• Name: Mother Grissel
• Residence: The Abbey of Saint Arnold of the Holy Spirit, near York
• Factions: The Catholic Church, links to The Mercantile Guild

• Craft 3, specialization in Brewing (it's her passion)
• Faith 3, specialization in devotion to Saint Arnold (patron saint of brewers)
• Investigation 3 (stopping Father Tisseur's schemes)

• Clergy (0)
• Lingua Latina (+1) - she's a monk!
• Vice (-1) - likes her own brew a little too much
• A Matter of Honour (-2) - Father Tisseur
• Favour of Saint Arnold (+2) - because…
• Rank (+1) - Despite being a monk, she is ordained
• Poor Life Choices (-2) - her best brewing recipe was obtained from the Fey in exchange for an unspecified future favour
• Favour (+1) - Mother Gissel once supplied Bishop Reynard Obelyn with beer on very short notice, battling through a dreadful storm to save his reception from ruin when his previous supplier failed to deliver. He has promised to repay her when the opportunity arises.
• Holy Enlightenment (+3) - She has been blessed with two level 1 rituals by her patron.

Mother Grissel is a monk who lives a plain life dedicated to the recently edified Saint Arnold. She lives only to serve her community and God, and whilst not praying spends her life attempting to become a master brewer of her order. She lives in a small abbey near York, where she goes from time to time to sell her wares. Her arch rival, Father Tisseur, lives at a monastery on the far side of York and is her prime competition in the Yorvik beer market. As he can't seem to out craft her, he spends a lot of effort trying to ruin her brews!

The abbot recently called her to his office and told of a vision he had been granted by Saint Arnold, in it he was told that it was important that she was the one to answer the letter recently received by the abbey asking for someone to go and provide aid to the Queen Regent. It was not long thereafter she was on the road to Oxford, where the first meeting would be held.

Mother Grissel is a monk from the Abbey of Saint Arnold of the Holy Spirit, near York. The Abbey is reknowned for its brews, and rumour has it Mother Grissel is one of the top brewers there. Apparently she has been called by God to assist the Queen Regent.

• Name: John Hunter
• Residence: None permanent, but can usually be found in and around the woodlands of northern England.
• Factions: Knights of St George, links to the Wolves and Outlaws

• Serf(0) - he's absconded from his lord, but noone seems to care.
• Combat 3 (he hunts for a living and often has to defend himself in the wilderness).
• Investigation 3, specialisation in tracking (he knows what signs to look for when searching for prey in the forests).
• Skulduggery 3, specialisation in trapmaking (he's particularly good at laying traps and luring things into them).

• Wilderness Lore (+2) - he wouldn't survive long without this!
• Rank (+1) (Knights of St George) - he often takes down fey creatures as well as mundane ones, earning him a rank with the Knights.
• Noble Steed (+2) - his horse, Greymane, is his loyal companion on long journeys.
• Familiar (+2) - he's managed to tame a pyewacket which is particularly helpful in both luring and chasing prey into his traps.
• Hunted (-2) - sometimes when he's stalking his prey, he feels like something else is watching him…
• Dark Secret (-1) - he's had a lot of dealings with outlaws in the past, possibly enough to implicate him as one of them should anyone ever find out.
• Bastard (-1) - he owes his life on the fringes of society to the fact that he was born a bastard and was shunned by his home village.
• Left-handed (-1) - the second part of his reason for living outside of normal society.

Born not only a bastard, but also left-handed, John did not have a happy childhood. He was shunned by the strongly Christian people of his village, being almost constantly accused of heresy and dealings with evil magics. As soon as he was old enough, he set out into the wilderness and has made his living there ever since. He honed his skills as a hunter and trapper, living off the land and selling furs and surplus meat to small villages. Ever cautious of a repeat of the events of his childhood, he never stayed long. His only friends were his horse, Greymane, and a tamed pyewacket called Shifty. Tending to stay away from civilisation as much as possible, he even had dealings with the Wolves and Outlaws, selling them furs and skins and even helping them out from time to time when the going was tough.

One day, short of food and options, he picked up on a bounty for some fierce creatures terrorising a village. Being good at what he does, he had soon trapped the creatures and killed them. Finding that there was good money to be made here, he continued to take work like this where he could and quickly found he was gaining a reputation as a monster hunter. Eventually, he was even honoured with a rank in the Knights of St George for his services to monster slaying. Suddenly everyone’s happy to see him and they’re not trying to accuse him of heresy anymore. Let’s just hope it stays that way…

John is an accomplished hunter and tracker. He knows the forests of northern England like the back of his hand. He's come to Oxford to offer his services, sell his spoils, and see what all the fuss is about.

• Name: Captain Erika
• Residence: London docks
• Factions: Mercantile Guild

• Combat 3 (she's certainly able to protect her trading goods from would-be thieves).
• Composition and Rhetoric 2, specialisation in telling tall tales (she can make excellent rousing speeches to motivate her crew, and is particularly adept at exaggerating tales of her own exploits).
• Strategy 3 (she's a skilled leader).
• Willpower 1 (she knows a little magic).

