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2006
Property:Background
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| Doll Crown + | Said to be born to the very worst alley in the very worst part of the Lower Boroughs, this girl's been a punk from the moment she had a hand big enough to form a proper fist with. An early bloomer that grew up small and scrawny, adolescence treated her magnificently. Over a swift couple of years, she was taller and stronger than most other youth her age. By that time, the ones she wasn't larger than she was just meaner than. Still young, she's blossomed into a young woman that could be called "striking" in more ways than one, but to date the only future attributed to her is how long she'll muscle, sleaze, and score her way to more coin before she winds up dead. + |
| Dominic Thrax + | Firstborn of Tyrgar Thrax, father of our beloved Queen, Queen Genevieve Thrax. Dominic was born a large baby. The birth full of complications that later manifested into the waning health of his mother. His father died young, falling over the side of a ship in rubicund full-plate armor. Forever lost to the sea. With his mother too weak to raise him and his sister, they moved and lived on Maelstrom with Prince Donrai Thrax. Already a large boy at a very young age, Dominic took quick to training and alongside Elton and Victus was given a teacher to hone his combat skills. There were issues with his schooling. Dominic had no intention of sitting down in one place for too long so when it came to his other education, he did not participate. Instead, Dominic found his time elsewhere among Donrai's horses and dogs. The hound master took on the task of training Dominic in lieu of his court education. When Dominic came of age, he was given a ship and a small command but unlike his cousin Elton, who stayed back to administer the house with his father, Dominic left to sail his ship alongside Victus'. It was during this time that he made a name for himself. His superstitions and mastery over the hounds he fitted ships with, the way he used a pack of man-eating dogs and unleashed them through the decks of his enemy ships', and the madness of using his ship as bait to take damage while the reavers supporting him moved to flank their victims, all earned him notoriety as a mad and cruel captain. Right before the war with Tyde, Dominic began to change the way he operated from the average reaper. Instead of making his ships long and fast, they were large and with multiple decks. Some were converted to serve as floating prison and thrall ships and others fitted with medical bays, well decks, storage, and birthing. Prince Dominic maintained his cruel notoriety and when news of Elton's death arrived him, the prince's madness came out to bare. Turning from hunting thralls, Dominic joined Victus in the war. His place in it, a personal one. The war came to an end with the end of the Tyde house. His bloodthirst squelched, Dominic took a ship and his crew out the jungles where he vanished for years, left for dead. There were rumors of him found in raided villages and destroyed ships but it wasn't until recently at the death of his sister Genevieve that Dominic resurfaced in Redrain with enough loot from his raiding of shavs to equal to him enough silver to operate a ship and reach Arx where he declared a hunt for the killer of his sister and to serve House Thrax by contacting his cousin, Victus. + |
| Dominique Wyrmguard + | Some say that there is no family more honorable in all of the Oathlands, no vassal house more loyal to Valardin, no truer knights than the sons and daughters of House Wyrmguard. Marquessa Dominique Wyrmguard attempts to embody this well. She regrets the circumstances surrounding her inheriting the title so young, with her famous father perishing at the Tragedy at Sanctum to a surprise attack by bloodthirsty shavs, but she has been preparing her whole life for the moment she would find the burden of rule. Raised on the ideals of chivalry and just rulership, her march stands as one of the oldest and most stalwart backers of House Valardin against the Abandoned that threaten all of the Compact. Her childhood was spent with one lesson after another from her father about the way that terrible men can abuse power and imbued in her an ironclad devotion to high minded principles. Unapologetically idealistic, she realizes that a very black and white approach makes her a poor fit for the treacherous political waters of Arx and is happy to defer the games to her sister Desiree, but never loses sight that the burden of the difficult final decisions must fall upon her shoulders. + |
