[CHAR] The Dark Age of Brythunnia

[Oak7ree]

Reserved for GM.

The Royal Family

The House Mawr sports a golden lion on a crimson field as their banner, and their words are "Ever Onward!"

Lion of the Mawrs

King Aedin II Mawr (Deceased)

Name: Aedin Mawr

Gender: Male

Age: Died at the age of 42 in 963 AC

Occupation/Title: King of Brythunnia

Appearance: He had auburn hair and strong facial features. He was a tall and muscular man, but not bulky. He had dark green eyes, and he didn't grow a beard.

Personality: He was a natural warrior and could inspire loyalty and dread alike in men. He often followed his passions and instincts, spending most of his time pursuing his physical limits and enjoying being a king. Aedin hadn't much interest in governing the realm, but he was eager to defend it when the Rivanians attacked. On the battlefield, he led by example, often charging against the enemy with his men and lords. This proved fatal in the Siege of Oxford in the Southern Marches, when Aedin led his men to lift the siege. Aedin led a daring charge against a Rivanian flank, and he was hit by a crossbow bolt to his chest. He survived the charge, but his wounds infected, and he died two days later. The battle was a victory for Brythunnia, but it had cost them a king.

History: Born in 921 to King Lewyn and Queen Alys in Lundine, Aedin was their firstborn. King Lewyn fathered three sons and a daughter in the coming years, but two of the sons died in infancy. Aedin was groomed to be an heir to his father from early childhood, and was taught by the best teachers and knights of the realm. He grew close with his siblings, Rickard and Mathilde, often sparring with his brother with wooden swords and playing with Mathilde.

In his youth, Aedin fancied a young courtier named Luciena Cain, whose brother had been a high ranking and talented soldier in King Lewyn's army. Their relationship produced a son named Jaden, who is unaware of his background. When Aedin married Lenore of Laketown, the relationship was ended and Luciena moved to the Dragon Mountains. Aedin helped Luciena with donations to keep her silent and to provide a future for his bastard.

In 940, the royal family faced a tragedy when King Lewyn and Queen Alys died at sea after their ship, The Wyvern, sank. Aedin rose to the throne, and two years later married Lenore Badon of Laketown. The Badons are an old family and Laketown is their main fiefdom with the lands adjacent. It is said that the marriage wasn't a happy one, as the king chased skirts quite often, and Lenore endured until 958, when she died after a period of illness. She always was a woman of frail health, and she contracted a bad case of pneumonia. King Aedin didn't remarry, but had a few paramours before his death.

In 959, the Northern War erupted, when a Rivanian army led by Count Albert l'Ermont crossed the Panther River to the Southern Marches and captured a lot of territory. The attack ran out of steam, though, and King Aedin launched a counterattack to reconquer the lost lands. The king levied the troops of the Crownlands, the Dragon Mountains and the Highlands, leading them from victory to victory. Most of the Haertlander troops were bogged down in a campaign against bandits and guerrillas in the Heartlands.

The war took a few turns and twists, but in the end, King Aedin's army broke the Rivanian invasion and drove them back. During the last months of the war, Aedin came to know the talented assassin and spy the Lady Night, and hired her. Aedin gave her the lands of the late Count de Aren, who had died not too long ago, creating a cover story of a wealthy and enigmatic noblewoman. The Lady Night was sent to the court to keep tabs on those who didn't like Aedin ruling.

In one of last battles, the Siege of Osfred, Aedin led his army to lift the siege near the important crossing of Oxford. His army won the battle, but he took a mortal wound and died after the battle. The war ended three months later after both sides signed a peace treaty. This treaty has caused animosity in Rivania, and it might spark another invasion.

Lord Rickard Mawr of Stonehold

Name: Rickard Mawr

Gender: Male

Age: 39

Occupation/Title: Lord of Stonehold, royal adviser

Appearance: Lord Rickard is a tall man and dark haired. He is similar to his brother, but is described being more bulky and robust, and he's not very handsome. He has blue eyes and strong facial features.

Personality: Rickard is more thoughtful and mature than his brother the late King Aedin ever was. He sometimes makes pointy remarks, in conversation often goes straight to business, saying directly what he thinks of it.

History: Born in 925, four years later than Aedin, Rickard was always the second son of the family. Aedin always got what he he wanted, and Rickard was often left to the sidelines by their parents. Aedin and Rickard still had a warm relationship between them, although they were like night and day. Aedin was a man who got angry fast, but also calmed fast. Rickard was more gloomy and thoughtful, who spend his time indoors studying and often sparred with Aedin.

