Garrett

 

History

Fourth Age

Born in 1148, the third son of an ancient royal Markian line and noble Vular blood, he was taught about governing from an early age. At 5, in 1153, his eldest brother, who had mysteriously decided to play on their castle ramparts and roofs, fell to his death. Sending the pressure of rulership downwards.

Their middle brother became the one who should carry the banner of the Head Takers, a horde with roots shared with the Fur Oracles. These roots date back to the third age, before the mountains separated Nicaraz and Efron. A horde that ignored wanderer blood, thinning their indigenous heritage, claiming it had only enhanced them and crushing anyone daring to say otherwise.

The constant feuds over mountain resources created a well-known risk of succession lines, which made the heavy tasks of nobility trickle down upon Garrett and his little brother. Thus, both became adept at linguistics, law, heraldry, medicine, and so many other sides of the royal domain. But what they fancied the most was bladeweaving, especially with what they jestingly called low-calibre weapons.

Garrett outgrew all the locals in the skills of the sword, and free of the crown burden, he began travelling their country, incognito, picking fights whenever he deemed he could benefit from the exercise. Clovincaz, Markian, Vular, Rimzir, Common, and even several N-erectus felt his cold steel pierce or cut deep. His family warned him of the danger he put their house in with these duels.

But the real danger eventually came from his elder brother, who secretly arranged for the king of the Fur Oracles to be assassinated in 1175. Ejecting the king’s son, Nefius the Green, into power with a desire for revenge that would shape the entirety of Markeoy. His powers immense, his wits sharper than the average nobleman’s, and a thirst for revenge and power like none else.

Some said it was Nefius who orchestrated the accidents. Regardless, Garrett’s eldest brother, after wounding a boar, fell off his destrier in 1176 and died as he was pierced by his hunting spear. The boar, crazed by its wound, attacked their youngest brother. The mount reared, and it fell and crushed the skull of the rider. Leaving succession to Garrett, the only son left.

He stopped his incognito duels and took the crown, but he continued to travel through his lands incognito, prying into people’s opinions and trying to discover agents of foreign powers. Especially those aiding Mermerant, Vular, and other revolutionary fractions. In wanting to keep a steel grip on theirs, he was just like his rival, Nefius.

Then in 1177, Garrett received envoys from Elu Frantzi about clearance to pursue rebels into Nicaraz in case they fled there. Garret gave permission, and when the usurpers fled into Nicaraz, Elu’s contingent hunted the surprised rebels down. Garrett then received Elu at his court.

A handful years later, in 1183, he heard about Thom Duihol, a foreigner and fylgin bladeweaver also excelling at the magic academies in their lands. Garrett sought Thom out, and they became friends.

Then in 1197, as he was on a tour to investigate some Vular things going on, he took a break at a rest stop. A noble lady and her bodyguard entered the rest stop. Studying them, he figured they were most likely where mermerant, and as he felt an odd warm sensation for the lady flush over him, he stepped in and offered his blade.

The Vular braggarts burst into laughter, and all drew blades of Mawmen steel with such swiftness and control that he came to doubt the outcome of this rash offer. As the innkeeper shouted no, the Vulars charged and he aimed a swing for one, but they all exploded in a rapid sequence of splashing guts, gore, and blood.

As the foes had fallen, he heard the beautiful mermerant lady order Tobiy Krown and him to go clean up, and he surprisingly followed the order. The next day he found himself in an unusual situation, not totally unheard of for a king. But this foreign mermerant duchess, and her bodyguard were a change from the usual trivialities. And this mermerant connection could end up profitable.

When they had delivered her at the gates of her destination, Toiby stayed until the next day. Then Garrett visited the castle again, this time formally presenting himself as king of the Head Takers. To which the mermerant prince replied that his wife had mentioned that her escort had been that king, so it was nice to say hello.

