Tristen Hiregaard

Description

Tristen was loved by the common people living in Nova Vaasa for his kind tax collection methods, compared to the other four families of Nova Vaasa. Tristen was also seen as a ladies man, but he could not fall in love with any for the risk of enacting his terrible curse. Malken would usually harm those women whom Tristen entertained.

Personality

Tristen Hiregaard was a kind man who involved himself in the politics of Nova Vaasa only if he was pressed to do so. But the terrible curse that Tristen inherited from his father Romir had torn Tristen's soul in half. When Tristen became crazed in his cursed rage, he would order his guards to lock him in his room, where he became Malken and then escaped to corrupt and spread evil throughout Nova Vaasa.

Malken was the opposite of Tristen in all their accomplishments and actions. Tristen tried to improve the wellbeing of his people, where Malken undermined Tristen's progress. Malken dubbed his secret complex "Darkhaavan" in mockery of Tristen's castle. Also Malken is the true Darklord of Nova Vaasa, not Tristen.

Possessions

Tristen was known to wield a +4 defending longsword in addition to enchanted studded leather, buckler shield, ring of protection, cloak of protection, and a vest of escape. Tristen's evil counterpart would of course wear the same equipment and weapons.

History

Tristen was born in 664 BC and had a normal first ten years of life in the Kingdom of Vaasa in an outlander world. When Romir killed his wife in a mad rage upon seeing her in the hands of another man, she cursed him with her dying words. Later, Romir found out that she was being taught the waltz and took his own life, being unable to bear his terrible mistake. Tristen then inherited the curse but did not find out he had it until he fell in love with a peasant girl, whom he killed soon after.

Once Tristen was twenty-one years old he had already killed nine women, and each time he killed one he enjoyed it. Once he realized what curse he had inherited, he tried killing himself, but the Dark Powers would not permit it and Tristen was taken by the Mists into the land of Nova Vaasa. There Tristen tried to give himself a new start and his murderous rage was instead carried by his alter-ego, Malken.

Sir Tristen spent the next twenty years of his life in Nova Vaasa fighting the crime lord Malken. Eventually Tristen began to realize that Malken might be himself and that on every turn Malken would outsmart Tristen for they were the same. Most of the public did not know of Tristen's dual identities and saw Tristen as a hero in the battle against evil.

Appendix

External Links

• Tristen Hiregaard article at Mistipedia, a wiki for the Ravenloft campaign setting run by The Fraternity of Shadows.

Further Reading

• Andrew Cermak, John W. Mangrum, Steve Miller, Ryan Naylor, Andrew Wyatt (2004). Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume V. (White Wolf Publishing), pp. 154–156. ISBN 1-58846-964-6.
• Christie Golden (1994). The Enemy Within. (TSR, Inc.). ISBN 1560768878.

References