Lord Alaric Bronzen ap Gwydion
Remembrance
Alaric's memory does not extend long. He admits vague traces of his time spent in Arcadia only decades ago, although it seems like an eternity and just last night at the same time. That is the temporal mentality of the sidhe, it seems. These visions come to Alaric most often as he sleeps or at least naps. Provided one of his "twistermares" do not disturb his rest, Alaric can awaken and write down in his dream journal just what he envisioned. His memories are fairly limited in scope, but they did draw him back to what must be his personal motif: the power of the storm.
Retinue
Alaric has four staff members in his household. These humans are not Enchanted, but they are loyal to the Baron and aware of his true nature. They know little of the fae ways, however -- only that secrecy must be maintained. None of them are too dangerous to the security of the fae, and they're all limited in skill to their professional tasks. Alaric's small staff includes a portly, middle-aged woman named Ginger Young, the house cook. It also includes James Engelwood, an elderly man in his late 60s; he's the house grounds keeper. The middle-aged Kemper Lee is the household butler and is a skillful steward in general. Finally, Douglas Port drives Alaric's car as chauffeur.
Alaric currently possesses two reliable, honorable, and loyal vassals, bound to him by Oath and vice versa. They are both knights of the realm -- Sir Tantos Vert ap Gwydion and Sir Garland Young ap Fiona. Alaric can claim no other vassals or retainers at his small freehold yet. But when emergencies dawn, Alaric knows he can count on the Seelie of the Barony to help...though in what fashion, he does not know. He would like to recruit Kithain to fill the needs of his stressed household but lacks the magnetism even if he boasts the commanding air.
Chimera
Spiked Mace
Level: 2
Origin: Hauled back from Arcadia, Alaric has always wielded Hawk's Head for as long as he can remember. It was likely crafted for the Gwydion ages ago in Arcadia.
Description: This mace is forty inches in total length and made of the finest Dougal-forged steel, save for halfway down the haft. The bottom half of the handle is made of fine oak heartwood that seems to glow with healthy vigor. Stenciled into the wood are forgotten runes that bind the weapon to Alaric -- his true name, perhaps.
Effects: It's a big mace.
Glamour Costs: Mace: 0; #1: 0
Activation: Start swinging; smart people will duck.
Chain Mail
Level: 2
Origin: Like his mace, this battle armor was crafted for Alaric for his trials of duty ahead ages ago.
Description: Crafted of fine Dougal steel, the armor consists primarily of steel links that form a curtain of flexible protection over his torso and upper arms. The chain mail shirt falls to his lower thighs, protecting the groin. A sturdy belt binds it at his waist. A cuirass delivers thicker protection at his chest beneath the chain links while the links are thinner at his sides to provide greater mobility. His entire backside boasts the chain protection, too. Draped over the chain shirt is a mantle of fine fabric in forest-green, while a hawk's wingspan extends up around the collar towards the back of his neck -- the Gwydion symbol.
Effects: No special effects -- it's just fine armor that provides 2 dice of protection, though its weight subtracts one die from Dexterity rolls.
Glamour Costs: Armor: 0; #1: 0
Activation: Wear it with pride.
Bunk Styles
Style: Magic Realism
Examples: Walk widdershins 3 times, break a mirror and gaze into shards, find a 4-leaf clover, call court to order, rally forces
Freehold
Mortal Seeming: ~A dirt road cuts through the prairie to reach this estate in the middle of the grasslands outside of a small agricultural town called Ridgewood, Kansas. Box hedges surround a garden of irises and roses and orchids around the mansion's front and sides. The back is a few acres of clear lawn leading back to the edge of the tall wild grasses. The mansion itself rises three stories, built recently from fine pine heartwood and painted a stormy-gray. A black roof caps the large building, several spires peaking out from that surface to gaze down upon the Midwest plains. Windows mark the placement of every room within the mansion, suggesting that there are at least twenty different rooms in the new but weathered ten year old house.
The inside delivers what a visitor would expect. A grandiose main hall greets the visitor just beyond the entrance chamber. The black-and-white checkered tile floor spans the entire wide room. A high ceiling permits the main hall's primary interest. Surrounded by a fountain and pool rises a single, huge boulder. It resembles granite but its striations inform geologists that it is gneiss. There doesn't seem to be much about the rock except that it towers some fifteen feet and has something circular and made of brass on the top. Some ten feet above the rock, however, visitors can see that the second floor includes a walkway around the entire main hall. Over the rail, viewers can peer down at the floor and that boulder and fountain. From this view, encircling Celtic patterns are most evident surrounding the boulder. In the main hall, doors lead off into the main dining hall, where sits a long banquet table. A huge kitchen with everything a chef could ever need stands adjacent here. A bathroom exists helpfully on the first floor, not far from a huge den. The den includes numerous plush sofas and chairs, and it is decorated in burgundy red for a mellow feel. A fireplace stands against the wall in here, and so does a well-stocked bar.
Finally, a wide staircase opens from the study, accepting visitors and inhabitants to climb up to the second and third floors. Both the second and third floors are host to a total of only seven suites total. However, these rooms are grand suites, possessing rich furnishings, plenty of elbow space, and their own personal bathrooms. Four reside on the second floor and three on the third. The owner of the house keeps one of the suites furnished differently, as his personal study and library. On the third floor along the hall, tug-down cords dangle from the ceiling to allow access to the four spires peeking up from the roof. They grant a beautiful view of the flat horizon for miles around.~
Fae Mien: ~The house is actually Caer Inis, of course. Upon approach, one views not a proud mansion but a small castle. The abode of the Baron of Brass Horizons impacts on the landscape with its thick granite walls. Windows narrow and the four spires on the roof become high guard towers with sharp peaks. Fluttering in the breeze between the foretowers are two pennants, one unmistakably the blazon of House Gwydion. The other is Lord Alaric's own pennant: the outline of a golden hawk descending on a field, talons open to catch its prey -- the background hue is midnight blue. The actual flora and fauna of Caer Inis varies little from its mundane seeming. However, one will readily notice that the sky darkens to a deep gray and stays that way always. A strong storm wind whips through, though the wild grasses of nearby fields and the gardens alike seem resilient against this elemental punishment.
The inside of the castle changes immensely, of course. Electric wall sconces become torch and candle-bearing light sources. The flames flicker (but do not extinguish) with a sharp breeze that permeates even these thick walls. Wood paneling becomes unbreakable granite cobble. Wall-to-wall carpeting becomes royal treads of fine cotton down granite halls. Every room reflects in this throwback finery, modern comforts vanishing or becoming archaic but utilitarian devices. But most changed of all lies at the heart of the freehold. In the main hall, from which stream Gwydion, Dougal, Fiona, and Brass Horizons banners, that fountain and pool bubbles like a hot spring around the boulder. The boulder itself even seems different. The striated gneiss seems to pulse lightly with some energy deep within its heart. The engraved patterns on the stonework floor by the boulder brighten with light anytime a changeling would dare the Rath and enter the Dreaming. Once through those lightning-bright rings, one finds himself in the Near Dreaming. Once the brave changeling leaves the manor, he finds a wide country road cutting through the wind-swept grasses...at least in the spring and summer, during tornado season. Otherwise, there is only tall grass filled with all kinds of chimerae and dangers. And finally, on top of the rock, burns the deep-green balefire in a brass brazier. The Glamour throbs from the freehold's heart when one comes to stand before its beauty. Hope still thrives today and Lord Alaric is obliged to guard it with his life.~
Links
Character Stats
Character Profiles
Grassland Games
E-mail me!
Main Character Hub
Back to Game Hub