fractions rework

npc/bren.md

@@ -47,7 +47,11 @@ Skein feeds on Bren's mind — his memories, his personality, his will. Over the
 
 ## Personality (What's Left of Bren)
 
-Before possession, Bren was a scholar — an arcanist studying planar theory at a small academy. He was curious, gentle, and too trusting. He ventured too close to a thin point during research, and Skein latched on. That was seven years ago.
+Before possession, Bren was a scholar—Haddon's finest planar-theory student. He was curious, gentle, and too trusting. Haddon brought promising students to the Nether Inn's small collection of salvaged summoner books; Bren sat at the Order's table years before Dalla, Rennt, or Essek joined, corrected Haddon's calculations politely in the margins, and was one of the few people Mags allowed behind the bar to make tea.
+
+Seven years ago Haddon sent him to observe another thin point. Officially it was routine fieldwork; in truth, Vyre had deliberately weakened the boundary and wanted live data. Skein attached itself to Bren there. The Order studied the possession instead of curing it, then classified the experiment as lost when Bren deteriorated and escaped. Haddon let it happen.
+
+Bren wandered for years. A few months ago Orenn recognized him outside the tavern—not by his ruined face, but because he was muttering one of Haddon's old cataloguing sequences. Orenn brought him inside and began quietly investigating what the Order had done. Haddon has recognized Bren on every subsequent visit and pretended not to. During lucid moments Bren calls him **Professor**.
 
 **What remains:**
 - Intelligence flickers through the madness — he uses words precisely even when they seem nonsensical
@@ -115,5 +119,7 @@ See [The Possession](../storylines/possession.md) for full details. Summary:
 
 - **Orenn:** Fed him, kept him safe, never asked questions. Bren loved him in the quiet way a prisoner loves the guard who shows them kindness. Orenn's death devastates what's left of Bren.
 - **Mags:** She brings him food. She's gruff about it. He can tell she cares. Skein doesn't like her — she's too perceptive.
+- **Haddon:** Former teacher and the man who abandoned him. Fragments of Haddon's old lesson still surface through the damage: *"Anchor before aperture. Measure twice. The living weight comes first. Professor said—"* One clear **"Professor"** from Bren visibly cracks Haddon's composure.
+- **Essek:** Has studied papers bearing Bren Aldara's name but does not initially recognize the man in the corner. Learning who Bren is shows Essek his own probable future and makes the players' treatment of Bren one of his strongest tests of character.
 - **Skein:** Captor, torturer, constant companion. Bren hates and fears Skein but has developed a horrifying dependency — after seven years, Skein's voice is the most constant thing in his world.
 - **Xarrul:** Bren (through Skein's senses) can feel Xarrul in the Ethereal Plane. Skein is terrified of the fiend — it's bigger, older, more powerful. This fear sometimes overrides Skein's control of Bren, creating lucid openings.