Search by property

This page provides a simple browsing interface for finding entities described by a property and a named value. Other available search interfaces include the page property search, and the ask query builder.

List of results

• Sira Crown  + (It may be that Sira has been sewing since …
  It may be that Sira has been sewing since she was able to walk. Born to a family of tailors and merchants, the woman learned trade and business as a matter of course. However, she proved especially capable with needle and thread under her mother's direction. Based in Bastion, she grew up watching illustrious customers frequent the shop. In her teens, she would join her father - a traveling merchant originally from the Lyceum - on trips between Bastion and Lenosia to gain an understanding of how connected the Compact is by trade. These experiences planted a seed within her to seek out fanciful, rare materials to work with. That seed sprouted and blossomed over the years into a foray to Arx, where Sira opened her shop Gilded Dreams. Unfortunately, when her mother fell ill, she left after only a few months to manage the family business. When disaster struck again - this time in the form of an enemy siege on the Grayson holding, the seamstress found herself back outside of Arx with the refugees, lacking any surviving close friends or family. With the shop in the city still in her name, and no interest in returning to rebuild in Bastion, the woman is starting over.
  ld in Bastion, the woman is starting over.)
• Sira  + (It may be that Sira has been sewing since …
  It may be that Sira has been sewing since she was able to walk. Born to a family of tailors and merchants, the woman learned trade and business as a matter of course. However, she proved especially capable with needle and thread under her mother's direction. Based in Bastion, she grew up watching illustrious customers frequent the shop. In her teens, she would join her father - a traveling merchant originally from the Lyceum - on trips between Bastion and Lenosia to gain an understanding of how connected the Compact is by trade. These experiences planted a seed within her to seek out fanciful, rare materials to work with. That seed sprouted and blossomed over the years into a foray to Arx, where Sira opened her shop Gilded Dreams. Unfortunately, when her mother fell ill, she left after only a few months to manage the family business. When disaster struck again - this time in the form of an enemy siege on the Grayson holding, the seamstress found herself back outside of Arx with the refugees, lacking any surviving close friends or family. With the shop in the city still in her name, and no interest in returning to rebuild in Bastion, the woman is starting over.
  ld in Bastion, the woman is starting over.)
• Maerigan Nephila  + (It seems that only two or three years ago, …
  It seems that only two or three years ago, Maerigan appeared out of thin air upon the doorstep of Elune’s keep. Nothing more than a wispy teen, she was taken in by that dottering old castellan, Nester. Quickly, he became a grandfatherly figure for her, seeing to it that the youth had a start to her new life. Perhaps he saw something within her that reminded him of his own family. Having no children of his own, she filled the void of family for him and an affection bloomed for now his adopted granddaughter, as he often called her. Together, they tried their best to find her family - after all, it was an island. How far could they have gotten? Well. They were never truly successful and Nester claimed it was his duty to steward the girl. If she showed even the slightest talent or inclination to a subject, he afforded her the lessons. That is, until the fairly recent attack on Elune where Nester lost his life. She mourned him, and having no place to go continued to be a presence in the keep, working primarily in Nester’s stead to manage the keep but in her spare time pursued her own interests. However, the winds of change began to blow. House Seryn began to grow and with her duties lightening, she proved herself loyal, trustworthy, and willing to take on a challenge. Soon, she accepted a promotion to a Ministership that would see her through to Arx and a brand new chapter in her life.
  o Arx and a brand new chapter in her life.)
• Rohran Keaton  + (It takes a firm hand to turn small, indepe …
  It takes a firm hand to turn small, independent groups into a cohesive and effective army. It is not unlike herding cats and convincing them that working together brings down prey faster and with less losses. Rohran Keaton is an excellent cat herder. Perhaps it grew from managing his siblings as a child, with Veronica and her intense drive and barely containable chaos and Jaerith throwing himself into every possible experience regardless of risk. Rohran assumed the role of co-parent as the eldest when their mother Anastasia died, Rohran being all of 11 years old, to Veronica's 7 and Jaerith's 5. Their father Ambrose poured himself into the running of their lands and his duties as General, letting Rohran and the staff handle the younger children. Rohran often sought his father's approval, something he feels, rightly or wrongly, he has yet to obtain. These feelings are something that are most often expressed in poetry. Cleaving to the Chivalric ideals, Rohran fancies himself a poet of great skill, often composing sonnets and epics, though he's not above a limerick or two when out drinking with his men. For about nine years now the bulk of his time and attention have been focused on his role as General of the Hounds of Oakhaven, a title well earned, bestowed upon him when his father retired. In this role he has done a significant amount to assist the House in the expansion of their lands, helping Keaton tame the wilderness and involved in combatting a number of threats (some stranger than others). The business of being General left little time for raising his bastard daughter. The eleven year old Elaine's origin is not something he speaks of; the looks he gives those who ask are withering at best. For several years, Rohran and Elaine lived in Arx with Rohran's romantic partner, Natalia Whisper. When Natalia and Rohran split, Elaine remained with Natalia. When Natalia was (re)ennobled as Baroness Elwood, she adopted her, ennobled her, and named her Elwood's heir (all with Keaton's blessing). Rohran went back to Oakhaven to have himself a bit of a sulk (and take care of a great deal of General business, to be fair), and has now returned to Arx to assist with the current threats.
  to Arx to assist with the current threats.)
• Scylla Waters  + (It took nearly an hour for the crew of the …
  It took nearly an hour for the crew of the Black Tide, a Blackshore merchant vessel, to fish up a tangled mass of debris, hoist it onto the deck and discover the lifeless body of a salt-stained body buried within. She was not dressed as most other shipwrecked persons usually are; this woman wore the remains of a black linen dress, tattered, distressed and covered in holes featuring scorch marks where flames had burned through. Sections of skin on her neck, arms, and legs were the consistency of melted wax, and her forehead had been split wide open, rivers of blood staining fair features. She was immediately declared dead, evidenced by the absence of a pulse. The ship's captain ordered his crew to wrap her in sailcloth and tie her ankles to an iron weight. Too far from the nearest port, she was to receive a respectable burial at sea. At the very moment her body was rolled to rest atop the flax fabric, the woman sat upright and regurgitated an unhealthy amount of seawater upon the deck. Gasps and murmurs resounded from the crew, not a one among them unfazed by her unprovoked revival. When asked her name, the anonymous woman could not remember. When asked from whence she hailed, the homeless woman could not remember. When asked how she came to be shipwrecked, the shivering woman, again, could not remember. The captain considered the situation carefully, then made the determination that she posed very little threat to him or his crew. By his orders, the woman was to be fed, clothed, and assigned a cot to sleep on until they made for port where she would then be required to make a choice: stay on the ship and learn to sail, or disembark and find her own way. It did not take long for her to choose the path of least resistance, and so the captain gave her all the tools and training to earn an honest living. Having forgotten her true given name, she elected to rename herself Scylla. And yet many of her new crewmates adopted for her a more fitting epithet to gossip surreptitiously among themselves: Omen. What purpose did this anomalous amnesiac serve to receive the favor of the gods, or perhaps some other mysterious force? Was she a boon or a curse? To the superstitious lot, the miracle of her rebirth could not be reconciled by practical means alone. Therefore, it must have otherworldly implications, ones that spurred a few sailors to worry endlessly over her presence aboard the ship. Despite such fears and conjured anecdotes, Scylla put her head down and worked to surpass the expectations of the captain. He promoted her from swabbie to first mate after only three years of dedicated service. In winter of 1012 AR, the captain made for the port of New Hope. After a brief interlude, he returned to inform the crew that House Blackshore intended to repurpose the merchant ship for the coming war with Eurus. Those who chose to remain aboard would join the house navy or be forced to find work elsewhere. Scylla opted to swear fealty to the family and help them achieve their goals and win the war. In return for her loyalty and dedication, she was promptly rewarded with a promotion to captain of the Black Tide. Returning to port for a stretch of time began to chafe at Scylla’s previous contentment to forget that she had once lived another life. It had been so easy to achieve surrounded by people who accepted that she was and would remain a mystery. It was not the same with strangers in Arx, all of them eager to poke, prod and pry into the new and unfamiliar. And so, with the spare time she contrived between preparations for war and honing new social skills, Scylla began to explore who she is and who she used to be.
  explore who she is and who she used to be.)
