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Candido Orata +	Candido was born the middle of three children in a more-stable-than-not commoner family in the city-state of Lenosia. His mother, a city guard, was the primary backbone of the household (and the person who first taught him to fight). His father was a bard in a struggling mummer's troupe that toured the Lyceum and Crownlands and was largely absent, if well-meaning when he was around. His parents never married, but it was a decent collection of relations and Candido never went hungry or felt unloved. The turning point in his life came when the Pirate King called the Gyre descended on Setarco. Candido wasn't old enough to go to war himself (and may not have anyhow, his life had limited direction), but his older sister Eugenia had joined Velenosa's army and was sent to fight. Though the Compact ultimately carried the day, Eugenia was among the slain. This was the biggest tragedy in his life up to that point and, when the dust settled, Candido felt the urge to throw himself into something vaguely meaningful. To give his mother one less thing to worry about if nothing else. He started volunteering with the Faith's rebuilding efforts, which led to him becoming a disciple of Gild, which led to him taking his vows as a godsworn brother when he was 19. Growing up he'd been an inattentive adherent (at best) to the Pantheon, but the work crystallized his view of the Faith as a way to both do something that mattered externally and get right with himself internally. And a way to make his own path in the world. The Faith as a social force offered opportunities to a common boy with both martial and interpersonal skills that few other vocations could. He squired to a Knight of Solace not long after taking his vows and acquitted himself well enough to earn a knighthood a couple years later. His personal convictions are heavily Lycene Liberal, though he's learned how to go along to get along with the Orthodox that make up so much of the Faith Militant, and he's served with general competence for the last several years. His latest assignment has taken him to Arx. What he'll make of it remains to be seen.  +
Cantus Crown +	Cantus is the type of person to get into trouble for all the right reasons. The wrong reasons? In any case, it's almost because he saw someone that decided they needed help, whether or not they agreed. But it's okay! Sometimes they actually do need helping. He had been taking a walk, as Cantus was wont to do, and stumbled upon a brigand harassing a poor old man. After that, a couple that needed a wagon wheel replaced. Depending on how he's feeling at the telling, either he felt the spirit of wandering the world, helping folks, ooooor far more likely Cantus found himself lost, shrugged, and decided to embrace this new adventure.  +
Capri De Lire +	The Lower Burroughs of Arx are a rough place to grow up, but someone has to grow up there. Capri was one of those, though he doesn't often talk about it. While many of those in the Lower Burroughs tend to end up striving to be good people in the face of adversity, or criminals, Capri ended up neither of these. Instead, the dangers of life spoke to him, and through countless fights he eventually developed a reputation as a duelist to be watched, and feared, leaving countless wounded or dead in the alleys of the Burroughs behind him. It isn't certain how he ended up joining the Valorous Few, but it's apparent that it likely has to do with the family business.  +
Caprice Artiglio +	Caprice often receives praise as being one of the most promising talents in tailoring from the Lyceum, but she has never felt quite comfortable with the assessment. She is, foremost, simply an artist who demonstrates her talents by weaving fabrics into stunning fashions as her chosen medium of expression. From a very early age, she felt called to be one of the chosen of Jayus, feeling a spark of inspiration from the Prince of Stories. Even as a child she would idle by shrines of Jayus and toy with dyes and clothes, working ever more elaborate colorations and blends of fabric. As a young woman, her talent was quickly recognized, and at a very young age she has been given the immense honor of being appointed the tailor of House Velenosa. Caprice is fully aware that her position might well be one of the most coveted of any tailor in all of Arvum. The Lyceum are the height of fashion for the entire Compact, after all, and House Velenosa is the height of fashion for the Lyceum. But the knowledge does not trouble her unduly She is, in her opinion and without any feelings of conceit, divinely inspired.  +
Cara Ashford +	Cara was born a daughter of House Rubino, blessed by fortune with good teeth and a steady mind. A quick study, her interest in things intellectual blossomed as she recovered from an unfortunate accident -- a fire, which left her with burn scars on her legs and a lengthy healing period. Quiet -- but not especially shy -- the young lady showed promise in the arts of diplomacy and the study of history, eventually growing into a maiden well-suited to gracing a parlor or fine dining hall and engaging in polite conversation. She married a cousin of House Ashford and left the Lyceum for greener climes, adjusting with relative grace to the very different life, and seemingly through luck finding true happiness with her husband -- until he was tragically discovered among the slain of the king's retinue. How she will adapt to this change in her life, and her position among her new house and her old, remains to be seen.  +
