Bran Hornraven

## Original Description

*Bran Hornraven is a 23 year old human bard that has nothing special other than his red hair, contrasting blue eyes, and a talent for music.*

## Backstory

Bran Hornraven was a simple bard in the neighboring country of Liirac... until the tyrant king started to cause trouble for his people. He fought back, becoming a folk hero, but was forced to flee to Meracyinth as the king devoted vast resources to take Bran out.

Soon after arriving in the country, Bran heard about the War of Dusk and Dawn. Intrigued, he planned to join each of the two main guilds just long enough to see what they were about. Unfortunately for him, soon after he joined the Nightfalls as a basic guard in the Darkfall Hold, the Daybreaks attacked. Bran accidentally miscast a spell and won the battle for the enemies, who took him as a prisoner until he agreed to join them. Though he started as a stable-boy, he ended up tagging along on the mission to protect Darkfall Hold from the Nightfall Mages in WoDaD Prologue 1, WoDaD Prologue 2, and WoDaD Prologue 3. There, he met the party.

## Meta

Bran is played by CodfishJoe. Starting at Level 3 in WoDaD Prologue 1, Bran was a Bard in the College of Valor. In WoDaD Session 8, he transitioned to the College of Glamour as he let down his warrior facade around his new friends. Soon after he reached Level 7, the system changed to *Fonts of Magic,* in which Bran became *The Inspiring*.

## Connections

1. Captain Alvara is a leader of the tyrant king's military forces. Since Bran led a rebellion against her army, she's vowed to hunt him down and end him, both as a personal threat and as an example to those who would stand against the king.
2. Lori is a beautiful young human woman, kind and witty. She was Bran's first love, the first person he considered rejecting his destiny for. It wasn't meant to be, though, so he left her in Thurston, Liirac.
3. Saphara AKA Grandmother is a kind old lady in the town of Sheshmal, located in the Plains of Viirathu. She took in Bran (going by Marcus the Entertainer) when he appeared, near-dead from exhaustion, immediately after he fled Liirac.

## Short Stories

1. In *The Story Never Told*, Bran is a 9-year-old orphan child, with only his older half-brother Marcus to take care of him along with some earned assistance from the inn-keeper Damien. Marcus has been saving up to go through military schooling, though, leaving Bran behind. When Bran learns this, he is filled with emotions and uses bardic magic, accidentally blowing his brother back onto a hanging pitchfork, killing him. Damien, a retired bard, takes him in and trains him in bardic magic.
2. In *Drifter with a Plan*, Bran appears in the town of Sheshmal in the Plains of Viirathu - just across the border between Meracyinth and Liirac. Half-dead with exhaustion, he's taken in by a kind old woman named Saphara (or Grandmother). He and Muse recover while Bran acts as an entertainer and learns about the War of Dusk and Dawn. His plan is to gather bring peace to Meracyinth, find allies in one of the two main mage guilds, and return home to Liirac to free his people from the tyrant king. Saphara warns him his path will be difficult and dangerous, but he has to do it - so he leaves with a promise that they will see each other again.
3. In *Half-Elf Legend*, Bran remembers an ancient tale of the first half-elf. Before the Great Triad was formed between the humans, dwarves, and elves, the races lived separated. A human hunter, Alder, met an elven woman, Ishvalia, who had been caught in his trap while leaving her elven clan. The two quickly fell in love and eventually had a child, Syleena, the first half-elf. However, the elven clan found their happy settlement and killed both parents, taking Syleena hostage. The girl learned and grew with the strengths of a human and the grace of an elf, finally using her combined skills to escape the elves and live on in legend forevermore.
4. In *Bran's Journal Entry 1*, Bran recounts the events of WoDaD Session 10 in his personal journal. He mentions his doubts, his follies, but most of all his growing fondness for the other party members. He's unsure of this affection, however, as he fears it could ruin his plan to free Liirac.
5. In *First Love*, Bran is an 18-year-old folk hero set to flee Liirac soon. In the city of Thurston (the last major city in the west of Liirac), he meets a human woman named Lori. Kind, warm, and witty, Lori is a perfect match for Bran. Bran stays with her for two and a half years, but it's not meant to be; she can't hold him back from his destiny. He leaves the town and the lady, but regrets not a single moment of their relationship.
6. In *The Hidden Tune in Bran's Heart*, Bran thinks about his growing affection for Maria. She's beautiful to him, inside and out, but he's too set on his path to consider love at the moment. Even so, the crush grows and he finds it hard to go on without her knowing he cares for her in that way. He decides to tell her - though admits that gaining the confidence may take some time.
7. In *A Healed Scar, Ripped Open*, Bran is hit by the forced grief of *The Grieving*. He remembers a failed battle at the sides of those who had helped build the Astrodonian equipment for the king. At the end of the battle, Captain Alvara is impressed by the bard, ready to kill him and end the threat. Bran escapes with magic but the Captain vows to hunt him down. Back in the present, he stays away from his new friends, afraid that he'll lead them to their deaths too.