Lord Aberdovy

Appearance
Lord Aberdovy is a drawn and rather peculiar looking man, his eyes are quite round and seem overly large for his face and his lips though thin are constantly pursed and have a ruddy color. This combined with his rather pale complexion gives him the appearance of a man both perverse and possibly ill.

Despite this appearance, Aberdovy is a healthy and vigorous man, one well accustomed to the fit of the campaign saddle, the haft of the lance, or the feel of his sword in his hands. While neither a young lord, nor an elderly gray headed grump, Aberdovy is in his middle years and has a position of some prominence in the King's Court as a man who can get things done, and one who has the respect of his troops and his subjects.

History/Background
Aberdovy rules over a prosperous and valuable region as its Duke, appointed by the King for his valor in battle defending the crown. It was during this battle against foes that Aberdovy was struck a terrible blow. In reprisal for defeating a larger force, the rival noble sent an assassin and when Aberdovy returned home he found his wife and daughered garroted, and his son hacked to pieces. The assassin was caught and hung for his crime and the trail was traced back to the defeated noble.

Aberdovy was denied vengeance. The new peace in the wake of his victory was held by a treaty and oath of peace that had been sworn in the aftermath of the battle. For him to seek justice for the murder of his family, Aberdovy would plunge the kingdom back into a war that the King and commoner did not support. Wracked by grief and bound by honor, Aberdovy was left without escape. He was bound by honor and law to sit and be civil with the man who ordered the cowardly assassination of his family with only a financial compensation to 'pay a fine'.

It was during this time that Aberdovy was visited by an unnamed Knight. In a secret meeting Aberdovy was introduced to the Knights of the Shroud, a militant order based around revenge and destruction. After a few days of contemplation, Aberdovy accepted the invitation and joined the order. He fashioned his own shroud and in secret procured a wickedly serrated cruaunte sword to serve as his weapon of choice.

It was a month later when the Knights of the Shroud rode into the village of Asparnok with swords drawn. As a fiefdom of his rival Aberdovy was hopeful that the lord would be there. The Lord was not, but half of the militia was slain by the Knights, and more than three quarters of the thatch-roofed village was reduced to ash. Aberdovy had not found his vengeance but he did find an outlet for the grief that the faith could not channel away. A man of action had little uses for the quaint ceremonies and rituals of the faith.

Aberdovy still rides with the Knights, hoping to draw the rival lord out and face him in single combat. Other places have been ruined by the Knights, slashing at the inept and often corrupt political institutions that cower behind laws and abused traditions. As for the blood of the innocent? how innocent are they really? They are only commoners...

Special Equipment
As a Defender of Kingdom, Aberdovy has the finest plate mail armor, and a number of master quality weapons, a sword and lance being preeminent among them. He also keeps a stable of fine blooded war horses and is never without remount.

As a Shroud Knight, Aberdovy keeps a ghost white stallion with black hooves as his mount. It rides into battle in blackened plate barding, the chanfron or face place embossed with a long scything horn in mockery of a unicorn. On his shield there is a heraldic device of three crosses, one for each of his slain family, the righthand cross being broken into four pieces. Above a white sword lies on its side, point facing towards his chest as he carries the shield.

Roleplaying Notes
Aberdovy lives a dual life, though most of the time he is Lord Abercovy, faithful defender of the Crown and the Hero of Maravin. He is a gracious and polite man with an academic and artistic bent, but doesnt shy from sword practive or competing in tournaments.

Much less often he is one of the nameless White Lords, now an upper echelon leader of the Knights. He is involved with selecting the objectives for the Knight's raids, as well as keeping their operations, locations, and identities secret from the powers that be. When he puts on the shroud, he becomes another man, this one more free.

Plot Hooks
A Life of Vengeance - A PC done painfully wrong by the nobility or other protected party is approached by an emissary of the Knights to feel them out for prospective recruitment. A hopeful will have to explain the reason why they would want to join such a militant and evil organization, what they could bring to it, and what they want as their payment. Aberdovy wants his rival to suffer the same pain he has by having his wife and children killed in front of him, and then humiliated before being hung like a common criminal.

Knight of Pluto - The PCs are hired by a Aberdovy to do some work for him that is of a questionable nature. The PCs are tasked with following up an errant Shroud Knight to eliminate the threat as well as assessing how quickly the PCs can find information and informants on the matter. Will they ever suspect their employer?

The Sword - Facing the Knights, the PCs capture one, Lord Aberdovy, do they turn him in as a criminal or do they accept his offers of boons, patronage or other goods to secure his freedom. He swears his word as a noble, but can they believe him? Do they dare?