Description
Brother Aldric Stoneward is a broad-shouldered human man in his late fifties, with a shaved head and a neatly trimmed gray beard. His face bears the weathered look of someone who has spent as much time on battlefields as in temples. A long scar runs from his left temple to his jaw—a reminder of battles past. His eyes are a pale, steady blue, and he carries himself with the disciplined bearing of a soldier. He wears the blue and gold vestments of a Lightbearer of Elandria, with chain mail visible beneath when danger threatens.
Personality
Aldric is stern, demanding, and unflinchingly honest. He believes that faith without discipline is merely sentiment, and that the light of Elandria must be carried by those strong enough to bear its weight. He is hard on his students because he cares for them—he knows what awaits those who face darkness unprepared.
Beneath his gruff exterior, Aldric possesses deep compassion. He has buried too many young paladins who were not ready. He would rather be hated for his harshness than mourn another student lost to overconfidence.
Background
Aldric Stoneward served as a paladin of Elandria for over three decades before injuries forced him into a less active role. He fought in skirmishes along the borders, rooted out cults in forgotten places, and stood against creatures of darkness in defense of the innocent. The scar on his face came from a demon’s claw—a wound that nearly killed him and left him with a permanent limp.
Now he serves as a Lightbearer at Southaven’s temple of Elandria, where he trains the next generation of paladins and warriors of the faith. His methods are demanding: long hours of prayer, grueling physical training, and endless drilling in both martial technique and doctrine.
Rayvencoles entrusted his son Dravencoles to Aldric’s care, recognizing in the old warrior the discipline his son needed. Aldric saw the fire in the young man—the same fire he’d once carried himself—and set about tempering it into something that could serve the light rather than consume its bearer.
He is quietly proud of how Dravencoles has grown, though he would never say so directly. He follows his former student’s adventures with keen interest, offering prayer and—when asked—counsel.