Tancred Brightblade

Tancred Brightblade, also known as the King of Fools, is a Wood Elf Paladin thought to be exploring the Feywild. His exact whereabouts have been unknown since the 1040s.
He was the second warrior to wield the Butterfly Katana, after his father Jio Brightblade.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Tancred Brightblade was born in the Eldar Wood to Jio and Ume Brightblade. Because of Jio's previous generosity to a stranger who turned out to be an avatar of Dagda, Tancred was marked by the gods to receive eighty-eight years' worth of guidance and blessing from Lugos. He studied as an acolyte at Threnlíla-in-Lugos, after which he joined the training ranks of the Phalanx of the Wild.
Tancred was only at the Citadel of the Wild for a short while before an older Lugosian paladin named Argirio te-Lugos had a vision that led him to the cave of Master Kento. There, Argirio found the lost sword of Jio Brightblade and convinced Master Kento to return it to his heir. Once Tancred had his father's blade, the swordmasters of the citadel saw fit to put him in a Phalanx alongside Argirio te-Lugos.
Tancred's Phalanx served the Citadel until Y1007, when they were forced to disband after the exaltation of Isaura Lebëmya. He became the Kaiwel from the Citadel to Arborcítta and married Argirio's daughter Amenaide in Y1011. Argirio did not approve of the marriage because of the age gap between the two and shunned both his daughter and his old friend. Tancred and Amenaide had their only child Careth (better known as Butterfly) in Y1015.
In Y1032, word reached Tancred that Argirio had disappeared on a mission to the Feywild. He decided to follow him in the hopes of saving and reconciling with his old friend. Though he eventually found Argirio bound as a Fool of the Fey in the Caisléan Artannaegh, he was unable to win his freedom from the Queen of the Night. She scattered Argirio's soul and bound Tancred to the Tome of Telwyth-Teg as her new fool.
Tancred served as a Fool of the Fey for an unusually long time and was eventually known as the King of Fools. In Y1111, his daughter Butterfly (then an experienced Warrior Monk of Danu) set out to rescue him and was herself captured by the Queen of the Night. She pledged herself as the Queen's Champion in order to secure her father's safety. As the Tome of Telwyth-Teg was already safely hidden away in the possession of Butterfly's friend Rusalka, she and Tancred were able to slip away from the Winter Court undetected. Their current whereabouts are unknown.

Species

Elf

Ethnicity

Wood Elf

Professions

• Paladin
• Planewalker

Currently Held Titles

• Aistanë
• Fool of the Fey

Appears in...

• A Tale of Golden Apples