| Domonico Magnotta + | Raised as one of the standard bearers of the Malvici banner, Domonico was treated roughly on purpose. The family wanted him to lead troops and be ready to battle anything from abyssal creatures to political maneuvering of the Lyceum. It developed a heated temper from him at a young age, proving his backbone and dedication to the family before most kids his age had a personality. Eventually it got him in trouble and sent to the Malvici fleet so the trouble he got into could be limited to the ship he was on. It proved a good move and his temper has faded somewhat over time, replaced with a steel determination that comes with a sea-borne swordsman. He is said to be a rising star in the Malvici fleet with three ships under his command. Its rumored he wants eventual command of the fleet, as well. In the meantime he has taken to mentor those younger members like he had once been, developing strength and ability out of rough stone. The whispers about the trade routes and the Empyrean have brought him to Arx to prove that he is capable of not just command and leadership, but that he can hold it in waters he has not even explored himself - political and literal. + |
| Domonico Malvici + | Raised as one of the standard bearers of the Malvici banner, Domonico was treated roughly on purpose. The family wanted him to lead troops and be ready to battle anything from abyssal creatures to political maneuvering of the Lyceum. It developed a heated temper from him at a young age, proving his backbone and dedication to the family before most kids his age had a personality. Eventually it got him in trouble and sent to the Malvici fleet so the trouble he got into could be limited to the ship he was on. It proved a good move and his temper has faded somewhat over time, replaced with a steel determination that comes with a sea-borne swordsman. He is said to be a rising star in the Malvici fleet with three ships under his command. Its rumored he wants eventual command of the fleet, as well. In the meantime he has taken to mentor those younger members like he had once been, developing strength and ability out of rough stone. The whispers about the trade routes and the Empyrean have brought him to Arx to prove that he is capable of not just command and leadership, but that he can hold it in waters he has not even explored himself - political and literal. + |
| Donaldo Velenosa + | Blessed, or cursed, with being one of many cousins from a great big old family, there's little fear Donaldo will ever have any real responsibility. Or Power. There's a name and a title, sure, but there are more siblings and cousins than there are crowns and ministers. Bounced around from task to task as a youth, never really finding something that held his heart long enough to make a life with. Former Apprentice Cartographer, Former Apprentice Botanist, Former Apprentice Scribe, the list goes on and on. Somehow after wearing so many hats, he finally found a hat he could keep on for more than a year. For some years now, he's made his way as an explorer. Having gotten quite good at this, path-finding and plotting out things and discovering other things, he has come to Arx to expand his network. It's an interesting hobby, some will whisper, but if the specimens he manages to collect and the artifacts and tomes he uncovers keep his travel accounts full, then for once at least he can commit to being one thing for once. + |
| Donato Inverno + | Donato was born a whole three minutes before his sister, which makes him the oldest. However, unlike her he's a little bit less invested in staying put, and has been prone to getting into wild adventures from an early age. When he was fourteen he ran away from home, joined a crew sailing out of Nilanza and went by the name Vinnie for several years before putting in to port at home in Caina once more. By then he'd explored the islands, fought his share of battles, and lived a rather colorful life. However, the whole time he maintained contact with his sister, sending her letters whenever he could, even though he never told her where he was, he always told her where to send the next letter so he could pick it up. When Argento fell, he was there, but he was not part of the fighting itself. His sister refused to allow him to participate, and he didn't want to break her heart by ending up the way the Argento's did anyways. + |
| Donella Redrain + | Anywhere else in the Compact, Donella would have been born the heir presumptive to a great house. But she was not born anywhere but Maelstrom, and to no other family but Thrax in a time when only sons would rise. All the same, before the untimely deaths of good Prince Elton and Princess Dena, she was well-educated and trained to exemplify Thrax virtues. She learned to embrace ALL her heritage with clear-eyed realism, and learned statecraft, diplomacy, and economics, while her siblings were allowed more idealistic pursuits. Amongst a generation of war-orphaned princes and princesses, Donella showed the most early promise as an administrator and politician... or simply provided the best means to shame the princes, as Prince Donrai made her his Voice. Probably, some expected her to end as a cautionary tale, but instead she proved resilient. Her leadership went a long way toward stabilizing the Isles after her grandfather's death and the rise of another High Lord; one who also made her Voice, and later heir. Her time as Voice opened the way for women, as a proponent for the measured undoing of customs serving only to weaken, and divide the Isles from the rest of the Compact. It seemed Donella might standing behind the throne in the Isles forever, until she unexpectedly accepted an offer of marriage from Prince Darren Redrain of Farhaven. A smart match made, they say, for love of all things. + |
