[OOC] The Alcean Resistance

[ThistleOfLiberty]

About three years ago, the ruling House of the country Alcea was overthrown by the powerful sorcerer Janolf, a man driven by an insatiable hunger for power. The King and most of his loyal knight were slaughtered, as was the whole of the Royal House. Except his young wife, pregnant with his child.

She managed to escape with the help of an ambassador from Alcea’s neighbour, Ilvance, and took refuge with the Emperor there.

Since Janolf’s takeover, a movement of resistance has grown, consisting of nobles from the Houses disfavoured by Janolf as well as more common folk dissatisfied with their new ruler, who the rumours say is in league with demons and monsters.

Elya is living in comfort in Ilvance with her now three year old son when a messenger from the Resistance reaches her, telling her that the true heir of the crown of Alcea is needed in the fight against Janolf and she decides to leave Ilvance and find the headquarters of the Resistance. Meanwhile, the Resistance sends out a group to meet Elya and her son and show her to their headquarters.

The idea is for people to play one of the people Elya recruits to escort her through Alcea (an exile from Alcea, a native of Ilvance, something else entirely...) or someone in the party sent out to meet her. The messenger would be fine to play, as well.

Notes on the world

It is, as you might have noticed, not plotted in any great detail so I encourage you to do your own worldbuilding! But here are a few basic things:

1. There are only humans (i.e. no elves, dwarves etc.)

2. Magic is innate to some people and is quite rare. It’s not something that is very well understood and attitudes toward it vary. Some think it’s ungodly and some see it as a gift. In Alcea, there is no system for training those born with magic; instead, they’re usually carted off to someone’s friend’s cousin’s acquaintance’s old uncle who can call on the winds. There are tales, though, of great organisations of powerful mages in far off countries...
There is also the deeper even less understood power of the lands and of the earth. Power that can be harnessed through rituals and amulets and so on. This is the kind of power that binds the royal family to the throne.

3. Gods and goddesses. Alcea’s official religion is the worship of the Sun-god and the Moon-goddess, just called the god and the goddess, but there are minor deities and cults all over the country. Which are real? Time will tell.

4. Technology. Late Medieval times. Swords, bows and crossbows. Stuff like that.

So, basically, this is a pretty standard fantasy RPG with a lot of freedom for the players. There is a basic plot, but not much more than that. I will be playing Elya, perhaps someone in the party sent out to meet her if that turns out to be relevant and various NPCs as needed. And bad guys. Although I suppose the players could be bad guys as well.

Rules and guidelines (there aren't many)
1. Be nice.

2. One to two posts a week.

3.In conversations with NPCs you're free to play them on your own when they're just generic, unimportant characters. When they're important (like someone with info relevant to the plot) I'll control them, but if you don't mind I might just send a PM with general instructions as to what he/she'll say so as to avoid cluttering. It'll work out.

4. I don't mind some planning of the action in the OOC thread. Obviously, the plot should mostly be driven forward in the IC but sometimes it's useful to do some OOC discussion of it.

5. Any and all suggestions are welcome. :) Either in the thread or in a PM to me.

6. Romance, friendship, enemy-ship, manipulation, betrayal etc. etc. is all fine. Go wild!

Character sheet
Name:
Age:
Appearance (pic or description):
Background/history:
Skills:
Something else?:
If your character is from another culture/country, some notes on that:

I would like you to PM me the CS before you post it here and I'll (most likely) approve it. I'd also like you to include in the PM (but not in the post when you post it) a short note on personality and your plans for where you'll start in the roleplay (as in, in Alcea, in Ilvance etc), your characters motivation (just short, like 'make money') and if you have any specific plans for where you want to go in the roleplay (it isn't necessary that you have any plans at all. Improvisation is nice as well. ^^)

Go wild, kids!

Characters
Elya Emerast played by ThistleOfLiberty
Lacchi - played by Nemaisare
Prince Francis Machiavelli Enrico 'Fran' Dandolo played by Ontos
Helga “Yanhua” Tristis played by Sicarius
Cirindel Valehold played by Instantes
Rayf Calderwood played by Silly Cybin

NPCs

King Barynd Emerast - the former king of Alcea, slain by Janolf in his takeover of the throne.

