Fallen Aegis #2: The Meridi Incident

The Pestilence took Tora’s region by surprise when its advancement began, making the farming town she was born in one of the first casualties. Tora herself was one of the early “Pestilence Cadets” brought into the fold of the Cardinal Knights of the West as an act of “charity” for lost, abandoned, or destitute children in these trying times.

Tora was young when her family was forced to leave her with the Knights of the West. She felt abandoned when they never returned and has since become distant and self-destructive, preferring to keep to herself.

"Disgustingly perfect" is how Tora describes Alice. This could probably be attributed to jealousy. Born to a rich plantation owner, she dedicated much of her time to learning new skills. Her stay with the Knights of the West was intended to be temporary until they determined the cause of her unknown illness, which is under control at this point.  

She has since become skilled in the practices of the Knights of the West and shows compassion and trust to those around her. Undoubtedly the reason they desire for her to remain in their service.

Lucas joined the Cardinal Knights of the West with his older sister, Florence, following a family tragedy that saw them both homeless and alone. He showed much promise and quickly rose through the ranks to the status of Colonel. His dedication to order and obedience to authority made him the perfect soldier and the ideal enforcer on the untamed frontier of the border ring. He answers directly to Gregory and command at Burgfaust.

Richard was formerly a medical officer in Burgfaust for the Cardinal Knights of the West. He doesn’t speak about his past much, but he moved to the border regions around the time Gregory did as they worked together for much of their careers. He lends his services to the local chapter of the Knights of the West and does charity work for the local farmers while keeping a finger on the pulse of the community within the Cordat region of the Burgfaust Protectorate.

Florence, Lucas's older sister, joined the Cardinal Knights of the West to stay close to him so they wouldn’t lose what little they had left in the world, each other. She too showed promise, but abandoned further aspirations after the incident that cost her an eye. Now she mostly trains new cadets in the hopes of better preparing them to survive in the precarious world in which they live.  

Gregory is a general for Cardinal Knights of the West. Formally a prominent General in the capital city of Burgfaust, Gregory has been reassigned to the undesirable position of managing the powder keg that is the frontier city of Cordat and surrounding areas near the edge of the border ring. The spire he was assigned to has been a relatively tense, yet non-violent region, but for how long?

Gregory has believed in taking a soft approach to governance, mostly electing to allow people to manage themselves, and keeping the Knight’s as independent peace-keeping bodies, much to the chagrin of Burgfaust’s leadership.  

Residents of the Cordat Protectorate spread tails of a mysterious horseman lurking outside the ring, sweeping the spark of life from the countryside with his passing. Preceded by a white owl that heralds his coming, the locals have taken to making it his namesake.

By all counts, he shouldn’t be capable of lingering there as life outside the ring succumbs to the Pestilence rather quickly, yet he persists. Burgfaust officially denies the existence of any life outside the ring, which is technically correct in the absence of the Owl’s existence, but his escapades increasingly shake the confidence of the Cordat region. They won’t be able to ignore him for long…