- Brynn Vessmer -
Ranger Scout, Aged 32 years.
Alias: “The Borderland Ranger”
Birthplace: Tewbury, The Borderlands
Brynn Vessmer was born to Alara and Temmin Vessmer, commoners among the thorp of Tewbury situated equidistant between Ki and the capitol of the Borderlands; Harpsdale. The small community was but one of many in The Borderlands that struggled to exist, stockpiling what they could in the summers, and scraping by every winter in the dark pines that filled the region. The dreary wooded land was known for harsh weather, difficult winters, and creatures akin to those from nightmares rumored to lurk among the wilderness. Like the small village of Elg to the northeast, those in Tewbury also practiced in the Old Ways rather than the conventional religion of Olaran. His life growing up in The Borderlands has left him superstitious at times, and enthralled by folklore.
Brynn was the quintessential middle child, with two older brothers and a younger sister he only recently met. Robb, his eldest brother had joined the Kingsmen at age eighteen, a good sixteen years back, and perished in his first year of service to the crown, in Murnock. He would have been thirty-four this year. Brynn’s surviving older brother, age 33, is Temmin Jr. (“Temm”), who moved away from father’s house and became a lumberer to the south across the river, in the settlement of Ko.
Brynn was raised primarily by his father, learning the trades of the woodsmen that kept Tewbury afloat, such as hunting, tanning hide, and carpentry. At age 17 Brynn became praised by his community and those in Harpdale as he was able to track down a criminal named Darek Finnman, a highwayman who’d been lairing just within the woods outside of Harpdale and had been causing much trouble for wayfarers. This act earned him some coin to line his pockets, and established him as somewhat of a small folk hero for the next few years.
He eventually left the nest, so to speak, eight years ago at age 24 and headed south like his older brother before him to join the ranks of the Kingsmen, determined to make his late brother proud. However, early on into his training, he was one of three selected from his training class to become a Ranger, based on skills all three possessed from their upbringings; a better way they could serve the kingdom. Brynn didn’t fight the decision, and leaned into it, he had already planned on becoming an archer within the Kingsmen, but couldn’t deny that his years of hunting and tracking could be utilized better outside the black and yellow ranks.
For the first four years of his training as a Ranger, he had been stationed in a number of locations, to the Highlands just south of the Grimmock Mountains, a short mission to The Barrens north of the Coldfell River, and an extended time at Blackwell Crossing in Raven. During this time period, he discovered upon a return back home that he had a new baby sister named Mira who had been born shortly after his departure. The other discovery at home was less than pleasing, as his mother had not made it through the previous winter, succumbing to a terrible sickness.
For the last four years, Brynn has been spending more time back in the Borderlands, acting as an agent of law and order of the woods after receiving a Commission from the Crown for the region, leading to him being simply known by many as “The Borderland Ranger.” He is often found at roadside inns near Harpdale when not on an assignment. However, when the winters loom on the horizons, he travels south to the lands near the city of Olaran (unless he is commanded elsewhere). He’s seen his younger sister slowly grow under the tutelage of his father as he’s patrolled the woods, but Tewbury no longer feels like home. He regrets he and his living brother down in Ko not being closer, and having not seen him within the last 8 years, but simply put, they have nothing in common. He’s not sure if being a Ranger is as close enough to following in Robb’s footsteps, but he likes to think if Robb was alive he would be proud. His time away from The Borderlands makes him long for home, but time spent in The Borderlands reminds him it no longer feels like home and drives him away; only for the cycle to repeat.
This year however, as fall approaches, he makes his way across the Highlands, for his first venture westward to the Thornwood, a land known for the kingdom’s largest wineries and woods said to hold remnants of magic from when the Old Ways were once practiced there. The region is known to be currently locked down by Rangers holding the northern border against the Sea Lords and Hearth-Guard forces, allowing none to enter who do not acknowledge the rule of the Council and the Kingdom of Olaran. There, Brynn will join in the efforts to hold the border with the Rangers, alongside a number of Kingsmen.
