Name: What it says on the tin.
House: Where you live. If you're a Lord or Heir, state that too.
Age:
Race:
Gender:
Appearance: Height, build, any notable features. Pictures are encouraged!

---

Reputation: Not a personality section. How would others perceive you?
Alignment: Technologist, mage, or neutral? Please include some justification.
Skills: Tell us what you can do.
Backstory: Doesn't have to be too long.
Miscellaneous: Anything you want to put in that doesn't fit anywhere else.

---

*if your character does not have magic, please leave this blank or remove this section - Read the doc for an explanation on how magic works and the terminology
Gate: Doesn't have to be that long. If it's anything complicated or niche, write a bit more. You might want to include which Initial Gate it is derived from.
Flow: High, average or low?
Favour: High, average or low?
Field: Numbers or examples are appreciated.

---

*if your character does not use fancy technological equipment, please leave this blank or remove this section
Equipment: List the important stuff. Names, what they can do, maybe limitations. Don't tell us about what's in your wallet.

---

*remove if your character isn't the lord/heir of an original house
Name: Your surname.
Domain: What do they manage?
Location: Pick one of the free locations on the map.
Members: Other Lords, Heirs, or important people. Names and statuses are all you need.
History: Keep it brief. Anything big, detailed or that you want to keep secret you can throw at the GMs.
Other Information: Everything else.

𝟙 • Be nice.

𝟚 • Post within the deadlines - if there's any issues, please don't hesitate to tell us. Communication is important!

𝟛 • Don't godmod or metagame.

𝟜 • Don't ghost. If you're absent for too long, then there's no guarantee of what will happen to your character.

𝟝 • Reading everyone else's posts is strongly encouraged, but not required. Just don't let it creep into your playing (Rule 3)

𝟞 • Have fun!

Q: Can I play someone who won't go to the talks/is unaffiliated with nobility?
A: Yes! You can play basically any character you like! Our only requirement is that your character has a backstory/motivations that link them to one of our plotlines. The Talks are here because they will have big impacts on the country, including on the normal people. It's okay to play a non-noble, because the effects of the talks are so far-reaching.

Q: Guns?
A: No, there aren't guns. Due to the higher oxygen level on Teliv, weapons that rely on explosive mechanisms or burning (guns, bombs, napalm, cannons) are incredibly volatile and unsafe to use. The South has never needed them anyway, with their gates. The North has developed railguns and coilguns, but most are large and require teams of men to operate and transport them.

Q: What level are Northern computers at?
A: While their processing power is greater than computers on Earth, they haven't spread enough for an Internet to develop due to their monstrous cost. No AI has been created yet. Primarily, the computers are used for simulations and rendering of scientific processes for research.

Q: Entertainment?
A: In the South, the advent of the printing press over 700 years ago was the last "big" development in entertainment. Books, shows, and games are all the rage amongst nobility and commonfolk alike. In the North, televisions are gradually spreading, but they have yet to reach the ubiquity of TV on Earth. Ask about specific books or games that are popular if you need them in your posts.

Name: Darius Iosif Balaur
House: Lord of House Balaur
Age: Supposed to be in his 80s?
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Appearance: 6'6, Herculean physique. Has always been seen at least partially adorned in magically-enhanced darksteel plate armor. Hasn't physically been seen in 50 years by all but his most closest confidants. Those who have seen him agree that he may look quite young for his age.

