Brigett
Brigett is the daughter of the wealthy Duke Aringnus. She was born under unfortunate circumstances, which set the pace for the rest of her life. When Brigett’s mother, Lady Isabella, went into labor the midwife knew it was going to be difficult labor. She wasn’t sure if the baby or the mother were going to make it. The labor lasted for three days and much to the midwife’s surprise Isabella gave birth to a healthy baby girl. Exhausted but overjoyed Isabella held the baby in her arms and told the midwife she wanted to name her Brigett after her own mother. Soon after naming her first child Isabella fell asleep but sadly it was a sleep that she would never wake from.
When the Duke heard this he was both saddened and enraged. He blamed his wife’s death on their newly born daughter. His first-born was supposed to be a son so Brigett had already disappointed him in many ways. His disappointment only grew as she aged. Unlike her fair mother Brigett was one of the most hideous girls Aringus had ever laid eyes upon. Not only was she the ugliest girl he had ever seen but she was also the largest. Everyday she seemed to grow bigger; by her 13th year she was already the size of most full-grown men.
Regardless of what she looked like or what she had done Aringus realized she was his only heir and he had to prepare her properly so that she could one day take his place. Aringus knew he could not let her out in public in fear that Brigett would disgrace him further so he hired private tutors for all of her studies.
As Brigett grew older she began to resent her father nearly as much as he resented her. She hated being cooped up in the castle all of the time and made a plan to sneak out of the castle to see the people of the town. Once she was out of the castle she noticed most of the townspeople shied away from her. They were put off not only by her massive size but also her gruesome appearance. Eventually a group of young boys got up enough courage to go out and mock her while throwing rotten fruit in her direction. Brigett was horrified and ran back to the castle. That night she decided she could no longer live in this place where everyone hated and feared her. She cut her hair and put on her fathers old armor and took his prized great sword. When she looked in the mirror she was surprised how well she was able to pass as a man.
She again snuck out of the castle and rode her horse south as hard and as fast as she could. There she was able to join the army and spent a year training with them. She learned how to use her great sword and was able to fit in with the other men well. Brigett was happier than she ever had been in her life and was finally feeling like she had found somewhere that she belonged. One day one of the men she had been training with walked in on her changing. She begged him to tell no one who she really was as she told him the story of her father and how she had run away. The man agreed to keep her secret and Brigett thought she was safe. One week later trumpets sounded at the break of dawn, someone special was in the camp. As Brigett got up to see who it was she was shocked to see that it was her father riding in on his horse. Her father stopped in front of her as the man, who had found out she was a woman, came up to her father. Aringus tossed the man a bag of coins and thanked him for finding his daughter. Brigett felt a deep sadness wash over her body. She could not believe a man she had grown so close to in the past year had betrayed her.
Aringus forced Brigett into a dress and drug her back to the castle. There her father made her meet suitable matches for a wedding that would occur on her 18th birthday. The men who did not immediately run away after seeing Brigett were still able to make it painfully obvious that they would never be interested in such a marriage no matter how noble her status.
Brigett had hit a new low in her life. She knew she would not be able to endure much longer unless something drastic was to change. Brigett resolutely decided that she must run away again. This time she knew she had to go somewhere her father would never be able to find her.
One night, when her father had gotten particularly drunk and passed out, Brigett was able to steal his keys. With the keys she was able to steal back the armor and great sword as well as a few coffers full of coins. She left the castle in the dead of night taking the back roads so no one would see her. She decided she would head towards the sea in order to gain passage on a ship to a distant land.
She eventually made it to the Sri, and located a ship that was to set sail for the Empire of the Clouds. Despite her appearance and size she was able to get passage on the ship with her own cabin and few questions asked once she showed the captain how much she had in her coffers.