After their parents died, the house's old castle of Stonehold was given to Rickard, and he was given the title of lord. Rickard has spent most of his adulthood trying to repair some of the damage the castle has endured during the centuries. He also has spent some time in Lundine, working as an adviser for his brother.

There has been rumours of an affair between Rickard and Queen Lenore, but both of them dismissed such rumours as false, although Rickard mourned deeply the passing of the queen. They had been close friends, and the queen's death still sometimes saddens him.

During the Northern War, Rickard took part in some of the battles in the Southern Marches, leading a cavalry detachment against Rivanian scavengers and looters. He was wounded a few times, but he didn't get injured badly like his brother did. After the war, he has spent time in Lundine advising his nephew, King Duncan the Second. He still hasn't married, despite the insistence from his close family.

High Lady Mathilde Mawr

Name: Mathilde Mawr

Gender: Female

Age: 36

Occupation/Title: High Lady of the Highlands

Appearance: Mathilde has a thick dark brown hair, a long face and green eyes. She is the shortest of King Lewyn's offspring, but is still taller than most Brythunnians. She never has been beautiful in a traditional womanly way, but she has had high birth in her favor. She is a lean lady.

Personality: Mathilde, or Matty to her siblings, spent much time playing with boys and grew up with them, and she has defied the set norms and habits of Brythunnia for not just being a silent housewife. She has taken much more active part in Brythunnian politics. Like Rickard, she often says what's on her mind and can be straight about something that bugs her. She believes that a man or a woman needs to earn their places in the world.

Lately, she has been taking some time off from kingdom's policy making and spent more time with her husband and children in Kaer Camlainn. She is protective of her family, but isn't too restrictive, remembering often her youth when she was much wilder than now.

History: Mathilde was born in 928, seven years after Aedin's birth and was the only daughter of King Lewyn's to reach adulthood. She mostly spent her time playing with boys and disliking any activities she believed "too womanly". Mathilde even insisted even having lessons in swordplay, besting his older brothers a couple times when they underestimated her prowess.

To strengthen the Mawrs' ties to the Highlands, Mathilde was promised to the High Lord of the region. She didn't enjoy her part, mostly she didn't have much to say about the match. At the age of sixteen, Mathilde was married to the High Lord Rodrik Hausland. She has given birth to three children since then, to two sons and a daughter.

She has used her position has the King Aedin's sister to influence some of the Highlands' politics. For example, she brokered a truce between two noble families who had been locked in a blood feud for generations.

During the Northern War, her lord husband Rodrik rode to war and taking most of the Highlander soldiers with him. Rodrik became one of the king's most trusted vassals and friends, as they saw eye to eye on many things. Mathilde stayed back in the Highlands to take care of their children and manage the Highlands.

King Duncan II Mawr

Name: Duncan Mawr

Gender: Male

Age: 19

Occupation/Title King of Brythunnia

Appearance: Duncan has auburn hair and strong facial features of his father. He is shorter than Aedin, and not very muscular. He is a thin young man.

Personality: Duncan the Second is an intelligent young man, who has lived most of his life in the Crownlands. Born in 945, he is the only legitimate son of King Aedin. He seems to be a careful and thoughtful leader. Inside, he is slightly cynical and Machiavellian politician, often thinking the pros and cons of his actions and weighing his words and deeds.

History: Duncan was born officially in 945 to the royal couple, but there has been some rumours concerning his parentage. The royal family has dismissed such rumours, but for years they have persisted. Nonetheless, Duncan was raised and groomed to become the next king of Brythunnia. At the age of nineteen, he is still not married.

During the Northern War, Duncan spent his time in the capital and came acquainted with the Lady Night, one of his father's secrets. After Aedin's death, Duncan recruited the assassin to work both as a spy and an assassin. He is about to send her to find a young man called Jaden Cain, one of Aedin's bastards and his half-brother. He learned of his existence and general location by reading a letter his father left him and by asking his siblings.

[ShidenBlades]

Jaden Cain

Name: Jaden Cain

Gender: Male

Age: 22

Occupation/Title: Woodsmen/Trapper/Hunter

Appearance: Jaden has auburn hair and very strong, prominent facial features, just like his father. His eyes are a forest green and he has taken to growing a full beard and his hair long to help keep himself warm in the mountains. The rough life-style he lives has carved and sculpted his body like a rock, the sun having tanned his body. He wears and owns only the skins and furs of the animals he has killed; bear, fox, wolf and rabbit furs.

