Just to give a few quick notes on how I see my character background emerging. I'm not sure what the official stance of the Silver Flame church is on Warforged is, but if it's ok with Kerrz, here I was thinking something along the lines of the following (keep in mind this may contradict the ECS, I was just thinking about it at work today):
The church does not think highly of Warforged. In fact, the church, until recently, did not have an official position on Warforged, but many in the hierarchy held the view, shared by much of the populace, that warforged are not people, but very advanced machines. The reason that there had been no official position by the church is that there have never been warforged interested in the clergy, and any scattering of ‘forged worshippers that the Silver Flame attracts are undoubtedly viewed by the hierarchy with bemused resignation, but not with any type of hostility. Although this hasn’t been too much of a problem, as the number of their warforged worshippers can probably be counted on one hand.
You can imagine, therefore, the consternation that greeted the arrival of Flame (my character) in (the big temple of the Silver Flame in Thrane – I don’t have my books for reference right now) claiming to have received a vision from the voice within the flame telling him that he was called to be a Paladin. The attending priest politely (if rather nervously) asked the ‘forged to wait in the temple, as he went and consulted with his superiors. So, Flame waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, after 5 days of rushed meeting between the hierarchy, during which Flame sat in unending prayer (attracting quite a gathering of curious onlookers in the process), he was told by the hierarchy that he must be mistaken, because Warforged just cannot become priest or paladins because, quite simply, they are machines. After a few minutes of resigned protestation (Flame had encountered this sort of bigotry before),
Flame left, with his head hung low. How could this have happened? Hadn’t the flame spoken to him, telling him this was his destiny? Was he mistaken? He had thought this was his purpose in life, a purpose he had lacked since the day he came out of the forges. As one of the last to be forged, Flame had never seen combat. In fact, before he was even 3 months into his training by the Canniths, the Thronehold treaties were signed and he was freed. Free, but with no understanding of what was occurring. So, he worked several odd jobs for a while, trying to come to terms with a life he was never intended to lead. And then, the vision. What a glorious thing! He finally had purpose to his life, granted he didn’t know much about the Church of the Silver Flame at first, but he learned. He spent days talking with a local priest, who was slightly bewildered, but generally accepting of Flame – completely unlike his colleagues in Thrane.
So you can imagine the emotional turmoil that enveloped him as he began to make his way back to Sharn. His purpose, his hope for something greater had been, quite unexpectedly, yanked from him. However, halfway home, he had another vision. In this vision, the flame told him to ignore the hierarchy. Her power would be manifest through him for all to see. One day, she promised. One day the entire church will see warforged no differently than they see humans or elves or any other race. An he, Flame, was to be one of the people who opened the eyes of the world to the reality of the warforged.
So, when Flame received the summons from Juarin, he was hungry to begin fulfilling his destiny. He hoped that he would encounter other forged who felt the same.
(How's that sound, Kerr? if it's to big a departure from the ECS for you, just let me know and I'll work up somthing else)
