> [!infobox|right] > #### Dio Eldwynair > ![[DIO_ELD.png]] > ##### Basic Information > | | | > | ---- | --- | --- | > | **Title(s):** | None | > | **Faction(s):** | [[Order of the Lucky Blades]] | > | **Home:** | [[Silvercross]] | [[Cormyr]] > | **Species:** | Human | > #### Dates > | | | > | ---- | --- | --- | > | **Status:** | Alive | | > | **Born:** | 1466 | DR | > | **Died:** | 1489-1496 | DR > | **Age:** | 27 (**143**) | Years > #### Family > | | | > | ---- | --- | --- | > | **Spouse:** | N/A | > | **Parent(s):** | [[Rowan Eldwynair]] | [[Therona Eldwynair]] | > | **Sibling(s):** | N/A | | > #### Class Info > | | | > | ---- | --- | --- | > | **Alignment:** | Chaotic | Good > | **Deity:** | [[Tymora]] | > | **Class:** | Paladin | Devotion | > #### Appearance > | | | > | ---- | --- | --- | > | **Hair:** | White | | > | **Skin:** | Pale | | > | **Eyes:** | Amber | | > | **Height:** | 6'1" | | > | **Weight:** | 180 lbs | | > | | | > | | | > | | | > | | | > | | | <a href="https://dioctionary.net/THE+DIOCTIONARY/HOME/Home" class="dioctionary-ribbon-2"> HOME </a> <div class="dioctionary-ribbon">A Brief History</div> - **Diomeades "Dio" Eldwynair** was born in the summer of 1466 DR in [[Silvercross]] to [[Rowan Eldwynair]] and [[Therona Eldwynair]]. Lean and wiry from a lifetime shaped by the [[Order of the Lucky Blades]], he grew up alongside [[Kaelen Droswynn]] and [[Lira Morningvale]] as siblings in all but blood, serving [[Tymora]] with an **Oath of Devotion** until the tragedy at the [[Cathedral of Lathander]] shattered his faith and set him wandering. During his years in [[Waterdeep]], he often assumed the alias of [[Ronan Blackfen]], carrying the weight of his past while trying to vanish from the world. <div class="dioctionary-ribbon">Inventory</div> - **CLOTHING & ARMOR** - A distinctive red wide-brimmed hat - Red tunic from his days in the Order of the Lucky Blades - Long-sleeved black undershirt - Armor worn beneath and over the tunic, layered rather than uniform - Common boots, trousers, and gloves- practical and unadorned - **WEAPONS & ITEMS** - An intricate looking longsword carried across his back by bandolier - A mundane utility dagger sheathed behind his belt - A battered kite shield bearing Tymora’s faded visage, slung beside the sword <div class="dioctionary-ribbon">Relationships</div> - [[Olivia Halcrest]]: She was more than a mentor- she was the weight that kept Dio from drifting. She mocked his cocky grin, called his bluffs without cruelty, and demanded that his boldness mean something. In her presence, he never needed to perform. After drills, when the halls fell quiet, they lingered- trading stories, soft laughter echoing off stone, and silences heavy with things neither dared name. Dio loved her yet never spoke the words out loud. He never realized she loved him too, disguising it in her counsel, her confidence in him, and the subtle way her hand lingered just a heartbeat longer on his shoulder. What they shared was real, and unfinished; a bond lived in glances and restraint, never given words. After her death, he donned [[Olivia's Hat]] and carried [[Olivia's Sword]] in journeys as often as it made sense- believing them to be his most valued possessions. Every death, every cycle of the curse drags him back to that instant- the blindness, the strike, the uncertainty of her final breath. To Kaelen, he is the betrayer who killed her instead of dying himself. To Lira, the victim of fate’s cruelty. To himself, he is the man who survived the woman he loved, left with nothing but silence, a distant laugh, and the ghost of a whisper that may never have been real. - [[Rowan Eldwynair]]: Rowan was the first person Dio ever trusted without hesitation, a steady warmth in a world that too often demanded sharp edges and perfect discipline. Where Therona carved strength into him, Rowan taught him how to breathe, how to laugh, and how to stand back up without hardening into something unrecognizable. The tavern became their quiet ground, a place where Dio could sit at the bar as a boy and listen to his father’s stories of patrols gone wrong and friendships that survived anyway. Rowan believed in Dio with a certainty that never wavered, even when his son stumbled. Currently, Dio assumes Rowan has mourned him in the soft, private way only parents do. The thought of returning is both comfort and ache. Rowan would likely greet him with open arms, but Dio fears the look that might follow, the quiet mix of relief and hurt that no blade or spell can prepare him for. - [[Therona Eldwynair]]: Therona was the first standard Dio ever tried to measure himself against, a presence of iron certainty whose approval felt rarer and more precious than praise from any captain or mentor. She raised him with the same discipline that shaped her, teaching him that courage meant standing firm, not charging blind, and that honor was proven in the moments no one witnessed. Dio learned to read the smallest shifts in her posture the way other children listened for lullabies, searching for any sign that he was becoming the son she hoped for. Yet love from her was