(not a comprehensive list, feel free to ask if you have an idea otherwise)

• Humans
  The main inhabitants of Albion. Numerous, but generally fairly weak by all standards. They often find themselves at the mercy of the dangers of the realm. They generally live scattered across the realm in smaller communities, though there are a few larger settlements that are ruled by those claiming to be Kings or Queens. Some even claim descent from the Old King and his knights. Whether true or not...is up for debate.
• Giants
  Rare in Albion, are the Giants. Impossibly tall humanoids with the strength of twenty men and the ones in Albion have a particular affinity for fire. They tend to be skilled smiths and master workers of metal. Reclusive, and neutral to friendly towards humans. They seem to treat humans often as one might a pet. They tend to live in craggy, mountainous areas where ore is plentiful.
• Elves
  Once created to be the protectors of the Fey, there are very few elves remaining in Albion. Those rare few that escaped the corruption at the hands of the Betrayed Gods curse, fled deep into a forest, never to be seen again. Its well known going into the forest is nearly a death sentence for most humans. They possess an affinity for nature and the ability to use what is known as a 'Leargas' - entering a trance like state where they are able to channel all the skills, knowledge, and strength of their ancestors. Those that have mastered this ability are the fiercest of fighters, able to perform superhuman feats.
• Unseelie Fey
  The fey that were corrupted by the Betrayed Gods curse. None escaped, and were all twisted into dark forms of themselves. They curse others just as they were cursed into terrible monsters. Perhaps there are some who remain who are untwisted, but for the most part, they would not last long in this land. Often seen at night and in the hours of twilight at dusk or dawn. Running into one is almost certain to bring trouble...though on rare occasion one may take liking to a human.
• Dwarf
  Another rare sight in Albion are the Dwarves of Emain. Stalwart seafarers based from an island just of the coast who worship the Sea Goddess Delpithi. That said, they are a raucous bunch, often raiding coasts for supplies and a good fight. The possess a supernatural ability and affinity for water, with the ability to quite literally sing the water to do as they wish. A Sea shanty is more than just something to pass the time with.
• Formorian
  The twisted forms of the elves cursed by the Betrayed God. Their abilities and nature vary far and wide. Some are utterly bestial and savage, seeking nothing but to bring ruin, disease, and more famine to the cursed land. Some are articulate and intelligent. Some have even occasionally helped or procreated with humans, should it suit their purposes - but by far and large, most are utterly miserable creatures that deserve nothing but the swiftest and fastest of deaths.
• Tuatha
  A mysterious race of humanoids bearing a wide range of animalistic features, claiming descent from the Betrayed god and other old deities. They have a wide range of magical abilities that are fairly too innumerable to note. All possess some form of animal features though, and live on Mt. Sliabh. They possess highly mystical abilities and often become advisors to rulers and tend to be staunchly pacifistic unless they must protect themselves - and if they do they may be able to rend the land itself asunder. While they are friendly with humans, they rarely mingle beyond acting as healers or advisors.

Name:

Age:

Gender:

Appearance:

Abilities:
Please include what your character is capable of, and any supernatural feats they posses be it strength or otherwise. Also where it comes from, and generally how proficient they are in it. Kill an elder beast somehow and made a weapon from it? Given an enchanted sword from a hand sticking out of a lake? Got Fomorian blood in you that gives you some abilities? Feel free to be as creative as you want.

History:
Fairly explanatory. Be sure to include what brought you to the Queens service. Did she find you? Did you find her? She's only been around a short time - about a year. Perhaps you were lured in by rumors of her claims. Maybe you fell in awe at the sight of her. Maybe she saved your life.

Anything else: Any dark secrets in your history? Skeletons in your closet? Love affairs with some kings wife that could spell ruin for the entire country? No? Live a little! While you don't have to, don't be afraid to give me something to work with that I could attempt working into some plot somewhere.

Name: Od.

Age: 19.

Gender: Female.

Appearance: Beneath the armor she's got the form of a warrior, albeit one that's seen very little sun. She's got a tall, almost statuesque body with fairly pale skin. Her face isn't particularly remarkable but she's got the look of someone who's got her head in the clouds. Her hair is crudely cut to a semi-short length. It's still something of a disheveled mess of wavy brown hair but it only comes partway down to her neck with the bangs purposefully shortened to not cover her eyes.

