Morne

Morne is human paladin and member of The Valkyrie Knights. He is played by Kristian Barry.

Introduction
"There I was, praying at a church in Port Sailen before one of my performances, as any good bard does, when a Paladin, clad in shining armour and wearing such a warm smile stood before me and told me my performance would be great. I made so much money that night, I'm sure he blessed me with some sort of power...."

- A Bards account of Morne in Port Sailen

Raised by the church from a young age after being left by his mother, Morne views the world as a place that is far from perfect but is capable of good change if prompted to do so. As a paladin Morne is used to being viewed as a beacon of hope for others and acts accordingly. Morne strives to ensure the safety of his companions, even if the cost is dire.

Appearance
Morne is of average height with short black hair, his face is clean-shaven with soft hazel eyes. Outside of his armour, Morne is fairly heavily built with tattoos of celestial script and patterns that trace from the palms of his hands up his arm and across his shoulders. Morne's typical appearance is a well-off middle class man with a relatively fine long sleeved shirt and leather pants, purchased with funding from his Church.

Personality
Morne, being brought up for the majority of his life in a Church is Lawful Good by nature. To this end he has taken an Oath by Isul Aeiha to create and preserve the light of the realms. While driven to help others, Morne has had to deal with the reality of the world that some people don't want to be helped, and violence is often a way of life for others, especially those in his own party. Despite this, Morne tries to remain good and just person as much as he can. The quest for restoring Alistara onto the throne is difficult though, and Morne often finds himself caught between doing what he needs to do to restore Alistara's position, and doing what he feels is right.

Childhood
Morne doesn't remember much of his early childhood, he was raised by his mother and had an older Sister who left early in his life. Morne's family followed work and charity around the country of Tieck before he became too old for his Mother to support. He was left to the charity of the Church of Isul Aeiha in Tierm, where he began his life as an acolyte.

Life in Tierm
After being inducted into the Church, Morne withdrew into himself, missing his family and not believing that anything good could come of his life. When offered opportunities to learn in the Church due to his hard work, Morne would refuse, and bury himself in the chores that all children had to do when in the Church.

Months later, Morne would meet Miri, a young girl of his age whose determination to be stronger sparked Morne into action. With her help over the years, Morne opened up, taking opportunities to learn more at the Church. Being younger children in the orphanage, Morne and Miri were often targeted by older bullies, while Morne would try reason with such adversaries, Miri would prefer to talk with her fists, usually ending up in brawls (that she would win) and having Morne patch her up afterwards.

Eventually Morne was given the opportunity to begin study as a cleric, one of the highest posts at the church, it was at this point that Miri, who had grown resentful toward the church, left. Cleric training was tough for Morne, a child of discipline and strength rather than wisdom and intelligence did not lead well into learning all of the history and information required to be a cleric, nor did the loss of his childhood friend, who had often helped Morne with the more difficult words and nuances in their early learning.

This was soon recognised by the Church's high priest, and Morne was removed from Cleric training and instead put into service as a squire for the churches paladin. Morne took to squiring with enthusiasm, leaving the books behind to practice with swords. His passion was soon rewarded, as he was selected to become a paladin fairly young. Miri would occasionally drop in to the church over the years, often to hide or seek medical care from Morne, who, although knowing it was against the law, would heal her wounds.

In the following years Morne would further attempt to unlock the powers that arise with becoming a paladin, eventually preparing for a pilgrimage to Helfjord in search of holy artefacts to bring back for the church and further his development. It was at this time that Miri returned again, however this time fleeing from a danger so great that hiding in the church wouldn't do. Wanting to help the childhood friend who had done so much for him in the past, Morne decides to bring her to Helfjord with him, swearing to protect her.

Quests
As part of the Valkyrie knights, Morne has given his word that he will assist Alistara Baratie regain the throne that had been taken from her father. He believes that to restore order and preserve the light in Helfjord, Alistara must be placed onto the throne and Bradley removed, lest he allow darkness to spread through the country. To this end, Morne will not allow anything to come between the party and their goal.

Morne has been accompanied by Miri into Helfjord as she tries to escape from her old life (and possible bounty hunters), he has sworn to protect her, and also aims to try and have her change her ways so she can avoid further troubles. Miri has shown to be some trouble in this quest, and what is more unsettling to Morne is her apparent ties to devil circles. Morne hopes he can help Miri see the right path, and avoid conflict that may rise from her past.

