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

• Wyatt Shepherd  + (Wyatt knows he had a privileged life as a …
  Wyatt knows he had a privileged life as a duke's son. It gave him the opportunity to study was some truly gifted tutors from the Whisper House, after all, and find a field of study he truly fell in love with. On the other hand, it would have been nice if his father, Duke Gregor 'the Butcher of Graypeak' Shepherd, had been a little more supportive of Wyatt. When Wyatt just gave the barest hint that he was interested in becoming a Scholar of Vellichor at the age of 12, he was sent to squire at a war camp against Abandoned. Wyatt spent the entire summer talking to the quartermaster about logistics and the truly fascinating economic factors of different campaigns. When he came back and offered a few suggestions to improve efficiency to his father, he was not pleased. And it wasn't fair! They were excellent suggestions! Most of his young adulthood was spent serving House Shepherd while trying to avoid being turned into the battle hardened, bloodthirsty warrior that his father dreamed. He kept noticing little ways that the House's fortunes could be improved with a clever bit of efficiency here, or some eliminating of waste there, but his father mocked his interest in 'counting silvers' every chance he had. Which, to be fair, you don't get named 'the Butcher of Graypeak' by writing a treatise on livestock management and its economic impact (which Wyatt also did, and father was NOT pleased.) Still, as the duchy started to slide towards economic collapse and bankruptcy by funding Duke Gregor's constant relentless scorched earth warfare against Abandoned, even his father had to grudgingly admit his son had a 'mild usefulness' when Wyatt unobtrusively slipped in and began to manage the duchy's neglected books. (Father didn't even collect taxes some years! Too busy, he said!) With father's utter disdain for his occupation, Wyatt never expected to rule, which... he was more than fine with. He loved the intricate details behind how a ducal holding works, the way to improve it, the endless minutiae and how it all clicks together. Not so much the actual dealing with other people, and so he always expected his sister Jennyva to rule. Still, it came as a shock when Gregor on his deathbed made a dying decree to ennoble Sir Bentley Crownfall, his constant battlefield companion. It probably shouldn't have, since it was the sort of thing father respected, but did he expect how much that would complicate succession? And who WAS this Malcolm fellow anyway? No matter, as far as Wyatt's concerned. He'll make sure the books are kept neat and tidy, and he's sure he can handle a few surprise relatives. This is fine. Everything's fine.
  elatives. This is fine. Everything's fine.)
• Wylla Halfshav  + (Wylla was definitely born in the wrong hou …
  Wylla was definitely born in the wrong house. Sometimes when she was a girl, surrounded by a history of warriors and glory, she thought that someone had somehow switched her at birth, perhaps with someone from a family of craftsmen -- people who were small and quiet and knew what they wanted. Of course -- she had the looks of her family, with her bright red hair and milky skin and freckles, so it couldn't really be so. But she definitely didn't have the martial theme that seemed so common in her house. All Wylla wanted was to paint. Even when she was a little girl, her spare time was spent in ink and charcoal and paint. Outside, she made snow sculptures. But it was with ink and paint and brush that she always excelled. She was called to the work, and so it was not actually /that/ much of a surprise when, coming to the capital with her family, it was the Shrine of Jayus that most often called the paint-stained little girl to its benches and festivals. She followed an old priest of Jayus there around, and he frequently suggested discipleship to her, but she always felt sad about it. Being a lay dedicate for Jayus seemed like half measures. At 16, she chose to do it anyway. At 22, Wylla was all set to marry into a lesser house. It was three days before her wedding day when, painting in her room, she suddenly burst into tears. The images would not come. Nothing would come to her. She wept inconsolably and lay in bed for a day and a night. She broke off the marriage after that, and went to join the Faith, not as a lay dedicate, but as a godsworn, for the marriage of her heart was to the gods. It caused trouble for her family. But the Faith was her new family now. Being a priest was difficult for Wylla, especially at first. Art and creativity called her, but people did not. She was socially awkward and uncomfortable. It took her time to grow and learn. But connecting with people through art worked well for her, so it only made sense that she worked so much with Jayus's dedicates. When the Archlector of Jayus, her old mentor, passed away, it was his desire that she succeed him. She's still getting used to it.
  cceed him. She's still getting used to it.)