Cara Grayson +	Cara was born a daughter of House Rubino, blessed by fortune with good teeth and a steady mind. A quick study, her interest in things intellectual blossomed as she recovered from an unfortunate accident -- a fire, which left her with burn scars on her legs and a lengthy healing period. Quiet -- but not especially shy -- the young lady showed promise in the arts of diplomacy and the study of history, eventually growing into a maiden well-suited to gracing a parlor or fine dining hall and engaging in polite conversation. She married a cousin of House Ashford and left the Lyceum for greener climes, adjusting with relative grace to the very different life, and seemingly through luck finding true happiness with her husband -- until he was tragically discovered among the slain of the king's retinue. How she will adapt to this change in her life, and her position among her new house and her old, remains to be seen.  +
Caras Wyrmguard +	Caras Wyrmguard was born in the fortress city of House Wyrmguard, Blancbier. On the northern marches of the Oathlands, Blanbier is an important bastion protecting Sanctum from the heathen shavs of the north. As a young man, Caras showed great proficiency in martial training. This is not unusual for the sons and daughters of the Oathlands but Caras took to his training with great passion and vigor. Not simply a soldier or knight, but a student of the blade, his first campaign came at a relatively young age. While he played little part as a mere boy, he knew at the time that his life would be a constant battle - and he loved it. A careless and dismissive young man, he was selfish and self-centered. Haughty and superior. Few friends, little love of or for the people of the Wyrmguard lands or his family's retainers, he sought only glory for himself. A life of battle and death and harship. This was not the life he was destined to lead, however. A small unit commanded by the young lord was ambushed on patrol, nearer the road than they had expected. Not wanting to die for their selfish lord, the other men retreated and left Caras to his own fate. Though he fought well and bravely, he was cut down and left for dead on the road, alone in the cold. It was hours before anyone came along and he thought it a specter. A vision of a goddess offering succor and kindness, healing and protection. It was no entity but a Priestess of Gild. She gave him shelter and nursed him back to health. When he returned to Blancbier he found the men who had abandoned him had concocted a story that was not true. Caras forgave them, said nothing, and renounced his title and fealty to join the order of Gild. Caras traveled to Arx for his training, learning about the plight of those in need, the lives of the common folk, the way one can change a life through kindness, compassion, and charity. Once becoming godsworn, Caras began to travel. Walking the roads of the Compact with nothing but his generosity and charity, he brought the message of Gild far and wide through all the lands of the kingdom. His return to Arx several years ago came after deep contemplation and prayer. It would be a sacrifice considering his love of the road and the far-flung people that need the blessing of Gild, but it is a sacrifice he is willing to make and one that has paid dividends as he becomes the Archlector of Gild and increases his opportunities to praise the goddess.  +
Carilova Nowak +	She rarely spoke of her origins and never claimed 'home' as any one place. Carilova seemed to know the customs of nearly all the more notable houses of the Compact and whether that came from study or firsthand experience had been the talk among the peerage after her departures. Noblemen and women had been eager to call and summon on her as a counselor, friend, advisor and notable guest.  +
Carissa Malespero +	After being sent off to become a scholar on a far-flung island as an extra lady who was too rebellious for the Argento family, Carissa heard what happened to the nobles of Arx and returned in a panic a few years too late, after the Gyre had been defeated. Her family mostly dead, and her March given to Lianne, she yearned for something to do to gain back some measure of trust for herself and the name Argento. However, after learning some hard truths about that name, Carissa is humbled, thankful, and even grateful to Lianne for welcoming her home with open arms and kindness. She is working hard to regain herself, after so many years of anger. She's always been rebellious, it's true, but now she's trying to live up to the new family name she proudly wears.  +