• Scylla Stormblood  + (It took nearly an hour for the crew of the …
  It took nearly an hour for the crew of the Black Tide, a Blackshore merchant vessel, to fish up a tangled mass of debris, hoist it onto the deck and discover the lifeless body of a salt-stained body buried within. She was not dressed as most other shipwrecked persons usually are; this woman wore the remains of a black linen dress, tattered, distressed and covered in holes featuring scorch marks where flames had burned through. Sections of skin on her neck, arms, and legs were the consistency of melted wax, and her forehead had been split wide open, rivers of blood staining fair features. She was immediately declared dead, evidenced by the absence of a pulse. The ship's captain ordered his crew to wrap her in sailcloth and tie her ankles to an iron weight. Too far from the nearest port, she was to receive a respectable burial at sea. At the very moment her body was rolled to rest atop the flax fabric, the woman sat upright and regurgitated an unhealthy amount of seawater upon the deck. Gasps and murmurs resounded from the crew, not a one among them unfazed by her unprovoked revival. When asked her name, the anonymous woman could not remember. When asked from whence she hailed, the homeless woman could not remember. When asked how she came to be shipwrecked, the shivering woman, again, could not remember. The captain considered the situation carefully, then made the determination that she posed very little threat to him or his crew. By his orders, the woman was to be fed, clothed, and assigned a cot to sleep on until they made for port where she would then be required to make a choice: stay on the ship and learn to sail, or disembark and find her own way. It did not take long for her to choose the path of least resistance, and so the captain gave her all the tools and training to earn an honest living. Having forgotten her true given name, she elected to rename herself Scylla. And yet many of her new crewmates adopted for her a more fitting epithet to gossip surreptitiously among themselves: Omen. What purpose did this anomalous amnesiac serve to receive the favor of the gods, or perhaps some other mysterious force? Was she a boon or a curse? To the superstitious lot, the miracle of her rebirth could not be reconciled by practical means alone. Therefore, it must have otherworldly implications, ones that spurred a few sailors to worry endlessly over her presence aboard the ship. Despite such fears and conjured anecdotes, Scylla put her head down and worked to surpass the expectations of the captain. He promoted her from swabbie to first mate after only three years of dedicated service. In winter of 1012 AR, the captain made for the port of New Hope. After a brief interlude, he returned to inform the crew that House Blackshore intended to repurpose the merchant ship for the coming war with Eurus. Those who chose to remain aboard would join the house navy or be forced to find work elsewhere. Scylla opted to swear fealty to the family and help them achieve their goals and win the war. In return for her loyalty and dedication, she was promptly rewarded with a promotion to captain of the Black Tide. Returning to port for a stretch of time began to chafe at Scylla’s previous contentment to forget that she had once lived another life. It had been so easy to achieve surrounded by people who accepted that she was and would remain a mystery. It was not the same with strangers in Arx, all of them eager to poke, prod and pry into the new and unfamiliar. And so, with the spare time she contrived between preparations for war and honing new social skills, Scylla began to explore who she is and who she used to be.
  explore who she is and who she used to be.)
• Scylla Blackshore  + (It took nearly an hour for the crew of the …
  It took nearly an hour for the crew of the Black Tide, a Blackshore merchant vessel, to fish up a tangled mass of debris, hoist it onto the deck and discover the lifeless body of a salt-stained body buried within. She was not dressed as most other shipwrecked persons usually are; this woman wore the remains of a black linen dress, tattered, distressed and covered in holes featuring scorch marks where flames had burned through. Sections of skin on her neck, arms, and legs were the consistency of melted wax, and her forehead had been split wide open, rivers of blood staining fair features. She was immediately declared dead, evidenced by the absence of a pulse. The ship's captain ordered his crew to wrap her in sailcloth and tie her ankles to an iron weight. Too far from the nearest port, she was to receive a respectable burial at sea. At the very moment her body was rolled to rest atop the flax fabric, the woman sat upright and regurgitated an unhealthy amount of seawater upon the deck. Gasps and murmurs resounded from the crew, not a one among them unfazed by her unprovoked revival. When asked her name, the anonymous woman could not remember. When asked from whence she hailed, the homeless woman could not remember. When asked how she came to be shipwrecked, the shivering woman, again, could not remember. The captain considered the situation carefully, then made the determination that she posed very little threat to him or his crew. By his orders, the woman was to be fed, clothed, and assigned a cot to sleep on until they made for port where she would then be required to make a choice: stay on the ship and learn to sail, or disembark and find her own way. It did not take long for her to choose the path of least resistance, and so the captain gave her all the tools and training to earn an honest living. Having forgotten her true given name, she elected to rename herself Scylla. And yet many of her new crewmates adopted for her a more fitting epithet to gossip surreptitiously among themselves: Omen. What purpose did this anomalous amnesiac serve to receive the favor of the gods, or perhaps some other mysterious force? Was she a boon or a curse? To the superstitious lot, the miracle of her rebirth could not be reconciled by practical means alone. Therefore, it must have otherworldly implications, ones that spurred a few sailors to worry endlessly over her presence aboard the ship. Despite such fears and conjured anecdotes, Scylla put her head down and worked to surpass the expectations of the captain. He promoted her from swabbie to first mate after only three years of dedicated service. In winter of 1012 AR, the captain made for the port of New Hope. After a brief interlude, he returned to inform the crew that House Blackshore intended to repurpose the merchant ship for the coming war with Eurus. Those who chose to remain aboard would join the house navy or be forced to find work elsewhere. Scylla opted to swear fealty to the family and help them achieve their goals and win the war. In return for her loyalty and dedication, she was promptly rewarded with a promotion to captain of the Black Tide. Returning to port for a stretch of time began to chafe at Scylla’s previous contentment to forget that she had once lived another life. It had been so easy to achieve surrounded by people who accepted that she was and would remain a mystery. It was not the same with strangers in Arx, all of them eager to poke, prod and pry into the new and unfamiliar. And so, with the spare time she contrived between preparations for war and honing new social skills, Scylla began to explore who she is and who she used to be.
  explore who she is and who she used to be.)
• Insaya Bergere  + (It was Insaya Bergere's lot in life, as a …
  It was Insaya Bergere's lot in life, as a younger daughter of shepherds, to help work the farm. She showed early technical aptitudes and ended up doing a lot of handyman work first around the house and then, later, around 'town', where she apprenticed with an artisan and developed a reputation as a tinker. She was a mousy girl, quiet and inobtrusive, who drifted through the shadows and learned much of the world by observation and listening. While her elder brother earned acclaim and became a Knight for the Valardins, Insaya worked quietly as a tinker, and eventually joined a traveling caravan and traders and workers who traveled the Oathlands together. Insaya kept up a careful correspondence with her family and with her brother from afar. She also remained indelibly curious. As a teen, she fell in with some other travelers and eventually began gathering information and spying for a man named Elwood who paid her for simple gossip, the kinds of things that neighbors tell each other but not strangers. Elwood eventually told her that he was a servant of the Inquisition on a long, long case study of a coven of witches, usurers and tax evaders, and that with her help, he'd uncovered their network deep in the roots of the countryside. He took her on as his 'apprentice'. Insaya made herself completely indispensible to his work, becoming exactly the young woman he wanted her to be, but never yielding herself to him despite his repeated blandishments. When he returned to Sanctum, she went with him ... and discarded him immediately to attach herself as a spy in the household of the Seraph of Sanctum. She worked as a handyman for the better part of the year, sifting through Sanctum society and learning all she could about the inner workings of both her household and the Oathlands nobility and all of the gossip that servants tell each other but not their masters. The end result of this was that at the end of the year, she had a letter of recommendation and a solid pension with which to travel to Arx and join the heart of the Inquisition. Her cleverness and her powers of observation served her well with the Inquisition. As a social chameleon with a habit of making herself indispensible, she carved out a ready niche for herself among the investigators serving the Inquisition, with an especial focus on busting larcenious disappearances of intermediate to large sums of money among lesser nobles and middle class merchantmen who should really know better.
  merchantmen who should really know better.)
• Zalika Coldrain  + (It was a full-moon upon the night that Zal …
  It was a full-moon upon the night that Zalika was born. And she was thrall, working diligent upon making clothing for the Count of Stormchaser and his family. And she was typically treated worse than the others for some odd reason. She squirrelled away her money, for years and years and bought her freedom. And while doing so, she learned a bit about law and developed a hidden passion for it. And once she was free she began to study law more and more in her free time. Trying to well verse herself with just how things are ran by officials, all while honing her tailoring talents. Along the way, she met Sameera and accepted the invitation to join her family. Now she is in Arx and is out to make a name for herself and make some friends and allies.
  herself and make some friends and allies.)
