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

• Lilith's early childhood was spent navigat …
  Lilith's early childhood was spent navigating Maelstrom, watching the thralls work and rebelliously hiding from her teachers and nannies. Soon after the Tyde Rebellion started, she was eleven years old and sent far away to Sanctum to ward with House Valardin. She was a special child, intelligent and curious but not one for rules. When her Oathland tutors and foster parents relaxed their reins on the girl she began to flourish and make friends. Around the White City it wasn't uncommon to hear her name yelled after her as she dashed away from her guards.{/{/News of the war was mostly kept from the girl and when she was sent back to Maelstrom at the end of the Tyde Rebellion she was 14 years old. She watched as her grandfather, Donrai Thrax, executed the rebels, including both of her parents, her aunt and her uncle. As an observant child, she learned an important lesson that day on the serious nature of the world around her. Her innocence and naivete died as she realized that loyalty and obedience were matters of life and death sometimes.{/{/As someone with the natural aptitude for capturing the attention of others she learned the urbane ways of a courtier, learning to advise her kin. She supported many a Thrax prince in their goals, fiercely attacking the hurdles to realizing them. Her ties to House Valardin also allowed her ample opportunity to travel to Sanctum and Arx on diplomatic missions. On one such mission she nearly witnessed the Tragedy at Sanctum when the high lord and his heirs were murdered by shavs. Shaken by this she returned to Maelstrom, the joy in her life diminished once more by death.{/{/Shortly after this and while on a diplomatic mission to Astarrea, she met Marquis Raviv Melaeris. House Melaeris having a rocky relationship with House Thrax, had only narrowly avoided destruction during the Tyde Rebellion. After several diplomatic missions to the island, Lilith and Raviv married and she became his marquessa consort, beginning to heal the strained relationship the march has with their liege's liege.{/{/Raviv's sister, Verasha, upon returning finally from her long voyage met Lilith, her new sister-in-law. They became close friends which was fortunate since the marquis later tragically died during the Pirate War. With her husband dead and her having not produced for him heirs, Lilith became a widow lady-in-waiting for the newly envassaled Marquessa Vera, opting not to return to House Thrax. After some time of mourning she travelled from Astarrea to Arx to see to attending to her new liege.
  Arx to see to attending to her new liege.  +
• Lilyth does not talk much about her past. …
  Lilyth does not talk much about her past. But, what has become known is that she used to live in Setarco. She used to do business there, trading goods between Setarco, Arx, and other destination. Her business did not become very popular, but it sustained her needs. However, a series of very unfortunate events unfolded which left her without business. Many of her fellow business partners were run out of the city as a new group of merchants took over. Such is the way of business. So, now she has found her way back to Arx to begin anew. Her beginnings with the Ulbrans are not well known. Some say she is blood, but is just distant family. Some say she was adopted. Lilyth will just reply, "Does it matter?" Family does not work the same in the Boroughs as it does with the Silks. In spite of this, she aims to work hard to rebuild and gain new business.
  ork hard to rebuild and gain new business.  +
• Lin Farmer was born in a smaller-than-smal …
  Lin Farmer was born in a smaller-than-small village in the middle of nowhere in the Telmarch called Rivlet. So named because it was close to a river and that's what one can expect out a village where the thatcher is named Thatcher, the tailor is named Tailor and, of course, the farmer is named Farmer. Her mother Lin was a hardy woman and her father Hamish was a hardy man and neither of them were interested in life beyond the till and the harvest. Neither were bad people and the life wasn't terrible, but neither cared much about the world beyond Rivlet and while they might enjoy a night of drinking and music at the local inn (run by Robett Innman) but once they were back home the stories the passing bard or troubador may have shared didn't stick with them. Tales of the great heroes, of Dame Sugan and Prince Cerdic, Queen Alarice and Sir Lionel, may have made for an evening's distraction, but for her parents the doings of heroes were things that happened long ago and far away and the fall planting was something that needed to be done now. They appreciated that their daughter had a head for adventure and stories, but there was a job that couldn't be shirked. Still, when she could get away she would do so, running through the woods and pretending she was a knight, swinging a stick and playing at war and heroism. She had friends in the other village children, though as they all aged Dacey Smith was called by her father to the forge and Llew Hunter was called by his mother to the bow. Eventually it was just her, resisting the call to the field. When she was sixteen years old her mother was killed during a shav raid. Her father grieved, but grief can only get one so far when the village will expect your grains to get them through the winter and you will need their beer and meat in return to get you through winter, so after a day Hamish was back to work. The event was enough to set Lin on the path she would follow for the rest of her life. Perhaps she could have fought off the shavs if she were more than she is? Perhaps they all would have been safe had they left this backwater town for a place with tall walls and burly guards? No matter the case, Lin had had enough of being a farmer and one night, without so much as a goodbye to her father, she left Rivlet and ran. Running took her to the river, which took her to Riva, a bigger city than anything she'd ever seen in her life, and from there to Sanctum. If Riva was a shock, Sanctum redefined her concept of the world. In Sanctum she joined the city guard for a time, learning to fight from the best they had to offer and in turn helping to keep the order. Still, as much as life in the city had amazed her, she yearned for more. She rode with the Knights of Solace for a time as an assistant and prospective disciple, but ended up leaving them to join a band of mercenary adventurers out of Arx. With them she saw Arvum, fighting shavs in the North and pirates in the South, protecting villages in the Isles and never quite making it back home. It was somewhere in this period that she let the name Lin Farmer die in favor of something that more suited a dashing adventurer and became Ashlinn Speare, embracing her favored weapon (though she still used a sword when she HAD to) and giving her birth name a little more heroic flair. Ashlinn was in Arx when the Bringers marched on the city. Her company was one of those that joined the Iron Guard and, now a lieutenant in the company, led sorties against the shavs, but there was no stopping them. During the siege she was among those trying to hold the wall in the Thrax ward, trying to live up to her heroic ideals and putting herself between the enemy and fleeing citizens. During a particularly rough engagement, her people having fallen, she found herself fighting side by side with a half-dozen Silver Swords. When that battle was done she'd earned the notice of one of the knights who found herself impressed enough by the Oathlander's skill, determination and dedication to honor, heroics and common damn sense that she decided to keep an eye on the girl. When the siege was broken and Brand killed the knight of the Hundred, or rather the Lord Commander of the King's Own, offered her knighthood and a place in the Silver Swords. This was her dream realized and Ashlinn did not hesitate to accept. It has been going on a decade since and Dame Ashlinn has time and again acquitted herself with valor, her service to the Crown seeing her fighting in Setarco against the Pirate King as the city was evacuated and standing with her fellows against yet another shav army (and other things) when the Gray Forest was threatened by the chieftain called the Horned God. Her greatest honor, and greatest pride, in life comes from her service to the King and his silver swords. That her father recently showed up in the city and is suddenly not only a godsworn but an archlector is a strange wrinkle, sure, but duty comes first.
  range wrinkle, sure, but duty comes first.  +
• Linus was born of House Lyonesse in a dist …
  Linus was born of House Lyonesse in a distant branch to the ruling family. While his cousins studied and trained to wield weaponry, he preferred a different path and found himself to be rather adept at it. Having studied war, agriculture and a myriad of other topics, Linus found himself falling in love with the world of history and ancient places. Parsing out legend from fact, finding the nuggets in each to discover places long forgotten quickly turned an interest into passion and a passion into an obsession. Recently married into House Ashford as a political union, the adjustment has been a simple one, aside from a physical move to the capital. Still concerned with his books, the lure of Arx's history is tugging at the corners of his mind.
  ory is tugging at the corners of his mind.  +
• Lise doesn't remember a time when she was …
  Lise doesn't remember a time when she was completely safe. Her village was lost to thralldom when she was a young child, her parents sending her off with a traveling shaman in hopes she would escape the same fate. She grew up bouncing from village to village, constantly dodging the dangers of the road, the constant conflict with the Pantheon, the threat of thralldom. As a traveling healer and priest, Lise became familiar with the many ways death visits Arx. Every turn toward safety has quickly dissolved from Lise's fingers. She's never been settled in a place for more than a few months, and each time it has ended in tragedy of one sort of another. She's used to things turning bad, quickly and irrevocably. But Lise is a talented priestess, well versed in the names of the spirits. She's a healer and apothecary of great skill.