Personality: Jaden is a quiet and reserved individual. He doesn’t speak often and prefers solitude to the presence of others. He is very slow to anger, doesn’t hold grudges, but doesn’t forget. He seems to be indifferent to the plight of the kingdom as a whole, believing that being so far removed from society removes him from its influence. He isn’t afraid of a hard-days’ work and expects people of all types to pull their weight. He can be very blunt and straight to the point and has no mind for word games and puzzles.

History: Having grown up far to the West of Lundine in the capitol of the Dragon Mountains, Edithburg. It was no secret who his father was, his mother, Luciena, was very open about it. However, she fell sick when Jaden was twelve and upon her death he went to live with Luciena’s brother Kaldian, a brute of a man that lived in the mountains.

Jaden adopted Kaldian’s personality and demeanor. While they certainly enjoyed the company of one another, Kaldian enjoyed having someone young around to do some work and Jaden happy to have tasks to take his mind off of his mother. It was Kaldian that showed him how to survive in the wilderness, the man had once been a soldier, a general even, in the late King Lewyn’s army.

While the two were hunting during the summer of 962 AC Kaldian was killed by a particularly large boar, though he managed to drive a knife under the beasts head and up into the skull. Jaden buried his uncle and systematically went about his life, spending the last two years with minimal human contact except to trade. He is currently caught at a cross-roads, unable to decide which path to take.

[Lexicon]

A beautiful rose.
Lazy, greedy, and pompous.
The Lady Regent.

Name: Gwendolen “Gwen” Maddox-Vandemar

Gender: Female

Age: 25 years old

Occupation/Title: Lady Regent of the Heartlands, High Lady, and the Lady in Green

Appearance

If someone asked a Heartlander peasant to describe what the average noblewoman looks like, most would mention Regent Gwendolen Maddox-Vandemar. The mistress of Castle Greenstone is the very embodiment of the typical rich and well-fed highborne. Like a princess out of a bedtime story, her honey-colored hair falls gaily about her shoulders whenever it's not gathered up in some ornate hairstyle. While Gwen's skin might not be as tanned as a serf's leathery hide, her love of horseback riding and gardening has darkened her complexion somewhat. The regent's eyes are a dazzling shade of blue and always seem to shine with merriment and warmth. Her voice, a lilting contralto, also brims with joyful enthusiasm.

The birth of her son, Baradin, has caused the once svelte Heartlander to gain weight. Coupled with her love of sweets and alcohol, Gwendolen's once curvaceous figure is starting to run to fat, and her domain's prosperity allows her to indulge quite frequently. Regardless, the high lady is considered by many to be lovely...and exceedingly wealthy. Her heart-shaped face is still beautiful, though the loss of her husband has forced her to mature a great deal in a small amount of time. The bags under her eyes are a testament to the many nights she has spent struggling with the burdens of her new title.

At any rate, Gwen can usually be seen wearing long-sleeved silk gowns or beautifully embroidered tunics and breeches. Her clothes are almost always dyed in various shades of green, a preference that earned her the moniker "The Lady in Green." Occasionally, she will add a red sash, representing House Vandemar's colors of red and green, or black gloves, a nod to the green and black heraldry of House Maddox, to her ensemble. Unknown to most, the high lady also keeps a small dagger in a leather sheathe strapped to her shoulder. Lastly, the highborne has surprisingly large feet and wears unobtrusive slippers or boots to hide them.

Personality

The Lady in Green is a generous and giving person. According to her mother, Lady Ingrid Vandemar-Traven, this has always been the case, though that's not entirely true. During her eight years of marriage to High Lord Maddox, Gwendolen was intentionally shaped and molded into a champion of the commonfolk. A heroine for all the disillusioned serfs to view as their mouthpiece in the glittering, dangerous world of the nobility. In their eyes, she could do no wrong, and this allowed Jastor to focus on the major issues facing his territory.

As the years passed, however, Gwen had an unexpected revelation. She relished the feelings of pride and self-satisfaction that only the heartfelt praise of others could provide. Now, Gwendolen would give away her favorite dress if she thought it might help a peasant family survive for a few weeks. It's not uncommon to walk into a Heartlander tavern and see carved wooden statues of the regent smiling down benevolently at the assembled patrons. Many serfs are even willing to die for Gwen, a fact that would undoubtedly make Lord Jastor Maddox smile. His plan worked.

Of course, nobody is completely selfless.