---

Reputation: Because he has been secluded for so long, most of what people know of Darius is mere rumors and speculations. To his fellow lords, he was described as a stereotypical Balauric lord, an honor-bound knight dutiful to further improve upon his family's work and a fervent follower of Anaism. To the citizens of Balaur, and more specifically to the serfs who work the mines and the mills, Darius is nothing but a cold and distant despot, cruelly ruling from an unreachable throne. Of course, more sinister rumors exist about the mysterious lord of House Balaur and what he may be doing within his Stygian Spire, but none have really held any ground.
Alignment: Pro-magic. Like his forefathers, Darius has always worked towards progressing the goals and interest of the Southern powers. House Balaur also prides itself in its magically-forged metals standing far above whatever the Aterians could produce.
Skills: What Darius lacked in interpersonal skills, he had in both might and intellect. Physically, he was said to be among the greatest knights that Balaur has produced, having both the natural talent and raw physical prowess of an ideal warrior. While one would assume Darius's combat skills have deteriorated during the years of his isolation, word has gone out that various rebellions were thwarted by the mysterious lord's hands alone. Darius is also quite intelligent, having spent much of his time in seclusion researching everything that is known about magic, among other things. While he isn't the most charismatic of lords, Darius still had the leadership skills necessary to bring Balaur to an age of prosperity, no matter how bleak it may seem. While his strength and tactical acumen are both nothing to scoff it, it could be said that Darius's greatest strength is his conviction.

Backstory:


Miscellaneous: Darius's longsword, Vasilisc, is forged with the highest grade of darksteel his House could produce and is worn at his hip. Darius also carries a darksteel scepter, a family heirloom that serves as a symbol of Balauric rule.

---

Gate: Metal. Capable of creating a high-grade steel alloy nearly matching the strength of darksteel.
Flow: Below average, compensated via the creation of spears and spikes.
Favour: High.
Field: Abnormally high, reaching a few kilometers.

---

Name: Balaur
Domain: Magic-Imbued Metal, Black Knights.
Location: Place 3.
Members:

• Rohmani Strigoi, Balaur Councillor, Public Face, Darius's Personal Physician...?
• Zmei Frumos, Commandant of the Black Knights.
• "Baubau", Head of the Serpent's Fangs

History: House Balaur was originally a more militant branch family of House Croan. Made up of zealous crusaders and knights, they sought off to conquer the territories southwest of Croan in the name of Anais and Ishtar. The land was full of petty warlords, who were all easily brought low by Balaur's powerful metal-based magic. Those who bent the knee were absorbed into Balaur as its own branch families, while those who didn't were forced into indentured servitude. While the territories were initially a part of Croan's borders, House Balaur earned ownership of the lands after they discovered a method of imbuing refined metals with magic.
Other Information: Blackened steel, House Balaur's main export, is a valuable form of steel forged and refined through Balaur's secret smithing techniques. The magic imbued within the steel causes it to take a darker hue. The darker the steel, the stronger and heavier the metal. The strongest blackened steel produced is aptly referred to as darksteel, and it is seen only adorned by Balaur's upper class. Notably, the Black Knights of Balaur are its most infamous users. Bred and trained to have enough strength to wear a full suit of darksteel plate, Black Knights served Croania historically as its elite shock troops, formed with the intention of rivaling the power-suited soldiers of Kothlin. Most Black Knight families are made up of House Balaur's branch families.

Name: Eska of Clan Emmeret
Age: 22
Race: Askhetan Tribal Beastman
Gender: Female
Appearance: She's fairly short at around 5'4", skin fairly tanned by the sun, with a slight build that belies the power behind her muscles. Her hands sports wickedly sharp claws that could tear into fabric and flesh easily. Her teeth were sharper as well, with longer incisors. On top of her head was a black tipped bestial feline ears, matching the striped back and orange tail coming out of her tailbone. For those who knew of them and sees her undisguised, there would be no doubt that she belonged to the tiger beastmen of Askhet.

---

Reputation: As a beastman, with ears and tail evident, she wouldn't be received too well. Whether it be superstition, racism, or just pure mistrust of the unknown, without covering who she was, it was likely she be, at best, shunned, or at worst, attacked, kidnapped or otherwise harmed. With her larger tiger ears covered, and her tail wrapped around her inside her skirt, she was but another face, passing through the streets with other faces. It was rare that she would ever approach a human settlement uncovered however, thus most would know of her as either that hunter that lives in the forest with the strange dress, odd but nothing really out of the ordinary for people that lived alone and in the woods.