Darlond Emerast - Elya's son, the legitimate king of Alcea

Lord Janolf Grymholdt - the current ruler of Alcea. A powerful sorcerer who is rumoured to be in league with demons and other dark forces.

[Nemaisare]

Character sheet
Name: Lacchi
Age: 37
Appearance: As a human, and it isn’t likely that anyone is going to see him like this often, Lacchi has the same, dark, flashingly curious eyes, but really, he doesn’t look much like a dog. He could, if one felt like being impolite, term him as being a mutt in that he doesn’t resemble any particular race and is just, well, human… He is lithe and lean, muscular but not well muscled or overly defined in that way and his body is geared more towards stealth and slinking quietly through shadows than it is towards making quick, frightening first impressions on folks. He is quite short, approximately 5’5”, 5’6” or thereabouts, but looks taller, so long as there’s no one around to compare, because of his lankiness. He has long limbs and, despite the years, hasn’t gained much in weight. With a golden tinge to his fairly pale skin, he doesn’t match up with the light skinned races or the dark skinned races. His hair, a light brown, is short and curly and he has the sort of confident grace of one who trusts his body’s abilities to take him away from trouble but uses his mind to direct it rather than instinct.
Head,
Left side,
Right side

Background/history: Lacchi was born and raised a wild lad. His father leaving him to his own devices more often than not after his mother died. It wasn’t for the sake of not wanting to spend time with him; more simply it was that he had very little spare time already. Lacchi’s father was a locksmith, well known if not well paid. He was a good man, gentle, honorable, loving and a master of his trade. He taught his son all he knew of locks and took him as his apprentice. He was a busy man, however, and more often than not was away or unable to give his son the attention he required.

So Lacchi played in the streets, and he befriended a nice lady who just happened to be a pick pocket. She liked his attitude and, more to the point, his nimble fingers and quick mind. She taught him what she knew and so he learned both sides of life. The hardships and the love, both in the law and outside it. When his father died he was thirteen and not old enough to look after the business, it was sold to the highest bidder and he was forgotten about. The pick pocket took him in, gave him what shelter she could along with further teachings. Lacchi learned quickly and well, the lessons embedding themselves in his mind to remain forever remembered. By fourteen she had him breaking into houses and stealing objects of greater value than what was on the streets, he knew locks better than she did and he could slip through smaller places. He never felt guilty about the stealing and never will.

His father had taught him patience by example and Lacchi did not lack of it, he could wait for as long as he needed before starting something and he very rarely did anything rash. He was determined to be the best at what he did, and he liked doing it, the heists were exciting, dangerous and every bit his kind of adventure. Quick, clever and never one to give up a challenge, Lacchi did become known among the rather secretive thieves guild as good, and, a bit more dangerously, he was also known among the city guards. He eluded most of the traps they set for him, though they managed to catch him once and got him chained in a cell to await his punishment. Fortunately, the guards had not found his lock picks when they searched him, so he was free and vanished at the next change of guard. Later, he returned for the knives they had taken from him and slipped away again. It was this feat that had him hiding in a stable when a girl, around his age, began her chores.

She was not a great beauty, in fact, she was rather plain, but it was her spirit that he saw, and that was more beautiful than any mortal face. She was singing as she worked and he watched quietly, listening and admiring. Lacchi left gifts for her, nothing that he had stolen, for that would only get her in trouble, and soon he showed himself to her. She has since told him of that first sight she had of him, a brown-eyed youth with a confident smile and cat-like grace, rough voiced and wild, but a man purely himself and nothing else. She had seen a rogue, but not a scoundrel and she had loved him from the first, just as he had her. Within that year, his nineteenth, they were wed and living in the small house Lacchi had bought with the money he had saved up. Though she never could quite convince him to forget his thieving ways, she did extract the promise that he wouldn’t do anything more dangerous than picking pockets.

