Name: Charles VII Beradon
Race: Human
Position: High general.
Appearance: Rugged is the first word that comes to mind when describing Charles; the hard jaw line, stubble, scars tissue build up on scar tissue as a network of old injuries still left their mark. While standing at a mere 5'8", his sheer bulky width of muscle giving the impression of being able to rip horse in half - With his determined piecing brown eyes giving the suggestion that he might actually do such a thing if required.

Personality: Charles had never been a pleasant man to be around, and with the fall of Altranor, this hadn't improved in the slightest. Punctual, to the point, and a severe dislike of incompetence or time wasting. Able to go from calm and calculating to a ferocious rage in a matter of seconds, many a spy or general had been psychically assaulted after an incorrect remark or failure to succeed. The personal nature of the defeat had also entertained a bitterness, a repressed sense of failure, turning the unlikable man even less so.

Backstory: The Beradon's had always been a military family. Generation after generation of sergeants, generals and advisors to the crown. Where ever you found a Beradon, you also found a solider willing to do whatever it took for the kingdom, laying down the sacrifice of blood, and reaping the rewards of such actions. Near any victory of Altranor, there was always a Beradon nearby.

Things had been no different for Charles, given a sword and rigorous training in both the physical and mental painting in the art of war, learning from fighters present in the daytime, while studying the marks of generals past at night, and as family tradition entailed enlisting as soon as of age. During the campaign to the north Charles showed himself to be as ferocious a fighting force as any Beradon was expected to be. But his mind soon bloomed into his greatest weapon, accumulating into the battle of straightsburg where 200 men lead by Charles managed to stave off the advance of two thousand as the forests themselves were said to move to his aid.

After such a victory the promotions an military feats continued. Never showing a hesitance or stumble as he danced mentally around every opponent with ease. Until Ghant that was. It had been a feeling brought on slowly, a sick sinking as the realization of coming up against someone who was finally his equal, or possibly even greater. Charles had been used to being the only person thinking outside of the box, but now every dance, every action he made, returned and greater opposite reaction. He destroyed their supply lines, they poisoned the waters. He countered with priests and they sent in the necromancers, slowly but surely approaching the destruction of everything his family had worked for over generations.

Notable Possessions: Crownbearer: An old hardened sword, battered and chipped as the kingdom it defended, yet still as sharp and swift as the day it had been made. Legend said that it had been forged by the first king himself, passed down generation to generation between the Beradon's

Name: The (Deposed) Princess Lin'Lise Vexerfell of Vol'kariz

Race: 1/2 lorenvolk, 1/2 vaelie (Credit and thanks to my good friend who allowed me to use one of her races for half of this character)

Age: 33

Position: Wife of the deceased Prince Alfred, Court Healer and Alchemist

*Vaelie 'Magics'- Vaelie 'magics' are not really magic but are poorly understood even by the vaelie themselves. The vaelie naturally produce compounds that can cause various effects on humanoid beings. The most common two that are produced are, a soporific compound which makes those exposed to it feel drowsy, and an 'aphrodisiac' compound that has predictable effects on those exposed to it, however there are others that can cause almost any emotion. All of these compounds can be released at will and in varying quantities depending on the desired effect. The more of the compound is released, the more potent the effect, similarly the longer one is exposed the more the effect will grow. These are typically subtle and best used that way to slowly alter the mood and creep up on someone, if released in a massive amount the sudden impact and mood change will be more noticeable and can sometimes alert the person in question that they are being manipulated." As Lin'Lise is only half vaelie her natural compounds are both weaker and less long lasting than a pure vaelie. Further by virtue of her thinner blood she does not produce as large of an amount of the compounds and where a true vaelie would rarely run low it is easy for her to deplete her stores of them." The two hidden spines can also be used to inject pure forms of these compounds into something directly which causes an immediate and much harder to shake off effect, it is also extremely obvious though.

*Lorenvolk Traits- Lin'Lise's muscles and skeleton are built differently than a humans, this manifests itself in her being much stronger than a normal human and also in her bones being much more difficult to break. She does not appear physically imposing aside from her height, which makes her strength a great surprise to those who do not know of it already. This also accounts for her inhuman weight. Important, because of her weight and the density of her body she really cannot swim.