Gwen is incredibly protective of her immediate family, especially her mother and her beloved son. If anything happened to Ingrid or Baradin, she wouldn't hesitate to bring the full force of the Heartland's military down on the culprits. Overall, however, the high lady is a kind, if somewhat unworldly, aristocrat who prefers to spend her days amongst the commoners and noblewomen of her domain. Whether she's handing out bread to the beggars in the Whitecreek market or hosting yet another banquet, the highborne always throws herself into her appointed tasks with abandon. While she is also interested in ensuring the continued prosperity and safety of the Heartlands, the Lady in Green isn't afraid to delegate the less enjoyable tasks to others. More often than not, her Circle of Thorns, a council comprised of the leaders of the five Heartlander noble houses, is given these additional responsibilities. They are more than happy to help. After all, the more power Gwen gives away the more influential the nobles become. Since assuming the position of regent a few months ago, the Circle's members have widened their spheres of influence considerably. Some are even rumored to have designs on the Rose Throne.

Gwen is well-aware of this, but she simply doesn't care.

An unfortunate truth about the Regent of the Heartlands is that she's lazy and tends to focus almost entirely on the present. Is Lord Andras Howe, her most vocal detractor in the Circle of Thorns, banging on her bedchamber door with an army at his heels? No? Then Gwendolen will worry about curbing his attempts to gain support for his ascent to the Rose Throne after she finishes breakfast. Power has always come easily to Gwendolen, who was born into the two wealthiest houses in the Heartlands before she became high lady. Now, despite her youth and uncertain grip on the Rose Throne, she expects to be obeyed no matter what. This has left her with a notable lack of ambition. Why would she want to be queen when she can continue being the Regent of the Heartlands for the next eight years? Once her son turns thirteen and becomes High Lord of Castle Greenstone, she'll still be his mother. His wealthy and influential mother.

Lastly, Gwendolen is a coward, though she would never admit it. She has no formal combat training, and it shows whenever the Circle of Thorns asks her for new strategies to deal with the Heartlands' bandit problem. While she usually plays it off as a matter of no consequence, this issue was a point of contention between her and her late husband. The dagger she keeps strapped to her shoulder represents an unhappy compromise between the two of them. Regrettably, gluttony and a sense of entitlement have made the Regent of the Heartlands slow and complacent over the years. This could be her undoing if she was ever threatened by a coalition of nobles or an outside adversary.

History

Gwendolen was born to Lord Massen and Lady Ingrid Vandemar on a stormy summer evening in 939 AC. She was their only child, which meant she never had to compete for her parents' love and affection. Gwen was pampered and treated like royalty as soon as she was old enough to spell her name. And her parents could afford to give her whatever she wanted. Thanks to the numerous iron mines found throughout their lands, House Vandemar was impossibly wealthy and provided Brythunnia with some of the finest ore outside of the Dragon Mountains. In addition, Lady Ingrid's birth house, the ancient and renowned House Traven, kept the kingdom supplied with fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the year. They also owned the legendary Goldenbough Winery. Thanks to these profitable sources of income, the Vandemar Estate, which was built in a valley just outside Hawkfield, was a breath-taking and carefree place for a child to call home. Whether it was new toys or eager playmates, young Gwendolen wanted for nothing. Some servants living in the Vandemar Estate claimed the child was being spoiled, though they didn't dare say this within earshot of their noble masters.

Once Gwen's thirteenth name day arrived, she began her training in the womanly arts of needlework, managing household finances, planning feasts, supervising servants and gardening. The young aristocrat also showed a keen interest in horseback riding, though this probably had something to do with Geralt Kohl, a handsome stableboy from the Crownlands. Regrettably, Geralt was dismissed from the Vandemars' service in the winter of 952 AC...after he was caught in a hayloft with Gwendolen. Despite this incident, offers of marriage quickly poured in from the other Heartlander houses as soon as Gwen turned thirteen. The wealth and influence of House Vandemar was well-known, but the promise of also joining House Traven's ranks was too good to pass up. However, no matter how enticing or flattering the offers were, Lady Ingrid and Lord Massen made sure Gwendolen's suitors left dejected and empty-handed. They were waiting for an offer from the only house they deemed worthy of their daughter. House Maddox of Whitecreek, the ruling family of the Heartlands.

Not two weeks after Gwendolen's seventeenth name day, a courier from Whitecreek arrived. He was wearing the black and green tabard of House Maddox. The offer had finally arrived.