  's a healer and apothecary of great skill.  +
• Lisebet Farshaw, youngest sister of Ryhalt …
  Lisebet Farshaw, youngest sister of Ryhalt Farshaw, Duke of Westrock Reach, was never taken very seriously, as her position in the family was never very serious. Much too far down the line to ever be a serious contender for heir to the Duchy, Lisebet's education was never taken very seriously; specifically in things like statecraft or politics or military strategies. Instead her tutors concentrated on her social niceties; her etiquette and manners; her ability to carry on a captivating conversation; her performance talents such a singing and dancing; her knowledge of the courts and the players there. Everything a young lady might need to know in order to survive as a highly successful courtier in Arvum. When she was 16 she was sent off to serve an apprenticeship at court and learned invaluable lessons. Now at 18 she's ready to embark on her next adventures.
  's ready to embark on her next adventures.  +
• Little is known about Aldwulf's younger da …
  Little is known about Aldwulf's younger days. He makes claims to being from nobody farmer parents whom he barely remembers, found deep within a minor barony owing allegiance to Ashford. When he was old enough to make his own decisions, he left because the farming life just wasn't for him. His first stop was the watch stations that dot the Ashford lands. Two years of that was more than enough for the man who developed wanderlust at a young age. After that, it was time to travel. A young man with very little money set out. Apparently, he picked up some classical education at some point (perhaps a mentor while he served in the watch, perhaps through an individual after his military career), because odd jobs like cartography and archeology lept out at him and he was able to do more than other typical poor hires. These were the type of things he would seek, serving as a helper or a short-lived apprentice before moving on to the next thing. It was during this time that he developed his explorer skills, whether it was unmapped lands or runes of cultures just after the Reckoning, Aldwulf was drawn to them. It's known that he wants to become famous, to discover things that others haven't and write about them. Arx has called to him as a place that perhaps he can make this happen. Other than that, it's also known that Aldwulf tends to live outside of his means. He is a regular at the inns, wearing clothing of quality that is higher than a commoner's wear, but older, perhaps even a little threadbare. He is a gambler and loves to learn new games. His time as an explorer has turned him into a bit of a risk-taker, whether with dice or deep in the woods.
  r, whether with dice or deep in the woods.  +
• Little is known about Shadow's history or …
  Little is known about Shadow's history or the path that brought him to civilization. The man having come down from the mountains far in the north only within the last year or so to bend knee to House Redrain. Now out of the north and the mountains and finding himself in the city the man now seeks out a path in this new world he finds himself in with its wonders and dangers.
  s himself in with its wonders and dangers.  +
• Little is known about Uther, other than th …
  Little is known about Uther, other than that he recently walked down from the mountains towards Farhaven where he swore fealty to house Redrain. Shortly after he was sent to Arx because of an incident with a superior officer, involving questioned honor and a broken jaw.
  volving questioned honor and a broken jaw.  +
• Little is known about the true origins of …
  Little is known about the true origins of Dio, who claims, or at least fails to deny, that his father was Count Paolo Seraceni. His name is first associated with an enrollment in the School of Steel and Silk in Setarco, where he studied under Captain Guelio Busemi in the arts of naval warfare. According to official school documents, he killed another student in a tavern brawl, and was expelled from school. He was given the choice to serve in the Setarco navy or to rot in prison. After surviving the devastating battle against the forces of the Gyre, Dio was under consideration to become an officer of the Pravus navy, but was captured by a group of Lycene pirates off the coat of Ostria. After apparently managing to murder the captain and dive overboard, he survived four months on a small island near Esterhold, before being rescued by Seraceni sailors and brought to Morisco, where Prisila greeted him as a brother, and granted him command of a ship to sail under the Seraceni banner. After meeting a woman formerly of House Blanchard while on shore in Ischia, it is said that Dio offered a mountain of silver to Count Philippe, with the promise of much more to come for the hand of Lady Imogen. The offer was accepted, and it was only shortly after that news of Prisila's passing reached Ischia, setting into motion a series of events that culminated in the newly married couple being named Marquis and Marquessa.
  couple being named Marquis and Marquessa.  +
• Little is known about the woman called Dru …
  Little is known about the woman called Drusila, but there is a version of her story that those near the Pravus family of Setarco have come to know. Born in Luciva, Setarco's most famous pirate city, she served the local seafaring lords as a seneschal. Prized for her penchant for numbers, the young woman would not only be spared by the Pravosi forces when Luciva was finally conquered, but was approached by the Duchess Pravus herself, offered a spot in court as the personal assistant of the ruler of the Silken City. Ever since, she has been a fixture of both Luciva and Setarco, never leaving the Duchess' side. Drusila has been at the heart of the many changes recently going through the Sins and their lands, and many attribute to her some contribution for the immense wealth accrued by the House in recent years. The woman's own aims and ambitions, however, remain a mystery to most.
  itions, however, remain a mystery to most.  +
• Little is known about this man's origins. …
  Little is known about this man's origins. When did he arrive in Arx? How did he come to have pink hair? How can one man look so good in so many colors? He's much more interested in talking about the lives of others than his own, but pieces and scraps from rumors and whispers suggest he's the hero of some small village somewhere in Arvum for reasons uncertain. What is certain is that he holds a special love for the freedom of choice, liberation, and Skald.
  freedom of choice, liberation, and Skald.  +
• Little is known of Arian's origins. As far …
  Little is known of Arian's origins. As far as anyone knows, the formidable young man has forsaken the path of his family and refused a life of serfdom. Although of common blood, swirling dreams, radiant energy and aristocratic ambition emanant with his every move. Abandoning menial work in the Crownlands, Arian came to Arx to seek his fortune and roll the dice of life. While familiar with a plough and scythe, his apparent skill with a blade interests some and makes others wary.
  lade interests some and makes others wary.  +
• Little is known of Dame Kyda Barron's orig …
  Little is known of Dame Kyda Barron's origins. When she showed up in Arx clad in the ancient Templar armor, there were none to vouch for her, none to say they know of her family, none who can speak of her history. She speaks of battles long since relegated to history as if she were there.
  relegated to history as if she were there.  +
• Little is known of Elise's past, likely due to the fact that she never speaks about it.  +
• Little is known of Varkka's distant past, …
  Little is known of Varkka's distant past, but rumors abound in the shadier parts of town. Some believe she was a prisoner of war who was captured and tortured on foreign shores, while others purport she was mistaken for a dangerous criminal and punished by the crown for her wrongdoing, only for the real culprit to be caught just before her execution (but right after the torture). Still others believe she is an exile from foreign shores, her body broken by her own fellows before being cast out from her own lands. In truth, all that is known about the enigmatic sellsword is that she's ruthless, she's unpredictable, and she's willing to take on any job if the price is right.
  to take on any job if the price is right.  +
• Little is publicly known about the woman c …
  Little is publicly known about the woman called Qadira Thorne, and given her station this bothers very few. Her subtly-exotic coloration paints her as descending from somewhere in Eurus - or the Dune Kingdoms - and this she'll freely admit to any who ask. Likewise, that she has been married and thus assumed an oddly-paired brace of names. She has only been in Arx a short time, already holding several short stints in taverns around the city, where she has exhibited clear skill in cooking, cleaning, and even controlling the rowdier atmospheres - but conversely, a sharp tongue and a headstrong attitude have done nothing to maintain her reputation and keep a job. She is a troublesome creature, though it must be said that she makes excellent sweetbuns, and is a thoroughly competent listener should the proper respect be given. A few have noticed the knotting of old scars upon her shoulders and neck, and also how swiftly Qadira covers them from view. More intriguing still, when between jobs she has been glimpsed flitting almost ghostlike through some of the poorer areas, apparently also purchasing items from apothecaries and paying visits to homes afflicted by sickness. It's uncertain where she has obtained the funding for such things, or how long her coin could possibly last given the short-lived nature of her employment. Other rumors suggest she has been seen around the docks, and outside the walls of the city, conducting meetings with seedy-seeming individuals. The general opinion is that she can't be trusted; even as a not-so-humble barmaid, she has been known to 'appear' at a table and shock men into choking on their drinks. Despite her shady dealings, or perhaps because of them, Qadira is known to keep to herself, and has few friends - if any. Certainly in her first few months in the city, her companionship has been irregular and unpredictable. She spends more time with strays in alleyways than she does other people. Whatever darkness lies in her past can be of little consequence, truly; she's certainly lowborn, likely a bastard, and far from wealthy. Just a little better-endowed than a perpetually-unemployed tavern-tender should be.
