Psyker Landshark

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

Lady Safina Haliel

For someone who'd spent the formative years of her life as a street urchin, one would think Safina would be rather taken by the novelty of masquerading as a noble, attending balls regularly, wearing a slinky black dress more expensive than entire towns' worth, and living in a castle, of all things. One would be wrong. She had better things to do than this constant maintenance of her cover. Like actually being back out in the field, overseeing her Concord's cells. Unfortunately, Evelyn liked her little galas far too much for Safina's taste. And it was either put up with this or deal with constantly sneaking in and out of Hathforth Castle to report in.

So Safina kept a thin smile on her lips, her gaze not so much insincere as it was just aloof. Her ears picked up various whispers around the court, but she didn't react outwardly to any of them. Nothing of particular importance, just the same insipid gossip ad nauseum.

And then something interesting happened. Duke Rhinecliff, in the flesh. Well, well. Wasn't this a surprise? Safina wasn't sure if this move was bold or foolish, considering his arrival did nothing to make up for the veritable ledger of unpaid taxes his duchy owed. A preemptive move to try to save face? Or something else? Her eyes traced over Eirwen for a moment, searching for his reaction to the Duke's arrival. Nothing. Of course not. The mage had been more than good at keeping a steady poker face in court.

Then Evelyn called upon her, and Safina stepped forward, curtsying before she rose.

"As Your Highness bids. If you'll follow me, Duke Rhinecliff?" Safina gestured towards the Duke, turning and walking away while expecting him to follow. She led the man out of the throne room and through a few adjacent hallways before entering a small office.

"Sit, by all means." That cool smile was still plastered on her face as she sunk into the plush chair behind the desk, opening it to pull out a ledger, which she opened.

"Empty." Her gaze was sharp. A servant entered, pouring the both of them a goblet of wine each, before bowing and making a hasty departure. Safina ignored her cup, her focus on the Duke. "Your show of fealty is appreciated, of course. But the Crown would rather prefer a more material demonstration of loyalty than symbolic. Nearly a year's worth of unpaid taxes. And do not lie to me; Odonfield is more than prosperous at the moment." The implication that it could change.

"So where, oh where, could all your tax revenue be? Personal debts? Church ties? Keeping artists and scholars fed? Faith and culture are all very well and good, Duke Rhinecliff, but just as your people pay their taxes to you, their feudal lord, so too must you pay your duchy's share to the Crown."

Safina's gaze was more predatory than anything now, a glint in her eyes.

"By all standards, you are little better than a debtor right now. That little show to the Queen has bought you the courtesy of a chance to come clean. Or at least to work out the beginnings of a payment plan. One way or another, my lord, Hathforth will have what it is due. Are we clear?"

@Donut Look Now

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

I'll be getting my post up tomorrow, sorry for the delay @Donut Look Now

Iris Ascendis

Iraleth Kyrios

Iraleth watched impassively as Ciara left before her gaze turned back towards the imp. Whether or not someone entered the Iris Record was of no concern to her. Glory was a byproduct of deeds, not the goal.

The side comment from the orc girl in Compact 4 had Iraleth suppress a snort of amusement. She couldn't help but agree. Otis certainly liked to hear himself talk, didn't he? Fortunate that he was clever. Too clever by half, considering everything she'd seen him do up to this moment. That boy was scheming something. She just couldn't tell how harmful it would be to others when it came to fruition.

Nonetheless, he posed a question Iraleth had to answer.

"See?" She tilted her head. "It surrendered not long after you left. The veil around the wolf turned into that imp. Demanded to be taken to a leader, invoked prisoner rights." Iraleth narrowed her eyes at the little shit in question. "Personally, I think it's just mocking us."

The paladin looked aside towards Valen Leuvalt, who seemingly still hadn't picked a faction. She glared, trying to convey a message through sheer force of will and her glower.

Wund. Wund. I don't want to work with you. WUND.

@ERode

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Renar Hagen

It didn't work as well as he would have liked. So it goes. The metal spike parried his trip attempt, and he quickly tried to formulate a new tactic, only for the situation to change again as the demoness outright vanished. Behind, left, right, above, nothing. Then he saw the attempt on Rolan out of the corner of his eye. At least that fellow seemed to have something up his sleeve. Renar could respect that. He would have moved to aid further, but they still had an objective to move on to.

