Gleaming Shield is a Pony knight for the Lumahina Empire. He cares for those who fight alongside him, and is deeply protective of his friends and family. Honest, nearly to a fault, he doesn’t like to keep secrets. He is very worried the coming wars will overrun the common pony and is determined to protect them. Although he leads an army independent of the Lumahina military, he is not rebelling against the Empire.
“It is the common pony who pays the price for the wars of the aristocracy. If they won’t defend those beneath them, I will.”
Born in the Lumahina Empire, Gleaming Shield grew up among the working class of one of the smaller cities near the borders. Likable and social, he made many friends. When he joined the guard he rose through the ranks and proved a capable soldier and commander. Eventually, some would say inevitably, he ended up serving the royal family directly.
He was present at a number of the Conclaves, sometimes opposing the tactical brilliance of Rising Dawn in wargames. More often than not, he was spending time meeting with and learning from the enthusiastic Pegasus, Skystorm. They found they shared some early life difficulties, as neither of them are unicorns. While the Kings and Queens and actual diplomats discussed matters of state, Skystorm and Gleaming Shield talked about the lives and troubles that affect the lower classes and the so-called lesser races. While Skystorm was upset about the treatment he received even as a noble Pegasus, Gleaming Shield was concerned more with the condition of the public and the common Pony.
When the Conclaves fell apart, Gleaming Shield was assigned to guard the newly created Alicorn traitor, Moonlight. Deeply disturbed at her behavior, he was mortified to learn she would only be banished and not executed. Then he was the one to escort her beyond the borders. When she was supposedly outside the borders, he took some time to go home and visit his family and friends in some of the border towns. He intended to warn them of the possible war that he was worried was coming.
Although the public was worried about his warnings, they welcomed and thanked him. He was not present at the final conclave, but it was shortly afterward that he found himself in a small border town. The locals told him of the Alicorn who was performing some kind of ritual nearby, and it terrified them. Knowing he couldn’t stop the spellcaster alone, he evacuated as many as he could before the spell was completed. Those who couldn’t escape were slain by the spell, and the Twilight Lands became filled with monsters.
As he viewed the devastation he thought back to his conversations with Skystorm, about how those at the top don’t care about those below them. With the war on the horizon now more certain than ever, he knew it would only lead to massive casualties and death on a scale never before imagined. Worse, the leaders of both sides wouldn’t care what kind of destruction they would leave behind. The only way for those trampled by the thoughtless leaders of both sides to survive and thrive would be if the lower class Ponies banded together. So he began calling up every ally and friend he ever had, it was time to stand united.