Valen Retoran

An ancient man of extreme wisdom and power, and a bane to all undead, Valen has taken it upon himself to lead a group of Chosen against the growing evil across Faerun.

Description
Chosen by Lathander, Valen is more than 250 years old, yet like others with his gift, time has slowed and he appears as he did over 200 years ago. He is a model of physical fitness, and has been known to challenege men hundreds of years younger in running competitions. A stern face with a penetrating gaze, the Sunrise Lord is rarely seen without his armour, his heavy mace, and his Staff of the Rising Sun (Minor Artifact of Lathander) when he is away from his church.

Personality
Valen rarely smiles, and has been described as a man with a purpose. He only talks when necessary, but never holds any ill will toward good creatures. He is quick to help those in need or the oppressed, and is the first one to offer aid or any other kind of help to the misfortuned.

Valen has always despised the undead, and he has used his gift from Lathander and power over the last 100 years to wage a war against powerful undead around Faerun. He has made a private vow that he will kill Szass Tam before he leaves his mortal life.

History
The Sunrise Lord was chosen by Lathander over 200 years ago when he found the Staff of the Rising Sun, and since then he has used his power and position wisely to lead his church across Faerun. He has slain countless undead and other evildoers over the years, and has gained a reputation of a fair, merciful, but deadly foe. Fifty-two years ago, he and his assitants completed a church to Lathander in his homecity of Archenbridge.

Recently, sensing a coming evil yet unable to locate a specific location, Valen recruited 4 other chosen to help him battle the growing armies of evil that were appearing across the land. This group briefly encountered a group named the Circle of the Tome, as Valen was called upon to give life to an ancient tome that would aid all that is good in a coming battle. Although he cannot articulate it, Valen has felt... different since that action.

Valen's task with his chosen - never fully revealed - was completed shortly before Myrkul was killed by the Circle. His band dissolved, and Valen was seen leaving Beregost with the Tome - off to "lose it until it is needed once more."

See also: The Path of the Tome

Death: 1424
Valen gave his life, along with Hedjtep Kanut, in the defeat of Szass Tam in 1424. Though his attempt at killing the lich failed, he made sure Tam's attempt at godhood never came to fruition.