Speaking of, Renar chanced a look up back toward said objective, and blanched. Spheres of light, coming down. Likely death, if they made contact.

"Captain!" Renar's tone was strained as he simultaneously tried to shove himself out of the way while also warning Fanilly. "To your left! Now!" He leapt to the right, himself. He'd probably be fine, but hopefully his warning gave Fanilly enough time to respond. The amount of time he had to spent actually vocalizing the words already worked against her. Add in a split second more for her to process them. Would she make it in time?

@VitaVitaAR

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

Safina's Relationships

Duke Laurent Rhinecliff Up to something, that's for damn sure. Has enough wealth and influence to be genuinely dangerous if allowed to build up a support base. Increased surveillance on his activities likely worth the risk of discovery.	________________________ ________________________ ________________________ "The tobacco peddler will be a problem if left unchecked, my lady. High priority."
Wizard Queen Evelyn Keove Former colleagues, friends, and, quite honestly? Safina feels some measure of responsibility for her as an older sibling would. Perhaps if she'd managed to come to Evelyn's aid on that fateful day, things would be different. As it stands, all she can do is stand by her choices and the horse she'd backed in this race. She could cut and run at any time, to be certain. By the time Evelyn looked at any record or journal indicating her existence, Safina and the Concord could be two nations away. But she'd already abandoned her once. Not again.	________________________ ________________________ ________________________ "...Evelyn, you're asking me about my appraisal of yourself. Insecurity doesn't become you. We both know where we stand."
Court Mage & Advisor Eirwen Blackthorne Not impressed by him. A pretty face and words were common enough among the court. If Evelyn didn't have such an unfortunate bias for her own kind, Safina doubts he would've been made court mage. There were better choices. That said, if the reports are true, then he's throwing away the tremendous boon he was granted. Truly, it would be unfortunate to be proven right like this.	________________________ ________________________ ________________________ "He's in a position where he knows too much. I'll see if any of our noviates have enough magical skill to enter his Society."
Captain Roderic "Ironhand" Thorne The Hands of Iron were an up-and-coming mercenary company, to be certain. But Safina had seen their like so many times over the decades. Only time would tell if these sellswords were worth any coin, but they'd have to get to them first. That said, these whispers of a shadow associated with their field deployments does raise some concern.	________________________ ________________________ ________________________ "There's been no black marks against these mercenaries, if that's what you're asking. I can investigate further, but I would suggest prioritizing our resources towards more certain threats first. Hire them before anyone else if you want the extra force. That's more of your field than mine, regardless."
Duchess Altina Freya Bastille, The "Valkyrie" Violent, energetic, and skilled. A problem. If Safina's profile on this woman based on her actions is correct, peace is the last thing Duchess Altina wants. Plus, her facade is terrible. Should any armed insurrection arise, Safina would bet that this woman will be at the forefront.	________________________ ________________________ ________________________ "A bastion of strength. I don't recommend direct methods of dealing with this problem."
Duchess Mirie Agustria of Caelin Caelin is in the enviable position of having the power to tilt any conflict towards whichever side they join. Logistics and economics win wars, and Caelin enables both in droves. Ensure their loyalty by any means necessary.	________________________ ________________________ ________________________ "You need to do everything in your power to keep this one on our side. Preferential treatment, trade rights, tax breaks, the works. The economic impact of her working against us would be crippling."
Knight, Roland Corrin A footnote. Merely a royal bodyguard, though related to powerful people. That said, Safina still thinks the former king's guard should have been killed or exiled at best. There was no point in leaving wounds to fester.	________________________ ________________________ ________________________ "Amends?! Evelyn, you slew his king and got his elder sister killed. There's no coming back from that."

I'll have a post up within a few days, working through the ones I owe in order.

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

<Snipped quote by Estylwen>

That works too, mostly needed a reason to explain the shadow powers and Dremora seemed to fit, a curse/blessing would work

@twannyman

wait why
Safina just has that shit

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

<Snipped quote by Estylwen>

Okay, done!

<Snipped quote by twannyman>

So did you just read Safina and Melisande's CS, then figured, "Hey, why not both in one?" 😛

----

Also, is not putting CS in hiders a thing here? Coz' the scrolling I must do each time I want to reference information from a specific sheet takes forever now.

@Izurich

just drag the scroll bar, simple as

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

<Snipped quote by Psyker Landshark>

Great question! Dwarves live up to 250 years, and elves can live up to 1000 years. Safina is still quite young, but has a lot of experience.

