Avery Farynwel
Avery Farynwel
Avery Farynwel is a Tamorese Pilgrim female human squire sworn to the Brotherhood of Bronze. She has disguised herself as a boy for the duration of the war. She has been given to the Silver Sisters of the Orphean League by Sir Ambrose to serve them during their time in Jeharoa.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Avery is a gangly but strong teenager. His hair is a reddish-brown mop, poorly looked after. His eyes are dark grey but keen and observant. His skin is pale and sunburnt, speckled with acne and freckles. He has a handful of crooked teeth but he speaks well and his voice seldom cracks when he speaks. He wears a once white tabard and a page's cowl. He carries a common soldier's pack, as well as a plain shortsword that needs sharpening.
Apparel & Accessories
LOOT: squire's clothes; soldier's pack; medicine kit; x1 shortsword; x1 dagger; holy symbol of Ezrahil (speartip etched with an image of a flame wax writing tablet
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Avery Farynwel was born to a chambermaid in the Palace of Wisdom. Her mother, Tabitha, said her father was a knight in the Brotherhood of Bronze that had been killed while on campaign in Chelmaea. Avery was initially trained to also be a chambermaid, tending to Queen Theodosia I, even serving in the choir that announced her at the Queen's wedding to the late king Baldwin. However, the knowledge that her father had served the Brotherhood weighed on her and she became determined to join their order. She often watched the knights training in the yard of the Bronze Barracks, studying their movements and noting each of the members, their rank and standing in the order.
One day, while filling a bucket near the yard, Avery witnessed a squire beat a kobold servant of the palace, accusing them of stealing. Avery intervened, challenging the squire to a duel. The squire protested, but a knight that overheard the exchange told the squire that no true knight of the Brotherhood could refuse a challenge that questioned their honor. Avery fought the squire, and nearly lost but used some soap on her fingers to irritate the squire's eyes and disarmed him. The squire cried foul, but the knight said that Avery showed ingenuity on the battlefield. Neither would be punished for their transgressions, and the knight offered to give Avery a place as his page.
This knight was Sir Waldo Bedgbury, an Éruladic Pilgrim and half-halfling. Avery's mother, Tabitha, almost didn't let Avery train with Sir Waldo, going so far as to scream at the knight behind closed doors.
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This led to a falling out between Avery and her mother, as Avery resolved to serve Sir Waldo. In that act of defiance, Avery shorn her hair and took on a male identity, regarding the feminitity of her mother as weakness.
For the next six years, Avery accompanied Waldo as his male page throughout the Mashiq, visiting Alameen and Tyria and even the fortress of Ibelin. During this time, he grew close to Waldo's other squire, a young Mashiqi man named Matthias, who showed him how to play the lute. Avery trained with Sir Waldo and Matthias in swordcraft and learned languages, including the Pilgrim lingua franca Falerian, the local language Mashiqi, some Vulgate Celestial and Qartagonian, and even a little Éruladic. He also became more devoted to The Truth Deliverant, Ezrahil, the patron of the Brotherhood, praying at the chapel daily. Avery proved to be a quick study and a keen observer of mortal behavior.
In late 361 SE, when the Qartagonian Emirates declared a new jihad against the Pilgrim States, Sir Waldo knighted Matthias and raised Avery to be his new squire. The Brotherhood leadership sent Sir Matthias to Alameen to aid in the defense there. He managed to escape the city's sack and retreated to Ibelin, where he is currently stationed under siege. Meanwhile, Sir Waldo was sent to Chelmaea to try and seek an alliance with the Shanindar Empire and a pact of non-aggression with gnolls. This was where Avery saw his first real action; a cackle of gnolls attacked their caravan, killing nearly a dozen men. They were forced to retreat without either concessions and Avery's fear of gnolls grew into a real phobia.
In the Sun's Crest of 362 SE, the city of Jeharoa came under siege. Avery and Sir Waldo served in the defense. As a knight and a trained cavalry officer, Sir Waldo participated in several sorties out of the city, killing Marrowmen cameliers and gnoll warg riders alike. Each day, he would return, slick with blood but still his gregarious self as Avery would remove his armor and tend to his wounds. Sir Waldo knew the situation was dire and told Avery as much, emphasizing that the city would need heroes like those that served Ezrahil, like those that wielded the Triptych Flame, if it was to be saved. In that vein, he told Avery that he would be knighted before the siege was lifted, as soon as he could find a squire to take Avery's place. Sir Waldo had his eye on a Mashiqi boy and on the 25th of Sun's Crest, he told Avery he would offer the position to the boy.
On the 26th, Sir Waldo participated in another sorty, a distraction meant to allow a group of adventurers to sabotage a trio of trebuchets at the north wall. During the sorty, Sir Waldo took an arrow to the chest and another through the jaw. He fell from his horse east of the city. It was another full day before the body was collected by the Stitchers of Milcon and brought to the Mount of Souls for burial. Avery found out only when his effects were returned to the city by the Stitchers.
