Backstory:

    I’ve always considered myself a lone wolf from the start. I grew up alone in Ptolus; I was the offspring of a prostitute working at a local brothel and a rich nobleman looking for a good time. I’ve never met my father, and unsurprisingly my mother abandoned me in the nearby foothills when I was born. Luckily, a lone swordsman named Praxis Andvari discovered me during his travels and adventures, and he raised me to what I am today. He taught me that while brute strength and angst might win a fight or two at the local tavern, it takes skill, tactics and patience to fully tap into the potential of the sword. At the age of 18, Praxis and I parted ways due to irreconcilable differences; he preferred to use his skills for the sake of improving humanity as a whole. I, on the other hand, believed that my talents and skills could only be used for oneself. He felt I “threw away my emotion and consideration for other people for the way of the sword”, and after some harsh words were said between us, we journeyed until a fork in the road and went out separate ways.

    When I was ??, I found employment as a freelance mercenary taking up various local tasks around the big city. Working alone, I fought and defeated many opponents ranging from furious barbarians to skilled fighters and even other mercenaries, and from those victories, I felt as if my strength has grown from not only fighting, but from observation to other’s fighting styles. Despite the fact the majority of the people including my mentor questioned and opposed my ideology of using my sword to earn blood money, it was truly a job that I thoroughly enjoyed doing. I don’t know what it was; perhaps it was the money, the learning experience, or just the thrill of the kill.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     -Vorne, mercenary for hire

    My student has grown increasingly arrogant and reckless overtime, and due to multiple differences that have risen over time between us, I have decided it was best for us to part ways. He thought that he could make a glorious living out of assassination and murder, and while the gold may be generous for a short term, someone better out there will put you in your place. Cold-blooded murder is reserved for those who lack compassion, and while I love him as a father loves a son, I refuse to travel and up bring a teenager who fails to uphold simple boundaries such as “murder for money is evil!” Kids. When will they ever learn? I wish him the best of luck, and while I am stern and strict, I welcome him back if he acquires some wisdom.

                                                                        -Praxis, master of the Desert Winds

    I’m now 22 and I consider myself quite seasoned but the next task I had has turned FUBAR. What turned out to be a simple job suddenly turned hazardous, among other things. I was sent out by the Killravens to collect the debt of a nobleman, who owes money to the former. I arrived at his mansion to find all but one of his bodyguards dead. Upon questioning, I was informed that another assassin was making his way to the bedchamber. To avoid the potential of a backstab, or risk him informing local authorities, I had no choice but to end his life. Sensing something was awry, I decided that the best point of entry into his bedchamber was his through his 3^rd story window. Using my spider climb, I ascended the walls until to see not a HIM, but a HER cornering MY target. It was too late, for as soon as I made my entrance into the bedroom, she had slashed his throat from ear to ear in a swift stroke, and I found myself face to face with my kill stealer (h4x). After a what seemed like 5 minute awkward moment of silence where we just looked at each other confused, I lashed out my most powerful technique, only to be countered with a swift dodge that had her flip over my head and plant two daggers into my back. As soon as I could react, I met her foot with my face, and found myself knocked off balance, and onto my back into a wall.

    She was about 62 inches tall, clad in black leather, and mid-length blond hair that was held back by a white hair band that went behind her ear. Now, I hate to sound like a chauvinistic pig, but I found her incredibly attractive, and I can honestly say that fact may attribute to the fact that she just got done wiping the floor with me. She lifted my chin with a dagger and told me that I was lucky that she only kills what she gets paid for, and I’m not on her “payroll.” Curious, as well as confused, I began spouting out questions like a bumbling idiot as she casually made her way to the door, only to be answered “Nyxia.”

                                                                                    -Vorne

    I don’t know what it is about him that captivated my attention, but when I first saw him, I had a feeling that he was unlike any simpleton hired muscle or brute. When we looked at each other to gauge each other’s skill, what he lacked in muscle he made up for in skill and composure. He was certainly fast on his feet, and thank the gods that I managed to dodge whatever flaming scimitar he unleashed on me. But there was something else about him that I just couldn’t put my finger on. When we had another chance encounter on the street as ordinary people going about our lives, he tried to brush me off as if he has never seen me before. I gave him a quick reminder by patting him quite hard on the back, and I managed to goad him to buying me dinner and fine wine. He was quite taciturn and seemed very emotionally withdrawn, carefully picking his words whenever he talked. I couldn’t help but catch a glimpse of loneliness whenever his eyes met mine.

                                                                                     -Jaina “Nyxia” Daelin

    Jaina and I wed 3 years after we first met on the 14^th day of the second month of the year. To be honest, falling in love was something that was out of the question for the first 22 years of my life, and she is the only person I have ever let close to me. It’s kind of funny as well as ironic, that I fall for the woman who not only ruined my mission by killing my hit, but also stuck two daggers in my back and landed a boot in my face. Who would’ve thought that killing could ever bring two people together and have them wed? Certainly not I.

                                                                                    -Vorne

    If there’s one single thing that I despise more than anything else, it is the act of betrayal. Jaina and I were assigned by the Killravens to kidnap, interrogate and dispatch the mistresses of a particular nobleman in order to obtain more information about a drug cartel that he was running underground. Two women to kidnap, question and kill, no problem. Or so I thought.

    The one mistress I decided to take down was clearly a set up, for as soon as I entered her bedchamber, I was flanked by not petty thieves and warriors, but 8 hard case men clad in black wielding glowing green long swords and daggers. Without a doubt, I had my ass kicked pretty bad and before they threw me in the sewers, just for their pleasure, the “mistress” scryed up Jaina.

    Her target detonated a chaositech sleep bomb that instantly knocked her out. It turns out that somehow Jaina ascertained the true identity of the Killraven leader, which is quite amazing, considering I’ve never even met him, let alone seen him. They have now have my wife for ransom, with the price that I venture down into some place called the Banewarrens, and obtain some <insert uber powerful relic here>. As soon as I have her back, I will have hunt down every single member of the Killravens and have their head on my sword.

                                                                                        -Vorne

Stats:

HP: 53

AC: 24 (Armor +6, Wisdom +4, Dex +3, Deflection +1)

Flat-footed: 21; Touch: 18

Init: +9

Bab: +6/+1

Skills: Concentration +13, Hide + 13, Jump + 7, Knowlege (Local) +3, Martial Lore +6, Listen +16, Move Silently +15, Spot +12, Tumble +15

Feat: Weapon Focus (Desert Wind), Improved Initiative, Feindish Heritage, Fiendish Legacy, Adaptive Style, Vital Recovery.

Special Abilities: Insightful Strike (Desert Wind), Defensive Stance (Shadow Stalker)

Maneuvers Known (8 readied):

1-Shadow Blade Technique, Mighty Throw, Stone Bones

2-Fire Riposte, Emerald Razor, Mountian Hammer

3-Mind over Body, Insightful Strike, Shadow Garrote, Fan the Flames

4-Searing Charge, Fire Snake, Ruby Nightmare Blade

5-Dragon's Fin

Stances:

Child of Shadow, Flame's Blessing, Dance of the Spider, Island of Blades

Posessions: +1 Mithril Breastplate, +1 Scimitar, +2 Periphat of Wisdom, +2 Gloves of Dexterity, +1 Ring of Protection, Boots of Striding and Springing, 2068gp