Brigid Baeli
| Brigid Baeli | |
|---|---|
|
The Hero of Kinsbaile Brigid the Brigand | |
 | |
| Information | |
| Colors |
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| Species | Kithkin |
| Job | Archer |
| Birth, Life & Death | |
| Birthplace | Kinsbaile, Lorwyn-Shadowmoor |
| Lifetime | Mending Era, c. 4520 AR |
| Family | |
| Relatives | Six siblings called "the Baeli Bastards". |
| Sources | |
| Lorwyn, Morningtide, Shadowmoor, Eventide | |
Brigid Baeli is an excellent archer from the kithkin clachan of Kinsbaile who served as the right-hand of Gaddock Teeg. She held, lost, and later regained the official title Hero of Kinsbaile, and her lofty reputation was known even outside of kithkin society (although she was called, dismissively, the Zero of Kinsbaile by the Vendilion Clique on multiple occasions).[1] Songs were composed, and tales were told about her exploits and achievements, and she helped to deflect numerous threats to her home clachan.
History
An unexpected Adventure
In 4520 AR, Brigid became embroiled in an increasingly complex adventure when Gaddock Teeg assigned her to accompany a flamekin messenger named Ashling on her mission to find a Gilt-Leaf elf named Rhys. The pair departed Kinsbaile in search of this elf, with Brigid regularly frustrating her new companion as she hummed her own heroic ballads and regaled the disinterested flamekin with tales of her triumphs and accomplishments. Brigid’s formidable ego aside, the pair were successful— thanks in no small part to Brigid’s pathfinding and tracking skills— in locating Rhys in the Porringer Valley.[1] Not far into the search, Brigid had also gained the unwanted presence of the irritating Vendilion Clique, who already shared an acquaintanceship with Ashling and seemed suspiciously drawn to her. Rounding out the company was a wayward elf who introduced herself as Maralen. Together, the group traveled back to Kinsbaile, as the second leg of Ashling’s journey would be reuniting Rhys with his former treefolk mentor Colfenor.[1]
In Kinsbaile, preparations were underway for their annual Festival of Tales, and this year's festival saw the approach of numerous unexpected attendees. Two brutish giant siblings Brion and Kiel camped out near Kinsbaile's border and hoped to attend the festival the collect stories for their sister. As Brigid met with the giants to ensure they did so at a safe distance, she was unaware that Gilt-Leaf forces were also marshalling to invade Kinsbaile in pursuit of Rhys, who had withheld from her and the others the fact that he was an outcast from his tribe. Amongst the bustle in and around Kinsbaile, Colfenor's reasons for reuniting with Rhys had also been made clear to him inside of Teeg's office; Rhys was to perform a service for his former mentor by planting a seedcone in the Murmuring Bosk, and Brigid decided to join him.[1]
The Gilt-Leaf forces had by then moved in and occupied Kinsbaile and aimed to annex it as their new outpost. In order to curry favor with the elvish commander Nath, Teeg ordered Brigid to capture Rhys and bring him back as a gift to Nath. Colfenor manipulated the message, however, and Brigid targeted Ashling instead.
After Ashling was saved from extinguishing and the elvish threat to Kinsbaile was temporarily negated when Rhys killed Nath in hand-to-hand combat, Brigid confronted Teeg about his motives, warning him that she did not enjoy being used as a tool of political intrigues. Regardless, Brigid would never have an opportunity to reconcile or work with Teeg again, as he would eventually be set ablaze and die as Colfenor dramatically combusted by way of his own machinations.
