Lord (Sir) Eduard Farrant

Peter Mooney as Eduard Farrant

CHARACTER BRIEF

Full Name:	Eduard Farrant
Byname:	N/A
Age:	25
Date of Birth:	Jun 06 1841
Kingdom:	Rivana
House:	Farrant
Title/Profession:	Lord /Sir
Position:	Paladin Knight / Great Lord
Place of Birth:	Holymount

FAMILY

Father:	Fernan Farrant
Mother:	Patience Carling
Siblings:	Rosendal Sibling (born 1844), Gawain Rosendal
Spouse:	None
Children:	None

Background

Noble bastard of Fernan Farrant and Patience Carling, a Paladin Knight, and now the recently legitimized head of House Farrant and Lord of the Black Hills.

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To speak in great detail of Eduard Farrant's beginnings would be counterproductive, for though to many it is of great import that he was born a bastard of two nobles, it affected him little enough. Oh, it surely impacted how he was raised in those early years, given up by his mother as she was forced into a marriage far from him and his father, the latter whom was murdered shortly after. Yet by Ned's perspective, he was raised as any noble, save for the sure knowledge that he would never inherit anything.

His early years, spent in Blackstone, were pleasant enough, if perhaps a bit lonely without the love of a parent or someone who was truly fond of him. His grandfather Allard, who everyone said was a warm man, died when Ned was too young to have any but a few memories of him, while his uncle, Trevor, was decidedly cool to the young bastard. Instead, the two relationships in those days that helped to shape the beginnings of who Eduard was to become, came from outside the walls of the castle. The first of these was in his cousin, Symon Gerrell, with who he became acquainted over the early years of his life after he had become a page for his uncle, and would accompany him on visits to Falconhome. The second was with a boy only a couple years his senior, named Talbot, a commoner whose father was his family's guard captain.

Through Symon, Eduard learned the responsibilities and restrictions of a trueborn noble, and to appreciate his lesser status as a baseborn one. The only true difference may have been his lack of chance to inherit, but seeing the expectations of Symon's parents, and how it seemed to robb Symon of many basic freedoms, made Eduard’s situation seem that much better. Through Talbot, he gained a love for the people of his family's land and their values. The pair would often explore the land outside the castle, particularly Blackstone Town itself, and a respect for the common man grew within Eduard, for he realized that these were just people, who deserved dignity and respect the same as any man and woman.

It was these values that, as Eduard became older, began to shape his personality and the man he would one day become. His uncle, having already voiced his dislike of the boy's penchant for mixing with those of common blood, sought to curtail Eduard's visits and forbidding him from mixing with those of common blood. Yet the damage by then was already done, and Trevor was even more disturbed when Eduard began to speak up against his uncle anytime he made a decision that Ned thought might be bad for the people. A hike in taxes brought a speech about the effects it would have on the people's ability to feed themselves and cloth themselves for the harsh Normont winter. A strict punishment on a thief earned a plea from the boy to show leniency, and an argument as to the merit of true justice when the plea was ignored. The beatings he earned for this did nothing to dissuade Eduard from his folly, so it was almost a relief for his uncle when a wandering Paladin approached him about Eduard becoming his squire.

Of course, this was not the first time that Sir Gregory Dash had visited the area, and he had already met Eduard before, and spoken with him a couple times since. Indeed it was no coincidence that the first of these meetings with the lad was around the time that Eduard began speaking up to Lord Trevor. Sir Gregory's care for the poor and the downtrodden was a breath of fresh air for the boy, for while his uncle did not mistreat the commoners of the Black Hills, nor did he seem to care for them like a father for his many sons and daughters. Sir Gregory, on the other hand, did just that. In Eduard's mind, that was what a lord should be, and it made little sense to him that it took a wandering knight of the church to do what should have been done all along - making sure that all were properly fed, clothed, and healed. Sir Gregory even ensured that all found some measure of happiness when he could spare the time, telling them tales of far off places - of things too far beyond imagining, yet never lacking in exquisite detail.

It was the third such visit that Sir Gregory met with Lord Trevor to speak about Eduard becoming his squire, and Ned later came to suspect that this had been Gregory's intention for some time. As he learned more of Sir Gregory's travels, and discovered that the frequency with which he visited the area had increased for a time, he came to wonder if perhaps the subsequent visits had been to see more of Ned's character. Perhaps Sir Gregory had seen something in him that made him certain that St. Matthew would have approved of this willful and kind-hearted bastard. He never asked the old knight, however, nor did his mentor ever volunteer the information.

Of his time as a squire, there were two relationships, as before, that were the most important to Eduard's continued growth. The first and most important, of course, was Sir Gregory himself. A man of common birth and already well advanced in age, having just celebrated his fifty-seventh birthday when he first took on Eduard as squire, Sir Gregory Dash was in every way the epitome of a Paladin. He had traveled to every corner of the Edge and beyond, doing the One's work, healing the sick and seeing to the needs of the masses. Owing to his love of storytelling and detail, his Paladin journals always quickly filled with the people he had met and the places he had visited. Sir Gregory always joked that the Church had set aside an entire section for his journals in the archives, and this may well have not been far from the truth. After all, he had decades before earned the right to be called a Master Paladin, and even once been thought to be a sure candidate for Grand Master of the Order should he settle down and take a more prestigious post in the order itself. Yet this never came to pass, for the road was a part of him, and he could never have found it in himself to give it up for very long. Indeed, the longest Sir Gregory and Eduard ever stayed in one place was when in Bendingbrook for Ned's more advanced healing training, and even then, every few months they would find themselves back on the road for a time.

