Character Spotlight: Joseph Sandturn

 Joseph Sandturn is the owner of the Soaring Dragon in Devonshire.  He is merely mentioned a few times in the first book, "The High King's Sword", but he is a vital cog in my story world.

The son of farmers he, like many young men, dreamed of adventure.  He joined the militia, then a mercenary group.  He spent five years fighting bandits, monsters and slavers.  After he saved enough money, he bought an inn in Devonshire so he could live without fear of losing his life.  He married, had five children, and life was good.

He kept in contact with his good friend, Amber, the daughter of Lee the Seer and their children would play with each other. Joseph considered Amber and her daughter, Margaret, part of the family and when they needed aid, he was more then happy to give it.  When Amber died of the winter sickness, Joseph continued to check in on Margaret and Lee.

This becomes vital when the Black Wizards come to take Devonshire.  When Margaret showed up on his doorstep that fateful day, he didn't think twice about taking her in and hiding her.  But he was a man of action and sitting and doing nothing was killing him, so he snuck out as many militia men as he could, along with their families.  He didn't realize the minotuars knew until later, but he was grateful to find out they were actually aiding him in his actions, even if he didn't know at the time.

Overall he is not a huge character, but he is a lich pin and moves my plot along.

Happy writing.

Character Spotlight: Kredoc Bloodhelm

 Kredoc Bloodhelm, father of Tarkil, was supposed to be a background character who just popped in every once in a while to make Tarkil's life complicated, but I found myself giving him a background, (even if not really in the stories), and beginning to like this clearly Lawful Neutral character (if you like to put it in roleplaying terms).

Kredoc is the head of House Bloodhelm's spies and assassins, making sure the House is informed and can take out any issues that may be incurred by the House. He is the second son of House Bloodhelm, Ikaris Bloodhelm being his older brother and the Leader of House Bloodhelm.  He never wanted to be the Knight in shining armor, he wanted to be the man behind the scenes, but he was pleased his two elder sons did want to become Knights.  He was also secretly pleased when Tarkil wanted to be a spy.

In his younger years Kredoc was a rogue. He and his butler, Jarvis, adventured across the country side, getting themselves in all sorts of trouble, making friends and enemies as they went.  When it became time to settle down and become the House spy, he became the serious gentleman he is today, though he and Jarvis always share secret smiles over remembered times. It is hard to see Kredoc smiling about anything with his incarnation in the stories.

He is hard on all his children, wanting the House to have the best protectors possible, but he sees too much of himself in Tarkil and worries his youngest will chaff against the path House Bloodhelm is going down.

Kredoc is a follower of Sircarius, though he keeps his worship more to himself then out in the open, since House members are supposed to follow the Gods of the Light or Neutrality. He doesn't love his wife, per say, but he does not wish her ill will, since a prearranged marriage was neither of their choices.  But as a House scion, it was expected.  They work well together and have raised three fine sons together, so Kredoc feels it was a good arrangement.

In the future, I hope that he becomes a more prominent part in short stories or even further plots for other novels.

Ms. Glenda of Bloodhelm

Ms. Glenda has been a fixture at the Mage Guild of Bloodhelm for some time.  A bubbly woman in her mid fifties she loves teaching new mages everything from small cantrips to the most powerful spells she knows.

Standing around five foot, this rounder, cheerful woman always has time for her students.  Though she specializes in life magics, (healing and growing of plants), she does know quite a few offensive spells and is ready to use them in defense of the school.  She usually wears brightly patterned robes, with some sort of animal or plant woven into their designs, and keeps her dark hair short, so as to keep it out of her way. 

Originally from Weatherworn, she enjoys Bloodhelm because it seems quieter to her then the busier port of Weatherworn.  She spends her days off roaming the market places, looking for new plants, rumors on new healing techniques and speaking with priests of Tinaka and Iktomi.  She is polite and gracious to anyone she meets and finds herself often surrounded by street rats who love the little magicks she performs for them.  She likes to give out small treats and copper pennies to the street rats, because she has found several who have had great magical aptitude and who she sponsors in the Mage Guild.  She does this in hopes of finding any other street rats that may show aptitude. (It is a tradition amongst the street rats that she is not to be pick pocketed and if she is, the offender is turned in by other street rats.)

If a mage is looking for a sponsor, Glenda might be a good way in, as long as the character is kind and respectful in her presence, though she will expect the mage to work hard for her in turn.