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Notable Traits & Knowledge
► Illiterate and uneducated.
► Has a thick accent that is not easily understood by some individuals.
► Heavily trained in melee combat, including hand-to-hand and swordplay.
► Has suitable survival skills that allow him to navigate and withstand the untamed lands.
► Is burdened by alcoholism and depression as a result of his family's death.
► Is quite gauche around women he deems beautiful.
► Fearful and prejudiced concerning mages and their ilk.
► Has the potential to lead troops; has respectable and "lead by example" characteristics.

Current Profession
Sellsword

Appearance

Not a man of overwhelming brawn or agility, Brennus stands proudly at the height of six feet and two inches. While not capable of unbelievable athletic feats and not a man donning pounds and pounds of muscle, he is stocky, well-toned and well-built for a man of his size. His flesh is pale, his irises as green as the rolling plains of Bohar, and his hair a reddish-brown. From various skirmishes in his youth, his nose has seen its fair share of brokenness, and as such, contributes to his sullen mien. His bushy eyebrows seem to be always slanted, and his curly hair is unkempt and wild a large part of the time. Brennus dons a rugged beard that conceals his jawline and wraps about his lips in a thick bush. The beard fully connects to his chaotic hair.

Weapons
For his primary weapon, Brennus wields a five foot long zweihänder (Highland Claymore) named Bloodforest. It is a weapon forged from exceptional steel derived from the mountains of the Highlands, and was crafted by a smith from the western lands of the Sarchu Valley when Brennus used to live there. The hilt is bound in black leather for improved grip, and has a rounded pommel and crossguard for superb defense rather than offense. The leather of the hilt streams up the length of the weapon, forming into two curved edges before continuing onward into the waved metal of the actual blade.

The other weapon wielded by Brennus is only a meager, sixteen inch, steel dagger. It is sheathed on the left side of his waist while Bloodforest is strapped to his back.

Personality
Brennus is an impatient, easily tempered, and passionate man. He is stubborn and prideful, but is also a man of determination and endurance, as seen by his brutal fighting style that lays siege upon his enemy with sheer physical will rather than tenacity. Despite his passion, Brennus is not one to love or trust easily. Both are earned through beleaguering tasks, and if one does not complete these mental obstacles and change Brennus’ first judgments of them, they will forever be treated with scorn and disrespect. On the other hand, if one is to befriend or gain the respect of Brennus, he will protect them and stand by them at nearly every given scenario, for he is a loyal companion without measure. The knight is someone who will come to the aid of the weak if it is necessary, and has a profound respect for women after the love he shared with his former wife. He is a man of quiet words, and only prefers to strain his vocal chords in the midst of battle.

While he is a great warrior, Brennus is encumbered by his alcoholism. Ever since the tragedy he witnessed, he has never been the same. He drowns himself in ale to cloud his mind from the pain. While he does not fear any physical agony, he flees at the first sight of emotional pain. He took a chance with trying to have a family, and now that he has been hurt undeniably so, it will be a near impossibility for him to sensitize himself once more. He blocks everyone out, and will absorb emotional torture until he erupts.

As far as future plans go, he wants to make a name for himself in the world, because he feels as if everything he's ever loved was taken from him against his will. More than anything, he just wants his little girl and his beautiful wife to be proud of what their father and husband has become. His alcoholism is simply a way to temporarily quell the pain, since focusing on the future is incredibly hard for the here-and-now lifestyle of Brennus.

Because of all the emotional agony he has endured, Brennus no longer pledges his faith to the gods and goddesses that he was raised upon. While it is foolish to denounce their existence for they are proven to be true, he despises them and refuses to worship them for none of the gods have ever helped him when he needed them most.

Backstory
Born, magic-less, in the Highlands under a chieftain named Cadeyrn whose realm was constantly under assault from other tribes, Brennus was raised to be a warrior by his father, Eógan Galreot. Cadeyrn’s territory saw major conflict when Brennus was 20 years old. In an open field battle, Eógan was slain before Brennus’s very eyes, which strove him into heights of rage and despair, marking him as an unparalleled warrior amongst his peers. Cadeyrn’s men won the day, and Brennus’s military rank was improved to take his father’s place.

Brennus would lead his own men for five years to come, until he was 25 years of age and he met Amena, the woman who would become his wife in little under a year. Amena was the only person he had ever opened up to, even including his mother and father. His emotions had always remained dormant―save his battle ferocity―but Amena found something within him, something good and just, and she pressured him more and more until it poured out from him in tears and sensitivity.