*Healing Magic/Alchemy- Lin'Lise is very skilled at healing magic. Her mother taught her many things and she augmented her learning after arriving in the kingdom. She knows a large number of words relating to the interior of the body and curing internal injuries that were unknown to the kingdom before she arrived. She can heal injuries that many would write of or not even realize existed because the only damage was beneath the surface rather than visible. Lin'Lise is also skilled at creating magical droughts and potions that can heal or cause other temporary effects. Her skills at this however are less impressive than her healing as the vialie alchemy was very much play it by feel and ritual rather than refined science.

*Miscellaneous- Lin'Lise is a gifted seamstress, quite skilled in the culinary arts, passable at chess, an avid if slow reader, and is at least familiar with political intrigue thanks to the lessons on the ancient wars between lorenvolk kingdoms in Vryndar.

Appearance: Lin'Lise Vexerfell of Vol'Kariz is an anomaly in the Fanged Isles for neither the lorenvolk in their ancient splendor nor the vaelie in their seductive and sinister mannerisms dwell in these lands. Her appearance is the result of the mingling of two strains of inhuman blood and she at least views herself as the best of both worlds, and while few exist in these lands who have seen either one of the lorenvolk or one of the vaelie most agree with her statements. Lin'Lise is taller than most humans, male and female alike at roughly 8 feet in height as a direct product of the lorenvolk blood that flows through her veins. Her hair is long and pure gold in color, seeming almost to be made from the metal and shining brilliantly in even dim light. She typically wears it long down her neck and back however there are two braided portions that hang down to either side of her face and serve to frame it. Her skin has a soft silver hue and like her hair actively shines to a degree in strong enough light. Her eyes are large pools of molten gold that capture and draw the eyes of any who look upon her face. Some have said they are enchanting but whether this is true or not is uncertain. She has been described as breathtakingly beautiful and there are few who would not find her attractive. Her body appears to be lithe and thin and to lack particularly large amounts of muscle which is deceptive. She weighs approximately 600 pounds, another example of how her appearance is deceptive. Her mouth differs from a human in the presence of a second set of teeth that are capable of retracting and descending at will, when descended they cover her more humanoid teeth from the front and are wickedly pointed and sharp. There are narrow slits on the undersides of her arms right where the wrist joins the arm and hand together. From these slits a pair of hollow bone spines can emerge and strike rapidly before vanishing again, these spines can inject several toxins.

Lin'Lise is most commonly seen clad in garments made in styles that she claims come from her homeland across the vast ocean to the north. Diaphanous threads and woven cloth streamers bedeck arms and back of her clothing, and a runic script that she has never disclosed the meaning of is also commonly found woven into the fabrics. Most of her clothing is made from overlapping wrappings of silks and other fine fabrics that somehow manage to hold together and not fall apart. Her clothing also as a general rule plays up just how attractive she is. In truth her clothing is a bastardized mixture of the high fashion of the Court in Vol'Kariz and traditional vaelie attire, considering the patterns and styles were constructed by memory and she has not seen either since she was around 12 years old it is understandable that it is not completely accurate.

Also Lin'Lise speaks the language of the kingdom with a unique and noticeable accent that she has never been able to get rid of.

Personality:
Lin'Lise Vexerfell is a woman who has gone through a great deal of hardship in her life. She is certainly no pampered princess who had everything in life handed to her. Unfortunately even though she has been through an inordinate amount of painful emotional traumas she has not been able to harden herself enough to face them particularly well. When her mother and father died in a single night, her father from disease and her mother by treason she spent weeks mourning and weeping for them. Her losses in the fall of the city are more recent and in truth likely just as severe an emotional trauma as the others she experienced earlier. She will be experiencing flashbacks to moments she spent with them and her grief will show. However she has also matured and is no longer the scared child that she was before, now her emotions will not completely rule over her which will allow her to function where in her youth she really couldn't.

She has always been something of an optimist, believing in the fundamental good in people even after all the hardships she has faced. Even now that element of her nature still remains and is evident in the way she instinctively makes plans with the assumption things will turn out as favorably as possible. Further she is naturally benevolent and unlike her mother takes little pleasure in manipulating people using her natural gifts. She prefers to use her gifts in the ways most productive for all, such as when she freely taught others the foreign healing magic and potions that she had learned from her mother rather than hoarding the knowledge and gaining more personal benefit from it. Lin'Lise genuinely likes helping people, which makes sense given the fact that she devoted herself to the healer's art at the court.