Abilities:

She is not aware of the true origin of her abilities but in being used by the formorians she was quick to learn this about herself: Her blood is filled with the essence of life itself, revitalizing all that it touches. Naturally this grants her swift healing, wounds sealing shut in mere minutes. Were she to be torn to pieces only the largest remaining chunk of her would begin to grow as the soul is indivisible, missing pieces only growing back once they rejoin the formal whole. In addition the blood also provides a strong immune system, rendering her staunchly resistant to most diseases and able to bounce back from the deadliest poisons. Additionally her blood rids her of all but the most immediate of fatigue. While she might tire after exerting herself to the absolute limit in the short run a brief reprieve will leave her as good as new.

These qualities are not limited to her either. Though her blood might be thick, sticky and have the color of sap it can be imbibed, like drinking syrup, which temporarily confers it's benefits to the consumer. It can also be applied directly to wounds which will greatly accelerate cell regrowth in the area. This quality not only affects animals but plants too, restoring wilted vegetation to full health and even allowing seeds planted to germinate much faster.

Death for her mostly occurs when the cells are no longer capable of healing. Fire and acid are the most immediate ways of ensuring this as they damage on a cellular level. Exsanguination will also quickly leave her less capable of healing since the blood is needed to promote regrowth. Things that bring about death such as necrosis hurt her since the blood cannot reanimate what is already dead. Lastly her blood offers her little protection against magic that isn't directly opposed by the element of life that is infused throughout.

History:

Her earliest memories are fuzzy and distant. The most she could remember of her early childhood was |Od|. Shortly thereafter she was taken by the formorians, twisted creatures that dwell in dark places. Their master was a formorian of fairly keen intellect, one who grasped quickly what she was capable of after some painful experimentation. From then onwards for the rest of her childhood she was farmed for blood by the master formorian who sealed it in flasks and distributed it to his servants as a means of keeping them alive in combat longer.

At the age of eleven she was liberated after the formorian's stronghold was raided by brave knights of the queen. Though the master fled as the battle seemed lost he was unable to keep much of what he possessed, including her. When she was freed from her shackles the knights found that she knew nothing save for what she observed from the formorians. With no home and no real identity save for the word Od she was taken back with them. There they gave her a new life, teaching her the ways of her fellow humans and giving her the freedom to choose the life she wished to lead. As the knights were the closest thing she had to a real family she swore to follow in their footsteps and serve the queen just as they did: as a knight.

So she was trained in the art of warfare, serving many long years as a squire to one of the queen's closest knights. It was only recently that she had proved her mettle enough to warrant her promotion into a full fledged knight. She might be only recently made but she is quite eager to prove that their confidence in her isn't misplaced. Though this may be a time of much uncertainty for her she simply wishes to not disappoint her surrogate family.

Anything else: It is quite possible that the ruins she was taken from as a young child were a leftover remnant of the moonless era, something buried long ago and forgotten. It is where she derived her name.

Name: Lunalel Lightsword

Age: 21

Gender: Female

Appearance:



Abilities:
Luna is one of the strongest warriors from her family. Part of that comes from her unwavering training in her youth and part is from an inherited power in her lineage. Long ago, a dying Elder Beast made her family, so long as they were honorable warriors, inherit the remnants of her strength throughout their line. It was an Elder Beast of Light and Honor, or so the stories told. Out of her two elder brothers, her and a younger brother and sister, it appeared as though she were the one to inherit most of the generations power though the family’s heir was close behind her.

For that, she is able to use a variety of Light based Magics. Healing and creating weapons from that light based magic, hence the family name, as well coating her weapon with light energy to strengthen it (though this can become taxing). She also can create damaging beams of light from her hands that damage opponents. Among other things, of course.

In addition to her family’s boon from an Elder Beast, there were stories that far before the Lightswords were even called such, they had mixings with giants and have a very small amount of giant blood in their veins. There isn’t much to it. They have a small affinity for the giant’s relation to fire which gives them a resistance to the cold. Luna won’t be jumping in a freezing ocean but she can more easily resist the cold winds of the north. Their strength is also increased a small bit thanks to their giant ancestors.

