> [!infobox|right wikipedia] > # **"Constantine"** > ![[CONSTANTINE -Portrait.png]] > ##### **Basic Information** > | | | > | ---- | --- | --- | > | Title(s): | Unknown | > | Faction(s): | [[Lich-Halt]] Guardsmen | > | Home: | [[Lich-Halt]] | [[Neverwinter Woods]] > | Species | Human | > | Occupation | Guard | > ##### **Dates** > | | | > | ---- | --- | --- | > | Status: | Alive | | > | Born: | 1468-1473 | DR > | Died: | N/A | > | Age: | 20-25 | Years > ##### **Family** > | | | > | ---- | --- | --- | > | Spouse: | Unknown | > | Parent(s): | Father, Deceased | Mother, Deceased (Plague) | > | Sibling(s): | Unknown | Unknown | > ##### **Class Info** > | | | > | ---- | --- | --- | > | Alignment: | Unknown | Unknown > | Deity: | Unknown | Unknown > | Class 1: | Fighter | Unknown Style | > | Class 2: | Warlock | Unknown Style | > ##### **Appearance** > | | | > | ---- | --- | --- | > | Hair: | Black, formerly blond | Short | > | Skin: | Pale | | > | Eyes: | Hazel & | Violet | > | Height: | 5' | 8" | > ##### **Extra Information** > | | | > | ---- | --- | --- | > | Favorite Food(s): | Owlbear Meat | Any-doneness | > | Favorite Color: | Unknown | | > | Interest(s): | Unknown | Unknown | > | Fear(s): | Unknown | Unknown | ### Origin **Constantine:** Constantine is a man built from fear and duty in unequal measure, someone who looks like sleep abandoned him years ago and speaks as if unseen things are always whispering too close to his ear. When I first met him on [[Stormwreck Isle]], he came across as a nervous servant clutching gear that was older than he was, muttering prayers that broke halfway through and jumping at shadows that were not there. I thought he was just odd. Time proved he was something stranger, sadder, and far more tangled than he lets on. His armor is borrowed, his training inconsistent, and his sense of danger is either wildly exaggerated or painfully accurate, depending on the hour. He once tried to arm the children of [[Greenest]] during the town’s recovery, an idea so misguided that [[Marcel Voltaire]] had to sprint across half the square to undo the damage. Yet when it matters, he does not falter completely. He once saved Marcel’s life with a crossbow shot that arrived at the exact heartbeat it was needed, and he has driven our wagon across [[Faerûn]] with earnest determination, even if I eventually took the reins after one pothole too many. Then there is this "shadow"... What began as Constantine talking about things none of us could see became something real the moment [[Constatius]] stepped out of him like a second self. Constantine trembles. Constatius does not. Constantine stutters. Constatius speaks with calm clarity. An odd observation I've made is that his once-platinum hair has turned pitch black in the span of a week, and magic slips from him at random, leaving him shaken, embarrassed, and no closer to understanding what is happening to him. He also talks about [[Lord Aeric]] with a reverence that borders on worship, insisting the man is old, powerful, and more than just a noble. Constantine never explained Aeric’s magic, and would only mention in passing things like that that he once summoned a "black draconic spirit" and said odd phrases like “the shadowflea bites”... I guess these are considered normal things in his homeland? He comes from [[Lich-Halt]], which is a tiny settlement buried in the [[Neverwinter]] where punishment is common and fear seems to be the language of the streets. Their entire guard is barely twenty people, and Constantine is one of them. The only soul he ever speaks kindly of is [[Yohan]], a dwarven trader who taught him work, honesty, and the value of a steady hand. His parents are allegedly "long dead". He avoids the details, not out of secrecy but because remembering seems to hurt him in ways he does not have words for. Constantine feels like someone unraveling thread by thread, caught between a lord he idolizes, a shadow that understands him too well, and a world that keeps changing faster than he can steady himself. He frustrates me. He worries me. He tests every ounce of my patience! But... when he steadies his aim, when he drags us out of danger despite shaking hands, when his voice firms for just a moment, I see what lies under all the fear: a man trying as hard as he can in a life that has given him nothing simple. And sometimes that's enough... #### Notable Incidents - **Kobold Ambush:** During a troubling moment in the wilderness of Stormwreck Isle, Constantine loosed a perfect shot that killed a kobold moments before it could drop a boulder on Marcel, opening the space Dio needed to negotiate mercy with the remaining attackers. - **Shades:** He was the first to speak of shadows following him, insisting he saw figures no one else could. Days later the party finally understood when his mirror-self, [[Constatius]], stepped free from him like a living reflection. His shadow double, Constatius, now appears at unpredictable moments, looking exactly like him but speaking with calm certainty instead of nervous stuttering. - **Appearance Shift:** His once-platinum hair darkened over a handful of days until it turned completely black, and his skin grew pale and drawn, clear signs that something in or around him was or is changing. - **Knots:** Near [[The Compass Rose Shipwreck]], he admitted he could not tie knots, - **Lord Aeric’s Capture:** He revealed only one detail about his liege: Lord Aeric was taken by the [[Cult of the Dragon]]. He has refused to elaborate since. - **Wagon Driver Duties:** Constantine is the party’s main wagon driver across [[Faerûn]], though Dio eventually had to take the reins after one too many potholes left the whole group rattled. - **Duel in Greenest:** Behind the inn in [[Greenest]], he engaged Marcel in a duel and promptly lost, leaving him embarrassed and unconscious (*in no particular order*) and Marcel mildly irritated. It was Constantine that started the fight, wanting to test his skills against a [[House Valebright]] royal guard. - **The “Poors”:** He once confessed that his entire life savings upon arriving at Stormwreck Isle amounted to two copper coins. - **Lich-Halt Teachings:** Constantine often cites lessons from Lich-Halt that alarm the party, including corporal punishment as a standard consequence and interrogation methods involving removing fingers. He is shamed relentlessly for this. - **Arming the Children:** During the rebuilding of Greenest he suggested arming the local children for defense, forcing Marcel to sprint through the streets to undo the idea and later scold him for the suggestion. - **Splitting the Party:** In [[Seagrove Cavern]] he wandered off alone and triggered a fight with a flame beast that knocked both Dio and [[Drougma Tarak]] unconscious, leaving Constantine to drag their bodies to safety. He repeated this pattern again in the cave at the raider camp outside greenest, disappearing into a cavern and potentially causing disaster a second time. #### UNKNOWNS - What exactly [[Lord Aeric]] represents, and why Constantine reveres him? - Just started opening up about some of the people he knows back in [[Lich-Halt]]; who are [[Axel]], [[Wuf]], [[Mr. Clara]], [[Mrs. Clara]] and [[The Castellan]] really to him? What is their status? - How in the hell is there a second darker, cooler, constantine?