Wernher

Kingless Symphony: Emissary of Ascension

Viktor & Veronika

Veronika was clad in her training armor as she faced her teacher, Ser Brant, and his own Squire. She didn't like armor, felt like it slowed her down, that it drained her stamina. The helmet especially was incredibly annoying in how it restricted her vision, in how it made each breath of air difficult to inhale. She had first thought Ser Brant wanted to condition her to use some armor at first, but she had quickly noticed that it was probably because of his squire. Normally the two of them would restrain themselves during their practice as not to wound each other, but that squire... at first he had showed more than restrain as he wouldn't hit a woman, but now that Veronika was kicking his ass all the way to the north? Long gone was any restrain he had.

Her only advantage was her speed and the fact that she was ambidextrous, able to wield two swords while the squire two handed a long sword and the master hid carefully behind his shield and wielded a broadsword. No matter how good a fighter she was becoming, Veronika would readily admit that a woman would always have a weaker sword arm than a man, she thus had to fight smart. But to assume Brant only relied on his strength would be false, his squire maybe, but not him. As she stood between the two, Viktor raised a head from his ledgers. Normally he'd be her sparring partner but he was always busy, to her great woe. Still, under his eyes... she could not disappoint!

The squire roared and raised his sword to bring it back down, threatening to bash her skull open, the sword being dulled didn't mean it was harmless! But at the last second, Veronika moved sideways and let the sword hit Ser Brant's shield. "Watch the strength! Don't kill anyone you reckless idiot!" The squire wanted to answer something, but the master distracted him only long enough for Veronika to duck under his arm and raise his sword in his armpit. A hit to the torso where the plates didn't protect. By the rules, he was out of play.

Brant wouldn't give her time to celebrate however and did a quick trust, exposing himself a little but not minding it. His shield had her left arm covered and she'd need the right one to deflect the blow... or so he thought. Veronika's right hand raised but rather than deflect with the sword, it kept rising, exposing her arm. The piercing attack stroke her bracers at the perfect angle to slice harmlessly against it. As his arm went forward, propelled by his momentum, Brent understood too late what she was trying to do as her hand let go of her sword and plunged downward, taking Brant's sword arm into a lock. Her left arm, still clad with a sword, raised. She was going to aim the sword at the slits in his helm! He had to break free and still had a shield and his strength. He surged forward, aiming to overpower her but found only air... well, almost. There was also a foot in his way, just present enough to make him trip. As he fell he smiled to himself. Veronika had learned well, if you do not have enough strength, use your enemy's against him.

__________________________________

"Bullshit. Even if she didn't strike the plate, no way a tiny sword like that could have pierced the mail under my shoulder!" Veronika smiled as she removed her armor, showing her face covered in sweat, although the effort hadn't made her alabaster skin any reder. Brant was in a much better spirit than his squire it seemed. "Gavin... you're a good fighter I'll give you that, but you trust that armor of yours too much. The point is not to be hit in the first place. Its why I wanted you to fight against lady Tolstoi here." The squire scoffed as his master called the woman a 'lady'. "And you, lady Tolstoi... you don't trust it enough! It was a superb move you did, deflecting the sword like you did with your bracer. You can see the use, no? Then you notice you could use some protections on your shoulders, that your legs are exposed... give it up already! Get that master of yours to commission you a full plate armor already! Its the way forward!"

Veronika, now clad only in trousers and a loose white shirt, politely bowed. "I thank you for your advice Ser Brant, and I promise I will consider it." Brant scoffed and took his sword before walking out of the courtyard, his squire following suit. "Make yourself at home! I need to be ready for the tourney. None of you wish to join us? I know you can get some of the best seats Viktor!" The thin merchant raised his eyes once more and smiled politely. "Thanks but no thanks, I have quite my fill of martial shows of prowess with my bodyguard around."

