Our Heroes

Sire Chevalier Orian de Cervange

Orian is the son of Lady Arielle de Russiant. Lady Arielle was defiled by Orcs in an unfortunate border raid incident, leaving her pregnant with Orian. Disgraced, she vowed never to marry and have more children, becoming a Nun of the Holy Sepulchre and devoting her life to God. Touched by her devotion and the sadness of her plight, longtime friend, admirer/paramour Lord Gérualde de Cervange adopted young Orian, training him to become a knight. Some say true compassion and love motivated the Lord, foul tongues of courtly intrigue prefer to whisper Lord Gérualde wanted an exotic trophy champion to impress and foster attention at court jousts and other social events.

Telinyar Celorrelin

Telinyar is a seer and mystic who hails from a known druid circle north of Furyondy. He is almost always in the company of a skilled man-at-arms named Jacon. Of half-elven descent, he never speaks of his human half, calling it his one shortcoming. He claims relation to a powerful family of elves in the Vesve, but rarely mentions their name. Instead, he focuses on stories of shadowy futures that he is seeking to understand.

Sister & Lady Slainie Harmsworth

Half-sister to Helio Harmsworth (see below), Slainie became a Nun of the Holy Sepulchre. Was it a true calling, trying to avoid the drudgery of an unwanted marriage, or admiration for her older Brother Keyon who joined the Clergy? No-one truly knows. Abducted by the Ghost of Lady Haedreline Rumbold (mistress to the now deceased Hierarch Vazirian, one of the 13 old rulers of the Horned Society) and the Cold One (Ogre Mage) near Admundfort, she was rescued by Helio and saved from death by a miracle through the Priest and Mystic Selred (see below). A spiritual awakening began in Slainie.

Sir Léssilié du Marais

A minor noble Lord Knight from the northern lands of Furyondy, Sir Du Marais has provided for his family, his wife and 3 children, by trading goods in areas some would shy away from due to the dangerous nature of the borderlands.Though not a skilled merchant himself, he is assisted by his clever wife Dame Hermeline De Fiercastel. He makes up for his lack of business acumen through strength at arms, buttressed by risk taking, cunning and bravery.

Signora Anna Ursini Di Caronna

A minor noble Lady from the Furyondyan lands of Caronne bordering Veluna, the bright Signora Ursini is both skilled merchant and scholar, having delved in astrology and unlocked the secrets of the Celestial Order of magic (official school of magic sanctioned in Furyondy). The young married lady has done the exceptional, leaving traditional wife duties of home and child raising to travel the land and fully participate in the affairs of state, commerce and intellectual growth.

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Sharyl Mel'ettana / Elicia de Beaumont

Elicia de Beaumont was born to a human father and an elven mother a few decades ago. Her parents were from a minor noble house, with no real territory or riches to speak of but a lineage from father to first son that can be traced back six centuries.

Unfortunately, she didn't have much of a chance to learn about it, since during the fight against the Horned Society, her father sent her mother and her away to safety among the elves, who would protect them until peace was restored.
But once the Shield Lands got their hard won and bitter victory, her father was no more, killed in combat, his few properties burned. So she stayed with the elves and was raised in their society, until she decided it was time to learn more about her parentage. Unused to the ways of humans, and more than able to fend for herself, she went without an escort and joined the caravan.

Or is she? For it seems Elicia is a Drow in disguise called Sharyl Mel'ettana.

Alsten Othmire (falcon: Ash)

A woodsman and hunter of some skill, Alsten seems reluctant to share too much of his past. While he is clearly not of noble upbringing or heritage, he does seem informed enough in the goings on of a noble household and the people who work within it. He is more at home alone in the woods, accompanied by his falcon Ash. Prone to speaking his mind, he clearly lacks the social skills of the more lordly, speaking bluntly and honestly.

During time of rest and a few too many drinks, around a campfire or in a tavern, he will occasionally open up about the family he left in the south. Two older brothers, dead now from a excursion into the northern Shield Lands, and his mother. He never brings up his father, telling any who ask that it is a subject better off left unspoken.

