Ale

Ale
Detail of Angelo (left) and Ale (right)Art by Milo Mars
Details
Pronouns	He/him
First Mentioned	Second Citadel - The Strong Arm of Justice (Part 1)
Status	Alive
Age	Possibly older than Angelo [citation needed]
Location	The Center of the Universe
Occupation	Skilled swordsman on a revenge quest
Affiliations	Milltown
Relationships	Sir Angelo (Romantic interest)
Species	Human
Known Physical Features	One arm, a fair face, honest and trusting eyes.
Voice
Voice Actor(s)	Anjimile
First Heard	Second Citadel - The Strong Arm of Justice (Part 1)

Ale of Milltown is an incredibly competent swordsman who is on a quest to slay Galahad to avenge the people of his village.

Early Life

During the invasion if Milltown by The Kite, Ale lost many people he'd known since he was a child, presumably including his parents. After the arrival of The Kite in Milltown, Ale saved multiple villagers from execution.

He has one arm, and is implied to be transgender.

History

Ale meets Sir Angelo when the knight, under the guise of The Vigilant He, attempts to save the same child Ale is already in the process of rescuing. The two of them cross blades, Ale astonishing Angelo with his skill, before teaming up. He insists that Angelo not kill any of the local guards, who have been terrorized into cooperating with The Kite. Ale warns Angelo that Milltown can take care of itself, before fleeing with Daniel, the village child.

During their confrontation with The Kite, Angelo is gravely injured. When Olala shows up to fight The Kite, he agrees to let Ale and Angelo go. Ale knocks Angelo out and takes him to the village's camp in the woods, where the dryads heal him. Ale defends the camp from Sir Caroline and Quanyii, before Caroline identifies herself and he begrudgingly lets her see Angelo. He does not like that Caroline is a knight.

Once Angelo and Caroline quit being knights to hunt down the golden age knights who they believe to be working with Galahad, Ale insists on joining them. He journeys with them for 5 years, taking out various knights, before they take out Sir Pellinore, the final knight on the list. After this, the group decides to journey through the Mirrored Plains to find Galahad in Silvershore, not knowing that Olala was lying about seeing him in the Truesight Monocular.

In the Mirrored Plains, Ale sees visions of hundreds of bodies of people he knew, while he performs funeral rites for them and can't keep up. Olala approaches the vision by working with it rather than against it- she claims to see the bodies of her sisters as well, and guides Ale to where they're going.

Once they reach Silvershore, Ale wins them coin by prizefighting, and wipes the floor with every fighter in the ring. Caroline asks him to help infiltrate the home of an informant she believes will lead them to Galahad, but doesn't let him join her in staking out the address they procure as she believes he wouldn't be able to hold back from trying to kill Galahad as soon as he saw him. Ale concedes this point.

During the invasion of Silvershore by the Off-Worlders, Damien informs the group that Galahad is indeed in Silvershore. Ale resolves to stay behind through the invasion to try and kill him. Angelo insists on staying with him. They leave a note for the others and leave, hunkering down through the bombs. They stake out Galahad's encampment for weeks, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. As they slowly run out of food and water, Ale decides to rush in with Angelo after two weeks of waiting. Instead of delicious revenge, they find that Galahad has already been killed by The Hand, with Sir Marc kneeling over his body. Ale attempts to duel Sir Marc, but Angelo puts a stop to it. Marc convinces them that he's been helping Lord Arum this entire time, and that they can return to the Northern Wilds through the Mirrored Plains now that the magic has been sucked out of the Wayward East.

The four of them return to the Second Citadel and meet up with Damien, Rilla and Talfryn. Ale and Marc go and steal Saint Aaron's hammer, bumping into The Hand on the way out, before Marc uses the hammer right as the Second Citadel is destroyed. They make it out safely and return to the group. Quanyii shows up and tells them to meet up with everyone at the Center of the Universe, which they do. While the others are convincing the Monster Senate to work together with The Queen, Ale stays behind with Rilla to help prepare.

When Olala and Caroline are struggling to reach the fish princess' palace, Ale works together with Angelo to protect them from the gunfire and tanks. He uses the dryads power to trip up the tread of the tanks. He and Angelo are the strongest warriors on the battlefield.

A month after the Off-Worlders have been sent away and the battle was won, Angelo is still clearing away the rubble of the fish princess' palace, in the hope that Caroline and Olala will still be under there. Ale convinces him to take a break and talks with him. Ale gets through to him with his understanding of commiting yourself to a single task while grieving. Angelo cries it out. After, Ale asks Angelo if he would be willing to try their relationship again, which Angelo happily agrees to. They kiss, and walk off together.

Personality

Tenacious and pragmatic. Laid back, but incredibly competent, and confident in his skills.

Abilities

Angelo is amazed by Ale's technique with a sword, which exploits his opponents' strength and prioritizes winning--and surviving--over technical form. He has never lost a fight, but proudly tells Angelo that this is partly because he only picks fights he believes he can win. Is the most skilled sword fighter in a city of a million people, and hones his skills every day.

Relationships

Sir Angelo

After Angelo resigns from knighthood the both of them join Caroline and Olala on their quest against the golden age knights, Ale develops a more positive view of Angelo. Two years in, while on a supply run together, the two of them had sex, but Ale refused to speak to Angelo in the morning and eventually told him he doesn't have the space for a relationhip while he's hunting Galahad. He returned to the rest of the group without him, sending Caroline's wife Quanyii to finish the supply run with Angelo. Angelo left the group to bounty hunt in the Southern Frosts for two years following, but when he meets up with the group again Ale greets him amicably, if slightly awkwardly.

The two clearly admire one another, spending time together talking about their interests (rocks and swordplay, respectively). Angelo stays behind to help Ale on his quest for revenge even through the bombing of Silvershore, showing his dogged loyalty and love for Ale.

Caroline

They were travelling companions for years, and both great warriors in their own right. Though their relationship started off rocky, Ale knew that Caroline was the best way to get his revenge on Galahad. They often bring out each others' competitive spirit, and work well together. Ale likes to tease Caroline because he knows how to get a rise out of her.

Olala

Olala thinks Ale is, like, the coolest. He affectionately calls her "O", and they have a better understanding of each others trauma than anyone else, as demonstrated in the Mirrored Plains.

Quanyii

Both magic users, and both travelled together for years. Love to gang up on Caroline together.

Trivia

• Ale is the Penumbra Podcast's second transgender man with only one flesh arm, the first being Cecil Kanagawa