• Wymark Swift  + (Wymark's story could begin like too many o …
  Wymark's story could begin like too many others, as a baby dropped off at an orphanage and no parents to speak of. But it doesn't. Wymark remembers his family, at least in the vaguest of ways a child can, and even remembers the tragedy that took them away. The Swifts had long been a family of knights, at least one per generation, for the Deepwoods. And the Swifts were nearly wiped out on the attack at Old Oak. So while he may have been made an orphan during that terrible moment, he did not become one without a legacy that had already been drilled into him. He had already become a page and had started learning what would be his calling. The events that nearly wiped out the Deepwoods only hardened the resolve that Wymark felt towards the knightly calling. He would begin fosterage with a family in Arx that his family had ties with, instead of being taken to an orphanage. He'd hone his skill with weapons and manners. But more than that, he'd start taking on the role of a Disciple of the Sentinel. Justice called to Wymark, and there was nothing he could do but follow it. When eventually his squire was over, Marquessa Samantha herself would knight Wymark. But he asked permission and had it granted that he spends time with the Inquisition. There Wymark has made a name for himself, rising up the ranks from Confessor to Inquisitor. When there's a crime that's been done, he just can't let it go, and will worry over it for as long as it takes to find the culprit. It's both something that's served him well and earned a few reprimands, but not a personality trait that's likely to change.
  personality trait that's likely to change.)
• Xanthe Igniseri  + (Xanthe is a child of nobility and received …
  Xanthe is a child of nobility and received the education to that effect. Sure, it might be basics in the social aspect because she didn't enjoy it much but she has the proper education. Her interest was in weaponry. That she excelled in, met all expectations for it. She spent much time traveling, mostly by land since she is not big on being on the water, the irony of someone sworn to Velnosa not being fond of being on a boat is not lost on her. When she heard what happened to her family after Gyre was defeated she was surprised. She was not really upset, though, when the March was given to someone else. It happens. She travelled as far as she felt like, trying to hone her preference of using large weapons. Her travels eventually lead her to join the Champions and the Society of Explores, both of which caught her interest. Not long before arriving in Arx she was recruited by someone in the Iron Guard. She saw no reason not to join. If being a member of the Iron Guard proved to be a hindrance to her goals then she would leave it. She does not lack goals, to note. They are a bit varied but ultimately they fall into two categories, combat and exploration. It is a bonus when the two can be combined.
  t is a bonus when the two can be combined.)
• Yael Laveer  + (Yael was born to a family of middling nobi …
  Yael was born to a family of middling nobility in the foreign city of Vel'ichalah in Eurus. There was nothing like love involved in the union of her parents, and no one in the family ever pretended there was. It was, in all matters, merely a matter of politics, and Yael's father barely had anything to do with her raising. She was the youngest, the only girl, and left to her mother to be raised. Which, truth be told, was probably more of a blessing than Yael would have realized earlier in her life. Devoting herself to the local religion as a Disciple kept her out of the estate and out of everyone's eyes. She learned, she kept quiet, she became a scholar of secrets and things that were meant to be forgotten. She'd write them down in books that'd be taken away never to be seen again, bound to never tell what she wrote. It wasn't a great life; it wasn't the life a noble would want or have ambition for. But Yael was a scholar out of necessity... until she was 23. 23 years is how long Yael was able to hide the deformity that would have her stripped of her nobility, put into chains as a slave, and sold to a caravan going out of the city while her mother had to look on in shame before being punished for breaking society's rules. Yael would be taken to Skal'daja and sold to Prince Damik's family, eventually bringing her to Arvum's shores. Were it not for a chance meeting with the Count of Laveer and impressing the man with both her spirit and her knowledge, she might have come to believe her life nothing but cursed with bad luck. But now she's gone from noble to slave to noble and who knows what comes next?
  ve to noble and who knows what comes next?)