History:
A long time ago, to the cold north, the Lightsword family was not known as such. It was a clan of warriors with no such name. Then one day, Lucilia, an Elder Beast, took them under her wing. She saw their honor in combat and taught them and blessed them with her power. From that day, the clan was blessed with Light Magic. They fought with Lucilia for years until one day, she lost in battle and was put on her death bed. As she lay, she told the clan that they would continue to receive her blessing in their lineage so long as they stayed honorable warriors. The clan wholeheartedly agreed and had their entire line blessed and given the name, Lightsword. So the story goes, skipping over a couple of specifics. Still, Lunalel goes by this story, proud of it. If one asked her to recite the tale, no matter how many times, she definitely wouldn’t mind sharing it. She could recite the majority of the tale perfectly since even before she could hold a blade properly though that was earlier than a normal child, given the family’s heritage. And when she could hold the blade, she trained with it the rest of her life, becoming one of the best swordsmen or women of her generation in Lightsword territory. After a time, she went on active patrols with the soldiers. They would patrol the land and made sure that there was no threat of robbers, brigands, bandits, monsters and many other things. From there she received a reputation of being fairly well liked among the soldiers for a couple of things. They trusted her strength and endurance, such as when she made every grown man seem like a small child when she won a drinking contest against some of the best!

In recent days, Lunalel was with a number of soldiers in a small patrol. While on patrol, they were beset by a large pack of feral, starving beasts. While they would be able to slay a number of the beasts on their own, there were too many of them as they were being surrounded. Some beasts lunged and were quickly dispatched by the squad as they started to back up trying to not get fully surrounded and soon they made a break for it. They knew the location of a chokepoint nearby so they could prevent being surrounded on all sides.

As they retreated, the beasts were on their heels trying to maul or bite them only to receive spear thrusts or sword swipes. One soldier was about to be pounced on by the beast! Quickly, Luna aimed her hand at the oncoming beast and shot it with a beam of light powerful enough to kill it’s frail being. Soon, the group arrived in a cave, as defensible as one could get against beasts like this. They set up a position ready to strike down any beast that enters. Soon, a pile of haggard and starving corpses lay at their feet but there was no sign of them stopping. They wondered what could possibly push such beasts to attack without regard but there was little time to discuss it before they had to defend themselves. Soon, however, a loud crackle was heard outside the cave and a figure appeared before them…

The figure, a woman, then asked them if they belong to the Lightsword house, to which of course, Lunalel smiled and admitted that she was the first daughter of Lord Lightsword before thanking her for saving them. From there, she led the woman to the castle. Where she introduced the woman and reported the attack. The woman needed to talk to her father about something and he dismissed everyone in attendance aside his Heir. Sometime later that day, her Father came to her and told her that she had a month to get ready for she had somewhere to go for him.

Anything else:
-Has a High Tolerance for Alcohol. Particularly likes the taste of mead.
-Her family has her mother and father (though apparently she takes more after her father), her two elder brothers, a younger brother and a younger sister and many extended relatives aside.
-Insists others call her Luna, rather than Lunalel, if they’re friends.
-Gets flustered if a woman starts to hit on her.

Name: Od.

Age: 19.

Gender: Female.

Appearance: Beneath the armor she's got the form of a warrior, albeit one that's seen very little sun. She's got a tall, almost statuesque body with fairly pale skin. Her face isn't particularly remarkable but she's got a very thoughtful, serious look as her resting expression. Her hair is crudely cut to a semi-short length. It's still something of a disheveled mess of wavy pale green hair hair but it only comes partway down to her neck with the bangs purposefully shortened to not cover her eyes.

Abilities:

She is not aware of the true origin of her abilities but in being used by the formorians she was quick to learn this about herself: Her blood is filled with the essence of life itself, revitalizing all that it touches. Naturally this grants her swift healing, wounds sealing shut in mere minutes. Were she to be torn to pieces only the largest remaining chunk of her would begin to grow as the soul is indivisible, missing pieces only growing back once they rejoin the formal whole. In addition the blood also provides a strong immune system, rendering her staunchly resistant to most diseases and able to bounce back from the deadliest poisons. Additionally her blood rids her of all but the most immediate of fatigue. While she might tire after exerting herself to the absolute limit in the short run a brief reprieve will leave her as good as new.

These qualities are not limited to her either. Though her blood might be thick, sticky and have the color of sap it can be imbibed, like drinking syrup, which temporarily confers it's benefits to the consumer. It can also be applied directly to wounds which will greatly accelerate cell regrowth in the area. This quality not only affects animals but plants too, restoring wilted vegetation to full health and even allowing seeds planted to germinate much faster.

Something that only applies to her is that her flesh is naturally as tough as wood. It's just as flexible as normal tissue however it's much harder to slice, similar to a tree in resilience. Additionally while her flesh is still flush with blood it will remain alive and active as though she was still whole, even when torn apart. Her head, body and limbs will all maintain all the physical functions still available to them and act according to her will until they die. It's entirely feasible for her to pick up her own head and reattach it to her neck, albeit awkward to navigate a headless body from where her head lays.

