With strong, thick limbs and a heavily muscled build, Bellas looks every bit the fighter, though his short-cropped hair and rough beard are beginning to show the first signs of gray. Having moved from battle field to battle field all his life, his face and body show it in the form of many scars, the most obvious being a large diagonal slash that bisects his right eyebrow, and the hideous mass of scar tissue that represents the ruins of his left ear and stretches along that side of his face up into his scalp, giving the left back and side of his hairline a jagged appearance.
Marital Status: Widower
Children: Two sons, ages 17 and 14.
Alignment: Lawful Neutral with a good few questionable actions under his belt.
Companions:
Stephan Basimhaul and
Matteus
Allies: Frostcairne and the Sarayan Lowlands
Enemies: Goldhallow, Coppervale, and all others loyal to King Halvard.
The Lives of True Men
Carreau Rhadamanth, the demon of the western lands, born of the blood of the Archesh, sired three children. First there was Vaali, a warrior like his father and a great leader of men. Second came Nikandor, whose mind was swift, but whose body was broken. Last of all was born his daughter Samia, and as she grew, word of her beauty spread throughout the land.
When Samia came of age, many great men vied for her hand, and she was given in marriage to the Baron of Grey Helm, in the hopes that it would solidify the shaky peace between Capricorsia and his province. For several years after, the two lands existed in a sublime peace, and she bore her husband four fine children.
One day, however, she overheard her husband having words with a messenger from the king of Anteor, who sought to expand his holdings and unify the region under a single god and crown: the Baron had formed a pact with the king and troops would soon be heading west from Steigan’s Watch and the surrounding areas in order to subdue the ever defiant Capricorsia and its allies in Frostcairne.
Gathering those few servants that she trusted around her, Samia sent two of them out. The first was to carry a letter to her family in Brawnforge, telling them of the Baron’s betrayal, and to the second, she entrusted her young children. Unwilling to let her babies become casualties of war, she had them spirited away to the care of the priests of the old gods who lived on the edge of the Fae Haunts.
That night, she sent up prayers for the safety of her children and prepared the wine for her husband and his men, mixing in potent poisons brewed from toadstools and the roots of fae arrows. Unsuspecting, the Baron and many of his men drank deeply, only to choke on black bile and their own blood.
When Samia’s betrayal was realized, the late Baron’s nephew and heir to the title ordered her burned at the stake.
Soon word of both the Baron’s betrayal and Samia’s death reached her family. The armies were massed, and Carreau, too old to take the field himself, sent Vaali at their head.
The battles that followed were vicious and brutal, each side fueled by rage and vengeance. Each time Vaali took the field, he descended like a storm out of nightmares, cutting a swath of death through the enemy troops. One day, however, in the heat of combat, his thoughts blurred by the red rage of the slaughter, Vaali found himself surrounded by enemy knights, and though he fought well and valiantly, he was brought down.
Carreau, enraged and grief stricken by the deaths of his children, refused to let old age and failing health get the better of him. Rumors of madness began to spread, but the western demon paid them no heed as he saddled his horse and rode into battle for the last time.
With his family destroyed and his troops beginning to tire, Nikandor alone was left to face the newly arrived armies of Anteor.
Now Carreau’s second son had never been a warrior. A terrible fall in his early childhood had left his legs broken and twisted, rendering him lame and unable to fight. Knowing that he couldn’t lead the army and concerned for the lives of his wife and young sons, Bellas and Lorens, he prepared to bargain with the king.
Marina
In spite of their occupation and the spread of the faith of Amergen that came with it, Capricorsia prospered under Nikandor’s leadership, and they maintained friendly relations with the other regions that fell under the aegis of Anteor.
During the peace, Bellas grew into a strong young man and a capable warrior. Unable to directly command the armies himself in the field and weary at heart from the memories of violence, Nikandor gave that duty over to his son. While he never forgot the old wrongs and the sacrifices his family had made, he was willing to honor his father’s wishes and respect the ways of the nation as a whole.