| Donella Thrax + | No woman in House Thrax or any of its vassals in the Mourning Isles is ever raised with the expectation that they might rule. It simply is not part of the culture, with women expected to defer to men and inheritance following a strict male primogeniture that stands apart from the rest of the Compact. Donella knew, even at a young age, that her father was treating her differently than the rest of House Thrax might have approved, such as insisting he explain his motivations to her when he took a course of action in governance as the heir apparent of House Thrax. While her mother and the other ladies of House Thrax made certain she still received all the tutoring expected of her as a princess of Thrax, receiving all the exacting lessons in grace and refinement, her father broke from tradition and carefully explained politics to her time and again while her younger brother was captivated with stories of heroism and glory rather than pragmatism and rule. Her parents' tragic deaths, murdered by the traitorous Duke of Tyde Fall to start the Tyde Rebellion, ultimately left House Thrax in a far stronger position but with looming questions on succession. Her grandfather, Prince Donrai Thrax, still yet rules with the brutally capable ruthlessness for which he is renowned, but Donella's brother and heir apparent... is not quite the man her grandfather would have hoped for in a successor. An honorable, good man that wants to reform the Mourning Isles, but in the eyes of her grandfather to give away much of the power and prestige that House Thrax has bled for in the name of honor and amends. It still shocked her when she was quietly instructed that in light of her grandfather's ailing health and advanced age that she would act as a Voice of House Thrax inside Arx, representing the family in political decisions. Women, by and large, simply did not -do- that for House Thrax, and she cannot hold the title if her grandfather dies. But for the time being, she speaks with the voice and authority of House Thrax in the capital, second only to her grandfather, and she is coldly determined to put her father's teachings to use and grow the power and prestige of the house. For herself, for her family, and for the realm... in that order. + |
| Donovan Grayson + | Anyone could forgive Donovan's extended family, those countless cousins, aunts and uncles, if their memory of the little Prince is somewhat lacking. It is easy to overlook a quiet younger sibling in the presence of their older, more socially apt and bright brother; not that Donovan was ever bitter over this fact. Donovan was never far from his brother's side, or just an arm's reach behind him, keeping quiet and trying to emulate even just a sliver of Calarian's gift with people. Children grow up though and Donovan eventually found his own fascination, and talent, in law. Lacking the usual Grayson heroic streak, Donovan wasn't interested in the 'guards and robbers', 'good guys catching the bad guys and being a hero' sort of law; rather the 'you know about this loophole, right?' sort. That he was exceptionally good at it came with its drawbacks; sharp wit and legalese made his adolescence almost unbearable for his parents. As an adult he refined his knowledge, and honed his wit for the benefit of his family acting as legal counsel on various affairs, all of which were handled with due discretion and settled quickly. He moved about the Crownlands with it, dealing in disputes and minor conflicts between vassal houses within the realm of the family's holdings. He may not have always made friends, but then, Donovan squared with himself a long time ago he is not here to be friends with people -- he is here as a representative of the law, and the law does not yield to emotion. Anyway, a person doesn't become a lawyer to be popular, do they? The city of Arx offers a great deal of opportunity for a young Prince, one of which, would be to make a name for himself outside of his own family within the various courts of the Compact. This at least, was what his mother informed him. Donovan is not quite so convinced; what with Calarian already present, being wonderful and casting an obnoxiously long shadow to stand in. + |
