Strosler was born in the city of Sharn to the Dragonmarked House Deneith. He hardly knew his parents as they had responsibilities to the House. When he was seven years old, he was ordered to undergo the Test of Siberys to force any Dragonmarks he might have to manifest. The trial was a harsh affair that revealed his mark. Soon after the trials, Strosler showed a remarkable capacity for perception and intuition. He was trained in the typical fashion of the House, but was also given additional instruction in the ways of the inquisitives. When he had completed his training with the House, Strosler was given to the renowned inquisitive Victor Saint-Demain. Demain had been hired by the family with strict orders to train Strosler in the arts of detection and to do it well.
Early in his career with Saint-Demain, Strosler became involved with the notorious Five Winds Killer. During the popular Race of the Eight Winds, a serial killer stalked the streets. Every one of the victims was in some fashion related to a winner of a previous race. The connection was often obscure. The first victim was, Jerin Roc. The second was a renowned artist, known for his sculptures of pegasi. The list went on and the body count had grown considerably when Saint-Demain was requested to assist.
At first the connection was obtuse. As it become clearer, Saint-Demain and Strosler became more frustrated. How were they to catch a killer with no solid pattern? Eventually the authorities discovered a slightly insane artificer that had entered the race for six years in a row with various mechanical copies of the race winners in years past. Evidence found in his residence convinced them that he was responsible. Saint-Demain was not convinced. The evidence was too pat, too neat and there were gaps. On his own time he continued investigating. As he questioned people, he pieced together the truth. The third victim, Alison Blackwyvern was a very wealthy woman. Her brother, Lokir Blackwyvern, owed a lot of money to the Boromar Clan. He created the Five Winds Killer as a means of covering up the murder of his sister. By making people think she was just one a random list of people, he was never suspected. Until Saint-Demain trapped him in a web of his own lies that is.
A few months later, wizards were being killed at the prestigious Morgraive University. Mostly, they were young wizards and the murders all happened during the full moon. None of the wizards bore a single mark on their bodies or showed any signs of what killed them. The theory of a werecreature was voiced, but quickly abandoned. Every full moon for five months resulted in the death of a handful of wizards. When Victor Saint-Demain was brought in, he discovered that not only were the wizards dead, but so were their familiars, all cats. Further inspection revealed that the cats had been brutally assaulted by some clawed beast. Much to his excitement, it was Strosler who figured out the final piece of the puzzle.
A scholar had returned from Xendrik and brought with him a new familiar, a rat. Unbeknownst to him the rat that he brought back was a in truth a rare breed known as a Moonrat. During the full moon, Moonrats gain intelligence, even going so far as to become spell casters. When the moonrat in question, Ni’ca’chik, was interrogated under the light of the full moon, it was discovered that a war had been raging in the halls of Morgraive late at night between him and the cat familiars of the wizards in question. When the cats would die, their masters would experience the shock of their death and also perish. The two inquisitives turned Ni’ca’chik over to the authorities and the case was closed.
It was also at this time that the Strosler and Saint-Demain uncovered a plot to assassinate Knight-Marshal Banarak Tithon. The details of this event are sketchy and a lot of questions surround this event even today. All that is known is that Tithon was saved by their actions. All other information regarding this case has been deemed a state secret by order of King Boranel ir'Wynarn of Breland.Strosler’s success with Saint-Demain catapulted him in stature with in his house. At the bequest of several prominent members of the house and community, he was allowed to join the Sentinel Marshals without the service time in the Blademarks.
While it may not have been his first job with the Sentinels, Strosler's capture of Colonel Bross Markson was the first one to be covered by the Korranberg Chronicle. Colonel Markson was wanted by the Throne Wardens for his actions during the Last War. Following the Treaty of Thronehold, Markson refused to stand down. He continued to wage his desperate war against Aundair, presumably due to their hand in the death of his family. Five entire towns were slaughtered before his band of rogue soldiers were brought to heel. Markson himself was on the run and all of Khorvaire was looking for him.
The need to bring Markson in was huge as he represented tensions that needed to be removed quickly in the wake of the Treaty if the peace was going to stand. When Strosler, an unknown sentinel was designated as the primary official on the case, it was a huge controversy. The Sharn Inquisitive, Korranberg Chronicle, Breland Ledger and Aundurian Scroll ran pieces on the Colonel and the entire affair ran rampant in the press for months. For some unknown reason, a gnomish reporter from the Chronicle, Bellows Highlock managed to attach himself to Strosler for the duration of the chase. Strosler and Colonel Markson played a game of cat and mouse for months. The chase managed to convey them to every corner of the continent. Highlock published a weekly column detailing the chase and the story swept across Khorvaire.
