Born into a family of soldiers loyal to the Ridarri family, Richard longed to follow in the footsteps of his father, as he had for his father and so before him. It was almost a guarantee that he would take up arms alongside his friends and hold the sword that had been passed down through generations. As a child and into his teenage years, he trained in the martial arts every moment he had free, that is when he was not busy with his studies. Richard took a great interest in history, especially that of the great battles of the past. From the War of the Divide between the humans and Duergar, to the Dark Wars between the races of human, elf, and dwarf against the Underdarks. With his graduation at the age of 15 he was catapulted into the ranks of the elite.
Richard quickly made his way up the ranks and eventually finding himself in charge of the northern battalions, just as his father was retiring from his thirty-four years of service. He found himself coming into the apex of his skill at a rather inopportune time, at least for one of his training. They were going on their third decade of peace in the kingdom, and while most cherished this time of rest Richard hoped for something that he could test himself with. In the meantime, he took his troups up and down the coast to the edges of the Grey Swamp and along the Great River. They cleared the area of all bandits and criminals, as well as dispatching any lesser races in the name of Keldaerin, all to keep safe the people the had sworn to protect. The actions of General Goodwinds' legion were not looked favorably on by King Ridarri, and the General was eventually sent to an outpost on the outskirts of the kingdoms lands.
Here, the outpost of Hollins was developed and it was here that General Goodwind would settle for several years until the Third Dark War. It was at this time that the General and his legion would prove themselves the most important resource of the Keldaerin army. They managed to hold back the Underdark forces long enough that the dark elves were only at the gates of the city for a matter of days until the reinforcements arrived.
After the war, the General was welcomed back into the city with the apology of the king, which Richard accepted. However, he and his troupes chose, rather than return to the city, to rebuild their post and continue their observations and assesments of the Dark Oaks, preparing for the inevitable return of enemy forces. The General knew that this would only be the beginning of dark times made to balance out the decades of peace that they had enjoyed.
