Finn Greenblade

The son of Ryder Greenblade and Arya Summerbreeze and the younger sister of Tesni Greenblade, Finn was born in the first year of his sister’s reign as queen, though he became significant while still in his mother’s womb, when Tesni was facing certain death during the Battle of Linwood and named him her heir should she die without a living child, using a magical incantation that he could sense before he was even born.

Finn was tested by his mother as a child for the talent for Shadow Walking, but did not seem to have it. Still, he learned much from both of his parents, as well as from his older sister and brother-in-law, Rowan. As soon as he was twelve, he began his Ranger training, becoming his father’s protégé.

The next eight years of his life were spent in training, and nothing notable happened until his twentieth year, when he left Linwood for the first time in his life to visit Seos, where they were celebrating both the birthday of Rowan and Nisha as well as Nisha’s marriage to Aeron.

On the occasion of Rowan and Nisha’s birthday, Ruslar gave gifts to everyone. Finn expected his gift to be like his father’s, a fine new sword. Instead, when he arrived at his room, he found a beautiful young women, scantily dressed, sitting on his bed. Unsure of what to do, he sought advice from his parents and learned that the young woman, Aysun, was there for him to enjoy physically and learn how to please a woman in preparation for marriage, and that she was his to take home. Finn was uncomfortable with this idea. At the same time, however, he was enchanted by Aysun. He drew her close and kissed her, feeling that tingle that told him that she was his true love.

It was also on this trip that Finn met his maternal grandmother, Artunis, for the first time, having not before known that she was alive, for Arya had never been very forthcoming about her past.

They intended to stay only through the wedding of Aeron and Nisha, but during the wedding feast, Arya and Agrona were kidnapped by Bhimar’s son, Drusus, and while Finn was forced to return at Tesni’s behest, Ryder stayed.

At his sister’s request, Finn and Aysun traveled to Fannar with the intention of gaining their alliance. Though King Ívarr and Queen Brenja chose not to ally, they did gain the loyalty of a handful of Shield Maidens, including their leader, Vígdís, and her niece and trainee, Sigrid. Because the Shield Maidens were loyal to country over ruler, and to clan before anything else, the Shield Maidens were free to choose their alliance. It was also during this trip that Finn asked Aysun to marry him, giving her a ring he’d purchased in the outpost of Bellodhur.

Later that autumn, Finn suffered loss when his mother, Arya, and a family friend, Alastar, were killed. This was devastating to the young man, and he watched his father almost immediately turn to drinking. The day after Arya and Alastar’s funeral, Finn returned to Fannar with Aysun, Vígdís, and Sigrid in a second effort to convince their rulers to ally with Seos and Linwood. Before going to the palace, however, Finn and Aysun spoke vows to each other, taking each other as husband and wife, having realized the uncertainty of the future.

Unfortunately, things went worse this time than the first. A young, ambitious Shield Maiden named Brynhildr had become the new leader of the Shield Maidens in Fannar, and she used her new power to turn the group into criminals, sending them to the dungeons and taking their weapons.

Unsure of how they would escape, Finn watched with curiosity as Sigrid began tapping at the stones of her cell and then investigated his own when she said she saw something shiny in the corner. He found a loose brick that contained a pair of lock picks and a note that had been left there long ago by Arya. Most importantly, inside the hollowed out stone, there was also the Heart of Seos.

Something else strange happened that day, however. Sigrid began to fret because her bow had been taken away, and it had belonged to her mother. Finn, understanding the loss of a mother and the sentimental value of the bow, agreed to go to the armory to fetch it while the others went to the inn. He was back at the inn only an hour later, though it took him nearly an hour to find the bow, and arrived just as the others were arriving, surprising them. It was then he realized that Arya might have tested him too soon.

They returned to Linwood heroes, and Nia took the Heart of Seos to her grandmother, Queen Rhosyn, returning with her husband, aunt, and uncle in time for the celebration, for Finn had earned his blade.

Finn’s next journey was to Rose Hollow, a border town in eastern Linwood, just across the river from Seos. He went there with Aysun, three other Rangers, and four Shield Maidens, including Vígdís and Sigrid. While they were there, there was a raid on the town, and Sigrid was taken. Aysun went with the Shield Maidens to Isiltaras to get help in finding her. One of the Rangers, Cefin, was killed. Finn returned home with the other two.

Going back to Isiltaras through the shadows with the former thief known as Dart, Finn spoke with his grandmother about being tested once more for the ability to walk the Shadows. She agreed to do so after Sigrid was rescued, and she kept her promise. Finn felt the shift as he stepped into a shadow on his own, and his training began.

Later that same spring, Finn beamed with pride as his wife began her Ranger training and became Tesni’s protégé. He knew she would do well. Finn also gained a step-mother when, three days after Ryder’s birthday, Ryder finally married Tesni’s mother, Cliona. It wasn’t long after, however, that Tesni was poisoned with meadow saffron. The same assassin then poisoned Artunis, killing her. The one happy spot in those days was that Aysun told him that she was pregnant. Finn was to be a father.

That summer, while training with Nia and some other Shadow Walkers in the shadows, Finn heard screaming. It turned out to be Nia. She was in labor, and Finn helped Eogan to deliver Nia's son. A week later, he was forced to help guide others through the shadows when Bhimar attacked Isiltaras and took over the palace. The Shadow Walkers barely managed to evacuate the royal family and the women of the women’s quarters.

When Rowan and Nisha’s younger sister, Nasrin, came forth with a dream that indicated a cure for the meadow saffron poisoning that Tesni continued to suffer from, Finn took Aysun through the shadows to Seos, where her family still lived, to her uncle, who milked cobras of their venom and used it in the making of a strong drink used by the local priests. They brought the alcohol home, and after drinking it, Tesni was cured.

A month later, Finn found himself going through the shadows to Seos once more, this time taking his niece’s horse, Nimeshaph, with him. Nia had taken Drusus through the shadows previously in order to fetch some of Sigrid’s jewelry that had been left behind in Seos, and had returned wounded. Finn went to bring back Drusus, who had become a new person since marrying Sigrid and finally reconciling with Eskander.

Finn experienced loss once more when they were in Yewsel following Bhimar's invasion of Linwood. Though there was joy when his son was born, whom he named Aidan after his grandfather, there was sorrow, as well, for Aysun lost her life in childbirth. Then, in the Battle of Hearts, he saw his sister go through the loss of her husband.

Since the Battle of Hearts, Finn has focused on raising his son and being a Ranger.