Another scoff from the master, a glare from his squire and they were off. Viktor went back to his business but soon found the refreshing touch of Veronika on his shoulders. She began to massage them gently. "I should thank you. Its because of you I'm improving so much." Viktor had a satisfied smile. "Brant is a good teacher. Keeping his debts from drowning him is well worth it if he can give you an ounce of his experience." Veronika had a soft smile and lowered herself to have her head next to Viktor's. "Not that." This prompted him to laugh. "Its certainly not because I'm a good partner! Well, at this point you'd be much better at being my teacher." Veronika moved her hands across his chest to hug him from behind. "Not that either." Then what? Slowly, she pointed at the ledger.

"Mathematics." Maths? Viktor was sceptical. Two years ago Veronika didn't even know how to count a write... "It is all mathematics. Angles, vectors, velocity, impact force and momentum." Viktor was well learned so he knew what she meant, but that was getting a bit more pushed even for him. "Its all about evaluating probabilities and variables... you'd be good at it, you who are always in your ledgers. Speaking of which... what is the flavor of business of the day?"

Well... that wasn't actually a business ledger but a debt one. Viktor had amassed a colossal fortune in a few very short years, but at the cost of astronomical amounts of debt. Get loans to invest in businesses that brought in more money than the value of the debt and so forth, which increased his revenues, which made him more solvant financially, which encouraged people to give him more loans. His financial cunning and negotiation skills made the difference in him being rich and anyone else being in a de facto state of bankruptcy... still, he knew what she meant.

"I'm the ice man." Veronika raised an eyebrow. "Ice... man?" Viktor had one of his trademark smiles, one oozing with confidence, arrogance and self satisfaction. "Yes. I sell ale and ice for the tourney. I'm actually the only ice merchant in the entire city right now." Veronika closed her eyes and laughed. "A man who sells ice." The irony was extreme to her. Ice was a calamity in the north and somehow he'd sell that. And people would buy... ice. "Ironic isn't it? But I think the best part is this: Can you guess who will really hate a hot drink? I'm guessing the northerners. I am selling ice, and the northerners won't have enough of it."

Veronika moved back and placed her hands once again on Viktor's shoulder, to massage them with more dept. "Viktor, you are a man who will sell ice to northerners. How long until the day you sell sand to the southerners?" Viktor closed his eyes and leaned on his work table, giving more of his back to Veronika to temper with. "Already done years ago, sand to make construction mortar, glass and so forth."

_______________________________________

Euric

"Uhm, my lord?" Asked one of Euric's vassal as he watched Jaelyn walk away. Euric however just waved him off. "The city's full of knights and aspiring ones from throughout the realm my good fellow, I don't dare to think there's been a safer place than where we currently are in recent memory. Let her do what she will." As the duke glanced toward his daughter, he had a short laugh before turning around and giving his wife, Viridiana dearest, a peck on the cheek. "One can actually hope on this auspicious day our child will find someone worth enjoying some time with." His daughters were indeed becoming old to not being married for so long, but he took this in an entirely new direction as he looked at his son and raised his voice so Arthur could hear him clearly. "And don't assume I'm talking about your sisters! You're becoming quite old to be a squire my boy, so watch, learn and try to find someone who could tolerate you in his service!"

Euric said that with a pleasant smile on his face but... truth was part of him hoped that wouldn't happen. Arthur was his oldest son, his heir... if something was to happen... Then again, that was only the worst case scenario. And no other scenario really pleased him as no matter who Arthur should chose as a master to serve under, it would either be a lowly noble who'd no doubt try and use the success or failure of his son as leverage, a member of the royal court who would make the King hold that Damocles sword over his head or worst... a northerner who'd! Gah! Make his son into a savage or something!

______________________________________

The Condotierri

"Oh please wake up mister Condotierri! You'll be late!" Only a groan answered the plea of (one of) the women who had accompanied Porthos during the last night. The light of the day as the curtains were open however were enough to bring the slumbering giant back to reality. "Oh all right! No need to go to the extremes!" Another groan and the super sized man got up of his bed, awaking the remaining girls. He stretched and winked at them before preparing himself.

As he briskly went into the lobby, mostly clothed, Porthos had a groan of exasperation. "Young lady, this is no place for someone your age, I cannot believe they've let you in here!" The young red head tomboy shrugged. "They told me you kept hogging all the women to yourself, so if I could convince you to leave so their business keeps running..." It was Porthos's turn to roll his eyes, in exasperation. He took the little hand of his 'girl' into his and led her out of the sordid place.

