darkwood

forced into slavery at an early age, darkwood eventually broke free and sought to kill the archmage anti-paladin who had held him against his will. shortly after joining the crusade, he went to the tower of magic to retrieve the stolen gauntlet, and there met an archmage who quietly tried to talk him into leaving the tower. his rage quietened to entreaties that she give up magic and take up the sword. shortly after this meeting, he was ousted from crusader during maelstrom's angry purge of the dishonorable house, only to be readmitted because he was not one of the dishonorable. During his life as a crusader, he rose in strength and standing. he earned the title warlord of the crusade and led many raids upon the tower to smash the bad magics. to the surprise and shock of many, he courted and married the archmage he had met so shortly after his induction, hoping to convince her through love rather than violence to give up her magic. Some of his guild brothers sought to discredit him, and forced him to choose between house loyalty and the life of his unborn child. he chose to preserve his child's life, and was removed from crusader. to achieve immortality, he agreed to have his memory of his wife removed, and his marriage annulled (for not all in the heavens approved his attempts to convert an archmage through love rather than death). After nycholas was hurled into the abyss during a duel with rungekutta, darkwood asked styx for immortal leadership of the now fallen house of crusader. His face was badly disfigured by the lord of the abyss to pay for his leadership, and he seeks now to restore crusader to its former golden age of honorable glory.