The related build is here
So I was watching the Inn for Tolbert the other night, and it started out mostly slow. A bit after dark, some fancy fellow comes in, maybe a merchant or a noble or somethin', and he's got this bodyguard fellow with him. You know the type, scowl and suspicious eyes, armed to the teeth. Now, I'm not keen on these two but I didn't pay 'em much nevermind neither. Said they didn't want a room, they'd just sit and eat a spell then be on their way. So I brought them each a bowl of stew and some ale and went on about things.
Then after a bit, this big chocolatey-skinned fellow walks in the door. He takes a quick look around and spies the first two. Right off he heads for 'em, walking with the look of someone who knows his own mind. The bodyguard sees him but before he can pull his blade, the point of the big fellow's dagger is sticking out his back.
So now the merchant-noble guy jumps up and tries to take off but he doesn't make two steps before the big fellow draws a greatsword and lops his head clean off. So quick did all this happen that two bodies have hit the floor and just now, people are looking around to see what the thumps are.
So I says to him, "Friend, what you just did don't bother me none personal or anything, but you might best be movin' along. 'Round here the law don't smile on takin' people's heads off."
He turns and looks at me with eyes younger than I'd expected, but a dark face that had already seen way too much. Then he says with a crooked grin, "To the Abyss with the law if it gets in the way of justice."
He sheathes his blades and heads for the door and maybe I shouldn't have but I asks "What's your name, Sir Justice?".
"Coal Swift", he answers, then walks away.
"Why do you fight?" Coal had been asked some variation of this question many times before, and had always given the succinct but elusive answer "I fight because I must". But Coal knew Lord Nasher would not be satisfied with that comfortable evasion. This would not have stopped Coal before; he did not care in the least whether any of his previous questioners were satisfied. But this one was different, not because of his station but because Nasher had himself once been a warrior. Coal considered the question, and realized that he had never really answered it for himself. He thought a moment more, then replied.
"It is my nature. I could have chosen a safe trade - I'm good with my hands and would make a satisfactory craftsman - but I would not have been content. There are people who deserve help, and people who deserve a reckoning. I can give both. How could I ignore this? I do not fight for reward or glory. I expect to die in defeat on the blade of an adversary who will leave my body to rot in the dust. I am no mercenary bound to gold. I am no knight bound to servitude. My master is my own conscience, which does not allow me to turn my back on a righteous cause."
Coal paused and looked around the elegant throne room. Then he added "If my conscience demanded it, I would strike you down where you stand. If my conscience demanded it, I would serve and defend you to the death. But never would you extract an oath of loyalty from my lips. Never would I surrender my own judgement to yours."
Coal paused again, feeling somewhat self-consicous. He did not often speak at this length. For a moment he was unsure how to continue, but then he concluded with a smile: "I fight because I must."
Here is roughly how I imagine Coal, although what the heck is that weapon?
(Image generated by OpenArt.ai with the prompt "Full body portrait of a adult, Black, African, male, dark skinned warrior, dreadlocks, roman style body armor and wielding a god-slaying sword, D&D, fantasy, elegant, hopeful, muscular, gothic, futuristic, intelligent, serious, highly detailed, digital painting, artstation, concept art, artisan, smooth, sharp focus, illustration")
I'm pretty sure his parents are Cinder Swift and Kildall, although I'm still sorting out the details. As for the Swift surname being carried through the maternal side, it would make sense that Kildall wouldn't want his full name revealed, given his past and the restrictions placed on him as part of his Paladin quest.