Kandurell Family/Dren
| PERSONAL INFORMATION | ||
|---|---|---|
| NAME | Dren | 
|
| EPITHET | None | |
| FAMILY | Kandurell | |
| CLASS | Priest/Mentor | |
| AGE | 27 | |
| HONOUR | 35 | |
| PRESTIGE | 16 | |
| REALM | Arcaea | |
| HEIGHT | Tall | |
| BUILD | Lean | |
| EYES | Green | |
| WEAPON | Enthusiasm | |
| Title | Cardinal of the Aenil | |
| Unit | ||
| Army | ||
| Religion | Magna Aenilia Ecclesia | |
| Guilds | Dessins du Monde The Fal Pact | |
| ORDER OF SERVICE | ||
| Realms served: | ||
Former positions:
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Armies served:
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| Memorable units commanded: | ||
Appearance
Dren is relatively tall and muscular, but in a compact fashion. For many years the exception to this was caused by his years of drinking, which led to a certain swelling about the stomach. More recently, however, he has taken to performing his duties as priest by traveling only by his own two feet rather than taking advantage of his noble right to a horse. This has given Dren a somewhat worn and stringy appearance, greatly reducing the visible evidence of his previous sins. He has a somewhat long face, frequently extended by a small beard, and blue-grey eyes.
As a warrior in his youth, Dren would go into battle clad in mail and carrying an axe and shield. He has never had particularly fine clothes; as a soldier he saw them as effeminate and as a priest he saw them as frivolous. When in the service of the Aenil, Dren walked about in simple sandles and a long priestly robe, aiming to be as simple and unpretentious as possible.
Personality
Never one to speak without action, Dren flings himself head first into life's trials and tribulations. He places great faith in noble ideas and higher causes; that they inevitably fail rarely manages to dampen his enthusiasm for long. It would be fair to say that he was idealistic and to a certain extent naive. Although capable of original thought and often absorbed in the more abstract forms of philosophy when the mood takes him, Dren lacks a certain grounding in reality and can be disastrously over optimistic. When heart and head clash Dren will always follow the former, making him somewhat impulsive in matters of what he sees as good versus evil.
History
From Moramroth to Lantzas
Viking blood runs true in Dren's veins. Growing up in the Mountains of Moramroth, a place lodged deep in the Kandurells' hearts, he was taught the use of axe, sword and spear. He learned how to fight, how to raid, how to drink. His interest in poetry was encouraged, as a skald is a welcome addition to any family. The youngest son of a viking family does not have much chance for glory at home, however, and so he was forced to leave the Kandurell ancestral home and strike out for distant lands.
After making the long voyage from Atamara to the Far East Dren joined Ethiala, becoming Marshal of the Elite Knighthood of Ethiala and then Baron of Lantzas. He formed a close friendship with General Primus and idolised King Septimus the White. Septimus's death to an arrow, while his friends and vassals could do nothing but watch, was extremely traumatising. Chancellor Keffer's quick seizure of the throne did not impress Dren, and there were many in Ethiala who felt that the election had been fixed. Progress had been made in restoring Lantzas from its battle torn state under King Septimus, but little could be done by the more inefficient Keffer.
More than any other in Ethiala, the hotheaded Duke Dieter was extremely disgruntled by Keffer's assumption of Kingship. He decided, with the support of his vassals, to secede and form the realm of Kamador. Dren was appointed General, but it quickly became apparent that the now King Dieter had misjudged the diplomatic situation. Kamador was doomed to defeat as no less than three realms descended upon it. A hastily formed alliance with the dying realm of Sartania would do nothing to help matters. Power crazed and utterly incompetent, Dieter became gradually more and more insane and Kamador crumpled around him. Rebellious peasants cost Dren the Barony of Lantzas and as the wolves closed in he lost all hope.
A Spiritual Rebirth
In the depths of depression Dren was easily convinced by his cousin, who had become the Baron of Lantzas, to join Arcaea. Therein Dren found new hope in the energy of the Arcaeans as the realm's third rebirth began. For some time he served as a simple knight for his cousin Euran, but his eyes were now open enough for him to see yet another worthy cause to devote himself to. Dren was exposed fully to the ideas of Magna Aenilia Ecclesia and became a devotee of the Aenil. It was not long then before he decided to take the last step, becoming a priest of MAE.
From the outset Dren threw himself into the theological discussions of the religion. He vocally opposed the Prophet's policy of non-intervention and separation of Church and State, which he saw as cowardly and weakening. For his enthusiasm and clear dedication, Dren was appointed High Priest of MAE; though it soon became apparent that this position, which in others was the one of ultimate power, meant nothing in MAE. He gradually became aware that the Church's leaders cared more for rising statistics of peasants' faith than any proper worship of the Aenil. They were content to allow true faith to slide into non-existence, as more and more became Aenilic followers in name only. When intervention was necessary to save lives or uphold the Aenils' will, the Church would adamantly refuse to take action, demanding that its members refrain from such humanitarian activity.
This culminated in the Glorious Revolution of Talex City, in September 1008. At the time Ethiala had declared war upon her much smaller neighbour, Papania, while allowing her regions to fall into disrepair. Duke Primus, once such a close friend of Dren, ignored the starvation of any outside his own city of Topenah, until it came to the point where the lesser nobles of Talex could take it no longer. They declared independence from Ethiala, shortly after Arcaea entered the war to defend her ally Papania. High Priest Dren at this point saw the suffering of those in Talex. He began to spend longer and longer periods of time preaching to the city, offering aid wherever he could, but still almost half the population died of starvation. Eventually he could take it no longer; when the nobles and commoners alike of Talex joined to declare him their Duke, he did not refuse.
This did not go down well with the leadership of MAE. Dren was removed from his position as High Priest, and in an effort to reduce diplomatic fallout King Jenred of Arcaea demanded that he step down from the dukeship. Not wanting personal power for himself, Dren could only feel satisfied with the result; it took barely a day before food was once more flowing to Talex.