High Lord Jastor Maddox, a twenty-seven year old noble who'd ascended to the throne in 947 AC after his older brother died in a "hunting accident," wanted Gwendolen Vandemar as his wife. She became the High Lady of the Heartlands less than a month later. The combined influence of the Vandemar, Maddox, and Traven families all but guaranteed that House Fisk and House Howe would fall into line. And they did...initially.

After Gwendolen and Jastor's opulent wedding ceremony, the nobles began complaining about two major obstacles facing the Heartlands. First, they wanted the High Lord to send an armed force to deal with the bandit chieftain calling himself Roland the Red. Roland had been riling up the various bandit clans in the Heartlands for years now, and attacks on merchant caravans were getting worse with each passing week. It needed to stop. Also, Gwendolen needed to produce a male heir to claim the Rose Throne in case anything happened to Jastor. Normally, Jastor's younger brother, Fergus, would be considered the heir to the Heartlands, but he was filled with insatiable wanderlust. He hadn't been seen in Castle Greenstone for nearly five years. There was even a rumor making the rounds in Whitecreek's market that the younger Maddox had become the leader of the Stone Hearts, a ruthless and well-known band of sellswords. Needless to say, the matter of succession would become complicated if Jastor died without an heir.

After three years of promising his nobles all would be well, Jastor was relieved when Gwen found herself with child in 959 AC. He was less pleased by sightings of Rivanian soldiers in the Southern Marches. When the Northern War began in earnest, however, the Rose Throne's campaign against Roland the Red reached its climax. King Aedin's call to arms earned him a small contingent of House Vandemar's finest troops and nothing more from the Heartlands. High Lord Maddox's forces were too busy laying siege to the bandit stronghold of Fort Palatheon in the northern hills. While the citadel eventually fell, Roland the Red escaped and Jastor's army sustained heavy losses. Many devout Heartlanders claimed this was a sign of Mitras' displeasure with the high lord's decision to send so few men to assist the king. Whether this was the case or not, the bandit clans were scattered to the four winds, and the High Lord of the Heartlands returned to Castle Greenstone to tend to his pregnant wife.

In the first few days of 960 AC, Gwen gave birth to Baradin Maddox-Vandemar. The Heartlands finally had an heir. In spite of the wounds inflicted by Roland the Red and the Northern War, the Heartlanders rejoiced at the news. If the gossip in Castle Greenstone's servants' quarters was anything to go by, the high lord and high lady immediately started doing everything they could to have another child. The moans of pleasure alone could probably be heard in the streets of Whitecreek.

Shortly after Baradin's birth, however, Jastor began to lose weight while also suffering from sharp, unexpected chest pains. As he grew thinner and thinner, the Circle of Thorns, as well as other members of the Heartlander court, began to suspect the high lord was afflicted with the withering. The withering was a long-term illness that drained its victims of all vitality before killing them. It was rumored to be incurable. At the high lady's insistence, doctors were summoned from all corners of the land to see if something could be done. Sadly, none of their poultices and herbal remedies could halt the illness' progress. Knowing that his time among the living was limited, Jastor spent hours in Castle Greenstone's beautiful library with his wife, discussing what was going to happen once the he passed into holy Vanerheim. He tried to teach his wife what she would need to know to be a competent regent until Baradin came of age. Of course, there was so much to teach and not nearly enough time. A few days after Baradin's fifth name day, High Lord Jastor of the House Maddox died in his bed with Gwendolen tearfully holding his hand. Even Fergus, Jastor's younger brother, returned to Castle Greenstone to stand at his bedside. The imposing Stone Hearts ensured nobody disturbed the ruling family for a few days while they mourned the high lord's death and made the necessary funeral arrangements.

Unfortunately, time waits for no man, and this is especially true for those saddled with the burden of leadership. Fergus Maddox quickly proclaimed his disinterest in claiming the Rose Throne, and he proceeded to offer his oath of fealty to the Lady in Green. Speculation abounds as to why he did this, though the most popular theory is that the High Lady of Castle Greenstone slept with Fergus not long after her husband's demise. At any rate, terrified whispers are spreading across the Heartlands that Roland the Red has re-emerged and is rallying highwaymen, thugs, and unemployed sellswords to his banner. Merchants are clamoring for more patrols along the major trade routes in the region while the noble houses urge Gwendolen to take another husband. If Fergus has no intention of sitting the Rose Throne then Baradin will need a father to teach him what it means to be lead the Heartlands. Gwen does plan to remarry, though she's waiting for the best offer. While she waits, however, the opportunists are building support and putting their plans into motion. Perhaps the most disturbing rumor is that House Howe is scheming to put its own lord, Andras Howe, on the Rose Throne. In addition, the consequences of Lord Jastor's unwillingness to send more soldiers to fight in the Northern Wars have yet to play out. All signs point to the golden age of the Heartlands ending in the near future.