Carita Darkwater +	Once Upon a Time? (No, this is how I want my story to start.) Once Upon a Time there was a girl that grew up hungry, dirty, and poor in the Lower Burroughs as the youngest of seven other children. Her mother, Darya, was a former Thrall that managed to pay off her debt to live free - and her father was never spoken of. Life was difficult and unpleasant for the girl as she fought to make herself noticed among the rest of her siblings. It was a battle that she constantly lost, but she fought on. She was determined to better herself and her situation. It was expected that this girl would apprentice to some trade, to marry, or find work to support her constantly growing family - as many of her older siblings were already having children of their own. She worked as a barmaid in the Murder for quite some time (rest in pieces, Chanse, you bastard) before she caught the attentions of a courtier of the Whisper House and the two established an unlikely friendship. The courtier had also grown up in the Lower Burroughs, but had impressed the Radiant enough to train them and offer them a position among the Whispers. It was through this friendship that the girl realized that this could be her future, her chance to make it all better for herself. This was her calling, her passion. Constantly surrounded by interesting people, endless opportunities for socializing, and always having the finest things that her new life could afford her. Life as a Whisper suited her far much better than being a barmaid. When she received payment from her wealthy patrons, she always made sure to send a portion of it to her aging parents, but she always kept more for herself. As a girl that had grown up wanting, the woman that she became would never want for anything ever again. The woman would have been most content to remain a pampered Whisper for the rest of her days, but her heart (fiery and quick like her temper) led her to fall in love with a pirate. Well, he was a Darkwater. (It's more or less the same.) She had many misgivings of him and his intentions, considering that he was a Thrax - but Lord Baltus Darkwater proved to be a truthful man that honored his promises, and acted upon every lovely word that he had spoken to her. The woman would have been pleased to remain his lover indefinitely. When the Darkwater Lord proposed to her with the desire to make the woman his wife, she was surprised that she accepted it so easily. The wedding was a subdued affair (the dress was not) and the newly wedded pair went off together. Away from Arx, across a deep blue sea to a gem of an island called Cielos Encantadores. After a couple of years in this paradise, they finally had a child - a girl named Nerissa. And they lived Happily Ever? Oh, wait a moment. When Baltus was sent a summons by their liege, the Darkwater Count Maximilian, he answered and returned to the city of Arx. It was days after that Carita decided to follow her hushand with their daughter (and a nanny) so that they might be together again. Eager to starting a new adventure in the city that she was more than pleased to leave behind. ... Hopefully, they live Happily Ever After. (They didn't. Irreconcilable differences.)  +
Carmen Harol +	Carmen grew up in the Lower Burroughs. Her mother was a laundress for the Mercies and her father a carpenter. They did okay as families went. As an only child she often followed at her mother's heels around the House of Solace. She proved an able helped and natural caretaker as a young child. It was when her mother insisted on her getting some schooling that her sweet demeanor faded. Carmen had a very keen mind and the stupidity she saw in the classes had her speaking out. It also had her targeted by those who didn't appreciate being made a fool of. Carmen came home angry and determined to give as good as she got. Until she hit her majority Carmen's youth was full of fighting and learning. The mercies had seen her natural gift and offered to train her, which she was happy to do. Yet she had made friends during her schooling and like most kids formed her own Burroughs gang. There were times her skills came in very handy. Her parents did not approve of her gang activities. So they brought her uncle, a Blade, to talk to her. He convinced her to give the Crimson Blades a try, where she could fight -and- use her medic skills -and- get paid for it. Seemed perfect to her. The fact that the Crimson Blades were elite helped a lot. The utter stupidity of people she couldn't help but comment on was not nearly as evident. And all her trainers actually had brains so she managed to not get in too much trouble for her smart mouth. Now six years in and through several wars she has come out a veteran combat medic. Preffering to use a small bows for protection on the field, she has become known among the blades as the Bloody Mercy. She wears the nickname with pride.  +
Carrick Squallborn +	Carrick was born to a family of sailors and raiders. His father having been a sailor that fought off raiders and his grandfather on his mother's side being a raider that attacked ships. As a boy he grew up hearing the stories of the open sea as well as the honor of different warriors. It was his dream to go explore the sea as a sailor and he did. This was his life on the open sea fighting pirates while he explored. When he came home from his adventures he would fight with others in the village to show them how to fight raiders or any others that might come to attack. This lead to him quickly showing him to be the best warrior in the village. As he traveled out when he came back home would find a new challenger appeared to challenge him due to word of his skill of arms. This lead his name to grow even while sailing as a fearsome combatant as well as talented teacher for he would show those that he faced how to improve themselves as well as teach any who wished to know how to defend themselves. Finally after years of adventuring traveling and dueling. He was called to the Ravenseye house, they had heard of his skill and asked him to be sword of the house. Seeing it as a new adventure as well as wanting to settle down a bit to start a family Carrick agreed. His new title suited him more than he thought and now on his way to the city of Arx with the Countess seeing it as a new adventure to travel.  +