When faced with adversity her natural response is to find a way to talk her way out of the situation, something that she is very good at doing, rather than resorting to brute force or physical altercations to solve the problem. This tendency has served her well for most of her life, but it can go horribly wrong and what just happened is currently leading her to consider using a physical approach more frequently. On the whole though since her natural response is to talk and work problems out rather than to fly into a rage she is normally an incredibly easy person to talk to and get along with, and also the sort of person who is frequently used to settle disputes or to calm down others who are fighting.

Lin'Lise worships Maev'Sil'Vien, the sole goddess of the lorenvolk in the far north. She has never been forcible or attempted to convert others to her faith, it simply remains quietly hers.

Backstory: Lin'Lise Vexerfell's story begins very far from the Fanged Isles and their many feuding kingdoms. In fact her story also predates her own birth for to truly understand where she came from an explanation of the circumstances that produced such a blasphemous hybrid as an offspring of vaelie and lorenvolk must be provided. Far to the north, beyond a vast ocean lies the frozen land of Vyrndar. Vyrndar is an ancient land, ruled over by a race of near giants known as the lorenvolk, beings who believe themselves destined to rule by virtue of being supposed descendants of the goddess Maev'Sil'Vien. There in a land of ice and snow, a land where few others could survive these beings raised great fortresses and cities carved into mountains and glaciers alike. There these beings fought endless wars and feuds against each other for thousands of years until at last for the first time a ruler rose to unite them.

The High King of Vol'Kariz brought low the other lorenvolk kingdoms, destroying those who did not submit and welcoming those who did into the fold. It was after this man had united the lorenvolk that his hunger for more became apparent. Ships were built and dispatched across the waters, seeking lands to pillage and plunder. Riches flowed back into Vyrndar and the High King was pleased, but the greatest prize was yet to come. Several years after the raids began one of the vessels, the greatest that had been built and the one that had ventured farthest from the land of Vyrndar returned bearing something that the lorenvolk had not seen before. Humans and other lesser races were common as slaves and servants, especially in those days when the raiding would constantly produce new crops, but even among the slaves from distant lands none knew what this being that had been brought back was.

The prize had been a woman whose beauty was said to have been beyond the ability of words to express and those who had brought this alien (as in unknown or strange) woman back had a story to tell. They had sailed so far south that it had become nearly unbearable, the heat became near intolerable, the sunlight more intense and hateful, storms with a violence unknown had whipped the boat about, provisions began to run low, and some had talked over turning back, or making for a land that had already been discovered where pillage and provisions could surely be obtained. But just before they would have turned back another land was glimpsed in the distance and they made for it. For nearly a week they scoured the coastline, searching for a settlement before at least they found one. The constant presence of the jungle on the coastline had diminished and there they found a settlement.

The Lorenvolk raiders descended upon the town like the looters and pillagers that they were and in the face of a surprise assault by giants the human defenders were routed and many were taken prisoner. But the most interesting prize came from the center of the town, a strange temple stood there and the beings who occupied it were strange beautiful creatures with skin and hair like precious metals. Surprisingly unlike the humans these creatures had fought and only one had been taken alive, a woman who the raiders brought back along with the other slaves.

When the High King saw this woman he was well pleased and claimed her for his own. From this union of monsters, of giants, and those who treat human like cattle would come Lin'Lise. Her mother, the woman whose beauty had so captivated the High King slowly manipulated him, the tricks of vaelie 'magic' bending his will subtly over time even as she outwardly was nothing more than a slave. Several years after she had been brought before the High King, he enthralled by her charms and at her will forsook his previous wife, and wed her to the uproar and dissent of his nobles and the lesser kings he had subjugated.

Lin'Lise was born within a year of the official union and she was proclaimed Lin'Lise Vexerfell, Princess of Vol'Kariz and Vyrndar. Her early years saw her treated like the princess she was proclaimed to be, her mother's 'magics' holding her father in line and she believed herself to be loved. She was raised in luxury and never wanted for anything, the finest historians taught her of the ancient wars and history of Vyndar, the finest warriors taught her how to fight, her father taught her statecraft, and from her mother Lin'Lise learned of the other half of her heritage. The poisons and potions, secret spells, cocktails that could alter minds and bend wills, and even a few less subtle tricks, these she learned from her mother.