  tually-unemployed tavern-tender should be.  +
• Little known in the Compact, the remote re …
  Little known in the Compact, the remote region of the Caldera in the southwest of the Saffron Chain is a war-torn country where entire generations have come and gone without ever knowing peace in their constant wars with other Abandoned. Although conflict intensity has fluctuated over the centuries with scarce recognition by the Compact, most regional Abandoned historians tier their rise to the dominance of House Vaevici, the rulers of the city-state of Sangris, a remote city that Lycene experts on the Saffron Chain thought to be myth. Firm adherents to their Code, an indexed series of principles and stratagems that rule their lives, the so-called Warmongers are more than simple warriors: to them the battlefield is a temple and victory is the only prayer. True victory in life can only be achieved in battle against one's fellow mortals, and for almost a thousand years this attitude kept them feared in the Caldera, but now their power has waned, and their ancient enemies prepare to destroy them, unless a young and unlikely ruler can stop it. Calla Vaevici is the third child of Novos Vaevici, behind Argos and Valla Vaevici, which precluded her from inheriting anything of any significance. The girl never complained about such an arrangement, however, eager for a life without as many responsibilities as her siblings. Instead of being stuck with tutors at all time, Calla was often out and about in Sangris, meeting her extended family, commoners and foreigners with avid fascination. At home she showed amazing potential for the little she studied, but Calla was set on enjoying a carefree life, much to her father's chagrin. Calla's nature would make her a savvy diplomat over the years, opening up peaceful solutions to conflict with other Abandoned that her father promptly shut down. Although those decisions would provoke constant arguments between the two, it was Calla, not either of her siblings, who would be called to accompany Novos when he was granted an audience with the last living augurs during the great festival of Carnala. To be in the same room as an augur was the journey of a lifetime, and so she accepted the proposal, embarking on a trip that would end in the death of Novos, his heart giving up on the ride back. The subject matter of their meeting would be Calla's secret to keep. Not long after Argos took the reins of the Vaevici he would start a war with the neighboring city-state of Serrano. Always hateful towards their neighbors, Argos was also predictable, and he would not survive four months before his brashness got him ambushed and murdered. Valla would fare better, but not by much: her demise would take place in the battlefield, leading the Vaevici forces against the Serrano in the war she did not start, but was in no position to end. She took the day, and vengeance on House Serrano's oldest son, but perished nonetheless. After her death, the Caldera was engulfed in war. Under these circumstances Calla Vaevici became Magistrix, a position she never wanted, her House crippled in debt and disarray. In Sangris, only Calla's noble allies kept the mobs from rioting against the most recent war, and outside their crimson walls enemies howled, ready to excise the Warmongers from the Caldera forever. The only way out, for Calla, was to take a path her predecessors would have not: kneeling to the Great House of Pravus, the stunning new arrivals to the Saffron and the first sign of the Compact many of her people had ever known, and kneel to their might that of the warriors who had just bested the Eurusi of Skal'daja. Her political situation is still frail, many of the nobles of Sangris despise Calla while her enemies now pause and strategize on how to deal with Sangris' new allies and take their victory, but she has changed the landscape and silence the cries for blood. Whatever she does now, the Chain will be watching with baited breath, witnessing what might be the last days of the Vaevici.
  hat might be the last days of the Vaevici.  +
• Little sister to twin brothers Rorik and M …
  Little sister to twin brothers Rorik and Mikael Kennex, Meara grew up as the pampered brat who got whatever she wanted. And what she wanted was to be just like her brothers. As soon as she could walk she followed them everywhere and imitated whatever they did, only she never got in the sort of trouble that they did. She was the baby! How could she be held responsible?! Meara even managed to wheedle (and strongarm) her way into being the captain of her own ship...okay, boat...pretty small boat, and proved herself a fairly competent sailor and leader. When her brothers decided to head to Arx, of course she demanded to go with them. Unfortunately, she had to leave her beloved ship behind. Whirlpool in the harbor, you see.
  behind. Whirlpool in the harbor, you see.  +
• Living a rather quiet life with her brothe …
  Living a rather quiet life with her brother and family, working to pay their taxes every year, they lived off in forest province where Gwendolyn became intimate with the plant life native to their home. From an early age she learned the proper berries to consume, and which were poisonous, with every year her knowledge grew over every plant, vegetable, root and leaf that she stumbled across, eventually making her own little book with the paper her family could afford. As the years went on she blossomed into a woman, though never quite grew very tall, making her reserved and shy about her lower than average height and using her hair to create a veil over her eyes to keep herself out of sight and mind. At some point, a large flash forest fire hit while she was out gathering, instantaneous and unable to react in time she thought she lost everyone she knew. Though whether by cruel fate, or blessing by the Gods, her brother Gavin survived and she holds onto him, scared of losing all her family. Carrying herself the best she can with her intimate knowledge of the flora of the lands, she travels mainland with her brother for a second chance at life.
  h her brother for a second chance at life.  +
• Living in Arx her entire life, Aurora coul …
  Living in Arx her entire life, Aurora could not imagine life anywhere else but in the busy, bustling city where cultures mix with one another and there is excitement to be found in every corner. The Thornburn family has always flourished within the capital city, the large family taking pride in their ability to serve the crown in various ways. Forging her own way, without using a forge at all like her father and sister Eithne, Aurora has always had a natural talent when it came to creating beautiful works of art with fabric. To her, art is the only way to describe the things she creates, and soon everyone will be seen in her masterpieces.
  everyone will be seen in her masterpieces.  +
• Llyr was born to a cadet line of the duchy …
  Llyr was born to a cadet line of the duchy of Nightgold, and pushed back in the succession with the birth of every subsequent child. In that security he took the greatest satisfaction, assured of the love of his parents and no need to push for their acceptance. A good thing, considering that he walked with his eye to the horizon or peering up among the stars. He could often be found in better weather staring at the sky, drawing patterns over the constellations. He wasn't difficult as far as children went, but he tramped farther and wider, pursuing some kind of stories. His cousins could count on Llyr to ask what lay over the next hill or through that forest. Finding the answer satisfied him, acting as a stepping stone to the next. His love for the wilds was never in doubt, but traveling by sea to Arx as a child utterly enthralled him. The moment he saw the ocean, felt the boundless expanse of the sky, he knew peace like he never had before. Any chance of Llyr spending his life at landlocked Stonedeep was lost that day. The entire trip to Arx he spent grilling sailors and captains of ships. A sheer fascination for cartography blended with astronomy made him hopelessly enamoured, and finally it was agreed that he might be permitted to master those arts. He studied with some of the best trackers and mapmakers in the Northlands, and after that, took to the sea. His adventures were footnotes to the act of discovery, the intoxication of every new isle and every fine bay. Soon enough he stopped being just an apprentice underfoot learning about charts and an expert in the field, the years flowing fast through his hands, and a welcome addition. His reputation was made by the time he was 20, and the past near decade he has spent in the finest crews weaving their routes through the Compact's seas and beyond. More than once he's brought home boats through peril, storm-tossed but alive, and they say he's favoured by Mangata. It help he never stints Mangata her due, giving prayers and offerings. For the last many months he's been on a crew that came to Arx after Arthen Dayne, hunting their fortunes.
  fter Arthen Dayne, hunting their fortunes.  +
• Loelai, by the account of most, was an eas …
  Loelai, by the account of most, was an easy kid to handle. Joyous, energetic, and rarely a nuisance, she regarded the mischief and mayhem common to her age with something like avuncular indifference. Her cousins could engage her, but she found more delight by her lonesome with dolls and toys for whom she created adventure. Imagination was her playground, so when other children invited her to play, she loved to weave fantastical storylines of action and character into every game. Active in sport, days of athleticism preceded long evenings of reading by the hearth. This was her life, until the teenage years onset. Her reserve concealed perceptive eyes and ears, and all she absorbed began to shape an early cynicism. The typical rebellion of youth was a factor, of course, but Loelai saw the world in shades deeper and brighter than those who surrounded her. At 12, she developed a disdain for her courtly lessons in favor of the sword; at 14, she spent more time beyond the estate than within it, and at 16, she flashed a blade in her mother's face with a promise to never be the daughter she wanted. Soon after, the young and headstrong princess struck out from her parents, from Lenosia to reify past dreams. The woods was her solace for a time, then the sea and its farers, then the roads and the cities. Through raw survival, she honed her strength and craft as a swordswoman until able to compete, earning herself a name in a few arenas across Arvum. Arx, to her, will either be the unfurling of a new chapter for the prodigal daughter, or just another stop on the journey.