In their second year together, Sara gave birth to a daughter who became the light of their lives. She had Lacchi’s bright, brown eyes and her mother’s beautiful voice when she laughed, but all too soon that happy life came to an end. Kari caught pneumonia and the doctors they could afford could do nothing. In desperation, Lacchi found himself on the roof of a rich merchant, his gear in his hands and his patience for once abandoned. Slipping quietly over the side, he caught his foot on a window ledge and dropped lightly down to come face to face with the owner of the house. He ran, but the merchant was rich enough to have competent guards and they caught him easily enough.

He didn’t want to reveal his reason for being there as it could have gotten both Sara and Kari in trouble and the man, though he probably would have forgiven Lacchi had he known, felt that proper punishment was due. He turned Lacchi into a dog and took away his mind so that he was, in every way, nothing more than a dog that had strange dreams at night. On his seventh year as a dog, the man tried to restore Lacchi to his humanity, but couldn’t quite come up with the proper spell. He managed to give him back his memories and his own mind, but Lacchi remained a dog, albeit one who occasionally turned into a human. Still, with his memories restored, he hurried back to his house only to find his daughter dead and his wife remarried. It was a shock, but not an unexpected one. He still doesn't know what she thinks happened to him, he was too afraid to spend more than an afternoon watching her. He strayed about the city, living on scraps for a year before hunger, and curiousity brought him to investigate the Emperor's grounds. He slipped in among the other dogs there and, while the kennel masters knew he wasn't one of theirs, they let him stay when he proved well-mannered and without disease. Not to mention, he kept coming back when they tried kicking him out. Two years after he first snuck in, the young Queen of Alcea appeared.

Skills: A good locksmith and pickpocket, is a little rusty at breaking and entering
Fast, with good endurance
Is better at fighting as a dog than a human, but pretty good at bluffing either way
Has learned how to act like a dog, and make use of his heightened senses

Something else?: Lacchi will shift between dog to human once every second or third night, he has no control of it himself, and it happens between dusk and dawn. Unfortunately for him, he usually has no clothes.

[Instantes]

Reserving a slot for my CS. Will fill it in when I get some free time...

[Ontos]

Name: Prince Francis Machiavelli Enrico 'Fran' Dandolo
Prince of the Great Merchant House of Dandolo
Lord High Admiral of the Republic of Amalfi
Governor-General of Southern Amalfi Trading Company

Age: 20

Appearance:

Fran

Fran is 1.56 metres tall. (Shorty. Looks a bit girly too.)

Background/history: The 4th son of the current head of the House of Dandolo, Cosimo Medici Enrico Dandolo, Fran made great use of his father's connections to rise the hierarchy of the Republic of Amalfi. Serving as Lord High Admiral from the age of 16, reasonable and capable tutors, along with his own luck and some innate talent, allowed Fran to prosper in his role as an anti-pirate task force. At the age of 20, he was granted the position of Governor-General in the Southern Amalfi Trading Company after his 2nd brother, Giovanni Sforza Enrico Dandolo, committed suicide over a scandal involving the Trading Company, Alcean nobles and slave-trading. The trading company's bottom line, to Fran, seemed greatly affected by Janolf's takeover of Alcea and Ilvance's weakness in dealing with this threat.

Skills: Fran's skills mostly come from his ability to command navies, manage finances and oil the wheels of the heavy bureaucracy that is the Republic of Amalfi. He's an adept fencer, though his height grants him a disadvantage in combat.

He was born with magical skills, but he had never had formal tutoring in that affair.

Something else?: The Republic of Amalfi is a small nation that punches above its weight. Holding territory nearly 100 times smaller than Alcea or Ilvance, Amalfi's strength comes from its massive war chest, mercenaries and navy. A nominally democratic republic (like the Italian republics a long time ago), nepotism or bribery is basically the norm in progressing in politics. The current head of state of the Republic, known as the Doge of the Republic of Amalfi, is currently Fran's father, Cosimo Medici Enrico Dandolo.

While money means just about everything in Amalfi, the nation is highly adamant and proud of its independence and democratic culture. Whenever an external threat looms upon Amalfi, the Senate elects a 'Dictator' to oversee the protection of the Republic. This dictator, while with more powers than the Doge, may not overrule the Senate or install himself in a permanent position. Attempts at making the dictatorship permanent or installing a monarchy in the past have led to riots on the street, and even the most power hungry of merchant princes and nobles know better than to do so.