And then there was Lasair Gerrell, a cousin of Symon's that he did not have occasion to meet until he was seventeen, when he and Sir Gregory sought refuge from the deep winter months at the Cathedral of Saint Sandoval rather than making it to Bendingbrook as they usually did. Though a few years younger than Eduard, the pair hit it off instantly, becoming fast friends. More than that, in fact, for he had never truly had occasion to get to know a female like this until now. She was beautiful, in his eyes the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. There was an energy about her, a vivaciousness that simply could not be stamped out, nor would he ever want it to be. She drew him to her like a moth to a flame, and for a time he was thinking beyond just what joys the road could offer. It was a child’s fantasy, he would think to himself later. A passing infatuation on her part, and for him? Well. It did not matter in the end. The awkward teen romance ended as quickly as it had started, and they parted as friends. A part of him dared to hope that perhaps something more would come of it when they had time to grow up, and so he wrote to her every chance he got. Even later, when she began to speak of another man, another Paladin, and the affection she had for him, he continued to write for her. The letters slowed for a time on his part, of course, for every man has his pride. He was glad to have her in his life, however, for her letters were a source of good cheer, and he enjoyed telling her his own tales of the road, much as Gregory loved to tell his. Eduard never knew such strong feelings again, however, instead indulging himself in unattached women who always understood that their dalliances would never last. He cared for them in his own way, but it just made things simpler.

By the time that he was knighted in 1859, Eduard had developed into a fine Paladin, and one that had a severe wanderlust that rivaled that of his mentor. Despite this, the majority of his travelings were kept to Rivana those first years as a knight, as the Succession War continued on, bringing death and misery to many. Though, like Sir Gregory before him, he adhered to the Paladins' neutrality, he did all he could for the people that suffered during the war, most especially the common folk. The only fighting he actually saw was when he was escorting a donation of much needed supplies to a village that had been raided by the Thorns. He and his retinue traveled all through the night to see that the medicine and food was delivered, but right as they reached their destination they were attacked by a larger group of the Butcher's men. In the aftermath, it was claimed that they were unable to distinguish the Paladin's banner in the dark, though whether this was the truth was and still is questionable. Regardless, Eduard distinguished himself by holding out with his small group of companions, protecting the villagers and the supplies, until a Rose patrol found them and were able to soundly defeat the Thorns.

Once the war was won by the Roses and the land settled into peace, Eduard set out to travel beyond the borders of his birth-country once more, and remained away for the next two years. It was different than when he had traveled with Sir Gregory as a squire, as he was able to set his own course and fully embrace his wandering nature. He traveled all over the Edge and occasionally just beyond, meeting many different kinds of people and seeking to help all he met that had need of it.

It was the tales of the Thorn Uprising that brought Ned back to Rivana, to Normont and the Black Hills. It was not just word of the new troubles that brought him back, but the news of his family's involvement. Eduard could not believe that his uncle was risking his people, and he hoped to talk him out of it before it was too late.

His hope was not to be, however, as even using the Fae Gates he was not able to arrive in time. He found the Butcher camped near his family's castle and the loyalists poised to attack. It was in the camp of the latter forces that he reunited with Lasair, and met her Kael, and worked out a plan. Knowing that a prolonged battle would devastate the town and the area, Eduard chose to set aside his Paladin’s tabard and neutrality for this one battle. Rather than simply joining the ranks of the other knights, however, he volunteered to act as a scout, putting his knowledge of the area to use. Kael, surprisingly, volunteered to do the same and join him.

Eduard and Kael were successful in their mission, but not without great cost. They were discovered on their way back by a patrol of the Butcher’s men, and though greatly outnumbered were able to hold their own for a time. In the end, however, it was not enough, and it was the more experienced Kael that came to the realization first. He realized that they would not both escape this alive, and even as he realized it, he saw Eduard take the first life-threatening blow. And so, in an unquestionably stupid yet heroic act, Kael pushed Eduard out of the way before he could take another, receiving the strike himself. Even so, he kept fighting, screaming for Eduard to run, to get the information back to the loyalists.

And somehow, Eduard did, though in truth much of the accomplishment belonged to his horse, who knew to travel to where it last was fed and groomed, which is just as well since Eduard passed out from his wounds long before he returned. The loyalists were able to revive him long enough to extract the information from him, but he consequently missed the battle. Yet the information regarding the Butcher's defenses and deployment proved critical and, in the eyes of some at least, helped to win the day.

By the time Eduard fully recovered, the Thorn Uprising had been put down, it's participants killed, captured, or fled. His family, his House, was in tatters. Even so, Eduard would have been content to help the people of the Black Hills, and the rest affected by the fighting, as a Paladin. But it was not to be. It was Symon, Eduard later found out, that suggested his name to Alysande, though others had apparently vouched for him as well. It was still a surprise, however, when he received the summons to attend the Court in Sunsreach, where she met him, and later legitimized him.

Now, he is not just a Paladin. He is a legitimate member of House Farrant, one of the last, and is now the Lord of the Black Hills. He has only just settled into the position, building up his household and rebuilding his lands. He relies heavily on what remains of his retinue, and especially Lasair, who joined him after Kael's death. And while his wanderlust is still alive and well inside Ned, his care and duty for his people outweigh the freedom that he once knew. He will keep to his new oaths just as he has kept to the old, and will do all he can to abide by both.