  hter, or just another stop on the journey.  +
• Logan grew up with the rest of his Halfsha …
  Logan grew up with the rest of his Halfshav cousins in the Far Northern Duchy of Whitehold. Like most Halfshav, he was introduced to combat at a young age. And while he gave it his all, like he does with most things, he just didn't find the appeal or the allure of battle. It was not until he was taught the basics of economics that Logan truly found his calling. Though very much still in tune with nature and the savage land that jutted up in all directions around Whitehold, Logan truly embraced the adventures of problem solving. Taking one silver piece and turning it in to ten was a delight he could indulge in over and over. As he grew older and the family started to entrust him with more and more of the financial responsibilities of running the house, they decided he would be of much more use entrenched in the political world of Arx. Logan adapted easily to society in the Capitol of the Compact, and has begun making a name for himself as someone whose intelligence and wild drive can help turn profits for all who encounter him.
  lp turn profits for all who encounter him.  +
• Long before ever coming to Arx, Sebell hai …
  Long before ever coming to Arx, Sebell hailed from the coasts of the Mourning Sea as the adipose, bastard-born whelp of a Thrax thrall. His mother worked in the kitchens of Tyde Hall as an indebted servant. Sebell's youth was spent in one of the poorly constructed shanty towns known as the Thrall's Lament, scrounging for every morsel of fish that he could wrap his hands around and ducking the constant barrage of bullying and aggression that life in a warlike society brought. His mother's debts as an indentured servant only increased until Sebell reached an age at which it was appropriate for him to begin working them off as well. In the choppy social waters of Tyde Hall, the boy received his start as a child informant or "little bird" to the sometimes remote organs of the Faith of Pantheon ...and more specifically the Mangatans of the Mourning Isles. As an easily overlooked detail of the scenery, he was able to come and go as a casual observer to any number of private rendezvous and conversations. This resulted in aiding members of the faith whom he was still loyal to in attaining and sustaining their own influence. After his mother had passed, he leveraged his usefulness into a discipleship. He shadowed senior priests in the many rites and hardships specific to strong seafaring folk. He even accompanied quite a few vessels over the years -- in both missions of peace and dangerous conflict, all the while continuing to inform select higher-up members of their religious sect ...until he took vows of his own. Capitalizing on the infinitesimal superstitions that surround the sea, Sebell managed to reinvent a name for himself without ever having to become proficient in the art of war ...in a society which almost exclusively respects just that. After his growing popularity made the incumbent Seraph feel challenged, the young priest was relocated to Arx where he could expand his studies and continue to be of use to the Mangatans. He does his best to keep the religious zealots who plucked him from obscurity happy and (as far as they know) informed. In reality, he's much more interested in testing the worthiness that wine (in the goddess's name, of course) and finding someone new to play the bigger, badder shark to his remora.
  ay the bigger, badder shark to his remora.  +
• Long has her family served in distant land …
  Long has her family served in distant lands as shamen and trusted guards of chieftans and their ilk, borne of mysticism and myths, shrouded in the shadows those brighter have cast. Her family is secrets and steel, and she is no different than those that came before, vowed to keep that which should not be spoken beyond the reach even of daring whispers. Who's secrets, you might ask? Well, that'd be telling. Fellow Prodigals might be privy to some basic knowledge of her line, but whatever it is that has brought her here to Arx is left to the imagination, and she doesn't seem in any sort of hurry to offer clarification even to those with a mind to ask.
  fication even to those with a mind to ask.  +
• Loramus grew up in a warren of tumbledown …
  Loramus grew up in a warren of tumbledown shacks in the filthiest part of the Lowers, one of the class of people who even the poor looked down on. Who his parents were, nobody could say, least of all him, aside from the fact that they're almost certainly dead by now. His family were everyone and no one. He ran with a pack of half-feral kids, alternately nurtured, abused, and used by any adult who managed to get their hands on him. Such might have been the sum total of his story, a street kid who ended up dead at twenty from cheap liquor or a knife in the back, except that Loramus had something special, a knack for making connections. Some might call it gossip, but in the faceless Lowers where people are often seen as interchangeable and expendable, Loramus saw learning the names and life stories of the people around him as an act of defiance. As he grew into his natural talents, Loramus didn't become a visible figure in the Lowers, but rather he became more of a presence there, both the observer and embodiment of its spirit. Thanks to his knack for remembering peoples' names, learning their business, learning what they wanted and finding ways to get it for them, he had at his fingertips a substantial web of the poorest of the poor, people who, like him, saw everything without being noticed themselves. He became the man nobody really talked about, but everyone turned to. It was this enormous pool of informants that brought him to the attention of Torian Culler. Loramus has never seen himself as much of a joiner, but in asking him to join the Cullers, Torian made a compelling case. He wanted to clean up the Lowers. Not completely, of course, but just enough to tamp down on the worst abuses and protect the most vulnerable. He had the bully boys to put the worst slum lords and sweatshop owners out of business, but he needed to know who those people were, and that's what he wanted Loramus to do for him. After a lifetime of watching the strong take advantage of the weak in the worst possible ways, getting some measure of justice (or at least revenge) was an offer too tempting to pass up, and so for the first time, Loramus emerged from the deep slums to the slightly less slummy slums, ready to turn his small, lifelong act of defiance into an engine of change.
  act of defiance into an engine of change.  +
• Lord Adalonzio Nightgold's love affair wit …
  Lord Adalonzio Nightgold's love affair with opulence began where many do, in the Lyceum. His early days were spent languishing in amenities or riding out over the boundless sunny horizon. He was a ward of the now exiled House Forza at the palatial Forte Carizzo, a once beautiful fortress located south of Lenosia at the northern border of Gemecittan controlled territories. Unfortunately, Lonzio's time in paradise did not last. As a boy, he suffered the indignity of being smuggled back to the safety of Stonedeep in the false bottom of a cobbler's trunk after his aunt, the Countess of the March, was subjected to a very well-deserved attainder under the authority of Archduchess Carlotta. To this very day, it's said that his lordship's nerves will not abide the smell of leather polish because of it! Naturally, this makes care and daily maintenance of the tack associated with Lonzio's impressive horse collection something of a tightrope walk for staff. A sharp mind with an aptitude for commerce, Lonzio has seen what poor counsel can bring about. With his eccentric younger sister placing herself in charge of Nightgold's vassal house at Aviaron's Peak and their delicate younger cousin at the helm of the familial line, he feels it his duty to lend a voice of reason where and when lack of experience might lead either ruler astray. He vehemently resents any implication that he's only in Arx on holiday.
  lication that he's only in Arx on holiday.  +
• Lord Charlemagne, a Silent War widow, firs …
  Lord Charlemagne, a Silent War widow, first married into House Threerivers by way of House Bellerive, their chief military rival and a direct vassal of House Blackram. The politically motivated pairing was understood as pivotal to a swift and much-needed brokerage of peace, its urgency quite enough to disregard the rumors of infertility stirred up by gossips keeping eye over Charlemagne's previous match. By agreeing to the terms, House Bellerive was setting aside the atrocities of their war with House Threerivers and gaining an important local ally in the new Countess of Highrock. Although symbolically stabilizing, few have been historically successful in managing to reduce Charlemagne to a mere political prop. During the early days of his marriage when his wife's condition became clear, Charlemagne spent an egregious amount of his own personal fortune hiring northern members of the Courtier's Guild. The resulting social campaign epically shifted public sentiment in their region and beyond, forcing Charlemagne's sister-in-law to legitimize Magaen's bastard son if she had any desire to retain the Compact's goodwill. It also had the added benefit of contributing to what would ultimately be Charlemagne's brief stint as Count-Consort. Very brief. See, the Seraph of Last Bridge was furious by the end of the war and rather predictably for a man of his prejudices, treachery seeped into his work. The overzealous priest was heard wishing aloud for the next generation of Bellerive children to rise up and cut out that cancer that is Shamanism in the north, and put all of the northlanders to the sword, and that they should even slaughter them under guest right since they don't respect the Pantheon, anyway! Defrocked for his heretical statements, the noble marriage he negotiated in bad faith was nullified and the pact left unraveled. Awkwardly enough, it's Charlemagne's continued presence in House Charon that seems to be keeping the peace while the families involved remain hands off until all else is settled. No pressure! Why the pair did not immediately remarry under their new circumstances is a question that, well, they have yet to answer.
