Branton Redguard

The son of Captain Haig Redguard and his wife Gallia, Bran was born and raised in Old Eagleholm, a member of the respected - though not powerful - Redguard family.

At the age of thirteen he came across an injured Northern boy his own age - a boy who introduced himself as Arren Cardockson. The two became fast friends, and grew to manhood together, but little did Bran know that he had befriended the man who would one day be known by his real name - Arenadd Taranisaii.

Bran joined the guards not long after his first meeting with Arenadd, following in his father's footsteps. As a young man he was promoted to Captain after he tracked down a particularly dangerous smuggling operation in the city, and given command of one of Old Eagleholm's guard towers - a position he accepted with great pride.

Bran was a true and loyal friend, but ultimately became torn between friendship and his duty as a guard - and his secret love for Flell Kaelynsen. Unfortunately, all three would eventually be his downfall.

Trivia

-I decided to include a guard character because I wanted to avoid the cliche of faceless medieval law enforcement who are only there to either brutalise the hero, or be slaughtered by him (or both)

-After the first trilogy was over I regretted not having given Bran a bigger role, so I introduced his nephew Kearney Redguard to make up for it - originally Bran's sister was referred to as having married a carpenter, and never even appeared in the books

-Bran sports a tattoo on his shoulder of a heart - a popular design in the South, though in Cymria hearts are drawn as rounded triangles and vaguely resemble shields

-His name means "Little Raven", which has nothing to do with his character - I chose it simply because it sounded right

Quotable Quotes

"I ain't no fancy thinker"

"We Reguards’ve been guards for ten generations, yeh know. That’s how we got our name, my Granddad used t’say. Red for the uniform, guard for the guard."

"Guarding's mostly just standin' around or walkin' back and forth, an' looking mean"

Appears In

Tales of Cymra

The Dark Griffin

The Griffin's Flight

The Griffin's War

The Shadow's Heir