Having been forever changed by the love of his life, Brennus illegally stepped down from his commanding position within Cadeyrn’s clan. He departed his territory to live in the western reaches of the Sarchu Valley with his new wife. Building a small hovel with his bare hands, Brennus settled down for good when he learned that Amena was with child. Brennus was no farmer, and as such, he was forced to hunt for food for him and his family. When the seasons did not bode well for animals, Brennus would travel miles without his family to visit neighboring towns and tribal encampments.

He became fast friends with an elderly man in Krouthu, a village nestled on the western borders of the valley, that he bartered furs and meat from over the years. The old man was a retired smith from the town of Reimar and now was a simple store owner in Reimar. The old man told Brennus of his family's legacy as Highland steel smiths, and how Bloodforest, their mighty blade, had been passed down through the generations. Brennus had always been one to show his fascination with such a weapon, and the old man let him use it from time-to-time. They met as often as they could, sharing tales of battles long past and news of their family lives. Out of friendship and a kindness of his heart, the old smith bestowed Brennus with Bloodforest before he passed away. The elder man had no living heir to claim the heirloom, and Brennus had been the closest thing to a son he had ever had in his long life.

During this time period, Brennus’s daughter, Kennis, came into his life. He loved her, adored her, and protected her, but it wasn’t enough. When Kennis was 4 years old, making Brennus nearly 29, tragedy struck. While Brennus collected firewood in the woodlands south of their home, a band of outlaws came upon the hovel that the warrior had made with his calloused hands. Brennus returned to four men mounting their steeds and riding off. Even though many of them were gone too quickly for Brennus to get a good glimpse of their faces, there was one he picked out; there was a man with a scar across his left eye, plagued with a milkiness so akin to blindness. Mouth open in bewilderment, he rushed into his broken home.

Hurried steps faded to stumbling as he past the fractured barrier that had been the entrance to his place of safety. His legs collapsed beneath him as he fell to his knees before the two bodies of his Amena and his Kennis. Both of their clothes were torn from their skin, exposing what should have remained private to all but him. His entire body shook, and while his left hand clenched into an unbreakable fist, his right hand slowly ventured over the small form of his lifeless daughter.

What was usually a strong hand became fragile as he could not control the adrenaline coursing through him. Water did not need to well in his eyes, for they streamed forth almost simultaneously as his fingers brushed against her blood-tainted cheek. He choked on sobs, as his eyes drifted over to his wife, his left hand releasing its tension and grabbing the back of her head. Her black hair was matted with her blood, and as he clutched the back of Kennis's hair, he felt that hers was as well.

Resting both of their heads on his thighs, he cried without relent, his thumbs brushing over their still faces as his eyes raised to take in the scene with disbelief and horror. Everything was destroyed—the cabinets, the table, his home, his family… his life.

The inner demons that had haunted his youth returned to Brennus at that moment, and every moment thereafter. He cried―no, he bawled for days, for weeks. He was heartbroken, shattered, and ripped down to his very core. But to block away the pain that flooded his mind, he let the anger take its toll. He watched as his rage took away the depression, and he let his rage take him on a journey to claim the only thing he could achieve at this point: vengeance.

Brennus tracked the bandits for a full year, until he was on the brink of turning 30 years of age. He learned that a scarred bandit and his cronies had taken the road south to the farther reaches of Canelux, and he undoubtedly followed. Upon reaching the Kingdom of Adeluna, Brennus searched for the murderers day and night, but alas, he was mortal and he needed what all men needed―shelter, food, and rest. The warrior sold himself to freelancing and sell-swording, letting his sword speak for him. As he gained coin, he traveled throughout Adeluna without luck.

The outlaws were beyond elusive, and as years passed to no avail, Brennus grew more and more distraught. With his failure to enact justice upon those who had ripped his life from him, Brennus fell to alcohol. The determination and endurance he had been known for was beginning to fade, and the proud man he had always been was collapsing, just like the world had been ever since his eyes had taken in the visage of his slaughtered wife and daughter.

Playlist
► Tales of Ice and Blood ― Brunuh Ville
► Irish Lament ― Unknown
► Skellige ― Witcher 3
► Traditional Celtic Lament ― Con O'Leary
► Fallen Sailor ― Sub Pub Music
► Wars of Faith ― Audiomachine
► When It All Falls Down ― Audiomachine