Known by his alias the Cat Collector or Sir Meowsalot, Peyton Mirsalot surely has done a lot to earn that peculiar nickname. From a young age, the knight has always loved animals, especially as he grew up in the countryside. While he didn't initially grow up with any pets himself, his first encounter with an animal was an injured bird when he was 6 years old. Wanting to take care of the little bird, Peyton brought it to the local vet, paying daily visits after to see how the critter would heal. Once the bird was ready to go, Peyton was practically infatuated with the idea of having a pet. Begging his parents to let him own some kind of animal, a week later he was given a chicken. He lovingly named her Cluckhead.

Peyton and his chicken practically became inseparable. All his peers from school lived miles away, which was the downside of living so remote. It meant Peyton spent a lot of time on his own, before his pet chicken came along. The boy would play outside by his lonesome kicking a ball, touching the skies on a swing or climbing trees- Now, he could do all that with Cluckhead, besides cleaning up her shit left on the kitchen floor for the millionth time. The chicken might've not understood the fundamentals of football, catch or tag, but nonetheless it made Peyton feel way less alone. For that reason, Cluckhead's death around 9 years later hit Peyton right in the gut.

Whilst nearly a decade was a lot of time for development, Peyton was still deadly afraid of being alone. His friends had drifted away or moved to different places, busier towns. He had his parents, but those weren't really friend material. And so, in order to solve the problem, Peyton started volunteering at local farms and shelters. Despite the smells of animal feces, pig mucus or rotten corn that came with the dirty part of work, Peyton loved all of it. He spent time with animals of all shapes and sizes, from cows, to pigs, to cats, to dogs, to quails, to horses, to smaller and shorter horses, to approximately 25 different species of chicken, and more. Peyton learned a lot about all the critters he took care of, making notes for each single one in his notebook. He thought to himself, in the future he'd build one giant happy farm, with bountiful of sweet animals and plentiful fields of crops.

That dream didn't happen.

Instead, the first thing Peyton did when he was old enough to move out, was travel. He wanted to see more of the world. And, with that, that surely meant new kinds of animals to see. From toucans, to foxes, to boars, to giraffes, to panthers, to gryphons and their gryphon riders, to dangerous dragons, to alive plants, to monstrous-looking abominations that seemed impossible to exist- Peyton saw it all. In roughly half a decade, Peyton had travelled the world. One of the last stops he'd made, was in the country Seragos within the Valdryn Region. Whilst staying at an inn, Peyton overheard one of the other guests' troubles. An old lady, spitting her curses about losing her beloved cat Miette.

Without a second of doubt, Peyton helped her out. And again. And then a third time. Eventually, Peyton's reputation around the town grew a bit thanks to the words of the old lady, for saving her cat plenty of times in the few weeks he'd stayed there thus far. It wouldn't take long for Peyton to get other requests to aid folks with their lost animals- They weren't aware Peyton was there only temporarily, but he couldn't just sit by and not help these folk could he? So, his stay extended for longer than he'd planned.

— THE CAT COLLECTOR —

His stay turned into months. Peyton realised he liked helping out others with their animal troubles, and discovered it surprisingly paid well too. For this reason, Peyton packed up his bags and travelled several towns away, to the most known guild in the country, Haevirndawn Guild. If random folk in a quaint town already asked for so many requests, surely a place like a guild would have way more- And his suspicions were correct. There was always a quest that went like 'Lost cat!' or 'Help me find a mate for my award-winning horse'- No matter the time of day, or the day of the week. With this, Peyton signed up at the guild.

With his particular preference for animal-related quests, other guild members would quickly notice how peculiar it was and always raise their eyebrow. Unsurprisingly, the majority of these quests were cat-related, and soon Peyton would receive the alias the Cat Collector. He gained Sir Meowsalot as another, when he one day turned up at the guild in cat-themed knight armour, adorned with cat fur and catnip around his chestplate like a belt. Where other guild members usually strived to do more difficult quests and rise up in the ranks, Peyton didn't care one single bit. The majority, if not all animal-related quests were simple and the lowest of the low, and if he was happy doing them, so be it. The pay was still good, and the knight built up a significant amount of coin in a few years.

At some point, Peyton managed to get a place for himself.. And the dozen of stray cats that he'd adopted after saving them. There was always animal trouble on the horizon, but now with the fortune, he could do more than go on quests. The knight had it seen an extension to his home was made, and turned it into a shelter for stray animals, of which were most animals sized like cats and dogs. It was cheesily dubbed the Bow Wow Rescue on recommendation by his parents. They moved all the way from the eastern region to reunite with their son and help him out with the shelter. No matter the amount of animals that were there, each single one of them was taken care of lovingly and sought a home for.

In order for folk to get to know their potential new best friends, Peyton transformed the front of the shelter into a cozy place to relax and have a drink. With animal amenities all around the space, folks would be able to pet an animal, usually a cat, and get to know them better before adopting. The knight dubbed it a 'cat café', and deems it the only and best invention he's ever come up with in his life. Fellow animal lovers like Syrinq and Parcival would whole-heartedly agree with that notion. Switching up his work from the guild to the shelter, it's been going like this for 3 years now. Pets of all shapes and sizes go to a loving home every single day, and the knight couldn't be happier about working with animals up so close once again. From time to time he gets asked if any of his 13 cats are up for adoption, to which he always happily says no to. If his experience has taught him anything, it's that an animal companion stays with you for the rest of their life!