Commander Vistra Bruicksture of Clan Stronhammer

Overview(test)
Commander and founder of the Ember Sentinels, Vistra Bruicksture is a former high general of the Gentarian military. Traumatized by her firsthand witness of the initial zombie outbreak and the subsequent loss of the royal family she had sworn to serve and protect, she turned to a Necronomicon of Ul-Gotosh she found in the forbidden vaults of Cinder Keep.

Thirty years later she is a warlock of incredible power. Working tirelessly and sleeplessly as a slightly mad demigoddess among mortal men, Bruicksture commands her new military with a deep sense of guilt and lost honor.

Biography
Born in 5E 389 to nondescript peasant parents in Northern Gentaria, Bruicksture lived a rough early life filled with poverty.

Finding herself begging on the streets of Caelenor for scraps, Vistra enlisted in the Gentarian military out of desperation, expecting a life of violence and overdiscipline. Ironically, she found herself enjoying military life's structure, regularity, and the ease of following orders. Her determination, charisma, and skill as a warrior led her to quickly rise through the ranks of the royal military levees. Her tactical decisions and personal achievements were no less valuable, and she was made of one the High Generals of Gentaria in 5E 532, one of the elite military commanders who answered directly to the king's authority. Formally entitled Warden of the East and Commander of the Watch, she was assigned to oversee the security and safety of the capital city and royal estate, a critical responsibility.  Bruicksture became known as "Marfont's Bronze Blade," scarcely leaving Caelenor when not called to out to do battle.

As a part of her new station she was required to spend time with the extended royal family, both as strategic adviser to the king and as co-planner of family security. She became close with several members of the royal family, including King Elliot Marfont II, his son Crown Prince Elliot Carlyle, and his niece Princess Ethalind, with whom she became close friends.

Under the Marfont's command, she reluctantly oversaw the systemized search and destruction of the capital's sect of Terranites after the nursemaid of infant Princess Olivette converted, abducted the royal babe, and used her as a blood sacrifice. It was discovered later that the act was done without the awareness of the Terranites at large, who were horrified to learn of the abduction despite their own sacrificial practices. But the damage was done, and on orders from the king Bruicksture organized the hunt for Terranites and their brutal public executions. She regards the acts she facilitated as following orders as bound by her duties, and has since buried her regrets.

In 5E 544 she met Douglass Casker, a civilian merchant and supplier with whom she interacted often. His carefree attitude, endlessly polite disposition, and shrewd academic mind resonated with the humble officer, and the two were married. In addition to wealth, love, and pleasant company, Douglass brought Dale, his infant nephew and recent orphan. The two adopted Dale and lived happily as a small family in a Caelenor mansion.

It couldn't last. General Bruicksture was present and the first line of defense on 28 Ochrest 553, now called Dead Freeday when the dead first began to rise. As she put honored military dead (the casualties of a major attack by Gobland bandits) to rest, their corpses rose up behind her and attacked. Bruicksture was badly wounded and reacted with shock and horror as more resolved troops leapt to action and attempted to quell the menace.

She recovered a day later and was able to orchestrate the evacuation of the city from the ever-growing hordes of undead. King Marfont's orders to leave ahead of the refugees to prepare the Stone Palace for their arrival were ones that she followed reluctantly, but followed nevertheless.

The news that the King, the other high generals, and the entire royal family had been slaughtered en route to Kylerth nearly drove her to suicide. The news that she was the highest law in the now-lawless land drove her out of her depression, and led to several daring raids through the remains of Gentaria to recover what troops she could, lead recovery and evacuation efforts through dangerous nighttime raids, and reorganize what survivors she could into several towns within riding distance of the Stone Palace.

