Jaden Pavo

Jaden Pavo is a character played by Ryan Neenan. A stealthy, tight-lipped, but straightforward scout, he took residence on The Dreaded Nelanther Isles.

Description
Jaden ia an average looking human, of average build. He keeps his head shaved, and wears simple explorer's clothes in shades of green, brown, and grey. His face is framed by his deep brown eyes and often emotionless expression. He is rarely found without a bow on his back.

Personality
Jaden's personality is not easily understood at first - reading him is not easy, and he doesn't help by being as tight-lipped and seemingly emotionless as he is. But one thing is for certain: he is confident in his abilties, and enjoys the outdoors and wandering by himself more than most social situations. He revels in exploring areas he has never visited before, and but more than anything delights in the observation of those around him. Though he does not lean to any pole of good or evil, or law or chaos, he does favor to be around those who do good, as seen in his dealings through his short life.

Family & Relationships
Jaden was raised as an orphan - he never learned of the true fate of his parents or family. While he held many in his early life as close friends, none of the realtionships meant enough to keep him in the Dalelands. In his more recent wanderings, he had many passing acquaintences, but holds no one as being left behind.

Early Years
Jaden was born on or around the celebration of Greengrass in 1349, outside the small hold of Hap in Battledale. It was here where a group of soldiers discovered the abandoned infant Jaden wrapped in an elven cloak. Not quite sure what to do with the boy, one of the soldiers brought him to the Pavo Orphanage in nearby Essembra. It was there where Jaden was brought up, a resident of the orphanage for his first 14 years of life.

At age 14, he was scripted into the city guard, and began his training in the watchposts that dotted the well traveled Rauthauvyr's Road. He took to it quickly, enjoying the guard duty - the observation of the travelers, and the rare travel into the outlying areas to scout for enemies or other troubles. He sooned moved up in rank and bought a small cottage in the city along the road. He spent almost 4 years in this capacity, learning as much as he could about the land and its inhabitants.

It was during his 4th year that he met a cleric of Shaundakul, the god of traveling and exploration, that was passing through Essembra. Jaden took to the god's dogma, and tried to learn as much as he could about his new religion. He took to taking long walks which eventually grew into overnight hikes of the surrounding woods: he knew enough to keep away from the dangerous zones, but he still pressed the limits of his abilities, often returning on the brink of passing out due to exhaustion or dehydration. These absenses did not go over well with his superiors - he was soon warned that any more unplanned absenses would not be tolerated. The next morning, after leaving a paper willing his small abode to the orphange, he left Battledale, and set out on his own.

Roaming the Dales
Jaden spent the next 5 years in and around many of the Dalelands. He first went west and spent some time in Mistledale and later Shadowdale. He then went south, through the woods, and arrived tired and beaten in Deepingdale in late 1369. He entered the town of Highmoon, and was immediately impressed by the integration of Elves, Humans, and Half-Elves. He spent much time there, volunteering and serving as a scout for the parties of militia that protected the city from thieves and the new incursion of Drow. In all, Jaden spent 3 years among the citizens of Highmoon, learning as much as he could about his trade and gaining much respect as an honest and competent guide of the area. However, the lure of the unexplored land began to call to him. Pausing only to say goodbye to those he had come to respect in the city, he left in late 1372, traveling west toward Cormyr.

Heading West
Jaden went quickly through Cormyr - he joined with a traveling caravan, using his abilities to help guard the caravan through its long travel through the Western Heartlands. He arrived on the coast and the city of Baldur's Gate in mid 1373. The cramped quarters of the city did not suite him very much. Still, he spent over a year there trying his hand at odd jobs and practicing his craft of bowmaking and learning a bit about the building of ships. He soon decided it was time to move on, and while comtemplating his next move in a local tavern, he overheard a group of young men in the corner, arguing over a rough and stained map. Though he didn't hear much, he did hear that they were searching for a portal in a local woods. Clearly, this was a sign from his god, the god of portals. He immediately volunteered to help them in their search, claiming, quite truthfully, that he wanted no payment - he was just going for the adventure.

It was on Midwinter 1375 when he set off for the Cloak Woods, accompaning the 4 men. He had little idea of what was ahead of him, and he quickly came to the conclusion that he and his party were in over their heads. Unlike the familiar woods of the Dalelands, the Cloak Woods held dark secrets and a hoard of unrecognizable plants and animals. Luckily for Jaden, the men he was traveling with were well prepared, and had a good idea of the best path to follow. They had a few encounters with lesser monsters that they took care of, but then, as they were nearing the sea and where they thought the portal was, they came across a huge beast stalking them. No one in the group knew what it was, but they all realized that they would have a hard time surviving an attack from it. They tried to retreat, but the beast would not reliquish the hunt. They were forced to try and fight it, and the last thing Jaden remembers is the sensation of razor sharp claws cutting through his side.

