Sophia Greendale
Sophia Greendale is a mercenary of the Warmongers in Vansreik, counted among the city's mercenary healers. She is described as religious, brutal and pragmatic.1
Early life
Sophia is a commoner, born in a farming village a day's journey from Vansreik. She was the daughter of the town priest, and little was expected of her. Her father was a cleric of Amarath, the god of mercy and peace, and in her early years he shielded her from the horrors of war and violence.2
The cult
That shelter ended when a mysterious cult worshipping a powerful undead entity attacked the village. The cult surrounded the town methodically, first butchering its defenders, then ransacking the homes and torturing and killing the townsfolk.2
Her father wept for the lost souls but would not call on the gods for help, believing that violence would only breed more violence; he held that giving in to the heretics would win them an afterlife in the heavens. Sophia pleaded with him to send word to the nearby garrisons and to call on the power of the gods to help the village hold its walls.2
When five cultists entered their house, Sophia took up her father's unused mace from his lifeless body and swore an oath to Shamyaza, the Saint of Blades. The archangel of war granted her immense power, and at the angel's command she slew most of the cultists and saved a handful of the villagers, though it was too late to save the village itself. Radiating an aura of vengeance, she was changed: her dark brown hair turned blood red and her eyes became a silvery grey. Those she saved saw her as a hero sent by the gods and regarded her as a saint.2
In Vansreik
Sophia went to Vansreik in the hope of learning more about the cult that had taken everything from her. There she joined the Warmongers, believing that the alliance would one day bring her face to face with the cult. She is usually found at the Ludus, the guild's headquarters.2
In battle
Sophia usually fights with a longsword and relies on the power the Saint of Blades granted her to make up for her lack of proper battle training. She tends to rush to the front line and engage the nearest enemy without choosing among her foes. Blades she holds are blessed by Shamyaza for as long as she holds them, and she is also able to heal others by touch.2
Notes
Sources
This article draws on:
- MCMercenary Compendium(Bad Badger Games, 2024), pp. 10-12, 133
Related articles
OrganisationWarmongersThe newest of Vansreik's authorised mercenary guilds, founded by the pirate and warlock Jogard Di, quartered in a converted gladiator school and locked in a violent feud with the Eagle Brigade.
PlaceVansreikA lawless city inside the Great Crater of Mortenox on the south-western edge of the Empire, grown up around the Deep Pit, whose noble houses, church and rival mercenary guilds compete for the riches buried beneath it.
DeityAmarathThe god of home and compassion, twin of Alarath, known as the Protector of the Weak, Mender of Wounds and Lord of Mercy, the god of all people to whom healers, families and villagers turn.
PlaceDeep PitThe vast pit at the centre of the crater of Vansreik, a dungeon over the ruins of the old City of Mortenox whose entry is regulated by Tickets that the mercenary companies of the city compete for.PlaceLudusA former gladiator school inside the walls of Vansreik, turned into a fortified stronghold and serving as the headquarters of the Warmongers.
CharacterJogard DiA former pirate and warlock who founded the Warmongers, one of the most active mercenary guilds of Vansreik; he looks thirty but is in his late sixties.
CharacterValakarA young sorcerer from the farmlands around the Crater who fled to Vansreik when his powers awoke, rose with the Action Company of the Warmongers and was changed by the blood of the black dragon they slew.CharacterDhori WhitefangA wood elf of the Warmongers and founding member of the Action Company, a former freedom fighter honoured as a hero of Vansreik for saving the city from goblinoid raids.CharacterTamrynA young Archon graduate who came to Vansreik to study under the witch Quadina and was sent by her to the Warmongers, where the pressure of adventuring proved the better teacher.