The Bronze Chords were an adventuring group that formed during the draconic domination of Cimmeria. Brelfagar the dwarven fighter, Shoree the human paladin, Sunrise the elven wizard, and Jeffery the human cleric of the Muses worked together to keep the people of Apollo’s Plains safe in service of their bronze dragon hegemons, Rilopenaril and Langudina. The heroes’ work cleared the way for the foundation of Sheerzen on Apollo’s Hill. After the city’s founding, the dragons’ will took a darker turn. Rilopenaril and Langudina mated with the Bronze Chords and the mortals’ previous children to produce half-dragon offspring. After the deaths of the Bronze Chords, their half-dragon children were forced to fight each other by Langudina to decide the next royal pair of Sheerzen. The adventurers’ legacy was forever scarred by rape, fratricide, and incest.
After the formation of the Bronze Chords group the history of the group’s members is much the same. They were all united by a threat of white dragon-ogre crossbreeds. The Bronze Chords came together to save their communities from the ogres, but before the group’s foundation they each had their separate upbringings and experiences.
Brelfagar was born after the fall of the Conclave and before the rise of the dragons. He lived a simple life as a dwarven warrior in Jord until he fell in love with a traveling dwarf merchant, Tontia. They married and started a family away from civilized life in Apollo’s Plains. When their farming community was threatened by ogres, Brelfagar took up arms with the other Bronze Chords to defend their homes.
Shoree came into adulthood as the dragons established their dominion over Cimmeria. After the outlawing of armies, Shoree knew the only path for a safe life was through individual action. She pledged herself to Apollo‘s service the next day. Shoree spent years training in the temple to heal the sick and to protect the weak. When ogres invaded Apollo’s Plains, she was more prepared than anyone else to meet the challenge.
Sunrise was one of the first elves born during the dawn of the Olympians’ conquest of Cimmeria. Her parents were created elves who fought in the Goblin War. She reached adulthood just as the Age of Monsters began. Sunrise was always a fountain of optimism. Wanting to create a better world, she threw herself into arcane study to develop her magical powers. Sunrise wanted to fight back against the tide of monsters and reclaim Cimmeria for the races of the Conclave. She took to the road to serve the people of Apollo’s Plains wherever she was needed most. When the ogres came, she was on the scene first to organize resistance.
Jeffery was a traveling storyteller living on Apollo’s Plains. He journeyed between the scattered villages to share news, swap goods, and tell stories of when the Olympians ruled in Greece instead of Cimmeria. While traveling troubadours often have a lascivious reputation, Jeffery’s behavior was always above reproach. His devotion to stories and art alone earned him a mystical connection to the Muses. The powers given to Jeffery by the goddesses truly awakened when the ogres invaded. He stepped forward to defend his homeland along with the other Bronze Chords.
The white dragons to the west of Apollo’s Plains had mixed their blood with an ogre tribe, creating dozens of half-dragon ogres. These beasts came out of the mountains and pillaged the villages of Apollo’s Plains. Sunrise, Brelfagar, Shoree, and Jeffery united to defend their people against the ogre incursion. They defeated the ogre menace and earned the recognition of Rilopenaril and Langudina. The bronze dragon twins dubbed the heroic group the Bronze Chords.
Rilopenaril tasked the Bronze Chords with gathering all the people of Apollo’s Plains in one central location, the sacred Hill of Apollo where the draconic pair made their lair. He wished to make an announcement to his subjects. Langudina was oddly absent when Rilopenaril gave this task to the Bronze Chords. After many years they completed their task. The Bronze Chords traveled the length and breadth of Apollo’s Plains and slew many beasts and monsters to ensure safe travel for the weaker subjects of the bronze dragons. All the people of the Plains packed up their belongings as directed and migrated to Apollo’s Hill.
All the people of Apollo’s Plains came together as one. Rilopenaril announced that they would no longer live separately. They would live together in a new home of his design. Rilopenaril intoned a divine spell and a magnificent structure rose from the crown of Apollo’s Hill. The stone castle rose a thousand feet into the air reinforced by adamantine and lead. The town of Sheerzen came into existence in less time than it takes to bake a cake. All those present were invited to inhabit the castle or return to their villages as they wished. Rilopenaril named the Bronze Chords the leaders of the new community.
Rilopenaril and Langudina temporarily took mortal forms to mate with the Bronze Chords and some of their existing children. Through this act, the Bronze Chords’ bloodlines were infused with draconic power. Shoree and Sunrise gave birth to children, while Langudina laid eggs fertilized by Brelfagar and Jeffery.
The Bronze Chords died as mortals do. Some of the deaths were natural, but others raised suspicions. First, Jeffery died of a minor illness in his old age. Second, Brelfagar was slain by a wild boar while hunting alone. Third, Sunrise died in a potion-making accident. After Sunrise’s death Rilopenaril accused Langudina of assassinating the mortals in their charge. The argument escalated and came to no resolution. To prevent the disagreement from turning to violence, Rilopenaril left Apollo’s Hill for a few years.
Langudina ruled in Rilopenaril’s absence. The very next year, Shoree died in childbirth. The last of the Bronze Chords had passed on. Langudina decreed that the group’s successors would be decided by an arcane gauntlet of duels. Each descendant of the Bronze Chords would duel each other until only two remained, a male and a female. The two would be wed and would rule as king and queen over the city. The people of Sheerzen protested in outrage, but one spout of dragon flame from Langudina’s snout quieted their dissent. The tournament took place in Rilopenaril’s absence without his consent. The winners, King Batard and Queen Challah, ascended to the thrones. Both were children of Rilopenaril.
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