The Blood Orchid of House Vandemar

-House Colors are Green and Red
-House Words are 'Our Power Blooms Forever'
-Currently led by Lord Massen Vandemar and Lady Ingrid Vandemar-Traven
-House Relationships: Maddox (Excellent), Howe (Poor), Traven (Excellent) and Fisk (Average)

The Panther of House Maddox

-House Colors are Green and Black
-House Words are 'We Fear No Evil'
-Currently led by Lord Sebastian Maddox and Lady Caledra Maddox-Traven, though Lord Fergus Maddox is technically heir to both House Maddox and the Rose Throne
-House Relationships: Vandemar (Excellent), Howe (Average), Traven (Above Average) and Fisk (Average)

The Hound of House Howe

-House Colors are Green and Orange
-House Words are 'The Pack Never Falters'
-Currently led by Lord Andras Howe
-House Relationships: Vandemar (Poor), Maddox (Average), Traven (Above Average) and Fisk (Excellent)

The Goat of House Fisk

-House Colors are Green and White
-House Words are 'We Serve The Rose'
-Currently led by Lord Walcott Fisk and Lady Alma Fisk-Howe
-House Relationships: Vandemar (Average), Maddox (Average), Traven (Average) and Howe (Excellent)

The Sun of House Traven

-House Colors are Green and Yellow
-House Words are 'Rising Like The Sun'
-Currently led by Lord Olliander "The Paunch" Traven and Lady Bethany Traven-Maddox
-House Relationships: Vandemar (Excellent), Maddox (Above Average), Fisk (Average) and Howe (Above Average)

Inspirational Image

-There are obviously some aspects of this image that don't work for Gwen. Firstly, her eyes are blue, not green. Also, she has a bit of a gut, and her hips are substantially wider than those of the woman below. Her skin is also a shade or two darker.

[Ozymandias]

Baldr

Name: Baldr Úlfhéðinn Donarsson.

Gender: Male.

Age: Early thirties.

Occupation/Title: Jarl of Jomsborg.

Appearance: The northmen from the Nordlands are known for their iconic height, golden hair and icy blue eyes. In this manner Baldr is no different from his contemporaries, being of average height among his people, generally taller than many Southern peoples, with long hair the colour of wheat, tied at the back and briaded on either side of his face. His face is lean and unscarred, though characterised by signs of weariness about his cheeks and forehead, and his mouth and jaw are concealed by a golden beard. His single eye is the colour of blue ice, the other having been sacrificed to Mímir many years ago, leaving a diagonal scar across his left eye socket. His great body, broad muscular and from his former life as a farmer and carpenter, is decorated with intricate designs honouring the northmens' pantheon, with woven knots on his chest and along his arms.

Despite being jarl of Jomsborg, a relatively prosperous region in the western Nordlands due its bountiful landscape, Baldr wears simple clothing when at home, consisting of faded green or earthy brown tunics and trousers, tied with a simple rope belt. He owns a single pair of brown leather boots with iron studs under the toe and heel. During the winter months he wears a wolf pelt draped across his shoulders, with the head as a hood, giving rise to the name úlfhéðinn, or 'wolf-pelt', as he is sometimes obsequiously referred to by skalds in Jomsborg's great hall. In the rain he is likely to wear a simple wool cloak and hood.

When raiding, Baldr usually exhibits himself in the full panoply of war in honour of the gods, to the extent that verses have been written about him in the newest sagas. During his rise to power from a simple labourer to jarl he has collected a sizeable fortune in the form of valuable armour and armament, some of which was taken as weregild when he succeeded the former jarl, other pieces were given in tribute or bought. He wears an iron byrnie, belted with brown leather and clasped with an intricate silver buckle, on which he carries a short shafted axe and an extravagantly decorated iron sword, more valuable than half of the possessions in Jomsborg. As with any other karl, or freeman, in the Nordlands, he also carries a simple scramseax on his belt. On his head he wears an iron helmet which encloses the sides of his head and forehead, as well as protecting his nose, allowing him to see through two small holes. His shield is decorated with imagery of two opposing serpents, the tails of each coiled around the other at the bottom of the iron boss, and the heads at the other, painted green against blue boards and rimmed with hard leather and iron studs. He owns, and frequently carries, a nine foot spear common to his people, tipped with iron, and also possesses an iconic daneaxe, over five feet in length with a huge, bearded iron head. Baldr's armour and armament are the most valuable of his possessions, more so than anything else in Jomsborg, and are a clear indication of his social status.

