Lord Rook Thornwood-Calloway

 Rook Calloway was born on a farm just outside Millerton in the Highlands province of Olaran. His family, while not wealthy, were able to maintain their little farmstead and make some extra coin by trading livestock and produce to the passing caravans coming to and from Old Shire. Rook himself loved to talk with the caravaners, and it was from them he learned as much as he could about the world outside his home. On occasion, the bounty of supplies would need protection from bandits, and so were guarded by more interesting folk with which the lad could converse. Whether they wore red cloaks or gold, Calloway listened to them all with rapt attention, soaking in every tidbit of new information he could regarding the goings on in the kingdom.

When he was eleven years old, a particularly important caravan carrying taxes for the king went missing and was rumored to be somewhere near Calloway’s farm. As soon as he heard the boy went off on his own to find the missing carts and the drivers he had befriended. For three days he searched the surrounding hills, hunting for rabbits or eating berries to sustain himself. On the morning of the fourth day, he found the caravan only to release it had been taken by bandits. Knowing he would not be able to take them on himself, Calloway went in search for help. Whether it was luck or fate, the first people he came upon was a squad of Rangers who had been assigned to locate the very same thing as himself. They listened to his story, and sent a runner to get reinforcements before attacking the bandits and recovering the missing gold. As a result of his work, the ranger who was leading the search took an interest in Rook, offering him an apprenticeship with the Rangers as soon as he turned thirteen.

The next two years Calloway trained himself in woodcraft, in sneaking through the forest, and in cartography. He even taught himself how to write using some books he had bought using the reward money from his ordeal with the caravan. His family supported his efforts, helping where they could and encouraging him to improve. When he turned thirteen he left his home and traveled to the ranger training grounds in Thornwood. The training he received was tough and rigorous, but he worked harder than he ever thought possible and built himself a very promising career among the ranks of his faction.

A few years later the border disputes between Olaran and their southerly neighbor Goltha boiled over, and as skirmishes and the occasional battle broke out throughout the southern provinces more and more fighters were being sent to guard them. Calloway was assigned to maintaining the Keldaran River bank Smit to Bash Tiar, along with a sizable force of other rangers. He earned a name for himself in several brief skirmishes over the course of the conflict, but his most notable achievement was in his prevention of a large scale incursion by the Golthans. He had intercepted their dispatches in a daring mission which took him deep into enemy territory, using his training to great affect. For these actions he was promoted to the rank of captain and was assigned to work on sabotage and interference missions, wreaking havoc among the Golthan forces.

After the end of the conflict, Calloway returned to Thornwood to train his own apprentices. He was happy with his position, passing on what he had learned to others and learning more every day being surrounded by others of great skill and cunning. This short period of comfort would come to an end with the news of the Autumn Feast and the death of King Ossric. With the coronation of King Rangar and his subsequent decree for a force to be sent to find the Sword of Hope, Rook went to Thriese and boarded one of the ships sailing for Ithacus.

The storms that separated the fleet caused Rook’s own ship to sink off the coast a few days ride north of the main Olaran forces and by the time he was able to regroup with them the King’s bewitchment had been discovered and the Duke’s intention to become regent had been made public. With the resulting conflict, Calloway arrived to a chaotic scene. Captain Arquus Swiftbow was readying a force to scout for an alternate route to Olaran, and as such he assigned the newly arrived Captain Calloway to command the expeditionary force of Rangers. 

Under his command the Rangers searched for, and discovered the Sword of Hope, but in the conflicts leading up to the discovery, Rook chose to stand back as his allies, the Hearth-Guard were overwhelmed by a sudden Sea Lord assault. Upon his return to Olaran, he passed the command of the Rangers to Commander Brandis and Captain Lillian, and during the Battle of the Thornwood, he was captured by the Hearth-Guard, who had waited long for their revenge. Commander Tove knew the Ranger was illiterate, so she had a wooden sign hung around his neck that read “Traitor.” He was sent back to his faction in an ignominious heap, but seemed to take the whole event in stride.

A somewhat abashed Rook eventually made his escape and continued his investigations into various members of the council and others present at the now bloodied estate including the newly established Order. His suspicions of a larger conspiracy remained unconfirmed, and before he could find any substantial evidence the High Priest was assassinated and a truce declared so that all parties present could return home before reconvening the next year to address the state of the kingdom.

Rook spent the next few months in the Thornwood with his wife, the Lady Magdalena Thornwood. They traveled to Norn where he was officially given noble status by the other heads of the The House of Thornwood, becoming Lord Rook Thornwood-Calloway and officially retiring from the Rangers while still holding a place of respect amongst their ranks.