Casiar Cross +	Born to Silvia and Daren Cross, Casiar grew up as an only child. His primary interests were academic, where all of the other kids his age he knew were more focused in the pursuits of physical prowess. Though most would speak to him, and he wouldn't ignore them or shun his peers, he did have some trouble in his mid-late teens with a few of the boys he grew up around. One in particular, a young man by the name of Rowen, had apparently decided that it was his place to "toughen him up", and his way of doing this was to knock Casiar around at every possible opportunity. many of Casiar's books, though worn and old already, fell to the destructive tendencies of Rowen and his ilk, as they pushed him around, tripped him, and even went as far as to break his nose more than once. Other than these encounters, Casiar's childhood was unremarkable in almost every way. Having become a scholar at the age of twenty-two, Casiar was forced to take a few months away from his studies only half a year later when he received word that his father had passed away unexpectedly. During his time back at home with his mother, while putting what little his family had in order, She too grew ill. After only two weeks from her diagnosis she too passed, while Casiar sat on her bed cradling her head in his lap. It was evident to all of his friends and fellow scholars that this experience took a heavy toll on him. While never outright dismissive or disrespectful of his fellows, Casiar was, prior to the loss of his parents, always more focused on his studies than on anything else, though after his return from his temporary leave, and the subsequent loss of both of his parents, Casiar spoke little. The easy smiles he always had for his friends were gone, his eyes were rarely focused unless the subject was a book or tome he was reading. He became introverted and quiet, obsessed with work and solitude. Those who called him a friend prior to his time away slipped from his notice, even a young woman he had grown close to could not get him to speak or take time away from his books. It has been over a decade since his tragic loss, and while Casiar has begun to come away from his studies more often than any time in the past ten years, he is still mostly quiet and heavily introverted. He has started to try to make new friends, as all those he once had have moved on to other appointments, married and moved away, retired or passed on themselves. At the age of thirty-four, with no prospects for marriage, and no sign that this is particularly bothersome to him, and with a head full of all the writing he devoured throughout the years, Casiar has started to venture out and interact with people more and more. Though still fairly shy and soft spoken, he hopes to put his knowledge to use for the benefit of The Crown.  +
Casimir Acheron +	From a young age, Casimir was marked to seal a political alliance by marrying out of the family. You see, he never liked the family dogs. He never liked the wilds that much, either. He learned to endure both -- to ride, and to hunt, and to do everything that was expected of a Keaton lord -- but his true passion was found in books: histories and stories captured his imagination as the forests never could. He was still young when his eldest sister took her own life. He watched as Margerie took on the burden of rule with the incomprehension of the young, while his rather idle studies took on sharp new focus as he moved up the line of succession. His relief when he was bumped back down was matched only by Margerie's when Kael was found. The young promise of a political alliance was sealed through a marriage to house Acheron, and off Casimir went to Arx to meet his new wife. He has mixed feelings about setting aside the sigil of a dog's pawprint to take on that of a monstrous wolf-bear.  +