"I've placed the bets as soon as the booth opened, while you were sleeping. I think the odds are, uh?" Maria stopped in her tracks as Porthos changed course, letting go of her hands for a moment. Spotting him easily, she saw him approaching a young woman. Of course. Porthos bowed deeply in front of a lady who felt way out of place in such a salacious part of the town. "Excuse my intrusion my lady, but I cannot help but think you might be lost or rather... looking for something? I dare hope not someone, in such a part of town. Might I ask if I can be of any assistance?"

Maria bit her lip. While Porthos was hiding it well, he had been concentrating on the Lady's 'assets' rather than clothing. Maria however had noticed something, a crest one saw a lot in Caerleon. "Dad..." She whispered for the lady not to hear. God, she hoped he wouldn't embarrass himself in front of a Princess. That... whatever he was trying to do succeeding was unthinkable, so that was just damage control. Yet Porthos was, as usual when a pretty woman half his age is involved, irresponsive.

Kingless Symphony: Emissary of Ascension

Morgen.

So, can accepted chars post ic?

Kingless Symphony: Emissary of Ascension

Sure we can't have a first post? A tiny tantalizing crump to prepare our own openings?

Kingless Symphony: Emissary of Ascension

Is Maria accepted?

Also, anyone wants to have previous connections with any of my characters?

Especially about the Lord of Ralei.

Kingless Symphony: Emissary of Ascension

Name: Maria Condotierri

Age: Twelve

Titles: None

Origin: Somewhere on the roads in the North.

Allegiance: None

Family:

Hider

-Porthos Condotierri (Father)

Personality:
The nature of a mercenary company made Maria into a girl that has a hard time forming relations and getting attacked to things since after all, no one knows when the time will come where someone might die or she herself will have to get up in the middle of the night and run for her life, leaving everything behind. Maria is thus also extremely mature for her age, understanding the random nature of life where bad things happen to bad people and vice versa, thus she doesn't expect to be entitled to anything and despises those that think they are.

Background:
The Captain of the Lions probably has left a long trail of bastards in his wake, considering his womanizing habits, it is thus extremely ironic that one of the woman she spent the most time with, a member of his own company who died in child birth, left him with a child he painfully obviously isn't the father of. What goes around, comes around as they say. Still, it didn't prevent him to love Maria like she was his only child.

Though that didn't mean he treated her especially well. Porthos after all had and still has no idea what a normal childhood is supposed to look like and he's always just working between instinct and his experience training men to become the best they can be. Which is probably why today Maria acts like a boy and kinda looks like one too. While Maria at 12 years of age isn't sure what she wants to be, she guesses its probably not a mercenary. She tires of the constant walking, fighting and death, and dreams of maybe a little house.

Porthos however dreams of more than that and what little special attention she gives to her is to groom her into being slightly more respectable than he is. She can at least look and act the part, though it also kind of encourages to become kind of a sneaky liar as she needs to do sneaking or lying to get him off her back at times. She loves her father, but sometimes he can be a little bit... too much.

Kingless Symphony: Emissary of Ascension

Euric Ralei

Name: Euric Ralei

Age: Forty-Two

Titles: Duke of Andalia, Protector of the South, Lord of Caerleon

Origin: Caerleon

Allegiance: House Ralei

Family:
­

Hider

-Alaric Relai (Father)
-Maximilian Relai (Brother)
-Viridiana Ralei
-Jaelyn Ralei
-Arthur Ralei
-Cassiopeia Ralei
-Viktor Summers

Personality:
The duke can sometimes seem harsh, but the truth is that what he values the most is empathy, the ability to place yourself in other people's shoes before making a decision, especially when its relating to the law, making him a forgiving person with those who's crime is a mere mistake or was brought out of necessity, but less so for others who simply sought to gain without any thought or consideration to others. Likewise however, he believes that one must always solve the root cause of the problem before moving on to something else, as a hungry man who steals to feed himself will still be hungry tomorrow and a man who made a mistake but was not told how to do things properly can only repeat it.

