He wasn't a good man before he was captured by the Burnt Priest, he just wasn't nearly as evil. We was a Doviello Champion, and the tallest of a race of men who are usually giants compared to most mortals. He was a brutal barbarian, who likely killed many of his countrymen in the traditional Doviello duels just to rise though the ranks in their society in addition to beating many of his people's enemies to death with the dieing bodies of their fellow soldiers.
Saverous went from being a neutral or slightly evil man, to being a slave to a very evil man and to demons, to being a helpless overgrown baby, to being a neutral or slightly evil man again, to eventually becoming a good man. He ceased to be the OO hero before the tale of his adventured with Valin began.
Saverous' Pedia entry said:
The Doviello carry crude weapons into battle, a throwing rock bigger than a man's head or a stout branch. They use these makeshift weapons because they were temporary. The first opponent killed becomes their weapon of choice. Grabbed by the ankles, they would be swung like a meaty flail. Blood sprayed over opponents, and every swing would lose more and more of the corpse, until another was needed to replace the first. At this point in the battle, the "weapons" were always readily available. Occasionally, an opponent would be grabbed while still alive. The effect of being beaten by a bloody body that was screaming at you while it happened is traumatizing to even the most hardened warrior. Few armies were willing to face even a few hundred Doviello.
Saverous was a Doviello warrior, captured by the Burnt Priest and transported to an asylum where he could be the subject of experiments. He would have died there, or worse, gone months without death, but a war began. The Overlords searched their slaves for useful bodies, warriors were sacrificed, priests were pulled from their work to fight. Saverous was nearly 9 feet tall, his body still strong, even if his mind was broken from the experiments. They made him into a thrull.
Possessed by a demon and inscribed with runes that hardened his skin and strengthened his muscles, Saverous was loosed on the battlefield, and Arawn help any man who stood in his way.
You can see from the Fall of Cuantine pedia that the Burnt Priest was an evil cleric who controlled the Twisted Men and led them against the Bannor. You'll also see that his cult was found to be but a part of the larger Octopus Overlords religion. He was probably the first OO Speaker the Bannor encountered, but we don't know much else.
Saverous did not meet Valin until after the Burnt Priest had been vanquished and the demon controlling him expelled. After that, he had spent months with Pontiff Elim, who had retaught him how to do basic things like eat. I get the impression that Elim was eventually called away, and so Saverous was abandoned to fend for himself. He was no longer possessed by the demon, but he was still an extremely muscular 9 foot tall man whose physical strength was still enhanced by the dark runes all over his body, even though he could not draw as much strength from them as the demon who controlled him could. I believe he resorted to robbing travelers in order to support himself.
The Order had long been heading down the path towards corruption, but this really picked up speed during the following years. The high priests and many of their subservients had no real faith in Junil left, so they were unable to perform miracles. They became extremely jealous of those who could, and sought to have everyone whose faith was still genuine wiped out. Most the commoners were still decent people, so they couldn't just go about killing the holy men, they had to discredit them first. It isn't clear how, but at some point Valin Phanuel was stripped of all his ranks and honors, and reduced to being but a layman. He was still devoutly loyal to Junil though, and did not believe the church had the authority to dissolve the oath he had sworn to serve his god. He continued to act in his old capacity, but took his orders from angels of Junil rather than the priests. I suspect that Pontiff Elim may have been one of the last righteous leaders in the church, and so was likely killed or excommunicated. He may have been involved in sending Valin after Saverous, but if I recall Valin claimed his orders came straight from an Angel so he probably did not send him personally.
Anyway, iirc, Valin tracked Saverous down and delivered him an ultimatum, saying he would return and slay him if he did not agree to repent by the time he returned. Saveorus was confused and more amused than scared at first, but eventually he agreed. I get the sense that Saverous agreed to act as Valin squire as part of his penitence. Of course, the church was offended by Valin's actions, and may have used his association with the former champion of the Burnt Priest as propaganda to prove to the masses that their old hero had fallen into evil and needed to be eliminated. I suspect that Saverous and Valin eventually succeeded at overthrowing the corrupt church, but in the meantime they spent years as outlaws trying to keep the laws of Junil and help their countrymen who refused to question the church's position that they should be killed. Well, to fit a story written long before FfH into the scenario chronology, I'd probably say that it was Auric who killed the priests and revealed the corruption and that Valin and Saverous just showed up again to help the decimated Bannor recover, about the time Capria and Donal returned from the Fane of the Lessers. Given that it is dark fantasy, they probably didn't both survive. I just got this funny notion that Valin may have died a martyr, and then Saverous was made the first High Priest of the new and reformed Order, since he had studied so long under the last man to receive genuine instruction from Junil. This faith would of course have become much more forgiving and more concerned with Justice than Order, as would be expected of a religion led by a former Thrull and with close ties to the Empyrean and the Overcouncil.
