Bastion Percheron

Bastion is a tall, muscular warhorse who is massively scarred, and wears worn, but serviceable dark plate armor.The armor is inscribed with a worn insignia of a black knight chess-piece. He bears a claymore sword upon his broad back, and a powerful-looking bow with quiver. He strides purposefully, with head held high, but betrays a slight limp. His hide is a twilight-grey, dappled with white, darker-grey, and black in places. His extremities darken to black from forearm down, and knees down. His long mane is silvery-white, and often braided in places with silver, black or ivory beads marked with runes. His steel-grey eyes see much, and at times betray an inner gentleness especially towards children or small animals. He has a long vertical scar that skips directly across his left eye, and runs down to his strong jawline. He is a middle-aged equine knight, but he has kept himself in top physical condition despite his many war-wounds that have left their mark over his whole body. His scars cover his form like a road-map of endless battle & past pain, but he does not easily display them save those that are obvious.

Bastion was raised in humble beginnings, the son of the local keep's blacksmith & a mid-wife/healer. His parents were often busy, and expected his help with many chores as well as duties that involved their respective jobs. Bastion learned much of the smithing & healing arts from his parents, and proved to be an attentive son who worked hard, and strove to always gain their respect. At the age of 11 he began to watch the warriors & knights of the keep at their practice & duties, often imitating them in secret. Even making his own crude weapons, and armor at his father's forge when he had spare time. He dutifully practiced as often as possible throughout the years until his secret was revealed by young warriors of the keep at age 16, who bullied & mocked the poor son of the blacksmith that seemed to hope to be a knight. Bastion did not fight them even though they pushed, punched, & kicked at him, going so far as to striking him with their wooden practice weapons. He knew that his father would bear the wrath of the keep's lord if he injured any knight's son. After the altercation he was approached by the commander of the order of paladins, and told to come to him for his own practice. Bastion was overjoyed at such luck, but within a month the lord of the keep entered a pointless battle with a nearby small kingdom, and Bastion's parents were both killed when the keep was breached. His home burned though the invaders were driven out by the keep's knights, with Bastion's grief-stricken, but inexperienced help. The commander of the order took Bastion in as an adopted son, and continued his training until he was finally knighted at the young age of 19. He fought often with his adoptive father, and proved himself in many battles until a necromancer managed to strike down the commander with black magic. Bastion was then forced to slay his new father when the dark mage raised him as an undead servant. This event embittered him, and he left the keep to wander the world in hopes of preventing such tragedies from happening to others.