Hiding the surprise that she had known who he was, and not speaking of their trip, he had a long talk with the prince about defending against a common green threat. When he left, he felt strengthened in the northwestern area of his country. But he kept thinking about the duchess and how to eliminate both obstacles to his ruling and pleasure.

A handful of years passed, and in 1203 Kalmo happened to pass by Garrett’s castle, as there lived a couple of really skilled beastmasters there. One day, Garrett noticed the towering man at the marketplace and went over for a talk. It became a couple of intriguing weeks where Garrett gained insight into a fraction of society previously unknown to him.

Agents of the 1st alliance approached him in 1206. Seeing them as a tool to weaken the tsunami called Nefius and the growing strength of the mermerant, he decided the Head Takers should back the 1st alliance fully. To his surprise, several lesser chieftains didn’t agree and rebelled. Figuring out who was behind it wasn’t hard, but just to be certain, he sent assassins to many houses and a certain prince.

Those sent to the green king never reported back, but most others managed to slay their targets. Upon hearing the news, he considered contacting the duchess but ultimately decided against it, as doing so could endanger her due to the growing threats. For he knew the brutality of Nefius and leaders like him in case opponents became too strong.

As so many other Markey kings, Garret became increasingly affected by the actions of Nefius. As the green tsunami wanted all of Markeoy, Garrett began searching out other kings and heroes of human and n-erectus origins. Thus Garrett befriended two Kobold tribes, and when he was visiting a third in 1207, he met Thom Duihol of Exicota again.

Almost 20 years had passed, and Thom had been there to have a special sword enchanted. They left travelling in the same direction, and the next day they met a large Fautyr raiding party. Garrett hailed them as king, and they talked. As it turned out, they were on their way to destroy a new mermerant settlement; Garrett offered another solution.

Garrett then offered the small mermerant group an alternative living location instead of the sacred site they had disturbed. Luckily the mermerants agreed; the Fautyr were still unhappy about the disturbance but glad bloodshed was avoided. As Garrett led the mermerants to their new home, Thom asked if he could join the Fautyrs and left with them.

He had stayed out of Efron’s territory to avoid any incidents. So the first time Garrett faced Nefius was at a meeting with the 1st alliance in 1218. Where they came to discuss their hordes’ shared roots and their bloodlines. It became an interesting talk about Markian nobility and heritage and Nefius’s vision for Markeoy.

Having gained insight into Nefius’s ambitions, Garrett kept out of Efron, and in 1225 he heard that the city of Muldum in Skium had a young man, Menni Jes, stirring the pot and working for it to become a free city. Garrett secretly went there a couple of times, and in 1230, when the lid blew off the pot, he met Trim-M and Citrine.

Things became intriguing in 1233 when he met Kaosfrog down south in Braburg. There he gained access to many different combat herbs, and as he experienced their value, he began studying herbalism. Coming back, he intensified his studies, and in 1235 he passed the apprentice level. In 1236 he passed journeyman. In 1237, while he was in Olmukad at Findon to examine some local herbs, he met Holli d'Ay and Pawa Zacula at a rest stop.

As he overheard them mention the same herbs as he was seeking, he introduced himself and asked if they should travel together. The next morning, they rode out and up the mountainous foothills. Soon riding where no paths led them, they dismounted and dragged their horses through the thickening wilderness. The perfect terrain for what herbs they seeked.

Although they found something entirely different. Suddenly around 20 Fautyrs surrounded them, and it dawned on the small group they were on what Fautyrs considered off-limits ground for humans. Garrett’s honour overtook his senses, and he simply issued a challenge to let them pass unhindered. Pawa clearly showed signs of distress when the noble herbalist yelled hastily.

As Garrett dismounted, an enormous and muscular Fautyr stepped forth. Wielding a large ironthorn spear in one hand and an odd bronze-horned shield in the other. It snarled that it was merely going to ask what the trio wanted, but a duel would do as well. Then, with a deep rumbling growl, it charged and blew into its shields’ horns.

