Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Sterling's Backstory

Sterling was forged for war.

Sterling was forged at Whitehearth in the Spring of 980 YK.  He was among the first units to have Mithril alloys included in their plating.  Owing to its light weight and flexibility Mithril alloys were shortly afterwards used primarily in units designed for scouting and stealth.

Due to his armors appearance Sterling's superiors often thought that he was designed for stealth and he was occasionally sent out on scouting and reconnaissance missions which often proved disastrous for him and his unit.  Sterling found difficulty among the front line warforged as well, as Adamantine alloys were most commonly used for these units, and he was not as durable as the job demanded.  

Sterling was rendered inert many times during the last war.  The first time was during a reconnaissance of the Brelish border while Sterling was a soldier of Cyre.  Sterling was attached to a small unit of skirmishers that patrolled the Brelish border of Cyre.  On this particular occasion his unit was shadowing the movements of Argonth as the mobile fortress moved along the border when they were spotted by a scout on a hippogriff that alerted some  Brelish ground units that were nearby.  Sterling's inability to move stealthfully actually helped the rest of his small band of scouts to evade capture as Sterling was sent off as a diversion while the rest of the unit went off in a different direction.

Sterling was incapacitated brought back to Argonth where he was repaired and eventually worked into a Brelish unit.  This time he was commissioned as a common foot soldier and sent to fight his former nation.  He was rendered inert twice during an extended campaign before he was assigned to the personal guard of a Brelish General.  It's here Sterling's strengths of flexibility and strength were best put to use.

Sterling served under the General for more than 8 years.  Sterling watched and learned how soldiers respond to strength of character and to firm command in the heat of battle, and how the efforts of individual soldiers can make large differences in the outcome of any particular battle.  The intersection of tactics and strategy fascinated Sterling and he became as much a student of the General as a guard.

The General was fighting in Cyre on the Day of Mourning but was grievously injured by a snipers arrow early in the morning.  Sterling and another warforged were acting as stretcher bearers carrying the wounded General back to Argonth when the Mourning happened.  

After Sterling was released from the military he sought out the General he had served under for so many years.  The General was living back on his families farmstead in the rural part of Breland near Vathirond.  Unfortunately he had no need of Sterling's talents after the war, and even Sterling's presence there made him feel uneasy, as if the war wasn't over.  He requested Sterling leave him be and he suggested Sterling look for guard work, perhaps in Sharn.

Unsure what to do with himself, Sterling considered heading into the Mournland, however, he decided to take his former mentor's advice and he headed for Sharn.

Sterling has held a number of protection jobs in Sharn since arriving over a year ago.  He feels that there is a greater calling for him in the world and after a discussion with a warforged named Blu at the Red Hammer Inn Sterling has decided to try and join the ranks of the Clifftop Adventurer's Guild.  He's made some inroads towards this goal as he is now working security detail for the guildhall.  Although it's an entry level position, he's confident he can prove himself worthy to join in on some excursion soon.

3 comments:

Wimwick said...

Very nice... I hope to have my posted shortly. It's in pretty rough shape.

Wimwick said...

Just re-read this and I really like it. I enjoy how you worked the campaign history and lore into the background.

It's made me ask the question 'How will my character interact with Sterling?'

I've almost finished Ethan's background and will post it later this weekend. I think I will add a section regarding how he views different races and classes of people.

skallawag said...

Very cool, going to be interesting interacting with you, but our characters may share something in common.