| Donrai Thrax + | Prince Donrai Thrax has been the ruler for House Thrax so long that many throughout Arvum think of him and House Thrax interchangeably, which is just how the ancient prince likes it. Ascending to high lord at a young age, several generations of Thraxians have only known his coldly capable, ruthlessly competent rule. Donrai has never set out to be loved by his people, and there's little doubt in that he has succeeded- but he is respected, as a cold and relentlessly determined leader ever seeking to carve out greater strength for House Thrax no matter the cost to others. + |
| Dora Malvici + | Her father was Darko Blackram and mother was one Wendy Malvici. A second cousin among a sea of cousins. She was raised going between Southport and the Cloudspine, her parents intent on exposing her to both of her heritage. When she was two the Southport-Tor war broke out and they were on their first trip to the Cloudspine. It was a lucky thing for the family and they managed to avoid some of the upset. During time spent in Cloudspine they were free to lavish attention on the girl. Being far from home, everyone went out of their way to make her happy. Perhaps that was a bad idea. From a young age she was always wandering off. It terrified her parents and they did their best to have her under careful watch. After all, they had tried so very hard and struggled to have her. But it became a game to escape and run off on the governesses and nurses tasked with her. As she grew older she grew bored with just running off. The thrill less. And so she got into other trouble. Mostly pulling pranks on anyone who wasn't careful, or filling her little treasure chest with stolen knick knacks. When they returned to Southport in 995 they hoped that, perhaps, the militant training would work. If anything it only made her rebel worse. Oh she took to the lessons, and was skilled as any Malvici might be expected to be, but she made it clear this was not what she wanted to do. And so she wouldn't, except when she did. It led to many headaches and pains for her parents. It was only when a group of explorers came through, hosted by her parents, that some hope of reining in the wild child came. They stayed for a month and promises of tales are all that got her going to the academy regularly. Yet it wasn't what he parents hoped. At 13 she stowed away on the explorers ship and managed to hide for nearly a month. There was no turning back, only apologies to be made. True to her stubborn nature it took wile and three years before the crew were able to get her back to Southport. And her rather infuriated parents. But she was unrepentant, even bearing a tattoo hiden beneath her clothes, and all around behaving little like the lady they had hoped. It drove a huge gap between herself and her parents. During her travels she had picked up a fascination for alchemy, specifically in its use for body inks. When she returned they put her under house arrest. It started a battle of wills that drove her mother to drinking and ended with Darko sending her off a few years late. It was a desperate attempt to temper her. In 07 she went to Caer Morien just after Artorius was made its Count. Little did they realize the delight Dora would find in the native people and their own traditions. Without meaning too she managed to learn something of their culture. In so doing she helped to bridge some of the gaps between House Magnotta and the prodigals. Too bad she got bored again... + |
| Dorian Champions + | Dorian shamelessly garners sympathy from noblewomen by casting himself as a victim of circumstance, but few of the women that fall prey to his charms ever realize just how willingly the rogue embraced those exact circumstances. Born the son of a knightly paragon of chivalric virtue, the rogue realized very early that unless he acted quickly he'd wind up doomed to an extremely tedious and quite possibly fatal existence as a nameless man-at-arms in some lord's service or if he tried excruciatingly hard like his father, another nameless knight to die in some backwater fighting shavs. That was not in the least bit appealing to Dorian, who realized that while fighting skills could certainly be handy, who he knew and who he could win over seemed to matter an awful lot more... especially if he became a champion. To the rakish young man, it was the perfect calling. Gorgeous (and rich) women looking for men to fight their honor against foes of questionable quality, and if he put on a show, it would just win over more. Just defeating a few louts in 'honorable combat' and duels for show gained him far more than soldiering ever would, and he hardly sees having to spend time with noblewomen over soldiers as a drawback. No, he might never be hailed at the newest and greatest knight, but if it wins over someone beautiful, well born, and willing to marry a commoner...? He'd take being a champion any day. + |
