Artorius Prole

"My only loyalty is to justice. I place my trust in those who serve her."

-Prole

Artorius Prole, mostly known simply as Prole or Arthur, was the second Grand Marshall of the Knights Thash and de-facto mayor of Denshire. An old friend of King Puffin of Providence, Prole was born and raised in Occa and a zealous member of the Knights Thash to the end.

Physical characteristics
After the Resurgent War, Prole was a decade or two past his physical prime, but in remarkable shape for just about anyone. Though he preferred to handle conflicts peacefully, he was stronger and faster than most experienced fighters and was a commendable fighter trained by the Grand Champion of the Knights Thash himself. He was proficient in many forms of combat, usually sticking to a single blade, though he always carried two. Prole was roughly a physical match for all four Outlanders at once, second only to Commander Triton.

Biography
Artorius Prole, called Arthur by his friends, was born in Denshire several decades before the return of the Mad King. He and his little brother Darius were well liked by the people of the small village in which they were born and remained headstrong after their father was drafted into the United Occa Military in wake of a growing undead threat in the continent.

By the time the boys were ten, their father had still not returned, though her mother had fallen for another villager. They initially distrusted the man, but when their mother had fallen pregnant, they dismissed their doubts and assisted the man in caring for her. By the time Helena Prole was born, however, the man had disappeared.

So Darius and Artorius, intilled with a sense of bitterness, helped raise their new sister, helping her when their mother could not. Now teenagers, the brothers began to explore beyond the walls of Denshire, venturing out into the countryside and learning all they could about the outside world. Though they felt alone and betrayed, they both trusted each other deeply and vowed never to betray one another.

Trouble arose once more. On one occasion, upon returning to Denshire after a routine scouting trip, the boys discovered the village in flames and its outer wall completely destroyed. Scouring the ashen remains of their home, they found no survivors; Helena and their mother were both nowhere to be found. They remained in the remnants of Denshire overnight until a dozen red-armored men on horseback arrived in the morning.

Their leader, who called himself Triton, ordered his men to give the boys blankets and food, allowing them to rest and sleep for a few hours while he surveyed the damage. When Darius and Artorius were ready to speak, they explained to Triton that they had been gone for the day and returned to find their home in ashes and their family apparently dead. The man comforted them and told them that raider activity in the area had increased dramatically the past few weeks and that they had been lucky not to encounter them.

Triton revealed his identity as the commander of the Knights Thash, a militant faction independent from the throne of Providence that operated in Occa, seeking out the forces of evil and helping the needy at every turn. Enamored and with nothing left to lose, both the boys quickly asked to join the Knights, to which Triton hesitantly obliged.

The Grand Champion taught the two brothers much of the art of combat, particularly sword combat and martial arts. Artorius was an especially fast learner while Darius was more interested in the philosophy of war and helping the disadvantaged, being a gentler soul at heart. Still, they both exceeded in their training and steadily rose through the ranks of the Knights Thash.

Due to Darius' preference for humanitarian aid, he mostly stayed in the city of Providence, aiding the local hospital and feeding the homeless while Artorius regularly ventured off with Champion Triton and his right hand man, Grand Marshall Ceto. Artorius was quite intrigued with the rumors that both Triton and Ceto were perhaps centuries old, being the supposed founding members of the Knights that still led their ranks to the day. Still, the boy never dared to ask them if the rumors were true, holding too much respect for his two superiors to risk offending them. Meanwhile, Darius' good deeds earned him the favor of Occa's then-king, who was intrigued by his remarkable empathy despite his status as a Knight of Thash (Knights Thash, at the time, were generally distrusted by most Occans).

The land of Occa grew more treacherous by the year. By the time the brothers were both in their physical prime, reports of attacks across the countryside were growing exponentially more frequent, and not even the fortified walls of Providence seemed safe. Triton rallied every member of the Knights Thash to join him on an expedition to find the source of the evil that was plaguing their home of Occa. The Knights traveled far and wide, aiding settlements along the way and eventually expanding their search efforts to uncharted territory, far from the safe borders of Providence.

On a small island far from the Occan mainland, the Knights set foot on a hellish island which they fittingly dubbed Abaddon. The seclusion of the island was cause enough for concern, but the land itself seemed corrupted to the core; the ground they walked on was not solid rock and dirt, but fiery brimstone. The evil that permeated Abaddon was impossible to ignore. The Knights pressed on, venturing into the depths of the island through an open cavern.

The winding tunnels under the island were lined with bones and rotting body parts. With bated breath, the men eventually reached the end of the cavern, revealing a massive chamber that had been completely carved out; the ground abruptly gave way to immense darkness with no visible end. Still, floating above the void in the center of the chamber was a curious platform with obsidian pillars and a glimmering glass device in the center. Before they could find a way to reach it, however, something great and terrible stirred in the darkness, awakening from a deep sleep.

A hideous beast, at least twenty meters tall with charred brown skin and alien antlers, descended upon the Knights, instantly crushing a dozen of them. Abruptly, it faltered, turning to face Triton on its hind legs. To their surprise, the demon began to speak, admonishing them for disturbing its slumber. Calling itself Bethecles, the beast nonetheless thanked the men, confessing that it had a message for them from its master:

"The world will know Fear."



