#galbard

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Profile: Harriet

Harriet, a native of Galbard, is a hunter, survivalist, and companion of the itinerant monk Soah. She and Soah encounter Lady Anna's party in the Holmine town of Eleby following her flight from Helgas, though they are initially ignorant of her noble heritage. After a scuffle at sea with a notorious pirate and a run-in with local law enforcement, the pair joins Anna's quest to restore Helgas to the people of Holmia.

Harriet is a quiet person, accustomed to taking in a scene rather than performing one. Little is known of her early life, and she is not quick to volunteer. Her demeanor is one of stillness, poise, and confident follow-through. This confidence is well-earned by her unmatched skill with a bow, which she supplements with thrown knives and trapping techniques. She is not unflappable, however; she is quick to trust, and when her trust is violated or her naïveté exposed, she is shaken and hurt.

She travels with Soah, a monk from Calay who is journeying to visit Yatha's towers. They met on the road from Grafstadt, where Soah convinced Harriet to travel with him to Helgas. The pair left the city only a few days before Galbard's arrival with Calayne troops. In their travels together, they become very close, offering each other a good friend in an otherwise solitary life for each of them. Since joining with Anna, however, they both form new friendships with others. Harriet, more than Soah, feels both sadness and guilt at the apparent distance that forms between them. However, Soah helps her come around to realize they can still rely on one another, and that they will do so for the rest of their days.

The ancient being called Idouma, who Anna's party encounters near the Pharos of Lilica, accepts Harriet's invitation to join their fight. Though remaining cold to most of the traveling party, she proves a close companion to Harriet throughout their travels. The two are often seen protecting one another on the battlefield or conversing with one another at a campfire. Their stoic natures complement one another; indeed, Idouma offers Harriet no surprises, a behavior she very much appreciates.

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History: Holmia and Galbard

Background, generations pre-conflict — Holmia and Galbard share a common ancestry, both having formed of the same historical nation several hundred years ago. Though Holmia is the elder nation, Galbard has wielded greater military might since its violent inception. The two nations have long endured heavy conflict. The Empire of Galbard made frequent attempts to expand into Holmia's territory, each time rebuffed by Holmia's natural fortifications and her people's fierce determination. Holmia has also relied on Galbard's other conflicts to pressure them into an armistice to avoid a war on many fronts. A dying emperor — The ailing emperor of Galbard, now an old man who ruled over his nation for many decades, saw a threat to his empire not from without, but from the ambitions of his only son. The emperor, counseled by a war-weary minister, commissions a pirate crew from Calay to down his son's vessel in the south ocean and ensure his demise. Shortly after his grandson's coronation, the ailing emperor perishes. Marriage and a peace accord — The young emperor is not the war hawk his father was. He extends a peace accord to Helgas and offers the hand of bright young woman to seal the treaty with marriage. The regent lord of Holmia, himself an aged man, accepts the peace accord but arranges the marriage to his second son instead. The couple is well-received in Helgas and before long would become parents to Lady Anna. At the regent's abdication in illness, the ministers of Holmia elect Anna's father to replace him. Service, death and continuance — Anna's father led Holmia for nearly a decade before himself succumbing to sickness. His elder brother accepted the mantle of governor and continued the era of peace between Holmia and Galbard in his brother's stead. Anna's mother, ever a citizen of both nations, continued to act as an ambassador between them. Anna herself continued her learning and training with Adarn in Helgas.

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Profile: Elias

Elias, once page to Anna's mother and then Lady Anna herself, is a young man and gifted student of the magical arts. Born in Grafstadt after the latest peace accord, he believes a long-standing peace with Holmia is in the Galbardite people's future. He now lives in the palace at Helgas as a special guest of the noble family. While working in the palace many years ago, he met Faro, newly arrived and beginning his training. The two shared a few late nights but were too far removed in societal terms to continue to see one another. Only a few years ago, when Faro was assigned as Lady Anna's personal Sentinel, the two began anew as if they had just met. As they journey together with Anna, they grow ever closer, until they officially leave her service to be with one another. However, they remain by her side to see her quest through. Elias has a special interest in the intersection of the magical and the natural worlds, and what he perceives as anomalies between the two. The strange ancient beings known as spirits that seem to occupy a position in both worlds are of particular interest to him. The opportunity to learn from Idouma, a near-ageless being, excites him greatly, but she often cannot provide him with satisfying answers to his inquiry. Elias's intelligence and bright imagination grant him an enormous capacity for magic. He is extremely gifted in this regard and requires little rest and replenishment. Prior to the Anna's flight, he made many trips to Grafstadt's impressive libraries of natural science and magical arts. His greatest aspiration is to be tutored by Isador, Galbard's most learned sage. Having put herself in exile, she welcomes a new student to teach, especially one who can follow her teachings so readily.