THE PROVAINES

Origins
The Provaines were a simple family of
farmers who lived in the Shield Lands, about
50 miles to the northeast of Critwall. They
lived on a moderately-sized farm beside a
river, with a forest nearby filled with game.
They were not a rich family, but neither were
they poor, and they were of the most
common blood in the Flanaess -- mixed.
Alaric Provaine was our father. He was born
a farmer and after serving briefly in the local
militia as an archer he returned to his family
home to continue his life as a farmer. Alaric
married a local girl he knew, Alienne, and
they had several children together: Rogr,
Azur, Torele, and Kirella. The family also
employed a half-orc farmhand, Vorsk, who
lived on the farm with the family. He was
brighter than the usual half-orc and had
earned Alaric's good will; he became a close
friend to Rogr and Azur, often wrestling oneon-two with the older brothers when the
day's work was done, or swimming the river
in a race with the two energetic boys. Alaric
was a good father, teaching his older boys
hunting and fishing and farming and archery.
Rogr and Azur both learned something of
archery. Rogr often helped his father and
Vorsk with the more physical tasks, while
Azur often handled the animals and
augmented the family's table while improving
his archery skills.
The young twins Torele and Kirella (brother
and sister) were still too young to help out
around the farm when war broke out.
War!
Life was good for the Provaines, until Iuz's
minions descended upon the Shield Lands in
579CY. Alaric, Rogr, and Azur were called to
augment the army sent to meet Iuz's army of
orcs and other beings. Leaving Vorsk to
watch over the family and help Alienne load
the wagon for the long drive to safety, the
father and two brothers went to face the
overwhelming numbers of the invading army.
After the first part of the battle was over,
Alaric sent Rogr and Azur back to the farm to
provide some extra protection since he had
heard rumors that raiding parties had flanked
around the defending army. Rogr and Azur
returned home to find their mother beset by
orcs. They slew the orcs, but the foul beasts
had already done their worst.
Alienne's Story
As soon as she saw the riders coming she
knew they weren't friendly. They were riding
hell bent towards the farm, weapons drawn.
She shouted for Vorsk to get Kirella to the
root cellar, then she hid Torele there with his
favorite blanket to keep him quiet. While
Vorsk was securing Kirella, Alienne heard the
raiders outside and shut the trap door with a
word to Vorsk to keep the children quiet, then
covered it with a thick rug that would block
any sound from below. Alienne fled the
house and headed for the banks of the river,
certain that the raiders would follow her; she
was right. They savaged themselves upon
her without mercy. Only the arrival of Rogr
and Azur saved her life.
The Flight
Rogr and Azur tended their mother and
extracted Vorsk and the twins from the cellar,
packing them into the wagon. Azur stood
watch while Vorsk and Rogr hastily finished
packing the family's prized possessions into
the wagon. Once done, Rogr and Azur

burned the barn and house, vowing that the

orcs would find no shelter there. Vorsk
tended to Alienne and the twins while Rogr
drove the wagon south. The sounds of battle
could be heard growing closer in the distance
as the family drove south. The family found
other refugees heading south, along with
wounded soldiers and deserters from the
battle. More than once Rogr and Azur rallied
the few able men with the band to fight off a
group of orc raiders while the wagons
escaped. Two days after the battle, the
refugees joined up with the remnants of the
army for a while, but it soon became clear
that the army would have to provide a shield
for the refugees from the orcs that were hot
on their heels. In the confusion that day,
Rogr thought he saw Alaric still alive with a
group of archers heading to join the delaying
action; he tried to reach him, but he felt he
had to stay with his mother. He left a quick
note with an officer heading in the same
direction, hoping that the small scrap of
paper would reach his father, telling him that
everyone was alive and that they were
heading south. None of the family ever saw
Alaric again.
The Provaine Family Today
The Provaines kept heading south, through
the County of Urnst and into the Duchy of
Urnst. They settled about 20 miles east of
the town of Leukish in that realm, reaching
an agreement with a local lord to establish a
new village on some of his unoccupied lands.
Regensdorf quickly took shape as the
refugees went about building new homes for
themselves. As Rogr, Azur, and Vorsk
worked feverishly to make a new home for
the family, it soon became clear that Alienne
was with child. Alienne hoped that the child
was Alaric's, but this was not to be. The
midwife let out a scream when she saw the
large baby boy with the features of an orc,
and she uttered prayers as a large baby girl
with similar features was delivered. Alienne
died during the birth without having s een the
children. Rogr and Azur seethed with anger
at what had been done to their mother and at
the loss of their father. They set out again to
fight the advancing army after the family was
settled, each bearing the terrible images of
what they had seen the orcs doing to their
mother and the pains she suffered as she
gave birth to their newest brother and sister,
dying in the process. They slew many orcs
together, but still their hatred for the orcs was
not sated.
Vorsk "Provaine"
Vorsk remained behind on the new farm with
Torele and Kirella and the two new children,
naming them Alienne and Alaric in honor of
his close friends. He worked hard to tend the
farm, and while he suffered some prejudices,
he soon came to be a fairly respected farmer.
Torele and Kirella loved him dearly and as
they grew he taught them about their mother
and father and taught them to help with
young Alaric and Alienne.
Rogr
Rogr stayed behind when Azur went south
with the remnants of the army, his hatred
burning a hole in his heart and growing each
time he found more orcs to slay. He hid well
and learned the ways of the orcs, picking up
their language from their chatter around the
fire, but always he was there in the darkness
when one or two of them wandered out
alone... Rogr is now an experienced hunter
of orcs, and he does it with a passion that
frightens people at times. He fights orcs with