quiet, buried beneath expectation, and he often mistook her restraint for disappointment. After Olivia’s death and his fall from grace he could not bear to face her eyes, afraid of finding confirmation of every fear he carried. He assumes she has mourned him and moved on, folding grief into silence the same way she hid every doubt. If she learns he still lives, Dio knows the reunion will not be soft, but a collision of love and judgment that he has run from for far too many lifetimes. - [[Kaelen Droswynn]]: Kaelen was the companion who sharpened Dio more than any instructor ever could, the one who matched his recklessness with precision and pushed him to turn instinct into something disciplined. They built a connection through bruised knuckles, shared victories, and the understanding that each made the other stronger. Dio once trusted Kaelen’s silence as much as his blade, reading the rare curve of a smile or the brief softening in his eyes like small treasures earned through effort. When Olivia died, all of that collapsed. Kaelen’s grief calcified into blame, and the man who had once steadied Dio now saw him as a stain that should have been wiped from the world. Dio still carries the ghost of what they were, a memory edged by regret and a longing for a brotherhood that cannot return. - [[Lira Morningvale]]: Lira was the spark that kept Dio grounded during years when discipline felt suffocating and expectations grew heavy. She tugged him into laughter, challenged him to dares he should have refused, and treated every reprimand they earned together as proof that life still held room for joy. With her, Dio felt like the world was survivable, even on the days when Kaelen’s standards pressed too hard or Olivia’s lessons left him quiet and thoughtful. She believed in him long before he ever deserved it, reading hope into places he only saw regret. After Olivia’s death she defended him without hesitation, certain that fate, not failure, had struck the fatal blow. Dio never knew how much her loyalty cost her, nor how deeply she carried the fear of losing him too. He still remembers her as the little sister he never admitted he needed, the one who could cut through his bitterness with a grin and remind him that there were still reasons to stand back up. If she learns he lives again, the hope in her eyes will be something he is no longer sure he deserves, yet something he cannot bring himself to refuse. <div class="dioctionary-ribbon">His Curse...</div> - Upon death or upon nearing his thirtieth year; Dio’s life resets to the moment of the battle at the Cathedral of Lathander. Each rebirth carries with it the full memory of every prior cycle of life, all anchored to the instant he took [[Olivia Halcrest]]’s life while she lay possessed. The curse is the work of [[Beshaba]], who denies him the release of death and instead returns him again and again, grinding him through loss and failure until he breaks and willingly accepts her as his patron... and becomes her chosen, a purpose she has never explained- and one Dio himself does not understand. - **His quest... is to break the chain that holds him within her domain, escaping her shadow and returning to his people; yet he does not know the way...** <div class="dioctionary-ribbon">His Deaths...</div> - **[[01 - The Alleyway]]** 1466 - 1490, Bled out from piercing would in [[Suzail]], Aged 24 (**24**) - **[[02 - Gravity]]**, 1486 - 1489, Falling atop the [[Storm Horn Mountains]], Aged 23 (**27**) - **[[03 - The Apple]]**, 1486-1489, Poisoned near the [[Dragon Coast]], Aged 23 (**30**) - **[[04 - The Howls]]**, 1486-1490, Ripped apart by beasts in [[Dalelands]], Aged 24 (**34**) - **[[05 - The Festival of the Moon]]**, 1486 - 1495, Executed in [[Baldur’s Gate]], Aged 29 (**43**) - **[[06 - Rumors]]**, 1486-1492, Frozen to the core in [[Icewind Dale]], Aged 26 (**49**) - **[[07 - The Duel]]**, 1486 - 1491, Slain by [[Kaelen Droswynn]] outside [[Waterdeep]], Aged 25 (**54**) - **[[08 - Dancing in the Dark]]**, 1486 - 1494, Pulverized in [[Underdark]], Aged 28 (**62**) - **[[09 - The Peel of Destiny]]**, 1486 - 1492, Fell within [[Candlekeep]], Aged 26 (**68**) - **[[10 - Happy Birthday to me]]**, 1486 - 1496, Perished to [[Beshaba]]'s Curse, Aged 30 (**78**) - **[[11 - Burning for Water]]**, 1486 - 1493, Drowned outside [[Waterdeep]], Aged 27 (**85**) - **[[12 - A Brief Respite]]**, 1486 - 1496, Perished to [[Beshaba]]'s Curse, Aged 30 (**95**) - **[[13 - All along the Watchtower]]**, 1486 - 1496, Perished to [[Beshaba]]'s Curse, Aged 30 (**105**) - **[[14 - The Golden Bell]]**, 1486 - 1496, Crushed at the [[Cathedral of Lathander]], Aged 30, (**115**) - **[[15 - The Horizon's Edge]]**, 1486 - 1496, Perished to [[Beshaba]]'s Curse, Aged 30 (**125**) - **[[16 - The Burning Building]]**, 1486 - 1491, Crushed & Burnt in [[Sembia]], Aged 25 (**130**) - **[[17 - The Hollow Cloister]]**, 1486 - 1492, Bled out from a slashing wound, Aged 26 (**136**) - **[[18 - The Lie That Held]]**, 1486 - ????, Currently Alive, 27 (**143**) <div class="dioctionary-ribbon">Before Tyranny</div> - **1466 DR - Birth** - Dio is born