The Cyning Bandit

One must take or be given control of all the brigand groups.

All coin gained through crime is given to his cause, men are at his disposal and merchants readily offer their services, discreetly.

It originated in the western half of the Serferine Kingdom, what is now the Freehand Counties, when the kingdom was still ruled by humans. During that time the people were very poor, most did not stop in the area because it disgusted them or for fear of being robbed. People had to do what they could to get by, and often it was crime. Orphans were very common then as well, a group of teenagers who never had enough to eat were often begging for food. They were often caught stealing and violently punished, a walker who passed by frequently started bringing them food. At first it was spare bread and cheeses, just anything she had in her pocket at the time. Then she started bringing whole baskets of food just for them.

She felt sorry and was glad to help, and the boys loved her for it. But the nobles hated them for looking dirty and poor, and would try to get them charged with some crime or the other. Thinking they were thieves or just helping the thieves in area. The walker grew tired of this and started slowly taking things from the nobles without them noticing, and giving them to the boys. They called her the cyning bandit in jest, because they didn't know a word higher than that. She thought it was hilarious and accepted.

She would sometimes teach the boys about right and wrong, the auras and tricks she'd use to distract the nobles while slipping things out their pockets. They loved the tricks she taught them, but they weren't very interested in belief. But they believed in her, and swore as long as she was there they wouldn't disobey. Eventually she was caught taking from a noble and imprisoned, but the noble who discovered her realized that she not only did it often, but for the benefit of the poor children he hated so. He was able to abuse his status to get her a death sentence for blasphemy.

She made the boys swear to follow their cyning, because she would always be their in spirit. The boys grew up without meeting another soul willing to help, or be as kind to them as she was. So they continued the tradition of The Cyning Bandit. Even though it has taken a more criminal aspect than intentioned. The promised has been upheld to this very day.

The first boy who took up the mantle of the Cyning started as a mediator between bandit groups. The bandits were fighting over territory before the cyning brought them together. The descendants of these groups would later found The Freehand Counties.