Osander Brantley

## Lord Osander Brantley

Osander as depicted in Blender

Deneko Brantley (Son)

Lysander Brantley (Grandson)

Captian Osander Brantley, Lord of the Brantley Estate and Third Seat of the Red Mages of Luracia, is a pragmatic man with a soldier's disposition. The War with Edath has been raging for a good portion of his adult career and has shaped his studies and mind in a way focused towards winning said conflict. He has seen Luracia's might threatened and has lost dozens of friends, allies and colleagues in the line of duty. He is battle hardened and knows how to handle himself in a fight. Physically and mentally he is prepared for the harshness of war. But despite this, he has found a way to remain noncynical and cooperative in his strategies and approaches to danger.

## Backstory

The Brantley family, sometimes known by their nickname, the comet catchers, were a minor noble house in the Luracian hierarchy. They came to power after Osander's grandfather, Oliver Brantley, was studying with the astral occulons, and lead a project to have Luracia intercept a falling comet believed to be rich in Mithral so it could be mined before falling into the territory of a rival power. This meteor was worth a small fortune, and Oliver's portion was enough to set him up as a minor lord in Luracia.

Osander was the second grandson of Oliver, and was born during a time when Luracia was heavily involved in the politics of the grounded kingdoms. The Second convergence was well over a century ago at this point, but the repercussions of its were still being felt across the continent, and Luracia and its allies were still trying to re-establish a strong semblance of order.

### Early life

Osander was born the second son of the Brantley estate, and even from a young age, he was active. Unlike his older brother, Diames who was the scholar of the two boys, Osander was never one to sit still for too long. He learned the arts of arcana from his father and tutor as he grew up, but astrological research was never his forte. Theory was all well an d good, but Osander wanted to actively practice magic in a practical application.

When Osander was around the age of ten or so, he began to pay closer attention to the political situation in Luracia. He would listen to his father and his father's friends talk about the wars being waged below and how Luracia was constantly under pressure to join and fight for their allies. Luracia was powerful, but had a relatively small army compared to most of the other major powers in the area, and they had to choose their battles wisely.

Osander wanted to help. If the world below needed more soldiers to help establish peace, that sounded like a worth cause.

### The Red Mages

Osander first applied to become an eldritch knight, but his physical constitution, or lack thereof, didn't set him up well for being on the front lines. Osander reapplied for the red mages, and found their battle tactics, focusing on speed over defense, and letting the arcana do the work for them in combat was much more his speed.

At the age of twelve, Osander moved from Luracia proper to Dastri, the arcane fortress, where he was surrounded by arcane wonders and warriors alike. He was not part of the military yet, but he was surrounded by it, and he enjoyed every second of it. The discipline everyone around his displayed, and their dedication to efficiency over everything else was enthralling to him.

Over the next five years he trained hard, practicing both his arcane studies, his swordsmanship and his manipulation of aether. Red mages were called red mages because they drew their strength from red aetheryte crystals, which they used as spellcasting focuses. Using aether as their focus limited the variability of their spells when compared to wizards, but it made them able to output the same quantity of spells a wizard could while still allowing them time to train with a blade.

Osander made two close friends within his class during the years he studied at Dastri. Luke of house Hanley, and Finley of house Greenwoe were his bunkmates for their training years. Luke was an idealist who had an optimistic attitude that could brighten a room, and Finely was a prankster who always kept the other two on their toes. The three of them trained well together and became a coordinated team, and as soon as they came of age, at sixteen, all three of the passed their final examinations, and officially became apprentice red mages of Dastri.

The three of them went on several outings where they learned the ropes of how the military functions and the roles they would be expected to perform. But Osander would never forget their first combat mission. A rift to the elemental plane of fire had been opened during a battle between Edath and Mevia, and the red mages were assigned to serve as scouts to support the Prime ring druids and their entourage assigned to close the rift.

Their team approached the rift, passing at least a hundred dead and charred bodies, all increasingly singed as they came closer to the site where the rift had ripped open. The smell of soot and decay was overwhelming, but the mages pressed on, entering the elemental plane of fire. They scattered a few fire mephits, and some minor elementals. But for the most part, the danger was minimal at this point.

That's what they thought, until Luke let out a bloodcurdling cry as a sword ripped through his abdomen. Two Edath scouts had been exploring inside the rift, and they were returning now. Finley and Osander sprang into action, counterattacking the two scouts. Osander had hundreds of hours of combat experience, but fighting an enemy soldier for real, nothing ever prepares a person for what that feels like. Osander will never forget the feeling of relief when he saw his opening, and took it, plunging his rapier into his enemy's neck. He won, but he didn't feel good about it. He was just glad it was over.

### War with Edath

Luke was alright after they brought him back to the prime users for some healing. It would be years before Osander would cross blades with another soldier of Edath, but Edath's air superiority with their adamantine citadels, made Luracia's flying fortresses their only real rival in the air. Despite Luracia's attempts to avoid an open conflict, the was between Edath and Luracia was inevitable.

Edath's budding alliance with Halzvager was a problem Luracia could not ignore. Osander and his squad were assigned to be bodyguards to a half-elven diplomat, named Acacius Silva. Luracia had entered into negotiations with Halzvager in an attempt to dissuade them from joining Edath. Acacius was assigned as an attache to a Fire Giant Forgemaster named Alosgr. Alosgr was a highly respected craftsman among his people, and he opposed to unification with Edath. He had little political power, but his skills were sought after and his reputation among his people was well respected. Luracia had an interest in keeping Edath from silencing him.

It didn't take long for Osander and his charge, Acacius. For a diplomat he was quieter than most, but when he spoke, his words were always careful and insightful. Acacius didn't carry the heir of superiority or pride that most men of his station would, and Osander found that intriguing and refreshing. The attempts on Alosgr's life didn't take long to begin. Osander and his team were capable warriors by this point, and they helped Acacius adapt to battle situations.

But despite their valiant defenses of their fire giant charge, the negotiations in the capital went in Edath's favor. Halzvager joined Edath, and Alosgr was branded a traitor to his people. Osander and Acacius continued to support Alosgr as he and those who opposed Edath tried to fight for the heart of their homeland. For three years, Osander and Acacius fought alongside their fire giant friend. Osander showed Acacius the ins and outs of life on the battlefield and infantry tactics, while Acacius served as his grounded and thoughtful companion, focused more on the larger picture of the war. Alosgr was stern, but wise and his entire luracian team learned to respect his wisdom, despite his stubborn nature.

Eventually though, the resistance in Halzvager were overrun, and in one fateful battle, Alosgr was slain by his oldest son. Osander and Acacius barely escaped the battle with their lives as the forces of Edath completely overran their position.

Acacius stayed friends afterwards, despite them being given different assignments after that. Whenever they were back in Luracia proper, they would be sure to see one another.

## Relationships

### Nyles

Osander would not consider Nyles a personal friend, but he does respect his powers and abilities. He wishes Nyles had a more militaristic attitude, but the prime ring has never been known for its mental discipline. Bringing independent contractors and civilians into fights always makes the dynamic of command difficult, but Nyles is competent, and competence is always a welcome asset.

## Trivia

* Osander Brantley's appearance was directly modelled after one of the D&D Beyond portrait options.
* Osander was originally imagined to be a Red Mage, but FFXIV Classes were banned for the Luracia Stands campaign.
* Aside from Simulacrum and Shapechange, every spell on Osander's Spell list is also on the Red Mage Spell list.