Caspian Artiglio +	Caspian was a thrall because his father was a thrall and his mother was also a thrall, and his father's war debt was a lot to pay. Yet the Thrax fealty has spent the last few years struggling towards what the rest of the Compact would call progress, and in an early push towards some of that progress, Donella Thrax freed some thralls who were thralls only by virtue of their parents' debts rather than their own. Caspian was freed at 19, with scattered memories of his tribe's honestly piratical raiding traditions mostly subverted by the day in and day out of long hours of hard labor with tenant farmers and ropemakers and sailors. He found in his newfound freedom that what he was mainly good at was a.) hard labor and b.) knives! He took the surname 'Wild' because his parents didn't give him a better one, and became a mercenary and sword for hire, until he eventually tagged into being a duellist for the Champion's Guild in Arx on account of besting a few in combat and developing a reputation for being a real /showy/ sword for hire. Though he began as a kind of desperately hungry merc with an axe to grind, he blossomed into a delighted fighter at the opportunity to pitch his skills in the dueling ring to wealthy nobles. It was exactly the life for him. Money was suddenly easier to come by, and with money, delicious attention, heartwarming acclaim, and the love and affection of adoring crowds, at least as long as he was making a show of it. Turning to away from grim guts and leaping whole-heartedly into laughter and life, he shines with the brilliance of the bon vivant, and it's clear he's here to make a killing.  +
Caspian Ru'Taul +	Caspian was a thrall because his father was a thrall and his mother was also a thrall, and his father's war debt was a lot to pay. Yet the Thrax fealty has spent the last few years struggling towards what the rest of the Compact would call progress, and in an early push towards some of that progress, Donella Thrax freed some thralls who were thralls only by virtue of their parents' debts rather than their own. Caspian was freed at 19, with scattered memories of his tribe's honestly piratical raiding traditions mostly subverted by the day in and day out of long hours of hard labor with tenant farmers and ropemakers and sailors. He found in his newfound freedom that what he was mainly good at was a.) hard labor and b.) knives! He took the surname 'Wild' because his parents didn't give him a better one, and became a mercenary and sword for hire, until he eventually tagged into being a duellist for the Champion's Guild in Arx on account of besting a few in combat and developing a reputation for being a real /showy/ sword for hire. Though he began as a kind of desperately hungry merc with an axe to grind, he blossomed into a delighted fighter at the opportunity to pitch his skills in the dueling ring to wealthy nobles. It was exactly the life for him. Money was suddenly easier to come by, and with money, delicious attention, heartwarming acclaim, and the love and affection of adoring crowds, at least as long as he was making a show of it. Turning to away from grim guts and leaping whole-heartedly into laughter and life, he shines with the brilliance of the bon vivant, and it's clear he's here to make a killing.  +
Caspian Wild +	Caspian was a thrall because his father was a thrall and his mother was also a thrall, and his father's war debt was a lot to pay. Yet the Thrax fealty has spent the last few years struggling towards what the rest of the Compact would call progress, and in an early push towards some of that progress, Donella Thrax freed some thralls who were thralls only by virtue of their parents' debts rather than their own. Caspian was freed at 19, with scattered memories of his tribe's honestly piratical raiding traditions mostly subverted by the day in and day out of long hours of hard labor with tenant farmers and ropemakers and sailors. He found in his newfound freedom that what he was mainly good at was a.) hard labor and b.) knives! He took the surname 'Wild' because his parents didn't give him a better one, and became a mercenary and sword for hire, until he eventually tagged into being a duellist for the Champion's Guild in Arx on account of besting a few in combat and developing a reputation for being a real /showy/ sword for hire. Though he began as a kind of desperately hungry merc with an axe to grind, he blossomed into a delighted fighter at the opportunity to pitch his skills in the dueling ring to wealthy nobles. It was exactly the life for him. Money was suddenly easier to come by, and with money, delicious attention, heartwarming acclaim, and the love and affection of adoring crowds, at least as long as he was making a show of it. Turning to away from grim guts and leaping whole-heartedly into laughter and life, he shines with the brilliance of the bon vivant, and it's clear he's here to make a killing.  +
Cassandra Laurent +	Cassandra Laurent was born to lead and she never doubted that. She never doubted her duty. She knew that she would be the Duchess of House Laurent, and that she would serve her family, and that she would serve House Valardin. But life, and the gods, had other plans for her. She was drawn early to the faith. At first she was merely a lay sister, dedicated to Gloria, to whom she felt called. But at the age of 20, while riding hard for her father's men in pursuit of a group of Shavs who had killed a priest and desecrated a shrine in one of their raids on a surrounding village, she was knocked from her horse and fell in battle. She fought her way clear of the Abandoned, but fell unconscious in the valley, separated from the others. Before she was recovered, she had a dream she attributed to Gloria, and when she woke, she knew that she could not remain the heir to her father's ducal seat. But she did something that she would never again do in her life: afraid of the reactions of her family, of her father and brother, she temporized. She hesitated. She kept finding excuses, putting off her passions for another day. When her father was in the midst of brokering a potential marriage alliance for her, however, she could no longer bear the silence. The lay dedicacy was not enough; she would serve the Faith, called to another duty than the one she had first been born to. Cassandra threw herself into the priesthood with her whole heart. She studied and worked and threw every ounce of her will behind serving the faith. It is possible that her connections to a Valardin ducal house -- godsworn though she was -- helped her in her climb through the ranks, but Cassandra liked to believe it was her passion and dedication that eventually made her the Archlector of Gloria. The pinnacle of her ambition is to be the Sword of the Faith -- and her eye lifts ever to that horizon.  +
