Leighton Allister
Lord of Cranwich Motte
Leighton Allister is the current lord of Cranwich Motte, a prominent commander in the Autumnvale's war with Bergeaux, and the last living member of House Allister. Since August of 428 AU, Allister has been a member of the Argent Company, and has since made the difficult decision to attend to the peril faced by the world as a whole before returning home.
History
Early Life
Leighton Allister was born at Cranwich Motte in 401 AU to Lord Thrysten and Lady Orlaith Allister. Already of frail health, Orlaith does not survive childbirth, and Thrysten is devastated by the loss. Realising himself to be on the verge of falling into bitterness and despair, Thrysten instead resolved to play a particularly active part in Leighton's upbringing, an unconventional approach given noble customs of the day. Throughout Leighton's childhood and early adult years, this especially strong bond with his father would be a formative aspect of his life.Education & Training
Beginning early in his childhood, Allister would undergo the thorough education expected of Valic nobility, which enabled them to fulfill their social, political, and religious functions; the ruling houses were as much integrated into the Valesmen's belief systems as the political landscape of the day. The Autumnvale's nobility had a responsibility according to Credasvar which corresponded to their elevated social position that could trace its lineage to the initial pact between Svarcliste and the early Achiad. In addition performing the usual roles of political and military leadership and maintaing social order, the great houses were charged with modeling an example which situated Valic society as close as possible to Esgyneamh and the virtues it embodies through resposible leadership, devotion, and using their wealth and martial training to safeguard the Autumnvale (a social development which also served to limit feuding between the houses). In his childhood years, Leighton was hardly concerned with the pressing demands of that system; the day when he would assume the mantle of his House remained a distant abstraction, a far future with which he rarely concerned himself as he spent his days learning of the Autumnvale's history, flora and fauna, crafts, lore, and customs. The upbringing of nobles within the Autumnvale often involved other mentor figures in addition to a child's parents, who often had important duties to attend to. While Thrysten Allister was generally the exception to this rule in the substantial amount of time he spent with his son, Leighton also enjoyed the tutelage of Awnrothan Tannach, the Court Sage of Cranwich Motte and a stern, demanding, yet fair teacher of old Achiad stock who impressed upon his student the importance of the Autumnvale's ancient history in particular. Leighton, like many youths of his station, was often sent on trips to the courts of the other Great Houses, learning and playing alongside the children of Houses Walmoor and Ashdowne. Hamon and Larkin, the youngest of the latter house, would become particularly close friends, despite Leighton's general introversion and preference for solitude in the wild places of the Autumnvale.Young Adulthood
The sons of Lords in the Autumnvale are trained to serve as knights until they inherit their father's titles, and Leighton began his martial education at the customary age of nine. Another important mentor figure would now emerge in Leighton's life, namely Sir Dunstan Harlow, an experienced Cranwich Ranger and scion of one of the oldest knightly houses sworn to House Allister, who he also served as Marshal. A gruff and serious warrior, Harlow initially had little patience with Leighton, who was slow to warm to martial training and preferred the more bookish lessons of Tannach. Not to be dissuaded by his pupil's initial hesitance- and indeed wanting another successfully trained noble to his name- Harlow instead began to base his training around the stories of legendary figures in the Autumnvale's history, which proved to be more successful in capturing the young Leighton's interest. In addition to lessons with the soldiery at Cranwich Motte, Leighton was also regularly sent to Ardingly to train with the sons of the Ashdownes and the Walmoors, who provided stiff competition; as that generation entered their teenage years, Hamon Ashdowne was indeed the most