Sir Dubhe

Dubhe (later, Sir Dubhe, First Baron of Tonul) was born during the War of the Pale Brothers in 1317. Dubhe's lineage is something of a mystery. In his official investure to the Barony of Tonul, he is listed as being the son of Sir Ennon, a knight in a free company raised by the Emperor. Since said knight died in a skirmish a month before Dubhe's birth, it is a convenient truth that gives him the legitimacy of being from a well-born line without needing any well-born man to actually claim him. For in truth, he was the son of a camp prostitute (though again at the investure she is named as the common law wife of Sir Ennon), though by the mother's own recollection of her clientele during the period of conception, Dubhe could be the grandson of a Duke, the son of a Count, the eldest son of a Jade Guard, or the son of a cook or archer.

As can be imagined growing up in a military camp, Dubhe quickly took to the martial arts. By the age of ten (1327), the army payroll has him listed as a skirmisher armed with five javelins and a knife. The highpoint of his young life was capturing a minor noble in the Forgotten One's employ, the ransom thus gained allowed him at the tender age of fourteen to buy a knighthood and a place in the Jade Guard (1331).

Loot, ransoms, and Imperial gifts enriched Dubhe enough that by 1342 he was able to be one of the chief financers of the raising of the Greylag Free Company commanded by Yarwen the Younger, who would later become the Castellan of Achn under Dubhe. In 1346, Dubhe's mistress bore a son named Terrance. By this time, Dubhe had bought a commission in the Jade Guards and personally commanded fifty men. During the siege of the Pale City, Dubhe's unit was one of the first to enter the Sacred Quarter as they were deployed to protect the Emperor's Palace from the looting that was sure to accompany the city's fall. For his part in the campaign, Dubhe was awarded Rose Manor, a former priest's residence bordering the Estates.

It is the siege of Achn, however, that would cement Dubhe's martial reputation. As the siege dragged on, the Emperor promised a barony to the first man to plant the Imperial standard on Achn's walls. Dubhe would claim this honor, leading the final assault despite being wounded by an arrow in the leg. The Emperor would keep his promise, making Dubhe baron of the newly formed Barony of Tonul. As his common law wife was, well common, unfit for the legitimate wife of a Baron, Dubhe was also given the daughter of a prominent priest in the New Order, Lady Ida.

The Lady Ida was a practical woman, and moved quickly to secure her place in her new husband's heart. Using her father's connections, the mistress was shipped to Selbrook Monastery to live out her days. Due to the father's genuine affection, her son, Terrance, was recognized as legitimate, though in return the five year old child was forced to renounce any inheritance claims. A friend in the Pale City agreed to take him on as a squire, where he eventually rose in stature to become one of the eight Knights of the Household.

In 1353, the barony's succession was guaranteed with the birth of Maisan Tonul, Baronnet of Bell. It was Dubhe's last child. Increasingly, the old leg wound suffered during the siege of Achn grew worse, making him near immobile. During the last five years of his life, the Baron barely left Rose Manor. Finally, in 1370, just one week after the funeral of the Emperor, Dubhe died.