Lion and Dragon, prologue ...
Game Systems: Lion & Dragon byRPG Pundit
Tools: Ironsworn oracle, GameMaster Apprentice Cards.
[Town or settlement -> Bleakcrag]
Anno Solis 1391 - The town of Bleakcrag, Cumbria
The late summer was already giving way to early morning frost. In the family orchard, Aerthur was picking the last batch of summer apples. It was a chance for him to spend time with Celest, a young housemaid in service to Lady Esmeralda DeWick. Lady Esmeralda, an aging widow and kind, matronly woman, treated both Aerthur and Celest as her own.
Her late husband, Sir Edwin DeWick, known as the "White Dove", had been a gentle soul, yet a fierce warrior in battle. Sadly, the "White Dove" lost his life decades earlier on the fields of Liège, in Frankia. A perfectly aimed enemy arrow had slipped through the eye slit of his helm and lodged in his brain. Now, Lady Esmeralda lived in quiet solitude, still longing for the love of her life.
With his basket filled to capacity, Aerthur prepared for the journey back to town. Midway along the path, he heard a gentle whisper on the wind—enchanted words in a language he could not comprehend. The whispers beckoned him to investigate.
Setting the basket down in a clearing near the river, Aerthur stepped into the forest's thick shadows. The whispers multiplied, layering into melodious undertones. Then, with a misstep, he tumbled into a dark pit of earth.
The soft ground writhed beneath him. To his horror, the whispers emanated from a den of vipers. Aerthur screamed as the snakes struck at his exposed skin, and mocking laughter echoed in the distance. Blackness fell. The young Aerthur slipped into a strange and vivid dream... High in the clouds, a bright, saintly knight appeared, his shield a golden sun. A spear in his left hand bore two impaled vipers writhing in agony. The knight sat astride a regal lion. A booming voice from above declared, "Quote nati magnitudinis," and the world went dark once more.
[Does he survive? Likely odds even → Yes! The odds were even, but a saintly intervention may have tipped the scales.]
A year later, Aerthur—now called the Viper Slayer or Lucky, depending on whom you ask—remembered little of that fateful day. As the tale goes, his nearly lifeless body was discovered by several nearby shepherds.
Aerthur spent more than a month teetering between life and death. Lady Esmeralda, wracked with anguish, spared no expense. She even summoned a renowned healer from a neighboring town. His miraculous survival was credited to the divine intervention of Saint Apollonius. The scar on Aerthur's neck had transformed into a reddish circle resembling a sun—a sign, many said, of the Sun God's favor.
[I will note a +1 save vs. poison for such a brutal encounter.]
"It's all set!" exclaimed Lady Esmeralda. "You're ready to be welcomed as a ward of the Ordus of Swords. I’ve made all the arrangements. Here is a letter of introduction from me. Present it to Grandmaster William, and I’m sure he will take good care of you.
"Now, you know I love you like my own son. This is your chance to make your mark on the world. Make us all proud."
With a final hug from Esmeralda and Celest weeping nearby, young Aerthur departed for the next great chapter of his life.