@Estylwen

hagmaxxing avoided

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

@Estylwen How long-lived are elves/dwarves in the setting anyways? Wondering if I made Safina still relatively young or closer to middle-aged.

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

Grandmaster of the Concord

Lady Safina Haliel

146 | Elf | | Female | 5'11" | 148 lbs

Goal:
Peace, stability, and quiet. Having known the Queen since she was but a court wizard, Safina stays by her side out of a sense of familiarity at this point. So long as the power-hungry and the grasping stopped having silly ideas of rebellion, perhaps there could be peace for a century for once.

History:
She'd always been an urchin. Her first memories had been of an orphanage, and she'd not taken to it well. Safina lived life on the streets from a young age, picking pockets and committing petty theft to acquire the coin to avoid starving just one more day. Eventually, stealing from the wrong mark got her picked up by the local thieves' guild, who saw the potential in her to be a real sneak.

Over a century passed, and Safina rose to supplant the leadership of that guild, intent on taking it into a more extreme, yet more profitable direction. They still continued to engage in heists and espionage, but now also branched out to assassination, bringing in professionals from other nations to train killers. It was at this time that a battlemage by the name of Evelyn reached out, engaging Safina in a partnership and helping fund the guild's shift in focus.

With both an increase in their lethality and the kingdom's unofficial backing, it wasn't long before Safina's guild either forced out or absorbed all other competition in the underworld within their city. Surprisingly, now that the underworld was centralized, local crime actually decreased overall. Safina was more interested in ensuring that no one within the area had any vested interest in stopping their operations, resulting in greater long term profits, but her and Evelyn's foolish backer didn't quite see it the same way.

When the rebellion came, the guild very quietly stayed out of the entire matter. At least, they did until the king cut Evelyn loose and inadvertently revealed Safina's guild to the kingdom at large in the process. Safina wasn't able to go to her ally's aid, occupied as she was with ensuring the guild wasn't massacred as they escaped the kingdom.

In the end, barely a third of the thieves and killers she'd cultivated over the decades survived that disaster. Over the next decade, Safina remolded her organization into the Concord, traveling from country to country as hired killers as they sought to weather the storm they were put into. But this wasn't an existence she was satisfied with. Too much chaos and risk, all for nothing. No, she wanted a measure of stability back.

It had to be some form of serendipity that the Concord answered the call Evelyn sent out. When Safina realized who the employer was, she negotiated a different contract: her band of sneaks and killers would fight and spy for a position in her new order rather than any measure of gold. Wealth was temporary, as they both knew damn well. But continuity? Quiet? That would keep them alive and thriving.

These days, Safina and her Concord work to enforce the Wizard Queen's order, though it grows ever more difficult between the people's discontent and some of Evelyn's more...ambitious policies. Not that Safina would tell her that. The Concord still wasn't as powerful or numerous as her old guild, even if their veterans were far more skilled these days than they had been in the past. Still, she and the Queen share a similar enough dream of order that she'll do as she's commanded to.

Within Hathforth's court, Safina is publically known as one of the Queen's ladies-in-waiting, her proximity to the throne and travels under her command claimed under the guise of a mere retainer.

Seed: Empty Gaze
A black pearl embedded in a brooch worn on Safina's neck. It allows Safina to remove any perception or memory of her existence from the mind of someone that beholds the pearl for several moments. The more of Safina that is erased from the target's perception, the longer the Empty Gaze takes to recharge.

Magic:

• Shadow Blade: Forms a magical blade of darkness that can be adjusted in length and either wielded in the hand or fired at a target.
• Darkness: Conjure magical darkness to fill a dozen-foot radius. Nonmagical methods of illumination and night vision cannot pierce it.
• Illusory Image: Create a magical image in a chosen location. Physical contact with the image reveals it to be an illusion.
• Shadowstep: Flit through the shadows and reposition one's self to any point within line of sight that has an absence of light. The caster can also submerge their body within the shadows for some time, though this takes much more mana.
• Mind Crush: Engage in a psychic attack against the target's mind. Stuns briefly and can leave a foe catatonic should they be weak-willed enough. Can be repelled with willpower, but will still at least keep their senses occupied for the duration of the attack.
• Swiftness: Enchants a target with magical vigor, allowing them to perform actions quicker.
• Muffle: Target a specific area or body part to prevent from making sound for some time. Can be cast on self.
  