On 28 Ochrest 555, the second anniversary of the outbreak, she officially founded the Ember Sentinels. Establishing the newly-rechristened Cinder Keep as their base of operations, she assumed direct control as the military leader of the Foglands and officially repurposed the vast stores of wealth and treasure in Cinder Keep to fund their efforts. Now 166 and quite aged, she found herself pushing herself too hard for her body to bear. Nearly killed by undead several times, her relationship with Douglas became strained, and Vistra sought a way for her to retain youth and strength as her body began to wane. Desperate and exhausted, she entered the Taboo Safe of Cinder Keep's treasure vaults on 5 Snowfall 555.

There, she discovered a Necronomicon devoted to Ul-Gotosh, Lord of Evardis and It Which Grasps the Flesh. A ruler of an Aberrant Thread, she realized that channeling the dread creature's power would lengthen her life and rejuvenate her strength. The tome detailed a ritual which required that she collapse one of the towers of Cinder Keep and craft a shrine to it, where its Necronomicon would be kept and offerings of blood could be made. She followed its orders, and shattered the foundations of the tower with her new eldritch powers; fourteen sentinel guards were killed in the collapse as a sacrifice to her new patron.

This exchange was the last straw in her already-strained relationship with Douglass. The night she confessed what she'd done, he packed his things, abducted 11-year-old Dale, and fled across the Foglands to his hometown of Dimsdale which was rumored to have become a gathering place for survivors in the east.

Now familyless, Commander Bruicksture dove into her work. Constantly exhausted, she operated at a constant state of grim determination, working almost constantly on requisitions, troop orders, missions, and recruitment. Her excursions from Cinder Keep grew increasingly rare as the already-elderly general aged rapidly. Her powers and activities took a grave toll on her body, but she proved herself to remain a brilliant warrior; she single-handedly survived a disintegration ray from a zombie beholder and ripped it apart with her bare hands.

Her strength, now supernatural, came from her patron. In addition to spellcasting, it elected to grant her an Eldaxe, a +3 battleaxe crafted from gray stone and irregularly encrusted with octahderal rubies. Combined with her powerful magic, grim willpower, and merciless determination, it made her a force to be reckoned with.

With her military zone stabilized and a regular stream of recruits from civilians, adventurers, and mercenaries, Bruicksture turned her sights towards her destroyed nation. Other factions of survivors had arisen from various sites outside her reach, creating new communities beyond her reach and hostile against Sentinel protection. Raiders from Dimsdale, religious cults, and lone-wolf survivalists all created

The efforts of a few arcane scholars and historians that joined her mission informed her that older and older dead, not just the recently deceased, were rising from their graves. Chilled by the prospect of zombie hordes reinforced by victims of the Vermilion Scourge, Bruicksture increased information-gathering and attempts at cooperation with other factions that had arisen within the Foglands.

As of Vitruvus 5E 583, she has found nothing.

Ember Sentinels
While she terrifies many of them, Bruicksture retains the healthy respect of her men. Her willingness to lead them into combat combined with her obvious and absolute devotion to their cause is enough to offset her more frightening attributes.

Bartus Grimtower
A former lord who used his remaining funds to bankroll the Sentinels during their early years, and the leader of a failed coup against Bruicksture upon discovering her deals with Ul-Gotosh. She put his knowledge to good work by transforming him into a thrall, keeping in telepathic contact with him for reconnaissance and information.

Spells and Spellcasting:

 * Spell Save DC: 19
 * At will: Arcane Eye, Speak with Dead, Eldritch Blast, Prestidigitation, True Strike
 * 5th-level slots (4): Armor of Agathys, Hex, Tasha's Hideous Laughter, Ray of Enfeeblement, Hold Person, Detect Thoughts, Counterspell, Clairvoyance, Sending, Hunger of Hadar, Evard's Black Tentacles, Dimension Door, Remove Curse, Hypnotic Pattern, Scrying
 * 6th-level slots (1): Investiture of Stone
 * 7th-level slots (1): Plane Shift
 * 8th-level slots (1): Feeblemind
 * 9th-level slots (1): Foresight

Other Features

 * Create Thrall: infect an incapacitated humanoid, making them charmed until subjected to Remove Curse. Can communicate telepathically with the humanoid so long as they're on the same plane of existence.