Sir Gregor Zebdel

This man takes up space, not through his just above average height or fit frame, but also in his steady, calm presence and bearing. Age has been kind to him, with nary as much as a smile line beneath his neat beard, which softens the square line of his jaw. He's pale but sun-kissed, with cool blue-grey eyes and blond hair, a warm gold shade.

Gregor is an uncle of Marcel Zebdel, who has been boyar since 610 when Gregor's brother, Dawid, was killed in battle in the Red Waste. Gregor's younger years were defined by his education at arms and the expectation, both his own and his family's, that he would put it to use. The Zebdels have an old, old tradition of travelling far indeed from home to face whatever dangers threaten the empire, and Gregor's younger years were no exception to this. He has travelled with Zebdel troops to the Red Waste, to the Expanse, to the Wailing Coast, and has fought alongside warriors from all across the Commonwealth and eastern Dyria. Of his own volition, he has been farther afield than that, to western Hadash, in 604, soon after it joined the empire, where he spent a spell accompanying House Rannal's troops, and visiting House Anadun's ancestral home in Min, and seeing how they dealt with would-be raiders from the Plains Kingdoms.

Time and again, Gregor crossed paths with Custodians. Thoughts of joining them were largely pushed to the side, though, as he continued to support his brother, with whom he was close. After Dawid was killed, though, Gregor spent about three years helping to get his nephew situated, then, deeming Marcel ready, he set off to join the order in late 613.

Gregor has been a stalwart, steady presence among the Knights Custodian. In 618, he was appointed master of the Voros chapter, then in 622, master of the Voivode's Rest chapter, by some measure the largest in the empire. In 629, with the retirement of the previous master in Sanctuary, Gregor was named chapter master there, the seniormost officer of the order in the empire.

Gregor abhors being idle. That is not to say that he is impatient: quite the contrary, he can wait for a long time for an expected event, be it for a subordinate to return with a report, for a plan to take effect, or even, as he learned in his years in Voivode's Rest, for a battle with a foe he already knows of. Gregor's way is that of many soldiers of the Commonwealth, meaning cool-headed planning and decisive action when the time comes. If he must wait, though, then he either refines his plans, or he seeks further matters with which to occupy himself.

He has seen the perils of the frontier time and again over the years and does not take them lightly. The death of his brother, though not a weight, is a perpetual reminder of danger, and that nobody, no matter how talented, is infallible.

He does not take lightly the orders that he gives to send soldiers into danger. He often faces it directly, once his plan is in motion and what remains is to face the foe directly, though he is no champion, but rather, then, a soldier among soldiers, if an able one indeed.

Gregor takes a measure of time to himself. Even when he is social, he often has at the back of his mind ways in which he might advance the Custodians' mission, though he is not overbearing about it. Since his appointment to the Sanctuary chapter, this is a more frequent occurrence, as he manoeuvres through the imperial court.

Gregor is an able commander, with experience from umpteen skirmishes and battles on the fringes of civilisation.