From the shields’ pipes came a cacophonous stream of disturbing noise, which would have disrupted any mentalist magic path. As the Fautyr surged forth, it stabbed at Garrett with its spiked and thorned spear, a quick thrust that would have pierced a less agile opponent. But Garrett needed no paths and no herbs to avoid this attack; he just adhered to years of training.

As he countercharged, he twisted, and as he turned his short sword and dagger gliding from sheaths to foes’ flesh – they did their cuts. But the Fautyr, a hardened veteran, flipped the wrist so the shafts’ thorns tore at Garrett’s clothes, skin, and flesh. The pain shocked through him, and then he felt the shield smashing into his back with a force that flung him forward.

A gasp emerged from his comrades, and a roar came from the Fautyrs. Tumbling forwards, Garrett rolled with the fall, and as he stood and turned, the sky cleared. Brighter cyan than he had ever seen, the grass and trees gained cyan-green hues, the trees’ bark and the Fautyrs fur gained violet tones, and his vision became blurred. “Poison,” he thought, but then he realised it was something else entirely.

The Fautyr seemed to move in slow motion; Garrett felt energies surge through him, and as the now shieldless Fautyr surged at him again, he just stepped slightly aside. Then he grabbed the spear right behind the blade and held it in such a tight grip that its thorns couldn’t slide and tear. As he just lifted upwards and turned, the Fautyr was flung over him and crashed in a pile.

Finishing the turn, he spun the spear around, and as its tip pointed right at the prone Fautyrs throat, he yelled a large, “Yield, and let us pass.” The Fautyr just lay staring at him, as did all the rest and his two companions. Then he noticed the cyan hue of his skin and turned to Holli and Pawa. And with a shrug he dropped the spear and walked back to his group.

As they mounted, the wounded Fautyr approached. Standing tall, it looked the mounted Garrett right into his face and then gave him its spear. As they rode off, it yelled at him, and as Garrett turned, it threw him an amulet as it yelled, “Have this blessed one, and if ever in need, think of us.” After they had ridden a little, Garrett asked what just happened, and then he fainted.

After he recovered, they spent a couple of weeks gathering herbs, which Garrett now found easier than ever. Returning home, he became chief herbalist in 1239, master in 1243, and lord in 1247. Then studies were halted as things with the 1st alliance began to escalate into actual skirmishes, attacks, and sieges.

In 1249, at the final battle against leaders of the torch, as he fought shoulder to shoulder alongside Ze'o Lobio, he recognised a friend from his youth, not seen in fifty years or more. So he yelled, ‘Tobiy, Tobiy Krown.’ How long has it been? Pressing his destrier forward, Ze’o followed to join the fray at Tobiy’s group.

After the defeat of the Torch, Garrett used the High King's Court to counterbalance many mermerant and wanderer moves. With the creation of the realm, the green king’s dream of a united Markeoy came to an end. So Garrett focused on becoming an herbalist lord and graduated in 1254. He created a healthcare system for all of his controlled areas, openly utilising combat herbs, which led him to rarely visit Grimsborg and the high king's' court.

It was not until 1274, when the high king’s coup occurred, that he began visiting Grimsborg again. However, his visit was not to support the torch; instead, it was an attempt to restore the deposed high king Methil Maiur. So Garrett eventually became a realmster, renewing old bonds and ties. So when the great invasion hit, he had a vast network, and it was the first time he used his old Fautyr gift.

The Fautyr tribe became a valuable ally in the war. And a small group of them even joined Garrett’s contingent in the cleansing crusade.

“One of the very few vaguely remembering his own fate awakening.”

~Skjald Valgrif

 

Organisation

Garrett is king of the Head Takers horde.

“Sharing roots with Fur Oracles, Garretts took the Head Takers to a more stable, yet less grand fame.”

~Skjald Sejrik

 

Special

Garrett is a capable herbalist… able to boost his path of mind magic… with his special mixture of herbal blends.

If you see his chewing… then duck!”

~Skjald Kazumix