Cassia Mercier +	Cassia Mercier grew up with a comfortable life for a commoner. A scion of a merchant family, but she wasn't particularly close with her cousins. Her mother having "married" in, while her father was the Mercier-- who died when Cassia was barely five years old. The Merciers made sure she was cared for but she wasn't particularly close with them, and her mother wasn't very interested in pushing for a family connection. Cassia has always had a strong sense of smell and as a young girl would often be bothered by strong scents. Which was unfortunate since her mother was a fisherwoman. Cassia simply cannot stand the smell of fish and so refused to follow in her footsteps. Leaving under the same roof as a fisherman drove her to learn how to create other scents. She fell in love with the act of creating perfumes, of distilling oils, and creating things that smelt _good_. ...and that's what she's been doing ever since.  +
Cassian Crovane +	Cassian was the second son of a Ravenseye family, and from the start seemed destined for adventure. Constantly exploring from the time he could crawl, climbing from the time he could walk, there was virtually nothing that could bar Cassian from a place. By the time he was of age, the sea beckoned to him and his parents could do nothing to dissuade him. His good nature and quick mind let him learn nearly every job aboard the ship, and it didn't take long for him to rise to the rank of Captain, with a crew that would follow him into storm or fire. His skill at sailing earned him renown, and the eye of a lovely woman from the House Crovane, though the latter would perish before their life together could truly blossom.  +
Cassim Sanna +	Cassim is the second son of cousins to the Sanna, having grown up pretty much in the Giant's Reach his entire life. As a second son, he wasn't going to inherit anything anytime soon so he was expected to pick up the slack by being pressured into educational and artistic pursuits. This tempered him for a long life of reading books, and trying to make something out of nothing, but it was not what he wanted. He'd find himself constantly getting into trouble just to avoid it, which lead to him lashing out at his peers, family, and even important visitors. When he was eight, he ran away into the wilderness where he was lost for three days. In those three days, he was attacked by beasts, avoided detection by two thuggish looking men, and was discovered nearly dead by a Shaman who nursed him back to health. When he was strong enough to explain what happened, the Shaman scolded him, and returned him home. However, as a reward for his show of endurance and resourcefulness, he was offered an apprenticeship, to start upon his tenth birthday. He had two years to study all he could about herbalism, medicine, and the Spirits. His parents weren't thrilled, but they accepted it as a means of boosting his social rank to make him more viable for mates. What they hadn't expected, was the Shaman to return, and take their son into the woods never to be seen again for months at a time. Each time, Cassim came home a little more different. First, he was no longer the angry little boy he'd used to be, he was more relaxed, and laid back. Second, he'd begun to establish a certain distance between him and the rest of the family, and described it as a 'comfortable distance'. The third and final change, though, was when he never came home at all. He was eighteen when his mentor passed from this life into the next. That was when his real training began. His mentor, had left him a number of clues and notes to prepare him for the next phase of his journey. His vision quest. For two long years, he was to live in the wilderness, survive, and by the end commune with the Spirits, while coming to an understanding of the differences between his Free Soul, and his Mundane Soul, and why each can't exist while the other is active. He has only just returned, from this grueling ordeal. A changed man? Only time can tell.  +