Background:
Euric was born second son to Duke Alaric the Strong, a man who believed that the south, as the richest territory of the kingdom, bore the responsibility to raise the most swords under its banner, a man as well who had little patience for trivialties and incompetence. As a second son, Euric was considered trivial and to make the matter worst, he showed very little competence in anything but spending money and flirting with women, especially those of a status beneath his.

If he was destined to be the second son with no use whatsoever to the family, then Euric would take fun in the position that allowed him to do as he pleased with an essentially unlimited amount of funds. His favorite crowd to hand out with were of course the merchants who enjoyed his company and that of his money. From one woman to the other however, Euric landed on the loveliest Olivia. He truly believed he was in love, but then again he did so with a different woman once every month or so, though he did stand with her for almost a year.

At the end of that year however, what a lot of second sons secretly hope for happened, and his brother Maximilian was slain in a jousting tournament. It fell on him, as the second son... the only son left, to take the Lordship. He didn't want to and told so to his dearest Olivia, wanting to sever ties to a family that would not allow him to love a simple merchant's daughter and live his own life.

He told so to his father, in private as not to humiliate him in front of his vassals and subjects. Alaric took exception to that. In the hour his father took to beat him senseless, he told his son more words than he ever did before in his entire life about duty and how his one and only duty in life, the reason he was kept around and allowed to do as he pleased with no consequence, was so he could stand up to the task should a worst case scenario happen, and it just did. Euric meekly protested, but was received with a torrent of kicks and insults along with menaces that the only way to walk out of his duty was in a coffin, so he'd have to leave his peasant mistress behind if he didn't want his father to have her executed and work the hardest he ever did to become an acceptable ruler.

And so, Euric did as he was asked, begrudgingly. The separation was not an easy one and it left an even sour taste in his mouth when he learned a few months later that Olivia had a child that could only be his, one he hid the existence well until a few years later Alaric passed away. Now Duke, Alaric's first order of business was to send a generous pension to Olivia and his bastard. Even today, this remains a sensible topic as everyone knows of Euric's bastard, including his wife and while he didn't acknowledge him as his, he never denied that he was either.

Ultimately, the things he learned and the connections he made while he hung out with merchants served him well, as today the friends of yesterday are now the heads of the merchant families of today. This makes him radically different from his father, a very martial man, Euric indeed sees prosperity as the best hope for peace in the realm and concentrates on making the south... everything that the north isn't. Clean roads, beautiful architecture, work for everyone and a focus on freedom along with less taxes on the peasantry, even if it makes him rather unpopular with his vassals and the king himself, as Euric tries his damnest to dodge the taxes he's asked to pay and oftens puts the blame on anything unpopular he might do on the king.

Ultimately however, he keeps his role minimal, serving much more as a judge than a governor, believing in a sense that what his father said about how 'One should just leave the merchants do their things' to hold mostly true, even if the good old 'Invisible hand' sometimes guides things the right way and prevents the worst from happening.

Viktor Summers

Name: Viktor Summers

Age: Twenty two

Titles: Honorable Representative of the Caerleon Merchant Guild.

Origin: Caerleon

Allegiance: House Ralei (Nominally)

Family:

Hider

-Alaric Relai (Grand Father)
-Maximilian Relai (Uncle)
-Euric Relai (Father)
-Olivia Margolis (Mother)
-Jaelyn Ralei (Half Sister)
-Arthur Ralei (Half Brother)
-Cassiopeia Ralei (Half Sister)

Personality:
On his good side, people see him as a generous and intelligent individual that built his own fortune on cunning and on giving a chance to those who had nothing but the will to work hard, the anti-thesis of the nobles and even lots of merchants who only see in someone their parents or the place he was raised, that he studied in. This hides a darker truth however, the fact that he is extremely cynical and paranoid. He places his trust only in people who's life and career he made because they tend to be fanatically devoted to him rather than others who would normally have this post because of their birth... who would be entitled to it and would owe nothing to Viktor.

