We don’t know exactly how, or when, but in the end he gave in to his tortures, and became a Beshtegos… a Lich, now slave to the demon Orcu’s will.

Not too long after, new hordes of infernal fiends came back to attack shadowsend… and this time there was no Avaran to defend it… the city fell to the surprise attack of the demons… those few that survived, tell the story of an skeletal spellcaster, wearing your father battle auspices. The city remains to this day occupy by Undead and demonic horrors we can only imagine.

I hope my son you can forgive me for hiding this for so long, the council of the order deemed it would be best to keep your horrible past from you till you where old enough to start your secret training in the Corax, where you depart today.

May your sorrowful fate end soon, my son, be well.

S. Castellan; Holy Priest of the Raven Queen.

What happens next it’s to be believed in parts… but I had the chance of speaking with one of the surviving clerics that where present that day… my mentor, and as unbelievable as it might seem, I do believe him.

A shadow figure materialized from nowhere, wearing but a blue cape and long black hair, with a wave from her hand the demon disappeared from the crystal, like swallowed trough a portal to hell itself.

“Your son’s fate is to die on birth… that’s the result of the course of the demon”

“No, I refuse to accept that fate for him… I can’t”

“You rebel against your faith!? …”

“Please, I beg of you my queen, all I ask is for him to have an opportunity to live his life, and die like the rest of us have had…”

“Are you aware of the magnitude of your request?”

“Completely my queen”

“Then so be it…”

As the figure disappeared, a cry was heard filling the silent ruins of the run, a newborn child’s. And at the same time, your mother exhaled in a smile her last breath.

I wish this tragedy ended here my beloved son… but I’m afraid there is yet, more to it…

As Gostrios was sent back to hell, he regained communication with Enesstrere, which was about to kill your father, stopped.

A portal was opened then, at your wounded fathers feet’s, those few survivors say trough it you could see the very hell, and Gostrios waiting on the other side… Enesstrere and your father went through it and we thought he was dead… oh if only!

Watching the love of his life so weak chanting the ritual froze him for a second, and a second means everything in the battlefield…

Was then when the lance of Enesstrere pierce his body, who in the blink of an eye, seize his opportunity and charged trough the portal, pinning him down to the floor… turning then to Valestra, and intending crossing back to finish her and the rest of the queens clerics, a divine explosion filled both locations in space… the might of the Raven Queen was making its appearance.

When the view was finally cleared in the command room, Gostrios was gone, and Enesstrere found himself trapped in this side of the portal, turning his sight to Avaran, while his men were being overwhelmed by infernal beasts… he smiled.

Back in the chant room, the view was not more comforting… although the demons that came in with Enesstrere where dead in the blast, most of the clerics performing the ritual fell dead in that same moment, and just a handful more survived the very attack… when they rushed into the room, they could see Gostrios encased in the crystal, fighting to get out and your mother laying in the floor, about to give birth to you with the lasts of her strengths.

“You filthy mortal!!! You think you can imprison me!? Your petty god of death is nothing compared to my master Orcus, the one that knows no death! But you will regret this day”

“…And so, your name shall not know longevity, like a futile flower in your precious winter thou shall see them wither and die before thee…”

Many of the most devout clerics of the Raven Queen where there that night, some say the ritual was so powerful that a tenth of shadowcrossings where spawned into this world that day… All I can say for sure is that it was the day you were born.

You see, something that most of the sacred text left untold was, that Valestra was with a child in her womb, you my dear son, was but a month of being conceived that day.

As the ritual continued two things were made clear… the demonic forces in shadowsend where starting to become erratic and disorganized, their attacks began to appear apart from one another, their commanders started to rise to battle poorly protected and such, this was an opportunity your father would not let pass.

Even before the rest of the Raven Knights forces got there, he gathered his elite guard and raided to the front lines, taking down infernal warlords, commanders and lieutenants in his path… clearly opening a gap in the enemy’s formation in an attempt to slay Gostrios that night.

The other thing that became apparent with the ritual was that, the forces of your mother, in her current state were leaving her body as her exhaustion became more and more obvious.

Was in that moment, that the doors of the temple of fate trembled, when hordes of demons started rushing inside, killing everything they could in their way… They seemed rather aware of the temple defenses as they managed to past the traps and guards making their way in to the chant room.

Ritual coming to an end Enesstrere, broke the chant room entrances to see how the reflection of his master Gostrios image, was encased in a giant black crystal pending from the ceiling. 

Your mother’s name was Valestra Helayna, High priestess of order of the Winter’s Maiden and keeper of the shadowveil temple, where the closest servants of the Goddess queen reside, ready to do her will. Your father, Avaran the timeless, was her spouse, a great shadar-kai hero, wielder of arcane powers like no other in his race, still revered for your kind. Stories say that they met in their youth, fell in love and then where together since… That much I can tell you about who they where, since that’s all I was able to find out.

Your father was a commander of the Raven Knights, he was leading his regiment to face a death cultist uprising in the souths of the lands… or at least that he thought… What was believed to be a simple force to face turned out to be an incredible powerful army of undead and demonic creatures, leaded by the cursed abomination known as Gostrios, leader of the infernal scions.

