Captain Ivor came from a long line of Welsh longbowmen. The secrets of their crafting were passed down to him from his father, and he began training in their use at an early age. When Ivor grew to manhood, he decided to make his way in the world as a mercenary, and took part in the Fourth Crusade. During the Crusade, Ivor became a mercenary Captain, commanding a small company of longbowmen. Following the sack of Constantinople, Ivor returned home, but his company went to war again in the Albigensian Crusade, and it was during this campaign that he earned the epithet “Ivor the Finger.”

During the Winter of 1219, Ivor became drunk and exchanged words with a French Knight, Sir Giscard. In a moment of astonishingly poor judgement, Ivor made a rude gesture at the knight, exclaiming, “This is what I think of French courage!” Sir Giscard’s sword swung out before Ivor could withdraw his hand, severing his middle finger. He replied “And that is what I think of Welsh manners.” Ivor’s days as a longbowman were over. Most of the company, all but a handful, left his command. Those that stayed understood that Ivor had a great many other talents – as a craftsman, teacher, and battle-leader. He decided however, that he’d had enough, and headed north, with the intention of returning to Wales. His remaining men followed him.

Along the way, they heard a group of magi had taken up residence at Chateau de Commarque, and someone suggested they might be able to restore Ivor’s lost digit. Intrigued, he decided to go there and see these magi for himself. Unfortunately, healing his hand proved to be impossible – Sir Giscard’s sword had been consecrated, making its wounds proof against their magic. But the magi promised him they would keep trying, if he’d like to stay. In return for their efforts, Ivor and his men decided to stay on at the Chateau. Although Ivor can’t shoot a longbow, he’s an invaluable asset to the Bona Vacantius Covenant. And nobody calls him “Ivor the Finger” where he can hear them.

Notes:

Ivor’s disfigurement flaw is modified: instead of -3 on interaction rolls, he takes a -3 Str with bows. This makes firing a longbow impossible for him, but he can still fire a shortbow, using a different grip. In combat, he mostly concentrates on leading his men – they do the shooting. His finger was severed by consecrated sword with a divine might score, which makes it very difficult (but not impossible) to heal with magic. A magus with a very high Creo Corpus total might do it, but at the start of the saga none are powerful enough. If it ever does get healed, replace his disfigurement flaw with the True Friend flaw, or something similar, to reflect his gratitude.