Countess of Molossus. Wife of Satus Molossus. Grandmother of everyone except Leyna and Marius.
Baia is the eldest daughter of Sir Fortes of Molossus. Normally a count would not marry his heir to a knight's child. But the old count indulged his son because Satus Molossus clearly adored Baia. He loved her lustrous brown hair, her quick laughter, and her mouth-watering pies. Critics hinted that Baia was, well, a tad on the plump side. But grandfather Satus always insists that women ought to have some meat on them. "Some of these little slips of girls are so thin these days! Nothing a man can wrap his hands around, if you know what I mean. You might as well marry a boy!"
Over the years, Baia's plumpness expanded to a fulsome girth. Her sweetness and mirth remained unchanged, however, and today she presides over a chaotic but cheerful household teaming with children and dogs. Baia is a firm believer in the miraculous power of food. All ills, all unhappinesses, can be cured with enough sweets, cookies, cakes and pies. While she's normally the picture of contentment, she does worry about her Surrexus grandchildren. They're so thin! Doesn't their step-mother feed them? Is she trying to starve them to death?!?
Description: Portly woman with round, red cheeks. Her long hair is braided and piled atop her head, and while it's gone grey her husband swears he can still occasionally see a flash of the silken brown of her youth.
Squire of Sir Darius Harrans. Leyna's cousin. Second son of Lord Alamar of Talamanthus and Lady Merita of Groth.
Fourteen-year-old Balthasar is the apple of his parents' eyes. Smart, charming, kind, dutiful, adorable... Alamar and Merita could heap compliments on him from dawn to dusk. The frightening thing is, they're pretty much right. The boy is an exemplary little creature. He hasn't even let his parents' continual eulogies go to his head.
Unfortunately, as the second son of a Bendigrothi lord, his prospects weren't great. Alamar assumed he would be a merchant or his older brother's assistant. Balthasar, however, had other ideas. He wanted to be a paladin, he informed his father somberly when he was five. With a sword.
Alamar vetoed the idea. Paladins were base-born, he told his son. Yes, they were good men and blessed by the Gods. But the days of the noble Order were gone. Most paladins you met now were pursers' sons and inn-keepers' boys. Noble men didn't become paladins. Balthasar nodded dutiful... and brought the topic up again at his next birthday. And the birthday after that... and after that...
...until the day that Sir Darius Harrans and his squire Titus showed up and proved Lord Alamar wrong. Both were the sons of Rostillan counts. Both were courteous and noble, with none of the rough edges that Alamar expected of a paladin. For his part, Darius thought Balthasar would make a wonderful addition to the Order. With some reluctance Alamar agreed to let his son become a paladin... but only if Darius took him as his squire. Alamar was not handing his son over to any hedge-knight. Darius agreed, so after he took Titus to the Holy Mounds (a year ago) he returned to Talamanthus and Balthasar became his squire.
Description: A bit on the delicate side; his knight hopes he'll fill out as he gets older. Balthasar inherited his mother's good looks. Silken, white-blonde hair as soft as a rabbit's fur. Brilliant blue eyes sparkling in an angel's face. Very handsome. Too handsome, Darius thinks some days. Balthasar's greatest flaw, in his knight's estimation, is his fondness for women. At the moment it's all very gallant and chivalrous... but Darius doesn't think it bodes well for his vows of celibacy. Balathasar, on the other hand, thinks that his greatest flaw is his voice, which is cracking in a most hideous fashion at the moment. He's trying to be more thoughtful and, um, silent, so people won't notice. He thinks it may be safe to start talking again in another year or two.
Former heir of Count Arius Surrexus. Dead.
Count Arius always used to say, "Brennus is a good boy." Which was true. He wasn't the brightest member of the family or the most skilled. But he was big and good-hearted, and Arius figured that as long as he had a sensible counselor to go to court for him (like Severus), Brennus would make a fine count. He was a good warrior; his father had hopes that one day he'd be a great one.
Brennus was content with being heir, and not arrogant. He was genuinely delighted when Titus became a squire, sad when Corvina left, and happy to let Severus do his thinking for him. The only time he annoyed Count Arius was when he laughed at the predicaments Cassius got himself into. Brennus should reprimand his wayward brother, Arius said -- not encourage him. But his heir could never bring himself to scold anyone. Brennus teased Marius a bit about being so small and was forever suggesting sure-fire ways for him to grow a bit more. ("Stink-flower. No, seriously. Rub some of that on your chest right before you go to sleep, and you'll wake up an inch taller. How do you think I got so tall?")
Description: A bean-sprout as a child, Brennus quickly turned into a big man. Had his father's black hair and broad, square features. In many ways he looked like Count Arius -- the big difference being that he smiled much more.