PCs:Bronwen Blacksteel

Bronwen Blacksteel

Background : Bronwen was born to a family of minor nobles in the city of Mikona, capital of M'Chek. Her father, Bronn, was a Paladin of Gorethar and had served the temple dutifully for many years, making quite a name for himself. As Bronwen was an only child, there was no chance of the noble Bronn having his legacy passed on to a son, so he looked upon her as the son he never had.

Much to her mother's dismay, Bronwen was very much a Tom-boy, forever getting herself into all sorts of mischief with the less respectable children of the city. It was only natural that her father would want her to continue the good family name, and he tutored her in the use of blade and bow before she was a teenager. It appeared that Bronn wanted to encourage Bronwen to become a Paladin like himself, and even went so far as enrolling her name in the Temple of Gorethar as a candidate for the Academy there.

When Bronwen was just 17 her father died whilst campaigning in Northern M'Chek, slain by a fearsome giant who also took the lives of a dozen other brave men that day. One of the survivors returned to the Blacksteel manor with her father's blade and harness and told his weeping widow the tale of how 'Bronn the Brave' had perished.

Unable to cope with the loss of her father and the stress of living with her grieving mother, Bronwen left home and headed straight to the Temple of Gorethar. Fulfilling her father's wish, she joined the church as a Paladin and took her holy vows of duty and responsibility that very day. She also swore that day that she would never again shed another tear, for there was no-one left in the world that she had loved as much as her father. No-one would ever hurt her, for now she was dedicated to her God, and he would shield her from the anguish that such close relationships ultimately bring about.

After four years of study and training, Bronwen passed her final assesment with flying colours. Even the High Priest was amazed by her talent and intuitive understanding of the doctrine of Gorethar. He predicted that great things would one day be carried out by this 'slip of a girl from a home devastated by grief'.

Taking her few meager possessions with her, Bronwen left Mikona on a ship bound for Lake Eridanus and the port city of Elysia. This was a place her father had told her about most often. Elysia was a vast melting pot where all peoples lived in peace and the better side of all mortals could be witnessed plainly and unashamedly. Bronn made his daughter promise that if she ever became a Paladin, she would head to Elysia to seek her destiny there. The great man was ever a believer in prophecy and had purportedly been granted a vision from Gorethar, that a descendant of his blood would one day be one of the greatest Paladins in all of Avlis.

Hoping to make her father proud, she arrived in Elysia with her head held high and with dreams of serving this wonderful city dutifully and bravely, like a true Blacksteel.

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In the Winter of 2167 A.O.D. Bronwen met another Paladin of Gorethar, one Otto Von Hubris. Hubris showed Bronwen what it truly meant to be a paladin and a faithful follower of the Battle Lord. Whilst on one of her many lessons, Bronwen was visited by an angel, who tested her faith and piety, with Hubris looking on as witness. Answering with wisdom all the questions put to her by the Holy One, Bronwen was gifted a mystical suit of plate armour in the fashion of a true paladin. From that day she has worn this harness with pride and as a reminder of that glorious day when her Lord favoured her with such a gift.

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In the Spring of 2168 A.O.D. Bronwen received news that her mother had died peacefully in her house in Mikona. Bronwen put on a stern face and organised the funeral arrangements and the selling of all property owned by the Blacksteel family. After paying the family debtors the resulting funds didn't amount to much, but Bronwen quickly gave this to the poor folk of Mikona. Of the family heirlooms, only the Blacksteel family armour remained, there was no sign of her father's blade, 'Pious Hope'. A family retainer informed Bronwen that a man had come shortly after she had left for Elysia and taken the blade with him when he left. The retainer assumed that it was to be delivered to Bronwen, but this was not the case, and it became apparent that the man had either stolen it or swindled it from her mother's possession. Bronwen then swore an oath that she would not rest until she had located the Blacksteel family blade and administered Gorethar's justice to the thief, whoever he may be.