• Renata Masque  + (Years ago the inhabitants of a small villa …
  Years ago the inhabitants of a small village in Setarco woke up to chunks of a broken vessel washing ashore. Despite the darkness the fishermen saw something moving, slowly, in the wreckage lit sporadically by the lightnining of the skies. There, among butchered bodies and debris, was a bloodied girl, barely clinging to life. As they would find out next morning, the entirety of the girl's memories had been left in the sea, and they would baptize her Renata. Renata's adaptation was difficult due to the severe mental scars left by her experiences in the sea. At first she had seizures at the sight of blood, was unable to communicate verbally and had a gripping fear of the dark, but stranger still was her horror of the sea. Renata thought the touch of sea water to be caustic to her flesh, shrieking and losing grasp on herself whenever coming in contact with it. Deemed broken, still she was cared for, and in return she grew to love them back and worry for them. Every day she would watch, shivering, as their boats took to the sea for sustenance, and while she couldn't cook or fish, the young girl decided to help by growing food around her home. Much to the surprise of all the villagers, Renata revealed, then, a talent for interacting with the natural world around her. Obsessed in freeing her beloved peers from the dangerous life atop the waves, she worked and worked until exhaustion. In less than two years, news would arrive in the neighboring areas that fate had sent Setarco a gift, one who had turned fishermen into farmers, and a fishing village into a prosperous, even if small, trading town. Dozens flocked to the growing town, either to abandon life at the sea or to witness the workings of the 'Kind Maiden of Anvisa'. Her legend would grow to reach the then-duke of Pravus, Piero Pravus, known for his easy smiles and merciful behavior. The beloved ruler set aside time to visit the Maiden, and rumor has he was enchanted by Renata's purity and kindness. The duke would propose the woman a deal: join him at court where he would give her ample reach to spread her work to many and she would allow him to tutor her. Seeing in Piero someone who shared her love for others, Renata accepted his proposal. She would leave to court to be raised alongside the other young ones at court, like Belladonna, Celeste, Elonso and Aurelia, and from them she would learn much about nobility and the rules of court, but it was Piero who gave her the most cherished gift of all: he gave Renata her voice back. The man would sit down with the young woman, even when she was testy or rebellious, and insist that she learn. He never gave up on Renata, something she will be forever grateful for. As some of the children of Piero would take for different talents, Renata never stopped thinking about her people, or how to free them from the dreadful, treacherous sea. Named Piero's Minister of Agriculture, the Verdant Touch of Setarco, she would do much good for the people, even after his death. Although losing Piero was a hard blow to the woman who thought of him as a father, her loyalty to the man never wavered. She would take care of his people.
  avered. She would take care of his people.)
• Renata  + (Years ago the inhabitants of a small villa …
  Years ago the inhabitants of a small village in Setarco woke up to chunks of a broken vessel washing ashore. Despite the darkness the fishermen saw something moving, slowly, in the wreckage lit sporadically by the lightnining of the skies. There, among butchered bodies and debris, was a bloodied girl, barely clinging to life. As they would find out next morning, the entirety of the girl's memories had been left in the sea, and they would baptize her Renata. Renata's adaptation was difficult due to the severe mental scars left by her experiences in the sea. At first she had seizures at the sight of blood, was unable to communicate verbally and had a gripping fear of the dark, but stranger still was her horror of the sea. Renata thought the touch of sea water to be caustic to her flesh, shrieking and losing grasp on herself whenever coming in contact with it. Deemed broken, still she was cared for, and in return she grew to love them back and worry for them. Every day she would watch, shivering, as their boats took to the sea for sustenance, and while she couldn't cook or fish, the young girl decided to help by growing food around her home. Much to the surprise of all the villagers, Renata revealed, then, a talent for interacting with the natural world around her. Obsessed in freeing her beloved peers from the dangerous life atop the