Antonius Patrius

🔈 (ahn-TOH-nee-oos PAH-tree-oos)

Died in Apollyon’s Tower, on the Circular Island, in the Sea of Storms

Antonius Patrius was a Drankorian temple administrator, dedicated to The Father. He grew up during the quiet reign of Akaston, when Drankor was still recovering from the chaos of civil war. Born to a merchant family in one of the outer districts of the capital, Antonius was drawn early to the steady, ordered life of the Temple of the Eight Divines, particularly the teachings of The Father. Though he showed no aptitude for divine magic, Antonius’ keen mind and godly reverence made him an invaluable steward, skilled in diplomacy and the logistics of managing Drankor’s largest and most influential temple.

When Apollyon declared himself chief steward of the Eight Divines in 1030, Antonius’ faith wavered. By 1032, when pilgrimage was banned and “official rites” were imposed, he began working in secret with other disillusioned clergy to preserve the older traditions. He helped organize the nascent Radiant Path, a network of priests and lay followers who sought to resist Apollyon’s desecration of the faith. As tensions in the city grew, and Apollyon began to persecution elves and others, Antonius played a key role in smuggling out elves, halflings, and others who faced persecution. In his final years before capture, he rarely left the temple for fear of his life.

Antonius was taken by the Ashen Cloaks in DR 1051, on a stormy night, as he returned to the temple after arranging the safe passage of a group of persecuted halflings. He remained imprisoned until his sacrifice in DR 1053, when his soul was bound as part of the ritual to construct Apollyon’s Phylactery.

His story is recorded in the Book of Martyrs of the Radiant Path, a hidden record and memorial kept by the priests of the Radiant Path of those disappeared and taken during Apollyon’s reign, though his fate was unknown for many centuries, until the Dunmar Fellowship ventured to Drankor to defeat Apollyon.

Excerpt from the Book of Martyrs

The words of the memories of the Radiant Path, humbly set pen to parchment in the name of Mos Numena, that we might preserve the truth of Antonius Patrius: Born in the quieter days of our city, he embraced The Father’s order with a reverence undiminished by his lack of divine gifts. Where others pursued miracles, Antonius labored in diplomacy and stewardship, bringing unity to the most disparate temples under the early reign of Apollyon. When the Emperor turned tyrant and banned the faithful from their rightful pilgrimages, Antonius worked in secret to shield the old ways, quietly guiding the nascent Radiant Path through perilous times. As strife consumed the streets, his hands were never idle; he smuggled the persecuted beyond the city walls and offered solace to all who remained in Drankor’s shadow. I write these words with sorrow in my heart, recalling how he was taken by the Ashen Cloaks one storm-lashed eve, returning from his final act of mercy. May The Father’s light ever shine upon his name, and may we who follow remember the steadfast courage of Antonius Patrius.

On May 24, 1749 DR, his soul was freed in the Land of the Dead when Delwath evoked the Father’s temples and pilgrimages, helping him set off hesitantly with guidance from one of the Gidari.

His story was retold by the Dunmar Fellowship, after they recovered the Book of Martyrs from Drankor and defeated Apollyon.