Howard

Distinguished guardsman of the Sixth Imperial Cavalry, Howard was used to putting his life on the line in defense of the emperor and his waystations, which soon earned him a promotion to auxiliary commander. His most glorious moment came during the Cesares Rebel invasion. Fortunately, his men held the line against the Rebels, protecting the waystations behind. Unfortunately, his was the only unit to do so... If there is one thing the unwieldy Imperial bureaucracy do not like it is people that make them look bad. A confused Howard found himself out of the Guards. But even this wasn't enough. An imperial warrant for his arrest soon showed up too.

Imperial prisons are dirty, unpleasant places. Howard's only consolation was he became good friends with the chef, Gordon, who did his best to look after Howard as does best he could. What happened next would have been impossible without a friend on the inside. "Don't eat tonight's cookies" Gordon said innocently as he passed by Howard's cell. That night the guardsmen in Howard's block were excited to see extra cookies to go around. Thump! There were a series of loud bangs from the ground. What was going on? The last thing Howard remembered before losing consciousness was that he probably should have listened to Gordon's advice and not also eaten a cookie.

Howard awoke to find himself wrapped up tightly in a coarse rug. Beside him was his gruff, stubble-faced chef friend who complained loudly about "all of that darned sleep-talking". "You don't like my pizza?!" "It's not stealing if it's in the recipe, is it?!" As Gordon kept walking Howard realized there was something different about the air here: it smelled of freedom.

Thus Howard became chief sentry of the local village. The ex-army background made him qualified. But it is also a job that he car about deeply. This, after all, is the village that saved his life. Howard's first test came quickly with a surprise Rebel attack. Without decent weapons, Howard's men were forced back to the old town fort which itself was barely hanging on by a thread. Chenko the "great inventor" ripped the door from its hinges and started hammering. Thereafter Howard became known as the guardian with the plank-shield and their village's most loyal defender.