  stion that, well, they have yet to answer.  +
• Lord Declan Tyde was one of the male child …
  Lord Declan Tyde was one of the male children of House Tyde massacred during the Tyde rebellion, lost when the house was attainted and destroyed by Prince Donrai Thrax, the Highlord of the Mourning Isles. That was what was believed for the entirety of Declan's childhood and young adulthood, as the young man managed to evade death, and hide his identity for years in the Lower Boroughs, living as a commoner under an assumed identity and scraping by, always afraid he'd be discovered and delivered to the highlord of the Mourning Isles. With the death of Prince Donrai Thrax, and the restablishment of House Tyde under control of his cousin, Duchess Margot Tyde, Declan finally felt comfortable enough to send word he survived- and with the heirlooms to prove he was just who he said he was. Now as a young man who saw his family slaughtered and spent years living as a commoner, he's returned to his family, determined more than ever to help Margot restore them to glory.
  ever to help Margot restore them to glory.  +
• Lord Dycard Blackshore was born in between …
  Lord Dycard Blackshore was born in between the oldest, Romulius, and his baby sister, Skye. As second born, he was expected to follow in his brother's shadow, knowing that he was a spare to the heir. At least that was his father's ambitions since Baron Oswald Blackshore never married and produced any official heirs. He enjoyed the life of a noble, getting the best education and exposed to many exotic places since his father was always traveling as the Naval Architect to House Thrax. He took his family with him so the young boy spent more time on the rolling planks than in a drawing room. Of course being exposed to so many places, so many different people gave Dycard a chance to observe and read other's motives. Dycard was close this mother, preferring her gentle ways than the harsh, exacting standards of his father. Nothing was ever good enough for Cornelius, and unlike Romulius, Dycard didn't bother to try to fit into his father's expectations. Instead he adopted a devil-may-care attitude that just infuriated his father. When his father would drag the family to Blackshore Isle to curry favor with their mad uncle, Dycard would turn on his charm even if the face of that vicious brute's callousness. When things would get too difficult, he would let his older brother come in and play the shield. There were many times that Romulius took a belt meant for him and there's guilt there for letting his brother take on so much. When their mother fell ill, Dycard did his best to help his sister care for her. Skye had the lighter hand but he could bring in the water and help tend to the nastier infections. His skilled hands that could lightly hold a sword were adept at also holding physician's tools of the many doctors that Cornelius sought at the different ports for his ailing wife. Finally, when Florence became too much of a burden, his father dumped his mother and Skye with that mad uncle, Oswald. Dycard was horrified but there was little he could do to help either. He was trapped just as Romulius was to continue on at sea with the cold man he called father. The occasional visits he got with his mother and sister made him angry and even more frustrated because he could tell that Oswald didn't treat them well. His reckless behavior got him into more than one scrap, but with his brother at his side, he feared nothing. It was them against the world, even their father. When their ship was attacked and their father decided to save his own skin, the two brothers learned to depend on each other even more. Captured by pirates, thrown in the brig, it was a horrible ordeal that the young man refuses to discuss. However, there's a gleam in his eyes when he talks about the last years that Dycard had his lean on his own charm and natural dexterity to avoid death many times. He even took up reaving with his captors, using his skills at the blade to keep his brother's stubborn honor from getting both of them killed. It wasn't until Romulius managed to escape from these bastards that Dycard was no longer blackmailed in serving these pirates. He was able to jump ship and make his way home.
  s able to jump ship and make his way home.  +
• Lord Erasmus Tyde was a legend. In his you …
  Lord Erasmus Tyde was a legend. In his youth, the dashing captain and brother of Duke Victor Tyde was as respected through the Mourning Isles for his great talent as a sailor as he was for his honorable devotion to his family. Hardened in a decade of battles, he became most famous for bravely leading Tyde and Thrax forces into battle against the Pirate King Cordereon, serving as the overall commander for highlord Drake Thrax and Duke Victor Tyde at the Battle of Gray Ice Point. He distinguished himself well enough, but it was his actions after that made many of the hardened reavers take notice. It is said that Erasmus personally met with every family of every fallen Islander to relay his condolences privately, all because of a casual, offhand promise he made to deliver news to families if the worst should happen, and he was a man of his word. From then and half a hundred times since then, he showed his devotion to those that served under him. A devotee of Limerance, when he gave his word, it was certain. Well regarded throughout the Isles, he helped teach the young heir to Maelstrom, Prince Donrai Thrax, how to sail, though the lessons came to an end after Lord Erasmus respectfully disagreed with Donrai's callous treatment of commoners serving under them. "Nobles have their ranks and privileges due to our duty to serve our people," Erasmus had said to the young prince, and an argument with the heir apparent of the Mourning Isles left the two not on speaking terms. Not long after their quarrel, Lord Erasmus Tyde volunteered to lead an expedition into the Darkwater Deeps to attempt to rescue a galley of Tyde commoners who were blown off course by a storm and thought to have ventured into it by accident. He promised he would return, and the devotee of Limerance always had kept his word. Decades later, sailing out of the Darkwater Deeps, a man claiming to be the same legend has returned. While almost no one from his time period still lives, some of the oldest claim he does resemble Lord Erasmus Tyde, the great uncle of the current Duchess of Tydehall, Duchess Margot. While most think the story preposterous and he's clearly an imposter, the man has no claim to the duchy nor has he made any attempt at one- he promised always to serve the rightful head of house, which Margot clearly is, and the man keeps his promises.
  learly is, and the man keeps his promises.  +
• Lord Fidel Threerivers' childhood was defi …
  Lord Fidel Threerivers' childhood was defined by the beginning of his lifelong fascination with shamanism. Where did that fascination begin? Well, that's guaranteed to be a good story if the way the Threerivers' older generation quickly smiles, deflects, and pivots on to the next topic is any indication. Or, for that matter, the handful of his early years where not a single one of them, not even his father the late Count of Highrock, deign to mention him in their white journals at all. Those minor details aside, he seems to have had a productive adolescence and spent years traveling throughout the northlands with a more worldly aunt, acquainting himself with the land and its people, not that he ever became a shaman. They tended to find his interest uncomfortable, if not altogether off-putting. By sheer dumb luck or some vague misfortune, Lord Fidel was away from Highrock when the short but bloody conflict with House Bellerive began, serving as a wilderness guide for Scholars studying unique fauna a month out from his ancestral home, only returning as the last body was buried beneath the earth. The weeks following were something of a helpless whirlwind for poor Fidel. Uninvolved as he was in governance due to certain gaps in his education, Fidel found himself losing his cool more than once in angry tirades and rants that likely complicated the peacemaking process rather than bringing his feuding older siblings back together in friendship as he would have liked. Before long, he found himself swept away to the newly founded House Charon to serve as his sister Magaen's advisor on all matters pertaining the superstitious common-folk of their new holding. Not that he prescribes to any of it himself, of course! Let's change the subject, shall we?