promising emergant warrior of the group. During this period Leighton developed a particularly strong friendship with Larkin Ashdowne, who was independent of spirit and preferred the company of birds and beasts to fighting. Leighton's friendships would prove invaluable in helping him weather the rigours of knightly training, and the group would remain close-knit for long afterwards. Throughout these years, Leighton's father was also an essential influence, imparting on his son the importance of calm, measured leadership and observation. Leighton's ability to quickly learn from observing others and willingness to find mentors was in large part due to his father's teachings, which often served to temper the harsher, more intense aspects of a martial upbringing. By 417 AU, Leighton had finished his training and completed a year's service in the Farandun Hills under his father and Sir Dunstan Harlow during a semi-regular campaign of raids and counter-raids to dissuade the Orcish tribes from becoming too brazen around the only passage through the eastern mountains on the Autumnvale's northern shore. Upon his return to Cranwich Motte, Leighton was knighted by his father in a small ceremony, and would now join in carrying out the official duties of House Allister alongside Thrysten. One such duty was preparing the lands of House Allister for the Annual Progress of Lord Randell Ashdowne and his court, an important part of the proper governance of the Autumnvale as well as a busy period of prestigious festivals and rituals. During the Ashdowne's stay at Cranwich Motte, Leighton is re-introduced to Evelyn Ashdowne. While the two were childhood friends, the years of his training and her education as the foremost noble lady of her generation meant that Leighton and Evelyn had not seen one another in years. In their brief interactions amid the business and formalities of the event, Leighton becomes enchanted with her, and resolves to begin a proper courtship when the opportunity arises. The following year, at the behest of his father, Leighton enters into the Autumnvale's most prestigious tournament, which is held by Randell Ashdowne at Ardingly. Although Leighton is an unenthusiastic jouster, the tournament contained numerous foot contests and duels, the legacy of the ancient Achiad martial games of the area. These would be Leighton's hope at redemption after immediately being unhorsed by a Bergic knight (that country's tradition of horsemanship and jousting was far more developed than that of the Autumnvale). Bruised, but seeing the honour of his house at stake, and aware that Evelyn Ashdowne was watching the event, Leighton instead entered at the bottom of the foot combat lineup. Fighting doggedly with sword and shield, Leighton was able to overcome each opponent in succession, some by only a hair's breadth. However, he was soundly beaten by his formidable childhood friend Hamon Ashdowne. Nevertheless, the duel concluded in good spirits and Leighton managed to place third overall, after Hamon Ashdowne and Cynesige Walmoor: no mean feat for his age. Battered, bloody and aching, with armour dusty and tattered, he claimed the customary wreath of Queen's Lace and bound it to a small piece of parchment. The latter contained a poem which Leighton had written, and had survived the fighting pinned to the inside of his shield. These two gifts he then raised with the point of his sword up to Evelyn Ashdowne as she sat in her family's stand. After this gesture, the two begin their courtship in earnest.Wartime Service
The Autumnvale's long war with Bergeaux would, for Leighton, begin in a deeply affecting manner. In 420 AU, a Bergic nobleman named Guilhem Firadal, who had often passed through the Autumnvale and was even a regular at tournaments, was staying in Cranwich Motte along with a number of retainers. Guilhem's behaviour had been uncharacteristically distant, and his pallid complexion, sweats, and shivers- at first thought to be brought upon by the ardours of travel- remained constant until the customary banquet. That same evening, the men of Bergeaux made a sudden and violent attempt on the Allister's lives, rushing the lord's table with swords and knives while others barred the door into the hall. The Allisters, together with their courtiers and servants, were able to defend themselves; Leighton himself severed the arm of Guilhem as