Saul D'Alessio

Saul D'Alessio was a fallen man. A gambler and a drunk, Saul reached the lowest point in his life when he lost a bet he could not repay. At the time, the local betting house was run by the Lucky Horseshoe, a gambling guild whose influence spanned almost the entire length of the continent. To avoid defaulting on his payment, Saul took to robbing merchants traveling on the road from Beetletun to Shaemoor. Though he successfully paid his debt to the Lucky Horseshoe, he was eventually fingered by one of his victims and tried as a thief. His punishment was exile from the Kingdom of Kryta. The local authorities blindfolded him and rode him out three full weeks before leaving him to fend for himself.

Alone, broke, and lost, Saul wandered through a dense forest for several days, surviving on only roots and berries. On the fourth day, delirious with hunger, Saul emerged from the trees to see what he thought was a hallucination—a city of massive towers reaching into the heavens. The architecture was astounding, and the creatures who lived here were unlike any he had ever seen. Walking down into their city, Saul got a closer look at the denizens of this place. They were tall and thin with skin the color of golden ore. When they walked, their feet seemed not to touch the ground, and when they spoke, it was the most melodious sound he had ever heard. Surely these creatures were the stuff of divinity. Hungry and exhausted, his clothes ragged and dirty, Saul dropped to his knees and touched his forehead to the ground. He had found his gods, and they in turn had found their most devoted disciple.

Saul D'Alessio returned to Kryta a changed man. His rags had been replaced with a sleeveless, pure-white robe embroidered with golden thread. His once sunken, sickly features were again full and healthy. He no longer craved the bottle, no longer wished to strike it rich gambling. His life had purpose. He had returned to spread the word, to deliver his finding to the humans of Kryta.

During this time, the Krytan Empire was in the midst of two wars—one against the guilds of the other human nations, and another against the beastlike Charr. Food was becoming scarce as the invaders burned the crops and salted the fields. It was then that Saul came to the people, offering help from his powerful, enigmatic gods.

Saul's new faith was so powerful that soon he had a small following. As a group, they traveled the land, recruiting more and more, offering salvation from trying times. Though no one ever saw the gold-skinned gods or their cities of massive towers, they took Saul at his word that they did truly exist. Saul was a shepherd, and his sheep followed his every step. Those who showed real conviction were given white robes, each embroidered with golden thread.

This was the beginning of the White Mantle.

Beaten, outnumbered, leaderless, and facing almost certain death, the people of Kryta looked to Saul to lead them out of their darkest hour. Saul D'Alessio was transformed from a messenger into the general of a great army. With their new faith and their new leader, Kryta and the White Mantle managed to push out the Charr, forcing them back over the mountains.

Though his efforts were successful, Saul eventually lost his life fighting the war that freed the humans of Kryta. In the last offensive of the war against the Charr, Saul led his troops deep into Charr territory. His network of spies, though normally quite effective, failed him on this day. The Charr were waiting in ambush, and the beastly creatures slaughtered Saul's unit to the man. Consequently, Saul became a martyr for the White Mantle. His teachings live on in the temples, and his name adorns a seacoast on the north edge of Kryta, a memorial to a man who brought peace and prosperity to the people of this tropical region.