waves, she worked and worked until exhaustion. In less than two years, news would arrive in the neighboring areas that fate had sent Setarco a gift, one who had turned fishermen into farmers, and a fishing village into a prosperous, even if small, trading town. Dozens flocked to the growing town, either to abandon life at the sea or to witness the workings of the 'Kind Maiden of Anvisa'. Her legend would grow to reach the then-duke of Pravus, Piero Pravus, known for his easy smiles and merciful behavior. The beloved ruler set aside time to visit the Maiden, and rumor has he was enchanted by Renata's purity and kindness. The duke would propose the woman a deal: join him at court where he would give her ample reach to spread her work to many and she would allow him to tutor her. Seeing in Piero someone who shared her love for others, Renata accepted his proposal. She would leave to court to be raised alongside the other young ones at court, like Belladonna, Celeste, Elonso and Aurelia, and from them she would learn much about nobility and the rules of court, but it was Piero who gave her the most cherished gift of all: he gave Renata her voice back. The man would sit down with the young woman, even when she was testy or rebellious, and insist that she learn. He never gave up on Renata, something she will be forever grateful for. As some of the children of Piero would take for different talents, Renata never stopped thinking about her people, or how to free them from the dreadful, treacherous sea. Named Piero's Minister of Agriculture, the Verdant Touch of Setarco, she would do much good for the people, even after his death. Although losing Piero was a hard blow to the woman who thought of him as a father, her loyalty to the man never wavered. She would take care of his people.
  avered. She would take care of his people.)
• Renata Pravus  + (Years ago the stories of an extremely tale …
  Years ago the stories of an extremely talented singer would reach the Duke of Setarco, Piero Pravos. A soul gentle as a springtime breeze, the Siren of Luciva would draw dozens to sit around her every night in that haven for Abandoned pirates, her voice so beautiful even the bloodthirsty enemies of House Pravus would pay stolen silver to enjoy. Rumor has it that so incredible these tales were that Piero, along with his brother and Sword Tiberio, would infiltrate the city to witness the Siren sing. That very night Piero would find himself face to face with the unique maiden, having learned from people at the crowd that she had washed ashore, bloodied and without memory, along with chunks of a broken vessel. The Lucivan fishermen saw her moving, slowly, in the wreckage lit sporadically by the lightnining of the skies and took her in, as she barely clung to life. They baptized her, gave her a job at a local tavern, but it what was most surprising was that although Renata could sing, she did not talk. Although she would find Lord Tiberio Pravus too brash, it was Piero's softspoken and good-natured self that would win Renata's heart, convincing the girl to come with him to Setarco City, where he would see that she would have the best education and be raised among his children in the court. Although riches appealed little to Renata at the time, the idea of being closer to Piero pleased her, and so she left with the two men of Pravus. Renata was introduced to the court and would find his children welcoming, even if eccentric. Duchess-Consort Lucia, Belladonna, Elonso and Allegra would teach her much about nobility and the rules of court, but Duke Piero would always take time out of his day to sit with Renata and teach her gamut of disciplines, giving her a lot of much-needed attention. Every night he would sit for hours with the girl and, despite being told it would never work, Piero managed to make Renata talk. Soon enough, Renata would be his daughter in all but in name, and the other Sins accepted her as such. Ever since Renata has been with the Sins, and one of the most beloved of them by the population of Setara, who love the young woman for using her position of Minister to make their lives better, as Piero would have wanted. In service, she would stay mostly in the island, apparently displeased with the idea of traveling to Arx thanks to her fear of water, but with the Pravus family ascension, something would happen to force Renata's hand. In the year of 1013 AR, Renata would be adopted into the Pravus family officially, becoming accepted as a sister to Belladonna and Allegra. No more she would be afforded the privilege of staying in Setara, while her family gathered in Arx.
  Setara, while her family gathered in Arx.)
