Tedor by t0lkki

Tank and support are his main duties, soaking damage and reducing incoming damage. Guard your teammates, and disrupt your enemies.

As a youngling, squire Tedor Reece dreamed of knighthood. Protecting the weak and abolishing any evil was all he desired, and so he trained daily in order to one day be a knight. Once, as he was traveling to a tourney, he noticed an entrance to a cave on the roadside. His map had no mention of any such cave being there, so he went to investigate.

On and on the cave went, down and further down into the depths of the earth. Tedor pressed on, eager to slay any evil he might find within.
After a while he arrived at an opening in the cave, a small room with a pedestal in the middle.
On that pedestal was a massive greatshield made of metal and stone, with mysterious runes circling on the outer edge.
As soon as he touched it, Tedor felt a shiver run down his spine. It left him with a deep, unsettling feeling, but he also felt a curious new strength in his arms.
He lifted the shield like it were a feather. even though that should have been impossible for one his size, and walked back to the surface.

During the tourney Tedor decided to use just his new shield with both hands, forgoing attack in favour of defence. Match after match he won through tiring his opponent, then finishing them with
some weakening blows from his shield. By any right, anyone carrying a shield that size should have grown tired before long, but mysteriously enough it was his foes who succumbed to lack of stamina. After his foes had grown tired unusually quickly, Tedor only took a singular blow to score the takedown. Nobody could stand long against him, and those who boasted to bring him down only fell more quickly than the others.

Emerging victorious, the organizers had grown suspicious of this new arrival and their unusual fighting style, but since Tedor had decided to donate away most of his price money to the hungry and the poor alike they chose to celebrate him instead.

Years after, Tedor started noticing the effect the artifact he had found more clearly. Though he grew to be freakishly tall, bulky and more muscular, his strength was only with him when he held his shield.
His appearance began to disfigure, as if something were eating him from the inside.
Choosing to hide it behind armour and scarves, and ever living for good deeds, he kept on helping anyone and everyone in need after reaching knighthood. After the war of the Ancients began, Tedor felt drawn to it. Wishing to help it end before it consumed everyone, he joined in on the fray. Maybe after it was done he could finally be free of his burden.