Browse wiki

Molded from an early age by the needs of others, Catalana has always been determined to be all things to all people. For her unconventional sister Jan, she took on the softness and the strength of a traditional Isles lady, the vessel into which her parents poured their hopes and dreams... all so that Jan would have room to be different. For her brother Evander, always on the edge of death and shunned by parents who feared the pain of losing him, she became mother and nurse. For Marquis Denholm, she became at first a personal secretary, then an advisor and a skilled diplomat as the old Marquis relied on her more and more during the last years of his life. It was while she was representing the Marquis in negotiations in Bastion that she met Washburn Grayson. She first saw him hanging from a rope as her carriage drove in the main gate, and thought he must be an executed criminal. (In reality, he tried to climb the outer wall of Bastion on a dare, fell, and knocked himself out. Alcohol was involved.) Needless to say, that first glimpse made an impession, and she sought him out. The dramatic and often out of control Grayson prince spun her through a wild affair that lasted for three delightful months. It was with regret that she parted from him once her work in Bastion was done, but she couldn't wallow in self-indulgence forever. There were people back home who needed her. When Washburn was discovered as a stowaway on her ship, Catalana realized that he needed her, too. The sheer depth of that need -- he completely falls apart without her -- would have overwhelmed most people, but it drew her to him. She knew as she watched him plead through tears not to be sent away from her that he would propose to her someday, and she knew when that he did, she would forsake her duty on Stormward, and join him in Bastion as a Grayson princess. What she didn't anticipate was the second part of his proposal -- he wanted to throw away his title and his name and become Wash Kennex. Denholm's death and the gruesome return of Ford hit Catalana hard. She withdrew from public life and focused on being a wife, and later a mother. She didn't tell Wash when she was pregnant with Cirella because she knew he'd worry himself to pieces, and wound up giving birth on the ship that took her to Arx to join him. A son, Rahne, followed a couple of years later in a more conventional birth. With the death of Ford and the rise of House Kennex, Catalana has decided that the time has come for her to step up and be the diplomat that this house full of gruff sailors so desperately needs.

The height, the regal cast of her sculpted face, the flowing cascade of gossamer hair: Catalina is all dark gold and honey, cream and mellow warmth. Her hair is fine and silky, a deep, burnished golden blonde. Her skin is creamy. Her golden eye makeup and the careful application of paint and fashion keep her all in the mode. Everything about her is measured and considered grace, balletic and refined. Her eyes are clear and pale blue, almost crystalline, like the clearest sea lagoon. Her voice is a low alto, honey and a whisper of smoke.

Catalana exudes a warmth that makes her easy to talk to. She has a genuine interest in people, and because of this, she's really listening when someone talks to her, regardless of subject. Warmth and attention like hers can make for a heady cocktail; it's no wonder that she does so well as a diplomat. She's also good at intuiting who she needs to be in any given situation, which helps her navigate with ease in societies that are different than hers, even those that would normally be hostile to a noblewoman. When it comes to being herself, however, Catalana is a person who needs to be needed; filling the needs of others is the lens through which she sees who she is. She pushes herself hard not to 'let down' the people who depend on her. It's more than just putting herself second, because there is always someone who she feels she must put first, and if there isn't, she'll find one.