• Juneau Hawthorne  + (Yes, Juneau was born with that unquenchabl …
  Yes, Juneau was born with that unquenchable wanderlust. Even from a young age, she absolutely positively knew without a shadow of a doubt she did not want to be a sheep farmer like the rest of her family and stuck in the old farm outside of Blancbier. Her mother blames her nature on her (deceased) father and her step father blames it on lack of discipline - and of course that's how a lot of fights started in the Hawthorne family. She doesn't know really how they end because she's already slipped out five minutes ago and has disappeared back into the trees. But don't worry. She's always made it home in time for dinner. Well. Mostly. When her brothers were born, a great weight was lifted from her shoulders and she went from a flighty pre-teen to an almost entirely absent teenager. Chores? Brothers can take care of those. She's not inheriting any of it, why would she be interested in laboring away her youth? So, she stuck to what she was best at. (Basically anything but chores). Years passed by almost too quickly, and she began experimenting in survival and exploration. She began traveling further and further away from home into the wilderness and having her own private adventures staying away for longer and longer stretches of time. When the right time presented itself, she took off on her own in the middle of the night. She left a note and come morning, absolutely no one was surprised. Taking a meandering east-ish following the rivers (mostly) she eventually found herself exploring the roads and traveling and seeing all of the world from Farhaven to her newest landing, Arx. Hearing of its opportunities piqued her interest and she's ready to stick around for a little while but she knows it won't be long until her feet and curiosity begins to itch. She's joined the Explorer's Guild and the Scholars to start out with, enrolling in classes and signing up for explorations to keep her mind busy between trips.
  tions to keep her mind busy between trips.)
• Ylva Highdale  + (Ylva comes from a family who for generatio …
  Ylva comes from a family who for generations served House Aviaron in Aviaron's Peak. Her father was a knight, her mother worked in the kitchens. She was a clever but rambunctious child, and when she was inevitably grounded and forbidden to explore the tunnels or the mountains or befriend mountain goats, she'd sneak around and bother people with a torrent of polite and softly-spoken questions. Her father died in the Silent War, and she decided to become a Mercy, beginning to study in earnest. Ylva was very eager to care for people. Looking at their insides was only a secondary and very icky benefit. Meanwhile, her lieges changed, but her family's service did not. Ylva then wandered afield, assisting other Mercies, but rarely straying too far from home. However, one fair day, she decided to come to Arx. There's no better place to learn how to be a better healer, there's all kinds of war and strangeness afoot, and there are many people in dire need of assistance! Now in Arx, she can confirm it's all true, especially the strangeness afoot.
  ll true, especially the strangeness afoot.)

• Brass Not anymore  + (You don't know!)

• Madrien Daupenne  + (You must understand that many Lycene retir …
  You must understand that many Lycene retirement plans are delivered by the tip of a blade. But that's not the beginning, is it? In fact, it's not the end, either, for Madrien Daupenne. Not yet anyway. His shrewd mind singled him out early for complex training and his extreme calm under pressure continued his slow rise over decades of service. Victories were admirably consolidated, and defeats suitably weathered, over those years, such that his insights in matters of coin and finance became valuable, then valued, then amply rewarded. It is known, on a personal note, that during these years he once had a wife... and a child? Children? The matter is unclear, but it is certain that his family would have been as comfortable materially as they must have been entirely bereft of his time, and presence, and care. It is also certain that they no longer are in Iriscal. Should they still exist anywhere at all, they must be better off for having been part of his family, as certainly as they must hold no warm thoughts for him, as a person, at all. In due time, Madrien was granted a position of some authority, as one of the Ministers of the County. All was well, until it wasn't. The Countess Lucrezia fell victim to an assassination and the winds of change blew under a new Countess. It became incumbent upon him, as with other non-family in high position, to offer his resignation and wait to have the offer rejected, or accepted, or accepted along with his life's blood. In his case, he lived and continued in service. It must be seen as a particular favor, and calls out for exceptional effort, to rebuild, and build further, and advance the House in its financial success.
  dvance the House in its financial success.)
