Tomas the Shieldless

Sir Tomas the Shieldless is renowned among the younger knights of Bretonnia. A poor stablehand, his life changed one knight when he aided an old knight battling a pack of brigands. Out of gratitude the knight, Sir Geoffrey, took Tomas as his Squire.

Tomas served Sir Geoffrey faithfully for two years, until the day he had the misfortune to run into the same brigands a second time. They drove off the brigands again, but this time Sir Geoffrey was mortally wounded. Before he died he knighted Tomas - one of the few peasants to ever receive this - and bequeathed his armour, weapons, and horse to the youth.

The armour was old and dented but still serviceable, the horse in good health and the sword well-kept - but the knight's shield had been shattered by a heavy mace blow. Tomas threw it aside, vowing that he would carry no shield until he had earned a heraldic device of his own, and charged off to find the men who had killed his mentor.

Sir Tomas continues his search for his patron's murderers to this day. He has won fame as an honest knight with decent sword skills and excellent horsemanship. However, he has yet to earn the rank of Knight of the Realm, so he continues to travel and to try proving his worth.