  ourse! Let's change the subject, shall we?  +
• Lord Francesco Argento was a demanding man …
  Lord Francesco Argento was a demanding man, even among the Argento of Nilanza. Ever the schemer and statesman he had plans for his child even before they were born, and from the second they came into the world, Francesco took control of their life. As fate would have it, things seemed to be working, for a while, with the child becoming a squire of one of his vassal lords, and then being knighted upon reaching maturity. That is, until Lord Francesco banished his offspring to live in Setarco, never to speak of them again. Being raised among the Sins of Setarco allowed Valentina to understand their familial structure and customs. In some ways, the Pravus were more her family than the Argento ever were, and in time she grew to enjoy the Silken City, much to the chagrin of of her Nilanzan family. Things changed dramatically with the death of Duchess-Consort Lucia Pravus, a warrior of House Malvici known for keeping her vassals under control since her husband, Duke Piero, was particularly soft on them. As her ship vanished near Nilanza, Valentina was stricken with guilt, and in giving her support to Duke Piero during his mourning period, she wound up involving herself with the man and marrying him. Not much later House Argento rose in rebellion, but much to the surprise of most in Setara, Duchess-Consort Valentina did not pressure the Duke into yielding to his unruly vassals, and after his death she did not try to leverage her momentary rulership into peace with her own former House. Instead, she held fast while the likes of Belladonna, Gabriella and Viviana set off to do battle against the opposing host. Well-liked by the population for this showing of profound loyalty, and for giving their beloved Piero happiness again, even if for a brief period of time, Valentina was known as the Silver Sun of Nilanza. Ever since Valentina has been a supporter of House Pravus and a loyal protector of the people of Setarco, something that has made her quite beloved. Spending her time doing charities and spending silver for the improvement of the lives of her people, Valentina eventually joined the family in Arx, where she could continue her rising trajectory, leaving the legacy of failure of House Argento behind as a Stormborn now among Sins.
  ento behind as a Stormborn now among Sins.  +
• Lord Giulio Mazetti is the younger brother …
  Lord Giulio Mazetti is the younger brother of Lord Theron Mazetti. While his brother is a master of arms, well trained in such matters, Giulio is a creature more oriented towards the mind. He is a student of the law first and foremost, at least to the public eye. His upbringing has been a matter of simple study for most of his life and then an apprenticeship with the Inquisition, though he has served from time to time as necessary as a magistrate for the family, especially on matters touched by law. He has a reputation for being even handed, cool, collected and very amicable. As of yet, he remains unmarried, though it is likely simply a matter of time until such occurs. Most of his history is a thing of public record. In general, these are boring matters of legalese. However, several times he has been responsible for the discovery of plots, including one act of treason.
  ry of plots, including one act of treason.  +
• Lord Graham Stonewood, was born the younge …
  Lord Graham Stonewood, was born the youngest male of the line. He realized from an early age that he would have a lot to live up to, bigger brothers and sisters who had accomplished much or become skilled.He would from the time he could first remember trying to learn all that he could from his lessons, though excelling at martial skills the most. He was not distant from his older siblings, but after her birth it seemed he was closest to his youngest sister Arianna the two as time went on would grow to be near inseparable. The lessons would get more difficult,but the young Lord Graham would continue to do his best and it was apparent that his path would be one of a soldier as time went on. He would develope closely with his family and a protective instinct for their lands and to help those in need. It would be with his first taste of true battle that he would learn the weight of leadership, and would take this back with him. He is unchanged except in the fact that he has recently redoubled his effort in training, and feels all the more protective.
  aining, and feels all the more protective.  +
• Lord Iroh Keaton was born as the second ch …
  Lord Iroh Keaton was born as the second child to Lady Sallah Keaton nee Crovane and Lord Morden Keaton, one of Keaton's greatest legal minds. Unfortunately, his upbringing was riddled with perfectionism by his overbearing father, who saw him as a sort of the golden child compared to his younger sister Amari and older brother Aric. His mother passed when he was all of six years old, making Iroh grow distant for the next few years. Much to Lord Morden's frustration, despite Iroh's gifted mind, Iroh did not even bother attempt to learn the finer points of the legal systems of the various lands. Instead, Iroh was fascinated by the art of war and the skill of command. In order to pursue this effort, Iroh also learned the art of combat, eventually departing his family's safety to learn amongst the huntsmen that Keaton is famous for. For years he learned the trails, how to shoot true with an arrow, how to identify an animal by their footprint. But he learned so much more: He learned strategy. The art of surprise, the mastercraft that is tactics. For such a time until his twenty-fifth year of life, Iroh has taught the rangers, the huntsmen, of Keaton to train them for their task at Keaton Hall. He rooted out criminal or hostile Shav elements from the Oakheart Wood to the Shadowood. He has assisted in previous battles where needed, such as the threats of the Gyre and the Silent War. But with the curse over the Keaton family being lifted and hearing of Keaton's plans and ambitions, Iroh has decided to return to his family to assist them in their goals. It was finally time for Iroh to truly write his story.
  ly time for Iroh to truly write his story.  +
• Lord Jace Redreef is the nephew and salt-s …
  Lord Jace Redreef is the nephew and salt-son of Lord Tiberius Redreef, who was the brother of Baron Landis Redreef. Baron Landis had twin daughters and no sons, and so Tiberius ensured that from a young age, Jace was given an education befitting one destined to inherit the title of Baron. After all, if Landis died without a son, the law of the Mourning Isles would not allow the domain of Redreef Shores to pass to a daughter. In the eyes of traditionalists like Tiberius, such a thing would be borderline heretical. One of young Jace's tutors was a retired Knight, who impressed upon the boy the importance of honor and duty. These lessons dug in deeply, and became an unshakable part of Jace's personality. He was never under any illusions as to why his uncle was overseeing his training. He knew that he stood to inherit a tremendous responsibility. He knew that he might be a Baron. When Baron Landis was slain, Redreef Shores did not pass to either of his twin daughters, but rather to his brother Tiberius. Landis's daughters, Ember and Marina, objected to this quite strongly, and their objection took the form of raising an army and instigating a civil war within Redreef Shores. They took and held the Crimson Keep, the barony's castle, for the duration of a grueling conflict. During all of this, Jace served as an aide-de-camp to his uncle, rarely seeing combat against "the rebels" himself. The end of the conflict came when the Mourning Isles' law changed to allow women to inherit titles directly. The question of Redreef's heir was immediately put to a trial by combat, and Jace was present for the duel to the death between his cousin Ember and his uncle's champion -- a duel which Ember won, and where she became "the Bloody Baroness." In that moment, the idea of Jace ever becoming Baron of Redreef Shores seemed to evaporate into thin air. Honor compelled Jace to do what he felt was right. The purpose of the duel was to end the conflict, and so the conflict was ended. Rather than seethe, he accepted his cousin's right to rule, and put himself into the service of Redreef Shores. He overcame any suspicion through dedication to the needs of the domain over any desires of his own, and in time was named Sword of Redreef. As Redreef Shores became one of the most stridently progressive domains within the Isles and his Baroness gained increasing fame (and notoriety) as an iconoclast of traditions, Jace kept his thoughts to himself. In 1015 AR, the Compact of Arvum went to war with the Dune Kingdom of Skal'daja in the Battle of Pieros. Jace was there, captaining one of Redreef's ships, right in the thick of the fighting. Improbably, his ship suffered no casualties other than Jace's own eye. Upon his return, he was hailed as a hero. Jace himself is more modest about it, even uncomfortable. The things that happened in that battle have changed how he sees the world in more ways than one.
  w he sees the world in more ways than one.  +
• Lord Maru Seliki was once a handsome laugh …
  Lord Maru Seliki was once a handsome laughing man. Once. He tried the whole laughing thing and didn't care for it. Raised in a House that was only a generation away from Thralldom, whose elevation to the peerage was in the form of a directive from House Deepwood to 'make something of the Pearlspire,' Maru and his siblings and cousins have rivalry graven in their bones. Maru's chief rival was his eldest brother: Hyar. They competed in everything and Maru was always, always, just a little bit behind. Behind in footrace. Behind in their studies. Behind in courting the Lady Oona. Behind... behind... behind... and he cursed that luck all his days until one last roll of the dice. The two charged to meet a crew of abandoned harrying trade caravans. By the length of one stride, Hyar fell and Maru lived as arrows rained down on the ranks of their patrol. Some say Maru hesitated. Some say he stumbled. Some say he waited. He never cursed his luck again, but neither did he revel in surviving his brother, friend, rival, and Lord. He doesn't talk about it, but everyone noticed a change in him. He has not touched a weapon since. And studies the oddest, unsettling things. In the wake, he courted the widowed Countess, but his heart wasn't in it and she refused his advances regardless. Maru couldn't blame her, her husband had died with Maru right beside him. His young nephew, the Heir, and neices didn't want for familial care, the Seliki clan is a sprawling one, and Maru fell naturally into the role of telling the children frightening stories and teaching them how not to break their necks. By practice, of course! Needless to say, he was not called upon for caretaking duties with any frequency. Restless in his dotage, and never married, the evergreen bachelor is drawn to Arx by something he can't quite name and will know when he finds. And it may be the end of him. Or the beginning.
