"Underneath the butterfly gardens,
Here I have buried all of my past.
But the lost will come to remember
The sun will not cast its light.
And the stars will fall around us,
And the embers cast from our eyes.
Binding us both to the end of all things
And the coming of the light."

Name: Ashen Highcliff (of Elturel)Age: In his late thirties during main verseRace: HumanGender: Male (he/him)Class: War cleric of HelmTitles: (Generic) Chaplain, Cleric, Father, Brother
(Helm-specific) Watchknight, VicarphHeight: 5 ft 9 / 175 cms

Physical appearance: White human male with blue eyes, light brown hair and a closely trimmed moustache and haircut. Some wrinkles at the corner of his eyes and mouth, which hint towards him smiling and laughing much more than he seems to do at first glance. Half of torso, arm and leg charred and scarred by third degree burns. True to most of Helm’s clerics, he is often seen in heavy plate armour and an open-faced helmet, to which he affixes a plume for ceremonial duties. When assigned to non-Helmite temple duties, he wears light-coloured priest robes and a stole instead.

Short background: Born in Elturgard, Ashen joined the Hellriders at the age of twelve and grew up in the cavalry corps. Thrown on the frontlines of Avernus, he fought during the War on Elturel but deserted after the death of his partner, Rheighar, who sacrificed his life to save him from a devil's attack. Framed like all the other Hellriders for Zariel's misdeeds, Ashen escaped to Baldur's Gate, then spent months tortured by memories of war. Only finding peace in praying to Helm, he became a cleric and the chaplain of the Flaming Fist, but longs to purge the guilt that resides in his heart.

Personality: He is steadfast, loyal and ready to sacrifice a great deal to protect others, a great listener and widely known wherever he serves to be a reliable and wise friend. Nonetheless, he is also blindly dutiful and fiercely religious. Like his deity, it does not take him much to stray from a righteous path in the name of guarding balance and having a flawed black-and-white vision of the world.He has retired from most soldiering duties to favour religious support within the army, but his combat experience and upbringing makes him a good fighter when forced to. However, though not a complete pacifist, he prefers to seek a peaceful resolution when possible, even if it means setting his pride aside.

"Shouldn't have wished to live in more interesting times."

Ashen's backstory is loosely based on D&D's 5e 'Descent into Avernus' and might be adjusted according to lore as time passes.

Background: Ashen was born on the outskirts of Elturel, the capital city of Elturgard. The eldest of eight brothers and sisters, he was ingrained very young with a deep sense of responsibility. His family was among the more modest ones of the land, and though his parents were good and loving, Ashen quickly understood that they would sooner than not run out of financial means to support all the children. Therefore, his lifepath started very early. In the city of paladins and lawful watch, work was not lacking.At age twelve, the youngest possible for the elite unit, Ashen enlisted in the Hellriders of Elturel to provide a weekly pay for the Highcliff family. He was trained in the arts of war and horseriding, archery and patrolling. Though most of the corps was human, a few Hellriders came from all over Faerûn and beyond, regaling the young Ashen with tales of fights in the Hells and foreign lands at a time where he had no choice but to remain in Elturgard. Nonetheless, these companionships kept him going through a very tough job. He felt the most kinship with tieflings and dragonborns.

For a few years, his duties consisted of nothing much but cleaning stables, caring for the horses, patrolling the city and guarding caravans. He worked ably and seriously but longed for something more exciting, a wish he would come to regret. He was thrown into active duty at the age of sixteen, participating in his first cavalry charge when Zariel’s hellish legions assaulted the fortresses of Elturel. Though well-trained, he was still frail and thin. He was thrown off his horse and heavily wounded at the first assault.Nevertheless, this would not be his last charge, for, over time, the assaults turned into a full-blown war with Avernus. Too often wounded, too often exhausted, he would get up again and keep fighting until his legs gave out under him, driven by a mysterious force, a strength of spirit that marked him as a most resilient warrior, even if not a particularly fearful one. Was it supernatural? Some liked to believe it, but a more rational guess would be that the young man was afraid that the cambions and imps would one day reach his family if he did not keep getting back on his feet.

The war only ended after over five years, with a defeat on the Hellriders’ part, standing among the ruins of a war-devastated Elturel, sunken into Hell. There was no justice in this world. Ashen was broken through and through, physically and psychically. He had earned his seniority stripes and the respect of his unit, but at the price of much more than what was apparent. For months, he was alive but absent, his gaze elsewhere, his thoughts a thousand realms beyond. The companions who had entertained him through his teenagehood were dead, and those who remained were far too inexperienced to understand the soldier’s trauma.Unable to help him, desperate for any solution to nurse their son back to health, and after having brought him to many healers and doctors, his parents eventually begged the High Watcher of Helm’s temple in Baldur's Gate to come to their aid. He agreed, taking Ashen in for a spiritual retreat where he was taught the Helmite creed, which his military career already acquainted him with. Under the favourable auspices of Helm’s temple, perhaps touched upon by the Great Guard Himself, the young man made a miraculous and quick recovery.

There was just one change within him; faith had moved him, and he believed himself destined to serve Helm as a cleric. Sheltered in Baldur's Gate with his family, he was trained in the ways of the Watcher. Once collapsed by the sights of endless blood, he grew into maturity, stable enough that he may aid the families of his missing comrades in their grieving process.As he advanced in age and Elturel resurfaced, though destroyed, he progressively retired from frontline duties. With the Hellriders disbanded and unwelcome in Elturel, he made himself useful by joining the Flaming Fist as a military chaplain. As a cleric of a neutral god, and in the absence of the corresponding clerics, he can often be seen fulfilling priestly duties for other gods than Helm at the Baldurian temple upon request of their followers. Though able to preside over marriages and baptisms alike, he was often sought-after for funerals, for which he was known to always find the right words to soothe mourners’ pain.