Generation 10 Heroes

"For the glory of the empire! For old Solaris!" Gregory's impassioned battle cry has never wavered even if today the Solaris Empire is but a distant memory. The Empire's reign ended the day Sunfire Castle fell to an army of bandits. The tundra had spoken. Everybody was on their own, including Gregory's soldiers, who, like many other Solaris ex-military, were forced into the mercenary life to make ends meet. Yet, in his heart of hearts, Gregory has never stopped pining for a return to the Empire's glory days where the Solaris banner can once again fly high atop Sunfire Castle. The men under Gregory are less optimistic, but certainly don't mind the bread and creature comforts that come with Gregory's competent leadership. He remains a popular commander, then as now.

As a swordsman on horseback Gregory is perhaps unequalled; as a tactician and oldworld infantry specialist willing to strike hard and fast he may be the best. It was no accident Gregory found himself at the head of the old empire's last Dawnguard squad, and it is largely thanks to their sacrificial, loyal efforts that the young Empress was saved. Their escape from Sunfire Castle brought its own complexities: what was the role of the Empress in this new world? And, more importantly, how would they cope without a household retinue of servants, squires, and maids?

Contrary to Gregory's appearance, he is not a rough man by any means. Those who know him well will testify of a soft underside to his stern face and tenderness particularly toward the young empress. As a matter of principle, Gregory still considers the empress to hold a kind of royal authority—to whom he will often act as an uncle, advisor, butler or bodyguard when danger calls. Gregory is also keen to preserve the old ways of the Solaris Empire by insisting, for example, on courtly decorum and regal outfits for Her Majesty and entourage no matter how impossible the Empire's restoration may seem.

The day Sunfire Castle fell is forever burned into Gregory's memory: the day he lost everything but a newfound purpose. Gregory received his orders from the dying Captain of the Guard: the young empress was still alive! But to reach safety his men would have to thread a needle of life through absolute chaos, confusion, looting, and bloodshed. It was an almost impossible task and yet at the end Gregory led the empress safety out of the city with blood pouring from several arrow wounds in his armor. As his men planned to take the empress somewhere safe he then, as he gazed upon her terrified eyes, found the strength from within to pick himself up and press on. Thereafter his fate would be bound to that of the heir-apparent, and he would be her most loyal protector.

Freya once thought the Tundra was the worst thing that could happen to the world. The Blood Moon Plague proved her wrong. The name of Freya's hometown has been lost to the history books. It is now known as Hell, the Land of No Return, or the Abandoned City. Its once vibrant streets are covered in fog. None approach. But if a lost traveler were to venture near, they might still hear something: screams and shouts to chill them to their bones. As a Nightguard, Freya and her fellow sentries were well-protected at the city outskirts inside a tower with plenty of food when the Blood Moon came. Never would they have guessed that one day they would not be defending against invaders, but preventing former family and friends from ever getting out.

But someone always slips through. Words cannot describe the terror on a traveling merchant who, after wandering off a mountain path, came face to face with the monsters of Hell. Crooked, misshapen human things covered in grotesque scarlet crystal flower petals, their jet black eyes full of darkness and suffering. The next thing the merchant knew, the monsters had fallen to the ground with a glint of cold steel and he was being dragged back to a sentry tower by a shadowy figure. This lady—his unfriendly savior—said nothing as she called for a doctor to give a full examination. A strange figure in a bird mask examined the merchant carefully for a disease referred in hushed tones as the "Blood Moon Plague". Fortunately, he was allowed to go free with a strict warning and ominous feeling that if he had shown any signs whatsoever of the plague—whatever that was—he would have been treated very differently.

Philly, investigator of all strange diseases, originally named it the Blood Moon Plague upon hearing Freya's harrowing account. The first rule of plague is to prevent its spread, which Philly urged the sentries to do. She struggled to come to terms with the mysterious illness that seemed to spread via crystals and fog, turning men into beasts with great speed. Freya was the exception who, once she recognized in her body the signs of infection, merely collapsed. So she was kept under observation. Eventually, as if by some miracle, she began to observe her own recovery. Her body's natural defenses began to survive, even thrive. Now she is the only one who can walk through Hell with impunity. Great strength has also come through the inactivated remnants of the disease in her body. Freya has since become a key member of her fellow Night's Guard survivors: a lady immune, with super strength, tasked with keeping the gates of Hell firmly closed.

Hades was once called Metiya, a tiny city on the edge of the wilderness. Life in the age of ice and cold was a tough adjustment. The City's Furnace was often short of materials. It was in these desperate times a strange visitor arrived with a promise of abundance if he could run a little "experiment". It was a success at first. People gained great strength and energy even without food. They could walk outside without feeling the cold. But grotesque deformities soon followed, rage, and a terrible madness. In the end, the vast majority of "subjects" lost all reason and began attacking their neighbors. A fog descended at roughly the same time over the whole town, either a cause or consequence of the plague—Freya cannot say. She was then infected. As her eyes turned cold and red and dim she looked upward. The full moon should have been silver-gray. It was completely covered in blood. That is all Freya remembers of her long recovery. Now there is only the hope that just as she has healed, Hell's residents can do some too.

Blanchette seems like a sweet and innocent girl until you come face to face with her triple-barreled rifle muzzle or see the efficiency with which she picks off men and beasts at a distance. As a marksman or tactician Blanchette is probably the second or third most dangerous enemy you could possibly face in the wilderness. She is a master of firearms and not afraid to strike first. There is only one reason to think otherwise: Blanchette takes care of a large group of orphaned children taken in by her late father, the orphanage's founder. Only in their presence will her cold exterior give way to warmth and laughter.

Blanchette did not feel she was much more than a child herself when she became the leader of the orphanage, and has always tried to provide a safe space for her younger "brothers and sisters" since—with toys, treats, or even funny costumes, decorations, and plays. One moment Blanchette may find herself acting out the role of "Red Riding Hood" or the "Big Bad Wolf" on a makeshift stage. But the terror will be far more real for anyone who might threaten her orphanage than ever experienced by any of those characters. Indeed, with the passing of time, there are moments Blanchette finds it hard to separate herself from the roles she plays on stage and the warrior she has to be out on the Tundra.

Blanchette's father founded the orphanage in a fort purchased after a long career as an explorer. It is from him Blanchette inherited not only clarity of judgement but also excellent combat instincts. Her father's dreams of creating a safe space for abandoned children was quickly dashed after his passing, when her father's successor filled his pockets with the orphanage's riches before fleeing into the night. All alone, the children turned to young Blanchette. She would have to grow up very quickly. Their first big test came soon after. A dangerous group of bandits had heard a false rumor the castle was filled with riches and broke in with knives and guns. Blanchette escorted the children to a safe space and then began picking off the intruders one-by-one. It was a kind of baptism of fire into adulthood. When Blanchette finally opened the door to where the children had been hiding, she was nearly covered head to foot in bandit blood.

Crisis averted, finding money to buy food became the orphanage's main worry. The older kids had to start work immediately in the nearby city with Blanchette taking on more lucrative, but highly dangerous bounty hunter contracts. So great were Blanchette's worries then she could hardly sleep at night, and yet always put on a brave face for the children. The orphanage did not find itself on stable ground until the Dawn Alliance arrived with funding in exchange for Blanchette's assistance. Now she had the confidence to step out onto the field as one of the Dawn Alliance's newest and most dangerous assets.