• Jerrica Grayson  + (It was always assumed that as the first da …
  It was always assumed that as the first daughter Jerrica would take up a martial path. She talked early and often and her strong opinions varying from what was offered for dinner to the way the gardens at the house were kept were at first met with smiles for her zeal and then grimaces when she would find something she thought was wrong and harp on it until people would have it changed. She was trained in the finer points of archery at a young age and seemed to take to it, but when she was six years old she was brought along on her first boar hunt and was so horrified by how many armed nobles chased the poor, terrified animal and how brutally it was ultimately brought down. And then they expected her to eat it! Her parents tried to explain that boars were dangerous creatures that were responsible for many a stray hunter's death but Jerrica would have none of it--and from that day forward never again ate meat in her life. Sure, the boar might have been dangerous, but it was just one boar being chased and heckled by a dozen or more armed men and women on horseback! Every year after that she campaigned to end hunts for sport, something her parents would not give in to. She still attended, chanting in a loud voice about how barbaric it all was until she was just left at home in her teenage years to not cause yet another scene in front of her parents' friends. From Bastion she embarked on many a letter writing campaign to numerous other houses and dignitaries in Arx, railing against practices she found lacking, such as going to war so often. Jerrica simply could not understand why so many men and women needed to die for a cause when so many things could be worked out through mediation. Many of those letters (most really) went unanswered, but she found herself with a growing interest in diplomacy because of it. Soon she realized that in order to use these skills she needed to be in Arx and wrote her parents a 52 page manuscript detailing all the reasons why they should send her to the city. They took one look at the pile of papers and decided to just send her, much to her delight.
  ded to just send her, much to her delight.)
• Harlex Valtyr  + (It was winter in the Gray Forest when Harl …
  It was winter in the Gray Forest when Harlex was born on Valtyr family’s farm, healthy and pink. His father, a soldier before him, died nine months later when cutthroats set upon him on patrol. He was found, stripped and butchered, on the side of the road. His mother in desperation married her late husband's brother. He was a devout man who lacked in any useful skills. He could not hunt, farm, nor fish. All he could do, in Harlex's eyes, was pray and drink. It didn't seem to do his family any good. At the age of sixteen his stepfather died when his heart ruptured while trying to clear ear-rot from the corn fields. Harlex watched him writhe on the ground, deciding then to avoid this fate. A year later his mother died from a fever during one particularly cruel winter. This he perhaps still regrets. But afterward he sold the land for next to nothing, bought a long-knife and some traveling supplies and set out. The world proved remorseless and these two years were marked with violent conflicts in taverns, on the streets of cities where he sonjourned, whose names he can not recall, all under the banner of the Sellsword Guild. Until at last it reached its terminus. He met an outfit of mercenaries, the Dead Crows, and plied his trade in service of their cause. It was under this banner and the leadership of the enigmatic Captain Nazares where he became a full-blooded reaver. Harlex was never allowed to have any enchanted views of war. Glory and honor were beaten out of him by sword-wounds, arrow volleys, and burying fallen comrades. Eventually this all led to the Dead Crows disbanding, and Nazares’ murder. Leaving Harlex with nothing but the rough-worn gear on his back, the sword on his hip, and scars deep on his soul.
  rd on his hip, and scars deep on his soul.)
• Harlex Leary  + (It was winter in the village Wrenholme whe …
  It was winter in the village Wrenholme when Harlex Valtyr was born. His father, a soldier before him, died nine months later from an infected wound sustained in an ambush by cutthroats while on patrol. They stripped him naked and left him on the road. His mother, in desperation, married her late husband's brother. He was a devout man who lacked in any useful skills. He could not hunt, farm, nor fish. All he could do, in Harlex's eyes, was pray. It didn't seem to do his family any good. At the age of twenty his step-father died when his heart ruptured while trying to clear ear-rot from the corn fields. Harlex watched him writhe on the ground, deciding then to avoid this fate. He took coin and a knife, leaving behind the empty promises of a simple life. The world proved remorseless and these years were marked with violent conflicts in taverns, on the streets of cities where he sonjourned, until at last it reached its terminus. He met a band of sellswords, the Dead Crows, and plied his trade in service of blood and gold. It was under that banner where he became a killer. Harlex was never allowed to have any enhanced views of war, soldiery and battle. It was beaten out of him by hammer blows, arrow volleys, and burying fallen comrades. Eventually this all led to the Dead Crows disbanding, leaving Harlex with nothing but the rough-worn gear on his back, the sword on his hip, and scars deep on his soul.
  rd on his hip, and scars deep on his soul.)
• Sydney Crown  + (It's easy enough to trace back a misfortun …
  It's easy enough to trace back a misfortune to its root, in Sydney's case. After her father succumbed to an illness that swept through him like wildfire, she accepted a loan with unfavorable conditions 'just until she was able to get established'. As it happens, that took just a little longer than she anticipated. As a smithy's apprentice by trade, adequate coin was meager to come by - too meager for the patience of her unscrupulous debtors. After missing one payment too many, the shop she apprenticed for just so happened to turn up scorched down to the foundations overnight. Apprenticeship opportunities don't just fall out of the sky, and Sydney wasn't fortunate enough to find another. Left with a sturdy set of arms for swinging and smelting, a personality unfit for a courtesan, and a mountain of debts left to pay off, she landed herself a position as a brawler. Being a touch less than half-bad at taking and giving a beating proved a boon... as did taking the occasional dive here and there to pad her pockets, when the situation called. Dreams are for the debtless. Sydney's aspirations are simple: To get out from under the debt she owes and do something more than just scrape by. If cornered, she'll insincerely talk about opening her own shop one day. It's a fair sight better than the truth: She'll go where the coin is best until she's allowed the luxury of having her dreams be her own again.
  ury of having her dreams be her own again.)
• Sydney  + (It's easy enough to trace back a misfortun …
  It's easy enough to trace back a misfortune to its root, in Sydney's case. After her father succumbed to an illness that swept through him like wildfire, she accepted a loan with unfavorable conditions 'just until she was able to get established'. As it happens, that took just a little longer than she anticipated. As a smithy's apprentice by trade, adequate coin was meager to come by - too meager for the patience of her unscrupulous debtors. After missing one payment too many, the shop she apprenticed for just so happened to turn up scorched down to the foundations overnight. Apprenticeship opportunities don't just fall out of the sky, and Sydney wasn't fortunate enough to find another. Left with a sturdy set of arms for swinging and smelting, a personality unfit for a courtesan, and a mountain of debts left to pay off, she landed herself a position as a brawler. Being a touch less than half-bad at taking and giving a beating proved a boon... as did taking the occasional dive here and there to pad her pockets, when the situation called. Dreams are for the debtless. Sydney's aspirations are simple: To get out from under the debt she owes and do something more than just scrape by. If cornered, she'll insincerely talk about opening her own shop one day. It's a fair sight better than the truth: She'll go where the coin is best until she's allowed the luxury of having her dreams be her own again.
  ury of having her dreams be her own again.)
• Gibson Culler  + (It's effectively impossible to get a real …
  It's effectively impossible to get a real history out of Gibson, as his family in the Lower Boroughs has long since decided. Gibson spent his youth helping the crime family settle some scores and seeming entirely too happy and affable while doing it, even among the blackest work the Culler family could offer. He didn't long stay in the Lower Boroughs however, leaving Arx to serve in a sellsword company 'somewhere that wasn't here' and blatantly lying virtually every time he's asked about it, to attempt to come up with the most amusing and obviously fabricated story whenever the opportunity arises. Just in the past year he returned to Arx after being missing for almost a decade, though having extremely little to do with his family now, and seeking out gainful employment among a sellsword company known as the Valorous Few. He sometimes has been seen around Arx dressing far above his station, and makes up cheerfully flamboyant lies about just why that might be the case, with the popular rumor being that he sometimes pretends to be a courtier.
  at he sometimes pretends to be a courtier.)
• Tikva Riven  + (It's hard for a bastard to be born quietly …
  It's hard for a bastard to be born quietly, but sometimes it can be done. Tikva's mother was a godsworn priest of the Faith, who should really have known better than to become pregnant. Yet sometimes accidents happen, and it left the priest in kind of a bind. Luckily for her, she had a good friend in the seraph at Brighthold, and wrote there in urgent haste about the babe she had given birth to, certifying both the child's bloodline and her great need of a place to go. So it was that, a little differently than some of the other foundlings and flotsam that ended up reared in Count Laveer's house, Tikva was adopted into the family, and reared with her adoptive siblings under the gentle but firm guiding hand of the Count who, at 18, was new to his majority when she came to him a babe in arms. An adventurous child who was hungry for tales and songs of all kinds, Tikva latched onto strangers who knew stories and absorbed her lessons like a human sponge for information. She embraced song of all kinds, music and dance; she grew carefree and clever, running barefoot through the holding and ambushing friends and family with affection. She grew to be a capable young woman, trained to be a scout high in the rigging aboard ships or high in the trees of the surrounding forests, and studied under the Count to learn the arts of diplomacy and understanding that would make her a useful, worthwhile future Voice. What she did not expect, and what neither did Tibault: on a rare visit to the capital, she met with the brother of Count Thesarin Riven, a tattooed and bright-hearted man full of impish mischief, and foolishly lost her heart to him. After a whirlwind courtship and much wheedling and back and forth between Count Tibault and Countess Mia, Tikva married him and joined the Twainfort: Lord Kelleth Riven and Lady Tikva Riven! Uncertain at first away from the seclusion and independence of the lighthouse at Brighthold, Tikva found her new family sustaining. But when her husband Kelleth rode out against the Abandoned and Tikva was -- at six months pregnant -- forced to remain behind, she had a very bad feeling about this that-- well, turned out to be right. Now, Tikva is a widowed lady in her new house, foundling again like she was a little girl, and finding her new way with a one-year-old toddler in tow in the capital. It's definitely nothing she signed up for.
