Torch

A Red Priest in the service of the R'hllor, Torch is a man of great conviction and power, serving the Lord of Light through preaching and combat whenever necessary.

Appearance
Torch is a taller man and is built like a warrior. He is almost never without his black and red armor and the red cloak and robes that he also carries with him. His sword is always by his side, never leaving him even when he sleeps.

History
Born in Braavos in 402 to a lower class fishing family, the Torch was given away to the Red Temple in Braavos when he was only two years old. From an early age, he was chastised for his behavior as he was always fighting against his superiors in their ways. He earned the name torch after an incident with a torch when he was eight, using it to fight off a group of men that had tried to enter the temple to steal away with one of the Priestess, burning two of the men until help arrived. While he was a warrior, he knew that he could never join the Fiery Hand in Volantis. By his teenage years he was one of the most accomplished swordsman in the city, though he refused to the thin Bravo blade of many of his fellow Braavosi, instead adopting a Westerosi-style bastard sword. One his six and tenth birthday, he was sent with the priest Salaz on a mission into the eastern reaches of Essos, namely Lorath, Qohor, and Norvos.

Salaz was one of the Braavosi temple's most accomplished proselytizers and had claimed that he had seen the young Torch in the flames with him converting the damned in the Black City of Qohor away from their Goat God. And so the two set off first to the city of Lorath, where the city did not welcome them but did not hinder them either. The two spoke for days in the marketplaces, converting some but there were already so few in the city that followed the Lord of Light that the new additions did little more than fill some more of the empty space of the small hall that they used for their ceremonies.

Next, the two sailed down to Pentos, meeting with many of their brothers and sisters before heading down the Valyrian Roads towards Qohor. As they rode, Salaz taught the young Torch in the ways of flames. Torch had seen a few visions in the flames before, but nothing unlike what he had seen with Salaz. For three days the two men stared into a fire alongside the road to Norvos, both experiencing the same vision of a city in flames, women and children screaming, and a maddening cackle echoing through empty halls. The two men emerged shaken and confused from the ordeal and would ponder their meanings together on their journey. The two become obsessed with the vision, looking into the flames for many more nights only to see the same thing over and over again. They reached Qohor and set about their work, the vision still haunting their dreams. While they were there, the city erupted into a riot after some worshipers of the Black Goat had been angered by one of the magisters of the city and many would die. The two men hid as many people as they could in the small Red Temple in the city while the riot raged, defending the entrance as best they could along with the other faithful. After the riot, they walked through the city and aided the wounded and helped to deal with the dead. The few worshipers of the Lord of Light that died were all given their proper ceremonies. This was when Torch first formally gave the Last Kiss to a dead believer, passing the flames from his mouth to the dead man, so that he would always carry the light of R'hllor with him. The two men would remain in Qohor for the next two years, expanding their knowledge of their firesight with the help of the faithful in the city. The City of Sorcerers, Salaz would say, was more than useful for aiding their abilities to serve the Lord of Light.

The men would spend the next few years wandering Northern Essos, even making a trip to the ruins of Sarnor and the city of Saath before returning back westward. During that time, Salaz died in his sleep on the road from Qohor and it was left to Torch to be the one to bury his old friend and mentor. He performed the Last Kiss on the man and placed him on the arranged pyre. It was Winter at this point and the conditions were nearly unbearable, with there barely being enough fire to perform the rite, the fire of the torch guttered out before he could light the pyre. Distraught, Torch sat down next to the pyre and wept for a few minutes, praying for a solution. Then an idea entered his head, without even thinking he drew his sword, pulled off his glove, and slit his palm with the sword, running the blade down the length of the sword. The entire blade suddenly caught fire, much to his surprise, as very few were able to accomplish such a feat and usually only through a combination of magic and fuel aids like oils. He lit the pyre and continued his journey with his flaming sword as his companion. Though once he extinguished it, he found that he could not simply light it again at a moment's whim.

Thus, after returning to Braavos and consulting his superiors, he journeyed south to Volantis to speak with the High Priest of R'hllor. There he was barely listened to, and when asked about the lighting of the sword, he simply replied that he knew not how it happened but that the Lord of Light had given him fire from his blood. There was a man who believed him, a younger man by the name of Honlorso, a priest with a flame tattooed across his forehead, met with Torch.

The two discussed the higher magics of the Lord of Light, consulting the few texts on the subject. All the while, more visions began to plague the priest. Another city in flames, but this time there was a dragon. A silver haired man stood haughtily atop a great black beast on an island surrounded by miscreants and sinners. These visions persisted as the two men sought the higher mysteries. After nearly a moon of prayer, reflection, and study, they tried it once more in their small alcove of the temple. Torch's sword sprung alive with flames once again, this time igniting nearly as soon as his blood wet the blade.

Taking the sword to the High Priest, the two demonstrated the event once again as Torch lit the sword once more with his blood. The High Priest was impressed but was uneasy about this work that the two had done behind his back and ordered Torch to leave Volantis under the guise of aiding the temple in Lys.

In Lys, Torch would continue his mission of preaching the message of the Lord of Light, though now he could appeal to others with the use of his sword, calling for all those who can take up the sword to fight the darkness of the Great Other. Word reached him of the death of the Westerosi King Aegon VII and the embroiling problems of Westeros as well as the conflict in the Stepstones with the death of Mira Sunderland and her dragon flying off back home. His visions do not stop, only growing clearer as the island in his vision continues to sear into his eyes. The call of his lord was too much until he stumbled back from his fire one night and gathered his things and found a ship sailing to the Stepstones.

And now, with word of a new boy king on the throne in Westeros and the Three Daughters abuzz with news of the Red Priestess who rides a dragon taking up the island of Bloodstone, Torch takes it upon himself to head to the island of his vision and confront it.