Cassima Thrax +	The eldest daughter of a lesser line of the principal house of Thrax, Cassima never expected to be in line for anything. Her father was about as foreign to the ways of the Mourning Isles as it was possible for a man to be: the younger son of a Northern march, inclined to study, whose hobby was mathematics and logical proofs. Yet he brought with him wealth for the House and the knowledge of what to do with that wealth, and was embraced by the family as an odd, but useful, addition to the line. Still, he had no sons, and that was an unending frustration for Cassima's mother, who wanted nothing more than a prince to push into the line of fire, that is, the line of duty that are the internecine politics of a major house. Cassima loved her father more than anything in the world, and so she grew up at his knee. Books and learning were their special time together, when she was free of the nursery and could sit with him in his study, and while there were not insignificant tensions between he and his wife Alyona Thrax, with his daughter he could sit and think and talk -- frequently well over her head, but in deepest earnest. So it was that she grew up a daddy's girl with a most untraditional father in a traditional house, and there's nothing that breeds true like nerdery. Cassima focused on learning everything that she could about literally everything, but especially the running and management of a house, the running and management of an army, the logistics and the inglorious; it's easy to pay attention to maths when they're maths based on people's lives, the food and clothing and gear and everything that is desperately needed in a world where it might be more fun to pay heed to the more glorious questions of war. Cassima's father died when she was still young, but his death only served to fire her determination to embrace all that he was and had been. There has always been a strong tradition of Thrax economists, lawyers, and managers, so Cassima found that although she felt the pangs of outsiderhood because she learned these things at her father's knee rather than her mother's, she was not an iconoclast, and found herself uniquely situated among her sister women -- vehemently traditional in her interests, vehemently nontraditional in her outlook, she fit in with neither the old guard of grandmothers with their finely manicured fingers twisted around the purse strings nor the new guard of young women reaching for the progressive outreach that she saw growing in many of the vassal houses to Thrax. Alone in a crowd, an outsider among insiders, she developed her self-sufficiency along with her personal brilliance, and learned to obscure and shroud her basic, fundamental loneliness in a traditionally nerdy way: humor. As an adult, she finds Thrax on a precipice of change and arrives in the capital with a certainty that her fundamentals are those that her family will desperately need. She has reached out to join the scholars and economists and thinkers of Arx to drive herself into new connections and new friendships that might help her build anew and learn and grow.  +
Cassimir Inverno +	Cassimir is the only child of Artemis and Theda Argento. From his birth, his mother exercised control over the minutiae of his life, while his father was emotionally and physically distant. Without a firm hand to tame her overpowering will, Theda's oppression would contribute to the bulk of his underdeveloped social skills and a period of adolescent malcontent. When Cassimir came of age, he decidedly channeled every ounce of his free time to knowledgable pursuits that he hoped would one day be the basis for his escape from the prison his estate exemplified. At every turn, he shunned his mother's wiles. Such overt acts of rebellion greatly displeased Theda, who, agitated by an increasing awareness that the family's reputation and favor in Arx was steeply declining, sought above all else to secure a good match for her son and, through him, herald in a new age of prosperity and power. On the morn of Cassimir's twentieth birthday, Theda stirred to find his chambers empty, with nary a trace left behind to inform her of where he had gone. She searched and she waited, but it became quite clear that he had abdicated his wealth and titles, and ultimately rejected the Argento family for good and all. In the very same year, Theda's most potent fears would become stark reality: House Argento was summarily eradicated, and his parents with it. Cassimir is keenly aware of the events that transpired, and the unfortunate reputation that his surname espouses. A cautious inclination to emerge from hiding has budded over time, so sightings of the scholarly scion have become more frequent in the capital city. With the rise of Lianne Pravus claiming the title of Marquessa of Nilanza after the destruction of his house, and the formation of House Malespero from the remains, it was with readiness and great relief that Cassimir cast off his ruined name to join them, and start anew.  +
