Bran

Bran the Blade (Birth name: Brenthalion)

Wandering Blademaster

The Early Years

Bran, then responding to his birth name Brenthalion, dwelt on his family's ancestral lands in south central Sedas. For reasons never revealed to him, the forests there seemed a touch more Otherworldly than normal, even for the sylvan groves of Sedasi song. This queer quality seemed to imbue everything that transpired there with a tranquil, dream-like quality. The young elf did not care for it, he for most of his formative years he found it all stifling, and incredibly boring.
The only feature which redeemed the area in Brenthalion's opinion was the Enclave of Sublime Blades, a gathering place for elven Blademasters. The Enclave Compound served as part court, part dojo, part museum, and part retirement estate for the ancient and venerable masters of styles and traditions going back to ancient times. Some styles claim to trace ancestry to times before the elves arrived on this plane, but this is debated among the Sedasi Blademasters even now. The adolescent elf spent a great deal of time working as a page of sorts for the masters, as only swordplay could hold his attention. His family noted his interest and seized on this opportunity to have their scion actually do something honorable for the community, for a change. It was whispered among many that Brenthalion's unseemly impetuousness, along with his dark eyes and hair, hinted at a polluted ancestry, some mingling of human blood with his line far in the past. His parents had no such features, and the apperance of such in Brenthalion was considered ill-fated by the local community. Most of the elves were kind enough to pretend not to notice, but there were certainly enough over the years who would whisper in the ear of another at his approach, perhaps sparing him a pitying glance if they felt at all sorry for the 'poor unfortunate child'.
Even within the serene protection of the otherworldly nature of this part of Sedas, stories of turmoil from the capital Rhys would reach the local's ears. When Brenthalion was but a babe in arms, the entire Kingdom had been rocked by turmoil when the King fell ill and retired from ruling. Princess Yaris accused the Heir Prince Cir of poisoning, resulting in her being tried for treason. This resulted in the fracturing of Elven Orders and the Princesses flight from Sedas. 70 years later, during Brenthalion's late adolescence, about the time he started his Pageship with the Enclave, Crown Price Cir banished the good Priesthood of Rhys and ordered the destruction of their sacred Cathedrals. It was not long after before dark rumors of necromancy where reported occurring in the Royal Court. By this point, the young elf was very disillusioned with the state of Sedas, would have despaired had another event in the Enclave not distracted him.

Varothin's Folly

And so it came to pass, the ancient and venerable master Varothin perceived the end of his long life, and began the age-old process of making peace with his earthly existence and choosing his successor. As keeper of the Way of the Sanctified Blade, it was his duty to appoint and train a new master and curator of the style. The Enclaves other Masters and keepers speculated as to which of the handful of dutiful elven warriors would be chosen. The Enclave, and to a more limited extent the local elven community at large, was scandalized when Varothin chose a grizzled human gladiatorial veteran and mercenary from the lands of Gir.
It was true, the early middle-aged human picked up the style and within two years could demonstrate its forms and movements flawlessly, much to the dismay of the nay-saying masters. This did nothing to help, as these masters now felt embarrassment in addition to horror that such a great unbroken line of elven heritage was sullied by a human. There was little they could do, as Varothin was the eldest living master at the time, and thus beholden to no-one where matters of the Enclave and and the stewardship of his style were concerned. Will as strong as adamant, the elderly master stuck to his choice, stating that there was no one else who was ready at that time that could serve this role better than the human. This changed upon Varothin's death. Released from the required deference due a living elder master, the shunning and sneering turned to outright hostility. Varothin's memorial service was held, all the proper observances were seen to. The moment it was over, mourners turned to lynch mob, and the human was chased out of Sedas with nothing but the clothes on his back. The long illustrious tradition of the Sanctified Edge style was pronounced dead. Then Enclave only refers to the event now as "Varothin's Folly", always with a sad voice.

The Forging of the Blade

Fortunately for the human, whom Brenthalion knew as 'Tomas', the young elf was absolutely disgusted with the behavior of the others. This was not honorable at all! It was bad enough that the Capital had become a treacherous den of vipers, was this the fate of all of Sedas as well? While they chased Tomas from the forests, Brenthalion crept into the abandoned quarters and gathered up what items of the human's he could pack. He had no access to the Enclave's armory, so the priceless and powerful elven blades and gear that were the human's due had to be left behind. However he did find Tomas's personal blade, and that he took with him. Stealing a horse (one of the more hateful masters' personal steed) and made for the Sedasi border. He left his old life, and even his name, behind.

Connections with other Characters

Aidan Stormcrow: Prince of Pentacles
Barron: Art + The Return
Sorlandira Amneshai: The Queen of Disks