A character illustration for any fantasy -themed role-playing game setting. I made this for my own fantasy world of Cresia to be a temperamental but foxy adventurer one might encounter getting into trouble in southern Gruenroth or northern Witchlight Strand.
Also part of my Through the Ages series of illustrations.
Name: Werner Baerwyn
Race: Human
Location: Gruenwald, Gruenroth
King of Gruenroth, one of the biggest countries in Cresia, Werner is also a man of humble beginnings and retains his humility while serving his people as their leader. Gruenroth is a vast and sparsely populated country in a constant state of inner quarreling between city states claiming to be autonomous, tribal hordes seeking whatever retribution to whatever ancient and forgotten deed by their neighbors and between barbaric hordes of orcs, ogres and undead from Zarnova and ice elves from the north glaciers.
A competent combatant, Werner is also tempered with hardship throughout his life. His life has been a struggle since his parents were killed by marauding orcs when he was but 5 years of age. Since those times he has been determined to make a difference in the world. He truly believes that a single man can change the course of history.
He has four daughters with two wives – both of which are now deceased. His demeanor is that of a man determined to get his way and his attitude is the attitude of a can do -man. Gruenroth is seen to be in good hands by the common people although disgruntled voices from hot-headed tribal leaders need to be silenced on a regular basis. Gruenroth just might have the biggest army in Cresia but it is also widely dispersed around the country since there’s not a single neighbor that Gruenroth is quite comfortable with albeit actual wars are few and far between. And then there’s the intermittent feuds between warlords; should a military presence in any one area weaken, it will be filled by the forces of local warlords making it inherently difficult a task to keep the country under one rule instead of breaking into dozens of smaller tribal powers that alone would not be able to counter any of the country’s current neighbors.
Name: Temur Soxion
Race: Human
Location: Gruenroth (or where ever princess Leana travels)
Temur is the chief of princess Leana Baerwyn‘s personal bodyguards. He owes his life to king Werner Baerwyn and has vowed a life of servitude to him and by extension to his family. Temur has a history of violence back to his early childhood in the restless mountainous regions between Gruenroth and Zarnova. He was orphaned at an early age and adopted to a reclusive monastery located near the once bustling community of Ilven. The monastery was later ruined by a dangerous shadowy spider cult led by priestess Chya of Zarnovan origin whose influence is thankfully now shifted to warmer climates of Caheb. Temur spent ten years fighting against unspeakable creatures of Zarnovan source at the mountains and eventually joined Gruenroth‘s standing military at the age of 19.
He quickly rose in the ranks as he already had a decade of actual combat experience under his belt whilst most of his superiors lacked the power and skills to even subdue him. While the country is officially living a peaceful interlude in it’s history, the eastern mountainous regions are in actuality a veritable fountain of bloody skirmishes extending the entire border’s length of thousands of kilometers. And have been for quite some time. Total war is held at bay only because the region is just too damned difficult for either country’s armies to deal with (logistically or strategically) and the mountains also hide indigenous dangers hostile to all outsiders as well.
Years went by and eventually Temur commanded the entire standing army of eastern Gruenroth as a general appointed by the king himself. He was hand-picked by the king to his personal guard unit of elite warriors and gladly accepted the challenge leaving the army at an age of 40 and now holds a honorary title of Grand General of Gruenroth. He then quickly outmaneuvered his younger comrades and rose to lead the body guard unit nowadays simply known as The Soxions. When the king’s eldest daughter Lady Leana exhibited signs of interest to travelling the lands, the king appointed Temur to permanently body guard Lady Leana and on that mission Temur is still today. Lady Leana and Temur are good friends now sharing many common beliefs and a quirky, yet benevolent, sense of humor. Both also exhibit a similar appetite to righting wrongs – all in all this makes Temur content, pleased, proud and honored by his position.
Temur is deep, enigmatic, quiet, thoughtful and careful in his choice of words. He is the literal old wise man but also a warrior that can punch your lights out if need be.
Name: Princess Leana Baerwyn
Race: Human
Location: Gruenroth
Lady Leana is the eldest child of Gruenroth‘s current king Werner Baerwyn. Leana is a wandering spirit who finds it hard to settle down even though many expect just that from her. She spends around half her time travelling the lands of Gruenroth (and sometimes those of Argan and Akron as well) with a retinue of around twenty adventurers, cooks, servants and bodyguards. She uses her title to settle disputes, right wrongs and reports problems to her father’s trusted aide and political adviser Chalty Veron whom she considers more of a father than her actual biological father ever was.
Lady Leana is a competent and hardy traveler excelling in survival skills uncommon for women in general and she even hunts her own food by traps or by bow and arrow. She is therefore much respected by those who travel with her as she is the exact opposite of a narcissistic and pampered princess – say – like her two little sisters Lady Lucia and Lady Lise both of whom are content living a life of excesses in the king’s palace.
She has a very strong sense of right and wrong and she knows that her moral compass is the one she should be following in a world of injustice, violence, intolerance and hatred. She sees herself at a somewhat martyrish light although she has long since abandoned the need to shoulder the entire world’s wrongs. Some things she can’t alter and she accepts that. It still doesn’t stop her from trying. She speaks her mind freely and never voluntarily bow to men of authority even if she gains enemies that way. Mostly her father accepts her behavior as she does a tremendous amount of truly good things on her travels and the good far outweigh the bad. The king’s only concern is that he wants Lady Leana safely at home sooner rather than later because the future ruler of Gruenroth needs to be Lady Leana and not Lady Lucia or Lady Lise and the future queen must understand that governing a vast nation requires more than just survival skills.
Name: Baron Benedikt Zolov
Race: originally human (presumed deceased and is now some form of undead creature)
Location: Zolov, Zarnova
Not much is known about Baron Zolov as few mortals now dare enter the once-bustling trade town of Zolov that has been turned into a maggot-infested hive of undead abominations under the relentless rule of the baron. Located deep into the mountains in a hard-to-reach location almost 2 miles above the sea level, the town is not only remote, it’s positively secluded. The trade town was once an important way point for trade routes going over the mountainous regions between Zarnova and Gruenroth, but two decades ago things rapidly changed as baron Zolov simply took over the region backed up by Zarnova’s vampire queen Anya Voorish.
As Zolov’s residents were converted from living beings into hideous undead creatures, trade caravans no longer considered it a good idea to stop there and currently most of the trade routes using that region have faded into oblivion. The area still has good routes when one wishes to cross the mountains, but anyone familiar with the area would warn any and all travelers to simply avoid those routes and should anyone be fool enough to ignore those warnings, they most certainly would not rent their services as guides.
The exact nature of the former residents of Zolov is under debate and no reliable witness statements have been made in several years. In Gruenroth the whole idea of those undead creatures crawling on their borders is an unsettling one but so far the creatures have not expanded their influence westwards of the bordering mountains. Baron Zolov maintains a stone fortress right in the heart of the old town – in a location that used to house a bustling marketplace. The fortress was built using the undead creatures as slave labor and much of the building materials originate from other buildings of Zolov rendering most of the entire town’s buildings as mere ruins further ruined by neglect and the harsh climate.
Baron Zolov is one of the vampire queen’s advisors in her ruling circle known as The Roskov Ring.
The Uninvisited Isle 
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