[Nemaisare]

Short person! Looking good. :D

[Ontos]

Well, Fran the merchant prince will swoop the ladies off their feet, if he could lift them up in the first place. Scrawny shorty,

[ThistleOfLiberty]

I'm going to get a CS up soon, and hopefully a couple of more people will as well and then we can start.

[Ontos]

*bump*

[ThistleOfLiberty]

We'll get started soon! Here is my CS and Sicarius will post his/hers soon.

Name: Her Majesty the Queen Mother Elya Emerast

Age: 19

Appearance: Elya is a slender woman, about 1,65 m tall with pleasant curves. She possesses a classical beauty; large, deep green eyes, a straight nose and full, pink lips. Her hair is dark red and falls down to the small of her back in smooth curls, though she normally wears it done up.
She wears fine clothes in muted colors and rarely any jewelry other than her wedding ring and a black gemstone set in gold as a necklace.

Background/history: Elya is the first born daughter of Magnus Stormholme, one of the most powerful lords of Alcea. She was promised to king Barynd even before she was born and grew up knowing she was to be queen, and was raised accordingly, together with her two younger brothers.

She met her future husband a handful of times throughout her childhood, finding him a pleasant man and looking forward to their wedding with childish enthusiasm at first and then with more mature eagerness once she understood the politics better. And it didn’t hurt that the king was a handsome man.

In the spring after the year she turned fourteen, Elya and her family traveled to the capital for the wedding. It was a grand ceremony and was followed by a feast that lasted for seven days. Once it was over, Elya’s family returned home, but leaving her youngest brother there to train as a page.

Elya quickly found herself at home in the royal castle, making friends with her ladies in waiting and also growing close to the man the king had assigned as her personal guard, Sir Stefan. A bit over a year after the wedding, Elya fell pregnant, to the joy of both her and her husband.

When Janolf suddenly seized power and killed the king, it came as a surprise to everyone. There had been whispers about Janolf consorting with dark powers and it was known that he was hungry for power, but no-one had thought him bold enough to overthrow the crown.

Since her escape from Janolf, Elya has lived in the Ilvancean emperor’s palace in comfort, waiting for an opportunity to take back the throne for her son.

Skills: As a noblewoman raised from birth to be queen of Alcea, Elya is well versed in not only etiquette but also in politics and she uses the knowledge to her advantage. She is very aware of her beauty and how to use it.

Something else?: Elya’s son Darlond, who is the legitimate king of Alcea, is about two and a half years old and is generally a happy child. He has his mother’s fair skin, but it’s tanned from spending time playing outside. He has blond hair, curling down long enough to cover his ears and he has the blue eyes of his late father.

If your character is from another culture/country, some notes on that: Well, Elya is from Alcea but I figured I’d say something about that. It’s a temperate climate, with hot summers and cold winters. The royal family has ruled for close to four centuries and the overthrow of them has had consequences for the magical stability of the land. It’s a feudal society with powerful, fairly independent lords who rule their lands pretty much as they please as long as they pay their taxes and supply the king with knights.

[Nemaisare]

Whoo!

[Instantes]

Now that it's the weekend I should be able to get my CS done. Apologies for making people wait.

[ThistleOfLiberty]

Great!

[Sicarius]