Background:
Viktor realized very young that his was an abnormal family. He could only very rarely see his father and everyone seemed to dislike him and his mother for it. It wasn't long until the bitterness his mother had about the whole situation made its way into his heart. It was useless to bring up that he was half of a duke as that was too little, and that still made him half a merchant, which was also nothing of use to him.

He grew lonesome, both because of the will of each side of his family who wanted to keep his existence hidden and because of his own who found himself to fit nowhere. With nothing to do he read, he drew, he studied and ultimately grew up to be quite the socialite, knowing from an early age he had everything to gain from concealing and hiding his true nature. When he reached his majority, he decided it was time to cash in as much as he could on life and decided to go meet his daddy. From what little encounter he had with him, Viktor was acutely aware of how guilt ridden Euric was and merely played on his heart strings to have a sizable stipend to start in life.

It was easy, and easier still to have an edge in his business. Euric was convinced to bend the rules a little in favor of his son, here and there, to be more receptive to his plight and that meant, to the plight of those who worked with Viktor. The bastard, now known as Viktor Summers as to drop the heritage of both his mother and father, scoured the land in search for opportunities to exploit and people to discover. Or was it the contrary? No matter, it didn't take long for the Caerleon merchant guild to take interest in him, in the fact that he had the ear of the Duke and what it took days to have a short meeting to others, Viktor could discuss privately. He was thus made Representative of the guild. His words being that of the merchants of the south, mostly.

That of course made him enter in contact with his siblings. Of course he hates Arthur and Viridiana with passion, believing, hard as iron, that they were the impostors, the responsible for any and all of his woes. He does not however, hold particular grudges against his sisters. Travels made him an open minded person who can appreciate the powers a woman can hold, and how they can to compare to any men in the intellectual department. Though he still hates it when they order him around.

Veronika Tolstoi

Name: Veronika Tolstoi

Age: Nineteen

Titles: None

Origin: Village near the Barony of Mork, North.

Allegiance: Viktor Summers, always.

Family:

Hider

-Justine Tolstoi (Mother, Unknown)
-Clair Tolstoi (Sister, Unknown)

Personality:
It was early that Veronika was harshly thought that one should not speak if one didn't have something to say. This, along with the punishment for even hinting at an insult with your facial expression made for a very quiet and rarely expressive girl. Ultimately she didn't need to spend any time with Viktor for life to rot her to the core with cynicism. As someone who known the worst of misery life can bring, her own belief is that no one else matters. They can die, they can starve, as long as it isn't her then its a victory. As long as it isn't Viktor... The man gave her a life worth living and even if it was just to give himself a useful servant, fact remained he chose her and no one else, and that she'd be dead or worst, still where she was when he found her without him. There is no god or king to her, only Viktor.

Background:
The angular face with sharp lines... the distinctive feature of the Liber people. Some say a subgroup of the Estalian northern folks that would eventually go to the south, some say something else entirely. No matter, these people tend to be marginalized, living only in a handful of villages in the most isolated parts of the north. Veronika's childhood was only one of survival with her mother and older sister. She had other siblings as well but she hardly remembers them, winter took them when she was young.

It seemed they would all fall victim to it when the Caravan of Miracles was in town. The caravan was a group of entertainer, popular on every corner of the kingdom for its breath taking shows. Known as well for its incredible talents. There was a reason of course, they were trained from a young age under the idea that if you couldn't tame a bear, then you would feed the bear. Veronika made her way in that circus like everyone there did: Her mother sold her to the circus master. Not as a slave no, but merely Veronika would gain a salary that she'd never see, it'd be sent to her mother. One mouth less to feed, and a little more income.

Veronika trained to be an acrobat and was a pretty damn good one, though the training was impossibly hard. A lot fell in their act and were left on the side of the road as beggars with broken limbs if they were lucky enough for the stage not being burning coal or something like that. Veronika however never fell.

It was a few years ago that a particular merchant from the South assisted to one of her shows. An important man she understood, as he was in the loge with the circus master and the local noble. Viktor. She had attracted his eye due to his own 'special' tastes in women. He didn't like traditional nobles and their anorexic figures and neither did he like the fatter ones. No, it was and still is one of his quirks, he likes the more trained women, the rare warriors, some farmer girls... an acrobat like Veronika fell exactly in his tastes.

