Haiz aka "Remy Fairweigher"

It is the experience of few changelings to grow up in a community of their own race. While Haiz cannot quite claim that, they did come of age with a caravan of their people, traveling throughout the land to participate in archaeological digs. The Fairweighers consider themselves ethical in their pursuits, more interested in gaining knowledge and spreading uncomfortable truths about the nature of the past than becoming wealthy. Their community contains many historians and some bards, but few craftspeople. They always checked for items of magical and cultural significance to catalog but leave behind, mostly taking pure gold or gems instead to support their future travels. Generally, they presented as humans to outsiders, and Haiz finds this guise most comfortable.

Haiz is one of three children, their older sibling being Dirx and the younger (though not by much) being Aks. Their parents are normal changeling folk, Nikt and Ogz, who were overall unremarkable. They expected their children to be well behaved and maintain the secrecy of their true race but were not overly strict in their discipline. It was expected that their children would become archaeologists as well and remain with the Fairweighers throughout their adult lives. Dirx easily fit into this role, having gone on to marry the child of a different family in the caravan and have a child of their own, Haiz’s nibling is named Daen. Leaving them was the hardest part of going off on their quest.

Unlike their older sibling, Haiz and Aks were sometimes rebellious, and often partners in mostly harmless pranks on their fellow changeling children. They both considered aspirations beyond the caravan, but while Aks was gifted with a beautiful singing voice and sure they wanted to become a bard that traveled far, Haiz was less sure of the place they would make for themself in the world.

However, fate stepped in, and Haiz didn’t have to make much of a choice at all. While exploring an underground sepulcher attributed to Dragonborn, they fell into a trap. The pit was deep and it seemed like rescue was going to be hard to come by. With few rations, they were unsure if they would survive. At the age of 19, it was quite a slap in the face by reality to be considering one’s own death, and they prayed to The Traveler like they never had before. Weak and delirious, voice raw from screaming for help, they stumbled and fell against a wall. This activated a pressure plate and led them into a secret room in the sepulcher full of untold wealth. Jewels and gold gleamed from every surface, spilling out onto the floor as they unsteadily walked across it. They cursed their god for giving them riches when they needed food and water. What use could it be?

They slid to their knees in front of a bronze bust of a Dragonborn, too weak to continue standing, when the gleam of a pendant caught their eye and held it. A blue enamel bird, wings spread wide, unassuming but placed with honor. As if in a trance, they lifted the symbol from the bust and slid it over their own head, knowing that it was of Habbakuk, a deity of Dragonlance, god of animal life and the sea. They said aloud, their voice wrecked and barely a whisper. “You are the God of persistence, but I have gone on as long as I can. As you also rule over natural life and death, judge me as you see fit. Rescue me if it is the right thing to do.”

Haiz slid into unconsciousness, the dark depths of dream pulling them down. There, they imagined that a deity came to them on the wing, the span of their feathers so wide they could only feel temperature, and no longer sense light. They were asked if they wanted to live, and they said yes. A laugh rang out, not unkind, but blending toward chaos. Then, they woke up.

The chamber of riches was gone, but a passage lay before them. Still weak, they dragged themselves toward it, tripping over their own feet. They were imbued with purpose, though it seemed formless beyond escape. Stumbling forward, they thought only of seeing their family again, of the cool touch of water on their tongue. A door lay ahead, and it opened at their touch. The air was clean and fresh as if rain had recently come. They heard the sound of Aks’ soothing voice raised in excitement, and then they knew nothing else.

When Haiz awoke, all that remained of their treacherous mishap was the holy symbol of Habbakuk around their neck and the sense that they must serve a higher purpose. It took three long years before their parents agreed to let them leave, knowing that it would be all the excuse Aks needed as well, leaving them with only one child in the caravan. However, Haiz was an adult of their people and it was decided by the Fairweighers as a whole that they should be allowed to pursue their quest. In the time it took for the decision to be made they prayed often to Habbakuk, asking for guidance, but it felt to them that they needed experience to determine the true nature of their quest and the work the god needed from them.

For a while, Haiz considered taking the guise of a Dragonborn to better explain their faith, but it seemed a hard persona to maintain, especially with how much it would stick out in many locales. However, they did improve the Draconic they already knew from their childhood into full fluency in the event that they needed to take on a Dragonborn mask. In the end, they defaulted to the unassuming human they played when the caravan was in the presence of other races, and thus Remy Fairweigher was given new life, this time as an adventuring paladin. They knew that they could choose to be larger or more masculine to ease their passage, but it felt important to be true to themself and keep their natural size and genderless appearance. The chaos of others trying to determine their gender by looking was a fun game to them since the right answer was so elusive.

At first, Remy looked for a knight who could train them as a squire but was unsuccessful. Their small stature and lack of training in weapons into adulthood was seen as a severe detriment. Instead, they learned weapons wherever they could, often from watching fighters of various races from a distance. They procured a glaive for its reach and a stout warhammer for its heft and the fact that most expected a traditional blade, allowing them to get a jump with their opponent’s confusion and swing low for the knees. They also took physical training very seriously, preferring to train in long-distance running rather than hiring other methods of travel, and maintaining a strict schedule of weapons drills at dawn and dusk. Most would underestimate them at first sight, and Remy liked it that way.

--- level 2

Remy found it hard to distance themself from the lure of an archaeological site, which is how they found themself in an underwater cavern of a dungeon looking for treasure with some other adventurers early on in their career. Their defeat of an undead skeleton with their holy Divine Smite brought them both religious satisfaction and a larger sum of money than they had ever seen in their life. With this newfound wealth, they were able to buy a beautiful set of full plate armor emblazoned with gold bird wing designs that they instantly felt right in. Its breastplate has the feature of lightning resistance. Adding on blue fabric accents and adding a matching shield, they felt like they resembled a true paladin.

When Remy became a true paladin they swore the Oath of the Ancients due to their patronage of Habbakuk and appreciation for both the natural world and the importance of the place of humanoids in it (without overstepping) that they had learned from their upbringing. Their travels over the next few years caused them to gain some wisdom about who could and could not be trusted and more martial skill until their speed with the glaive or warhammer was almost unmatched.

--- level 5

Future ideas: trial of their faith where they feel like Habbakuk has failed them. They call on The Traveler and get The Fury instead, leading them down a path that is not righteous where they must resist the temptation of the fickle nature of their true race. This has been brewing since their first call to be a paladin when The Fury took notice of Habbakuk helping them in their dream.