  t may be the end of him. Or the beginning.  +
• Lord Maru Seliki was once a handsome laugh …
  Lord Maru Seliki was once a handsome laughing man. Once. He tried the whole laughing thing and didn't care for it. Raised in a House that was only a generation away from Thralldom, whose elevation to the peerage was in the form of a directive from House Deepwood to 'make something of the Pearlspire,' Maru and his siblings and cousins have rivalry graven in their bones. Maru's chief rival was his eldest brother: Hyar. They competed in everything and Maru was always, always, just a little bit behind. Behind in footrace. Behind in their studies. Behind in courting the Lady Oona. Behind... behind... behind... and he cursed that luck all his days until one last roll of the dice. The two charged to meet a crew of abandoned harrying trade caravans. By the length of one stride, Hyar fell and Maru lived as arrows rained down on the ranks of their patrol. Some say Maru hesitated. Some say he stumbled. Some say he waited. He never cursed his luck again, but neither did he revel in surviving his brother, friend, rival, and Lord. He doesn't talk about it, but everyone noticed a change in him. He has not touched a weapon since. And studies the oddest, unsettling things. In the wake, he courted the widowed Countess, but his heart wasn't in it and she refused his advances regardless. Maru couldn't blame her, her husband had died with Maru right beside him. His young nephew, the Heir, and neices didn't want for familial care, the Seliki clan is a sprawling one, and Maru fell naturally into the role of telling the children frightening stories and teaching them how not to break their necks. By practice, of course! Needless to say, he was not called upon for caretaking duties with any frequency. Restless in his dotage, and never married, the evergreen bachelor was drawn to Arx, certain that his future awaited him there. Upon arriving in the capitol he quickly established himself as a carouser of note, building a social network that would prove useful as time moved on. He joined the Academy of Vellichor to further his study of the odd and unsettling, practically moving into the Archive as he delved deep into the knowledge contained within its walls. What came next, though, surprised everybody.
  at came next, though, surprised everybody.  +
• Lord Nikola Stonewood is the middle child …
  Lord Nikola Stonewood is the middle child of 5 children. His family line has a long history of being knights. Nikola, as expected, also became one like his father before him and his father's father, and his father's father's father and so on. However, unlike his mother Lady Jewel Stonewood and his father the formerly Lord Russell Bisland, and siblings Nikola preferred to travel far and wide over joining the military, though, he did not sell his services. He just wanted to travel and fight anything he thought was wrong doing. This travelling way, eventually, led him to Arx. In Arx he decided to stay, at least for the time being, and see what there was to offer and what he could do for people.
  to offer and what he could do for people.  +
• Lord Odin Eswynd was born to Lord Branimir …
  Lord Odin Eswynd was born to Lord Branimir Eswynd and his first wife. Odin grew up learning the ways of the blade, learning honor and dignity, ferocity and mercy, respect and strategy. Odin reminded many of his father in his youth: quick to laugh and anger, yet with a breath of wisdom to him that wasn't oft seen in his House. He had much a fighting spirit as he did a desire to learn knowledge. A warrior to make his family proud. As he grew older, he took part in his House's raids on a consistent basis and was present when his father was wounded. Though others disrespected and brushed aside his father, he listened to what his now more timid parent had to say and accepted his wisdom. Though now he is willing to do anything to protect his family, he will go and be the blade that helps guide his house to a new dawn.
  that helps guide his house to a new dawn.  +
• Lord Saverio Inverno was always a distant …
  Lord Saverio Inverno was always a distant figure from House Inverno, the brother of the previous ruling Count Mario Inverno who made little mention of his oft adventuring sibling. A severe figure at court in his rare appearances, he would be gone for years at a time in visiting the Everwinter or exploring the Saffron Chain, only to return with an uncanny sense of timing to give counsel to his brother. Part adventurer and part diplomat, when he wasn't exploring far flung reaches of Arvum, he would go on lengthy missions to represent the Inverno family and stay gone for months or years at a time, trying to convince an Abandoned clan to bend the knee or spending time in other city-states to speak for the Inverno family. Where he went, things tended to turn against those who opposed House Inverno, and he was suspiciously absent during the fall of House Argento, as he was during the time years ago when Duke Piero Pravus was assassinated. Now he has returned, coming straight to Arx, and it seems his adventuring days are behind him.
  seems his adventuring days are behind him.  +
• Lord Victus Thrax is the very embodiment o …
  Lord Victus Thrax is the very embodiment of a warrior of House Thrax. As the illegitimate son of Prince Argus Thrax, Victus might have expected a difficult childhood, but he was nonetheless raised raised in the household of his uncle the Prince Donrai Thrax and suffered few of the hardships many bastards have come to expect. Not that he had a warm, loving environment. His famously cold and stern uncle ruthlessly cultivated the hard strength expected of a Thrax man in the young Victus as he raised him, but Victus surpassed even the unreasonable expectations set for him. During his late teens serving aboard Thrax vessels, Victus demonstrated both ferocity coupled with terrifying natural talent in skirmishes against the pirates that prey upon shipping in the Saffron Chain, earning the respect (and fear) of house soldiers. While Victus had extremely little patience for scholarly works at all and would never be accused of a keen natural intellect, he proved surprisingly alert on matters of strategy and distinguished himself in several field engagements. His uncle decided to trust the baseborn warrior with command of a full company of soldiers during the Rebellion of House Tyde which proved to be one of the better investments the high lord has made in recent times, as Victus personally slew House Tyde's lord on the field, led a charge that routed the rebel forces, and was the first one over the wall in storming the rebel redoubt. For his heroism in battle, Victus was raised up to Lord Victus of House Thrax, legitimizing him even if he still stood far down the line of succession. That suits the Lord Victus just fine, as politics bores him utterly and he has considerable mixed feelings about being sent to Arx to 'round out his rough edges' and 'culture him somewhat'. The high lord told Victus that he expects him to behave in Arx and learn how to solve problems without violence. Victus supposes there's a first time for everything for a veteran of scores of battles. The trials and tribulations of Arx were much different than the hard and unforgiving life that Victus had grown accustomed to. Their difficulty however remained unchanged as a man with brutally simple solutions was forced to mingle with the complications of politics and social-living. Often times Lord Victus Thrax was butting heads with those of other, self-described ‘softer’ cultures and their nobility. Monotonous meetings were fortunately often broken with calls to action from Thrax as piracy across the Mourning Sea began to escalate in most peculiar (and often messy) ways. Soon however, the course of Thrax would be changed forever in ways few would anticipate. Prince Donrai Thrax was found dead in the family’s estate within Arx, with the position of High Lord to be passed onto Prince Dagon Thrax, the rightful heir. Prince Dagon was a beacon of hope for those who wished to see Thrax’s age of cruelty and bloody warfare curtailed by a fair, just and honorable man. Those hopes were dashed by Victus’ ambition in the wake of his Uncle’s demise. Lord Victus came forward with an unprecedented challenge for the seat of Thrax, which Prince Dagon accepted. The duel was won by Victus, leading to Dagon abdicating his inheritance and bending the knee to newly christened Prince Victus Thrax, High Lord of the Mourning Isles. Prince Victus’ raise was respected by Thrax for his method of conquest, but met with outrage across the Compact. Much of the peerage refused to recognize Victus as the true ruler of Thrax, including those who led the other four Great Houses of Arvum. His first acts won him little popularity to discourage such views as he’d shown little in the way of maturing from a brutish warrior to bear the responsibility of his new station. Rebellion in the Isles was a palpable threat as well, but soon those who even seemed to be toeing the line of treason to their new ruler were met with swift and bloody ends. But as days turned to weeks, weeks to months and months to years, Prince Victus underwent changes of his own. It wasn’t until after the Great Sinking, an event that left devastation through Thrax’s ranks as nearly all Thraxian vessels in Arx’s harbor were destroyed, did the ‘leader’ in Victus began to show through his grim visage. The tragedy was a cruel lesson that Victus was not unfamiliar with in his time growing up, perhaps marking the beginning of his understanding of this new political ‘battlefield’ he found himself in. As years since the infamous duel began to pass, the peerage’s tolerance of Victus grew. Soon, Thrax was accepting of their new High Lord as well. Polarizing acts such as the rights of Women being expanded to include them not only in inheritance but a place in Thrax’s military were drafted by his hand, as well as a reformation of Thralldom to begin eliminating exploitative practices used by Thrax for generations. Though the future remains to be seen, Victus has shown the skills and initiative required by someone who leads their people, with even a mind toward a progression of Thrax’s society as a whole and a fairer hand than his predecessor’s. Perhaps he might leave something resembling an ‘honorable’ legacy after all. But there’s a long way yet to go.