• Serf (0) - Erika never had any claim to land in Britain, nor was she claimed by anyone.
• Ancestral Blade (+2) - the sword handed to her by her uncle on his deathbed.
• Mysterious Inheritance (+2) - the amulet bestowed upon her at the same time.
• Competent Ally (+1) - Hilda, her lifelong friend who joined her on the high seas.
• Fae Knowledge (+2) - Erika was once taught a healing spell by Tempest.
• Pet (+1) - she owns a raven which can carry messages and scout for land when out at sea.
• Minstrel's Nous (+1) - she spends a lot of time around taverns, and knows the kinds of people to talk to if you want to hear some stories.
• Fey Plaything (-1) - The fey known as Tempest has taken interest in Erika and seems to always know where she's going, even if she doesn't.
• Poor Life Choices (-2) - Erika owes a debt to Tempest for saving the lives of herself and Hilda. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
• Hey, Big Spender (-1) - Erika gained a reputation for having a lot of money. Since loosing her ship and her crew, this isn't so accurate any more.
• You Broke It, You Bought It (-2) - she once broke a priceless-looking urn when negotiating a trade deal with a merchant. She hopes she'll never see him again.

Erika (“the Ready”, as in “ready for anything”) likes to think of herself as the last true Viking. She left her homeland of Sweden as a lowly deckhand on her uncle’s longship over 20 years ago, along with her best friend Hilda. Since then, they faced many trials of the high seas such as serpents, storms, and sirens. Erika proved her worth and rose to be second in command, standing proudly at her uncle’s side. It seems that a Fey took interest in Erika and her adventures, appearing to her many times and in places all over Europe. It called itself Tempest, and proved to be a nuisance most of the time, although they did once teach Erika a spell.

A vicious monster attack at sea left her uncle mortally wounded. Lying on his deathbed, he passed to her his trusty sword and an old amulet. The amulet was of great importance, he said. Unfortunately, he died before he could tell her exactly why.

Erika then took up captaincy of the ship and continued her uncle’s legacy for several years until one day they were caught in a storm, the worst any of them had ever seen. They thought they were done for until a figure emerged from the wind and rain – it was Tempest, and they came with an offer. Erika and Hilda would be spared from their watery grave and in exchange would promise to repay the favour at a later date. They woke up on the shore near London – no ship, no crew, no supplies, but alive.

Erika is well-known as a sailor and trader, with more than a little money to her name. Word is that she’s a good bet for getting passage overseas, although she’s been looking a bit downtrodden recently. Come to think of it, she’s been in port for a lot longer than usual, hasn’t she?

• Name: Harry Thatcher
• Residence: Merthyr Tydfil, Wales
• Factions: Inheritors of the Old Ways

• Composition and Rhetoric 3 (He's very chatty and knows how to talk to people).
• Craft 3 (He works as a thatcher, and also likes to craft religious talismans).
• Faith 1 (He has been training in the ways of Ankou, but hasn't yet developed a strong connection).
• Skulduggery 2 (He's quite good at keeping his heathen practices a secret).

• Free (+2) - Harry is free to work where he can find it.
• Heathen Upbringing (+1) - He’s been taught the ways of Ankou since he was very young.
• Touched by Mystery (+1) - He always felt like he was a bit different, somehow.
• Rank (Inheritors of the Old Ways) (+1) - His devotion to bringing back the Old Gods has earned him a rank with the Inheritors.
• Reliquary (+2) - Harry has a sacred relic of Ankou, gifted to him by Old Gilbert.
• Hidden Master (-2) - Harry is indebted to Old Gilbert for raising him and will do anything Gilbert asks to the best of his ability.
• Vice (-1) - Harry likes to kill small animals and craft talismans from their bones. He keeps at least one of them on him at all times.
• Dark Secret (-1) - Harry and Old Gilbert once killed a man as part of a ritual sacrifice.

Harry is an upstanding pillar of the community in his home town of Merthyr Tydfil. He was a bit of an outcast when he was younger, prone to a few strange habits, but under the tutelage of his guardian Old Gilbert he became the perfect, church-going citizen he is today. He works as a thatcher, hence the name, and likes to spend his evenings chatting with his neighbours in the local tavern. He always seems to be in a good mood, and gets on well with everyone.

He also likes secretly placing small tokens of Ankou around the town and plotting the downfall of Christianity. Old Gilbert is, in fact, a heathen and one of the Inheritors of the Old Ways. He is a priest of Ankou and has been biding his time until the Old Gods may rise again. Now Harry has been taught the ways of death and sacrifice, too – a suitable outlet for his morbid curiosity.

Old Gilbert has sent Harry to the meetings in Oxford in order that he learn more about the world, expand his knowledge of the faith, and find allies towards the goal of bringing Christianity to its knees so that the Old Gods may once again stand tall.

Harry is a thatcher from Wales. He enjoys a good day’s work followed by an evening in the tavern, and is just looking to see how he can stop things falling apart after the death of the King.