Sir Oswynn of Westmorland
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History
Lost in the burning sands of the southwestern desert is a long forgotten VIPER outpost. There, many experiments and research into bio-mechanical engineering took place, mostly concerned with weapon development. A young scientist worked diligently on his metallurgical experiments, eager to prove his worth. In the evenings, he would read stories of King Arthur and his knights to his own young son whom he cherished. Though the base was well hidden, a chance encounter between an outside patrol and the monster Grond, spelled doom for everyone that day. The patrol panicked and fled back to the base looking for reinforcements, but succeeded only in bringing the beast back to utterly destroy the installation. The young scientist was trapped unground, exposed to mind altering chemicals that left him teetering on the brink of sanity. Finding the bodies of his wife and son pushed him over that brink. The base had been written off as unsalvagable, since a newer larger base was already under construction further north. The man was left to fend for himself. As he attempted to find a way out of the ruin, he stumbled into his old lab where he found that his latest experiment had proved to be successful. A new questionite alloy meant to resemble the properties of kendrium. The test bar of the metal had been driven into the rock wall of the lab. The sword in the stone he thought to himself. Then the heavens opened and Saint George himself appeared to the hapless man. He said to him, "Don your armor and draw the sword from the stone to prove your worth!" He feared he was unworthy. In his fevered dreams, he believed that a wizard came to him and told him where to find a suit of armor, deeper in the caverns, that would give him the strength to not only remove the sword, but also free himself from this dark pit of despair.
He searched the lower levels of the base till he found an experimental suit of power armor. Again, the wizard appeared in his dreams, instructing him on it's arcane workings and uses. With the power of the suit, he wrenched the proto-blade from the wall, proving his worthiness. Saint George appeared again, leading a host of Knights and dubbed him Sir Oswynn of Westrmorland. He was then charged with helping all those that required it and slaying the foul beast that had ruined the castle and killed the Queen and her son. He was provided with a squire, young boy that seemed very familiar, named Algonqin. After this the wizard returned and used strange magics to shape and hone the irresistible metal into an 'enchanted' sword he named, Durandal. With sword in hand, clad in a technological marvel, Sir Oswynn dug his way out of the ruin into the empty desert. In the days, weeks and years that followed, Oswynn, now very much a modern day Don Quixote, wandered the deep desert searching for his 'questing beast'. Often taunting belligerent cacti, or charging after fleeing tumbleweeds. Ever on the look out for the servants of The Serpent, those green clad miscreants that rode dragons and other fell beasts and had brought ruin to his family. The monster of his nightmares however, did not reappear.
Those 'miscreants' we're in fact any member of VIPER that Oswynn chanced upon in the desert. His addled mind subconsciously blaming them for the deaths of his family. The encounters were rare, even so, after years of losing men and equipment to this lost soul, VIPER set a plan in motion to deal with him. They had learned from various survivors, and there were many since Sir Oswynn acted with the utmost chivalry, that he was in fact searching for Grond, just as they were. They then decided to bring the two together and let nature take it's course. No amount of troops or equipment had so far been able to contain Grond, one crazed techno-knight would be dealt with swiftly. On the fateful day, when twin VIPER squads brought the two together, they did not realize that they had also caught the attention of an itinerant super hero known as Count Ubiquitous. As the battle commenced, the VIPER squads quickly retreated. Count Ubiquitous witnessed the lone figure engage Grond relentlessly, making deep cuts in the creature's hide with a mighty sword, but then quickly being forced into a frantic defensive posture. The Count did not hesitate. He had faced Grond briefly before and was game for a rematch. The battle raged on, Grond's fury escalating, his punches becoming harder and harder to resist. Finally, Grond leveled a viscous double backhanded blow to Sir Oswynn that sent him flying, for miles. He did not rise from the impact. The emerald monster quickly turned to the Count and hammered him relentlessly into the ground. When he had sunk from view, dazed and unable to extricate himself, Grond paused and looked for someone else to fight. Seeing no one, the monster simply left.
The Count recovered and quickly dug himself out, lest the underground darkness rob him of his powers. The hot southwestern sun was all the balm he needed. He took a deep breath and then searched for the other man. He spotted him and was gratified to see him struggling to his feet in the battered armored suit. As the the Count arrived, Oswynn saw him and then fell to his knees, not from any trauma but in praise. His King had returned to him. The deluded knight pledge himself to the Count's service. Alternately calling him 'Arthur' or 'Richard', there was little method to his madness. No matter how much the Count protested, Oswynn heard none of it, all he knew was that his lord had returned. However, he pleaded with his lord to let him stay and continue his quest. The Count, seeing no harm in playing along with the delusion, agreed and let him go on his way. Over the next few years, the Count would visit Sir Oswynn occasionally to make sure he was alright. The poor knight would insist everything was well.
When the Count decided to found the Directorate, he also decided it was time to collect his friend from the desert. He didn't like taking advantage of the man's delusion but felt he had no other choice at the moment. He traveled to Sir Oswynn's still hidden 'keep', which he called Westmorland Castle, and proclaimed that he and his Knights were just returned from a great crusade. Sir Oswynn welcomed them all, pleased that his King had finally returned. The Directorate then began renovating and expanding the old base, though Oswynn himself had restored much of it over the years but he insisted that it was the wizard's doing. The addled knight still wanders the desert looking for his beast, but now will occasionally follow his 'king' on new quests.
