Dorn, the Zealot

Dorn is a large Rhox warrior-priest who specializes in the physical blessings of the forests and fields. Obtaining the respected rank of Zealot in The Path of the Majestic Storm, his native faith, Dorn adheres to a very strict code of military religion. One of the predominant tenets of this belief system is the dedication to the destruction of humankind and its allies.

== Physical Appearance==

Physically, Dorn resembles a black rhinoceros walking upright. He has a dark grey hide, an elongated horn near his snout, and a shorter, thicker horn above that. Both of these horns have been carved with ritualistic glyphs and symbols. Dorn prefers to wear full plate armor on his chest, arms, and legs, and a half-helm covering the top and back of his head, while leaving his eyes and snout exposed. He does not wear gauntlets, however, and wears boots only very occasionally. He is never seen without his scutum, a large, oval-shaped shield painted white with an intertwined knot design of vines and leaves.

Dorn is an imposing presence. At full height, he stands at nearly ten feet tall, one of the largest of his people. He is heavily muscled, as well, both naturally and from a lifetime of training and battle. Dorn’s body language tends to be naturally aggressive, leaning towards and over those he speaks with, although this is nothing he does intentionally.

== Powers and Abilities==

Dorn is an excellent hand-to-hand combatant. Large and musclebound, he is a match for most opponents in terms of strength, but he is also surprisingly quick, and can close the distance between himself and his opponents frighteningly quickly. When fighting, Dorn prefers to use his shield and his heavy armor, as well as his natural strength and toughness, to absorb punishment until his opponents have exhausted their energy, at which point Dorn strikes back with the very tools he used to withstand the assault.

The Zealot is not without magic abilities, however. Dorn knows a number of spells to boost both his and his allies’ ability to take and to inflict punishment. Spells like Battlegrowth, Dauntless Onslaught, Giant Growth, and Sanctified Charge allow Dorn and his allies to overpower their enemies, while spells like Blunt the Assault, Brace For Impact, Endure, and Lull allow him to shake off blows that would otherwise be deadly.

The primary spells that Dorn uses are etched into his horns, which the Zealot uses like a grimoire, a mnemonic to quickly and easily remember his spells. This is the main reason he does not wear gauntlets, even into battle. A consequence of this method of spellcraft, however, is that Dorn has a nervous habit of idly touching his horn, even in thought.

Dorn’s abilities, though, are not limited to the battlefield. Although Dorn was trained for combat, he is a warrior-priest, and not just a warrior. Dorn is also versed in healing techniques as a travelling priest might be, and is both familiar with and interested in the conversion of others to his faith. To this end, Dorn was trained in rhetoric and other, less conversational means of persuasion.

==History==

Dorn was born in the village of Boethyn-along-the-Hedge, a small, idyllic village of Rhox, Foxfolk, Aven, and Turtlefolk. His father was a local laborer and member of the militia, and his mother was one of the town clerics. Dorn grew up strong and faithful, helping his father and mother equally as he grew, and his talents showed earlier. A full year before his Calling Time, the appointed age when the youth of their land are called to their appointed stations in life, Dorn set out for Canolf-at-Riversmouth, where the four Abbots of The Path of the Majestic Storm reside.

At Canolf-at-Riversmouth, Dorn was tested by the Abbots, who were greatly impressed by his strength of body, of mind, and of conviction. Dorn was allowed to participate in the Acorn Auction. This is a ceremony on Calling Day where the Four Abbots bid (using symbolic acorns rather than actual currency) on those entering The Path. The Bidding was heaviest on Dorn, and never before had the Bidding been so fierce or the winning bid so high. Dorn had hoped for a position in the Way of Lightning, the aggressive and offensive arm of the faith. Unfortunately, when the bidding was over, Dorn was accepted by the Abbot of the Wind, who oversees the warrior-priests and defenders of The Path. Dorn was sorely disappointed in the result, but took his appointed Vow, as was his duty.

Dorn studied for a time in Canolf-at-Riversmouth, excelling in both martial and academic pursuits. He became one of the most talented warrior-priests The Path had ever seen, and was a favorite of the Abbot’s. He advanced quickly through the initiate ranks, and was allowed to take his Zealous Vow two full years before most initiates do. The Abbot, pleased with and proud of his choice, allowed Dorn to select his own assignment, and Dorn chose that of a meandering pilgrim, which allowed him to travel while preaching and defending those of The Path, which also allowed him to regularly visit his home in Boethyn-along-the-Hedge.

Dorn was in Boethyn when news of the war with the humans and their allies broke. Hating the humans with an indoctrinated passion, Dorn left immediately to join the forces of The Path. The war waged on for years, most of the fighting occurring in the area known as the Shade, an ancient neutral zone established between the protective wall of the Hedge, and the humans’ territory beyond the Great Bulwark. Dorn took many human lives during the war, and also lost many friends, until forces far above him decided that peace with the evil humans was preferable to continued war. Dorn, having risked his life and seen his friends die, was extremely upset over the treaty.

Part of the peace treaty was an agreement that both sides would stay out of the Shade, the same agreement the two sides had made generations earlier. Dorn returned to his life as a warrior-priest, spending much of his time back in Boethyn-along-the-Hedge, where he preaches the ways of The Path, and acts as guards to those who venture into the Shade, against the order of the leaders, to graze in the long grass there.

One summer, while Dorn was in his home town of Boethyn, a drought fell, and food became scarce. As the days wore on, the people began to grow desperate, and finally Dorn led them to forage in the Shade. One day while out in the Shade, Dorn encountered a group of human hunters who had ventured into the Shade for the same reason Dorn and his friends had. The Zealot became enraged that Humans would break the peace treaty and enter the Shade, and he charged to attack them. As Dorn prepared to kill one of the humans, a small child, he found himself contemplating mercy, and his inability to reconcile his thoughts of mercy with his feelings about humans caused his spark to ignite. Dorn found himself in a purple-skied world, where he witnessed humans destroying a peaceful village of catfolk. Dorn concluded that his world had expelled him from it when he contemplated mercy for a human, and vowed that he would never make that mistake again.