Background/History
Fletcher Green was born into a life of modest comfort. His father, Captain Joseph Green, Knight of the Northern Keep, was a warrior of some renown who had retired from life in the military to become Captain of the militia in the small town of Sal-Tumal. While leading the militia didn�t pay well, Captain Green had accumulated a decent fortune during his career, and enjoyed the quite life that living in Sal-Tumal afforded him and his new family. While Captain Green had always hoped his only son would choose a career different than his own, he worked hard to instruct Fletcher in the arts of modern warfare. He knew that no matter the profession Fletcher chose, he would exist in a harsh world where a strong arm or a sharp knife in the back would always triumph over talk and negotiation. Unfortunately, his teaching would be more important to his son than he ever imagined.
As Fletcher grew into a young man under his father�s tutelage, he excelled in his martial studies. He was strong, fast, had a keen mind and a sharp wit. Fletcher thrilled in hunting expeditions with his father, and relished in the mock duels, both armed and unarmed, fought at the festivals and tournaments near Sal-Tumal. Fletcher read every book he could find, and sought out instructors to teach him the various languages and customs of the peoples of the realm. His life couldn�t have been better.
The first day of the annual spring festival, in Fletchers 17th year, started like any other. All the townspeople had gathered for the joyous celebration. Fletcher was accompanied to the festival by Marian Silver, the most beautiful girl in Sal-Tumal. She had blushed tremendously when he had approached her the first time two festivals ago, and initially rebuffed him. But he persisted, and in the end she had agreed to go with him. They had been inseparable since. Fletcher was planning to ask Marian�s father for her hand in marriage in the fall.
The one difference from this year�s festival and those in the past was Old Man Friedman. Normally a grouse, this year Friedman was all smiles and handshakes. Rumor had it he had found something while clearing off a small forest on his property. Based on his change in demeanor, most people figured it must be something valuable. Friedman had spent a good deal of time talking to the city counsel and Fletcher�s father over the preceding days. And although Friedman didn�t seem to have a care in the world, Fletcher had noticed his father was noticeably uneasy. Captain Green had insisted that Fletcher take his sword with him to the spring festival, even though this was against the customs. Fletcher resisted, as it wasn�t very becoming to be toting weapons around at the festival, but in the end reluctantly agreed.
To this day, Fletcher�s memory of the details of that festival are still fuzzy. By sundown, the entire town was dancing, drinking, and generally having a grand time. Fletcher in particular had consumed a considerable amount of wine, and was doing his best to get Marian to follow him up into a nearby hayloft. Then the world erupted. Screams echoed through the town square, bodies were flung about with inhuman force, and the town of (blank) burned. The source of this carnage, the cause for this destruction, still escapes Fletcher. He remembers horseman...were they flying...no, that couldn�t be...demons in dark armor, shining black and red in the light of his burning town; red with the blood of the innocent people of Sal-Tumal. Fletcher fought as hard as he could, battling these horrific killers, searching for his father...trying to protect Marian...fighting...
He woke the following morning, to the smell of charred wood, just outside of Sal-Tumal in a small copse of trees. From his vantage point in the trees, Fletcher could see that not a single building was left standing. The entire town of Sal-Tumal had been razed in one night. Numbed, he made his way back into Sal-Tumal, and made a shocking discovery. There were no bodies. None. No clothes, no blood, no evidence of the massacre that had taken place the night before. And not just human remains were missing. There were no bodies of animals either. The stables, though burned to the ground, contained no evidence of the horses that had been penned there the night before. Only the remnants of the burned out buildings stood testament that something awful had happened to Sal-Tumal.
Devastated with sorrow, Fletcher searched the ruins for days, looking for evidence of what had happened to his family. After three days of fruitless searching, he finally collapsed in utter exhaustion. A traveling band of minstrels found Fletcher�s unconscious body hours later. They bandaged his wounds, and tended to him as best they could. They quickly hurried past the remnants of Sal-Tumal, fearing that whatever ravaged this small town and the man they had found might return. When Fletcher finally awoke, the minstrels tried their best to make sense of his ravings, but to no avail.
Eventually, the band of entertainers left Fletcher in the care of the healer Harbernius, who resides in Bent Gap. Harbernius used his knowledge of the soothing arts to lessen Fletcher�s pain and shock, and after a time put him brought about Fletcher�s recovery. During Fletcher�s recuperation, Harbernius made inquires with local seers regarding what had happened that fateful night in Sal-Tumal. None of them could (would?) tell him. They all claimed that the horror of that night had twisted the strands of fate, and made it impossible for them to see what torments had occurred.
Fletcher eventually recovered enough to begin to move forward with his life, though he is still haunted by frequent nightmares. He took a job working for the city guard long enough to pay Harbernius back for the costs of his healing, though he knows he will spend his life trying to repay Harbernius for the generosity and kindness that he displayed toward him.
As the months past, Fletcher began going to see the seers himself, trying to shed some light on the events that had changed the course of his life. He has had little success so far. But the truly gifted soothsayers cost gold, and the pay of a guardsman isn�t nearly enough for that. So Fletcher began paying attention to the wanted posters, figuring if he could bag a couple of these bounties, he would have enough gold to afford a seer that could tell him what really happened in Sal-Tumal.
Personality/Motivation
Fletcher�s outward appearance is one of open friendliness tempered by strength. But underneath that exterior is a man who is tortured by the events of his past. He is driven to find out what happened to his family and friends, and why. He will stop at nothing in his pursuit of this knowledge, though he is not a fool. If he is dead, then he will never know what happened, and worse, will never be able to make those responsible pay.
Quote
�I don�t want to kill you. But if you come at me again, you�ll be dead before you hit the ground. That I promise.�
Appearance
Fletcher is tall and handsome, with rugged good looks, blue eyes and brown hair. His exudes both confidence and strength. This is his fathers teachings on leading and influencing men manifesting. Occasionally, Fletcher will be overcome by the sorrow of his past and his face and posture will show the tragic, fatalistic desperation that he actually feels.