving fanciful tales each comes with natural ease to the strange man.

Ridley cares two concieled weapons, ritualistic daggers, each strapped to his forearms. While under lord one of the few things that were given to him was training with knives and concealment;however, the lord's actual reasoning behind it was so Ridley could do fancy tricks for him, the king, and any guests at the castle dinners. This didn't stop him from growing familiar with their other uses. As such he can keep most anything hidden on his person with the aid of his robe, and he can skillfully wield his daggers.

Along with them he cares a necklace with four small vials and simplistic metal tree branch charm with two of the vials on either side of it. The vials are filled with the four elements of his religion. From left to right they are filled with sand, tiny crystal beads, small brambles, and white seeds.

Finally he also has his followers that number approximately twenty-three each with their own skills, weapons, tools, and influence. Those of this group see Ridley as their liberator and their messiah to save them from the old ways, and if the need were to arise most would give their life for him.

Ridley was the son of two of the earlier examples of rebellion slowly seeping into the kingdom. They we're both servants who worked under a very cruel and powerful lord underneath the king. He was known only as Lord Mammon. After dealing with his berating, abusive, and demeaning nature for all the years they had been under his care they decided that they would attempt and escape from the kingdom altogether. To better their chances they abandoned their son in the streets of the city. As they attempted to escape they were apprehended and promptly executed.

The abandoned boy was left to his own devices. Luckily for him most took pity on street urchins. He endured and thrived because to him he was never truly alone. Shortly after the feeling of abandonment started to subside, he began to hear the faint chiming of voices. They were his only real friends and guided him;however, anytime he mentioned them to people they were passed off as just the fantasies of a child, so in time he began to mention them less and less. As he did they began to speak less and less.

After many years living in the alleys most of his memory of his parents and the voices were lost, and then the day finally came. Even those with nothing were assigned when they came of age. Even at that point his height had started to show being almost as tall as the examiners themselves. Given his long blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and fair skin it was decided he would live in the castle;however due to his size and build, he was not given noble status. He was appointed to be the squire of a influential and well known lord. Ridley was overjoyed at his placement seeing it as an opportunity to have a place to call home and to have a man to call father; the fates however had different plans

The following day Ridley was introduced to his master. To him this man was a new face, but as they met the lord smirked with evil recognition. Their time together over the years was brutal for the once abandoned boy. He was more a slave than a servant. He slept out in castle grounds or when it rained in the stables. The scraps his lord didn't eat were all of his nutrition. His lord would often beat him for the smallest signs of insubordination or "rude" behavior. As the years slowly crept by he endured as he always had.

Approximately a week after his arrive the voices started to creepy back into his ears. To his surprise they were sounding much clearer than they had when he was just a child. They still spouted mostly nonsense, but come his twentieth birthday while he slept out under the stars he was hit with a enlightening dream. In it he was lay on his back in a flat circular pile of seeds, around the perimeter of it stood a towering wall of thorns and brambles, the ceiling above him was a quivering and sloshing ocean of sand, and floating in the air and spinning about in were fist sized crystal orbs.

He lay in frozen awe at the scene around him, but as he blinked he found he was no longer alone in the circle. He saw standing around him four beings: one was a man wearing a crown of barbed bone and a cloak of woven thrones who held a flute made of similar spikes, the second was a pregnant women with a crown and cloak made of constantly hatching and dying seeds who held in both of her hands a cracked seed with white light spilling out of it, the third was an older eyeless man in a shimmering hooded robe who held a large crystal orb, and finally the last was a boy with coal black skin draped in cloth woven from gold who held an hourglass filled with golden sand.

It was at this point Ridley realized that no matter how hard he tried he couldn't move in the slightest. The four beings spoke in a language that was known to none but the boy could somehow still comprehend what was being said. As the beings finished their chant Ridley's chest began to burn and glow as large mark was burned into his chest. The pain was worse than anything he had felt in all of his years. When it finished he had a large scar on his chest in the shape of a five limbed branch. Once the heat and light vanished Ridley felt power return to his body and he stood up.