  It's definitely nothing she signed up for.)
• Mirari Corsetina  + (It's hard to be a six year old child with …
  It's hard to be a six year old child with a mother recently deceased and a father lost to the sea. It's even harder when your aunt and uncle have seven other children, and not enough money to keep everyone fed in Setarco. When Mirari's aunt saw an opportunity to rid herself of the burden she had become the woman took it, and despite lingering resentment even Mirari can admit she might have done the same in her stead. After a brief meeting with one of the representatives of the House of Silken Sighs, the very place where the best courtiers of Setarco came from, money changed hands, a deal was struck, and Mirari was taken off to be raised as one of them. A young child learns to adapt, and it wasn't long before Mirari was doing her best to impress her instructors and excel among her peers. She did so well that she was singled out for more advanced training, which the young woman took to like a fish to water, feeling like she had something to prove. At the end of her studies she found her contract purchased by House Pravus, where she served for several years. The day would eventually come when Mirari Corsetina would leave Belladonna's service and move to Arx, but the reason for that severance remains a mystery. A good courtier never tells.
  ns a mystery. A good courtier never tells.)
• Aric Keaton  + (It's hard to look on life with regrets whe …
  It's hard to look on life with regrets when you get to live it exactly how you want to, but it wasn't always that way. Growing up the first born son of one of the greatest legal minds in the House Keaton, Aric felt extraordinary pressure to succeed and follow in his father's shadow and eventually to eclipse him when he finally retired. Two years of legal studies was enough for him to know this wasn't what he was meant for and after many fights with his father, Aric left for parts unknown. Rumors have him seen in every direction, just the way he liked it. His education in legal matters may have halted but with what he did know, he started carefully smuggling goods and providing other services just this side of the line. True, his family had some money, but nothing like what he was able to make working the grey areas and sometimes dark shadows of the lands. Most anyone in any tavern will vaguely recall Aric buying them drinks and leaving with a morally bankrupt woman or two at the end of the night. He's kept himself busy for the last decade and away from his family and all the life in House Keaton and considers himself better for it, but a recent spot of trouble with the wrong Baron has started pushing him back to build bridges and mend fences with family once more. This is not going to be pretty.
  once more. This is not going to be pretty.)
• Calandra Culler  + (It's not easy growing up poor in the Lower …
  It's not easy growing up poor in the Lower Boroughs, not even for a Culler, one of the most feared families at the bottom of Arx society. Calandra was never going to starve, as her family always seemed to be doing just a little bit better than they should be. Calandra was even as closed to spoiled as a girl could probably get inside the crime ridden neighborhoods, but even that came with a price. While still a teenager, her father was hanged for banditry and her mother was murdered not long after some of the 'Culler family business' went terribly awry. While she's a Lower Boroughs girl at heart and will probably never leave, the deaths of her parents might have set her on a somewhat different path to one that would see her finding a noose or a dagger in the back eventually. While she's always been proud of her singing voice, she didn't have any expectations when she auditioned with the Black Rose Mummers as one of their entertainers. She was shocked when the Black Rose Mummers almost immediately signed her, singing for the company in plays and other performances, with her brilliant, almost impossible-to-forget singing voice resulting in more than one noble wondering how something so pure and delightful could come from a place so tragic and common. So no, she might never leave the Lower Boroughs forever, but she has no intention of dying there.
  , but she has no intention of dying there.)
• Michael Bisland  + (It's not easy to be the son of one of the …
  It's not easy to be the son of one of the greatest knights in all of the Compact, a duke who once was seen as the face of House Grayson's military might, and to live in Duke Gabriel Bisland's shadow. It doesn't really bother Michael at all. The way he sees it, it's just a lively competition to beat the old man's accomplishments and to do it younger, and to hope his father doesn't keep upping the ante by performing other ridiculous acts of heroism. Michael is privately convinced that his lord father will probably still be killing shav warchiefs in single combat when he's eighty years old, so it's a high bar, but that's what makes the competition fun. Unfortunately, after hearing terms like 'reckless' or 'impetuous' or 'careless' far too often, and quite unfairly in Michael's exquisitely humble opinion ('daring' or 'bold' is far more appropriate, of course), the young knight has been sent off to Arx to serve under some upjumped commoners in the Iron Guard of Arx to teach him 'self-restraint' and 'humility'. It's outrageous to Michael. Sure, technically humility is one of the chivalric virtues but so is honesty, and if he might be a little convinced of just how great he, House Grayson, and House Bisland all are, at least he comes by the opinion honestly.
  at least he comes by the opinion honestly.)
• Pharamond Ashford  + (It's not so much that Pharamond hates resp …
  It's not so much that Pharamond hates responsibility, as almost everyone imagines. The older, unmarried Sword of Ashford Keep has borne the duty of acting as the champion for House Ashford for years without complaint, and he takes the obligation seriously, but it wasn't exactly his first choice compared to a life of indolent luxury pursuing whatever happened to catch his fancy at any time. Of course he trained at arms like most nobles, but it was just one of a hundred different passtimes he pursued along with art and dealings at court, and he never imagined it would completely define him. It's not as if slashing his fellow man with sharp instruments while they tried to do the same to him was Pharamond's idea of fun, but it very unfortunately happened to be the one he seems to be very good at after he distinguished himself repeatedly on the field of battle. Pharamond of course doesn't -regret- saving the life of Duke Barton Ashford in a desperate battle with shavs a decade ago, but he sometimes wishes he had did it in a less spectacular manner that's flamboyance owed more than a little to Pharamond's habit of not being a strict adherent of Grayson rules forbidding going into battle intoxicated. Or he could have wished that his older brother Duke Barton had just rewarded him by letting Lord Pharamond embrace a life of doing absolutely, glorious nothing, but it was not to be. Perhaps it was some insight by the duke into Pharamond's character that the younger man was able to escape any sort of command for House Ashford's troops and instead only be called when he needs to represent House Ashford in a matter of honor. It's rare enough that there's no great obstacle to spending his days in an intoxicated haze and moving from one social event to the next, and he would just be as happy if he was never actually called in an official capacity. Ever. The more warlike houses might be surprised at Pharamond doing his best to defuse any sort of tensions that could ever lead to him being called to serve as the Sword of Ashford Keep in a duel, and he can more than live with the disapproval it sometimes gets him. Life is too short to not spend it in an alcoholic haze while laughing with courtiers, and it is -considerably- shorter if someone takes offense to every damned trivial thing.
  kes offense to every damned trivial thing.)
• Valerian Kennex  + (It's not the easiest thing in the world, b …
  It's not the easiest thing in the world, being the only son of a free spirit like Christine Kennex. Valerian's father died when he was an infant, and his mother left him in his grandmother's care and took to wandering, coming back to see him so rarely that she's practically mythological to him. Even less easy was growing up under the thumb of the indomitable Lady Tanya Kennex. A seasoned social arbiter of Stormward, his grandmother purposefully intended not to repeat the "mistakes" that she made with her daughter, and thus kept Valerian on a very short leash. Save for those other aging Mourning Isle aristocrats for whom Lady Tanya "held court" in her sitting room, Valerian was practically cut off from the rest of the world for much of his life. A revolving door of tutors saw to his education, each one sent away by Lady Tanya the moment her grandson seemed to start to finally get attached. Thus, she reigned supreme as the only stable figure in his life. He remained entirely dependent on her. Valerian didn't turn out to be a free spirit like his mother, but he did inherit her love of reading and knowledge; on the few occasions when she came to visit, she always brought him a few books, wonderful, exotic volumes from strange, faraway places. Valerian cherished these stories and often sat up well into the night turning their pages, living vicariously through the new information they held, and imagining how his mother might have come across them. As difficult as life under the thumb of Lady Tanya was, it was the only existence he had ever known. Her death cast Valerian into a sea of uncertainty. Suddenly free from the comfortable confinement of their grand but isolated Stormward residence, he set out to join his other relations in Arx.
  et out to join his other relations in Arx.)