| Drake Wyrmguard + | The youngest brother of Richard Wyrmguard, Drake has always been the mischevious sort. It was only his admiration for his father and his uncle Marquis Denis Wyrmguard, that his natural inclination towards mischief and trouble was tempered. Still, he got along well, and has always been a bit of a charmer, and the stories of knights and how people responded to such stalwart protectors of the land is what drove him through his training. He was always close to his family, as loyal as any Wyrmguard can be, but there was an untapped wanderlust that drove him to explore the city of Arx and other lands much sooner than his big brother. It was there that he learned and trained to be a champion as well, often leaving a trail of broken hearts along the way. On one such encounter, he met Prince Luca, and was trained in showmanship. He was fond of the older man and eventually joined the Champions guild as a result, befitting his talents. After the reclamation of Highhill, Drake found himself with new responsibilities as, first, the Sword of the newly renamed Wyvernheart house. One responsibility lead to another, and the once-carefree younger brother found himself newly driven to take on a leadership role both in and out of battle. He's been newly appointed Count and steward of the land. Though he doesn't have much head for numbers or details his personality drives him to inspire others, and he has his family to keep him grounded about the important things. + |
| Draven Bruvir + | Draven was born into one of the great tribes that Volkov oversaw and cared for. Then the rival tribe came riding in and destroyed everything, leaving very few survivors. With Draven being one of them and only a young boy, he was taking in by the main family of the Volkovs and trained to become a house servant. Over time he was assigned to tend to and look after Aahana since she was often sneaking away from the camp to eavesdrop on her lessons. And as time grew, she encouraged him in his experimenting and dabbling in the apothecary things. She even sent him to the apothecary college with hopes that he would be able to create something absolutely amazing with his schooling. Now that Aahana is in Arx and his schooling is far completed, he is coming to aide her and the rest of the Volkovs within the city of Arx. + |
| Drea Redrain + | Few outside the North could ever understand it the way Drea does. While the wars against the Abandoned wage on in every region with every great house, none of the other great houses fight the shav'arvani with the same brutal intensity as House Redrain and its vassals in the North. Lady Drea knows this far better than most, as long before she married into House Redrain, she was born to the northern house with arguably the most bloody feuds with the barbaric northern Abandoned tribes, House Halfshav. She grew into a young woman in a house that has acted as House Redrain's strong right hand against the most brutal of the shav tribes, driving back groups such as the cannibals of Clan Bonegnaw. Every member of her family was trained for war, and she was no exception, but the young Drea felt a very different calling that still is uniquely of the North. The North might be a savage land of restrained barbarism, kept in check by the might of House Redrain, but Drea doesn't that feel way about her home. It's beautiful to her in a way that others just can't understand. The snow covered mountains, the deep groves hidden from human eyes for centuries at a time, the vales unmarked by any arvani whether shav or civilized, Drea sees the North as a gorgeous bastion of nature from the excesses of mankind despite its bloody history. Ever since she was a child, she's felt a deep connection with those primordial depths of wild, untamed territory that she swears she can hear whisper to her, so it was natural for her to become one of the few shamans in the North. It is the old religion of men that far predates the worship of the Pantheon, long before the great houses came to be, and it's never been quite surrendered in the North. She knows it creates frictions with the south, particular the most fervent worshippers in House Valardin, but Drea intends for the North to never, ever surrender its heritage. It isn't as if shamans embrace blood rites anymore... at least those that aren't members of barbaric shav tribes, anyways. + |
| Drifa Seraceni + | Drifa was a young girl upon a shav longship when the Seraceni corsairs boarded the small vessel. She had been a capture prize from a neighboring small village that had been wiped out from the raiding party. Led by the father of the Marquis of Seraceni she was taken in and afforded the protection of the House. As far as Drifa knows, she is the last of her village to survive and so she stayed with the Seraceni and learned their ways. Drifa mourned the loss of the Seraceni Marquis and Marquessa. She was frequently used by the family to scout and steal when necessary against Corsair targets. She became a capable corsair herself and was given her own longship to crew and command. Drifa owes her life to the Seraceni. She is loyal and does her best to not let the wild ways that still linger in her disposition to reflect poorly on her House. Although at times this can be a struggle as she has grown older she has also grown a bit more accepting. Drifa is loyal to the family and dependable. She also loves being a Corsair and depriving people of their fancy goods whenever possible. She has become a trusted ward of the family. + |
