Kieros of the Eastern Crags

"Your services are no longer needed."

With these six terrible words, the powerful feudal lord marked their grim fate. The disgraceful fall of what was once a proud and influential clan led to most of the members taking their own lives, deeply traumatizing a young Kieros who saw with his own eyes his father stab a sword straight through his stomach.

Kieros soon left his homeland, determined to forget the past and live a new life in Waterdeep. For a while he became a street urchin, stealing money and food from well-to-do folks. His luck ran out when he got involved with a local street gang who beat him up after they saw him skulking about in their territory. Just as they were ready to land what would have certainly been a fatal blow, a human cleric of Deneir stopped the fight. The timely intervention awakened a tiny spark of hope within Kieros. The cleric would introduce themselves as Qulu Wordsworth, a member of Force Grey. They look no older than Kieros, but they already have the air of an experienced adventurer. Caught in the moment, Kieros unthinkingly blurts out that his goal is to also be part of Force Grey. Qulu laughs, says they'll be waiting, and then heads back to rejoin their party.

From that day onwards, Kieros focused on cultivating his swordsmanship, determined to follow through on his word. His clan may be gone, but their teachings are still imbued in him. Will his efforts pay off? Only time will tell, but for now he would have to prove himself worthy of the Gray Hands first!

The companion character I made for Qulu. In the beginning, I only wanted to make an OCTP for my own enjoyment. Perhaps I'm a little more twisted than I thought because the scenarios I wrote involving the two transformed into a case study of the uneven power dynamics between a gaslighter and a submissive victim. Even right now, Qulu treats Kieros' life as expandable while the latter would not hesitate to die for them.

Qulu is the subject of Kieros' infatuation, although at the start he only gets the smallest signs of acknowledgement whenever their paths cross.. As Kieros starts gaining more renown thanks to his work within the Grey Hands and the Detective Agency, Qulu's attitude gradually shifts and they start paying attention to Kieros more.

Outside of his unhealthy interactions with Qulu, Kieros is a loyal friend to all those in the Detective Agency. His personality comes off as rude and harsh, yet in an almost childish way. While he's not the brightest tool in the shed, he is capable of coming up with clever ideas to take down opponents of a higher caliber and catching them by surprise. He's especially proud of his lineage, always claiming that they were the best dragon slayers the world has ever seen. In time, he would come to fully understand the bloody legacy he inherited, and how the genocide of an entire race is not exactly a shining accomplishment to boast about.