the latter raised his sword to strike his father in the confused melee. Having bled out soon afterwards, the Bergic noble would divulge no information as to the motives of his attack, and his surviving followers later revealed they had no knowledge of its purpose. As similar acts of espionage, arson, and assasination unfolded across the Autumnvale with varying degrees of success, the centuries-long peace enjoyed by the fiefdom crumbled as word arrived that Bergeaux was now making war against it. For his part, Leighton was deeply shocked and incensed by these acts of barbarity, chief among them the betrayal of hospitality and shedding blood within the home. Especially since Bergeaux was previously the Autumnvale's amiable neighbour, his perceptions of foreigners become clouded by a long shroud of distrust, suspicion, and resentment as the trappings of Leighton's happy upbringing fall away almost overnight. The lessons of his formative years, the martial training and preparation for leadership, whose realities once were comfortably distant and shrouded in the promise of future, hypothetical use, would now need to be honed into tools cold and bare for Leighton, his family, and his people to endure the coming war."Before my father led the Cranwich Rangers into the hills for the last time, I protested loudly at being ordered to stay behind... I pleaded to accompany him, I even dared to raise my voice against his when he remained insistent. That was a dire mistake. I do not know how my father, soft-spoken, mild, and good-natured, transformed into this... lion of a man so quickly, but the fact that I had been taller than him for some time made no difference as he seized me by the collar, brandished his finger, and bellowed 'you will obey your father and the needs of this House, you are an Allister and you will heed these demands!' My boldness collapsed, and afterwards there was only a solemn and heartfelt farewell."One of the first Bergic armies to enter the Autumnvale's borders in 420 AU made the daring choice of proceeding through the Farandun Hills- the only significant passage onto the north shore of the Autumnvale from the East- electing to take the risk of the hostile terrain and risk of ambush in order to quickly strike at the fiefdom's undefended regions. As the Allisters were still in the early stages of mustering their unprepared forces, Thrysten Allister made the decision to lead the Cranwich Rangers, one of the few standing bodies of armed men that the house maintained, into the hills to confront the threat. Despite Leighton's fervent protests, his father ordered him to remain behind and bring their holdings to readiness, and the former begrudgingly accepts. In the Farandun hills, Thrysten and his rangers wage an irregular campaign, using ambushes, volleys of arrows, and engineered avalanches amidst the rocky labyrinths to wear down their enemies. Scattered, demoralized, and being elimated piecemeal in harsh, unfamiliar terrain, the remnants of the Bergic army broke and fled to the East after several months of hard fighting. Over the course of these events, the rangers used diverted mountain rivers and used rockfalls to close off the remaining passages through the hills, making subsequent travel all but impossible. However, most of the Cranwich Rangers were lost during the fighting, and Thrysten Allister lay amongst the slain. Dunstan Harlow, one of the few survivors, bore his Lord's body back to Cranwich Motte. During his father's campaign, Leighton, though frustrated and ashamed to remain behind, was nonetheless given the opportunity- albeit unwelcome at first- to learn the intricacies and logistics required to ready his house's lands for war and coordinate with the other great houses as they did the same. By the time he learned of his father's death, Leighton had come to understand the value and necessity of his father's final orders, but this would continue to clash with the grief and guilt from not being at his father's side in the final moments. But as hostilities between Bergeaux and the Autumnvale were unfolding at a rapid pace, Leighton's only option is to render his father the proper funerary honours and make good the latter's sacrifice. Although Leighton was now the de jure Lord of House Allister, he firmly objected to being referred to as such until the point when the war was won and his father avenged.
