Sir Zortan
I will to my lord be true and faithful, and love all which he loves and shun all which he shuns.
Description: The build of the figure is broad-shouldered and carries a frame once held raw youthful power. Grey now breaks the luster of this man's head peppers his once prominent brown mop. He stands taller than most men and carries a solid musculature. The man carries with him a spear almost everywhere he ventures. At the tip of the spear he carries is the banner of a sword ensnared in roses. More often than not Zortan is clad in his knight's steel. When he moves he carries himself with an unapologetic limp that is offset by the butt of his heavy spear. His helm is distinguished and has only a slit for one eye. When his helm is removed his face is distinctly disfigured. One half of the man's face is pleasant and handsome while the other side sports scar tissue and skin stretched over the eye-socket and a section of his mouth has been split from his jaw. The scars that cover him have done little to hide the tendon and structure of teeth through one small section of his mouth. The other obvious injury is that his right hand is missing a number of fingers. His gauntlet there only has fingers for a thumb and a forefinger. Cruel spikes jut from the other side of the steel with a circle chain in the middle in case the man locks his spear in for heavy work. He carries himself a knight. Determined. It is rare to see his face or disfigurements and outside of his home where he does not frighten the children.
Personality: He is kind and considerate. The even-tempered man is loyal and honest. A hard man but fair. Loyal. Unquestionably loyal.
Background: Zortan's father was once a lowly knight who married across the border into the Fidante (second or third cousin) family and succumbed to some disease when Zortan was a child while away on duty. The young figure was keen to become a knight in his father's footsteps. And he favored even as a youth the ways of those not too far from his home. The young man held honor tight and he was often bullied for it but the willpower of the youth was without peer. His mind set he stubbornly held to his values and he was a very kind and generous youth.
He took his time and eventually earned the chance to squire and it is said that he had more virtues than his knight dared dream of from the start. But when it came time to swear his oath the young man did so readily. Zortan had distinguished himself early on once he was given the chance to enter melees with a natural instinct and talent with both the spear and the sword. Soon he was rising in the lists as well and thought to be a young champion in the making. But then a mishap of a lance caught the young lovely house knight in the face and his jaw hinge gave in the most unfortunate way. The lance when it fractured pierced his eye and went through his mouth and came out the other side.
The gory scene was a dramatic affair and through sheer force of will the young knight survived. Since then with one-eye and a compound fracture that never healed right Zortan was a broken knight. He refused to give up his station and through determined ferocity of valor and honor he carried himself through the years. He was never the champion-to-be again but he led small numbers of men into battle when needed.
A few years after his first accident it is said in a battle his crap luck saw boiling pitch trapped down his breastplate at one side and in the seams of his gauntlet enough that he is left crippled with one hand and only has his thumb and forefinger.
It is rumored that Zortan is cursed. Zortan smirks and shrugs his shoulder and ignores these things. He only cares about duty and honor. Vows are vows.
Zortan served directly the Fidante family and spent many of his years in the direct guard and retinue of Giancinta Fidante. The honorable knight earned her trust and confidence. Three decades of service within the Fidante family have now come to pass.
Zortan has returned from unspoken family business just as the siege of Arx is under way. He has spent a number of years away. He is here to serve as always and to hold to his vows. He is not the strongest man, nor the swiftest, and while he has progressed in age and his injuries have run their course. The man is simply to stubborn to give up the ghost of a knight's vows. He is a faithful and dependable lifer.
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