• Sirius Valardin  + (Young Sirius came to the world a whining, …
  Young Sirius came to the world a whining, petulant child since the moment his head peaked out of his mother's hindquarters, eyes as open as babes could have them. Born into a familial circle of economical means and connections, his begetter arranged for him ostentatious tutors in all sciences of man found worthy of the Oathlands; martial, physics, mathematics, theology, languages, geometry. History. Despite the wide selection, Sirius found himself the most attracted to the sword. As he grew into early youth, issues became more apparent in his physique. His feet looked clubbed inwards, and he lacked the physical capacity to match the speed and dexterity of contemporaries, bringing out an ire and impatience in his father fattened only by the shame in the possibility of his boy being a cripple. And he was, in fact, crippled. It's what a particularly crude Sister of Lagoma informed him after witnessing him pushing the child too hard. Sadly for her, Lord Alberich Valardin was a stubborn man. As singular, unsettling tales were suggested amongst his keep that his son wouldn't amount to knighthood, Alberich exhausted his resources in finding experts in matters of healing to exhume the vile crippledness from his boy. He soon had him wear all sorts of absurd apparatuses, from harnesses to wooden chassis around the ankles, ropes that'd pull away at every particularly bent toe to force his feet in place. It was a painful existence, but some of that stubbornness had been inherited by Sirius, who bent all efforts in pleasing his father. Marked with the stigmata of disability, it was only reasonable that Sirius became retiring to the public eye. Sequestered to the dusty, and worn existence of his father's decaying library, he took it upon himself to be the bailiff that cared for every book, and while children played with swords and horses he, too, played with swords and horses. Only that his were whittled from wood, and placed on boards knapped from slate, where he borrowed scenarios of war and conflicts of the past to re-envision and reenact them within his capabilities once he derived them from books. Every soldier, every horse; every general, every officer, given a face and purpose. He was particular towards cavalry. Eventually, time gave way to a young man healed of his physical impediments. As fate would have it, those ropes and pulleys that had kept his feet drastically in place had, in fact, healed his club-footed appendages, just not as quick as his father would've wanted. He had forgotten that knights wield swords and not pens; that they couch lances, and not books. So inadvertently, Alberich had let his son become a scholar of war, not a soldier that fights in one. All his life, Sirius could feel an insistent gnawing in the back of his mind. A strange yearning, a thirst for more he could neither numb, nor sate, and it culminated with a self-effacing exodus to Arx. To visit the fabled Academy of War, and further his desire to understand conflict beyond the station of a soldier, or knight.
  eyond the station of a soldier, or knight.)
• Fawkuhl Valardin  + (Younger children of great houses that are …
  Younger children of great houses that are extremely unlikely to ever sit as high lord are often encouraged to pursue other avenues for power for their families, and Fawkuhl felt an extremely early drive to make his mark in the Faith of the Pantheon. A precocious child that was marked by an early fervor for the Faith and the theology behind the different gods, he became a priest of the Pantheon while still a teenager. Even though in theory all priests of the Pantheon are equal and renounce their ties to their families as they take their vows, being the younger brother of a high lord cleared the way inside an institution that had historically been dominated by House Valardin. A popular, effective orator that was well regarded, he was still a surprise nomination for Dominus by the Legates when the previous elderly Dominus died of heart failure, but not before specifically adopting Fawkuhl as a protege and saying he 'saw the mark of the gods in him'. He was appointed Dominus unanimously by the Convocation of the Faith.
  animously by the Convocation of the Faith.)
• Emberly Farshaw  + (Youngest daughter of Emmeline Farshaw and …
  Youngest daughter of Emmeline Farshaw and Jacques Blanchard, Emberly showed a passion for the sea at an early age, though she was called back to land before she became lost to it. She was off sailing ever chance she could between lessons in ediquette. Emberly loves music and the art of subtility, she was keen to study under Marquessa Sunniva Harthall and her husband Marquis Orvyn Harthall. Here she has learned more about her passion for alchemy and intrigue. She is close to her brother Alban and talks to him often, this shy youth is still coming into herself.
  is shy youth is still coming into herself.)
• Emberly Crown  + (Youngest daughter of Emmeline Farshaw and …
  Youngest daughter of Emmeline Farshaw and Jacques Blanchard, Emberly showed a passion for the sea at an early age, though she was called back to land before she became lost to it. She was off sailing ever chance she could between lessons in ediquette. Emberly loves music and the art of subtility, she was keen to study under Marquessa Sunniva Harthall and her husband Marquis Orvyn Harthall. Here she has learned more about her passion for alchemy and intrigue. She is close to her brother Alban and talks to him often, this shy youth is still coming into herself.
  is shy youth is still coming into herself.)