He sat up panting, sweating, and shacking. His hands grabbed at his chest and he felt around. He felt nothing, but the dream had felt so very real to him. He quickly began to calm down as he remembered what he had to do. He snuck back into the castle and into his lord's chambers the man was fast asleep. In the corner sat a set of alchemy equipment. He quickly grabbed four small test tubs and four stoppers to match. After pocketing them he moved to the fireplace and laid a poker int the flames before he grabbed one of the rocks just outside of the base. He moved over to his master and in one quick hard swing smashed the rock against his head with a dull thud knocking the sleeping man unconscious. By this point the poker was plenty hot. Ridley gently scooped it up by the handle and placed it against the unconsious man's face leaving a large burn across his face. The tranced boy put the rod back and left the room shutting it tight.

He had one more thing he needed to get from his hell of a home. He returned to the castle grounds and grabbed the two daggers his lord had given from him to perform with. He kept them hidden in one of the trees her preferred to sleep under. With them in hand he ran to the castle gates. The guards stopped but greeted him as he would often talk to them. He knew both of them were none too keen on their appointed positions and had heard them speak of the rebellion on more than one occasion. Using his social grace he convinced them both not only to let him through but to also join him. With both guards at his side they left the castle and moved into the city. Ridley was the son of two of the earlier examples of rebellion slowly seeping into the kingdom. They we're both servants who worked under a very cruel and powerful lord underneath the king. He was known only as Lord Mammon. After dealing with his berating, abusive, and demeaning nature for all the years they had been under his care they decided that they would attempt and escape from the kingdom altogether. To better their chances they abandoned their son in the streets of the city. As they attempted to escape they were apprehended and promptly executed.

The abandoned boy was left to his own devices. Luckily for him most took pity on street urchins. He endured and thrived because to him he was never truly alone. Shortly after the feeling of abandonment started to subside, he began to hear the faint chiming of voices. They were his only real friends and guided him;however, anytime he mentioned them to people they were passed off as just the fantasies of a child, so in time he began to mention them less and less. As he did they began to speak less and less.

After many years living in the alleys most of his memory of his parents and the voices were lost, and then the day finally came. Even those with nothing were assigned when they came of age. Even at that point his height had started to show being almost as tall as the examiners themselves. Given his long blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and fair skin it was decided he would live in the castle;however due to his size and build, he was not given noble status. He was appointed to be the squire of a influential and well known lord. Ridley was overjoyed at his placement seeing it as an opportunity to have a place to call home and to have a man to call father; the fates however had different plans

The following day Ridley was introduced to his master. To him this man was a new face, but as they met the lord smirked with evil recognition. Their time together over the years was brutal for the once abandoned boy. He was more a slave than a servant. He slept out in castle grounds or when it rained in the stables. The scraps his lord didn't eat were all of his nutrition. His lord would often beat him for the smallest signs of insubordination or "rude" behavior. As the years slowly crept by he endured as he always had.

Approximately a week after his arrive the voices started to creepy back into his ears. To his surprise they were sounding much clearer than they had when he was just a child. They still spouted mostly nonsense, but come his twentieth birthday while he slept out under the stars he was hit with a enlightening dream. In it he was lay on his back in a flat circular pile of seeds, around the perimeter of it stood a towering wall of thorns and brambles, the ceiling above him was a quivering and sloshing ocean of sand, and floating in the air and spinning about in were fist sized crystal orbs.

He lay in frozen awe at the scene around him, but as he blinked he found he was no longer alone in the circle. He saw standing around him four beings: one was a man wearing a crown of barbed bone and a cloak of woven thrones who held a flute made of thorned bone, the second was a pregnant women with a crown and cloak made of constantly hatching and dying seeds who held in both of her hands a cracked seed with white light spilling out of it, the third was an older eyeless man in a shimmering hooded robe who held a crystal scale whose pedestals are turned upside down so they may hold nothing, and finally the last was a boy with coal black skin draped in cloth woven from gold who held an hourglass filled with golden sand that swirls and dances without reason.