The Argent Company
Personality & Traits
Years of helping to lead the Autumnvale's wartime defence have hardened Leighton into a severe, stern, and focused man who pursues goals with an unswerving dedication. His demeanor is generally reserved and calm, seldom raising his voice in anger save for in battle or crisis. Since his upbringing, Leighton has been keenly observant of his surroundings, actions of those around him, and techniques of experts in areas such as fighting and craftsmanship. This corresponded with the habit, especially in his teenage years and young adulthood, of finding mentor figures, which have in turn exercised great influence over Leighton's life. His moral compass was profoundly shaped by his father Thrysten Allister, and he inherited much of the latter's idealism, respect for tradition and order, and sense of responsibility for those under his command or rule. While undoubtedly holding the common belief in the superiority of his noble station, Leighton values the obligation to those "under" him in equal, if not far greater, measure, and exhibits genuine care for the soldiers under his command in war, or the people of his lands in peace. While quickest to hew to mentors in areas about which he is passionate, as in his tutelage by Anrowthan Tannach in the Autumnvale's history and lore, Leighton also grew to understand that such a strategy was essential in coming to grips with areas in which he initially had less stable footing. In this way was he able to learn martial skills from Dunstan Harlow, and later, during the war with Bergeaux, grand strategy and politics from Lord Randell Ashdowne. Developing alongside this realization was the understanding that although such relationships often resulted in fulfilling bonds, as with his father, Harlow, and Tannach, even those with which he clashed in terms of ideals and temperament, such as Lord Ashdowne, could impart valuable lessons. While his father and Lord Ashdowne had certainly respected one another, the former's idealism, strict adherence to custom, and ambivalence towards the outside world had clashed with Randell's pragmatism, politicking, and keen awareness of the balance of power in places beyond the Autumnvale. Due to the strains and pressures of war, however, Leighton himself, while posessing much of his father's outlook, would be forced to work closely under, and learn from, Lord Ashdowne's approach to leadership. This process was often unpleasant and grudging, and was often complicated with Leighton's romantic intentions towards Evelyn Ashdowne and the fact that his father's death had, if anything, instilled more reverence in Leighton for his old-fashioned ways. The long war years, beginning with the fateful episode at Cranwich Motte in 420 AU, had rapidly enlarged Leighton's love for his homeland and pride in serving the Autumnvale into a bitter xenophobia and arrogance. This also hindered his ability to see eye-to-eye with Randell Ashdowne, whose lessons often implied that the Autumnvale's safety and future relied as much on its successful navigation of the politics of the wider world as it did the on virtue, ancient wisdom, and strength of arms that Leighton had been taught to revere above all else. Leighton's time with the Argent Company has, however, revealed much of the truth in Lord Ashdowne's outlook. Largely through the positive example of his new companions and diverse experiences in foreign lands has he developed the realization that the voyages far from home, at first an unbearable seperation from his home, loved ones, and the battle to defend them, represent an invaluable opportunity to learn from the wider world, represent the Autumnvale abroad, and gain resources, insight, and connections to better serve it upon his return. This process has not always been smooth, especially given Leighton's wartime experience and distrust of foreigners, but gradually his commitment to both his companions in the Argent Company and his homeland have provided him the motivation for growth. Leighton's desire to return home, which has affected him greatly in his recent travels, stems not only from physical seperation, but also the sharp contrast between his life before the war and during it. The taxing role of wartime head of House Allister, commander of its forces, and years of combat had seen Leighton become a withdrawn, hardened, and dour man absorbed by military matters and helplessly watchng the things which had previously given him such happiness slip away. His pre-war existence, in which he remembers true happiness and contentment, forms part of that "home" to which he desperately wishes to return. As such, he is liable to hold trappings of that life, such as experiences, memories, or ideals on a pedestal of higher good than those of, in his mind, the comparatively unpleasant and grim surroundings of both the war following his father's death and the ardours of combatting the magical peril in which the world finds itself. One of his few, cherished anchors to that past is Evelyn Ashdowne, in whose company he finds his old passion for life reemerge. That said, the most resonant, personally fulfilling, or awe-inspiring moments with the Argent Company have also seen Leighton rediscover what he sees as his old, actual self and the ability blend it with the new lessons and outlooks the wider world has provided.Generalship
