My Background for Third.
If anyone cares, here's my background on Third from Return to the Keep on the Borderlands, written before I'd heard of the Lost City:
Third is a member of a group of Suloise survivors of the Rain of Colorless Fire. She comes from a valley in the Sulhaut Mountains, at the edge of the kingdom of Lo Nakar, the last city of the Suel. Her people are shepherds and hillfarmers in the service of Lo Nakar and speak a degenerate form of Suloise called Cynidicean. Third grew up as a shepherdess and javelin huntress, and became a professional warrior at the age of 18.
She is from the third caste of Lo Nakar, the professional soldiers and warriors of the kaudun caste. In explaining her status to Jess, “Third” used sign language to show that she was of third caste, below the houji chosen of Wee Jas and the aisun wizardry and priesthood, who form Lo Nakar’s nobility. As Lo Nakar has sufficient copper and tin supplies from the Sulhaut, but little iron, Third’s armor and spears are of bronze, though her spearheads were “bearded” with iron to increase their strength. Her armor is of a style that the Suel copied from the Baklunish a millenium ago. Her bronze facemask’s purpose was once to guard against the debris of the Sea of Dust, but such masks have been merely symbolic among her people for hundreds of years now. It would be a great dishonor for her to remove this mask at any point when she is outside the lands of her people.
Sent by Prince Olnevar on a mission to explore the outside world, the Lo Nakarian warrior travelled east on a torturous pass through the Sulhaut Mountains and then across the high Crystalmists (see Sulhaut Mountains description, Greyhawk Folio (1981), p. 24), until she came to the fresh green land of the Yeomanry. She continued west until she saw her first river, the impressive Javan River, longest in the Flanaess. Following it north towards its source, Third went through the Keoish university town of Cryllor. Up through Sterich and Geoff and past Hochoch she travelled, picking the Realstream River and following it on into the Dim Forest. By the time she reached Bissel, armies were heading north for the war with the Kettites, and she joined their march, to see what this strange behavior meant. Eventually, she found her way to Kendall Keep.
When “Third” arrived at Kendall Keep, she did not speak Common, and did not care to teach Cynidicean to outsiders, so most assumed she was mute, if not a bit simple-minded. The Inn of the Green Man provided Third with room and board since she broke up a fight on the night of her arrival. She then acted as an unofficial bouncer ever since, preventing caravan guards or belligerent drunks from harassing either the locals or outsiders who can’t defend themselves.
Third is brave and capable, knowing when to withdraw from a losing situation but staunchly standing by her allies in a fight. In battle, she yells her battle cry of “Maruda!”, which is Cynidicean for “Dark-Eyed Lady”, or Wee Jas.
She is very reluctant to reveal her origins, for the secrecy of the lost city of Lo Nakar has served it well for thousands of years. Third’s mission is to find out more about the outside world and especially the “red snake cult of the east” which Prince Olnevar has deduced through magic to be the only other remaining stronghold of pure Suel power.
![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
In any case, it does look considerably more archaic than 'mask' does.