  ter all. But there’s a long way yet to go.  +
• Lorien Keaton was the sort of child who co …
  Lorien Keaton was the sort of child who could not be contained. He was a wanderer, an explorer, and always felt more at home with the hounds and riding than he did indoors. He was a bright child, and quick to learn anything that held his interest; however, he longed for the earth beneath his feet and the sky above. As he grew older, he spent more and more time training with the hunting hounds, learning to track and fight with both the sword and the bow. He rode with the huntsmen and showed a true talent and penchant for it. There were times when he was chided and directed to more military or political pursuits. While Lorien was not shy to fight if fighting was called for, he preferred to do so from the concealment of his natural surroundings. He is almost always accompanied by one of his hunting dogs. Preferring to help rear them himself from the time that they are pups, he has a particular bond with those that accompany him wherever he goes. It is that connection to home that helps while he has been sent to Arx, in light of all the fighting that has been going on, and the desire for the new Count to establish the family within Arx.
  Count to establish the family within Arx.  +
• Lottie's story is a simple one. She was bo …
  Lottie's story is a simple one. She was born and raised in Arx to Alan & Maggy Parkins. Alan was a palace steward while Maggy maintained her own shop until her passing a few years ago, just as the rise of rumors concerning elves, magic and everything in between started circulating on the lips of the common folk of Arx. While there is some speculation into Maggy's death Lottie was adverse to the idea that any sort of foul play was at hand. Her parents had her and her siblings when they were older so it was no surprise illness alone could have been the cause of Maggy's death. While a great loss to Lottie, she carried on instead glorifying her mother's memory through her own gifts of Jayus. She is stellar in the kitchen. If the tragedy of her mother's death hadn't been enough, it was only a few years later Lottie was again faced with loss. Her soon to be husband, Iron Guardsman Taylor Leoni (yes, she was almost "Lottie Leoni") fell during The Silent War as one of the remaining Iron Guard loyal to the Crown and unswayed by Lord Everard Telmar. Another hit pushed beneath the layers of her ever optimistic exterior. These days one is likely to see Lottie wandering around town with a basket full of goodies for sale, but someday... someday she will open her own delicatessen. A dream which she has maintained since her childhood.
  ch she has maintained since her childhood.  +
• Lucaj is a child of the Mourning Isles thr …
  Lucaj is a child of the Mourning Isles through and through, one of many born to Anton Grimhall and his wife, Helena Grimhall nee Hawkmour. Not the oldest son, but the second oldest, he did not grow up expecting to rule over vassals so much as he did expecting to serve his family well in whatever it turned out he was best at. That what he was best at was sailing, raiding, reaving...well this made him very similar to other boys his age, grown up too young to fight in the Tyde rebellion yet old enough to see the impact of war all around them, and to associate it with a kind of glory. His dream thus was to be a Grimhall soldier, a sailor, a commander, perhaps one day a Knight. It is through strength of arms and conviction that he will serve his family, The time came soon enough, for as the Gyre grew stronger and skirmishes more frequent in the Isles near Grihem's Point, Lucaj was a frequent figure in these battles, leading his men at sea and on land with efficiency. When the Battle of Setarco came Lucaj was there, fighting with his ships alongside the Leviathan of Thrax, following the commands of his liege lords. Now the role of soldier and sailor that the young men of the Isles all play for a time has become old hat to him, he moves towards his thirties with tales of victory that entertain the pub every time, but without some of what a settled life would provide him. House Grimhall likely expects him to marry at some point, to do his duty by the family and produce heirs for the next generation. It is in part for this that Lucaj was summoned to Arx, to take up his role in helping lead House Grimhall. Yet he has other reasons too for being here, and one draws him straight to the March of the Rosewood. His sister might need him.
  f the Rosewood. His sister might need him.  +
• Lucilia was brought up in a merchant famil …
  Lucilia was brought up in a merchant family in Lenosia, taught and groomed for the world of mercantile. Her parents were a strict kind, and she was to be married off when she came of age-- something she wasn't particularly fond of. She found it quite easy to steal enough gold coins from her parents to buy passage to a new city. Landing in Arx, she'd find herself with little to do and much to prove, particularly to herself. She found that her aptitude for social intrigue and economic know-how helped her very little as a homeless runaway, and she took to begging on the streets. That is, until she was found. House Ulbran took her under it's wing, and in time, she'd find herself able to feed and clothe herself the hard way. As time bore on, she still strove for elegance and grace in her outwards visage, despite her upbringing under the notorious commoner house. She began doing honest work as either an economic aide, a finder of things, or a purchase agent to preserve anonymity.
  or a purchase agent to preserve anonymity.  +
• Lucius is the son of a merchant, the eldes …
  Lucius is the son of a merchant, the eldest. His father was a travelling merchant and Lucius expected to follow in his footsteps. However, Lucius instead became a Reaver of the seas. He took to sailing as often as he could and bring home 'spoils of the war.' He, out of pride, gave a portion to the Count of Darkwater Reach. He quickly proved himself to be an able Captain and had a small fleet of ships of his own to Captain. Some were people who preferred his fast and confident style, some out of fear, and some simply because they were told. Lucius, after a fashion, decided to come to Arx, after discovering a thrall he had been favoring and working on convincing the Count of Darkwater to turn over to him so he could free her had been summoned to Arx and freed. He decided to, loosely, settle in Arx and try out his land legs and convince her to marry him. He is a captain of the seas, now he seeks to see if he can be one on land as well.
  s to see if he can be one on land as well.  +
• Luck has never been the kindest to Renfry, …
  Luck has never been the kindest to Renfry, though she always allowed him just enough leeway to pull through. The son of the cousin of the Baron of Lighthall, a former Lyonesse house, he wasn't strong enough to become a great soldier, did not have a tactical enough mind to become a great commander, and lacked the discipline to become a scholar. He was, in other words, a typical example of noble excess, riding on his family name to build up credit and spend silver that he really should not have had access to during his teenage years. He developed a reputation for having more eyes for the women of the local villages than his duties, and shortly after he came of age, his father sent him away to Wyrmguard lands to try to work on a political marriage in the hopes that he would perhaps succeed in that. It was a fateful choice. Dallying on the trip for weeks longer than had originally been planned, he eventually came to Blancbier to learn news that had made its way ahead of him: while he was on the road, a shav battalion had attacked and razed his home to the ground, putting every single member of his family to the sword. Worse yet, the crops had been raided and the buildings of the townsfolk within the barony torn asunder. There was nothing to come home to. No domain, and debt accrued. The succession was clear: as the only living member of blood, he was now the Baron of Lighthall. Of course, a baron with massive personal debt and little desire to rule do not a successful land make, particularly when the ruler turns to alcohol to soothe his grief. What little silver came in was spent rapidly, what little progress in recovery coming painstakingly, and ever the debt did accrue. Five years in, he reached a moment of clarity that this was unsustainable when he found his entire hold deserted. A hard conversation was had, and a deal was made with his liege, the lands reabsorbed back into the holdings of the county, and the title of Baron removed. He would retain his nobility on one condition only -- that he put himself seriously to a field of study and contribute back, repaying his debt. Now a member of the very house he lost his title to, at the age of 27, he began to take life seriously. The next six years were spent in study and practical application of economic theory, and he managed to start to recover his reputation, contributing enough to not be stonewalled at every gathering of his peers. With the word of a new baroness of Elwood, another noble who had recovered her name from a disastrous mistake made earlier in her life, he saw a second chance to prove what he could be. The negotiations were made, and soon, he was off to Arden to prove that he was going to be able to make something of himself this time, with full understanding that this is very likely the last chance luck will ever grant him.
  the last chance luck will ever grant him.  +