• Katarina Al'Muraq-Sabbat  + (It's quite the tale how Princess Katarina …
  It's quite the tale how Princess Katarina Al'Muraq-Sabbat managed to find herself in the position of a ward of the ruling family of the Oathlands, who have been nothing but gracious hosts since that faithful day she quite literally made an explosive debut upon their shores after being outnumbered one Eurusi vessel against two pirated 'Arvani ships. The youngest born daughter of the King of the Dune Kingdom of Suj'Abbat, Katarina was raised amidst the strife and inner turmoil of a territory struggling to turn itself around after a violent usurping of the previous royal family saw her own crowned with new authority. It was a tumultuous and dangerous time for much of her young life, but one only perceived from behind gilded walls and the sanctum of a heavily-guarded compound. The suffering and maltreatment of the commoners subject to the mercurial whim of the Magisters of the Mirror incited a desire for peace and change, but beget a restless fervor and frustration when it was not to be done so by her hands. It was such desires to do good upon others beneath her station that saw her absconding away in the cover of night to seek foreign lands west, though what drove her to do so and her life before are not often spoke of, if at all. After losing nearly half of her skeletal crew left wearied from such a long and arduous voyage, it was with quick wit and gracefully outmaneuvering them through an outcropping of treacherous rock that one ship was taken down before she herself wrecked and off-loaded with her surviving members in a rickety rowboat and fled to shore where she encountered a war party headed by Princess Alis Valardin returning from an expedition. Held at sword point (or spiked flail in this case), it was a peaceful exchange that saw her an unexpected plus one along to the City of Sanctum where she would find herself the recipient of gracious hospitality, insofaras the Highlord took her in as a royal ward under his protection. It's been naught but a few short months since that faithful day, and to say that her time spent in exploration of the distant continent of Arvum has been anything but eventful has been spent learning of new customs and repaying the kindness shown to her while she adjusts to her life as an Arxian.
  hile she adjusts to her life as an Arxian.)
• Tikva Grayson  + (It’s hard for a bastard to be born quietly …
  It’s hard for a bastard to be born quietly, but sometimes it can be done. Tikva's mother was a godsworn priest of the Faith, who should really have known better than to become pregnant. Yet sometimes accidents happen, and it left the priest in kind of a bind. Luckily for her, she had a good friend in the seraph at Brighthold, and wrote there in urgent haste about the babe she had given birth to, certifying both the child's bloodline and her great need of a place to go. In time, the priest lost her role, and became one of the Silent Reflections, but the child was adopted by Count Laveer’s house, and grew. An adventurous child who was hungry for tales and songs of all kinds, Tikva latched onto strangers who knew stories and absorbed her lessons like a human sponge for information. She embraced song of all kinds, music and dance; she grew carefree and clever, running barefoot through the holding and ambushing friends and family with affection. She grew to be a capable young woman, trained to be a scout high in the rigging aboard ships or high in the trees of the surrounding forests, and studied under the Count to learn the arts of diplomacy and understanding that would make her a useful, worthwhile future Voice. What she did not expect, and what neither did Tibault: on a rare visit to the capital, she met with the brother of Count Thesarin Riven, a tattooed and bright-hearted man full of impish mischief, and foolishly lost her heart to him. After a whirlwind courtship and much wheedling and back and forth between Count Tibault and Countess Mia, Tikva married him and joined the Twainfort: Lord Kelleth Riven and Lady Tikva Riven! Uncertain at first away from the seclusion and independence of the lighthouse at Brighthold, Tikva found her new family sustaining. But when her husband Kelleth rode out against the Abandoned and Tikva was -- at six months pregnant -- forced to remain behind, she had a very bad feeling about this that-- well, turned out to be right. Widowed and grieving but determined, Tikva set forth in a new role as Voice of the Twainfort to establish herself in Arx and care for her son. She grew in personal fortitude and maturity, and accepted duties and responsibilities far beyond her ken. She joined in the effort to save the King from a coup attempt by then-Master-of-Questions Shreve Tyde, and when he was overthrown, she joined the Inquisition and studied under her new friend and mentor Laric Grayson, to find new ways to defend the Compact, honor her duties and find the light amidst the dark. At the close of the siege of Silence, when Ainsley Grayson slew Tolamar Brand and raised his head in victory over the forces of Oblivion, Tikva rewarded him by finally accepting a marriage proposal she had refused many times, and became Tikva Grayson, Princess of Bastion. Her efforts for House Grayson and her training in diplomacy and statecraft led House Grayson to capitalize on her experience and her energy by making her a Voice, and she dedicated herself in service, in motherhood, in love and duty entirely to House Grayson.
  n love and duty entirely to House Grayson.)
• Ivar Halfshav  + (Ivar was an odd lad, prone to flights of f …
  Ivar was an odd lad, prone to flights of fancy and distractions, never fully embracing the identity of a young nobleman. Eventually, a twelve year old Ivar simply wandered off one day, leaving his family behind with only a dagger and the clothes on his back. Taken by stories of his people's past he sought to see if he could survive like they once did. He survived, lost and alone, and soon he came to enjoy it. His childish flight of fancy had lead him to where he thought to be his true place, hunting in the wild forests and sleeping in hidden caves. He grew strong, grew bold and eventually, lonely. He has since returned from his self imposed exile, finally feeling the call of home.
  d exile, finally feeling the call of home.)

• Ivarr Saltblood  + (Ivarr was born to a former thrall-turned-p …
  Ivarr was born to a former thrall-turned-pirate and a woman stolen during a raid, an inauspicious start to the young man's life. Most of Ivarr's memories of his mother are peaceful ones, though short-lived, as he was taken to ship as soon as he was old enough to stand and take some part of it. It's his father that was a driving force in Ivarr's life, a warrior and role model that shaped the way he looked at the world. Spending his formative years at sea, Ivarr learned the ways of sailing, of fighting, and of piracy as a lifestyle. Fate is inexorable, however, and Ivarr can still recall the day they were overtaken, his father's guts laid out and body tossed to sea, his own capture, and the death of most of the crew. He was pressed into service, this time as a Thraxian thrall, and his story nearly ended there. At the age of sixteen, however, they were overtaken by pirates and reavers and he distinguished himself with bloody skill - so much so that he was given his freedom, and a name. From that point onward he sailed in defense of the Thraxians, though often he found it easy enough to convince his crew mates to make a stop and raid a village, or take an unsuspecting merchant in their long ship. It was his bloodthirsty disregard of rules that led the crew to pick him as captain of the ship, and that built up his reputation as a true Thaxian, a man of blood and iron and salt. It was only when the tradition of keeping thralls was threatened that he decided he needed to become more active, and find someone to swear himself to. An ambitious man, he's come to Arx to look for an ambitious leader to follow, to make rich, to kill for, and to advance with.
  ke rich, to kill for, and to advance with.)
• Xia Platinum  + (Jadara has ben recalled to the Empire and …
  Jadara has ben recalled to the Empire and Emissary Zulana has much to do. The official story is that Xia has been sent to be an aid to the Emissary and help with some of the smaller tasks and duties. An attache to the unofficial ambassador. Others say they've heard that the Emperor just needed some more time for this Daughter to mature. Away. Away from the palace. If you know what I mean. All Daughters of the Empire are loved; some are just loved more with distance.
  d; some are just loved more with distance.)
• Jael Laurent  + (Jael has a serious case of sibling ribalry …
  Jael has a serious case of sibling ribalry and it's the kind of thing that is life defining. Her sister was best at everything and everything that her sister wasn't the best at, her brother was the best at. It led to a childhood of being unusually tempestuous, and parents -- and nannies, nurses et al -- who kept trying to find different ways to channel Jael's impatience and rage into something more constructive. Arts and crafts did not cut it. Jael was a wild child. She broke discipline and ran out into the woods and fields all the time when she was young. Unfortunately, even in the civilized center of House Laurent's territory at Artshall, running out into the woods is a really bad idea. The first time she ran away from home to live in the woods and become a baby bear -- this didn't work -- it was worth a knighthood to the beekeeper and woodsman who brought her home. The second time, she was a teenager in the high dudgeon of a tantrum, and it took her brother and a squad of armed men to bring her home. She was 17, and too young to fight as a soldier in any man's army, but not too young to be forced into an unofficial squiredom to the knight who had rescued her years before. Jael learned to control her temper. She learned to control her impulses. She learned not to run away from her problems, most of all, but to face them head on. So it was that she strode into the office of her brother, the Voice, and demanded -- at the age of 21 -- that she be given something -- anything -- constructive to do. So Jael began to train with the scouts. She began to study with the Seraph of Artshall. She began to grow and learn and blossom into a woman of stubborn will and derring-do. And when her brother became the Duke instead of the Voice, she had earned enough trust with him that he gave her wings to fly with, and made her his Voice as well as his heir. Let's see what she does with it.
  his heir. Let's see what she does with it.)