With Sir Waldo dead, the leadership of the Brotherhood of Bronze initially wanted to simply attach Avery to another Bronze Brother, as is customary. However, Sir Ambrose had another idea. After speaking with the Lord Commander, Sir Gundaric of Angessier, Sir Ambrose told Avery he would be charged with squiring for an adventuring company known as the Silver Sisters. He would be a reward for the pair's heroics both during the trebuchet mission and for their bravery in the aftermath of the Green Market bombing. In exchange for faithfully carrying out his duties, Avery would be knighted, after such a time as the Silver Sisters would allow, of course.
This is because Sir Waldo is actually Avery's biological father, whom had shown nothing but disinterest to the mother and child up until this point.
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This, however, was simply the cover story that Ambrose told Avery to use. Avery was to be a spy for the Brotherhood, as they had noted that the pair spoke Éruladic, an uncommon language in the region, and they knew Avery was familiar with it. They were particularly interested why the Sisters wanted to meet with Cato Durthane and what their exact relationship was with the Frosted Gold Company. Avery was to report his findings to one of the Brotherhood's doppelganger spies, Stiletto, who posed as a courtesan in the Jackal's Den. The Brotherhood made it clear that failure would mean exile from the Brotherhood and an unwashable stain on Avery's honor.
Gender Identity
Avery is a young woman that identifies as a man and uses he/him pronouns. However, if you were to explain contemporary gender politics to him, he probably would say in his heart he is a woman. His decision to present as a man has nothing to do with how he feels about who he is as a person and everything to do with how he wants to be known to his superiors and to his parents. He is concerned about what will happen when his body begins to grow into itself more, but only because it would make the identity he has crafted for himself more difficult to explain. This is also a safety measure, as wartime is not especially safe for young women, and marginally more secure for young men.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Show spoiler
WANTS:
- to be knighted;
- to make his father and Sir Waldo proud;
- to prove to his mother that he is as good and noble a knight as his father was;
- to defeat and kill as many Qartagonian soldiers as possible;
- to be brave and fight with honor;
- to enact to the will of the Brotherhood of Bronze;
- to serve Ezrahil and her goals and ideals;
- to be a hero to the people of Jeharoa;
- to see his friend Matthias again;
- dishonor;
- disappointing his father and Sir Waldo;
- never becoming a knight;
- gnoll and hyena;
- being exiled from the Brotherhood of Bronze;
- that Sir Waldo's memory will be forgotten;
- that his current mission is not honorable;
- that the Silver Sisters are up to something nefarious;
- that none of the other Bronze Brothers were as good and honorable as Sir Waldo;
- that the Brotherhood's feud with the Ashkelonian Guard will harm their efforts to defend the city;
- that the Queen's mental condition will harm their efforts to defend the city;
- a bloody sack like that at Alameen;
- that Matthias might die in Ibelin;
- that he might be found out to be a woman, which may bring dishonor or worse
- his mission to spy on the Silver Sisters
- prior to the invasion the Brotherhood of Bronze was interested in antiquities from the Mithril Era, particularly weapons like the Triptych Flame
- Sir Gundaric believes the Flame to be located somewhere in the city and that the Frosted Gold Company is looking for it too most prisoners of the Brotherhood are held in the Ashkelon Keep's dungeons or the Iron Square—however, those that they don't want the Ashkelonian Guard to know about are held at the Bronze Barracks, either in the dungeons if they are particularly dangerous or in the Requisitions office if they need questioning
- how to armor a knight
- how to use a medicine kit
- proper court etiquette
- the history of Queen Theodosia and much of the court's gossip
- basic fighting techniques
- how to mount a horse
- the layout of the Bronze Barracks and the names of all the Bronze Brothers stationed there
Avery Farynwel
Medium Human, Squire, Lawful Good
Armor Class 14 (chain shirt)
Hit Points 32
Speed:
30 ft.
STR
15
( +2 )
DEX
12
( +1 )
CON
14
( +2 )
INT
15
( +2 )
WIS
12
( +1 )
CHA
14
( +2 )
Skills Insight +4, Medicine +4, Perception +7, Persuasion +4
Senses passive Perception 17, passive Investigation 17
Languages Tamorese, Falerian, Mashiqi, some Vulgate Celestial, Qartagonian, and Éruladic
Challenge Rating 2
Proficiency Bonus +2
Description
Avery Farynwel is a Tamorese Pilgrim female human squire sworn to the Brotherhood of Bronze. She has disguised herself as a boy for the duration of the war. She has been given to the Silver Sisters of the Orphean League by Sir Ambrose Zula to serve them during their time in Jeharoa.
Ideals
I will bring honor to my father and to the people of Jeharoa through my service
Bonds
The Brotherhood of Bronze sees my potential when others didn't and I must do right by them
Flaws
I am indecisive and plagued by fear of failure and dishonor
Observant: Avery can read the lips of any creature that speaks a language he understands. His passive Perception and Investigation skills gain +5.
Actions
Dagger: Melee Weapon Attack: 1d20+4 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., single target. Hit: 1d4+2 piercing damage. Shortsword: Melee Weapon Attack: 1d20+4 to hit, reach 5 ft. single target. Hit: 1d6+2 piercing damage.
Species
Ethnicity
Other Ethnicities/Cultures
Age
15
Date of Birth
27th of Sun's Crest
Birthplace
Children
Pronouns
He/Him
Sex
Female
Gender
Male
Eyes
Dark grey
Hair
Reddish brown mop
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Pale, sunburnt, freckled and speckled with acne
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