The compliment he said about Veronika's grace and abilities however was taken in an entirely inappropriate way by the circus master who ordered Veronika to meet the merchant in his chambers during the night. It wasn't the first time Veronika was ordered such a thing and she knew better than to disobey. It was, however, quite the first for Viktor and he was extremely surprised to see her, even more so when she calmly explained the situation to him.

Viktor actually almost went through with it but ultimately, to Veronika's surprise, decided he could not go with it, and blamed his lack of enthusiasm with humor on Veronika not being able to smile to him. Still, they stayed together and spoke with interest to each other all night.

It would have seemed their encounter would have ended there if it wasn't for the fact that Viktor had negotiations with the circus master the next day. The deal wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either and Viktor wanted to squeeze a little extra from the circus, but the circus master didn't want any of it. He then decided however to offer Viktor the girl he had slept with last night. She, after all, had only left early in the morning and he took that as a sign of interest. Viktor was taken aback but decided to accept. Like that, on a whim.

Veronika was now under the service of a new master. One that fed her, clothed her, hell, even paid her. The first person, the first man, to pay such attention to her. Although he was very insistent she was anything but that, Veronika still served him like the most devout of slave from that moment on, placing her wide range of skills, from acrobatics to knife throwing, to his use, even learning some more to help her master and ultimately, the love of her life, in any ways she could.

Porthos Condorierri

Name: Porthos Condotierri

Age: Thirty two

Titles: Captain of the Lion Company

Origin: Barony of Langvale, West.

Allegiance: Whomever signs a contract with him.

Family:

Hider

-Maria Condotierri (Daughter)

Personality:
He is a loud man that likes nothing more than a barrel of wine and a couple of women to keep him company. This all tends to make him seem like a simple and even stupid man, though he is nothing but. While he's willing to admit there is more intelligent than him and that he has a lot of focus on direct charges and attacks, he'll underline the fact that no matter how simple what he does seems, it works. He indeed is a brave leader of man that knows himself and his soldiers. Along with that, he's maybe a little smarter than people give him credit for.

Background:
Porthos' father was actually a minor Baron in the west at the employ of the king, that is until when Porthos was very young and his family had to go bankrupt, selling their title to scrape enough to live. He however had the 'luck' to serve as a page to nobles, destined to eventually become a squire. He quickly abandonned this idea however when he noticed how much boot licking was involved. He wouldn't treat his master like light shined out of his ass when he was the best of his age and yet the last to become a squire. And so, he decided to leave and sell his sword arm instead.

He did good, quickly banding with others to form a small company to dispatch of brigands and serve as hired thugs to beat up other hired thugs in the south. His career really started however when he joined a minor claiment to the title of count. By all rights he was probably the real count, but his uncle had the knights on his side and the castle as well, so pushing him out, even for the king, would just be an annoying chore. The claiment only had peasants to which he had promised to lower the taxes but Porthos took the contract non the less.

By all odds, one would call this suicidal. Sure, they had the advantage of the number but peasants historically were all mowed down like grass in front of trained knights and mercenaries never fared much better. They laid siege to the castle of the count and surely, he decided he'd rather deal with this quickly and went to the field with his fully armoured knights.

That the Lion Company proceeded to massacre.

To be fair the count was an imbecile and decided to charge a line of pikemen, but that was still exceptional and Porthos was now known as a knight slayer, a man with people willing and able to dispatch of the most elite fighters of the kingdom. A step higher from bigger companies that refused any such contract, always fighting against criminals or other mercenaries in mock battles where they crushed the enemy with no challenge.

Right now, Porthos is wise enough to see that a dying king with a dying heir makes for a very bad combo to keep the peace and so is expending, in prevision of what is to come. He, however, does not aim to get financial gain from the crisis to come. No, his family was noble once, and he intends to make it again.

Maria Condotierri

Name: Maria Condotierri

Age: Twelve

Titles: None

Origin: Somewhere on the roads in the North.