In the end it was the press that helped corner Markson. Strosler had received word that his quarry was in Trolanport in southern Zilargo. He convinced Highlock to run a report in the Chronicle stating that he had locked down all the continental harbors. Taking a wild leap of intuition, he requisitioned a House Lyrandar air galleon captained by Syrina d’Lyrandar, and headed south. Strosler arrived in the port city of Stormreach a full three days before Markson and was waiting for him as the Colonel disembarked. The dramatic chase recorded in the press may not have been entirely accurate, but it captured the hearts of Khorvaire and Strosler was lauded as a hero of the Sentinel Marshals. He had his choice of assignments and was widely praised in the house for his bold actions. Strosler’s star was ascending and there seemed to be nothing to stop him.
Several months after Colonel Markson was brought to justice, Strosler became embroiled in a complex affair. If the details of it were ever to be made public, the scandal would rock Khorvaire and destroy more then one life. In the final days of the Last War the nation of Cyre had brokered a secret deal with a general in the Karrnathian army. In return for an insane sum of gold, he would side with the Cyrans. The agreement was struck and the gold was set to be delivered via a House Orien rail car to the Karrnath border. It was too late. The Day of Mourning struck before the shipment arrived. In the year 1004, information regarding the lost rail car came to light. A group travelling through the Mournland had come across the rail car. They mentioned it to a few to many people and suddenly started dying off.
In the town of New Cyre, the last prince Oargev ir’Wynarn was desperate for the money. House Orien felt that the rail car and any contents was theirs. And of course, those scavengers of the Mournland, Ikar’s salvage got involved. The end result was a massive collection of interests coalescing in one spot. Strosler became involved when several dead bodies began appearing in the city of Fairhaven. He was relaxing there when he was asked to assist.
Following the situation, he found the last remaining member of the team that had found the rail car. Acting on the orders of his superiors Strosler went after it. The end result was nothing less than fantastic.The rail car was two days into the Mournland. No less than four other teams were after the same prize and the race was on. Eventually Strosler and a squad of Cyran’s, lead by Teth Samal arrived at the disastrous scene. Spell plagued creatures surrounded the rail car and it took the combined might of the two teams to gain access to the car.
Eventually it was decided that they would drive the car out of the Mournland. The plan worked to a point. At the border to Karrnath they discovered a huge group of undead waiting for them. General Sigor Thol was determined that the lost gold never be found, as it could be used as proof of his treachery during the war. The undead stormed the rail car and a running war was conducted along its length for hours. Eventually the undead were turned and the rail car moved into the city of Karrlakton, where representatives of House Kundarak, Orien and Denieth commandeered the vehicle. All information regarding the rail car was suppressed by the houses.
By the year 1006, Strosler was living back in Sharn under the command of Sadran d’Deneith. It was under his orders that Strosler undertook his last assignment for Deneith. Things in the Sharn enclave had been a little strange off and Strosler sensed it, but just figured he did not mix well with Sadran. Not long after his arrival he was order by Sadran to hunt down a fugitive Kalashtar named Jivanta Paresh. She was wanted for the murder of a high ranking member of the Sixty Families.Strosler tracked her to the small town in Aundair where she was hiding. It was not too difficult to find her, but from there, things became more difficult.
First she seemed to be under constant assault from various persons and creatures. In the end, Strosler was forced to hide her just to be able to bring her back to Sharn. The second part of the problem was that Strosler found that he was developing feelings for her. His intuition insisted that she was innocent of any of these charges, but his belief in the Code of Galifar knew that if this was the case she would be absolved of all charges.
He turned Jivanta in to his supervisors in Sharn, at which point she promptly vanished from the records. She was never formally charged and no court documents ever filed. When Strosler asked what was going on, he was informed that it was a political matter. Concerned, he investigated the crime and found that in no fashion could Jivanta Paresh have been involved. Incensed, he returned to Sadran d’Deneith and demanded her release. Strosler was informed that sometimes things were not as simple as law and justice. Political considerations had to be accounted for. Strosler raged, but to no avail. In disgust at the failure of the system he was bound to protect and the corruption in his own House, he left and never returned.
Rumors circulated in time of Jivanta and Strosler followed them all. Sometimes he heard that she was dead, other times that she was alive. Nothing ever came of it and in time he gave up hope of finding her again. His disgust with the behavior of his house altered his viewpoint considerably. Law was corrupt. Most ideologies were shallow reflections of the ideals that upheld. As long as those ideologies and in particular the law abused and imprisoned innocents, there could be no justice. Seeking both redemption for himself and the law that he believed in, Strosler puts his skills to work helping those who are trapped by the corruption of espoused ideologies.
1 comment:
Whose character was this?
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