Morne's quest in Helfjord is to find the legendary sword Vyriel, once wielded by the Dragon Crested Hero. It is said to be somewhere in the mountains of Helfjord. With Ariuk's help, Morne has found a compass using a key and the ashes of the Dragon Crested Hero. He has also been told that Tyrrick from Ferris Keep may be able to help him on his quest.

The party recently came across a small litter of Winter Wolf pups, their mother slain by humans, Morne has given his word to Long-Tail, oldest of the pups, that himself and the party will protect them until they've grown, the pups are currently under the care of Morne's familiar, Ariuk, growing fast and becoming more celestial as time passes.

Notable items

 * Night Crackle, a silvered long-sword currently blessed by 3 different gods (Isul Aieha, the Star Children and the Small One).
 * A Silver shield that emits light on command.
 * A flask of seawater that refills itself magically when poured out.
 * A fillet knife and a Ladle, used for cooking.
 * A set of plated steel and silver armour, forged by Bug.

Abilities
As Morne has grown he has awoken new abilities from the silver in his blood, he has learned a number of spells, is immune to all disease, and emits an aura of protection around his allies, which gives resistance to the negative effects of spells and bolsters them in times of need.

Morne can heal allies with the touch of his hands, pulling from a pool of healing energy within him.

Notable Spells

 * Divine Smite: The tattoos on Morne's arm glow and impart power into his sword, allowing extra radiant damage to be dealt.
 * Speak with animals: Morne channels the power within him to be able to speak with beasts.


 * Thunderous Smite: Morne's sword crackles with energy, causing a thunderclap on his next hit that sends foes flying.
 * Ensnaring Strike: Upon hitting an enemy, chains rise from the ground, restraining and damaging them.
 * Warding Bond: Morne can use his blood and native silver to burn a bond around the wrist of himself and a companion, allowing him to take half the damage they take to protect them.
 * Current allies bonded: Miri
 * Misty Step: Morne dissipates into a silvery mist, appearing up to 30ft away from his location.
 * Moonbeam: Morne's palms glow and crackle with energy as he places his hands on the ground, a pillar of silver light erupts from the ground around enemies, burning them in holy light.

Proficiencies

 * All Armour
 * All Shields
 * Simple and Martial weapons
 * Religion
 * Persuasion
 * Medicine
 * Cooking utensils
 * Wisdom and Charisma saving throws

Curses
Morne is still not afflicted by any curses at the current point of his adventure

Miri
Having known Miri from a very young age, Morne is inspired by the firey nature of Miri. Working toward her goals and not letting others get in her way, Miri is an example of someone who may one day become a figure for good in the world. Unfortunately her undisciplined nature also cause the odd fight or two, which Morne does his best to prevent, and when he can't, he fights alongside her until the end.

Crab
Seeing a Goblin blessed by the gods at first confused Morne, but Crabs good nature and his willingness to help others quickly won over Morne's trust. Morne has begun teaching Crab the basics of what it means to be a servant of the gods, and Crab has picked up the training with enthusiasm and skill. In Rovide forest Crab and Miri also purchased the sword Night-Crackle for Morne, which Morne has received as a token of trust and friendship, hoping to return the favour in time.

Orlando
Although Morne's first introduction with Orlando started off on the bad foot, Orlando has proven time and time again to Morne that he is a team member that acts for the good of those around him. Morne will often turn to Orlando when he needs assistance and help him if he needs it. Morne is however concerned as to where Orlando derives his power, and suspects that the half-elf may not be all that he shows himself to be.

Since the events of Brann and Orlando's induction into Mihr's serving, Morne and Orlando have begun to get along much more readily, and their bond has since deepened significantly.

Lapp
Lapp is somewhat of an enigma to Morne, sneaky, fast and quick to steal shiny things yet not altogether a bad halfling. Having seen Miri take him into her care after the death of Veit Frostmaw, Morne has begun to try help teach the halfling about the world, although struggles at times.

Erdan
Erdan's often racist and overall demeaning behaviour doesn't bode well with Morne, and his habit for collecting various bloods from the corpses of others disturbs him. Despite this Morne sees Erdan's utility as part of the group and that the High-elf is not fully evil, and thus may be able to be swayed to become a nicer person eventually. Time and time again though Erdan has pulled through in acts of bravery and kindness toward the group and others, saving the group in Rovide forest, helping Morne perform surgery and saving his life in Maelstrom. Morne has begun to trust and even like Erdan, despite his drawbacks.