(Character illustration created using the HeroMachine character portrait generator)
(Painting and photo of miniature, copyright: Mark Gipe 2004)

Ashedyn Marshalek:
Human Rogue / Fighter played by Mark Gipe

Ashedyn was born Garrity Bowman into a family of bow makers on 11 Jularva, 983. His forefathers have been the proprietors of a bow shop in Mosstone for generations. Garrity's father, Joshua Bowman, was a second son, and was expected to work for his older brother Derek, who inherited the bow shop from their father when Garrity was five. Unfortunately, Joshua did not get along with Derek at all. Since he was the better bow maker, Joshua decided to leave Mosstone and set up his own bow shop in Riatavin. He soon discovered, however, that a crime syndicate ran the neighborhood he had set up shop in.

Grindell, the head of one of the most powerful thieve's guilds in Riatavin, did not like the conditions that Riatavin's secession from Amn left the city in. There was too much instability, and it was too easy for freelance rogues to take business away that should be handled by his employees. He had therefore launched a campaign to undermine the city's leadership, which would open the door for Amn to annex the city back from Tethyr. In an effort to discourage the influx of new immigrants from Tethyr, all new businesses had to pay a "business license fee" twice a month, and it was often corrupt members of the local law enforcement that came around to collect. On the occasions that Joshua didn't have enough money, they beat him up and added the deficit to the amount to be collected next time. Too broke to relocate and with too much pride to go back to working for his brother, Joshua struggled on in Riatavin under these conditions for a decade, barely able to keep his family fed.

One day shortly before his 16th birthday, Garrity was returning from an errand he knew he had been sent on just to get him away from the bow shop while his dad was beaten once again for not paying the "business license fee" in full. The bow shop, and their living quarters above it, was burned to the ground. An oil lamp had accidentally been knocked over into a pile of wood shavings, but Garrity has always assumed that the fire was intentional. His father had managed to crawl out of the building to safety. His mother wasn't so lucky. She had been upstairs, and every safe way out of the building was blocked by the time she became aware of the fire. She was badly burned and barely clinging to life. Defeated, Joshua decided to finally go back to work for Derek. He sent Garrity ahead, and he would follow as soon as Garrity's mother could travel. But Garrity didn't go. He changed his name and struck out on his own.

Ashedyn will never forget the conditions he grew up in. He prays to Hoar for the day when he will return and take revenge on those men that made his life so much poorer than it should have been. He will fill their nights with the terror he always fell asleep to. He will make them feel the shame and humiliation they inflicted on his father. They will learn what it is like to feel powerless, impotent. And they will be ridiculed as they play servant to the people whose money they once took. This Ashedyn has vowed.

On the 6th of Detenday, 1002 - Ashedyn met his demise in combat. Never one to shy away from battle, he fell while confronting the evils of a cult set on destroying Whillip and enslaving thousands. Struck down by lightning bolts, Ashedyn's memory lives on as the fearless leader he was.