Allegiance: None

Family:

Hider

-Porthos Condotierri (Father)

Personality:
The nature of a mercenary company made Maria into a girl that has a hard time forming relations and getting attached to things since after all, no one knows when the time will come where someone might die or she herself will have to get up in the middle of the night and run for her life, leaving everything behind. Maria is thus also extremely mature for her age, understanding the random nature of life where bad things happen to bad people and vice versa, thus she doesn't expect to be entitled to anything and despises those that think they are.

Background:
The Captain of the Lions probably has left a long trail of bastards in his wake, considering his womanizing habits, it is thus extremely ironic that one of the woman she spent the most time with, a member of his own company who died in child birth, left him with a child he painfully obviously isn't the father of. What goes around, comes around as they say. Still, it didn't prevent him to love Maria like she was his only child.

Though that didn't mean he treated her especially well. Porthos after all had and still has no idea what a normal childhood is supposed to look like and he's always just working between instinct and his experience training men to become the best they can be. Which is probably why today Maria acts like a boy and kinda looks like one too. While Maria at 12 years of age isn't sure what she wants to be, she guesses its probably not a mercenary. She tires of the constant walking, fighting and death, and dreams of maybe a little house.

Porthos however dreams of more than that and what little special attention she gives to her is to groom her into being slightly more respectable than he is. She can at least look and act the part, though it also kind of encourages to become kind of a sneaky liar as she needs to do sneaking or lying to get him off her back at times. She loves her father, but sometimes he can be a little bit... too much.

Kingless Symphony: Emissary of Ascension

Oh yeah, guess you're right.

Well, sometimes I get carried away.

Kingless Symphony: Emissary of Ascension

Something something lord players should be dedicated? And no, that's 3. With the merc's daughter it'll be four.

Kingless Symphony: Emissary of Ascension

Name: Porthos Condotierri

Age: Thirty two

Titles: Captain of the Lion Company

Origin: Barony of Langvale, West.

Allegiance: Whomever signs a contract with him.

Family:

Hider

-Maria Condotierri (Daughter)

Personality:
He is a loud man that likes nothing more than a barrel of wine and a couple of women to keep him company. This all tends to make him seem like a simple and even stupid man, though he is nothing but. While he's willing to admit there is more intelligent than him and that he has a lot of focus on direct charges and attacks, he'll underline the fact that no matter how simple what he does seems, it works. He indeed is a brave leader of man that knows himself and his soldiers. Along with that, he's maybe a little smarter than people give him credit for.

Background:
Porthos' father was actually a minor Baron in the west at the employ of the king, that is until when Porthos was very young and his family had to go bankrupt, selling their title to scrape enough to live. He however had the 'luck' to serve as a page to nobles, destined to eventually become a squire. He quickly abandonned this idea however when he noticed how much boot licking was involved. He wouldn't treat his master like light shined out of his ass when he was the best of his age and yet the last to become a squire. And so, he decided to leave and sell his sword arm instead.

He did good, quickly banding with others to form a small company to dispatch of brigands and serve as hired thugs to beat up other hired thugs in the south. His career really started however when he joined a minor claiment to the title of count. By all rights he was probably the real count, but his uncle had the knights on his side and the castle as well, so pushing him out, even for the king, would just be an annoying chore. The claiment only had peasants to which he had promised to lower the taxes but Porthos took the contract non the less.

By all odds, one would call this suicidal. Sure, they had the advantage of the number but peasants historically were all mowed down like grass in front of trained knights and mercenaries never fared much better. They laid siege to the castle of the count and surely, he decided he'd rather deal with this quickly and went to the field with his fully armoured knights.

That the Lion Company proceeded to massacre.

To be fair the count was an imbecile and decided to charge a line of pikemen, but that was still exceptional and Porthos was now known as a knight slayer, a man with people willing and able to dispatch of the most elite fighters of the kingdom. A step higher from bigger companies that refused any such contract, always fighting against criminals or other mercenaries in mock battles where they crushed the enemy with no challenge.