Shadar-kai bards still sing the song of the battle of shadowsend, it was believed that the fate chosen to your father by the Raven Queen, was not other but to fight that war… in a unthinkable situation, he used his cunnings, tactics and sheer power to hold the waves of undead creatures that kept slamming against the foothills of shadowsend, one of the greatest shadar-kai settlements in the whole shadowfell, and even though their comrades corpses were being animated by foul demonic powers to fight against them, your father and his men were able to hold the demonic assault long enough for the main forces where warned.

But, as every war story, there was a sorrowful turn of events…

The Demon lord Gostrios became aware of your fathers only weakness… his love. By the hands of a traitor which we might never now name, he learned that your mother, Valestra, was bound to host a divine ceremony meant to vanish the powerful Gostrios from the shadowfell, channeling the powers of our goddess queen, in the temple of Fate.

It was then that, this demonic filth send his most trusted and powerful lieutenant, Enesstrere the deceiver, to kill her before she could complete the ritual.

This words where marked in Ioan’s consciousness. More than memories, they were in the very blood of his kind, crawling like a reminder of the precious sacrifice of love that made him possible and the monstrosities that made that necessary…

Little does he retain from his youth, barely nothing that hasn’t passed through one of the scholars that handled him as a child, but, if one thing is certain, is that he witnessed horrors that any mortal would want to forget as well… never the less, the mind always finds the ways to bring forth that which has scarred the soul, and so are the nightmares of this child, what led us to the understanding of what happened that night…

My name is Sebastian Castellan the third, a cleric of the Winters Maiden Temple and Ioan’s tutor, and as such, It has been decided that is within my duties, to preserve that knowledge which is to be passed on to him when he’s of age.

[Written on the side of the parchment] Ioan, my child… let me remind you to keep present while you read this parchment, that I have love you like my son since you came to my care, and that is with love and grief that I place this burden onto you… remember as you learn the truth that, our goddess queen has a plan for all of us, and we, her servants must but to play our parts in the grater cogs of fate… accepting all that is a consequence of it.

Our epic DM usually creates his own game world, with its particulars characteristics... some other time ill get completly into the camapaign setting but right now will be a round up.

The world is called Invernia, a massive planet thats located in the elemental chaos.

Invernia is sort of a flat world (think Discworld without the whole giant turtle thing) because is a giant chunk that was ripped from the nine hells itself.

A few hundreds years back this world was a mere place in the in the nine hells, where 4 powerful demons had their temples (4 cardinal locations) and their Exarchs ruled while they where fighting the battle against the gods in other reaches of the astral sea.

One thing led to another and when opportunity arose, the Exarchs completed a ritual that basically let the rip a giant segment from hell (planetary size) and port it. I figured the farthest away from their demonic enslavers as they could (elemental chaos) that would be really furious when they came back from war and saw a piece was missing, literally. Hell froze (hence Invernia) and life became possible without the cruel mantle of demons keeping humanoids as their slaves but, there are such demonic presences who still want they land, and their slaves, back "where they belong"...

As i said, the complete round up of the setting in another post n_n

Now a little about my character

From the second i saw Avengers in PH2 (was going to be a fighter till then) i knew they where for me, didn't quite understood why exactly, i guess it was because i was always incline to play holy warriors, but paladins weren't strikers per se and my vision on clerics where those of a healing machine (yes, i know thats not the case anymore, but they weren't strikers either) but when i read in Dragon Magazine 379 the concept of Avengers:

“I’m the avenging blade of the gods — Batman with a holy symbol.”

It all became clear, thats like my dream class.

So i wanted a shadowy grim holy warrior, in early stages we (my DM and i) discussed a possible "Judge Dredd" theme, but i was hardly in the mood of a Lawful character, so adding all up we came down to The Raven Queen. Awesome deity and my Favorite for the Current  Creature Competition: Encounters 

Initially was going for human, but then i saw Shadar-kai where a playable race now. I hated shadar-kais... they where the main recurrent enemy's in my very first 4e campaign, wherever we went, there was a band of shadar-kai's raider following us, tracking us, killing us >> so i kind of just look at the playable version out of curiosity... Just perfect i must say... i mean, the shadow theme went perfect with the whole batman feeling of my character (already knew i was going with Zealous Assassin PP) but even better, Epic destinies where just tailor made (up till then i was going with Darklord) So in the end My DM came to me with half a sheet with the basics of my origin (of what i told him) inserted into his campaign setting, i took that and worked the complete background and i must say, im even more psyched now to play and see how can i develop even further Ioan's Story.

And yes, that my characters name, figured it was the shadar-kai version of Johan/Jhon wich is basically my name :D.

So without further ado, i present to you: "Prelude: Requiem" Ioan's Back Story

Death:

May the ravens travel your soul to letherna...

My queen demands your soul, and your soul she shall have

Fate:

Fate led us here, and here is where you die...

Curse your fate, for you are my target...

Winter:

Feel the gentle repose of perpetual winter...

Winter comes to all things, and today has come to your life...

Every step i make, escorts you closer to letherna...

Every swing i take renders not only the flesh but the soul and your fate...

Fate walks with me, and death not far behind...