A New Legacy
Brigid, for her part, was filled with self-reproach for betraying her friends and inadvertently putting Ashling's life in danger. The Festival of Tales had begun, and all the kithkin of Kinsbaile had gathered to listen to Colfenor's stories. Brigid wanted to atone for her actions and saw the opportunity to leave her life in Kinsbaile behind. For all of their fawning hero-worship of Brigid throughout her life, the people of Kinsbaile were too enthralled by Colfenor's own tales to take notice of her departure. She felt the thoughtweft begin to ebb away from her mind as she approached the edge of town. As she left, she found herself spurred on by her own strength for the first time rather than the collective influence and admiration of those she devoted her life to protecting.[1]
Later, she rejoined the group temporarily, working as a decoy to aid the rescue of Brion and Kiel from the elf hunters, and later accompanied Sygg to investigate strange occurrences within the merrows. This led her to talk to The Source of the Wanderwine River, while holding Sygg's Crescent of Morningtide, which enabled her to survive the change between Lorwyn to Shadowmoor with her memories, abilities, and physical image intact.
An Unfamiliar World
After the Great Aurora, Brigid had become a member of Sygg's pirate crew alongside the merrows Wryllick, Wrybert, and Wryget.[2] She kept close to Sygg, for whose corruption she felt a pang of personal guilt. The party confronted a kithkin scout, Jack Chierdagh, who claimed to be on a mission to get Rosheen's scroll. Jack managed to kill Wryllick in self-defense, Wrybert was killed by Sygg, and Wryget was knocked unconscious. When Sygg wanted to kill Jack, Brigid knocked him out to save Jack's life. She gave Jack her magical wingbow, capable of flight. Then she met Maralen and offered to work for her if she agreed to help Jack become the Hero of Mistmeadow. It was done, and Jack secured Rosheen's scroll to lure her away from Mistmeadow. The scroll was taken by the Vendilion sisters, and Rosheen changed her path.
Later, Brigid came to live in Mistmeadow and helped to defend the city from Ashling the Destroyer. Thanks to her possession of the Crescent, she was capable of using shapewater magic, as well as teaching it to other kithkin. At that time, Wryget worked as her partner. Brigid's shapewater brigade was a powerful defensive tool, but even they could not stop the Destroyer. Shielded by shapewater armor, Brigid personally confronted the Destroyer. She found out that Ashling remembered her (and her actions toward herself) very well. Ashling left Brigid alive to see everything of hers ruined. Mistmeadow was saved only by the sacrifice of Vigilant Eidren, who channeled the power of the Wilt-Leaf forest through his body directly at Ashling and hurled her away.
Brigid later convinced Maralen about the necessity of persuading the Source of Wanderbrine to help them. The elemental power of fire could be matched only by the strongest elemental power of water on the plane. Along with Sygg and his crew, who agreed to help in exchange for the Crescent finally finding its way to his, the true heir's hands, they forced the Source to help them. Ashling was ambushed near Kinscaer, and her elemental power was taken by Maralen. Maralen recreated Brigid's wingbow, and the women flew to Cayr Ulios, where Maralen planned to have the final confrontation with Oona. Above Cayr Ulios, Maralen revealed her true intentions - she never planned to give up the Crescent for Sygg. Maralen snapped the Crescent from Brigid's neck and sent her falling. Hitting the treetops, Brigid blacked out.
When she awoke, there was a sun in the sky again. Maralen had taken over the role of the Queen of Fae and restored the normal day/night cycle.
Eclipsed
Brigid remained a respected figure among the kithkin, earning back the title of Hero of Kinsbaile. Years after the cycle was restored, however, Lorwyn was disrupted by the Phyrexian Invasion. Brigid would help defend her community from the invaders, but their arrival did not merely pose a threat to the plane's denizens: it disrupted the tenuous balance of the plane itself. The Aurora ran wild, shifting across the terrain unpredictably, and Omenpaths began opening, bringing travelers from other planes to Lorwyn. Brigid began wondering about the source of these unusual strangers and decided to investigate one day, years after the invasion, when she heard reports of a strange light in the sky. Upon arrival, she found four students of Strixhaven University, Abigale, Tamira, Kirol, and Sanar, who had been stranded by an instanced Omenpath. She told them about the nature of the plane they had stumbled onto, and offered them hospitality at her clachan.
Story appearances
In-game references
- Represented in:
References
- ↑ a b c d e Cory J. Herndon and Scott McGough (2007), "Lorwyn", Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Cory J. Herndon and Scott McGough (2008). "Shadowmoor ". Wizards of the Coast.