• Jaenelle Velenosa  + (Jaenelle led something of a charmed life. …
  Jaenelle led something of a charmed life. As the granddaughter of Prince Donrai Thrax, she was distant enough from the Prince of Maelstrom to be spared the more dangerous side of Thraxian politics but still close enough that she was given an excellent betrothal match to a handsome, well born noble. A Velenosan prince, even! They met and courted in Arx, sparing Jaenelle again from the more dangerous Lyceum and married in a beautiful ceremony that celebrated the renewed ties between two of the greatest houses in the world. Of course, not everything could be good luck. They weren't married long when a tragic accident took her new husband from her. While she's very sad, the Duchess Esera Velenosa assured Jaenelle that she's still a welcome and important part of her new family. So that helps. Yay!
  art of her new family. So that helps. Yay!)
• Jalal Whisper  + (Jalal was not always Jalal Whisper, instea …
  Jalal was not always Jalal Whisper, instead taking up the name when he joined the Whisper House. The name which he was born to is practically from another time, another life, another world. Something so very far removed from what Arx and the rest of the Compact holds that it might as well be nothing more than a dream. He is not the first to have arrived in Arx with a sad story of having fled his home, and probably will not be the last either. However it is the time before Arx that truly shaped who he is. He was born in Eurus of common blood, the son of a dancer, and he, like his father before him, became a dancer at a young age, when actually began to show promise as one. That was at a very young age, and since he has spent the majority of his life learning, perfecting his dancing, and continuing to new ways to incorporate dance in all of his pursuits. Eating, living, breathing dance in such an almost single-minded way. Though the reality is, that there were always other things waiting to take up his time, other pursuits that found themselves occupying his day to day living, that held just as much influence over him. However, nothing is perfect. There came a point where life in Petrioch became unsafe, more so than usual, with the city having come under siege by some outside force. At that point Jalal had made the decision to leave, and despite the dangers of the crossing, he took to the sea in an attempt at getting away from the Dune Kingdoms. He did, somehow, rather successfully, make the crossing, and has since taken up residence within Arx and joined the Whisper House where his past remains all but a mystery to anyone besides himself.
  l but a mystery to anyone besides himself.)
• James Chereau  + (James never knew his father, he split from …
  James never knew his father, he split from his mother shortly after he was born. His mother, Elizabeth grew up in the service of nobles, giving her an access that made her a target for someone like James' father, a con man. His father went by many names and a drifter but he was a character that was hard to forget. A very charming man who made a career of conning nobles and rich commoner until vanishing into the night. Taking his mother's family name, Chereau, James was raised by his mother and the two lived in a very small shack inside the lower boroughs. The silver his mother made was enough to keep them fed and repay a debt Elizabeth's family had accumulated with the local gang that held territory in their neighborhood. Too busy with working multiple jobs, James' mother was unable to watch after him and so the streets raised him. As he became older, he became more troublesome. Picking fights with beat iron guards and other children. He lost contact with his mother after being picked up by the iron guards the first time, spending a couple weeks with others kids in prison. When he got out, James was taken to the Tragedy and placed under their supervision. As a teenager in the lower borough, he developed skills that made him a person of interest to the local gangs, his lack of identity also made him a perfect recruit. He did work for the various gangs as a thug, a drifter like his father, but he was unable to settle down with any one of them in specific. It did not help that James became an avid dust user, building an addiction to the substance, and was always in and out of prison. At the start of the Shav campaign, debts were collected and one of those debts were the ones held by Chereau and Thrax. Bounty hunters tracked James to the lower borough, forced him to join their ranks and supplement the troops at the rivers as a sailor. He worked for them and at the end of the campaign, his family's debts were forgiven. With his release documents in hand, James made his way back to Arx. Paying back the debt with a conscription also allowed him to claim a small inheritance of six thousand silvers and property in the city.
  thousand silvers and property in the city.)
• Jan Kennex  + (Jan Kennex's first act in this life was pu …
  Jan Kennex's first act in this life was punching Victoria (who had just delivered her) square in the nose with a tiny fist. She came into the world fighting, and she's been fighting ever since. At first, Jan had to fight just to fight. Her mother was determined to make a lady out of her, and there was no way anyone would be willing to teach a girl to use a sword, anyway. Almost no one. Her younger cousin Ian was really weird and threw the occasional epic, screaming tantrum, but he was a prodigy with a blade, and he didn't care that she was a girl (she's not sure he even noticed). Jan practiced with him until he went to sea, and then she practiced alone. But these two lives, the life she wanted and the life dictated by her gender, came into conflict as she grew from girl to woman. Her sister Catalana covered for her as long as she could, but now there was talk of setting up a marriage. Jan had to make a choice, and few people could have made the choice that she did. She left everything behind -- title, privilege, name -- and ran away to the mainland to become a mercenary... all with the knowledge that she might never be able to come home again. It was a steep learning curve, but Jan's grit saw her through. She took to mercenary life, and her natural leadership skills and noble bearing marked her for command. When the commander of her company was killed in a skirmish, she was elected by the rest of the company to replace him. With every victory (and every fat payday), their loyalty grew. They trusted her, so when she got the news that the ban on Isleswomen in the military had been lifted and she proposed becoming oathsworn Kennex fighters, they agreed to follow her, even though most of them thought that the 'Lady Jan' thing had to be a joke. Jan returned triumphant with a battle hardened group of new recruits to the Kennex corsairs, every last one of them personally loyal to her. The corsairs were in a sorry state at that time -- ill disciplined and ill trained -- and Jan lobbied hard to be put in command so she could smarten everyone up to her high standards. There was a lot of shouting, and Ford had his vocabulary forcibly expanded, but Jan got her way. As captain of the corsairs, Jan saw the men and women under her command through the chaos after the thralls were freed, through the carnage of the pirate war at Setarco, through the assassination of Ford and Kennex's rise from the ashes. Only a few people of her original mercenary band are left, but those that have replaced them, while a bit scruffy and not always given to fair and honorable fighting, have become just as loyal. She knows there will be fighting to come, and she and her corsairs are ready.
  come, and she and her corsairs are ready.)
• Jaromir Redrain  + (Jaromir was born the youngest son of Torru …
  Jaromir was born the youngest son of Torrus Redrain, a noble Prince of House Redrain and one of the highest lords of the north. It was easy to see from a young age that where many of his family took to battle with the wild abandon that is practically bred into his family, Jaromir was calm and collected, though filled with a cold fire in his soul rather than the raging flames of other men. Jaromir was always a fine knight and a fair mind, but where he really excelled was the combination of the two, melding both. His childhood was spent in the councils and private chambers of the noblest of the north, absorbing their tactics and strategies. At the age of 17 he took up the position as a tactical advisor to his late uncle, the Lord Sherrod, and performed his duties ablely and with aplumb. For unknown reasons he resigned from the position at the age of 21 and tried a short stint as a horsebreeder holding a fair selection of fine warhorses. This didint last and not much more than a year later he had sold the last of his stock and traveled south with his elder Vallen in tow, joining the Valourous Few - a Mercenary Company of questionable reputation but incontestable results.
  able reputation but incontestable results.)
• Jasmine diFidante  + (Jasmine is what you get when you mix a Sar …
  Jasmine is what you get when you mix a Saraceni mother with a Fidante father to settle some dispute about whose ship sunk whose first. All this is to say, the marriage was not one born of love, but of duty, and one of the rockier examples of just how political marriages can be. There was a lot of drinking involved on both sides. All of this left Jasmine to play on her own, as she found it was best to not be under foot when either parent had gotten too far into their cups. She loved them both and did not need, nor want, to hear what one might say of the other. So she quickly learned to scuttle away with her favored toys and find the quiet places. And then she discovered the other children; the ones who hid from their tutors, or the ones who just wanted to see the sky and fresh air, to smell the city of roses. And Jasmine launched a new career at the age of eight: Ringleader. She would gather up the other children and arrange games, keeping them busy and out of sight. By the time Jasmine hit her majority her skills had only grown. She'd spent time learning, of course. She could dance if she had to. She could could and write. But really, if Jasmine had one talent by eighteen? It's that she knew how to get into, and out of, trouble. Very few were surprised, then, when the offer becoming a diFidante was made to the family that she would accept the chance to get a little further away from her mother and father. After all, Volkov woods looked like a lot of trouble, and would need a lot of getting in and out of.
  would need a lot of getting in and out of.)