every ounce of strength he has, never

forgetting the wrongs done to his family. He
is not capable of rational thought when there
are orcs to be killed, focusing only on killing
the beasts quickly. When he is tired of battle,
he returns home. Seeing the youngest
children reminds Rogr of his mother's
suffering; soon thereafter he always leaves
again to wreak his vengeance on the orcs of
the world, his hatred renewed again for a
while.
Naturally, Rogr has mixed feelings about his
youngest brother and sister and even about
Vorsk, his longtime friend. Rogr respects
Vorsk and trusts him, but at the same time is
uncomfortable with his non-human side. At
27 Rogr burns with the hatred that only a
young man can feel, but he bears the scars
of a warrior at least twice his age. He is an
experienced warrior and woodsman, and he
shares his skills with a sword with his
younger sister Kirella when he is home.
Azur
When it was clear that the Shield Lands were
lost, Azur returned to the Duchy and helped
Vorsk with the farm for a while, occasionally
serving the local lord in his militia to augment
the family income. While Azur does not
actively seek out orcs like Rogr, he shows no
mercy when he encounters them. Like Rogr,
Azur now has mixed feelings about his
youngest siblings and about Vorsk. Azur,
however, is a bit more restrained than Rogr.
He still slays orcs with the same hatred as
his older brother, but in many ways his
training as an archer serves to keep him
calm and focused. Azur focuses his hatred of
orcs into precise bowshots intended to kill
the beast immediately. More than one orc
has felt the bite of Azur's arrow piercing his
eye... Between Rogr and Azur, Azur is the
more level-headed of the two. At age 25,
Azur has developed into a fine young man
and his skills as an archer are very strong.
He never fails to share his knowledge with
Kirella when she asks for it. Azur is engaged
to marry Alienne, the daughter of Shel Morrl
(whose life he saved during the trek from the
Shield Lands) as soon as Rogr and Azur are
able to locate their father.
Kirella
The oldest twin, Kirella is 17 and a tom-boy;
she has learned from Rogr and Azur the
ways of the warrior. She knows a trick or two
about killing orcs, but she does not share the
hatred of orcs that her older two brothers
possess. Her experience in the basement
that fateful day has caused her to develop a
strong determination to never have to hide
again. Kirella is the mirror image of her
mother (according to everyone who knew
Alienne).
Kirella knows what orcs are and hates what
they did to her mother, but she loves her
younger brother and sister and can see
beyond their orcish side. Three families have
inquired about the possibility of marrying a
son to Kirella, but all three have been turned
away by the rough-around-the-edges young
lady.
Torele
At age 17, Torele's powers as a sorcerer
have fully developed. Born of his intense fear
that day in the root cellar, the boy began
exhibiting strange powers during the drive
south. Torele still carries his favorite blue
blanket, the one that helped keep him quiet
that day in the root cellar. Like Kirella, he
knows what orcs are and hates what they did
to his mother and he loves his younger
brother and sister and can see beyond their
orcish side. Torele is thin and tall with wild

brown hair and brown eyes; his appearance

is always unkempt in some way, and he
usually needs a bath. He immediately strikes
observers as jumpy, nervous, and a bit
whiny; the slightest sound causes him to
startle.
Alaric the Younger
The older of the half-orc twins of Alienne
Provaine spent some two years studying
under the tutelage of various creatures in the
woods near Regensdorf. Recently, he has
emerged from his self-enforced solitude and
begun adventuring.
Alienne
Within the past year Alienne, like her brother,
has begun traveling the Duchy in an effort to
make her name.
The Family Honor
PCs in the Provaine family can award a
number of certs to other PCs who prove to
be helpful and trustworthy. Letters of
introduction might be fairly common, but
favors and debts are not awarded lightly.
Letter of Introduction to the Provaine
Family
Members of the Provaine family can award a
"Letter of Introduction to the Provaine
Family" cert to PCs who prove themselves
trustworthy and helpful. This letter, shown to
another Provaine, is enough to win the trust
of the other Provaine family members.
Provaines trust each other implicitly, since
they have had to rely on each other for
years. (The letter is also useful as an
introduction to the village council of
Regensdorf while Vorsk Provaine sits on that
council.) This cert must be legibly signed and
dated by the PC who awards it; it is never
given to cowards or thieves. The cert will
never be given to anyone who bears a
"Disfavor of the Village of Regensdorf" cert.
Debt of the Provaine Family
The Provaines feel a strong sense of honor.
Saving the life of a Provaine PC earns the
hero a Debt of Honor from the rescued PC.
The issuer of this debt is obligated to repay it
if possible; other Provaine PCs may or may
not choose to repay it. This cert can be
redeemed to have the issuer spend up to 50
gold or redeem an equivalent amount of
influence points to help the bearer. To be
valid, this cert must be signed and dated
legibly by the Provaine PC who issued the
cert; to be redeemed, the cert must be given
back to a Provaine PC so that it can be
voided.
The cert will never be given to anyone who
bears a "Disfavor of the Village of
Regensdorf" cert.