" “Let’s just push ahead. We can look back and assess the damage later."Kellen Milo Fraldarius
Age17 Born the 8th of Harpstring Moon.
Country of OriginHoly Kingdom of Faerghus
Social StandingNoble of House Fraldarius
CrestMinor Crest of Fraldarius
Kellen’s crest will, on occasion, allow him to temporarily ignore injuries he sustains. The pain doesn’t go away, it’s merely delayed.
Starting ClassMyrmidon
Weapon of ChoiceSwords
StrengthsSword, Axe
WeaknessesFaith, Flying, Riding
PersonalityKellen is a mostly-pleasant boy, who does not hold himself in particularly high-esteem. He’s quick to try and mediate conflicts, and as the youngest sibling of four, is used to being bushed around by those older than him. He is rather irreverent, and does not see much point in respecting old traditions, though his stance on the matter is not strong enough for him to take any sort of real action to upend them.
However, in combat or otherwise under pressure, Kellen is rather quick to withdraw and hone in the task at hand. Any semblance of laisser-faire is lost, and there’s little attempt to pretend otherwise. While at times this a great tool, at others it manifests itself as an anxiety that does little but burn Kellen out. Any situation with the potential for injury contributes greatly to Kellen’s anxiety.
HistoryKellen was born the youngest of 4 siblings. His eldest sister, Rhiannon, was identified at a young age to possess a major crest of Fraldarius. While Kellen was rarely privy to it, this would lead to a great deal of strife between his parents and his uncles and aunts, who had yet to bear any children with crests.
For the rest of this siblings, free from the subterfuge and family intrigue, Rhiannon’s crest lent them a great deal of freedom. The three crestless children, not aware of the context of such a gift, viewed it as more of a punishment than a boon. After all, Rhiannon spent days training, learning, and generally following their parents’ orders while the three younger children were able to play, explore, and, when forced to, learn under the far less-watchful eye of their tutor.
At the age of eight, Kellen was dropped out of a window by his siblings who got too excited while holding onto his legs. After plummeting to the ground, he found himself unable to move his arm. Being all of 8 and having far more pressing maters to attend to, the kids resumed their games. It wasn’t until fifteen minutes had passed that a wave of pain ran through him that left him sobbing for the next several hours as the healers went about setting the injury.
Other similar incidents occurred. Kellen, in his foolishness, would find himself injured in some way or another, and while most of the time he would immediately feel pain, there would be moments where it would take minutes, sometimes close to an hour, for that horrible feeling to finally reach his brain. These occurrences dwindled as Kellen grew and became a bit more risk-averse. But after a practice blade clipped his ear – nearly taking a piece with it –, his father realized that his family had two crest-bearers.
Kellen felt a sense of dread as his father explained the situation to him. He had had suspicions that something wasn’t quite right, but his brief attempts at learning had given him the impression that two crest-bearers in a family was a rare occurrence. More than that though, he had no wish to assume a life similar to his eldest sister’s, whom he had rarely seen since she had gone to Garreg Mach some years previous.
That’s why he was thrilled when his father presented him with a solution. Kellen could head off to support his uncle and troops in defending the Kingdom against incursions from Sreng, something Kellen had begged for and been denied, with his parents insisting that such a mission would be too dangerous.
There was one condition to his wish being granted, however. Kellen would, under no circumstances, inform anyone beyond his Father about the revelation he possessed a crest. This too, was a great victory for Kellen, who had no wish to be groomed and controlled the way his sister was.
The campaign in Gautier territory was not particularly exciting, with Kellen’s uncle frequently expressing his concern and curiosity that his brother would send a sixteen-year-old boy into such unforgiving conditions. Kellen quickly adapted to the new circumstances, which rarely saw him on the frontline, despite his objections. He mostly served as an aide to his uncle, helping transport supplies and manage the camp.
However, Kellen’s newfound realization of his crest and its power left him restless. It wasn’t long before he donned a soldier’s garb and joined the line as troops pushed to rout some bandits from a small town. While passing through the town to clear the scant homes, Kellen found himself unable to stand. When he looked down, he saw a nasty gash that he had sustained during the fight and failed to notice. While he would survive this wound, medics at the camp were alarmed by how much blood had been lost. His uncle, after much chiding, would later ascribe the incident to adrenaline, but Kellen knew otherwise. The revelation that he had sustained a blow that could have cost him his life without realizing it quickly changed his tune, and after the incident he was content to stay in the camp and away from the fray.
In the year that followed, Kellen would communicate with his family rarely, mostly to re-affirm his safety and assure them that he was greatly enjoying the new adventure. He often-considered telling his mother about his crest, but never did so, remembering the deal he had struck with his father. The one he never heard from was Rhiannon, who his other siblings insisted they had not seen since he had left.
The last message he received was from his Father. It stated, in plain language, that he had been enrolled at Garreg Mach and would be expected to attend in the coming year. Kellen wrote back several times insisting he would not be attending, but he never received a response. His uncle received a similar letter, and despite many heated arguments, Kellen found he could make no headway. His uncle sent him off shortly thereafter, with a small retinue of troops who were just as surprised as he was that he would be attending the academy.
Trivia- Kellen stands at 5 feet 6 inches. He’s got a sturdy build, and a left arm that still aches at times.
- Kellen will eat whatever is available, but if given the choice he is quite fond of his Mother’s Cabbage and Herring Stew. He refuses to eat if it isn’t prepared by her.
- Kellen has little faith in the goddess, though he rarely expresses this opinion.
- Kellen does not like being surprised.