• Jayanthi Hawkeye  + (Jayanthi was born to a nomadic family of A …
  Jayanthi was born to a nomadic family of Abandoned and for a while she travelled with them until they died when she was about eight years old, killed off because they believed to be out to destroy the Compact. Like all of her family Jayanthi was given a choice to bend the knee to those of the Compact, specifically the people of Farhaven. Even at eight Jayanthi knew she had little choice. IT was bend the knee or die for the actions of her family. At least that is how she viewed it. Which then began her life as a member of those sworn to the Redrain family. Much of it was spent with the temples learning of the pantheon. Though, she got away with focusing more on artwork, healing, and apothecary because she proved to have an aptitude for them. At seventeen she met the love of her life and married him a few months after she turned eighteen. She took his name of Hawkeye. When she turned twenty one she had a daughter with him, called Jayleen. When Jayanthi turned twenty four Jason disappeared, she never found out what happened. With Jayleen Jayanthi searched for her husband, though, so far with no luck. Her travels lead her to Arx. Perhaps in Arx she will discover what happened to him.
  rx she will discover what happened to him.)
• Jeffeth Bayweather  + (Jeffeth was orphaned in the Boroughs, prob …
  Jeffeth was orphaned in the Boroughs, probably in some kind of kerfuffle over the drug trade, although honestly who knows-- the priests and disciples and Knights of Solace who took over his rearing at the Tragedy never really seemed to know who his parents were, and no one who he asked could remember his mother. Presumably he had one, and didn't just appear in a basket at the orphanage one day, but these things can be hard for a little boy to find out. Because he was a big, strong boy in his early teens, the Cullers flirted with trying to snap him up as a runner, and there were times -- when he was cold, and hungry, and tired, say -- that he was tempted. But there was just something about the lines of work that were available to him that palled, and he slipped away from those friends, those connections, those chances, and plunged into the Faith with a will, a grown man with a little boy's unstinting gratitude for the opportunities he was offered. He began as a Disciple of Gild, thinking that that was enough, and worked in the orphanage that had raised him, spending patient hours with children who were often frightened, and angry, and brimming over with fear and frustration. One day, he decided that he wanted to be a true Knight of Solace, the way those who mentored him were; to see the world, to protect those who needed protecting, and to always come home from his sojourns to take care of the children back at home. He threw himself into it with a will, and became one of the mainstays of the Knights: his warmth and unstinting optimism are enough to make up for his simplicity for most.
  gh to make up for his simplicity for most.)
• Jei Sevoi  + (Jei was squired to Paere Laerne, an older …
  Jei was squired to Paere Laerne, an older Knight who had taught Jei for the last couple of years. Jei's family was killed at a young age and he lived for most of his life as an urchin. He made a living by stealing food and necessities for himself and also was apprenticed to a healer who owned an apocathery. She unfortunately died and Jei was forced to steal again. He came across Paere while attempting to steal the Knight's purse. After hearing the boy's tale, he was made into a squire by Paere and was set to be knighted, but Paere died. Jei professes it was illness and a reaction to his medicine, going on to say he had no reason to kill Paere when the man was committed to knighting him soon. But many within Paere's circle claim Jei poisoned the knight because the knight -refused- to knight Jei. Jei has since traveled to try to become a house guard or potentially squire under another Knight with the Deepwood house.
  er another Knight with the Deepwood house.)
• Jenna Whisper  + (Jenna was always the kinda to be a homebod …
  Jenna was always the kinda to be a homebody, her upbringing was one of learning to do homely and gentle things, having no siblings or the like she became more or less embroiled in the doings of others, often lending people an ear even at a young age. She may not be the best for conversation, but her voice is something of a small marvel and very beautiful. She enjoys singing for people and Entertaining others with her voice.
  le and Entertaining others with her voice.)
• Jeremiah none  + (Jeremiah knows the meaning of luck. He knows the meaning of food, and the meaning of many, many, many other words. Jeremiah does not necessarily know the -experience- of most of the words he knows, however.)
• Jericho Valardin  + (Jericho was born the middle child as one o …
  Jericho was born the middle child as one of multiple children, though his father had passed away by the time he was six years old. Thus, wanting to help protect his remaining immediate family, Jericho became extremely protective....later wanting to become a knight for Valardin, even though he was one of it's many Princes. It was then discovered Jericho's immediate skill with the bow and his ability to survive and hunt, quickly becoming a more than capable warrior. He was knighted in the Oathlands when he turned 19. Years passed, and he built a reputation for himself. The White Wolf of Valardin had returned to the Oathlands from his travels of keeping Valardin grounds safe for the Knighting of his cousin, Princess Alis. Once that had been finished, he accompanied her back to Arx as part of her personal guard envoy. Now he has decided to remain in Arx, willing to lend a helping hand to his family and city.
  end a helping hand to his family and city.)
• Jessa Deepwood  + (Jessa's maternal grandfather was a Deepwoo …
  Jessa's maternal grandfather was a Deepwood, a first cousin to the main Deepwood line who married into the minor Grayridge family. Jessa was one of no less than fifteen children in her generation of the Grayridge family, and with no responsibility -- and indeed, no hope of responsibility -- she focused herself on pursuing a dream of knighthood. Many a hapless log around the Grayridge lands felt the bite of her first sword when she was little more than a child; she grew to be a strong swordswoman. Jessa is the elder -- by far -- of the two sisters: she was seven when her sister Emily was born. And the two sisters could not seem more dissimilar: where Emily is lithe and agile, Jessa has the thicker, more curvy form of a woman built for strength rather than speed. Where her sister has a boundless curiosity about the world, Jessa has a desire to simply protect those around her, family and House most of all. Some have joked she always knows precisely how far from her her sword is. Indeed, she once dreamed of joining the King's Own -- but instead, she met Grady and discovered a new dream: a family of her own. And when her sister Emily decided to set out to rejoin their ancestral house -- the Deepwoods -- Jessa followed, along with Grady. Deepwood presented opportunities for advancement, for making her name in Arx, for her family... and as always, to try to keep her sister Emily out of trouble.
  y to keep her sister Emily out of trouble.)
• Jessamine Fawn  + (Jessamine is well aware that not all stori …
  Jessamine is well aware that not all stories with such sad beginnings end up progressing so positively, a fact that has only made her embrace the goodness of her life all the more. The true circumstances of her birth remain a mystery to her. All she knows is that her very loving parents found her abandoned and, unable to have children of their own, took her into their home and hearts. She was never the brightest or wittiest among her peers, but she tried valiantly to make up for it with her willingness to share and play peacemaker. Far from a wilting flower, she has no issue speaking up when needed or doing she sees as right or necessary, she will just happily defer authority to a more competent individual in the right situation. Those skills have served her well in adulthood: a helper, not a leader, she is more than content with her role as aide to those who need her services, from the injured to down-on-their-luck. To the frustration of many, she is an eternal optimist, stubbornly refusing to accept defeat in almost anything she deals with. Even the painful loss of her father, who abruptly disappeared a short time ago, has resulted in her carrying herself with her chin held higher in determination as she tries to unravel the cause. Now that her father has vanished and her mother is too elderly to run the family business, Jessamine has taken over care of the Traders Tavern at night while spending her days balancing apothecary orders and offering her healing services as needed. It keeps her busy, but there is little she hates more than idle hands, save for maybe the abuse of adorable creatures.
  for maybe the abuse of adorable creatures.)
• Jeta Crown  + (Jeta's family was a large one. There were …
  Jeta's family was a large one. There were her parents and uncles and aunts and cousins and her many, many brothers and sisters. As a tribe of Ravashari, it only made sense for them stick together as they travelled the roads from holding to holding. There, they traded and entertained. Jeta's mother was a healer and her herbs and poultices were always in demand, as was the goods they brought from other holdings. Jeta loved this life when she was younger. She loved being free and feeling free. She loved seeing all the world had to offer and the wide variety of rare luxuries they would buy and sell. Though neither of her parents put any emphasis on education, Jeta especially loved when they had a book with them. Just opening a book up and seeing the lines on a page felt magical. As they travelled, she browbeat a series of village children until she could work out the words on the page for herself. Truth is, they likely played into every negative stereotype one has of their type. For every legitimate trade, they also had black-market goods and goods that were scavenged from wreckages of caravans that had been attacked on the road. Plus, sometimes on the way out from a village or holding, if they felt cheated, they might help themselves to wares that hadn't been properly secured. It was a dangerous life, even before things got truly dangerous. After Brand, Jeta was sure her father's and uncles would join those giving fealty to the crown. It would give them more legitimacy in their trade after all. It rankled her when nothing changed. It was like a curtain had been pulled aside. Instead of seeing only the magic of their life, now all she saw was the less savory bits. Her father, once adored, now seemed stubborn and foolish and cruel. Each day that passed she became more and more disillusioned with the life, until one morning, she woke earlier than the others, took a horse, and set out on her own to find her own fortune in Arx.
  on her own to find her own fortune in Arx.)
