Summersong

Does it? You maybe, depending on the dice, start with a minor loyalty to him, IF you choose to follow the lifepath system at the start. That's about it for 'consistently'. The game takes you where it takes you. In the meantime, it'd be rather odd if the character hadn't formed some sort of position on one of the major events of the age and associated personalities that'd been involved in so many major events lately. Even in the pre-dragonrise setting you'd have the same situation, if perhaps with a different NPC. The text doesn't 'implicitly' tell you anything much. YGWV, naturally.

Seriously? Starting characters in RQG are competent at some of the skills of their profession but that's a huge gap between that, and being a Hero.

See, this is an approach I never got. Not everything, everywhere, has to be about you, all the time. I've read any number of, for instance, Star Wars EU Rebellion Era texts, and not a single one was diminished by the distant possibility of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo probably sorting out the bigger issues a few years down the track. Stories, good stories, are not so fragile. And it's a big world, full of people.

Surprised nobody's mentioned 'Arouse Passion'. Have THAT boosted 20% for the duration could be a powerful advantage for augmenting rolls. Do you have any suitable loyalties or devotions? One of them at 90% could make for a very reliable buff to all sorts of rolls, and quite in keeping with the inspiring nature of Ernalda's interaction with her protector champions. Pure of purpose, with a powerful, noble will, given to honor, and devotion to the Earth and loyalty to your clan and kin.