  ---
• True Sight: Grants the caster the ability to see through all magical conjurations, whether it be darkness, illusions, invisibility, or otherwise.
• Greater Invisibility: The caster and all they carry become invisible for the duration of the spell. Does not dispel on physical contact.
• Time Stop: Halt the flow of time in a given area around the caster for a few seconds, allowing the caster unhindered freedom of movement and action during that period.

Skills:

• Bladework
• Marksmanship
• Stealth, both magical and mundane
• Sleight of hand
• Espionage
• Underworld connections

Faction: The Concord
An organization of spies and assassins personally led by Safina dedicated to enforcing the Wizard Queen's rule by any means necessary. Many among their number are veteran thieves and former assassins from other, similar guilds that were crushed and absorbed into the Concord during Safina's former life as a crime lord.

City:
The Concord controls no territory in the open, but are headquartered in Hathforth, with at least one cell of agents in every major city across the realm.

Assets:
Directly sponsored by the Wizard-Queen, the Concord doesn't want for funding. They hold a wealth of information and blackmail, capable of establishing contacts and connections quickly through judicious use of intrigue and information brokerage.

Misc:
Voice claim: Allegra Clark

Safina's Relationships

Duke Laurent Rhinecliff Up to something, that's for damn sure. Has enough wealth and influence to be genuinely dangerous if allowed to build up a support base. Increased surveillance on his activities likely worth the risk of discovery.	________________________ ________________________ ________________________ "The tobacco peddler will be a problem if left unchecked, my lady. High priority."
Wizard Queen Evelyn Keove Former colleagues, friends, and, quite honestly? Safina feels some measure of responsibility for her as an older sibling would. Perhaps if she'd managed to come to Evelyn's aid on that fateful day, things would be different. As it stands, all she can do is stand by her choices and the horse she'd backed in this race. She could cut and run at any time, to be certain. By the time Evelyn looked at any record or journal indicating her existence, Safina and the Concord could be two nations away. But she'd already abandoned her once. Not again.	________________________ ________________________ ________________________ "...Evelyn, you're asking me about my appraisal of yourself. Insecurity doesn't become you. We both know where we stand."
Court Mage & Advisor Eirwen Blackthorne Not impressed by him. A pretty face and words were common enough among the court. If Evelyn didn't have such an unfortunate bias for her own kind, Safina doubts he would've been made court mage. There were better choices. That said, if the reports are true, then he's throwing away the tremendous boon he was granted. Truly, it would be unfortunate to be proven right like this.	________________________ ________________________ ________________________ "He's in a position where he knows too much. I'll see if any of our noviates have enough magical skill to enter his Society."
Captain Roderic "Ironhand" Thorne The Hands of Iron were an up-and-coming mercenary company, to be certain. But Safina had seen their like so many times over the decades. Only time would tell if these sellswords were worth any coin, but they'd have to get to them first. That said, these whispers of a shadow associated with their field deployments does raise some concern.	________________________ ________________________ ________________________ "There's been no black marks against these mercenaries, if that's what you're asking. I can investigate further, but I would suggest prioritizing our resources towards more certain threats first. Hire them before anyone else if you want the extra force. That's more of your field than mine, regardless."
Duchess Altina Freya Bastille, The "Valkyrie" Violent, energetic, and skilled. A problem. If Safina's profile on this woman based on her actions is correct, peace is the last thing Duchess Altina wants. Plus, her facade is terrible. Should any armed insurrection arise, Safina would bet that this woman will be at the forefront.	________________________ ________________________ ________________________ "A bastion of strength. I don't recommend direct methods of dealing with this problem."
Duchess Mirie Agustria of Caelin Caelin is in the enviable position of having the power to tilt any conflict towards whichever side they join. Logistics and economics win wars, and Caelin enables both in droves. Ensure their loyalty by any means necessary.	________________________ ________________________ ________________________ "You need to do everything in your power to keep this one on our side. Preferential treatment, trade rights, tax breaks, the works. The economic impact of her working against us would be crippling."
Knight, Roland Corrin A footnote. Merely a royal bodyguard, though related to powerful people. That said, Safina still thinks the former king's guard should have been killed or exiled at best. There was no point in leaving wounds to fester.	________________________ ________________________ ________________________ "Amends?! Evelyn, you slew his king and got his elder sister killed. There's no coming back from that."