Company of Knight Captain Slavomír Markvart of Morrowdale
“Well, Dinadan,’ said Sir Tristram, ‘I was never called coward or now of no earthly knight in my life; and wit thou well, sir, I call myself never the more coward though Sir Launcelot gave me a fall, for I outcept him of all knights. And doubt ye not Sir Dinadan, and Sir Launcelot have a quarrel good, he is too over good for any knight that now is living; and yet of his sufferance, largess, bounty, and courtesy, I call him knight peerless;’”
The champion's crest is worn by the dejected and sorrowful Sir Ctibor Čeněk of Bluemoor. He was Slavomír Markvart's confidant, and, though he is somewhat older, trusted friend. Ctibor Čeněk is a seasoned warrior whose strength has not left him, said to never lose his head in battle. Rumours say that he knows no fear. Some might say that he is too simple to be afraid, while others will mournfully explain that a man who has nothing to lose has nothing to fear. And truly: Ctibor Čeněk has never married and sired no children. And his house... Bluemoor was forgotten.
The tourney was perhaps to be his last chance to shine; to show the world what he is worth; and perhaps to catch the eye of some nice, sweet girl. But now? Whatever he does, he will always fight in the shadow of Slavomír Markvart's death; the tragedy will always burn brighter than any victory. And so many worries. Who other than Ctibor Čeněk should deal with all of Slavomír's worldly ties? Who else is to hold his widow's hand and tell her the terrible news?
Venerable Kunhuta
“Fair Father Jesu Christ, take it not for no sin though I help the good man which hath great need of help.”
Venerable Sisters have been travelling with knights since time immemorial. They provide hope when the knights' hearts sink; bandages and good medicine when they fall; and there are some monsters which can be defeated by them, women who bear no arms but whose hands can perform miracles.
Out of all the Venerable Sisters, Kunhuta is one of the most popular. A sweet woman with a quiet voice and a great longing for adventure; one who spends more time on the road than many knights. That is apparent at the first glance: her nose has been broken several times over; her once smooth face is full of scars and burns; her fingers twisted from being snapped.
And yet her hands are still just as swift when it comes to counting the beads on her rosary, tying bandages, or performing exorcisms. Kunhuta must know very well that her service will soon devour her whole and take her life. Nevertheless, she never strays from her path.
“‘My fair lords, I thank you all of your coming into this country with me, but we came too late, and that shall repent me while I live, but against death may no man rebel.”
Since he was a little boy, Matěj Zachariáš has always longed for great adventures, slaying monsters, and glory. When he set off for battle for the first time, he was drunk on romantic ideals of heroic deeds. A great deal of time has passed since then. Matěj has seen many an adventure and been through the darkest corners of Šumava. But none of that has brought him peace. What started as a desire for adventure slowly transformed into a longing for something he could never get. The world around him kept changing, his friends kept dying, and he kept getting older. He hasn't seen more than fifty summers, but in his heart and eyes, he is the oldest of all the knights.
It's as if he was cursed! He has gone through seven companies in his life - and none of the previous ones have ended any well; not much remains of them today. He himself has danced with Death more than once: feverish weeks in bed; infected wounds; long, painful days spent crawling, dragging his leg, clutching broken ribs after missions deep into uncharted territories. He survived. The first chance to do more than survive may have been Slavomír Markvart's company. Slavomír chose him himself, despite his reputation as a bearer of ill luck. And what luck did it bring him?
The unluckiest knight, Matěj the Stormcrow will have to face his own demons and death itself. Will he prevail?
Jasmína
I met a lady in the meads,
Full beautiful—a faery’s child,
Her hair was long, her foot was light,
And her eyes were wild.
Many legends were told of Jasmína at Grimness. Perhaps a year ago, perhaps a decade, she was enchanted and imprisoned amongst a thousand thorns, guarded by strange gaolers, and held by a magical power, away from the world. When her portrait was brought to Grimness, Albert Tomáš had it placed in the hall as a reminder that beauty does not always mean happiness for a woman.
And when Swindler lost his original name and his honour while saving Grimness, Albert Tomáš took pity on him and promised he would give him a wife for his past deeds. Then Swindler played and sang the saddest song that anybody has ever heard from him; a song of how his body and soul longed to see the enchanted maid Jasmína. And the lord of Grimness sent Slavomír Markvart's company to retrieve her.
Yet those who expected a fragile, doe-eyed maiden from the painting were perhaps a bit mistaken. Jasmína is beautiful and Jasmína is fragile, but her dress and her manner clearly say that Jasmína is also a witch. Now, there is nothing wrong about that - but what other secrets might the girl from the painting be hiding? Her charming face means good news for the men of Grimness, especially Swindler. But what will her arrival mean for the women?
František
"His frock was simple, but clean and mended. His house was plain but served its purpose. His rifle was well-oiled - and his eyes were like a deep abyss."
Jasmína is not the only one who only came to Slavomír Markvart's company recently. František is no knight, but considering his visage of a well-armed trapper, it's clear he knows the area and can survive in the woods. At least that is what one would think from the number of weapons he carries: he has at least one for every situation, and who knows how many more are hiding in his camo vest?
But at the first glance, you will not be struck by his gear or his dress, or even how easily he can lead the group through the woods. His hands and face are covered with bandages slowly soaking through with blood - or something even worse. What kind of tracker did the knights bring? And what price will they have to pay for his services?
"Here I stand, and I cannot do otherwise, for I have been wronged."
Snowglade is a fortified station, which now lies just outside of the boundaries of the domain of Grimness. In the past it used to belong to the lords of Grimness, but when Albert Tomáš came to power, he exchanged it with the lord of the Moorland for the Bogland tower. Life in Snowglade was not easy: it was far away from other settlements, which made its people self-reliant and unused to travelling to Moorland or Grimness.
Its location on a tall hill made it easily defensible, but its people suffered all the more from cold and the beating wind. On one side, it neighbours with a long stretch of abandoned woods, going all the way down to the cursed Lipno Dam, which often brings large groups of goblins. Its territory also includes an old moor, ruled by powers older than the castles of the Rose. Of course, every single knight's settlement must endure hardship.
But Vít Lukáš is truly an embodiment of how cruel the fate of Snowglade was. He lost his father as a child and the old lord of Grimness appointed his mother Anežka regent of the station. She was an exceptional woman: of course she never bore arms, but her endurance and her ability to gauge the trustworthiness of every man ensured Snowglade's survival. Vít Lukáš grew up to be an ideal knight: he slayed his first enemy at fourteen. When he reached twenty, people expected him to be put in charge of Snowglade, although it was only an unwritten custom and not his right. But the lord of Moorland, counselled by the Venerable Sisters, decided Vít Lukáš would have to wait. That was last year.
This winter changed everything. In winter, Vít Lukáš came to Grimness, accompanied by only a handful of men, and begged Albert Tomáš for an audience - but he was refused. Vít went back home with only two new volunteers and three boxes of ammunition.
A week later, Snowglade was hit by the biggest goblin raid in a generation, only surviving with the help of the Lord in Heaven and Šumava the Allmother. Anežka of Snowglade fell that night and Vít Lukáš only appeared at Grimness many months later, as a knight in the company of Knight Captain Markvart of Morrowdale. At first, they only knew him by his armour: his handsome face was scarred and seemingly much older and he wore a strange contraption tied to his mouth at all times, helping him to breathe.
It is said that he has sworn three oaths - and he will only accept his place as the steward of Snowglade from the lord of Moorland once he has fulfilled them all.