Cassiopeia Leporidae +	Cassiopeia of Tremorus, said to be the most beautiful woman in the far Southern city-state hidden away in the Saffron Chain. A woman who has inspired bards to sing of her allure and whom great artists of her time beg to portray her with their craft, as she is frequently spoken of as the personification of ideal human beauty. Paintings of her sell for quite a lot of money and motifs are jealously guarded but in truth, the woman who has sparked the myth is no more attractive than her sister Andromeda nor her cousins. She possesses a special quality, a presence, that many have a difficult time reconciling with gravitas and while their father enjoys the reputation his eldest daughter has begotten, Cassiopeia finds it somewhat exhausting. Ever since she was a young girl it was as if her only lot in life was to be something sought after and obtained but never appreciated for who she truly is - an indelible truth she couldn't shake no matter how hard she tried. This led to years in which she would constantly find herself going from one adventure to another in order to escape the reality of feeling put upon a pedestal and gawked at. Oftentimes this was counter productive for when she was discovered to be /the/ Cassiopeia the ship's crew or some random sellword accompanying her at the time would become fixated to the point of obsessed and she'd need to abandon ship, quite literally, and find some new bout of adventure aboard another vessel. While she traveled the Saffron Chains she learned many useful skills and her experiences tempered her into a very capable woman but no matter how far she ran, Cassiopeia simply could not escape her woes. Since she could not escape her reality she chose instead to do the next best thing and sequester herself away from it all -- retreating into solitude and privacy within the walls of the Sky Palace. Year after year her 'Pa-Pa' would receive countless offers of marriage from a myriad of places and while most of them were trash, some were immense opportunities in his eyes. Even though his daughter would sometimes give him the vapors somehow she was, politically, worth a great deal. He never forced her to marry however and so she did not. After some months squirreled away in the city-state she began to grow restless. Hearing that her siblings had gone to the capital of the Compact, she decided it was time to follow. If not to get away from all the clingers on, then at least to explore this new city. With the reclusive young Lady's recent reemergence into the forefront of politics and goings on in Tremorus there is a bustle of excitement and hushed whispers about why she has -really- chosen to rejoin society proper after being gone for almost a decade.  +
Cassiopeia Proscipi +	Cassiopeia of Tremorus, said to be the most beautiful woman in the far Southern city-state hidden away in the Saffron Chain. A woman who has inspired bards to sing of her allure and whom great artists of her time beg to portray her with their craft, as she is frequently spoken of as the personification of ideal human beauty. Paintings of her sell for quite a lot of money and motifs are jealously guarded but in truth, the woman who has sparked the myth is no more attractive than her sister Andromeda nor her cousins. She possesses a special quality, a presence, that many have a difficult time reconciling with gravitas and while their father enjoys the reputation his eldest daughter has begotten, Cassiopeia finds it somewhat exhausting. Ever since she was a young girl it was as if her only lot in life was to be something sought after and obtained but never appreciated for who she truly is - an indelible truth she couldn't shake no matter how hard she tried. This led to years in which she would constantly find herself going from one adventure to another in order to escape the reality of feeling put upon a pedestal and gawked at. Oftentimes this was counter productive for when she was discovered to be /the/ Cassiopeia the ship's crew or some random sellword accompanying her at the time would become fixated to the point of obsessed and she'd need to abandon ship, quite literally, and find some new bout of adventure aboard another vessel. While she traveled the Saffron Chains she learned many useful skills and her experiences tempered her into a very capable woman but no matter how far she ran, Cassiopeia simply could not escape her woes. Since she could not escape her reality she chose instead to do the next best thing and sequester herself away from it all -- retreating into solitude and privacy within the walls of the Sky Palace. Year after year her 'Pa-Pa' would receive countless offers of marriage from a myriad of places and while most of them were trash, some were immense opportunities in his eyes. Even though his daughter would sometimes give him the vapors somehow she was, politically, worth a great deal. He never forced her to marry however and so she did not. After some months squirreled away in the city-state she began to grow restless. Hearing that her siblings had gone to the capital of the Compact, she decided it was time to follow. If not to get away from all the clingers on, then at least to explore this new city. With the reclusive young Lady's recent reemergence into the forefront of politics and goings on in Tremorus there is a bustle of excitement and hushed whispers about why she has -really- chosen to rejoin society proper after being gone for almost a decade. She didn't really expect as much to change as it did, however. Following the destruction of the palace in Tremorus, the deaths of much of her extended family, the fall of her liege, and the ennoblement of Giorgio and naming him as Ezmeralda's successor, Cassiopeia wasn't seen for weeks afterwards. When she finally was, it was announced she had formally joined very distant family in the city-state of Sangris, House Vaevici, and would not be returning to Tremorus- not now, and possibly not ever, which has caused a great deal of gossip among the peerage as to her reasons.  +