Why has he ventured north? Revenge he'd say, and to do something right. "My brothers died in those lands, fighting to reclaim them from the evils that still dwell there. To continue that fight is the least I can do".

When asked about the falcon that he keeps at all times, his response: "I raised Ash from birth.... we've never spent more than a night apart. He's the closest thing to a family I have out here".

Gareth Tolan

Gareth comes from a military family. His father and uncle are both soldiers who survived the first war. They distinguished themselves in various battles and impressed Helio's father, who recruited them both into his personal service. As a result, Gareth was brought up within the larger household of Lord Harmsworth. He received extensive military training, but also learned something of etiquette and behaviour in the courts of the great.

He is the same age as Lord Helio. When the young lord departed on his own path, the senior Lord Harmsworth assigned Gareth to be the young noble's bodyguard. As the family's fortunes have waned, Gareth has also taken on the role of personal valet, though it sometimes forces him to scrounge to keep up appearances. He takes both responsibilities seriously, but the family circumstances and Helio's nature make both difficult.

Gareth is best known for his catchphrase "Get behind me, my Lord!" which he calls out whenever danger threatens, and which Helio all too often ignores.

Master Bertram Reeve

Bertram was born in Aldmundfort of the Shieldlands to a relatively well-off Castellan named Everard Reeve. Everard was, through much luck and some careful planning, able to pay for young Bertram to be educated by a Furyondese tutor who’d come to the shieldlands named Paschal D’Eschelles. He was made D’Eschelles’ apprentice, and would travel with him and study under him for much of his early life. He was given an advanced education and, when he was in his mid-twenties, He traveled to Greyhawk with Paschal in order to take advantage of its greater resources (libraries, other scholars, and a constantly renewed supply of corpses). He developed a general distaste for magic, especially, while in Greyhawk. He argued that it posed a threat to the feudal structure of society, as a rival power, and that the ‘ban’ on necromancy should be expanded to include a number of other magics, if not magic as a whole. He was not alone with these beliefs, but he was part of a distinct minority, so when he received news of his father becoming ill, he took the opportunity to return home. He took employment with a young lord Harmsworth (Helio’s father) in his early 30s, ready to settle in. He continued to engage with scholars in Greyhawk and Furyondy, exchanging ideas and keeping up with the latest discoveries. When word of a pending invasion came, he took up arms as a crossbowman, but his primary contribution was, as always, in advising the lord on matters of strategy and on the logistics of battle.

After the invasion, he remained a part of Lord Harmsworth’s (father) retinue. Part of his responsibilities included the tutoring of lord Helio Harmsworth, though he showed limited interest in learning.

Prior to the campaign, he received a letter from a fellow academic in Greyhawk, in which he suggested the possibility of Iuz’s influence on the recent conflict. Thus, when (for whatever reason) it was decided that Helio would travel north, Bertram requested that he be sent as part of his retinue. He has a responsibility to Helio, and perhaps an emotional attachment from knowing him so long, but his goals are also to investigate this matter. He means to either contest Iuz’s influence where he can, or at least gather evidence which he might use to bolster his position against magic (/Iuz-Chaos).

Bertram married in Greyhawk, and his wife Johanna was left behind at their home with lord Harmsworth. She was a merchant’s daughter, and performs the duties one might expect of a woman in her position. He has no sons, but he has had two daughters, both married.

Lord Helio Harmsworth

Half-elf from a minor Shield Lander noble family, son of Lord Waldron Harmsworth of Admundfort. Obviously not the son of his human step-mother Lady Adelia (step-mother), it is rumored a tryst during the Lord's wood trade with Furyondy and the nearby Elven Vesve lands may be  behind Helio's heritage.

Helio has five siblings: Jalen a Knight killed in the recent war against Osric, Keyon who joined the church, Slainie who became a nun, Braden a Knight who fought in the Osric war and Karoly “Kara".

Father Selred the Mystic

Little is known about Selred except he was badly scared and maimed during the recent wars, losing his left hand. He hails from the countryside, and was ordained as Priest by the aging Bishop Aylomen of Alant.

Yarvier

Yarvier is a Tiefling whose past remains a mystery to this date.