Personality/History: Baldr was born in a fishing village many miles from Jomsborg, to fisherman parents. His father raided annually, but with the former jarl Olafsson's tendency to raid weak neighbours who possessed no wealth, whether in the form of food or silver, his family was no richer when he returned. Baldr's father, Leif, demanded an audience with the jarl some weeks before the summer raids one year, and attempted to convince the jarl to sail west, to a land he had heard whispers and tales of, called Brythunnia, wherein untold treasures lay waiting to be taken. Baldr never saw his father again after that night. Leif had been exiled or killed following Olafsson's great embarrassment at being spoken down to by a fisherman in his own hall. It was likely, Baldr thought, that his father had at first been exiled and then killed out of spite, as was Olafsson's way, to prey on the unsuspecting or unprepared.

Baldr's village had little need for him to become a fisherman, with so many already undertaking that work, and so he was instructed in carpentry. He learned the skills of a hammer and saw, how to file and carve wood and cultivate trees. Over the next decade or so Baldr became a lean mass, and had also married into possession of a farm away from his childhood home in the fishing village. His wife, Sigfinnä, was daughter to a furs merchant, called Halfdan, who had been waylaid by wolves one night while travelling, to be saved by the timely intervention of Baldr, who was sleeping rough on his way to Jomsborg. Baldr's generosity exhibited itself again when he repaired damages to Halfdan's wagon after it had steered into a ditch in the dim light of an evening. Halfdan had been travelling with Baldr and spent valuable time with him, inviting him to stay at his own home in the city, wherein Baldr met his future wife, a blonde-haired baker who had taken to the rough carpenter upon first sight. Within only a short time Baldr had proposed to Sigfinnä and Halfdan had given them possession of one of his two farms outside Jomsborg as a gift.

Baldr began to have what he considered at the time to be nightmares, disturbing dreams of dead men and women, images of eagles and serpents, of fire and great waves. After visiting the seer in Jomsborg, he came to understand that he was not having nightmares, but rather receiving visions from Donar himself, the northmens' god of thunder, seafaring and war. Weeks passed and each night the visions would become more and more powerful, each ending with him waking moments before he could see in his dreams what his future would entail. It was then that he disappeared from his farm, leaving his wife and son, Leif, for three weeks as he climbed into the mountains and found his way to an ancient grove within a colossal cave, within which trees grew and streams flowed, fed by a roaring waterfall, behind which was a stone basin, appearing natural and yet too perfectly shaped to be coincidental, filled with water, which he knew to be Mímisbrunnr, or Mímir's well. Baldr preyed to the gods, in particular to Mímir, for knowledge and wisdom and gave his own eye in sacrifice as he drank the water. He began to see more detail in his visions, which became more frequent and meaningful. He began to consult with the seer in Jomsborg, and understood the meaning of what he saw. He was the eagle, his people were the great waves, and the serpent was the treacherous jarl. Remembering the stories of the gods, that Donar would slay the world-serpent in the End Times, Baldr called himself Donarsson and understood his fate.

Baldr prepared himself for nine weeks, testing his body to extreme lengths, before taking his iron axe from his farm and going to the great hall in Jomsborg. It was here that he spoke out against Jarl Olafsson and challenged him to single combat. Olafsson laughed and dismissed him, but was challenged by the audience in the hall who, despite their loyalty to him, called him craven, as to refuse a direct challenge was against their culture and an insult to the gods who had decided their fate. Olafsson reluctantly agreed to fight Baldr and, after attempting to poison and murder him during the previous night, was killed with an axe blow to the stomach and a scramseax in his throat. As was custom, his wife declared Baldr the new jarl and knelt before him. Baldr took Olafsson's land as weregild for his father, and therein resided there with his wife and son. The local karls, or freemen, swore fealty to him and presented him and his family with gifts, including jewellery and armour, on the promise that Baldr would take them raiding west to Brythunnia.

