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== Background (Noble: Knight) ==
Wealthy landowner Nicolae von der Rosen is descended from a long-ago knight of great fame and heroic deeds (as he is often bound to reiterate in great detail to those who dine at his table), charged with the defense of this feudal territory; over many generations, the von der Rosen line bartered away the lion's share of their martial honors and governing privileges to leave a mostly-empty ceremonial title ... and, of course, the ''money''.

Many years ago, the orcish witch Sazura was forced to flee her lair; magically disguising herself as a human damsel, she sought refuge from the widower Nicolae. As it happened, she grew sincerely fond of the man, and the two were eventually married. (Nicolae seems to have deduced the truth of his new wife's origins sometime shortly after the wedding, but saw no real evidence of any direct plot toward ''him'' and hence little reason to care.) Their son did ''not'' benefit from such a glamor, and whispers of an unfortunate curse plagued him throughout his childhood, though he did learn the truth from his mother as a young boy; often told romanticized stories of how every great orc warrior carries the proof of his courage in his scars, Stelian came to extend this outlook to a metaphorical level &mdash; considering the weathering of any hardship, social as well as physical, as clear proof of one's merit. This same sense of martial virtue naturally made him ready, even eager to step in place of others when danger threatened; thus, many locals who have come to know him are willing to excuse his outward eccentrities in respect of the aid he has often provided regardless of familiarity or station.

With his elder half-brother Sandru the heir-apparent of the von der Rosen estates, Stelian bore few if any formal duties; rather than linger on feeling like a freeloader on the family fortune, he has taken to travelling in search of opportunities to build both a fortune and heroic reputation of his own, perhaps one day equalling the founder of his line.

=== Background Feature &mdash; Retainers ===
''I have the service of three loyal retainers who will perform mundane tasks for me; they will not fight for me, or enter obviously dangerous areas.''
* ''(Doctor) Pontifilus'', Stelian's one-time tutor, barber, and now personal valet; a well-educated gnomish gentleman with a gently sardonic manner, he is typically introduced as Stelians "physician" in keeping with the public conceit maintained by the family that Stelian continues to be afflicted by the after-effects of a childhood illness.
* ''Arrin de Onda'', Stelian's squire, the adolescent son of one of Nicolae's wealthier tenant-merchants. Arrin is an almost painfully earnest lad, solid and sensible enough to recognize he's best off personally avoiding the esoteric dangers Master Stelian and his companions often find themselves facing, and youthfully romantic enough to feel at least a little guilty he can't stand with them ("...yet!", he would like to tell himself) as a 'proper' shieldbearer would.
* ''Preciosa Kindleheath'' (just "Kindy" by preference, finding her given name embarrassingly grandiose) is Stelian's groom (in the equestrian sense). Kindy was originally a childhood friend and lady-in-waiting of Stelian's half-sister Adela; when Adela took on a position as an acolyte of the family chapel under her uncle Razvan, Kindy more or less imposed herself on the stables in a stubborn bid to prove herself useful. She has an occasionally aggressive, almost bullying rivalry with Arrin &mdash; concerned her role has retroactively become a sinecure given the unnaturally easy-going behavior of Stelian's current steed Skrytifar, she feels an urge to 'elbow in' to other, more important-appearing responsibilities.