Saint Chad

Saint Chad is the Theocratic leader of Beacon Island and a former founding member of the Holy Triumvirate of the North.

Born to Sir James Stanwick and Lady Julia Stanwick in Castle Nordstein, the northern border fortress of the Kingdom of Delleria, Saint Chad was raised in the harsh environment of the northern marches. His primary tutors during childhood was the fortress chaplain, Father Henry Grayson, and the fortress' military commander, Captain William Stryder. Although he received both training in spirituality and combat along with his regular studies, he more closely identified with spirituality. Father Grayson spent many hours discussing religion and liturgy with his young student, but by Saint Chad's thirteenth year, even the elderly Father could no longer answer the youth's questions.

Sir James dispatched his son to Vendalar, the capital city of the northern province, to further his studies at the monastery. Saint Chad quickly became known in the city as having an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. After five years in the monastery, he had progressed as far as the monks could take him, having read through the entire library and reached the limit of the monks' knowledge. He left the monastery and entered the Vendalar seminary to begin the four year process of becoming an ordained priest within the Church.

The years at seminary flew past for Saint Chad as he dedicated himself to study and prayer. In his fourth year, he wrote his Treatise on the Ramifications of Religious Rebellion to complete his schooling. Newly graduated and ordained as a priest, Saint Chad was assigned to the Vendalar Cathedral as an auxiliary priest aiding the Bishop of Vendalar. As his duties were not all consuming, he had time to write, completing the Treatise on Spiritual Politics and the Treatise on Ordained Combat.

At the age of 31, Saint Chad was reassigned to a small parish church in the village of Romano, near the northern border. His duties were considerably heavier, him being the only priest in the village and having to minister to the countryside as well. Despite the increased workload and lack of amenities in Romano, he enjoyed his tenure in the small village and was sad to leave when he was raised to bishop ten years later.

As the Bishop of Trenvil, Saint Chad remained busy, even with the assistance of several auxiliary priests. However, he did find time to author the controversial Treatise on Righteousness, which many attribute to his delayed appointment to an archbishopric. Arguing against the policies of the king of that time, Saint Chad made himself an adversary of Patriarch Nathaniel II, who was still early in his 13 year reign and a vocal supporter of the king. It was not until Nathaniel II was replaced by Bernard IV that Saint Chad was raised to become the Archbishop of the Northlands.

With the support of Bernard IV, Saint Chad became a vocal critic of the king's policy for the north and the ongoing war with the Frellians. The king's suppression of religious freedom in the northeast was a primary target of Saint Chad's criticisms. He used his influence as the Archbishop to funnel funds to religious resistance movements operating against the king, and at the age of 56 joined the resistance when the king began suppressing religion in the Northlands as well. Standing against the crown, Saint Chad gathered support from amongst the congregations of the north and formed the Holy Triumvirate with the Bishop of Vendalar and the Bishop of Aramore. The three religious leaders declared the independence of the Northlands, of which the king responded with a declaration of war.

Utilizing the combat skills he learned as a youth, Saint Chad organized a field army to defend the Northlands from the king's forces. At first, the Northland army was beaten back, but after the winter snows set in, they began pressing the unprepared royal troops back. Over the winter, the king became ill and died, leaving the kingdom in the hands of his young grandson, who was apt not to wage a war against the Church. As the winter thawed into spring, the new king pulled the royal troops back and negotiated a peaceful settlement with the Holy Triumvirate.

Satisfied with the progress made, and now one of three leaders of a new nation, Saint Chad went about organizing the infrastructure and government of the new nation. At age 61, he was canonized by Patriarch Bernard IV as a living saint of the Church for his actions in the pursuit of religious freedom and independence, thus becoming Saint Chad.

After twenty years as a member of the Holy Triumvirate, Saint Chad retired to a small deserted island in the northern ocean. Naming it Beacon Island after the large beacon tower he built on the smallest of the three islands in the chain, Saint Chad began to work with several others to build Beacon Island into a tolerant society for persecuted individuals everywhere.

Beacon Island
After constructing the Beacon on Isle Sanctorius, Saint Chad began developing the smallest island in the Beacon chain into a personal home. Building his house on the peak across from the Beacon, he expanded it with multiple levels and balconies to its current size. Although still considered small in terms of others, he is content with its size. Once the house was completed with a new roof, Saint Chad began working on transforming the island into a large farm for his personal use. Building a stone barn along the southern shore, he laid out a large 450 plot wheat farm, arguably making it the largest farm in Aurora.

As well as developing his own homesite, Saint Chad began working on the development of the main island, constructing the Beacon Village Church next to the Clock Tower. Over time, the mission of Beacon Island changed from a haven for the persecuted to a luxury vacation destination and offshore banking haven.