[Sonatina]

Name: Claret

Alias: Catherine De Aren

Gender: Female

Age: 21

Occupation/Title:
To the King: The Royal Assassin
To the Court: The Lady of Aren, The Red Countess
As an assassin: Lady Night

Appearance:

Claret is lithe and strong, two attributes required by her line of work. She is shorter than most expect, thin and small chested. The assassin is characterized by dark red hair, pale skin and olive-shaped, caramel eyes. In her work, Claret dresses all in black; tight trousers and shirt, dyed leather boots and thick cloak. Clothes that hide every aspect of her identity. In court, she dresses modestly in order to hide scars and muscle definition that no proper lady should have.

Personality: Claret is not the type of woman to question fate. Chance took her from her parents so she learned to survive. The world has given her the skills to kill, so she has become an assassin. She became successful at her craft and so was hired by the late King. The Red Countess’s feelings rarely come into the matter; she rarely stops to consider them. She simply accepts things as they are and moves on. Claret is a intelligent and logical thinker, an efficient assassin, a skilled manipulator. She has a sense of humor, of sarcasm, but little understanding for the nobility and their soft concerns, and no qualms about exploiting them for her benefit.

Official History:
Catherine De Aren is the orphaned child of the wealthy, if eccentric, nobleman, Charles De Aren. Falsely accused of consorting with Rivania in his youth, Charles left the court and spent the majority of his life managing his country estate. This is where his daughter, Catherine was born. Catherine’s mother, Elizabeth, died in child birth, and Catherine has come to the castle to find a husband after her father’s untimely death by illness. Despite rumors of a large dowry, the enigmatic Catherine is still unwed after two years of court life.

The Eagle of Aren

Per ardua ad alta (Through straits to heights)
Colors: red, black, and gold

Actual History

Claret was born to commoners in the city of Lundine, but she has no idea whether she had good parents or not, if she had brothers or sisters, if they were well off or paupers. Her time in this stage of her life was cut short by her capture by child slavers shortly after her fifth birthday.
The weeks and months she spent traveling with the slavers between Lundine and Rivania are now only a blur in her memory. Claret remembers the pain and terror of those weeks, but little or no details. Her first clear memories are of Rivania, and the street children she banded with there. Shortly after arriving in the foreign country’s capital, the girl escaped from her slavers, joined and eventually came to lead a rag tag group of children living on the streets and abandoned buildings of the city. She learned to pick pockets and locks, to steal and sneak around her city undiscovered. Despite the mites and diseases that plagued her band of street rats, this wasn’t an unhappy time for little Claret; she had a family, they weren’t starving, and while they had to run from the law, there was still fun to be had within the tight little group.
Then, the now ten year old little girl picked the wrong man’s pocket. He was a low level criminal who was fortunate enough to call himself a member of the city’s largest and most influential organized crime syndicate, the King’s Thieves. Seeking to ingratiate himself with a cruel and unpredictable leader, this low-life brought Claret to meet Vincent Arundell. known to his subordinates as The King. While her ernest captor probably assumed Claret would end up in a brothel, training to buy back her freedom with her body, her tenacity and fearlessness impressed the criminal king. An incredibly paranoid man well past his prime, he had set out to groom his own heir out of fear that choosing one of his too eager seconds would only shorten his own life span. Claret was young, clever, completely unattached to his organization and had all the makings of a fighter; the old man couldn't have wished for a better candidate.
For the next eight years, Claret trained with the best of the worst, all of the most talented thieves, spies, and assassins that would pass on their deadly arts. From the dancers, tumblers and courtesans in Arundel’s court she learned the more subtle arts of disguising oneself and interacting with the nobility. Arundel himself taught her the politics of the underworld.
It wasn’t truly a pleasant life, being heir to the King’s Thieves. Between avoiding or surviving assassination attempts on her own life, learning from tough teachers, and appeasing the ever more paranoid Arundell, Claret accumulated her share of scars. However, it all ended on her eighteenth birthday: word came that Vincent Arundel was dead and his red headed heir was to join him, unless she fled. The King’s Thieves had been overthrown by the very men Arundel had feared.
It was with mixed feelings of joyous freedom and a touch of sadness for the people who had raised her that Claret left Rivania for her homeland of Brythunnia. But once back in Lundine, the assassin went to work immediately on creating a name for herself as Lady Night. For the next year she worked on more and more difficult assignments for the wealthy, spying, stealing, and killing for a living. Eventually, Claret attracted the attention of the late King Aedin II Mawr, who hired her and constructed the alias of Catherine du Aren in order to keep the assassin at court without attracting too much suspicion. Unsurprisingly, Claret adapted to this new role easily, finding the official court easier to navigate than the criminal one she’d been a part of so long. By far the easiest task given to the Red Countess was to convince Duncan that he needed her skills as much as his father had.