Redreef/Vassals

The following information concerns NPC Vassals of House Redreef.

House Blackreef

Capsule Bio

House Blackreef is an offshoot of House Redreef. Nearly 300 years ago, a marriage between Redreef and Blackshore nobles led to a power struggle over succession within House Redreef, and the losing side left to become the Abandoned tribe called House Blackreef. After centuries of violent animosity, Redreef brought Blackreef to heel, crushing them until they had no sane option but to relent and rejoin their kin, being made to give up their lives as shav raiders and become... farmers. House Blackreef's domain is a hilly cove called Blackreef Beach, at the center of which is the Ebonhold, a small castle.

NPC Roster

	Baroness Melora Blackreef "When someone says 'I love you,' they merely flatter their own vanity." Twenty-year-old Baroness. Before Blackreef was re-absorbed into the Compact, she drunkenly killed her own twin sister Belide, with whom she co-ruled the shav tribe. Her parents, Accolon and Lux Blackreef, were killed in front of her during a Redreef siege of a Blackreef encampment, after which she was raised by her uncles, Hector and Caradoc. Moody, depressive, prone to long spells of brooding, drinks too much wine before bed. Prone to talking to her mirror when no one else is around.
	Lord Palamedes Blackreef "There are two tales that every man feels the most: how they've loved, and how they've failed." First cousin once removed to Melora, though she calls him "Uncle." Mid-to-late forties. During Blackreef's time as shavs, Palamedes would often set sail by himself and return with food, supplies, silver, et cetera, saying only that he would go out and "find work" in exchange for the goods. Easy-going, laconic, charming. Widower; his wife, Ann, drowned some years ago. Their son, Ingram, died fighting Skal'dajans at Pieros.
	Lady Morgana Blackreef "Hold on to nothing, and it won't let you down." First cousin of Palamedes. Given to anxiety and predictions of woe. Occasionally this tendency is quite useful, because in her constant fretting and worrying, the doomsday scenarios she envisions point toward flaws in defenses or plans that others haven't noticed. Traumatized by near-death experiences in Redreef attacks on Blackreef camps.
	Lady Annowre Blackreef "Every trail has its end, and every calamity brings its lesson." Daughter of Hector Blackreef, one of Melora's uncles. Neglected by her father in favor of Melora and Belide, the ruling twins of the tribe. When Blackreef bent the knee, Hector refused to accept it and tried to assassinate Ember Redreef. He was later reported killed in a bar brawl at an atoll near the Eventide Vast. More or less left to raise herself, Annowre grew into a free spirit and explorer, who enjoys the thrill of danger and high stakes.

House Hollowheart

Capsule Bio

House Hollowheart is a cadet barony created out of a distant branch of the Redreef family tree (their Baroness is Ember and Marina's fifth cousin, once removed). While never a particular power player in Redreef family politics, the future Hollowhearts were loyal to Ember and Marina during the Redreef civil war, and quietly laundered silver to feed their army. As a family line, the Hollowhearts are renowned for their skill with economics and accountancy. The connotations of their self-chosen house name are a point of familial pride, just like their ruthlessness with budgets and ledgers. They are not a family that cares about being liked. They are a family that cares about making money. Their domain is Hollowheart Isle, a small, forested island less than half a day from Redreef Shores by sail, situated perfectly to act as a waystation for various trade routes between the Lyceum and the northern Isles.

NPC Roster

	Baroness Artesia Hollowheart "Self-respect is a question of recognizing that anything worth having has a price." An economic prodigy in her mid-twenties who has a knack for seeing opportunities for profit that go unnoticed by others. Shrewd, pragmatic, but ambitious. Privately, she does not see being ennobled as a great calling or any such epiphany. Instead, she sees the Peerage as the most profitable business in town.
	Lord Vilmos Hollowheart "War is a business. It always has been." Younger brother and Voice of Baroness Artesia. A clinical, cold personality who excels at military strategy, and excels even more at finding ways to win the fight while retaining the biggest profit margin.
	Lord Nestor Hollowheart "A sweet smile and a soft word usually have their desired effect." First cousin to Artesia and Vilmos. Outwardly the most friendly and approachable of the Hollowhearts, always sporting a smile. Deep down, the most vicious of them all when it comes to using people to get what he wants.
	Burchilda Baynard "We all have the hope that if we live and are good, the gods would permit us to be pirates." A shady mercenary who has ended up on retainer to House Hollowheart. She has no formal title within their tiny army, though she does train their soldiers. Mostly she seems to be paid to act as their "fixer" when situations require getting one's hands dirty.

House Skinner

Capsule Bio

House Skinner is a mirror of the story of Redreef itself. For generations going back hundreds of years, the Skinners have sailed in Redreef's navy, and just as a Darkwater Count awarded a loyal sailor the newly-created Redreef Shores, so too is this cadet barony the reward for another loyal sea captain. Redreef historians have found extremely convenient records that point to the new Baron Skinner having Blackreef ancestry, which in turn distantly connects him to Redreef by blood, but some quarters do make note of just HOW conveniently timed this discovery was. The Skinners are great friends to have, and terrible enemies. Family lore states that their name goes back some seven or eight hundred years, when the first family patriarch was given the last name 'Skinner' by a Thrax ship captain because he was the best in the fleet at flaying prisoners to be put on the crosses. Accordingly, the Skinners' barony is the small, X-shaped (if you squint and tilt your head) Cross Harbor, where local industry centers around shipbuilding.

NPC Roster

	Baron Stone Skinner "He who did well in war earns the right to begin doing well in peace." Previously a career sailor, now in his late forties. Had six children with his wife Raquel. Raquel passed from an illness, and his four sons died fighting Skal'dajans at the Bay of Pieros, leaving only his two daughters, Charity and Prudence. Stone himself was left with scars on his chin, jaw, and around his mouth from a battle with a Eurusi mage (he was one of thirty-ish soldiers versus the one mage). Principled, blunt, and loyal. He is a hammer and most problems are nails.
	Lady Charity Skinner "She who feared that she would not succeed sat still." Older daughter of Stone. A playwright of no particular significance before her ennoblement. Now, suddenly she has companies at her doorstep asking to work with her. Bold and decisive, courageous in her willingness to act... though every now and then she acts when doing nothing was probably the wiser choice. Seeks to leave her mark on the world and honor the memory of her four fallen brothers.
	Lady Prudence Skinner "What's the use of dying in a ward surrounded by groaning incurables? Wouldn't it be much better to throw a party, take poison, and depart for the other world to the sound of violins, surrounded by lovely drunken girls and happy friends?" Younger daughter of Stone. The above quote really says it all, doesn't it? Openly harbors ambitions of marrying a Prince -- for the clout.
	Lord Silouan Skinner "Honesty is praised and starves." Younger brother of Stone, and uncle to Charity and Prudence. A scholar and researcher. Studious, well-read, well-spoken. His fatal flaw is that he refuses to lie, and refuses to sugar-coat his opinions. Even when he really, really, really should. Not everyone can handle the unvarnished truth, and Silouan's refusal to offer anything else has gotten him in trouble more than once.
	Miesha Saltblood "Duties are ours; events are the gods'." Like the Skinners, the Saltbloods have been a family of sailors and fighters for hundreds of years. Now, the difference is that the Skinners are nobility and the Saltbloods are not. Miesha is in her late twenties, and a career sailor and pirate-hunter who has no ambition of being anything more. Deeply religious, and totally humorless when it comes to Mangata.