Artegal Spenser

Name Artegal Spenser Origin Shrewsbury, England Role Surgeon Post Beowulf Status PC (Living)

Actor: Bertie Carvel, Ref: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell

Details

Once upon a time, in a far distant land known as England, there was a miser who loved no one and nothing beyond the monies that he considered his. He was a bitter old man even when he was a youth and it was a great surprise to all when he married, though the fact that she was wealthy caused many to nod in understanding. The miser did not care for his new bride, though he did his husbandly duties well enough that she was soon with child. Sadly for her, the birth was difficult and she did not survive. Now saddled with a boy he cared little for, the miser grudgingly hired a wet-nurse to serve as a nanny. Because he was so stingy with his coins, this nanny was a destitute Irishwoman who perceived her pitiful wage as something akin to largesse so she overlooked the miser's many misgivings.

The boy grew up under the tutelage of his Irish nanny and, though he was thoroughly British, he was stepped in the ancient tales of the Tuatha Dé Danann, of the Seelie and Unseelie Courts, of the great feats of Cú Chulainn and Finn McCool. By the time the boy reached adulthood, his Irish nanny had passed on; she fell sick and the miser refused to pay for necessary medicines. The miser and his son clashed bitterly over this, and the young man left in fury, intent on seeking out his own path. He took with him his former nanny's belongings as she had bequeathed them to him and among them he would eventually discover a Grimoire of Power.

At University, the young man tried his hand first at business but found he had no head for numbers, and then at law but discovered he had no patience for the practice (though he excelled at debate), and then finally at medicine which he discovered at least a capability for. In that time, he met and fell in love with a beautiful young woman who he wed in secret because he knew his miser of a father would not approve as his lovely bride was a Jewess and the young man knew well his father's contempt toward those of her faith.

There also, he met and befriended Randel Payne, the third son of an English Earl. They soon became the best of friends and would remain so long after.

The miser eventually succumbed to the ravages of time and no one, not even his son and heir, truly grieved for him at the funeral. Even the parish priest could find few positive things to say about the man, and all believed that matters would improve with the young man now running his late father's estate. They even accepted his Jewess wife with open arms because of how pleasant she was.

But tragedy struck while the young man was away (since he was still learning to be a physician, after all.) His lovely wife discovered the long forgotten Grimoire and decided to experiment with some of the spells within. One called forth and freed a Fae of terrible power known only as the Master of Crows; not being steeped in the ancient lore like her husband, she knew not what to do or say and as a result, the Master of Crows had his way with her. The young man happened to return home at that moment and what he saw ... broke him.

Afterward, his wife vanished along with the Master of Crows, and the young man would claim that the Fae stole her away. He spent time in Bedlam as a result - many were the people who believed he had murdered his lovely young wife - but eventually, he was released (or escaped) from the Hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem and fled to the the one person he felt he could trust: Randel Payne. Conveniently, Payne was about to set out for the Caribbean aboard the Beowulf and he gladly brought on his old friend...