in the village of [[Silvercross]], home to the [[Order of the Lucky Blades]], a militant faith dedicated to [[Tymora]]. - **1480 DR - Start of [[The Second Sundering]] (Age 14)** - Divine upheaval shakes [[Faerûn]]. Earthquakes, storms, and wars erupt. Gods stir, their Chosen appear. Tymora is strangely quiet. - Dio begins formal training as a squire of the Lucky Blades. - [[Kaelen Droswynn]] (17): Already in training, stern and disciplined, becomes Dio’s sparring partner and older-brother figure. - [[Lira Morningvale]] (11): Joins as a squire, playful and mischievous, instantly looks up to Dio and teases him constantly. - **1484 - 1485 DR - War of the Sundering (Ages 18–19)** - [[Kaelen Droswynn]] (21-22): Now a full knight, having grown increasingly frustrated with Dio’s irreverence, respects the courage he's gained nonetheless. - [[Lira Morningvale]] (15–16): Still in training, sneaks dice games with Dio during lunch, shares mischief and trust with him. - [[Olivia Halcrest]] (71-72): Mentor to Lira and Dio, a beacon of Tymora’s boldness. Her bond with Dio deepens- mentor, comrade, and something more, though unspoken. - [[Beshaba]]’s [[Doommaster]]s spread chaos, their laughter rising louder in this time of change - **1486 DR - The Battle at the [[Cathedral of Lathander]] (Age 20)** - What began as little more than a quiet outing- an informal visit meant to learn more about the [[Cathedral of Lathander]] and its rites- was never intended to be a mission at all. [[Olivia Halcrest]] led the trip as captain of the Training & Discipline wing, bringing Dio and [[Lira Morningvale]] along to observe and listen, to speak with clergy and townsfolk and deepen their understanding of faith beyond drills and doctrine. [[Kaelen Droswynn]] was not assigned to go; he belonged to a different wing entirely. He came anyway, unwilling to let the others go without him; more brother than escort. They were still speaking with the gathered faithful when the storm outside broke, and with it came the cultists, pouring into the cathedral like rain through shattered doors and windows. In the space of a heartbeat, conversation became chaos. Kaelen moved first and never gave ground. Trained among the Luckwardens; he met the cultists at the doors and held them there alone, steel rising and falling with practiced certainty, each strike measured and inevitable, as if this were no more remarkable than another duty long rehearsed. Lira broke off into the side aisles, moving fast, breath sharp, slipping between pillars and pews with frantic precision as she cut down attackers one by one. Near the altar, Dio fought back-to-back with Olivia, his commanding officer, protecting the clergy and townsfolk caught in the storm, holding sacred ground through discipline rather than dominance as thunder rolled overhead and stained glass burst across holy stone. As the fighting near the altar began to thin, something else seized the moment. The press of cultists had lessened, bodies scattered across the fractured stone as the storm raged on. Olivia’s eyes turned black, her voice twisting into cruel, mocking tones as [[Beshaba]]’s influence wrapped around her, her hat blew from her head and was cast away while she turned her sorcerous powers on Dio. He dodged and sidestepped spell after spell, ducking and weaving through the wreckage in an attempt to talk her down, until his foot caught on a fallen body and he stumbled. A spell struck him square in the face, stealing his sight. Blind and panicked, he heard footsteps rushing toward him from the front of the cathedral and believing another cultist was closing in, he thrust his sword forward. It struck true. When he pulled back and his vision began to clear, Olivia stood before him, her eyes already fading from black to their natural color... Before she had even collapsed, Beshaba’s plan was set into motion... - **1487 DR - The Breaking of an Oath (Age 21)** - The Second Sundering comes to its close. [[Mystra]] is restored, the [[The Tablets of Fate]] are rewritten, and the world begins to heal... except for Dio. - In fury and grief, he casts away [[Tymora]]’s coin (*his Divine Focus*) into the [[Immerflow River]] and breaks his oath, abandoning the [[Order of the Lucky Blades]], his family, and [[Silvercross]] - That night, the curse laid upon him by [[Beshaba]] finally takes hold:- *His hair drains from black to white, a visible scar of his fall.* - *From that moment on, each time he reaches thirty- or dies before it... he is torn back to his twentieth year, body renewed, memory unbroken, fate unrelenting.* - **1493 DR - The 18th Cycle (Physically 27, Mentally 143)** - After years of deliberate anonymity in [[Waterdeep]], Dio’s self-imposed exile ended in spring of 1493 DR when [[Durnan]] quietly passed him a sealed letter addressed not to [[Ronan Blackfen]], but to Dio Eldwynair. A summons from [[Yang Pahlavan]] calling him to [[Dragon's Rest]] on [[Stormwreck Isle]], the first sign in over a century that someone had seen him through the curse he held as if they knew... - **To continue his story, read onwards into:** - **[[PAGE 01]]**