Oswald Rosewood

**Oswald Rosewood**, nicknamed **Oz** by few, was a male Borealan Aethuman from the planet Borealis. Rosewood was the patriarch of House Rosewood, which served as a vassal house to House Stone in the late 6th millennium ASA. He was the captain of the Thorns, an elite team of Borealan fighters.

## Biography

### Early Life

Around the year 5900 ASA, Oswald Rosewood was born on the planet Borealis. His mother, Polyantha Rosewood, was a member of House Rosewood. Polyantha spent one night with an Aetherian dignitary, who was Oswald's biological father, resulting with Oswald having mixed human and Aetherian ancestry. Oswald always had to hide his true heritage with either makeup or head coverings like helmets. Oswald noted that he once visited the planet Wish during the more forgetful days of his youth, stating that he "barely passed by" on Wish because of his mixed heritage.

Eventually, Oswald became the patriarch of House Rosewood, most likely succeeding his stepfather as patriarch. He married a woman name Jasmine, who was not bothered by Oswald's mixed heritage and loved him unconditionally. Together, the couple had a son they named Jason.

### Deal with the Praeliorians

Sometime in 5957 ASA, Danton Stone—the Sentinel of Borealis at the time—had an audience with the Praeliorian Empress Esper Aznaré, the sovereign of the Praeliorian Empire. Danton saw that they held a common grudge against the Dawns, seizing the opportunity to make a deal with the empress. When a failed attempt to ambush the Dawns on Aurora fell through, Stone met with Aznaré once more, this time introducing her to Oswald Rosewood, the captain of the Thorns and patriarch of House Rosewood. With the announcement of the execution of Deckard Stone as a result of the failed ambush, as well as Oswald's first introductions with the Esper Aznaré, the empress decided to continue the Praeliorians' dealings with the Borealans.

### Skirmish on Aurora

Sometime in 5957 ASA, the Dawns returned to Aurora in order to find more incriminating evidence of Borealan injustices. Annesidora—disguised as a human through the use of magic—, Rhodo Lax, and Jet Lignite successfully landed on the planet, but quickly caught the suspicions and attention of Oswald Rosewood. Rhodo Lax's dyed pink hair was a dead giveaway for Oswald that they were not from Aurora. Oswald greeted them as if they were Aurorans even though he knew otherwise, before sending off his team of Thorns to follow them. Eventually the three Dawns made their way into the Auroran forests, where Oswald finally confronted them. He revealed his runestone blade to Ann, who fought against him with her own crystal swords. With the Antumbrian mercenary Seraphitiam by his side to fight against Lax and Lignite, the skirmish managed to last a few minutes. The fight was interrupted by the roar of a native Auroran, who came in to fend off the Thorns and Seraph. In an instant, the Thorns and Seraph fled the scene of the fight, and the Dawns safely left Aurora.

### Encounters with the Quaestorium

The Cascadian Quaestorium arrived on Borealis for a stealth mission, in hopes on getting incriminating evidence on the Borealans. This evidence would be used against Ambassador Percival Hayes of House Hayes and in support of the Dawns during their trials in the Galactic Embassy. Mercenary brothers Seraphitiam and Almandis were sent to investigate an unmarked ship in the lower levels of Borealis, correctly believed by Sentinel Borealis and Ambassador Hayes to have belonged to the Quaestors of Cascade. Meanwhile, Oswald and his team of Thorns were sent to investigate the planet for "nosy individuals", as the Sentinel put it.

Oswald and the Thorns arrived at the outskirts of Polaris Citadel, where they encountered two Quaestors: Solinity Ria and Vernal Shallow, both of them disguised as attendants and reinforcements for House Hayes. Immediately suspicious of the Quaestor's true identities, Oswald had Solinity accompany him during his patrol of the Citadel grounds. Solinity had no choice but to accept in order to protect her identity and the mission.

#### Confronting Solinity Ria

While on patrol, it didn't take long for Solinity's cover to be blown thanks to Oswald's perceptiveness and suspicions. Oswald gave the Quaestor a choice: either to die by his runestone blade or to leave Borealis and pretend nothing happened. Solinity picked the second option, acknowledging that Oswald had the upperhand in the situation but also reiterating that Cascade "[didn't] *start* wars". When Oswald questioned her about her goals, Solinity said that all she was looking for was justice. Oswald deemed her a vigilante because of this, thinking Solinity to be playing with elements far bigger than herself.