It was at this point Ridley realized that no matter how hard he tried he couldn't move in the slightest. The four beings spoke in a language that was known to none but the boy could somehow still comprehend what was being said. As the beings finished their chant Ridley's chest began to burn and glow as large mark was burned into his chest. The pain was worse than anything he had felt in all of his years. When it finished he had a large scar on his chest in the shape of a five limbed branch. Once the heat and light vanished Ridley felt power return to his body and he stood up.

He sat up panting, sweating, and shacking. His hands grabbed at his chest and he felt around. He felt nothing, but the dream had felt so very real to him. He quickly began to calm down as he remembered what he had to do. He snuck back into the castle and into his lord's chambers the man was fast asleep. In the corner sat a set of alchemy equipment. He quickly grabbed four small test tubs and four stoppers to match. After pocketing them he moved to the fireplace and laid a poker int the flames before he grabbed one of the rocks just outside of the base. He moved over to his master and in one quick hard swing smashed the rock against his head with a dull thud knocking the sleeping man unconscious. With him thoroughly indisposed of he reach under the bed and brought out a small bag of coins. By this point the poker was plenty hot. Ridley gently scooped it up by the handle and placed it against the unconsious man's face leaving a large burn across his face. The tranced boy put the rod back and left the room shutting it tight.

He had one more thing he needed to get from his hell of a home. He returned to the castle grounds and grabbed the two daggers his lord had given from him to perform with. He kept them hidden in one of the trees her preferred to sleep under. With them in hand he ran to the castle gates. The guards stopped but greeted him as he would often talk to them. He knew both of them were none too keen on their appointed positions and had heard them speak of the rebellion on more than one occasion. Using his social grace he convinced them both not only to let him through but to also join him. With both guards with him they left the castle and moved into the city.

They took up shelter in an inn near the outskirts of the city. The two recruits slept soundly happy to be on their way to living a new life. Ridley, however, didn't sleep a wink because shortly after they arrived he went out to collect what he needed. His first visit was the local jeweler and put in an order for a charm from a necklace. The charm being in the same shape as the branch. He also purchased a necklace with clear crystal beads strung on it. As the jeweler worked Ridley traveled out of the city to the farmlands. He moved to one of the barns and silently took a handful of white seed. From there he moved to the river where he collected dry golden sand from the river bank and thorny brambles from the brush along the shore. With all in hand he slipped the components each into one of the vials before he took one knife and pricked his finger. He let a drop of blood fall into each vial before he placed the stopper onto each. He threaded them onto the now bare necklace. He returned and picked up his finished charm. He added it to his necklace and a feeling of relief washed over him as he finally slipped it on.

He felt whole for the first time in his life. He knew his purpose. His true lords and lady gave him one. This fate based creed was cruel, wicked, and deceitful. He had to remove the blight and spread the love he had been given to all those who would listen and defend it from all those that would try and silence it.

Traits
Blonde Hair-Socially Gifted
Blue Eyes-Spacey in Nature
Fare Skin-Suited to Indoors
Massive Height-Subservient to Others
Thin Build-Intellectually Motivated

The Oath-We shall follow in the likeness of our masters, their elements, and their tools. We will spread their words and allow all to listen to their whims and follow them as we do. If faced with adversity we say lay our life blood down if need be as payment to defend and fuel our masters. We are their hands and mouths in this world and must act as they would. For through these actions we shall be eternally rewarded.

Gods/Goddess
Aza "The Sultan"-He is the embodiment of leadership and sacrifice. His element is that of thorns which symbolizes struggle and retribution. Aza's item is that of the thorn bone flute which symbolizes merriment and musing.
Nyar "The Herald"-He is the embodiment of society and communication. His element is that of sand which symbolizes cooperation and meddling. Nyar's item is that of the unnatural hourglass which symbolizes madness and freedom.
Shub "The Life Bringer"-She is the embodiment of propagation and the life/death cycle. Her element is that of seeds which symbolizes prosperity and infestation. Shub's item is that of the large cracked seed which symbolizes nexus and fragility.
Yog "The Oracle"-He is the embodiment wisdom and foresight. His element is that or crystal orbs which symbolizes clarity and tenacity. Yog's item is that of the crystalline scales which symbolizes rejection and discord.