Death for her mostly occurs when the cells are no longer capable of healing. Fire and acid are the most immediate ways of ensuring this as they damage on a cellular level. Exsanguination will also quickly leave her less capable of healing since the blood is needed to promote regrowth. Things that bring about death such as necrosis hurt her since the blood cannot reanimate what is already dead. Lastly her blood offers her little protection against magic that isn't directly opposed by the element of life that is infused throughout.

As for her skills she was trained by a veteran knight in the art of combat. Because of her toughness she often opts to wield a blade one handed and leave her off-hand open for strikes and grappling maneuvers. She is trained in use of a shield or blade in her off-hand but her preference is a lighter style which lets her fight with more speed and aggression, using her natural durability to makeup for the lighter armor and lack of a shield. This style is further emphasized by the magical sword she inherited from her late king.

She wields the Sword of Damocles, a blade named after the fae king who forged this weapon. It's blade looks akin to frosted glass with an elegant silvery guard. It's hilt has a grip that is woven from the hairs taken from a horse's tail and the pommel appears to be a crystalline prism. The blade itself is extremely thin with edges finer than glass and it is no wider than Od's pinky finger. The enchantment on this sword makes it extremely durable despite it's fragile appearance, able to withstand forces that would sunder even a steel blade. It also does not rust nor chip, remaining pristine under any conditions. It's true power however lies in the sword's ability to cut through nearly anything with the same ease one would find in cutting through water. Metal, earth, hide and bone, naught but the most magically protected of materials can withstand the cutting edge of this blade. It is so sharp that even touching the flat of the blade would leave a cut on one's hand.

But for all the power the sword offers it comes at a terrible cost. A powerful curse sleeps within this blade. Any and every attack made by this weapon has a chance of awakening the curse within. When this happens the sword will quite literally turn upon it's wielder and run them through. The Sword of Damocles has passed down across many hands. Time and time again their fate is the same, unstoppable in battle until that fatal moment when the sword finally turns it's blade on them instead.

Will Od be the one to finally tame this wicked sword?

History:

Her earliest memories are fuzzy and distant. The most she could remember of her early childhood were faded words of which only |Od| was legible and a strange tree illuminated in the dark. Shortly thereafter she was taken by the formorians, twisted creatures that dwell in dark places. Their master was a formorian of fairly keen intellect, one who grasped quickly what she was capable of after some painful experimentation. From then onwards for the rest of her childhood she was farmed for blood by the master formorian who sealed it in flasks and distributed it to his servants as a means of keeping them alive in combat longer.

At the age of eleven she was liberated after the formorian's stronghold was raided by brave knights of a noble king. Though the master fled as the battle seemed lost he was unable to keep much of what he possessed, including her. When she was freed from her shackles the knights found that she knew nothing save for what she observed from the formorians. With no home and no real identity save for the word Od she was taken back with them. There they gave her a new life, teaching her the ways of her fellow humans and giving her the freedom to choose the life she wished to lead. As the knights were the closest thing she had to a real family she swore to follow in their footsteps and serve the king just as they did: as a knight.

So she was trained in the art of warfare, serving many long years as a squire to one of the king's closest knights. One fateful day however as he led his knights in battle against cruel servants of the formorians the king's legendary sword finally turned on him, it's curse bringing it to end the man's life then and there. His men had to retreat but Od was the first to try and retrieve their fallen king. As he breathed his last breath he asked for Od to claim his sword before he declared her a true knight. Obeying his wishes she pulled the sword from his body, no longer a squire but a true knight.

After they returned however the fellow knights were not so understanding. Now with the king dead and Od being the only one to have heard his final declaration there was no proof that the king had made her a knight or given her the right to claim his sword. Od knew that she was telling the truth and though hard as it was for her to turn against the men she once deemed family she wanted to honor the king's final words. In the dark of night she rode out from the kingdom, hoping that with her absence the unrest amidst the now masterless knights would settle.

After roaming the land, free to follow whatever direction she chose Od found herself aimless, wandering from town to town without any real ambition to pursue. All she had been taught from the day she was rescued was combat, she had no other skills to truly integrate into these various communities. Thus, since combat was her only trade she offered her service to those in need of a blade. She only ever asked for enough money to feed herself and mend her gear, only ever serving those who's need for her violence was just.

Eventually, she found herself in the company of the queen, an upcoming monarch bringing knights of renown under her service. Od was keen to accept her offer, eager to finally perform her duties as a knight for the first time since she became one.