Right now, Porthos is wise enough to see that a dying king with a dying heir makes for a very bad combo to keep the peace and so is expending, in prevision of what is to come. He, however, does not aim to get financial gain from the crisis to come. No, his family was noble once, and he intends to make it again.

Kingless Symphony: Emissary of Ascension

Name: Veronika Tolstoi

Age: Nineteen

Titles: Hand of Viktor Summers

Origin: Village near the Barony of Mork, North.

Allegiance: Viktor Summers, always.

Family:

Hider

-Justine Tolstoi (Mother, Unknown)
-Clair Tolstoi (Sister, Unknown)

Personality:
It was early that Veronika was harshly thought that one should not speak if one didn't have something to say. This, along with the punishment for even hinting at an insult with your facial expression made for a very quiet and rarely expressive girl. Ultimately she didn't need to spend any time with Viktor for life to rot her to the core with cynicism. As someone who known the worst of misery life can bring, her own belief is that no one else matters. They can die, they can starve, as long as it isn't her then its a victory. As long as it isn't Viktor... The man gave her a life worth living and even if it was just to give himself a useful servant, fact remained he chose her and no one else, and that she'd be dead or worst, still where she was when he found her without him. There is no god or king to her, only Viktor.

Background:
The angular face with sharp lines... the distinctive feature of the Liber people. Some say a subgroup of the Estalian northern folks that would eventually go to the south, some say something else entirely. No matter, these people tend to be marginalized, living only in a handful of villages in the most isolated parts of the north. Veronika's childhood was only one of survival with her mother and older sister. She had other siblings as well but she hardly remembers them, winter took them when she was young.

It seemed they would all fall victim to it when the Caravan of Miracles was in town. The caravan was a group of entertainer, popular on every corner of the kingdom for its breath taking shows. Known as well for its incredible talents. There was a reason of course, they were trained from a young age under the idea that if you couldn't tame a bear, then you would feed the bear. Veronika made her way in that circus like everyone there did: Her mother sold her to the circus master. Not as a slave no, but merely Veronika would gain a salary that she'd never see, it'd be sent to her mother. One mouth less to feed, and a little more income.

Veronika trained to be an acrobat and was a pretty damn good one, though the training was impossibly hard. A lot fell in their act and were left on the side of the road as beggars with broken limbs if they were lucky enough for the stage not being burning coal or something like that. Veronika however never fell.

It was a few years ago that a particular merchant from the South assisted to one of her shows. An important man she understood, as he was in the loge with the circus master and the local noble. Viktor. She had attracted his eye due to his own 'special' tastes in women. He didn't like traditional nobles and their anorexic figures and neither did he like the fatter ones. No, it was and still is one of his quirks, he likes the more trained women, the rare warriors, some farmer girls... an acrobat like Veronika fell exactly in his tastes.

The compliment he said about Veronika's grace and abilities however was taken in an entirely inappropriate way by the circus master who ordered Veronika to meet the merchant in his chambers during the night. It wasn't the first time Veronika was ordered such a thing and she knew better than to disobey. It was, however, quite the first for Viktor and he was extremely surprised to see her, even more so when she calmly explained the situation to him.

Viktor actually almost went through with it but ultimately, to Veronika's surprise, decided he could not go with it, and blamed his lack of enthusiasm with humor on Veronika not being able to smile to him. Still, they stayed together and spoke with interest to each other all night.

It would have seemed their encounter would have ended there if it wasn't for the fact that Viktor had negotiations with the circus master the next day. The deal wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either and Viktor wanted to squeeze a little extra from the circus, but the circus master didn't want any of it. He then decided however to offer Viktor the girl he had slept with last night. She, after all, had only left early in the morning and he took that as a sign of interest. Viktor was taken aback but decided to accept. Like that, on a whim.

Veronika was now under the service of a new master. One that fed her, clothed her, hell, even paid her. The first person, the first man, to pay such attention to her. Although he was very insistent she was anything but that, Veronika still served him like the most devout of slave from that moment on, placing her wide range of skills, from acrobatics to knife throwing, to his use, even learning some more to help her master and ultimately, the love of her life, in any ways she could.