Bethecles cackled maniacally and attacked once more, killing the helpless Knights one by one. To their horror, Ceto almost immediately died, grabbed by the beast's gruesome claws and tossed into the endless void. Miraculously, as the men fled from the gigantic monster, the shrinking cave's ceiling shrank too low for its comfort, and in the blink of an eye, a catastrophic collapse spelled its speedy end. Triton was traumatized by the death of his friend, but moreover, he could no longer deny the truth that the ancient evil that his master had warned him of was imminently returning.

Bethecles, the Demon Emissary

The remaining Knights Thash returned to Providence with the grave news. He professed that a great evil by the name of Moros was fast approaching and that the kingdom of Occa's only hope was to fortify and hope for the best. As demonic attacks continued to ravage the countryside, Darius gained more favor with the King, continuing his charity work while Artorius stayed by Triton's side in fighting on the front lines along with the United Occan Military that directly served Providence.

Two years later, not even the capital of Occa was safe. Without warning, a legion of demonic creatures marched on the gates of Providence, laying siege to its great walls. The Knights, though, were ready for them, and Triton was able to put together an immediate counterattack alongside Artorius - the newly named Grand Marshall of the Order in wake of Ceto's unfortunate death.

The Knights fought valiantly, more than a match for the savage and uncoordinated demon army even with their inferior numbers. Still, they could hold off the endless assault forever, and eventually the outer wall of the city was breached, allowing dozens of demonic warriors to spill in and immediately storm the King's palace.

Artorius and Triton quickly rushed to the King's aid, but Darius alone wasn't nearly strong enough to protect the despot. The King died a quick and painless death, vaporized by a particularly vindictive demon. After the King's death, the demon army howled in rejoice and instantly evaporated, their mission complete. Immediately after the assault, nearly half of Providence's population was injured, many of its buildings were in a state of disrepair, and there was no king to rule them; that was, until the late king's will was consulted, revealing Darius to be his chosen heir.

Darius left the Knights Thash on good terms and named himself King Puffin, the first of his name, immediately setting about helping the poor citizens of Providence to rebuild. Saddened by the death of the king and echoing his brother's sentiment that he wasn't fast or strong enough to protect him, Artorius also left the Knights, despite Triton's insistence that he stay. Artorius returned to Denshire and also took a leadership role, though it was entirely informal.

Still, Artorius remained good friends with Triton, almost to a fault, as his increasingly pacifist brother thought. The Knights Thash grew increasingly aggressive, searching remote villages for ties to the growing demon threat and unjustly persecuting the innocent. Artorius made his support for Triton quite vocal, on some occasions even racing to his aid. When Triton eventually asked Artorius to spy on the so-called Outlanders that had recently arrived in Occa, he was more than happy to oblige.

Word of the Outlanders's arrival spread quickly, and debatably true accounts of their exploits spread even quicker. According to some, these four individals were the cause of the resurgent Mad King's infamous defeat several weeks prior, which Triton confirmed. However, the Grand Champion of the Knights Thash insisted they were misguided heroes, reasoning that the Mad King, despite his flaws, was one of the last hopes to defeat Moros, the Ancient Fear, whose return could come "any day now."

Artorius, simply known as Prole to the Outlanders, guided them on their journeys, steering them in the direction of several artifacts that once belonged to the Mad King, which Triton believed was the key to eventually reviving him to the world may stand a chance against the Ancient Fear. Prole had heard tales of the Mad King - how he slew thousands of innocents centuries ago and permanently changed all of Aquila through his tyranny. Then he considered how dangerous the theoretical return of Moros could be, and instantly cast away any doubt in the justness of Triton's cause. Once the Outlanders recovered the last of the Mad King's artifacts in a desperate attempt to keep them away from Triton, who had been outed as a servant of the Mad King, Prole stole them and made off for Abaddon, where the Mad King's return would be finalized and the world would be saved forever. Still, he held some amount of respect for the Outlanders, admiring their zealous dedication to what they thought was right and indiscriminate kindness to those in need. In a gesture of respect, he left them the coordinates to Abaddon.

When the Outlanders inevitably arrived at the cursed island to stop the revival of the Mad King, Prole confronted them one last time - the only thing standng between them and Triton, who was preparing to begin the ritual within the caverns below. He pleaded with the Outlanders to see reason and to cast aside their doubts; he beseeched that they see the evil in their actions and join the Knights Thash in defeating the Ancient Fear through whatever means necessary. Predictably, the Outlanders refused.

For one last time, Prole reluctantly drew his weapons once more and charged into battle, going straight for the kill. He almost immediately killed one of them, easily breaking through the defenses of the older one with twin blades. He artfully dodged the arrows of the group's archer, smashing his bow in two. With two diamond blades in hand, Prole clashed with the remaining Outlanders, who were by all means outclassed. When all hope seemed lost for them, however, the most agile of the group desperately leapt at Prole's exposed legs, causing him to stumble into a pit of lava beyond. The brave Outlander was helped up from the burning crater at the last possible second before meeting the same fate as Prole: a confused, fiery end.