A Scurvy Encounter
He awoke groggily hours later, taking some time to adjust to what had happened. As he sat up, holding his aching side, he took in his situation. He first heard the laughter, and realized some seconds later that he was surrounded by at least a dozen men, all looking disheveled and dirty. Looking to his left, he saw the bodies of his comrades, and the remains of a quite dead beast.

One of the larger figures, a half orc, approached him and introduced himself as Vanton the Merciless. Vanton informed Jaden that his friends were all killed in the fight, and that he and his men were able to slay the beast, finding only Jaden barely alive. When questioned why they had not killed him, Vanton smiled and held up the map. Vanton offered him a choice: help him find this portal, which he believed led to a great treasure, or go back to ship where he would work long and hard as a slave until Vanton felt it time to feed him to the maw of Umberlee's depths. After some thought, Jaden agreed to help find the portal, even though he believed his fate was sealed either way.

Vanton and two of his more brutish men went with Jaden the rest of the way to where they believed the portal was. Jaden's quick eyes managed to find evidence of unnatural overgrowth, and the Pirates worked for an hour to cut away feet of vines and small bushes to get to a stone structure underneath. There the group found what looked to be a oval doorway outline on the structure. Barely legible writing outlined the oval. Vanton, huffing in disgust, shouted in outrage that the words were in blasted elven. He turned an eye to Jaden who sighed and spoke the words aloud. Immediately the oval started to glow, and within seconds its interior became full of energy.

Vanton laughed in jubilation, and immediately ordered his two men back to tell the rest of the group. When they left, he smiled and went to enter the portal. He did not notice Jaden cautiously stepping backward. The Pirate had little time to react, as the portal rebelled to his evil touch, and sent a massive amount of electricity through his body. Though not dead, Vanton lay unconscious at the edge of the portal.

Knowing he had little time, Jaden gathered up his belongings back from the Pirate... sadly speaking the words he read aloud earlier in Elven: "Speak as a friend, and you shall pass. Enter as an enemy, and you shall be destroyed."  With little option left, Jaden stepped through the portal, trusting in the guidance of his god.

Finding a New Way
Jaden appeared in a dark and dank cave, noticing quickly that the portal was one way, and that there was no way back. He immediately panicked at his enclosed surroundings, and exited the cave's mouth as fast as he could. An hour later, when he had regained his composure, he took in his surroundings. He was on an island, that was for sure - the smell of the sea assulted his nose. The placement of the sun told him he wasn't too far from where he was - perhaps a little more west. Jaden couldn't help but smile: this was a new place, a new place to live and explore. He thanked his god and went about finding what he could about the island.

It wasn't long before he found a small settlement on the island. Jaden knew enough to approach the islanders cautiously. He spent almost 2 months observing the surrounding land before making contact with some of the more sensible members of the town. Jaden's personality didn't make his acceptance very easy, and there was a time when Jaden was actually worried he would be killed. But when he told the tale of how he got here, specifically the outwitting of scruvy and evil Pirates and escaping certain capture and death, the townsfolk began to lower their guard against the new human.

Over the next year, Jaden worked in all parts of the town, which he eventually learned was on one of the Nelanther Isles. He used his limited shipmaking and bowmaking skills to help fix the town's boats and build enough shortbows for most of the town's men. While he enjoyed the small townsfolk and got to know them well, he still spent much of his time exploring on his own, curious as to the island's layout. He eventually used his carpentry skills to build a crude watchpost in one of the trees nearest to the town. Enjoying the open space and its height, he eventually moved piles of cloth and straw into the watchpost, sleeping there most nights.

Death: 1434
Jaden lived the rest of his life in the small town, helping to defend it from multiple pirate incursions and other threats on the small island. He helped to establish a circuit of watch posts, and even led a small team to build a ship for defensive purposes. When the spellplague came in 1385, he helped the town overcome the near devastating waves that the shift in Faerun brought to the small island.

He became a respected member of the community, but was never a leader and never married, happy with staying in the background and wandering the island. He died naturally of old age in 1434. His body was found at sunset, face toward the west with a faint smile, in the top of the first outpost he build at his arrival over 60 years earlier. His body was cremated and his ashes were released at sea.