• Jev Serving the Bislands  + (Jev grew up in Pridehall. His childhood an …
  Jev grew up in Pridehall. His childhood and teen years are of very little note. He grew up to two commoner parents - one an artisan and the other a teacher. He was well studied and well read at a very young age. He took leave from his family to Arx of his own volition. There was no real rhyme or reason to it. He just wanted to see what it was like. He could not have been happier living on the streets in the boroughs and rubbing elbows with folks from all walks of life. He studied with the scholars for a time - got kicked out of that. He worked a pub for a week, got fired from that. Tried his hands on the docks - stopped showing up. He's tried his hand as an artisan, tailor, crafter, barber's assistant.... Fired, fired, fired. Somehow - who knows how? He probably couldn't even tell you how! He was 'discovered' by House Bisland and put to work to tend to the library and do other sorts of odd jobs around the estate in Arx. He soon found himself asked all sorts of mundane questions about things like 'politics' and 'diplomacy' and asked to look at ledgers... It's all very confusing.
  ook at ledgers... It's all very confusing.)
• Joan Greenmarch  + (Joan's early life is filled with little of …
  Joan's early life is filled with little of note, other than being raised among the Abandoned of the Greenwood. She was an aggressive child, always the sort that just couldn't play nice. Much ado was made about her people's kneeling to Valardin, but the event meant little to the young Joan. Although she was regaled with tails of her people's heroic resistance, she was never the type to hold her people's history in great reverence. When the people of Greenhaven were deprived of their shav ways, Joan's parents were among the first to embrace the Compact. They sought to use their daughter as a stepping stone to a greater life, and Joan was presented to many traveling nobles and knights as a potential squire. She was eventually taken on as a squire to a knight of the Telmarch, known as Sir Amis. After seasons of rigorous training and servitude under Sir Amis, Joan rose as a knight of Greenhaven upon her coming of age. She returned to the Greenwood a changed woman, inducted into the pomp and ceremony of the foreign Oathlands. Though she swore an oath to the lords of her people, she felt as if she didn't belong among her fellow prodigals.
  didn't belong among her fellow prodigals.)
• Jordan Ober  + (Jordan grew up a peasant boy, his father a …
  Jordan grew up a peasant boy, his father a blacksmith and his mother a seamstress. Both were perfectly happy with their lot in life and the family lived quietly and uneventfully in their village, which is just how they liked it. Until a band of marauding Shavs decided to raid; at the time, Jordan and his sweetheart were in the barn, exchanging private caresses with each other. They both hid out well until a group of Abandoned broke through the door of the barn, trying to look for stragglers. Outside, blood and carnage took place as the raiders plundered and killed anyone in their path. Armed with only a pitchfork, Jordan did what most teenage boys trying to impress their girlfriends do: he charged blindly into the fray. Except what happened next should not have quite happened -- in a stroke of absolute luck, as no one could call it otherwise, all four of the Shavs somehow found themselves killed by that charge as a haystack fell upon the first and he hit a wooden fixture on the floor, while the other three struck each other fatally in the confusion, letting Jordan walk out of a bad situation with his sweetheart in tow. They parted ways afterwards: she thought he was up to something sinister like dark magic and decided to run for the hills instead of sticking around with him. But all is well that ends well: in short order, his life would take a sudden and unusual upturn: having taken up the sword of one of the Shavs, he would go on to be challenged by a wayfaring knight who confused him for anything BUT a peasant boy, despite his insistence -- and to this knight's great upset, he had to surrender his weapon and armor when Jordan won by forcing him to stumble back into a rock and drew first blood. Before forfeiting those, however, he knighted Jordan on the spot, who would go on to pledge his sword to a Crownlands baron in desperate need of able-bodied fighters for the Silent War. Unfortunately for this Baron, his people were ambushed by the enemy and cut down to a man. That man being, unsurprisingly, Sir Jordan. A treetrunk fell over the campfire and started a minor fiery incident and he took the opportunity to flee, stabbing a foe in the process and running for dear life. Jordan is now a hedge knight of some experience; having no-one to pledge his sword to, he travels from one place to another, seeking to do good deeds and hoping his luck doesn't run out. So far, it hasn't.
  s luck doesn't run out. So far, it hasn't.)
• Jorn Honor  + (Jorn was the apprentice of a legendary blacksmith. After his master's untimely passing, he decided to embark on his own journey. He seeks to hone his craft and find rare elements to forge a weapon worthy of his master's teachings.)
• Jorunna Nightgold  + (Jorunna was born in the mountains. The sum …
  Jorunna was born in the mountains. The summers were busy, the winters - harsh, but before she could even fully walk and forge a straight path on two legs she was riding the Fjord Wild Horses. Funny, how she remembers them more than she does her father's face, but his smile surrounded by bristly beard and the bellow of laughter is still as sharp as the feel of the beast beneath her that threw her for the first time and awakened her into her first fight for survival that left her scarred and her father dead. But she woke weeks later to the news that hardened her heart and froze her very soul. Not much is known about Jorunna and her mother in those years due to the distance between thm and the civilization within the mountains save speculation. For a few years she came down, selling horses captured, tamed, and trained into hauling the heavy loads from the mines. Then her mother's presence all but disappeared, and few times she arrived with a sturdy man at her side upon horseback, his silence doing no favors for the rumors to spread. Only one year later did Jorunna come alone again, and has ever since, plying her trade and disappearing back into the mountains - only seen rarely at the taverns between 'civilization' and her secluded home. Sometimes, though, the inner bass of drums is not just a heartbeat, but a calling; through the last year more and more has been seen of the woman, despite her words being less-than-telling.
  despite her words being less-than-telling.)
• Josephine Arcuri  + (Josephine{_Arcuri{_grew{_up{_in{_Lenosia,{ …
  Josephine{_Arcuri{_grew{_up{_in{_Lenosia,{_commoners{_within{_the{_Lyceum.{_Scattered{_across{_the{_city,{_they've{_been{_a{_near{_constant{_sight{_with{_their{_skill{_of{_manipulating{_metals{_to{_make{_pieces{_of{_jewelry{_or{_any{_other{_items{_that{_one{_might{_find{_they{_need{_delicate{_metalwork{_that{_a{_full{_smith{_couldn't{_do.{_This{_was{_how{_Josephine{_grew{_up{_all{_those{_year{_ago.{_Small{_fingers{_are{_good{_for{_gathering{_those{_bits{_of{_metal{_and{_working{_polishing{_cloths{_in{_small{_tight{_spaces.{_{/{/She{_was{_one{_of{_five,{_squarely{_in{_the{_middle.{_Fully{_set{_to{_carry{_on{_the{_family{_trade{_even{_when{_a{_few{_of{_her{_siblings{_did{_not.{_As{_she{_grew,{_the{_woman{_learned{_how{_to{_choose{_the{_best{_metal{_for{_which{_piece.{_Why{_some{_were{_not{_fit{_for{_small{_pieces{_and{_other{_metals{_were.{_She{_had{_a{_keen{_eye{_for{_gems{_and{_soon{_made{_a{_name{_for{_herself{_as{_a{_solid{_lapidary{_for{_the{_family{_that{_would{_not{_cheat{_a{_customer.{/{/One{_day{_she{_caught{_the{_eye{_of{_a{_soldier{_and{_soon{_enough{_they{_married.{_Children{_followed{_a{_plenty,{_no{_less{_than{_seven{_of{_them{_though{_the{_years{_and{_not{_a{_single{_set{_were{_twins.{_As{_with{_her{_family,{_half{_of{_her{_children{_went{_on{_to{_become{_sailors,{_soldiers{_and{_two{_of{_them{_joining{_her{_in{_the{_family{_trade{_of{_being{_jewelers.{_Through{_war{_she's{_lost{_a{_husband,{_lost{_one{_son{_to{_the{_sea{_and{_another{_more{_recently{_to{_the{_war{_in{_Setarco.{_The{_living{_children{_are{_all{_in{_Arx{_and{_Josephine{_has{_decided{_to{_pick{_up{_roots{_from{_Lenosia{_and{_move{_to{_the{_city{_and{_take{_her{_shop{_with{_her.{_To{_be{_closer{_to{_her{_children,{_have{_the{_protection{_of{_the{_city.{_She's{_too{_old{_to{_keep{_taking{_boats{_to{_see{_them{_and{_she{_has{_grandchildren{_on{_the{_way.{_
  {_she{_has{_grandchildren{_on{_the{_way.{_)
• Julea Sanguine  + (Julea's mother is a reknown and wanted pir …
  Julea's mother is a reknown and wanted pirate known as the 'Red Claw', and her father a retired Redrain soldier. Their match was unlikely and short lived and resulted in the birth of Julea. When she reached the age of 8, she was sent to live with her father, who, after having retired from his job as a sellsword, instead built a life for him and his daughter, creating swords and weaponry of considerable skill. He taught Julea his trade, and when she was old enough, she took it upon herself to come to Arx, and make a name for herself.
  come to Arx, and make a name for herself.)