Solinity's cheeky replies to Oswald throughout all his threats amused him enough for him to reveal his face underneath his helmet. The Cascadian was surprised to find that Oswald was infact Aethuman, with extremely pale skin and silvery grey hair. Rosewood called himself "the product of the worst parts of Borealis", stating that the only way for one to cement one's place was by hiding who they were. Solinity tried empathizing with him, telling Rosewood that there shouldn't be a need for him to hide who he was. Oswald was quick to end the conversation, giving Solinity ten minutes to leave before he changed his mind and sounded a planetwide alarm. Solinity replied how ten minutes was all she needed, before returning back the way she came.

The Cascadian Quaestorium's mission was a success, as Phy Telma and Vernal Shallow were able to record a secret meeting between Sentinel Borealis, Praeliorian Elite Gris Véridémi, and Praeliorian High Elite Kyalonis Amillís. This recording confirmed that Borealis was working in secret with the Praeliorian Empire to earn an observer seat in the Galactic Embassy for Praelior.

### Defending Hailstorm

In 5957 ASA, the Drazarian Empire attacked Hailstorm, sparking a destructive battle above the planet's atmosphere. This was all in accordance to the plan of the Dawns, led by the Dremirian Annesidora, who planned to break out Alden and Marie from their wrongful imprisonment.

Once the Dawns were inside the prison facility, Oswald was quick to meet them, accompanied by the Antumbrian mercenary Seraphitiam. The Borealan and the Antumbrian had a quick face-off against Annesidora, Moon, and Jet. Ann and Moon recognized that Oswald was merely wasting their time, and so the three Dawns raced to the nearest elevator to regroup with their teammate Amber. Seraph nearly caught them just mere moments before the elevator took off. Eventually, the four Dawns were able to free Alden Lafayette from his cell, and kill Gris Véridémi in the process.

#### The Revelation

Once the four Dawns returned to the ground level of the prison facility with a rescued Alden, they were met by Oswald and the Thorns, with Seraph by his side as well.

Oswald was shocked to see that Alden Lafayette was alive, having been told by Danton Stone himself that he had Alden executed ten years ago during the raid on House Lafayette. Alden criticized him for following who he called a "genocidal maniac" in his own words. This was enough for Oswald and the Thorns to reveal their faces to the Dawns, taking off their helmets. To the Dawns' surprise, not only was Oswald not fully human, but all of the Thorns were of mixed or completely alien heritage. Oswald ordered that Lafayette leave the facility, essentially letting him and the Dawns escape without conflict.

Finding out that Alden was alive and hearing Alden's words would remain in Oswald's mind as lingering thoughts going forward into the future.

## Personality and Traits

Oswald was a tall Aethuman man with ghastly pale skin, pastel-colored eyes, shrunken pupils, and silvery grey hair. He often felt the need to hide his face with either a helmet or makeup. As a result of his mixed ancestry, he considered himself the "product of the worst parts of Borealis" in his own words.

Oswald once respected House Stone, as his own house served the Stones as vassals. This respect was tested once Oswald discovered that he was lied to about the status of Alden Lafayette. Oswald was informed that Alden was dead when he, in reality, was incarcerated at the secretive Hailstorm penal colony. Despite everything, Oswald was a perceptive man who was not easily fooled in the slightest. When the common people of Borealis began to protest in the streets against harsher restrictions and curfews placed upon them by the nobility, Oswald refused Danton Stone's order to punish the commoners. However, Oswald was clever enough not to reveal his true allegiances until he was out of Danton's eye.

Oswald appeared to have harbored a pessimistic view on the world and a negative view on himself. Having been forced to hide his mixed heritage for all of his life, Oswald found that the only way to survive in the universe was to shelter who he truly was.

## Skills and Abilities

Oswald was adept at using his runestone blade, a weapon he wielded that he claimed was crafted and gifted to him by the Prometheans. Rosewood was also a skilled fighter, able to hold his own in combat against many foes. He knew how to properly use a jetpack with relative ease.