Billy Mjolner, or Count Bjorno, is a Seelie Troll, presumably a Wilder, in the Duchy of Appalachia.
Overview[]
This time around, Count Bjorno was born as Billy Mjolner, a child of the great state of Tennessee. He'd known he'd be near the old freehold of Orchard Castle in Jonesborough, but he hadn't expected to be almost on top of it. As was his wont, he became aware of his true nature almost immediately. This time things were different. This time, for the first time in over 600 years, he had a chance to be reunited with his love, Dianan. The sidhe had returned from Arcadia, and his long wait was over.
Bjorno had reincarnated dozens of times since he had last seen her, but as soon as he laid eyes on Dana McClelland he knew she was Lady Dianan. Still, he couldn't push her into recognizing her true self too early. He had to give her time to grow up a little, to get used to her mortal body and to learn to deal with the world as a human before she faced it as a changeling. He had waited 600 years; he could wait a few more.
In his guise as Billy Mjolner (and from his vantage point of being a whole year older) he kept watch over Dana as she grew. Finally, tired of waiting for something to trigger her memories, he decided to approach her directly. Big mistake. He got within 20 feet of her mother and knew why Dana had never undergone her Chrysalis. Her mother was an Autumn Person, and very strict about where her daughter went, what she did, and who she associated with. He searched for a way to get her alone for two years before the storytelling festival gave him his opportunity.
Jumping at the chance, he guided her through her Chrysalis then brought her to the freehold they had shared so long ago, the palace he had kept all alone since he forced her back through the crumbling gateway to Arcadia on the night of the Shattering lest her fragile sidhe essence perish from inrushing Banality.
Though she has since blossomed into her old self and even been made Duchess of Appalachia, Bjorno has never told Dianan what she no longer remembers from their time before. Thus, she has no knowledge of the oaths her lover swore and the geas he took upon himself in order to save her life so long ago. She does not recall the strange malady that afflicted her, eating away at her immortality. He took up the quest for the Cup of Dreams, said to be able to cure any illness, knowing that within the golden chalice lay her only hope.
He searched for three years, never able to come any closer to it. Finally, he entered the Far Dreaming and met there an old sidhe who told him the secret to finding the cup. Thus, Bjorno made certain pledges to the Dreaming. First, he promised that he would forever guard that which the cup made whole again. Second, he swore that he would cast the cup back into the Dreaming once his love had taken a sip from its shining depths. Finally, he took upon himself the geas that he would forever forgo that which he loved most and, thus, gave up any right to claim Dianan's love for his own. The Dreaming made it known to him that any lapse in his promises wold mean Dianan's death and the eradication of her faerie soul. He agreed.
He returned with the cup and gave it to her to drink from. As she sipped the water within it, her face took on color again, and she was made whole and filled with Glamour. As the Glamour suffused her, Bjorno smiled sadly, took the cup from her hands, and rode back into the Dreaming with it. From that time on, he has always been with her, always guarded her, yet has never spoken to her as a lover. He thinks she guessed that the cup came with a price, but he never wanted her to know the exact nature of it.
Since the Shattering when Bjorno returned Dianan to the Dreaming, a succession of tall, tow-headed boys have wasted long summer days and spent many cold winter nights near a waterfall in a glade where once lay a path to Arcadia. With the Resurgence, he swept out Orchard Castle and made it ready for her return. He hopes he can stand to be near her again without giving in to the love that never faltered through half a millennia.
He is a master of Primal, Wayfare, and Soothsay. He also knows Sovereign but never uses it himself. He considers Legerdemain to be little better than theft and wouldn't be caught dead using Chicanery. He is excellent with bow, sword, warhammer, and lance, but prefers peaceful arts such as diplomacy to battle. He isn't above a good challenge, however.
Image[]
In his mortal seeming, Billy has pale white-blond hair and blue eyes. He is over six feet tall and 220 lbs, all of it muscle. He wears sensible clothes for tramping around in the woods taking soil samples and noting sightings of endangered species. In fae mien, Bjorno looks like the quintessential noble troll, with wavy white hair and blue skin that matches his eyes. Since swearing himself as Dianan's protector, he has worn the garb of House Fiona.
Personal[]
Bjorno has always loved Dianan, more than he loves life itself. Once, so long ago he can barely recall what happiness, the two of them were lovers. He never forgot her during all the long years and the many incarnations he spent waiting for her return. Now she has been returned to him. He isn't sure he can stand it again. Always by her side, yet never telling her how he truly feels. She can never know why; it would shame her greatly and do nothing to break the geas. Somehow, he must endure and be thankful he once again has as much of her as he does.
References[]
- CTD. Kingdom of Willows, pp. 118-119.