Had Lin'Lise's father lived to see her reach adulthood, and had he wed her to one of the great nobles in the empire as he had planned and as her mother had gently coaxed him to do, it is likely that she would never have come to the Fanged Isles and that she would instead be a queen in Vyrndar. But that was not the fate in store for her. When she was 12 her father suddenly took ill, and no magic or tricks of either the court healers or her mother could keep him from rapidly slipping into death. It was after his death that things all changed very suddenly for her. Lin'Lise's mother had never been loved, in fact many had hated her and when the High King suddenly sickened and died mysteriously many blamed her.

The very night that her father breathed his last the captain of his guards decided that it had been the supposed medicines that her mother had given him that had led to king's death. He moved against Lin'Lise's mother and chaos broke out within Vol'Kariz. The queen and the princess both, along with other members of the guard were standing vigil over the dead king when the rebel guards came for them with cries of "Death to the witch". The loyalists attempted to defend them and the queen and princess fled, though not before Lin'Lise seized her father's sword from his dead grip. They had nearly escaped the palace with a handful of remaining loyalist guards when her mother was slain by an arrow.

The loyal guards did manage to get Lin'Lise out, and all save one stayed behind in an attempt to hold off the rebels for as long as possible. The princess and her guardsman fled through the city to the docks. She sought out a ship that was not flashy, that no one would notice and before news of the exact nature of the conflict that was seizing the city could spread ordered the stunned fisherman whose ship it was to put out to sea. The man, flustered and shocked by the sudden presence of royalty obeyed and so Lin'Lise made good her escape from her own home.

She attempted to make for the land to the distant south where her mother had come from as she reasoned that if anywhere would take her in it would be her mother's people. But aside from issuing that one command she did very little other than weep. Her world had come crashing down around her within the course of only and single day and night of misfortune. The princess had lost her mother, her father, and her kingdom and the 12 year old didn't know how to handle it. She weeped and mourned as the food stores on the boat dwindled and the directions ill remembered from lessons proved inadequate. Eventually the food was nearly exhausted and her sole remaining guardsman, who had become weak and malnourished so that she would remain fed finally told her that they would have to change course.

He claimed that the fisherman knew of another land, a land that they could actually reach within the week of starvation rations that remained and reluctantly she agreed to this change of course. Unfortunately while the ship was able to reach land within the week like the fisherman had promised the starvation rations had taken their toll on her last loyal servant and he sickened and died. Perhaps the human fisherman had only listened to her commands in Vyrndar because the princess had a giant guardsman on her side, or perhaps the man's loyalty had simply worn thin on the long voyage, whatever the reason the man abandoned Lin'Lise upon the shores with only her father's sword, the clothing on her back, and a small bag of coins that had once belonged to her now deceased guard.

At least the man had possessed the common decency to leave her near a town and she was able to reach it before nightfall on the first day. But there she encountered a new obstacle. Neither the language of Vyrndar, nor the language of the vaelie was spoken in the town. Despite the communication difficulties she managed to pantomime and gesture well enough that, along with some liberal release of certain 'magics' she found a place to stay in an inn and was only somewhat gouged in the price. Fortunately things would finally begin to take a better turn for the battered young woman who had gone from disaster to disaster. The next day as she wandered the strange (to her) town she came across a merchant, Surld Reese, who spoke the language of Vyrndar in a fashion.

She presented herself to him and showed him her money. What exactly convinced the man she was telling the truth about her tale is unknown. Perhaps he did not really believe and simply decided that he wanted her money, or perhaps from his travels he knew enough to tell that the young woman before him had some of the blood of those northern giants in her. Regardless he took her money and agreed to transport her to the capital of the land in which she had found herself, the city of Altrantor and act as her translator along the way. Midway through this journey to the capital fortune would smile upon the deposed princess of Vryndar once again. A company of riders travelling in the opposite direction came upon Surld Reese's caravan and the leader of this company was quite taken with the beauty of Lin'Lise. He ordered the company to halt as he investigated.