As the lord and last surviving member of House Allister, Leighton is responsible for leading its military in battle. Initially unprepared for the burden of leadership, he acted upon his late father's admonition to seek the counsel of experienced subordinates, such as Dunstan Harlow and his childhood teacher and sage, Anrothan Tannach. As such, a thorough grounding in the Autumnvale's time-honoured mode of irregular warfare and war of attrition was one of the earliest hallmarks of his command. As his experience increased, Leighton displayed the ability to devise daring ambushes combined with the use of terrain and parties of men under trusted, capable officers to play havoc on enemy supply lines. Pitched actions preceded by ruses and deception, such as his role in the Great Sortie from Stonethistle, provided excellent training in following up this form of warfare with a combined, focused blow once the opponent has been forced onto the back foot. The most prominent example of this technique was the battle of Cynestrae Road, in which Leighton allowed the Bergic forces to entertain the idea that they were penetrating deep into the Autumnvale by feigning sporadic resistence and retreats over several weeks. All the while, Valesmen were chipping away at the invaders' ability to maintain lines of supply and gather intelligence about their surroundings. By the time the Bergic commanders realized the extent of their predicament, Leighton had gathered his disparate forces and launched a concerted, aggressive attack which scattered the weakened enemy. Although they were later able to regroup, Leighton had used the time to secure his army in a solid defensive position, upon which the following Bergic attacks were dashed. Such strategies as Leighton has preferred are reliant on a capable and empowered cadre of officers and trust between them, the men they command, and himself. While it is imperative that said officers, usually drawn from the knightly houses pledged to House Allister, adhere to the general plan of independent action before prompt rendezvous at specific locations, Leighton has learned that they must be allowed to benefit from enough latitude to seize opportunities and inflict harm on the enemy when the chance arises. In several instances throughout the war, most notable in Bergeaux's offensive against the Autumnvale's northern shore, he took pains to emphasize the balance between flexibility and overall scheme of command, often placing himself in great physical danger to do so. Nonetheless, he considers the creation of a loyal, capable, and spirited band of officers and knights his greatest achievement. While benefitting from an inclination to look after the minutiae of his soldiers' welfare and minimize casualties in the Autumnvale's grinding defensive war, this same fact has lead to caution in situations where there is no recourse to irregular warfare or using terrain to audacious effect, such as in the largest set-piece battles when he is usually subordinate to the commanders of House Ashdowne. Furthermore, the nature of the conflict has provided Leighton with scant opportunity to perfect siege warfare an assaulting fortified positions; his first experience in taking a city by storm was in the climactic Siege of Wanamekwa.Physical Description & Equipment
Of moderate height among the generally hale and well-nourished Men of the Autumnvale, Leighton has a wiry, relatively slim but well-muscled build common to those who have spent a life under arms and on campaign. His mid-length, dark black hair is kept in no particular order, but his stubble and small mustache are more well-kept. Stern, watchful, and somewhat glaring brown eyes stand out from a relatively light complexion. Leighton is well-adjusted to fighting with and spending long periods in armour. Most of his harness is in the fashion of the Autumnvale's knights and nobility, with a long scale coat worn over a mail hauberk and gambeson. The spaulders, vambraces, and greaves are decorated with embossed motifs of twisting branches, leaves, and vines, as is the large bronze gorget in prominent display. These pieces are of fine make, trimmed with leather dyed maroon and bronze fittings. Throughout his travels with the Argent Company, Leighton has blended more sophisticated pieces into this panoply, including gauntlets, rerebraces, and couters. Like many Men of the Autumnvale, Leighton dons a pointed kettle helmet with hinged cheekguards for hearing and visibility (image, Agen helmet). Leighton's primary weapon is Carillion, a finely tapering longsword found in a drifting, derelict ship. Focused strikes from Carillion's enchanted blade may be accompanied by loud cracks of percussive force, which Leighton uses to rend the armour of his foes or break bones and bruise flesh beneath. Strapped to his left forearm while wielding this longsword is a small lenticular shield, Coscildair, made from rowan wood, slightly larger than a buckler and with an ancient boss recovered during the Argent Company's travels. Hanging from Leighton's belt is a langseax with a two-foot blade inlaid with twisting patterns of silver and bronze, replete with a carved wooden grip. An heirloom passed from Thrysten Allister, it is a useful close-quarters weapon and tool, as well as a source of pride and fond family memories. While not the greatest archer, Leighton is also able to wield a yew longbow of respectable strength.
Leighton, circa. 428 A.U.
Species
Ethnicity
Year of Birth
401 AU
29 Years old
Birthplace
Children
Gender
Male
Eyes
Brown
Hair
Dark brown
Height
6'1"
Belief/Deity
Svarcliste
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations