Vorik Samander steps into the brisk forest breeze, a challenge unspoken in his gaze as he takes in the vast expanse of the Great Deambay Forest. Wielding his father's weather-beaten longbow, he melds with the greenery, his feet a whisper against the looming pillow of silence.
As an only child raised by his widowed father, Vorik finds solace among the beasts and the trees. He sees life sprouting, flourishing, withering, and decaying in its natural order. He carries the forest in his heart, letting it seep into his veins and bleed into his spirit.
Emerging from the shadows of his father’s legacy, Vorik, at the age of nineteen, finds himself heralded as the youngest ranger of Great Deambay Forest. His natural marksmanship and astute intuition make him a skilled protector of Mother Nature’s realm.
Echoing his father’s fervor for an egalitarian society, Vorik enlists in the army of the Four Kings during Embad's Rebellion. His childhood friend, Rynick, fights by his side. Together, serving in a seemingly unending war, they irrevocably intertwine their fates, mettle tested and reforged in the fervor of battle. They fight, not for the crown or glory, but for their home - Deambay Forest, a territory much disputed but deeply cherished.
Vorik, now twenty-nine, is a knight, carrying his sword for the Four Kings. He fights, although not for the famished beast of war, rather for the promise of peace, the echo of tranquility that once nested in his forest. Although the bloodstained banners of kingdoms and the wails of dying zealots pervade his thoughts, Vorik clings to a private creed: "Respect is earned, trust is gained, and loyalty is returned."
Honoring this credo and preferring the antidote over the venom, Vorik retains his faith in the Four Kings, refuting cynicism despite the war-torn world's ravages.
His steel-armored silhouette graces the battlefield as an extension of the forest, reflecting the audacious green of life amid the ashen specter of death. The longsword he wields is heavy with the gravity of responsibility. Yet, it is the weight he willingly bears, a symbol of his willingness to balance the necessary evil of violence against the salvation of peace.
Still, for all his merits, Vorik is haunted by his scored past. He hides an agonizing secret, a life sacrificed in his stead. Years ago, amidst a deadly clash with Embad's men, Rynick languished on the bloody battlefield while Vorik was spared, an act of selflessness that still festers in Vorik's heart like a gnawing wound.
Haunted by the silhouette of a question mark blotting his dreams, Vorik often ponders over a life that branches beyond war, beyond duty. For Vorik Samander, the dream is simple yet profound – a world where respect for life outweighs the thirst for power, where the foliage of Deambay stands impenetrable, untrampled under the weight of a crown.
Unfortunately, Vorik has not given himself the privilege of regret. However, he permits himself grief, a somber meditation over the fragility of life, disguising his tears in the fall of relentless rain.