Through Surld Reese Lin'Lise again presented herself and explained what had happened to her, and correctly taking the young man before her as a man of power in the kingdom begged for asylum and aid as befitted her own station. Perhaps unduly intrigued by the beauty and difference of the young woman, and moved by her plight the man, who was one of king Erasmus' youngest sons, the prince Alfred granted her his protection and assured her that he would have his father do the same. With this more important matter to attend to, the prince's previous course of action was discarded and he along with his riders returned to the capital along with Lin'Lise.

It would be the prince's support that led to the Lin'Lise being accepted as what she was in the court at Altrantor and it would be this initial kindness that would spark a friendship between the exiled princess and one of the scions of Eramus' line. She was welcomed and her requests for asylum and protection were granted. Over time as she grew to be an adult she adjusted and became a true member of the court, her knowledge of potions and medicine, as well as healing magic unknown to Altrantor led to her rise to the position of the chief healer in the court. Her friendship with the young prince also grew and eventually became something else entirely.

It seemed that the halfbreed daughter of two races of monsters might actually have a happy ending, she had found a new kingdom, become a part of it, found a new family, and even brought new life into the world herself, a child who as the product of three races would certainly have been interesting had she ever grown to adulthood. But fate was not so kind as to allow Lin'Lise her happy ending. War came to her adopted land and in time the war came to the very city in which she dwelt. When the soldiers of the enemy stormed the castle both her husband the prince was slain and the soldiers came to their quarters to kill her daughter. She did not know of their intent and attempted to surrender, believing in a nobler form a war where royalty was not simply killed in their chambers. She was restrained by a pair of soldiers as one of the others pulled her daughter away from her. Then, before she could react with anything other than horror a blade flashed and her child lay dead.

There is little that can compare to the rage that erupted at that moment, and it was a moment when the soldiers unfortunate enough to have had the duty of slaying her child and her realized that saving her for 'fun' before killing her had been a mistake. There were six trained soldiers in that room, when the carnage stopped none of them had all their limbs. There in her chambers, soaked in her daughter's blood and the blood of the ones who had killed her, she made a vow that she would never stop until in the truest fashion of both her lineages she had ripped out the heart of the man who had ordered this and eaten it!

Friends in High Places:
On the whole she lacks a large number of friends in high places as she was a foreigner who was taken in by the court rather than one who had a large number of family ties and connections. She does have one particularly influential friend who did very well for himself in the long run.

*Surld Reese the 'Merchant Prince': In the years since their initial acquaintance Surld Reese and Lin'Lise have kept in touch as friends of a sort. He has become very prosperous, now owning many caravans and ships that carry luxury goods all throughout the Fanged Isles. Through him she has some connections to some less than savory sorts, though she has never really use those connections much.

Notable Possessions:

*Vol'Kariz- The ancient blade of the kings of Vol'Kariz, the lorenvolk kingdom that had conquered the others to unite Vyrndar. The sword bares the name of the city, or perhaps the city bares the name of the sword, regardless it is an ancient artifact. Vol'Kariz is a sword that is roughly 6 feet in length and extremely thick. Few humans can lift it at all, and even fewer could actually attempt to wield it even clumsily. By virtue of her heritage and different body structure Lin'Lise can wield this sword without much trouble with two hands. To a true lorenvolk this sword would be wielded one handed and was considered a relatively small weapon. It is made of pure Mriswring, one of only a handful of such artifacts outside of Vryndar, which is the only place this strange metal is found. Mriswring is a very are metal and it possesses the curious property of being completely nonreactive to magic. Magic cannot change it, magic cannot impact it. A magical fireball that struck it would not even heat the metal. Magic simply cannot interact with it. This does not transfer to the wielder of the blade, it is only the metal itself that magic cannot touch. Still it is a useful tool if one knows how to use it right.

Race Name: Insect People, “Bug Men”

Physical Characteristics:

Insect People, more commonly referred to as Bug Men, are an unsurprisingly insect like race. The ratio of Male to Female insect people is quite disproportionate. In fact it is more accurate to consider the distinction, and most scholarly individuals do, as less a matter of male and female and more a matter of Queen and Worker. Queens are “female” only in the sense that they give birth. Worker’s are “male” only in the sense that they do not give birth. Workers themselves have no impact on reproduction. Queens give birth to large clutches of workers at a time and require no “conception”. Queens can go through a sort of mating ritual with each other Queens, though that only rarely happens.