| Driskell Stillwater + | Thralldom is often thought of as a dark pit without the opportunity for redemption, but when you're down in the darkest of pits that small beacon of light which is the exit can burn as bright as a supernova. Driskell's parents were prisoners of war, taken by Thraxan reavers and their debts claimed by the Darkwater family while Driskell was but a fledgling boy. He remembers the calamity brought on by the dark boats, how the waves broke across the bows and the reavers that poured out of the ships and through the village. He remembers most though in the fire and horrors of how organized the chaos was from the Thraxans versus how everyone fought for themselves in his own village. Split from his parents, the young boy took all his whippings and punishments without a sound uttered in defiance, instead using it all to strengthen his resolve. It was a fluke, really, when Driskell learned of Tehom and embraced all he could of the Thirteenth. His knack for knowing when his masters would need him, the young boy learned all he could from those in the household. Soon, he was noted as being quite intelligent and understanding the tides of politics and the terrors of the deep that is courtly life. He was able to pay off his thralldom but chose to stay with the Darkwater family to serve them willingly, nothing else in life mattered to him except that family. When the young Maximilian was sent off to serve with the warlord Victus, Driskell found himself sent along to protect and look after Max's needs for a decade. Ten long years reaving and Driskell witnessed again firsthand many times the controlled chaos like the smashing of waves against the shore and came to admire the man he was sent to look after. Driskell now serves at the Darkwater estate in Arx, a testament to a free man that became a thrall who became once more free. There's whispers that while the silent steward is always in control, perhaps there is nothing he wouldn't do to protect or carry out the wishes of the Darkwater family. + |
| Drusila + | 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. + |
| Drusila Masque + | 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. + |
| Drusila Pravi + | 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. + |
| Duarte Amadeo + | The third son of a cobbler and his wife, Durate Amedeo had an unremarkable early life, but he did learn extremely important lessons quickly. His father was mysteriously assassinated after he had loudly spoken insults about a merchant prince whose wealth he resented, his eldest brother was killed in a duel, and his second older brother was forced to flee Setarco in a hurry after he insulted the wrong people. These lessons gave Duarte a profound appreciation for the weakness of an uncontrolled temper coupled with a careless mouth, and he quickly decided he would take his life in a rather different direction. Duarte spent time with courtesans and courtiers attempting to appeal to the famously fashionable and charming nobility of Setarco, those who tried desperately to win the approval of House Pravus. Duarte quickly learned that charm and grace was useful and admirable, but what really could win over the nobility was simply useful information acquired through the right words and catching the right whispers. Duarte quickly gained a reputation as a charming young man who knew so much, and soon found himself in the employ of House Pravus itself. He was acting as the ears of the former Duke of Setarco inside Arx, and even joined the Inquisition for a time, using the contacts there to keep the southern house informed of the goings on in the capital. It infuriates Duarte that he was not in Setarco to help Duchess Belladonna when she set her house to rights against plotters and schemers, and he feels more than a little ashamed and frustrated his talents were not in Setarco when it was needed the most. He resigned his post in the Inquisition in order to devote himself once more to House Pravus, redoubling his efforts to insure that the duchess to whom he owes his devotion is never again surrounded by her enemies. He might operate with a smile and a laugh, but more than one enemy of House Pravus has underestimated that smile to their downfall. Along those lines, he more recently helped oversee the destruction of the treasonous House Argento, a powerful vassal of House Pravus that was plotting against Duchess Belladonna. Though the nature of his actions are not publicly known, he was rewarded with a Peerage following the conquest of the city-state of Nilanza, being named Count Duarte Amadeo, the Count of Bravura. + |
