Iosef Magdason's page

Iosef is the bastard son of a minor Taldan noble named Stilicho Albercroft and a novice Ulfen Guardswoman named Magda Vargsdottir. Stilicho was growing weary of his "conquests" at court and eyed the towering Ulfen maiden as the ultimate trophy of his prowess. Though standoffish and distant towards him at first, Stilicho's natural charm and silver tongue soon wore down Magda's not-inconsiderable resolve and a brief affair ensued. When word of the indiscretion came around, due in no small part to Stilichos' bragging (and no smaller part to Magda's pregnancy) she was forced to leave the Ulfen guard in shame. Oddly, Stilicho found he had grown rather fond of the stalwart and honest warrior and offered to support her and his newborn bastard, Iosef, on a small stipend in town. This was the last straw for Magda's pride. She left Iosef with Stilicho and stormed back to the North.

By this time, Stilicho's rampant libido was becoming a problem at court, and his family sent him off to the frontier to help manage one of their lumber concerns to spare them further scandal. He brough Iosef with him, as in his words, "Half an Albercroft is still worth five commoners." Despite being the boss's son, the workmen and foresters took to young Iosef and adopted him as sort of a camp mascot, telling him tall tales and teaching their trade. Stilicho tried to instill some gentility and courtly manner in the boy, but he too favored his mother's physicality and forthrightness, spending just as much time working and playing in the woods as inside. Some of the foresters studied Rondolero, Taldan dueling with falcata and buckler, and Iosef soon became a practitioner himself.

Iosef knew little about his mother, his only information coming from Stilicho when he was in his cups. This and the tall tales told of the north by the uneducated and superstitious lumberjacks caused her to have an almosty mythic quality in Iosef's mind. He daydreamed of venturing to the frozen Northlands and following in her footsteps and someday meeting her. Iosef took to calling himself Iosef Magdason in what he thought was the Ulfen style of his mother's people. This did not endear him to Stilicho, who was increasingly spending more time writing letters to smooth the way for his return to civilization and court.
As Iosef grew taller and stronger, he began to take on more responsibility around the camp, escorting caravans and guarding payroll shipments honed his fighting skills further. However, as the "boss's son" he was never put in a position of real risk. Getting away from his father's shadow became a priority for the boy. Eventually, Stilicho was able to return to court, but Iosef decided to stay behind and continue doing the odd mercenary job. He began to set his sights northward...

Iosef is a tall strapping lad with dark brown hair, fair complexion and piercing blue eyes. He proudly bears the buckler and falcata of a Rondolero fighter. An easygoing lad despite his rough and tumble upbringing, the most violence he's experienced so far have been Rondolero sparring sessions. He usually relies on his greater strength in combat, though some scratches in the ring have taught him not to underestimate the value of agility.