---

The “meat and potatoes” being the Workers is what gives Insect People their more common race name of “Bug Men”. The physical characteristics of these workers is similar enough to humans to make a distinction. That is combined with their known inability to give birth and lack of other female features to create the name of “Bug Men” meaning literally Men who are Bugs.

---

“Bug Men” are bipedal and generally similar in form to humans, with a few glaring distinctions.

---The most obvious of which would be the presence of two sets of arms.

One set on top of the other and similar in length and girth between each set. Their arm sets lend them a surprising amount of versatility and deftness. And while each arm on average will be slightly less powerful than the human analogue, combined they are considered to have greater strength on average than a human. Put simply, given only one arm a piece the average human would beat a Bug Man in an arm-wrestling match 7-8 times out of ten. But Given the use of both arms the Bug Man would win consistently

--- Dermis

Another highly distinct from humans feature that Bug Men have is their skin. A lot of it is similar, if not a little more leathery, than human skin. However, there is a noticeable presence of a hard, smooth, and chitinous thin plating on regularly inflexible and exposed portions of the dermis such as the forearm or head. Though not nearly as strong as metal and rather brittle, this light dermal plating is highly resistant to scratching and soft impacts. Almost like wearing a glove laden with wooden plates.

---- Facial Structure

The most potentially “monsterous” feature of the bugmen would be considered by most to be their head. Their outer mandible had a vertical split as opposed to the horizontal one present in humans. They have fairly large, almost tusklike used for tearing on their outer mandible. They have an inner mouth with small teeth, a mix of sharp and flat, used for breaking down and pre-digestion. Their nose is no more two small holes with internal sphincters which lie midway through their face. Their eyes are relatively small, yet surprisingly human-like in structure. With Iris color and variation being one of the chief ways of distinguishing one Bug Man from another. The top of their head holds no hair and is a smooth chitin.

---- Physical Prowess

The average Bug man would be considered slightly more deft and generally stronger than the average human male. They would be considered only slightly heavier. In generally they would be considered more fragile to blunt trauma due to their bones having a slightly avian lightness to them. However, their have a faster recovery speed and are able to metabolize a wider variety of food compared to the average human.

---- Posture

Bug men tend to walk on the balls of their feet, their heels being slightly smaller and farther up the leg than humans. This gives them a fairly forward leaning posture. Also, though they are bipedal, the presence of extra arms gives them a large aptitude for climbing and acrobatics.

---- Voice

Bug Men have a surprising knack for language, vocal or otherwize. And while their voices tend to have a rather distinct lack of bass, they have surprising vocal range.

----- Age

Bug Men have an average lifespan of around 30-70 years and an optimal lifespan of nearly 200. The disparity in their average lifespan is attributed to their average laborious lifestyle. Though they lose little physical prowess to age, the number of Bug men who have died to age can probably be counted on one hand. It would be accurate to describe Bug Men as “built to last, but not destined to”.

Queens can live for centuries given proper care and feeding.

Mental Characteristics: Bug Men are instinctively hive creatures. Just as their physiology is that of the Queen and the Worker, so is their psychology. Workers instinctively feel at ease orders and having someone overseeing their work. They almost never seek to take lead in most any endeavor and while they have their own opinions they will seldom be the first to voice them.

Bug Men are most comfortable in groups of at least three or more individuals, regardless the race. Below that, they begin to feel vulnerable. In isolation or given the feeling they aren’t part of an imidate group things get much worse. The effects of loneliness on a Bug Man can range from insomnia and paranoia to even suicide if they stay “alone” for too long. Even the most steeled and independent Bug Men begin to agitate and become fidgety after so much of a day without being a part of an identifiable “group”.

History: Sadly, very few know the extent of the Insect People’s history. Virtually none of those who know the heights and empires the race have achieved in the past are Insect People themselves. A long and intricate history of cultural and even physical evolution are in a sense lost to time, muddied and shattered by the position they are now in.

The only history that is relevant to the current situation is that of the “slave race” known as the Bug Men.

Most of the Queens of the insect people are held in captivity on trading ships that move freely around the Fanged Isles, remnants of a human colonial fleet that arrived too late to find good territory and stumbled on a much more hostile subcontinent to the south.

Though the colonial fleet were unable to tame the hostile wilderness of the southern subcontinent, they brought back with them the few seed Queens. These few Queens and ships would be what grow into a large migrant merchant fleet that now frequent the ports of the Fanged Isles.