• Emberly Crovane  + (Youngest daughter of Emmeline Farshaw and …
  Youngest daughter of Emmeline Farshaw and Jacques Blanchard, Emberly showed a passion for the sea at an early age, though she was called back to land before she became lost to it. She was off sailing ever chance she could between lessons in ediquette. Emberly loves music and the art of subtility, she was keen to study under Marquessa Sunniva Harthall and her husband Marquis Orvyn Harthall. Here she has learned more about her passion for alchemy and intrigue. She is close to her brother Alban and talks to him often, this shy youth is still coming into herself.
  is shy youth is still coming into herself.)
• Yrsa Shav  + (Yrsa grew up in the wilds of the Northland …
  Yrsa grew up in the wilds of the Northlands, one of a few dozen members of a tribe who subscribed to the independent ways; live off the land, defend your homes and kneel to none. Her childhood was spent learning about the natural world and how to survive in it, how to thrive, how to support her family. A little basic herbalism, a lot of basic hunting, and all the chores necessary to keep a small tribe running. Including, when she grew old enough, fighting against other tribes over resources or pride. No tribe is an island however, and hers began to dwindle; young people marrying out to other groups, older people falling to death by wild animal or bad food or conflict with others. And so when she was 20, her tribal leader made the difficult decision to kneel to the Crown, joining the compact to help his remaining people thrive - better trade opportunities, more knowledge of the world, and said world becoming an open oyster to be indulged in. It took a few years, but eventually Yrsa felt the call of the world, and so left her home to travel. She earned her keep as a mercenary, her fighting and hunting skills standing her in good stead for guarding caravans and escorting groups of people through dangerous places. As she improved on those skills and bought herself better equipment, she began to join in with larger skirmishes and battles, earning a name for herself as a skilled foe on the field of battle. Now, it seems there will be war. This could be profitable, or it could be her downfall, but whatever the future holds, she has made her way to the great city of Arx. Dispite her dislike of such places, there will be no better place to find a mercenary company to join, and to reap the glittery or bloody rewards that come with it.
  ttery or bloody rewards that come with it.)
• Yuri Tessere  + (Yuri Tessere grew in the shadows of Fortez …
  Yuri Tessere grew in the shadows of Fortezza di Iriscal, tutored under the watchful eye of his mother, Lauretta Tessere. For all of his faults, Yuri found himself a enigmatic child. The child was always tugging at his mother's skirts, more akin to a sheltered rugrat than an heir. His consort-lord father, Lord Henrik Arscelais, found the child incessantly whiny and loud, opting to carry his time with finances, assisting in daily trade to Lauretta more than make himself a real figure to his newly acquired son. (Some say the new lord-consort dallied himself with 'other' distractions but servants can only gossip for so long). It can sorely be said that the death of Yuri's birth father, Lauretta's first husband of House Daleron, had some adverse effect on the boy. It made him subdued, quiet, and too reticent. It fell to Lauretta and the servants of the manse to break the boy out of his proverbial chains. Scholars taught him ways of the coin, law, and the arts. The House marshal took the lad every day for drills and practice to harden his body as his mind was sharpened. It was a fine balance of both the arts and martial prowess that painted the young lord’s steps as he grew from quiet and frail child to an enthusiastic and daring teenager. He was ever a student of his mother in these times, playing her shadow as he watched as Lauretta tended to the needs of the house as well as family business when it came to her own sister, Countess Lucrezia Tessere. Where Lucrezia had been lush in her court, Lauretta was the keeper; ever her sister’s fondest source of praise and very quick to defend her in all facets. As Lauretta found herself wrapped in the affairs of her sister and niece, Sabine, Yuri was tasked to challenge his mind to assist the House in any way he could Whether it be playing host to his mother’s soirees and hosting friends and family for small, friendly tourneys as time allotted. The lord began to grow into his own as a suitable host, though it did not bring any love or change in his stepfather’s