Abraham Lindguard

Abraham grew up outside of Waterdeep in a small farming community. His father had left for war while he was young leaving his mother and two younger siblings alone. This forced Abraham to work tirelessly in the field as his mother had to take care of his younger siblings. He was not alone in this endeavour but shared it with many others whose families struggled. Abraham started to organize and established ways for the broken families to help each other and turned the bad situation better. Two years later the news came that his father had not made it. While it was hard for the family, they held on has they had done before. Six years later his mother passed away form age and sickness. At this point he was 19 and had already realized that farming was not for his. He sold their home and farmland and had his sisters move into Waterdeep with him in the slums. They found jobs in as a weaver & butcher respectively while Abraham joined the Waterdeep Guard. While working there he grew a reputation for being loud and head strong but still respecting of others. He quickly rose to become a vigilant, commanding a small troop of soldiers, and would roam the outskirts of Waterdeep.   As Abraham continued working in the system of Waterdeep he became more and more dissatisfied with how it all worked, how disposable recruits were seen as and the bureaucracy that shielded the ones at the top instead of holding them accountable. He did all he could for the men under him, but he could not stop the bureaucratic tape that led to their struggles and death. He volunteered to go to any battlefield or subjugation outside the city he could as outside of Waterdeep he could play by his rules and prevent a greedy captain from treating someone the same way his father likely was treated.   After 15 years he found the perfect opportunity to get away from Waterdeep, Avaloria. There he will be able to write the next chapter of his life and no longer be forced to do menial tasks.  

Goals

Short term goals

Abraham has always lived in the moment and never considered what to do when the fighting is over. Although he does not belive the fighting will ever end hoping only that the less fortunate will not be dragged into it. He always focuses on his mission to ensure that no one under his command falls and because of this and although music has always been something he has relied upon, it has turned into a tool for the battlefield rather than something freeing.

• Ensure no soldier or comrade dies under his command
• Make friends with his new adventuring companions (and not just become a distant captain again)
• Find something cool to send back to his sisters

 

• Write a sonet to the fallen soldiers
• Explore new forms of artistic expressions

Long term goals

The system of Waterdeep is a machine that one can only struggle against. Abraham knows that he is not strong enough to break it, have the influence to change it or the intelligence to outsmart it. He hopes that what he does will simply create ripples and that one day someone will pick up his crusade of protecting the weak so that they need not suffer. Abraham is not going to be the one to do it all, his ambition to do so was broken long ago and now only a small fire remains waiting to be picked up by a great pyre waiting to be lit. Although his sisters have a stable job in the city, he wishes to one day just join them and no longer be burdened.

• Create a sizable saving for retirement
• Master an instrument with which to spread emotions.
• Find a young and smart successor to change the system of Waterdeep.

 

Traits

Ideals

Abraham is deeply insistent that almost everyone can strive if given the right opportunity. Be it in academics or martial endeavours, as long as they have access to resources and time they will thrive. Waterdeep however will never provide for those at the bottom but push them further down instead. He knows he cannot break a system as large as Waterdeep but he can try to help those that fall into it and prevent them from crumbling under pressure.  

Bonds

Every soldier that Abraham has served with hold a piece of his heart, and his heart has been torn to pieces over and over again. He sees it as his duty to ensure that whoever comes under his command will live and leave the hellscape in which he resides. His sisters could never be replaced but he has assured their future and now he does his best to ensure that others do not need to go through the same experience he did.   To remember his oath of protection he has sewn onto the shoulderpads of his armour a white thread for each life he got out of his battlefields alive, and a black thread for each who died. Although they appear mostly white, Abraham knows the many dark threads that weigh his uniform down.  

Flaws

Those in charge cannot be incompetent and Abraham is not afraid to say so, even if he is wrong. This leads him to clash with superiors repeatedly and he has made numerous enemies in stations above him. If he thinks someone is wrong he will gladly disobey order and take his own path into demise, sadly along with the soldiers he swore to protect included.   His naivete also extends to the warriors he commands as he sometime foolishly trusts in the potential of youth and with his support tries to get them to reach further only to see them fall miserably. He also wants to help newcomers feel welcome and be part of the soldiers, a family. This results in breaking the hierarchy and he fails to establish both trust and obedience, resulting in his soldiers not always following his command.  

Enemies & Friends

Friends

There are hundreds of white threads that decorate Abrahams shoulders, out of those there are still a handful of individuals who have kept in touch. Some of them went on to continue serving, others returned to their old jobs. Whenever he patrolls the outskirts of Whiterun there is bound to be a friendly conversation with a former compatriot. Some individuals who continued on to do great things are:

• Elisha - A dwarf server who served alongside Abraham in his first deployment. He went on to become a scribe in the library of Waterdeep and has on occasion helped Abraham get sent away from the bureaucracy of Waterdeep.
• Lilly - A human farmer who became relentless as Abraham pushed her way past reasonable limits in one of his first commanding positions. She was the only survivor and became a gladiator once she left the battlefield and still hold a great deal of resentment against Abraham for his treatment of her. Still, on occasion they will talk shit with each other at bars, leading to Abraham leaving bruised from a scuffle.

Enemies

While soldiers have survived thanks to Abraham's protection and guidance, there are also those that have died under his command. Since Abraham holds himself accountable for each soldier lost under his command, so do some of the families of the dead soldiers. In most cases this only results in scorn but there are a few who take their displeasure or even hatred further. In addition to the families, those above Abraham also are displeased working with his as he often disobeys commands and does not show proper respect.

• Sergeant Thavathok Treehauler - A goliath man that Abraham has clashed with multiple times as they have both sought out the battlefields but for different reasons. Thavathok seeks to expand accomplishments and to increase his honour regardless of what sacrifices must be made while Abraham tries to keep the soldiers alive that are thrown into reckless battle. Thavathok does not respect Abraham as he is weak and does not simply follow orders. One would not call Thavathok a classic Sergeant as he takes every opportunity he gets (and some he doesn’t get) to rush onto the battlefield to slaughter his enemies on his own with a literal logs that sends both allies and enemies flying.
• Unknown assailant nr 3 - It is not the first or second time someone has it out for Abrahams life, attempting to shot either an arrow or bolt through his heart. They clearly have some experience but judging by the fact that they failed, it is safe to say that the top brass of Waterdeep are not the ones that are attempting to get rid of Abraham. The list of suspects is unfortunately to long to list of individually: it could be an angry captain whose orders where refused, a former soldier who disaproved of some reckless plan or a family member of a dead soldier who blames Abraham for their death.