Though she may be young she's seen much. Still, there is much more for her to see yet.

Anything else: It is quite possible that the ruins she was taken from as a young child were a leftover remnant of the Endless Night, something buried long ago and forgotten. It is where she derived her name.

She knows a fair amount about the formorians, including their language, given how she had spent so long amidst them.

Name:Elias Reinhardt the Unbreakable

Age: 25

Gender: Male

Appearance:



Abilities:
[Blood Of Fafnir]
Fafnir was once an Elder Beast of fire and might that ruled over a Clan of Giants with brute force alone. Upon slaying the beast; Sir Sigurd von Reinhardt took Fafnir's strength as his own, the ancient Dragon's stolen might becoming inherent to House Reinhardt for generations to come. This power; bound to the Reinhardt bloodline, often manifests as a birthmark in the shape of Fafnir's final wound and located over the heart.
[Peak Human]
Though his sheer strength alone makes Reinhardt capable of crushing stone with his bare hands, his other physical capabilities are top-tier when compared to his fellow man.
[Magic Sense]
Despite having no magical ability of his own, Reinhardt is decently capable at detecting the flow and presence of magic.
[Expert Swordsman]
Though not among the best swordsmen in the land of Albion, the countless hours of practice Reinhardt has put into his swordsmanship can hardly be disregarded.
[The Unbreakable]
Due to Reinhardt's tendency to return from battles unscathed, rumors would suggest the man's skin to be impenetrable by normal means... However true such a thing might be-- no one quite knows for certain.

History:
Reinhardt. The name of a knightly house that has served the people of Albion since the rule of it's first king. A house renowned for producing heirs of unmatched physical might and tenacity-- as well as some of the most legendary beast slayers Albion has ever known. Charged with eliminating threats in the Northeastern territories of the kingdom, House Reinhardt upheld its oath to protect the people of Albion even centuries after the King had met his end.

But every vigil is destined to end eventually.

Through the countless years of fighting beasts and brigands and Fomorians alike, the overwhelming strength of the once great house was whittled away bit by bit. Constant fighting against tireless enemies slowly drained the House's numbers, ancient heirlooms were lost, stolen, or destroyed, what little crop the territories could muster was consumed just as fast as it could be produced. By the time Elias Reinhardt had come into the world, his mother, father, and uncle were the last of the Reinhardt line; the walls of their once venerable Castle Reinhardt crumbling and the many chambers within it's halls left dirty, and unkempt.

Even as the end loomed over what remained of house Reinhardt, the Lord of the house; ever dutiful to the people of Albion, still raised Elias as a knight. At age eight, Elias was was taught to wield a sword. At ten, he was taught to hunt. At fourteen he learned how to harvest useful materials from the bodies of beasts. At sixteen the young man was Knighted, and at eighteen the young warrior even managed to successfully drive off a great vulture; an Elder beast of misfortune, from the Northeastern territories.

At twenty-two years old, the young Elias Reinhardt was dispatched to face the most dangerous foe he'd ever faced. A Tuathan scholar that had been studying the nature a Fey artifact that had been discovered in the region had been driven mad by the twisted magics of the Unseelie, and threatened to make the lands of the Northeastern territories even more of a wasteland than they already were. For ten moons the Knight fought the mage; their battle raging without repose through night and day alike...

It is said that the young Reinhardt; though his armor and weapon had been broken beyond repair, returned to Castle Reinhardt without so much as a scratch... But forever changed.

Now the young knight travels South to the town of Airedale, carrying a letter addressed to the one rumored capable of saving the land; the very king his family had once so faithfully served.

Anything else:

• Elias is the first of house Reinhardt to leave the Northeastern territories since the end of the first King's reign.
• Despite his family's reputation as beast hunters, Elias himself seems to avoid people associated with the elder beasts.
• Elias has a tendency to accidentally break his weapons.
• The Reinhardt family birthmark often gives off a dull orange glow that intensifies proportional to physical effort.

Name: Ethelred

Age: 134 (26 when frozen, only recently thawed)

Gender: Male

Appearance: Ethelred currently cannot remove his armor, thus it is all anyone sees of him.

Abilities:
Ethelred was altered by a malevolent unseelie's curse, and is now what he has deemed "kin" to ice and snow. Freezing temperatures do not harm or hinder him, and he can see through ice, allowing him to navigate snowstorms and see through his frozen helmet. He can freeze things by touch, through his armor or even through the tip of his lance, and in enclosed spaces he can measurably chill the air around him. He doesn't seem to need to eat or drink, and he's not entirely sure why. He's also not entirely sure why the curse didn't affect his mind- perhaps the curse was flawed, or perhaps killing the fey stopped its progression before that point.