demeanor. Thus, the year 1008 AR brought with it a trial that would color the rest of Yuri’s world: the death of his aunt, Countess Lucrezia. Lauretta was inconsolable, having learned almost immediately of the tragedy and her daily happenings all but ceased. A deep shadow was cast over the manse that seemed to affect all within, including Yuri as he watched his loving and tender guardian become wracked with grief. Though, it did not seem to dissuade his stepfather, Lord Henrik, from growing cross at his wife being locked away in her chambers for hours on end. He had begun to feel spurned of her affection and had started to make this publicly known. His blunders were his undoing. Some stewards and manse personnel say that the Lord begged for mercy as he was ejected from the courtyard doors by Master Yuri himself, thrown into a fit of rage and yelling demands of his mother never to be spoken in that manner again, that if words about his Aunt were spoken again in a besmirching manner, he would have no where to run. And some of those stewards watched on with not a dry eye as the little lord had grown himself into a master of the House before their eyes. Yuri pledged himself as to his mother’s decrees and demands, much to her glee as her little boy now became her most loved defender. The first order of business was to assist his cousin, the new Countess, Sabine Tessere, however he could. No self-respecting son could have denied that request; for it was she who held a candle for he in youth when all other lights had flickered out to him. ‘Twas time to repay the favor.
  ut to him. ‘Twas time to repay the favor.)
• Yvette Clearlake  + (Yvette has spent her entire life in the no …
  Yvette has spent her entire life in the north. Surrounded in the ways of her people, there has always been a part of her that has wanted more for her life than fur trading, chores, and learning to channel her fate. Headstrong and wild, she was indulged until the day it became apparent she was to be her people's next Oracle. Being marked as the next mouthpiece of their spirits felt like a chain around her. More and more she looked for ways to shirk her responsibilities to indulge in the things she loves. When her brother Kritr was chosen to represent their clan, the heavy chain became a short leash. To insure Yvette continues to study, learn, and hone her new position, he has decided to bring her along with him to Arx to keep a close eye on her.
  ith him to Arx to keep a close eye on her.)
• Zaina Pyrani  + (Zaina's memories of Eurus are almost dream …
  Zaina's memories of Eurus are almost dreamlike to her, in the passage of two decades. She remembers dry, dusty streets full of danger as beggars pleaded for aid in a tongue far more refined and sweet to the ears than the harsh tongue of the Arvani that she now dreams in. She remembers the cruelty of the high born ignoring the weak and powerless, with a scorn more than the equal of the worst excesses she's seen from House Thrax. She dimly remembers turning to thievery in order to survive, and being caught in the Palace of the Waves in the heart of Petrioch, and being saved from execution only by the whim of the young crown prince Asad, who admired her courage and demanded the child-thief be spared to act as his servant. Then she remembers a night of fire and blood, as men in black armor wielding swords dark as night stormed the palace and put most to the sword, and her escaping with Prince Asad and his young wife Marjory on a boat bound for her native Arvum and the Mourning Isles. She was so young she barely knew Prince Asad, a distant figure that sometimes she remembers in dreams, and she still has trouble remembering Eurus in detail, but she grew up in the Mourning Isles as different from all the others. Her one and only friend was the child of Asad and Marjory she helped raise, the princess Fatima. The younger woman was spoiled relentlessly as a princess, but Zaina wasn't truly jealous of it- she knew from that night of fire so very long ago how quickly the spoiled and mighty could fall, and took to educating the younger woman on just what it takes to survive and be successful with all the ruthlessness and drive to survive of someone that was raised on the streets of Petrioch. For Zaina herself, she knows that her destiny is tied to those of the rich and mighty she serves, and she is privately glad to be the handmaiden to Fatima- better to be a servant to someone ambitious and cunning than the passive and foolish, and as her star rises, so does her own. Through others, Zaina will never hunger again. Not ever.
  , Zaina will never hunger again. Not ever.)