Appearance

Physical Description

Lean and muscular thanks to his knight training. He always carries himself with dignified posture.

Facial Features

Freckles and a rather large nose

Mentality

Personal history

I was born to Clodomir and Morgan of the house Brown in Astor. My family ran a well-to-do merchant enterprise out of the capital city of Torlune. Shortly before my birth, they incurred the good favor of the late King Caradas. In a display of generosity, he elevated our family to the lesser nobility, creating the house Brown. We received ownership of a small estate and the surrounding lands in the fields northwest of the city.


My mother had a rough pregnancy, but both my life and hers were spared due to the blessing of Deneir and the skill of the elfen sage Rathal, in whose laboratory I was born. I was named after the King, whose generosity had so honored my parents. With the increased responsibilities of running a noble house, both of my parents were consumed by work. As a result, I was raised by one of the family retainers, a wise halfling I would grow to love like a father named Hilduin Bilberry.


Hilduin was one of the Scribes of the Path, the disciples of Deneir. He sparked a love of knowledge within me, teaching me with a particular focus in history, philosophy, and natural sciences. Because I was the youngest of four children, I had the least responsibility toward maintaining the house Brown. My three brothers, Inigo, Adalolf, Vedast, were all groomed to take on various positions in the government and to oversee our holdings. My parents eventually decided that I would become a knight of the kingdom. In addition to my intellectual training, I began training as a knight under Sir Jaonos, an elven knight.


When I was 20 years old, our family had a dark revelation. One of our loyal and favored servants, a female halfling named Ingoberg Chubb, was on her deathbed. Wracked with guilt, she confessed to the assembled members of our family a sin she had committed 21 years earlier. At the prodding our mother, she had bribed the late King Caradas. He hadn't elevated our family to the nobility out of generosity, but because he had been bribed. We were all shocked by the revelation. With her deed exposed, my mother Morgan gave the full story. The Brown family merchant business had been on the brink of ruin. In an act of desperation, she had liquidated a portion of our failing assets and used them to bribe the King. The consequent wealth that we had inherited had been more than enough to pay off the family debts and get us back on a firm financial footing.


My family and I were riddled with emotions over this revelation. Obviously what my mother had done was wrong. But it had helped our family avoid falling into ruin. There were worse things in the world than bribery. At least no one was hurt. That's what I told myself in order to reconcile my feelings about my mother. We all vowed never to speak of this secret, less the truth come out and destroy our family. Now that we were nobility, we only had further to fall.


When I was 25 years old, the Alzram Empire extended a hand of political friendship to Astor. A fair halfling maiden by the name of Olivia from the house Elvellon was eligible for marriage, and Alzram wanted her matched with a noble from Astor. House Elvellon was descended several generations down from one of Alzram's dragonriders, so they were now relatively obsolete and held little political sway. For this reason, the King of Astor sought to find a suitable match of low political clout. And that is how I ended up married to Olivia Elvellon.


Olivia and I were immediately engaged and only met three months before our wedding, hosted of course in the Lavender City of Alzram itself. Despite an awkward start, we found that we had much in common. Every day I thank Deneir for this blessing in disguise. Olivia is a marvelous philosopher in her own right and shares my love of learning. Not only that, but she is a devout follower of Deneir. We both share an interest in the lives of the common citizens and make sure to treat our retainers fairly.


After our marriage, I left my family home behind and moved into the Elvellon estate at the outskirts of Amethyst. I became a knight of the Alzram Empire. For the most part, life was good. I could tell that Olivia's family wished she had married higher up into a noble family, but they were outwardly pleasant at least. It helped that she and I liked each other. The outlier was her older brother Drogon, an adventuring wizard. For some reason, he took great offense at me, and although he is rarely around the capital, takes every opportunity to take a jab at me. Life was good, but I felt like something was missing.


The most interesting thing to happen to me in my life happened just last year. In preparation for the year's Great Exchange of Deneir, I was in Amethyst's temple to Deneir helping to catalogue some old tomes. Suddenly there was a flash of red light and standing next to me was a alien being. I cannot adequately describe his form, as it fluctuated between various humanoid and beastly visages like the flickering of a candle. He introduced himself as Raphael, a herald of Deneir.


I was struck with terror as he began to reprimand me. He listed several of the tenets of Deneir:

If you never venture out, how can you know life is true?
To be a scholar is to live the richest life, but only if he leaves the library to use his knowledge.
When one leaves to explore the world, guess what? They find it.

They say 'curiosity killed the cat,' I say, 'at least the cat was brave enough to try.'

Known Languages

Common, halfling, dwarvish

Personality

Motivation

Honoring his pact with Raphael, a herald of Deneir, and seeking out adventure

Quotes & Catchphrases

They say 'curiosity killed the cat', but at least the cat was brave enough to try.

Savvies & Ineptitudes

Skilled in religion, history, philosophy, and rhetoric
Inept at knowledge of magic, outdoor survival, nature, and sports

Social

Birthplace

Torlune, Astor

Current Residence

Amethyst

Honorary & Occupational Titles

Sir Knight

Wealth & Financial state

Lesser nobility

Family Ties

Born into the Brown noble family in Astor. Married into the Elvellon noble family in the Alzram Empire.

Religious Views

Follower of Deneir

Social Aptitude

Very charismatic and adept in all sorts of social situations, ranging from common folk to upper nobility.

Mannerisms

Smiles often, always carries himself with proper posture

Speech

Has a Astorian drawl