| Duarte Amedeo + | The third son of a cobbler and his wife, Durate Amedeo had an unremarkable early life, but he did learn extremely important lessons quickly. His father was mysteriously assassinated after he had loudly spoken insults about a merchant prince whose wealth he resented, his eldest brother was killed in a duel, and his second older brother was forced to flee Setarco in a hurry after he insulted the wrong people. These lessons gave Duarte a profound appreciation for the weakness of an uncontrolled temper coupled with a careless mouth, and he quickly decided he would take his life in a rather different direction. Duarte spent time with courtesans and courtiers attempting to appeal to the famously fashionable and charming nobility of Setarco, those who tried desperately to win the approval of House Pravus. Duarte quickly learned that charm and grace was useful and admirable, but what really could win over the nobility was simply useful information acquired through the right words and catching the right whispers. Duarte quickly gained a reputation as a charming young man who knew so much, and soon found himself in the employ of House Pravus itself. He was acting as the ears of the former Duke of Setarco inside Arx, and even joined the Inquisition for a time, using the contacts there to keep the southern house informed of the goings on in the capital. It infuriates Duarte that he was not in Setarco to help Duchess Belladonna when she set her house to rights against plotters and schemers, and he feels more than a little ashamed and frustrated his talents were not in Setarco when it was needed the most. He resigned his post in the Inquisition in order to devote himself once more to House Pravus, redoubling his efforts to insure that the duchess to whom he owes his devotion is never again surrounded by her enemies. He might operate with a smile and a laugh, but more than one enemy of House Pravus has underestimated that smile to their downfall. Along those lines, he more recently helped oversee the destruction of the treasonous House Argento, a powerful vassal of House Pravus that was plotting against Duchess Belladonna. Though the nature of his actions are not publicly known, he was rewarded with a Peerage following the conquest of the city-state of Nilanza, being named Count Duarte Amadeo, the Count of Bravura. + |
| Dulcinea Telmar + | Lady Dulcinea Telmar is the youngest of Duke Arn's children. From the time she could toddle, she was stuck to her brother Ansel and sister Lily like a chubby, determined little burr, throwing appalling tantrums when they would leave her behind on their adventures. All the more reason to become more capable, sooner. She got a pony and a little bow, determined to be the finest horsewoman and archer in any land -- if only so she could go slay dragons with her siblings. In time, she learned there were adventures -- of a sort -- to be had;she enjoyed them, exploring and mischief making with her siblings... but there were no dragons. No call to fell a dire bear at 900 feet. Alas. Too late. The fierce love of riding and the bow, the hunt, was in her bones. The absence of mythic beasts deterred her not at all. By the time she was a young woman, she was well on her way to the goal she'd set with her little bow and pony, but she never thought much of it again. She rides and hunts magnificently but for her own pleasure, usually alone. She adores her siblings and spends time with her family whenever she can. She attends balls and dances and laughs, blithe a spirit as was ever in the world. At night, however, she dreams of the Telmarch and her people. She dreams of the shav raiders, the burned houses, the screaming mothers and the crushed babes. She dreams of war unending, claiming the sons and daughters of every generation. And she yearns to put her bow to better use. + |
| Duncan Hawkmour + | Duncan Hawkmour inherited the House from his father at the age of 22. Eldest of four children, though only one of his brothers and his only sister remain alive, Duncan has been raised to his position from his first breath. Admittedly..he did not always see eye to eye with his father, the most public instance of such disagreement having been around the Tor-Southport War. A war that his father had only desire to stay neutral in. Duncan, friends with Leo, and with a sense of 'right' that gave him no other choice, left to support his friend in the war and eventually his father was forced to declare Hawkmour's full partisanship. Both his parents succumbed to the same sickness, some four years apart, his mother dying not long after Duncan's 18th birthday and his father on the day of his 22nd. His brother, Erik, nearest in age to him died in the Tor-Southport war, leaving him with a brother and sister remaining: Thomas and Sarah. + |
