(orig. published May 15, 2024)

Long ago, town of Bran Bramble was isolated from the rest of Lyrea, tucked away behind thorn-laden walls and ruled by a selfish lord. However, with the help of the new Queen’s Royal Guard, he was overthrown, and felled by his own son, Gin!

Afterward, Gin took a vow of pacifism and left to travel Lyrea. He hoped to atone for his deed by helping others.

His brother Tomas stayed behind as Bran Bramble’s steward. He believed he and his loyal deputies could make it a more welcoming place. But the following decades would prove more challenging than he could have imagined…

Tomas’s approach was simple. His father had closed the town off from the world, so he would open it to all. Criminals, outcasts, and Resistance soldiers mingled among growing ranks of Royal Guard sent by the Queen.

Tensions hit a fever pitch when the Blind Berserker cleaved a path of ruin through the center of town. Our heroes, including Gin returning at last, arrived just in time to help Tomas and his local deputies fight back against the combatants on both sides of the smoldering crater!

After the conflict was settled, Fable, the catfolk cleric, cast Create Water to fill in the crater and extinguish the flames. And so Kittypaw Lake was formed!

Later on, Bran Bramble became a sanctuary for displaced wizards from the Painted Wastes, and finally began to rebuild into the town Tomas and Gin always hoped it could be.