One day, however, while participating in a tournament in the Sarayan Lowlands, Bellas caught sight of Marina, the daughter of the duke of that region, who was himself a close friend of Nikandor. Her beauty overcame him, and in spite of the rumors that her mother had been half fae, and that her blood was dangerous, he set about pursuing her. But when he asked her if she would be his bride, she told him, with no small measure of regret, that she had been promised in marriage to the Baron of Grey Helm. When he heard the news, he kneeled before her and kissed the perfect, white skin of her hands, promising that if it had to be so, the Baron of Grey Helm would indeed be her husband. Throughout the rest of the tournament, he pledged every fight to Marina and felled every opponent that stood before him.
Once Bellas returned home, he ignored his father’s will and without informing him, marched army south to the border of Grey Helm, calling upon the ancient right of a blood feud to keep the crown and other provinces from intervening. Without aide, the men of Grey Helm were driven back, and soon he lay siege to noble Valinguard itself. With an army before him and the rocky cliffs behind, the Baron knew that he had no choice but to accept Bellas’s challenge and fight him man to man. Though he fought bravely and with honor, the Baron was slain.
Assuming the title himself, Bellas put an end to the enmity between the regions that ran generations deep, then rode forth to the Lowlands. With the seal of Valinguard in hand, he went before the Duke at Malincourt and told him that as the Baron of Grey Helm, he had come to claim his bride.
Being a man of his word, the old Duke acknowledged Bellas’s claim and the wedding was soon held.
Carreau Rhadamanth, the demon of the western lands, born of the blood of the Archesh, sired three children. First there was Vaali, a warrior like his father and a great leader of men. Second came Nikandor, whose mind was swift, but whose body was broken. Last of all was born his daughter Samia, and as she grew, word of her beauty spread throughout the land.
When Samia came of age, many great men vied for her hand, and she was given in marriage to the Baron of Grey Helm, in the hopes that it would solidify the shaky peace between Capricorsia and his province. For several years after, the two lands existed in a sublime peace, and she bore her husband four fine children.
One day, however, she overheard her husband having words with a messenger from the king of Anteor, who sought to expand his holdings and unify the region under a single god and crown: the Baron had formed a pact with the king and troops would soon be heading west from Steigan’s Watch and the surrounding areas in order to subdue the ever defiant Capricorsia and its allies in Frostcairne.
Gathering those few servants that she trusted around her, Samia sent two of them out. The first was to carry a letter to her family in Brawnforge, telling them of the Baron’s betrayal, and to the second, she entrusted her young children. Unwilling to let her babies become casualties of war, she had them spirited away to the care of the priests of the old gods who lived on the edge of the Fae Haunts.
That night, she sent up prayers for the safety of her children and prepared the wine for her husband and his men, mixing in potent poisons brewed from toadstools and the roots of fae arrows. Unsuspecting, the Baron and many of his men drank deeply, only to choke on black bile and their own blood.
When Samia’s betrayal was realized, the late Baron’s nephew and heir to the title ordered her burned at the stake.
Soon word of both the Baron’s betrayal and Samia’s death reached her family. The armies were massed, and Carreau, too old to take the field himself, sent Vaali at their head.
The battles that followed were vicious and brutal, each side fueled by rage and vengeance. Each time Vaali took the field, he descended like a storm out of nightmares, cutting a swath of death through the enemy troops. One day, however, in the heat of combat, his thoughts blurred by the red rage of the slaughter, Vaali found himself surrounded by enemy knights, and though he fought well and valiantly, he was brought down.
Carreau, enraged and grief stricken by the deaths of his children, refused to let old age and failing health get the better of him. Rumors of madness began to spread, but the western demon paid them no heed as he saddled his horse and rode into battle for the last time.
With his family destroyed and his troops beginning to tire, Nikandor alone was left to face the newly arrived armies of Anteor.
Now Carreau’s second son had never been a warrior. A terrible fall in his early childhood had left his legs broken and twisted, rendering him lame and unable to fight. Knowing that he couldn’t lead the army and concerned for the lives of his wife and young sons, Bellas and Lorens, he prepared to bargain with the king.
Marina
In spite of their occupation and the spread of the faith of Amergen that came with it, Capricorsia prospered under Nikandor’s leadership, and they maintained friendly relations with the other regions that fell under the aegis of Anteor.
During the peace, Bellas grew into a strong young man and a capable warrior. Unable to directly command the armies himself in the field and weary at heart from the memories of violence, Nikandor gave that duty over to his son. While he never forgot the old wrongs and the sacrifices his family had made, he was willing to honor his father’s wishes and respect the ways of the nation as a whole.