Though the fleet has long expanded it’s enterprises beyond the Bug Men trade, selling large clutches and renting Bug Men laborers still makes up a good chunk of their dealings. Though their main source of income comes from transporting various goods and even troops between the Fanged Isles.

Culture: A slave race, the Bug Men have very few cultural features of their own. Mostly they tend to absorb and slightly distort the cultures under which they serve. Since there are virtually no distinct generations of Bug Men, outside of a few special cases within the trader fleets that control the queens, the can be no real cultural heritage.

However, due to physical and psychological factors there tends to be a few similar values amongst the Bug Men. These tenants drive what few Bug Men sub-societies exist.

Those who work hard will be rewarded.
Those who fail deserve no reward.
Death is failure.
Failure is death.

Name:Sven “Blood-drinker” Raimeson
Race:Bug Man
Age 32
Position: Bodyguard to second daughter to the Raimeson lineage, her husband, and their son, courtiers of Altranor. Retainer and personal friend to Marygold Raimeson, Merchant of Altranor and matrilineal husband of Lyiea Raimeson.

Lyiea Raimeson was the second daughter of a lower Lordy family of Altranor. She was an accomplished magic user and graduate of the capital college. Her husband was a wealthy and influential merchant of the capital. They had a son of three years at the time of the invasion. They all perished in the sacking of the capital.

Skills and Abilities Sven is a honed blade. Formed by the hands of a group of cutthroats and mercenaries, tempered by a pit of death and mud, sharpened by a arena of martial combat, and hilted by a master who would call him naught but friend.

He has training and experience in most melee weapons. From dagger to flail, he can be considered a jack of most martial trades. If it is a tool for killing, Sven has likely held it in his hands and used it to strike. Though he dislikes using most bows due to his body not matching up with their design.

Beyond his training and experience, Sven benefits from the features of his race. Four arms, speedy recovery from wounds, a strong immune system, and the ability to metabolize most organic material.

Sven was taught by his friend to read and write. He also seems to have a knack for keeping count of things and was often used as his friend’s personal Abacus.

Appearance: Sven is of average build for a bug man, standing around six feet. His arms are of lean yet dense muscle. His leathery skin a chitinous plates are a dark green intermittent with patches of brown to mimic a forest environment.

His vertical outer mandible houses several thumb sized fangs which interlock as he closes his mouth. His inner horizontal mouth contains layers of much sharper and smaller teeth, though a few are chipped. His eyes are a dark brown split with skinny yellow flakes. There is a large scar reaching from the top of his hairless head down the back of his head to his lower neck.

He wears a burlap poncho and hood, which reach down to his knees and cover most of his torso and upper arms. Beneath the hood, he wears a bandana over his mouth, as the site of it would often scare his master’s child. Beyond that he wears little clothing, as his skin works just as well against inclement weather and he has no reproductive organs to hide.

Around his torso and beneath his poncho he wears a belt which holds a few throwing knives and a couple large daggers.

Personality: Sven is a strange individual. Though his position and race force him into the position of a loner, his instinct drives him to be part of a group. He genuinely enjoys the company of others and will make the effort to fit in with those around him. Within a social structure, he is not combative and would rather stifle his own opinion and agree with another than argue about it. To him it is much better to be a yes-man than to be alone. He also is naturally inclined to follow the orders of others and has aversion to even giving suggestions towards the actions of others.

Though he instinctively seeks to be part of a group, he also has a desensitization to death. One which includes his comrades and other sentient beings. He sees death as a natural inevitability and not something which should have that much introspection about it.

Though he is out for revenge on those who killed his long friend’s family, it isn’t out of his own decision making. Revenge will do nothing to bring them back or have any effect on their death. His mission for revenge instead comes from the conviction of the order given by Lyiea Raimeson.

Backstory: Born to a port clutch, the egg-scion would be sold as a group to the local builder’s guild at a cheap price. The small port would be unable to provide the proper resources for the fleet to raise the extra mouths. It was unlikely most of the clutch would survive, given the general inexperience most have with raising Bug Men.

Three days after the ships of the merchant fleet had set sail, a group of three men bought ten eggs from the guard at the builder’s guild storehouse. Two bottles of liquor was the offer, though the guard was a capable haggler and ended up with a haul of three bottles and a favor from one of the men’s sister.

