Cedric Anglermen

History

Birth and Early Years

Cedric was born to Jared Anglermen, a Man of the Autumnvale, and (Name placeholder), an elvenwoman, in the small Autumnvale village of Ryneloc (Rin-eh-lock). Cedric was taught by his father to hide his elven heritage from a very young age, and by the age of five the boy usually took to wearing a hat to hide his pointed ears. His mother wore her hair long enough to cover her ears as well, but would also put on something to hide them as well if needed. This idea of hiding their elven features came from Jared, not because he was ashamed, but out of fear of others judging his wife and child for being different. Despite this Cedric lived a very normal childhood, making lots of friends with the other village children like Delvon, Al, and Eean. Cedric was also taught the family trade of fishing, going on long boat rides with his father on the river to catch fish. (Name Placeholder) had a large ship which they used to sail down to Ardingly to sell their surplus of fish, and other goods, as well as purchase whatever items Ryneloc needed. When he was old enough, Cedric's mother noticed his affinity for magic, something he picked up from her elven ancestry. She decided to teach him in secret how to use and control these innate powers. During these lessons Cedric's mother also taught him Elvish, a language they would often speak to one another. As Cedric grew older he matured more, but still being a young man he and his friends would play light pranks on other people in the village, exploring around their home, and telling each other stories by campfire about their shared dream of leaving Ryneloc and adventuring together out in the world.

Orc Raid

During the war between the Autumnvale and Bergeaux, Cedric's father Jared was conscripted to fight, as were many men in the Autumnvale. It was left up to boys of Ryneloc like Cedric and his friends to defend their people from things like roaming wolves, a duty previously held by the able bodied men of the village. One night however, when most people in the village were sleeping, a group of Orcish mercenaries hired by Bergeaux raided the village: burning the houses down, kidnapping any boys who were unlucky enough to survive, and killing all the women and children they found. It was during this raid that Cedric and his friends tried to fight the Orcs, but were outmatched entirely and subsequently incapacitated. Before slipping into unconsciousness, Cedric's last moments saw his mother being taken out of their house and thrown on her knees before a large Orc wielding an axe. Cedric saw his mother yell out something to him, but the chaos of the violence drowned out her voice. It was this moment that Cedric saw the Orc raise his axe, and in the next his mothers head was rolling on the ground.

Orc Imprisonment

For the next few weeks Cedric and the other boys from Ryneloc were kept prisoners of the Orcs, being led back towards the border with Bergeaux. Along the way the boys were heckled and harassed by their captives. Some of the boys were angry, others were still in shock, and none knew what would happen. Miraculously Delvon, Eean, and Al had survived the raid, and the boys did everything they could to stay close to one another. Later in their imprisonment, the Orcs set up a game/trial for the boys of the Autumnvale which would decide their fate. The Orcs made a large circle around two boys at a time, giving them both a weapon and letting them fight for their lives with the winner getting to live. What the boys didn't know at the time was that this was a test by Bergeaux to weed out the less desirable boys, and only train the killers, boys who had proven they would do whatever it takes, even kill their own kin, to survive. It would be these boys who would become forced conscripts in the Bergeaux war machine. The strategy worked, and little by little the boys were put in this ring and fought to the death. If they refused to fight the Orcs would kill them. When Cedric's turn finally came he was put face to face in from of an old childhood bully of his, Ewen. Cedric tried to reason with Ewen, and refused to fight, but as Ewen began beating Cedric to a bloody pulp, he became scared. He saw what had happened to his village, his mother, and he was afraid of death. This fear led Cedric to pull a dagger towards him with his mage hands, and sink the blade into Ewen's throat, causing him to claw at his neck and grasp for air in his last moments. Cedric had shown himself what he was willing to do to survive, as did all the boys who killed that day for the first time. Cedric and his friends had survived, but they spoke no words to each other in the days afterwards.

Affan's Outfit

After the torment by the Orcs, the young Valesmen were handed over to official Bergic forces who began indoctrinating them into a fighting force to be used against the Autumnvale. The boys were allowed to choose new names, and this is where Cedric discarded his birth name, in favor of Jaredson. The boys were handed over to a Lagonan mercenary commander named Affan who was already leading a band made up of hired muscle, and Bergic prisoners. While the rest of the Bergic forces treated the vale boys with disdain, Affan showed them kindness and respect, training them all how to scout, and survive using what the land offered. Affan would become a sort of father figure/big brother to Jaredson. Affan's Outfit, as the group would later be known as wasn't trained to directly fight on the front lines, but instead to run scouting missions and harass supply lines. Jaredson, Delvon, Al, and Eean would all distinguish themselves as the war went on, with each friend being given command of a squad of men. It was at this time that Jaredson would interact more with another squad leader named Esme, a Bergic women. Esme would go on to teach Jaredson about the art of stealth and sleight of hand. Jaredson and Esme would also strike up a romantic relationship with one another which would last until the Battle of Cynestrea Road. The only significant casualty that impacted Jaredson during the majority of the war was when Jaredson, Delvon, Eean, Al, and their respective companies were out scouting, when they were ambushed by the Cranwich Rangers. This ambush would see the loss of 2/3rds of the squads, and the death of Al which greatly affected Jaredson and group. The group would later be directed to fighting in the Battle of Cynestrea Road which resulted in almost the entire outfit being killed or disbanded, and the death of Esme. Jaredson, Delvon, Eean, and Affan all retreated, and road with Affan down towards his homeland of Guarda Lagona. Once there, they all disbanded, with everyone going their separate ways in the world. This would lead Jaredson to seeking work, and eventually finding his way to Barracksmouth.

Argent Company

While in Barracksmouth, Jaredson would take on a job to find a special sword named Argent Lily for a notable person. Accompanying him was George Cadougan and Sir Leighton Allister, the latter being at the Battle of Cynestray Road fighting for the Autumnvale. Despite this, the group fulfilled the task and got Argent Lily, a sword which had the soul of a person imbued within it. At this time the sword was being held in the possession of an organization called the Labyrinth of the Hand. After talking to the sword, the group was tricked (Name Placeholder) into stealing back Argent Lily so she could be returned to her lover. Upon returning Argent Lily, the group was attacked by a women named Alicia, who stole Argent Lily. This would embark the party to travel across the world to Sevnónicha to retrieve Argent Lily, and stop a world ending event called The Frost. It would be in Sevnónicha that Jaredson would depart from the party due to differences with other party members.

Education

Cedric was never given any formal education, and was expected to be a fisherman like his father before him. As a soldier for Bergeaux Cedric, now going by Jaredson, was taught how to fight, read maps, count, survive, and more by his company commander Affan. His stealth skills were taught to him by fellow company member Esme. In years time Jaredson would join the Argent Company, and request that Cadougan teach him how to read, a skill he had never learned and felt embarrassed about now. Through some of their lessons Jaredson has been able to gain a very basic understanding of written language.