Brand

Once a silent and stalwart soldier serving under Hades and Maleficent, Brand is best described as somewhere between dead and alive. Once upon a time, he lived happily ever after as a king of a small country.

## Personality

Brand is a dutiful soldier, following orders and carrying out tasks to the most of his ability. As a dead man, he does not feel fear for he has already seen the other side. After the disappearance of Hades, he seemed to be more aware of the world around him unlike the rest of the dead souls around him. He has quietly become questioning and curious, but each time his consciousness seems to resurface, there is a threat that it will disappear again.

## History

Many souls come to Hades, the dead lost to disease, to famine, to accidents and intention. Wartime saw the arrival of so many, Arthur was simply one of thousands. Stripped of all memory and status, he was set adrift for what must have only been days but what felt like an eternity. Out in the abyss, his only purpose was to fade. It was the call to arms, pulling him back by instinct alone, that eventually drew him up to return to a corporeal form and set to march among the ranks of an undead legion so vast and powerful they could overtake countries in a matter of days.

True to his purpose, the dead king used sword and shield to fight and to slay. In such sheer numbers, there were times when he was no more than part of a crashing wave, but those days where he found the space to do real battle, his ability shone through. Companies changed constantly. Size of an army fluctuated, but always for the right reasons, whether for the mobility of a force or the strength that came in numbers. In the same way all undead acted, so too did he. Fighting, killing, feasting. He was no different from the other souls. The eternity he lost to the abyss disappeared in the face of four years of unending combat, a new kind of hell.

Then something changed.

When two incredibly powerful forces clashed, neither arose the apparent victor. In the wake of a great battle, there were few losses and many remnants. An army without a general was little more than a crowd, gathered for no clear reason. Perhaps it was this time when a spark of life began to reappear within the soldier, Brand. Free of the influence of Hades, a willful soul pulled at the edges of his consciousness - his true consciousness - resurrecting memories and thoughts among the haze of death. Shortly afterward, he began to dream. A voice, at times distant and booming, at others a soft drone from nearby, would tease at mental clues. Keys. Even now, these experiences plague him in sleep not meant for a dead man. His body wakes and sleeps like a fitful patient, showing unequal measures of each from week to week. While his body continues to decay, his mind has begun to return.

### Vanessa

When the battle was fought and ended, Brand was discovered alone atop the Bald Mountain by a sea witch and her followers. Free of magic, his body began to die again until Vanessa saved him and brought him back to the world of the living. Her involvement in his existence has since been influential. Even when Maleficent gained control of the legion again and he was drawn away, her magic kept him moving and even began to reawaken him before he could understand what that meant.

## Relationships

### Vanessa

The savior and love of the life he knows, Vanessa played a key role in his returning consciousness, using a large part of her magic to keep him from dying a second time. Since their first meeting, they have been together in some way, shape, or form, and seem to share a connection that is not easily explained or understood. He is often alert for her emotions, but has difficulty understanding the magical aspects of her life.

### Merlin

Though their relationship was strained by the capture of the wizard and the death of the king, Merlin and Brand are still loyal to one another, and both seek the freedom of the other actively. Just as he had before with Arthur, Merlin acts as an anchor for Brand, whose mind wanders uncontrollably in the simplest of conversations.

### Flotsam and Jetsam

Constantly wary of one another, the twins and Brand do not fit well together under Vanessa's influence, much to the chagrin of the sea witch. After their first meeting, the twins betrayed the undead soldier in a way that landed him back under the control of Maleficent and her Legion of the Dead. If they did not get along before, they are nearly enemies to one another now.

### Maleficent

The general of the legion he served for so long, he knows her as little more than the Dark Mistress, a faerie capable of great and terrible things. Though partially freed of her influence thanks to Vanessa's intervention, he holds onto the fear that she may one day call him back and he will be powerless to the call.

### Aurora Rose Montegue

Like Merlin, Aurora recognized Brand for who he once was. Upon a prevalent awakening, it was Aurora who kept an eye on the slowly awakening zombie. A sense of family still lingers there.