Name: Bron
Age: 41
Kingdom: Kingdom of the Vales
Gemstone: Fire
Appearance: Bron keeps his hair short, military cut, as well as a short beard. Both are black, but starting to fleck with grey. His eyes are the colour of ambers. In stature he is quite short, broad-shouldered and muscular. People often underestimate him because of his size, but he quickly shows them he's more than capable of holding his own against them. 

He's quite conservative and usually wears a thin tunic with some chainmail underneath, preferring to avoid rich clothes or ornate armour. His hard and long past is marked on his face and body, with a scarred left side of the face and burnt shoulder.
Background: Bron was raised in the Barren Lands, born to a city guard and a flute-playing mother. He grew up in the slums of the city, where he learned what real life was really like. He liked to read, but books only described false ideas of heroes and dragons, not what really went on. He witnessed murders, conning, thievery. Using his sharp wit and skill in Hvar-täk, a local board game that rich men usually gambled on. He made a quick fortune, and then enlisted in the Guards when his father retired. As a twenty year old guardsman, he was still surprised to see the corruption in it, and left a few weeks later. He decided to head off to the capital and find work there, hoping to be a sellsword or some other dirty work for more money.

He had become disillusioned to concepts of honour or justice. Why should one's chance in this kingdom amount to who your parents had fucked to bring you into the world? He made it his goal to discredit the greedy merchants of the capital and ruin their businesses in which they paid workers the minimum wages to feed their own fat bellies. Here he also met King Armagen, who most seemed to consider mad for his war on two fronts. Mad King Armagen.

He witnessed the corruption first hand as he had become part of the Prince Edgar's personal guard. He fought in the war for a few years, following Edgar, and helped kill the King's guard when Edgar betrayed him. This was a chance to make the kingdom a better place. He was surprised when Edgar turned to him with an important mission. He explained about the sorceress and gems, and handed one to Bron. The gem was red, and seemed to contain fire under the right light. You could see the small flames twirling at the center... An object of beauty. An object of power.

Power was not something Bron wanted, as he had quickly learned in the wrong hands it's devastating. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. But honesty and loyalty were important to him. He agreed to take it.

Though Edgar had offered him the post of King of the Vale, he had declined and instead reccomended a General he had fought with during the war, a man who shared similar ideas to him and seemed like a good leader. He became King, and named Bron captain of the King's guard. Bron happily accepted. He also started seeing a young girl in the Queen's Guard. A fiesty and strong-willed woman, a few years younger than his thirty. He quickly fell in love.

Then came the news. The Witch who had corrupted the King and ruined the five kingdoms was here to retrieve her stones. Bron had thought the world a peaceful place now, and had sealed his gem in his house. He quickly found it, and forged it into the hilt of his sword. He carried the sword everywhere he went, even sleeping with it. But such responsability is not cheaply bought. An unknown illness took his now-wife, Rose, who had quit the Queen's Guard. She died a few days after.

Bron is now on his way to the capital of the Barren Lands, to meet with Prince Edgar and find out how to protect the stones, and whatever evil may lie in them, and how to get rid of them. He is travelling from village to village posing as a hermit, to protect his identity and escape from whatever spies the Witch may have in place.
Personality: Strong, Witty, Loyal, Sensible, Modest
Fighting skills: He usually fights head on, not believing in class or style. He doesn't mind kicking his opponent's groin, throwing dirt in his eyes, anything goes. He prefers using a sword and shield, and his gem powers allow him to conjure fire (though he has learnt that this ruins his health, his hands have become withered and leathery from over-use and over-exposure of his power) and set his sword on fire. (He had it forged with Damascus steel, which is heat resistant enough for the blade not to weaken.) He can also apply heat to things with his hands, and his body temperature is constantly affected by the gem: instead of the normal temperature of 36°, his internal temperature is closer to 40°. Using the fire also uses oxygen from his bloodstream, weakening him and rendering him breathless. Separation from the gem he has become dependent on usually makes him feel sick, so he keeps it hidden but close. He can also control fire, turning it into different shapes, controlling it, changing it's colour, as if fire's will could be taken over by him. He hasn't discovered all he can do with the gem, but is quite satisfied with his heat powers.