Name: Helga “Yanhua” Tristis
Age: 26
Appearance:
A woman who stands at only a meagre 5’3 but demands as much respect as her taller comrades, she is not one easily lost in the crowd. Once chocolate hair has been bleached beyond recognition, a startling white now in its place that runs down her small frame to her waist and frames her face with sharp bangs. Hazel eyes sit in her delicate face, seeming small in contrast to their oval setting but inside they are hard with determination. At her lithe neck sits a necklace of six beads, seemingly innocent against the black fabric but closer inspection reveals these red beads are nearly alive, humming with energy and warm to the touch. These six large beads are used as a power reserve, holding six “charges” as Yanhua enjoys calling them, when filled they hum and their orange-red color seems freshly painted; when depleted they appear to be ancient & dull, with small cracks running along them seeming to dare to break at the smallest breath drawn upon them. Over her small frame she wears an ebony dress, high collar wrapping around her ivory neck with the crimson red as her backdrop. Ruby embroidery shines against the black of her silken dress, flowers dance upon themselves into a twisting array turning into a blaze of flames at the hem. Though her dress gives little decency, her arms exposed when her beloved shawl is not draped upon them, the fabric barely reaching her mid-thigh she has enough mind to wear ivory tights underneath. Her appearance is not complete without her signature shawl, thick black fabric layering upon her skin; its purpose to hide her visible shame, remnants of burns marry her flesh twisting like her flowers up her arms and flow across her body, hidden by fabric at any turn.

Biography:
Helga, as she was called upon her birth was born to the house of Tristis; the eldest child and only daughter of her parents. Though called a house they held no power outside their city, only within the walls of this flourishing port town their name meant anything. Still though the family held little real power, their endeavors only making their pockets deep. Helga’s childhood was not “normal”, her magical abilities presented themselves early and have shaped her life forever since. Her mother, terrified of her own daughter left Helga to her power hungry father – having a mage in the family seemed too good an opportunity to pass up, no matter how startling the flames that Helga seemed so in tuned with danced about. Her father planned everything from the moment her power presented itself and at the age of six was sent abroad, to board and study and to tame her power; her father hoping that when she returned she could land them straight into the king’s court, as the royal mage.
Arriving in a strange country, where she knew nothing, had no one else and did not speak the language left a scar of hatred for the abandonment but shaped her into an independent creature. Finding the only familiar thing in her wake to be her own gift, she accepted her lessons whole heartedly even if she could not completely understand. Her first several years at the school showed progress but she did not seem as gifted as her peers, this jealously continued to fuel her problem; spells of destruction where what she seemed to flourish, jealous & rage becoming her strongest emotions and in the end her allies. Helga was held back for several years, a private tutor arranged for her every day after formal classes, though this left her feeling inadequate her tutor, Master Bian as she calls him, showed her the beauty of her own talents and began to call her “Yanhua”. Still though, she struggled with magic.

In her sixteenth year, Yanhua became a star pupil, though in general her magic was average that year her classes featured battle magic as well as tournaments. These tournaments would lead to teaching an important lesson: Carelessness will be the end of you. The scars that litter her body, hidden mostly by her clothing, are of her own doing.
In her early twenties, Yanhua was congratulated on becoming a full-fledged mage however she did not board the first ship home to announce to her family her prowess in her unearthly arts. Her blood family had barely crossed her mind, holding no ties in Alcea and seeing no reason to stoop down to kissing a king’s shoes, she stayed put and continued to excel in her school going from pupil to scholar. However this lasted not, as though Master Bian loved her dearly, he did not hold the power to keep an incident from kicking her out of the institution. At the age of 24, Yanhua found herself upon a boat to Alcea, fleeing humiliation and coming to embrace what her father had waited over a decade for. Upon her arrival she discovered her family’s city in disarray, her family stripped of its little power and its wallets dry. The opportunity to gain power, for her family and herself had slipped through her fingers as now the sorcerer Janoff sat upon the throne.

Somehow, without even fully comprehending it, Yanhua ended her first week back in Alcea with the blackened bodies of guards and blood on her hands. Named a criminal, her head was wanted for the murder of men of the king. Her family ran, fleeing to Illene while Yanhua found herself in the hands of the resistance.
Two years later, she still stands among them, wanting to bring back the Alcea of her young childhood. Though in truth, she has nothing else to do and nothing to lose – her life is to the queen and future king now.

Skills:
Obviously Yanhua prides herself upon her magic and it is really her only skill. Pyromancy is her gift but other magics of non-destructive powers are in her arsenal however there are not as easily used as her pyromancy and require more time. No matter what magic she uses it requires time to “charge”, to gather the spell within her, the power of the spell co-relates to how much it must charge. Though Yanhua can store spells for a period of time within her, her small frame does not take well to it and therefor she is often left having to hang back between them. To complicate matters, she has a natural small supply of essence considering her powers. She has overcome this by storing essence in her necklace, enough for six minor spells or one or two more powerful ones. Should be noted that these “charges” of essence still need time to form into an actual spell, it simply allows her to fire off more within a given time without causing her exhaustion or worse unconsciousness.