One day, however, while participating in a tournament in the Sarayan Lowlands, Bellas caught sight of Marina, the daughter of the duke of that region, who was himself a close friend of Nikandor. Her beauty overcame him, and in spite of the rumors that her mother had been half fae, and that her blood was dangerous, he set about pursuing her. But when he asked her if she would be his bride, she told him, with no small measure of regret, that she had been promised in marriage to the Baron of Grey Helm. When he heard the news, he kneeled before her and kissed the perfect, white skin of her hands, promising that if it had to be so, the Baron of Grey Helm would indeed be her husband. Throughout the rest of the tournament, he pledged every fight to Marina and felled every opponent that stood before him.
Once Bellas returned home, he ignored his father’s will and without informing him, marched army south to the border of Grey Helm, calling upon the ancient right of a blood feud to keep the crown and other provinces from intervening. Without aide, the men of Grey Helm were driven back, and soon he lay siege to noble Valinguard itself. With an army before him and the rocky cliffs behind, the Baron knew that he had no choice but to accept Bellas’s challenge and fight him man to man. Though he fought bravely and with honor, the Baron was slain.
Assuming the title himself, Bellas put an end to the enmity between the regions that ran generations deep, then rode forth to the Lowlands. With the seal of Valinguard in hand, he went before the Duke at Malincourt and told him that as the Baron of Grey Helm, he had come to claim his bride.
Being a man of his word, the old Duke acknowledged Bellas’s claim and the wedding was soon held.
The Zelshad Wars
The years that followed the marriage were ones of peace and further prosperity. Marina bore Bellas two sons, Andreas and Greger, and when Nikandor died, Bellas took over leadership of Capricorsia in addition to Grey Helm and made his brother Lorens his chief advisor.
Unfortunately, peace once more came to an end when a war fleet arrived from Zelshad, set on conquering the land, which they claimed as their own by right of the ancient bloodlines. Seeing the overwhelming numbers they had brought to the very gates of Steigen’s Watch, King Halvard sent out a call for men from all across the region to come and fend off the outside threat.
Heeding the call, Bellas rallied his men, even riding north and convincing Capricorsia’s centuries old allies in Frostcairne, who hated the crown and defied it at every turn, to join the cause and defend the land.
When they arrived on the eastern front, Steigen’s Watch was already in flames and the countless legions of the great and distant desert were gathered on the shores. But the fierce men of the west knew no fear and the booms of their clarions and battle roars made the ground tremble beneath the feet of the invading armies. Together, the men of the unified Anteor drove back the masses of enemy soldiers, forcing them to their ships and the wind tossed sea. Soon, the cliffs were arrayed with the heads of dead men, and their flayed skins waved like battle standards
Blood Treachery
As much as they admired their fighting prowess and owed them credit for their victory, the powers in the east found the ways of the Capricorsians and Frostcairners, with their battle rage and displays of grisly trophies to be barbaric and ill fitting with the dogma of Amergen. Deciding that something needed to be done, King Halvard and the high clergy devised a plan, conspiring with Bellas’s brother to shift the balance of power.
Even as Bellas and his men marched home in victory, treachery was brewing, and as they crossed the sacred waters of the Archesh, they found themselves face to face with an ambush. In the fighting and confusion that followed, Bellas and several of his men were separated from the main body of the troops and his enemies, believing that he had fallen, sent word back to Brawnforge that he had been killed.
Upon hearing of her beloved’s death Marina, realizing the betrayal and overcome by grief, took her own life with one of her husband’s blades. When Bellas returned home, flanked by those few men who were still determined to stand and die by his side, he saw the body of his wife. Without his reason to fight, even the beast spirits in his soul fell silent with tears and he lay down his weapon, exchanging vengeance for the right to bury her himself.
Moved by his brother’s pain, Lorens did not order Bellas killed as the king and church desired, but instead sent him into exile.
Wanderings and Homecomings
For seven years, Bellas wandered, his pride broken and his ancient blood meaningless on foreign soil. He fought in the wars of other men and defended causes that held no value or meaning for him.
Just as he thought that he would be forced to grow old and die in a land far from the bones of his fathers, two of his old generals found him, as if by some miracle of fate. Exiles themselves, the trio hatched a plan to return to their home and prepared to wage a war that would set right the past.