The three men were currently patrons and hired muscle at a local bar. Though they had loftier goals than that. The “smartest” of the three had come up with the idea of presenting the small potential labor force to the local “fighters guild”, as a part of the three’s joining offering.

It was a lucky thing for the soon to be hatched eggs that the sister of the youngest of the three was the wife of a butcher. It was also lucky that she was so accommodating to her younger brother. When they hatched they would have died without having close access to the meat and entrails of the butcher's shop.

The head of the mercenary house didn’t think the bugmen would be useful. Luckily for the newborns, his second in command had been quite the traveler. The man had seen a group of thirty Bug Men put up an entire house in half a day. So the mercenary house bought the hatchlings off the three men for half a silver each. Three of which the butcher took as recompense for being nearly eaten out of house and home.

Two of the ten hatchlings died over the next two years. A low figure, considering the mercenaries’ virtual complete inexperience with raising the race. Though the second in the command of the group was quite a resourceful individual. These two years were probably the best of most of the hatchlings lives. The group was ragged and many were simple cut-throats, but they were bound by a common brotherly bond. Which brought them to raise the hatchlings with a sort of family care. Over the two years they trained the rapidly growing hatchlings in their arts of sword and dagger. Sadly it did not last.

Roughly three years after the hatchlings had come to the mercenary house, the group disbanded. They had been going through hard times ever since their founding and over night a small infight led to the burning of the guildhouse and the disbanding of the group.

The Eight remaining hatchlings, now fully grown, were taken by the former leader to a bigger and more prosperous port, then sold to the highest bidder. A Savvy businessman who found out of their martial background. The eight were then sold to a local “gladiatorum” that was little more than a pit where slaves fought beasts. Here the eight were “trained” to be fighters in the fairly large arena.

They were stripped of what few individual possessions they had and given to a man who was an expert in breaking other men. What names they had been called they forgot. They were identified as one through eight, the numbers branded into their backs.

Four years later there was only one left, seven. The Bug Man was undefeated, pitted against man and beast he had survived. One day the same savvy businessman who had bought the eight passed through the town again. He saw a Bug Man unarmed and clad in rags defeat an armored and armed knight who wanted to test his strength against the beasts of the arena. The businessman once again purchased seven. This time he brought the Bug Man to a bigger city, to fight in a true Gladiatorum.

Over the next ten years the Bug Man fought in the arena, this time he was equipped with weapons. They called him Blood-Drinker. Seven was just thirsty after fighting. Seven thought himself lucky, this place was much easier than where his brothers had died. Though he didn’t know how lucky he was on the day he met the seventeen year old boy.

A deserter they called him. From some faraway war. They were on the same “team”, spears vs swords. Which one was better. Apparently the spectators wanted to know. Seven was just doing what he always did. The best job he could. The boy said that Seven had saved him. They talked a lot. The boy talked with the other gladiators a lot too. Seven thought it felt good to talk with the boy and the other gladiators. To be a part of a group.

The group survived for ten years. The boy, now a man, was smart. Very smart. Somehow he bought his freedom. He bought all their freedom. However for a time, they still fought. The boy was smart, he made more money. He gave each of the the group enough to survive and they parted ways. Seven went with the Marygold. He didn’t know what else to do.

The pair went away from the arena town. To a place called Altranor, Marygold used his money to make more money. They called him goldhand. Goldhand caught the attention of a woman, one from a lordly family. The woman was smart too like Marygold, she could weave magic like goldhand could weave gold. Seven could tell they loved each other. Liyea called him Sven. Marygold started calling him Sven too.

The two married. They had a child. Sven protected them all. He talked with Marygold and Liyea. They treated him as part of the family. Sven worked hard he was a good bodyguard.

Sven watched as the child died, coughing up blood and mucus then laying still. He watched as Marygold died, sick and emaciated from starvation. He watched as Lyiea died, bleeding out from her wound. She was hysterical from despair and blood loss.

First he cursed Sven, he cursed her husband’s servant, bodyguard, and friend for not being able to protect their family. Then she was silent. She told Sven he was now a Raimeson, she ordered Sven to be one. Lyiea told sven that he had to avenge their family. To kill the new king and all those responsible for the death of her husband and child.

Notable Possessions:
Hand sized pouch of valuable gold coins from his master's emergency stash.