Something else?:
Her greatest fear is losing her magic, whether completely or even control of it, the thoughts terrify her. Magic is the only thing she has had in her life that has never left her, no matter what she can rely on it. The incidents of her magic going out of uncontrolled are the stuff of nightmares for her, and deep shame.
She hasn’t ever been one with many, if any, friends and within the resistance there has been individuals who have shamed her for her otherworldly gifts, believing her to be a demon or even in alliance with Janoff.
Lastly, she hates her name of Helga to the point few know that it is her birth name – most know her simply as Yanhua.
She has three younger brothers, who she has had near no contact with in her life.

[Instantes]

Sent mine to you to look over Thistle before I post it...

[Silly Cybin]

Also sent a character sheet. Sounds like a great roleplay, can't wait to possibly be a part of it!

[K-97]

CS incoming.

[ThistleOfLiberty]

Nice!

[Instantes]

Good to post it?

[Nemaisare]

We're getting folkses. Yay!

[Instantes]

Name: Cirindel Valehold (true name). "Archangel" to many who know only of her by reputation.

Age: 30

Appearance:

Cinindel is quite tall for a woman, standing around 5' 11''; her physique is lithe, defined, and proportionally muscular to a life entwined with many years of active adventuring. This is not to say her femininity is lost: Cinindel possesses quite radiant platinum blonde hair, which falls down just beneath her shoulders in natural, soft curls like the weaving of water in fall; her eyes are lustrous emeralds, strikingly large and green, and her skin a rouged peach, hardened and roughed somewhat by a life on the road, although still possessing all the beauty of its unblemished state in younger years.

Rarely is she seen without her armour on outside of her home, for she has made more than one enemy over her years. The suit itself is both bold and intricate; fine, castle crafted steel plates interlock faultlessly over her person, staying true to her body to provide little areas of ill fit that might be exploited by a foe. The plate itself is finely embellished by detailing that indicates a semblance of angelic wings, interwoven with additional artwork that uses inlaid gold and mother of pearl; no more apparent is this than upon her helm, out of which finely made silver feathers sweep backwards in quite glorious artistry. None of this is subtle, but nor is it intended to be - it is an armour that projects power, wealth and even a hint of arrogance.

Finally, Cinindel predominantly fights with a great, double handed hammer of war. On one side is a sharpened 'tooth' or spike, designed to rip a hole in even the strongest plate; on the other is the blunt hammer end, purposed to shatter bones and cause copious amounts of internal bleeding. The weapon itself is some five feet long, and demands two hands to effectively use. White leather has been woven juxtaposingly over an ebony wood shaft, whilst the head of the hammer is crafted from the strongest steel. Her secondary weapons include a short sword and dagger, whilst a small circular shield of the same design of her armour is carried, usually slung over her shoulder or attached to her horse, for encounters which demand a more defensive posture.

Background/history: Cinindel's father was Lord Martius of the Valehold, or simply 'Lord Valehold' to those at court. His lands were rich and fertile, situated in the western vales of Aleca. He was a King's man, well respected by his people, and a proud father of four charming daughters. His wife, the lady of the Vale, was a renowned beauty and daughter of one of the elder knights of the Vale; it wasn't a match of power (ideally a political union with another ruling Lord) but of love, and one which brought happiness his lands and people. Secretly, however, Lord Martius worried about his succession. With no sons, and being too old to sire any more, Martius grew increasingly concerned that upon his passing, his oldest daughter, Cressida, would have to marry the son or relative of another lord, and in accordance with the feudal laws of the Aleca, his power would be absorbed by another house, and his line lost within the consuming shadows of history. Thus he hatched a plan; he would feign the birth of a male child which he would call his son. The lady of the Vale was retired outside of the social gaze, and in secret he asked his trusted captain of the guards to acquire a male child from the city orphanage. The problem arose when the orphanage appeared to have no male children young enough to take; those older than one wouldn't fit the plan Martius had proposed. Recognising that the Captain of the Guard was a man of some importance, the woman who ran the orphanage asked the Captain to check back in a day; without reporting back to his Lord (for fearing to disappoint) the Captain waited, and returned the next day to discover that a male child of only three months had been found; this child was quickly taken to the Valehold where soon after, Lord Martius announced the birth of a son and new heir to his land and title.

