Jonard Kast

Jonard Kast is the heir to the small freehold of Brownwood in Ferelden. Displaced during the Fifth Blight, Kast, his half-sister Ammanielle, and their hound, Ser Rex, fled to Kirkwall, where they started the Broken Plate mercenary company.

Pre-Blight
The eldest son of Bann Reynard Kast and his wife Esmera, young Jonard had a priveleged childhood, but he was jealous of his older half-sister Ammanielle who, though baseborn and unlikely to inherit their father's title, was far more athletically gifted, and thus constantly gained their father's approval. Unable to best his half-sister in any sport, he instead resolved to develop his mind, and as he grew up, he became renowned for his intelligence and wit. Though this never gained him his father's approval, he could at least console himself that he was better than his two younger brothers, Betrick and Tiller, who were both as dumb as rocks.

Everything changed when the Fifth Blight came. As the darkspawn attacked Brownwood, the Kast family attempted to lead the defense of their land, but very few of the freeholders stayed to fight. Betrick and Tiller were both killed, and Reynard suffered corruption. Realizing that the freehold was lost, Reynard ordered Jonard and Ammanielle to flee, and they reluctantly complied, taking the family hound, Ser Rex, with them. After a long, arduous journey, they reached Gwaren, and took a ship bound for the Free Marches.

Kirkwall
Now refugees with very little to their names, Jonard and Ammanielle arrived in the city of Kirkwall, and for a time, they made their living doing various odd jobs. This continued until they were hired to find and steal a mysterious treasure from Lady Hollary Gildenroy, a widow living in Hightown. The job turned out to be a set-up; Lady Hollary had been offering shelter to mages who had fled the Gallows, and so the Templars had hired Jonard and his sister to find out where the mages were hiding. The Templars had alerted the city guard to the "break-in" at Lady Hollary's home, but the Lady herself intervened, claiming that the Kasts were her niece and nephew from Ferelden. She claimed that they broke in only because they'd lost their spare key to the house, and so the guards left.