Kyriakos Zenidou

Full Name: Kyriakos Zenidou
- Nicknames: "Little lemon" (given by parents for his rough nature)
- Titles: Squire

Race: Human
- Gender: male
- Religion: Church of Avelnius
- Notable Abilities/Feats: Hand-to-hand combat (street-fighting style, average ability); Sword-fighting (Desian Highlands style, apprentice ability); divine magic (apprentice ability); religious formal education; barkeeping (novice).
Age: 17
- Place of Birth: Syna, Desia
Condition: Alive
Occupation and Affiliation: Squire of Master Erastus Apostolus, in service to the Church of Avelnius.
Known Relatives: Aenia (mother) and Ilius (father).

Appearance: Short, messy brown hair. Brown eyes, fair skin, freckles, bulbous nose. He often wears a mischevious smirk, and sometimes smiles, which reveals a few missing teeth. He is 6"1 and appears athletic yet ungainly, though he handles himself well in battle.

Equipment and Clothing: He is neatly garbed in light leather armor under a green tabard, which bears the standard of the Xiphos. His only weapon is a dagger, and his master sometimes allows him to use his longsword. Otherwise, Kyriakos owns very litle aside from a worn old copy of the Alithia.

Personality: Mischevious, gruff, kind, rebellious, and crude. He is a bit egotistical and sometimes gets into fist-fights over insults from others, but is usually very obedient to his demanding master.

History: Kyriakos was born to a poor corpse gatherer and a bar maid in Desia. His father gathered the dead from streets and homes, and his mother served in a rough-and-tumble bar. They all lived in a slum outside of the city walls and attended service at a chapel of Avelnius in the city.

When he was old enough to walk, Kyriakos was brought to the tavern to clean for a few coppers a month. He was toughened over the years by the abusive tavern-goers and predatory street urchins before the Avelnian priest asked him to work in the chapel. There, the priest taught him compassion, righteousness, and humility. Kyriakos was still rough around the edges, but he did his best to live within the laws of the Alithia.

When he was nine years old, a small group of acolytes arrived. They said that according to a series of dreams, the boy was chosen by the gods to be taken along with other children to train as Xiphos. The entire city had fallen on such hard times that his parents could barely feed him. They knew that if they gave him away, he would be well fed, educated, and cared for. They would not see him again until he was initiated as a Xiphos, and could return under his own power. Kyriakos knew that he had no choice in the matter; when a child was chosen, the Church would take that child into service of the gods by any means necessary. He bid his parents a tearful farewell and departed with the acolytes for Phyllibycia.

For a year and a day, he worked hard as a scullery boy in the grand cathedral. He already knew how to read and write, so he was taught mathematics, art, history, music, and literature. When he was ten, he was chosen to be the squire of a Xiphos, Master Erastus Apostolus.

The man was always cold and distant towards Kyriakos, but continued his education. As a squire, Kyriakos traveled to many places with his master on missions for the Church. He did not learn the art of sword-fighting and divine magic until he was fourteen years of age.