All seemed well, until in an anonymous tip, incriminating papers appeared at the desk of the King of Alcea's Royal Court, suggesting that Lord Martius's son was in fact a child of a slave, imported by slavers from persons taken in raids upon the northern isles. Indeed, investigations proved that the orphanage had been involved in the practice of buying slave children to meet demands, and that the child 'sold' to the Captain of the Guard was indeed the child of a slave. Held up in court, the Lord of the Valehold was charged with aiding and abetting in slavery, and although the judges were split towards the extent of the Lord Martius's knowledge, the King held true to the enforcement of the law, offering no leniency on account of Martius's noble birth. Not believing that Martius truly knew that his 'child' was a slave, the death penalty was spared, but exile was decreed as a suitable punishment, and all of the Valehold was expropriated and subsumed under the crown. Martius was banished, along with his family, from the Kingdom of Alcea.

Years passed, and Martius had crafted something of a life for himself and his family as a merchant in Ilvance. His second daughter, Cinindel, was seventeen at this time, and took it upon herself to pursue a martial code that Martius had hoped that his lost 'son' might one day take. Taking advantage of differing laws in IIvance, Cinindel trained under Martius's former master of arms at Valehold, training herself in the ways of a true Alcean knight; in addition to this, she familiarised herself with the more exotic combat practices of IIvance, formulating her own 'middle road' that balanced Alcean discipline and fortitude, with aspects of grace and speed more suited to her own build, which she acquired from more widely sourced tutors of combat. Martius was somewhat mixed about his daughter taking part in such activities, which he traditionally viewed as male pursuits, but over the years he came to see that the old ways had no place in a new world, and that one must adapt to survive. Thus it was that the family armour of the vale was re-crafted for Cinindel, and she had the pick of weapons from the old stores. She would lead a new age on knights - the only problem was the permanence of the exile bestowed upon her and her family.

It was in the years that followed, as Cinindel was making something of a name for herself as a 'sword for hire', allying herself with a band of like-minded folk, that words came of the coup in Alcea. Cinindel had dedicated herself to taking out her family's shame upon the slavers that brought it, and had waged many a small campaign against their kind, not without some considerable sacrifice and danger. However, the usurping of Alcea's King by the powerful sorcerer Janolf, appeared at first to present an opportunity. Indeed, Martius used his contacts to explore possibilities of his reinstatement as the Lord of Valehold, but quickly dismissed the idea when truths about Janolf and his cruelty returned to his ear; he would rather stay exiled than compromise his morals, a point on which Cinindel agreed.

It was sometime later, once the flavour of this news had passed and Cinindel was in her thirtieth summer, that news came that the Queen of Alcea was herself stationed under the protection and hospitality of Ilvancean Emperor. Despite the dangers, Martius agreed that his daughter go to the palace to pledge the family of Valehold to her cause, and that Cinindel herself would give dutiful oath to serve the line of Kings once more, in hope that some honour be returned to those fallen from grace.


Skills: Cinindel is an accomplished fighter, irrespective of any culturally suggested limitations on account of her sex. Many a time has a man underestimated her to their folly (and often subsequent demise). She can also be quite charming when required, and has a keen perception of people's intentions, often quick to spot deceitful words and actions.

If your character is from another culture/country, some notes on that: A daughter of the former Lord of the Vales, Cinindel has strong roots in this area of Alcea. Many in this area still think the exile of Lord Martius harsh, and given the increased difficulty of life under Janolf, many would consider rising under the banner of a daughter of the Vale, were one to return to these lands.

Other: Called 'Archangel', partly on account of her armour's design, but also for the terrifying fury with which she has routed bands of slaver 'devils'.