Alsop Bennings

## Personality

Alsop Bennings is known through-out the realm of Alemnia as a hero, he has proved on many occasion that he can be loyal and kind, going as far to help anyone in need of his aid. Alsop Bennings is also a notorious bard and used to travel from place to place spinning tales of his adventures in the Heroes of Sydoon.

## Early Life

Alsop Bennings was born in AB.41 in the western city of Furnace City, a known place for dealing with criminals. He was raised there by his mother Rodra Bennings and taught all the ways of the bard by her, before starting a life of adventure after his mothers death in AB.55.

In AB.57 Alsop Bennings had his first child, a boy by the name of Cade Bennings. Cade would usually stay behind with his mother when Alsop went out on his adventures. Alsop had been left a small mansion by his mother, the family had lived there.

## Heroes of Sydoon

In AB.70 Alsop Bennings joined a group of adventurers on the hunt for a missing set of brothers, after their successful retrieval of the brothers Alsop stayed on as the groups bard.

In AB.71 the group discovered the Sword of Sorcery, an artefact that pushed them past the edge of fame, making them well-known heroes through-out the Commonwealth and giving their group the official title of 'The Heroes of Sydoon'

## Maddrix the Demon Bard

With Alsop's fame though, came much misfortune, he attracted the attention of a powerful demon down in the Abyss. Maddrix the Demon Bard possessed the powers to possess a person who was dedicated to him through prayer, using this Maddrix tormented Alsop Bennings many times in his career.

Maddrix is also thought to have kidnapped the bard before he could enter the Void with his friend Ronoa. Instead bringing him down into a layer of the Abyss where Maddrix could torture him and learn his secrets, failing that it was just brutal torture. Rumours surfaced that Maddrix had sold Alsop Bennings onto the next highest demon, continuing his pain.

It is believed that Maddrix managed to locate Alsop's family and murder them in their homes, causing Alsop to locate the members of his church and kill them. He kept one member alive and handed him over to the Council of Elders in Dhanab City, so they could lock him in the vault, just in case Alsop ever needed the demon bard.

Maddrix the Demon Bard also had a major part in the Dragon Wars and the fall of Alemnia at the hands of the Dragon Lords. He became a worthy foe for the recent hero bard Esk Mialee, swearing to peel off her skin and eat it with soup.

## Dealings with Avandra

During his career as a bard, Alsop gained the favour of many Gods, but none more so than Avandra the God of Luck. In meeting with her, she expressed a great fondness of the bard, giving the opinion that he had been one of the best music players she had heard of the human race yet.

It was because of this that Avandra handed own to Alsop Bennings the *Violin of Change*, her own personal Violin that is embraced with her divine energy. She also made Alsop a promise that she would watch over any of his blood with fondness and bless them with unrivalled luck in the face of danger.

Alsop Bennings visited her many times on his journey to discover more about the Merging of the Voids, all of which he kept safe in his journals.

## The Merging of the Void

In AB.73, Alsop Bennings was sent far North to settle negotiations with the Barbarians of the Ice Winds. Whilst in the North, through his own fortune, he slipped in the mountains and fell into a tunnel that led deep down to a small cave. The cave was part of a destroyed city, part of an old city of Rannador, in there Alsop Bennings discovered the Eye of the Void.

It is a map that tells the countdown of the Void, after discovering it he returned to warn his friends and began his journey of discovery. Consoling with Gods and demons and devils to discover what the Void was and how it could be stopped.

Using the Eye of the Void, he managed to predict the next Merging of the Voids and how to enter it. Something that was already known to his friend Morquen Vandulin.

Morquen said that the Heroes of Sydoon would enter the Void and stop the merging of it. But when Alsop didn't show up (because of Maddrix) the group split, with Ronoa being the only member to enter with twenty volunteers.

Retirement

Alsop Bennings lived a good life of adventure and he is still believed to be alive in the Abyss. During his years he set up a Bard College that he named '*The Rising Melody*' it was there that his grandson Holsley Bennings trained to be a bard.

He also established a small falconry in Dhanab City before it was destroyed by Tiamat. Alsop had a love for falcons and he ran a successful business that sold his well-trained falcons for profit.