Another effect of the curse is that his armor seems to have fused with him, and taken on an icy, crystalline appearance. The armor slowly "heals" any damage inflicted upon it, including any attempt to shave off its crystalline protrusions. His lance and shield were also altered, but mercifully they were not merged with him.

Ethelred's horse, which suffered the same curse as him, remains a loyal companion despite its twisted appearance. Its horns and protrusions allow it to defend itself effectively, and like Ethelred, it's not bothered by freezing temperatures.

As a knight, Ethelred is skilled in the use of his lance both mounted and dismounted. It might not have a cutting edge, but it makes for a brutal bludgeon and the tip is quite sharp, as the fey that cursed him found out the hard way.

History:
Over a century ago, Ethelred was the youngest son of a noble family that controlled a small piece of land. Being somewhat removed in line to inherit their land, he was never particularly interested in politics and intrigue. Instead, he became a knight-errant, a wandering warrior seeking to emulate the heroic tales of the old king of Albion. He traveled the land, helped people, and battled bandits and raiders who would prey on the weak and vulnerable, and occasionally even came into conflict with supernatural malefactors. He never figured that his family would miss him- after all, he was the spare of a spare of a spare- and he reasoned they'd probably be more comfortable with one less potential claimant scheming to inherit.

While traveling through a rarely-treaded mountain pass, Ethelred was suddenly beset by a magical spell. His boots froze to the ground, and a layer of ice began to form around them, spreading up his legs. His horse fared no better, rooted to the spot by the same curse. As Ethelred tried in vain to free himself, an unseelie approached, its inhuman voice chuckling at the knight's plight. It gloated about how this curse was its doing, and how it would enjoy what came next but in the middle of its ramblings, Ethelred thrust his lance forward and stabbed the fey through the torso just before his right arm froze up, a final defiant blow.

As the evil fairy tried to pull itself free of the weapon, its face turned to horror as it saw the ice advancing along the lance. The last thing Ethelred remembers as his head froze over is seeing is the fey frantically struggling as it too was encased in an icy tomb, a victim of its own wicked curse. It's not an entirely bad way to die, he thought as it went black.

The next thing he remembered was waking up on the ground, having been freed from his frozen prison. Above him stood a radiant woman, sword in hand. She spoke of the king's return, the beasts being slain, the fey facing retribution, and traitors facing reckoning. By the time Ethelred regained enough strength to stand up and ask who she was, she was gone. Stirring awake next to him was what he initially believed to be some sort of elder beast before he realized it was his horse, twisted into some sort of strange ice creature by the unseelie's curse.

It didn't take Ethelred long to realize that he too was changed by the curse. His armor, which had taken a strange crystalline appearance, would not come off, including his helmet. The freezing cold temperatures no longer bothered him, and found himself no longer growing hungry or thirsty. His first was to interrogate the fey that cursed him, still frozen with his lance in its chest. He attempted to free the unseelie by smashing the ice that imprisoned it, but this only caused the frozen fairy to shatter into pieces. If it wasn't dead before, it was definitely dead now. At least his lance wasn't broken, though.

With little hope of finding more information on this curse, he descended the mountain and found a changed land. It seems he had been frozen for over a hundred years now, and things had gotten even worse in Albion over that period. He also learned that the frozen forms of him, his horse, and the fey had not gone unnoticed, and had gained some local fame as "The Frozen Knight", as both a landmark for those navigating the mountains, and as a symbol of human defiance against the Unseelie. It was a relief to him that the local highlanders weren't afraid of him, and it was probably a relief to them that he intended to be the very symbol of human spirit and resilience that they had made him out to be.

Ethelred set out in search of the woman that freed him. He traveled from town to town, helping the locals, taking time to master his new powers, and catch up on the state of Albion. By the time he reached the queen to pledge himself to her, having decided her goal was a worthy one, word had already gotten around of his deeds.

Anything else:
About 40 years ago, his family got into a conflict with another noble family and ended up getting wiped out, and their castle reduced to a ruin. The perpetrator of the massacre, currently the rival family head, is still alive but elderly, and Ethelred wants justice. For now he's stayed his hand, either because he wants to help the queen establish a law of the land by which justice can be carried out, or perhaps he's biding his time because as the saying goes, revenge is a dish best served cold.

Another thing is that while he doesn't want to lose his powers, he would at least like to be able to find a way to take off his armor.