Fragonnarde de Montecannes

Baron Fragonnarde de Montecannes was a Bretonnian Baron and Questing Knight. The last of his family line, he perished in Athel Loren while on the Grail Quest.

History
As he approached old age, Fragonnarde de Montecannes, the Baron of Montecannes and last of his family line, realized that he was not going to produce a male heir. With this in mind, he married off his daughter to the boldest of his Knights Errant, and subsequently passed the Barony on to him.

His feodum thus preserved, he embarked upon the Quest, thus becoming a Grail Knight. He took a modest retinue with him and set off in search of the Grail.

For years, Baron Fragonnarde travelled throughout Bretonnia on his quest. Although it seemed he had searched every corner of the nation, he felt he was not making an progress. Frustrated, he concluded that the grail was not to be found in Bretonnia, and head to the south. However, while he was travelling over a mountain pass into Estalia, he encountered a wizened old soothsayer. Handing the man a gold piece, the baron asked for his sooth. The soothsayer replied cryptically, "The grail shall be found in the land of Bretonnia, but yet not in the kingdom."

At camp that night, Fragonnarde pondered the soothsayer's oblique words. How could something be in the land of Bretonnia, but not the kingdom? What difference was there between the land and the kingdom? Eventually, the Baron came to his realization: the grail must be in the Forest of Loren. The wood was inside of the ring of mountains forming the border of Bretonnia, but it was controlled by the Wood Elves and thus not part of the kingdom.

The next morning, the baron ordered his retinue turn around and return to Bretonnia. From there, they headed eastwards, directly towards the Forest of Loren. The baron's newfound confidence and enthusiasm passed on to his followers, who hardly even noticed as they passed the Waystones marking Athel Loren's border. However, after several days in the forest, they seemed to have gotten nowhere. They wandered the strange tracks of the woods, but did not seem to be nearing their goal. Several times, their paths took them out of the forest again. However, each time this happened, the determined Fragonnarde simply turned around and head back into the wood. His conviction was increased when he began seeing visions and dreams of the Lady of the Lake. Gradually, he drew closer to this source. However, it still seemed like he was wandering in circles.

This, of course, was the doing of the Wood Elves. Disguising the paths using magic, they attempted to direct back out of the forest. However, Fragonnarde's determination to remain in the forest proved problematic. The source of Fragonnarde's dreams was the Chapel of Challotte, a site sacred to both Bretonnians and Asrai. The wood elves were able to hamper the Bretonnians' movement, but the visions and dreams continued to draw him in. For every ten miles travelled by Fragonnarde's band, he approached one mile closer to the Chapel.

Finally, the Wood Elves decided they must put a stop to this knight's progress once and for all. The Elven commander Keredh Keen-Eye was sent to face the Bretonnians with an army consisting mainly of archers. Here, the retinue was defeated, and Fragonnarde perished. His shield was hung upon the Tree of Shields, a sacred tree located at the Chapelof Challotte where the shields of defeated Bretonnian knights were hung as a warning.

Years later, Agravain de Beau Quest encountered the sacred site that Baron Fragonnarde had sought so long after. He recognized on the tree the shield belonging to the baron, who was by then a legendary figure.

Source

 * White Dwarf 215 (US)
 * pg. 26
 * pg. 27
 * pg. 32

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