Alignment: Neutral. She did not really have a stake in the current power struggle. Magic was magic and technology was technology. As long as they do not affect her directly, she did not really care one way or another. Coming from another place where the individual mattered more than the politics, she also do not view the problem the same way as those on Croania did.

Skills: As part of a tribe on Askhet, she was long used to doing many things. Survival in the wilds in general, tracking, hunting, leather making, rudimentary medicines with herbs and poultices, to even making salt from sea water. Her marksmanship with a bow and arrow was exemplary as well, especially considering the huge draw weight of her longbow.

Backstory: She grew up in Askhet, raised by Jeckeras of Clan Emmeret and Desira from Clan Mekhi. From her father, she learned how to survive, from her mother, she learned to work the materials she gathered. When she was but a bit older, she found a spirit, and formed a contract with it, becoming one of the shamans of the tribe, and was venerated for it. Young, and inexperienced however, she was only very rarely consulted by her tribesmen, and only then when it involved the crops.

Slowly, but surely however, she was learning how to take over the duties of a shaman, should the others not be available, and their trust in her skill slowly but surely grew.

It was unfortunate, that one day, she committed a taboo to the tribe, on that required her to be banished or executed. A single arrow, shot at a hind, catching instead the young scion of the chief as he moved in her line of sight. Disgraced, with her honor lost, she took up all her worldly possessions, and left. Procuring a small skiff from another tribe with exchanged favours, she sought out an island on which she may stay with an overly curious dryad tagging along, through which, after a series of misfortune, she found herself on Croania.

Miscellaneous: She carries a wide bladed iron sword, with a short handle and almost nonexistent handguard. It was heavier than most swords, weighted towards the blade. Primarily a tool rather than a weapon. Her bow was a seemingly a few strands of long vines twisted together tightly, almost as long as she was tall standing up. A white 5 petaled flower grows at the very tip of the bow. It was not a bow one could draw solely with the arm, requiring the use of one's back muscles as well. With sheer draw weight of its pull, very few longbowmen could even pull it to full draw. Anyone with a good eye would notice the bow was entirely made out of living plant, even the string.

---

Contract Gift: While possessing of no traditional gate the locals of Cronia would recognize, she can manipulate and develop any plant life around her. Because she was changing the plants directly, any changes made would not need to be maintained by a steady flow of energy, leading to her being able to build things like her bow, or furniture off of them.
Contract Sacrifice: To uphold the every wish of the Contractor, and to protect their domain whenever called upon.
Contract Restrictions: Never hunt more than what was needed, and to offer prayers of thanks for those that had given up their lives to feed yours.
Field: Her abilities only reach up to 10m around her.

Name: Rendyl
House: Solaris
Age: 27
Race: Avian Akeshan
Gender: Female
Appearance: 5'2'' (62 in, 157.5 cm), A short woman by most standards, she looked young with fair skin and light complexion. Strong arms and legs contradicted her slim face, but what was most striking about her were the obvious avian wings attached to her back. An impressive seven foot wingspan tip-to-tip fully extended, they could found neatly against her back, into near invisible grooves to either side of her spine. Normally though they would be fluffed and out behind her slightly, ready to be used. This was also because she couldn't comfortably fold them under clothing, but if she needed to she could pass as a unusually beautiful young human woman by doing just that.

Fair light brown hair flowed across her shoulders and down her back, even after becoming a personal bodyguard to Lord Drakus.

---

Reputation: Lord Drakus's little pet bird. It was joked that he had a golden cage in his personal bedchamber just for her. But rumors also flew around the dinner tables of nobles that this upstart's pet bird had defeated several assassination attempts on the Lord's life, and she has been seen wearing leather armor, and a very strange curved shield and sword...
Alignment: A slave in all but name to Lord Drakus. She doesn't like it, but it's clear she knows what's good for her.
Skills: Highly skilled with ropes and knots, knows how to read the stars, able to understand coastal weather patterns. Very well versed in seafaring and sailing. Able to wield a cutlass, long knife, and scimitar. Average skill with the common sword. Intimately skilled with personalized shield.
Agile in both combat and maneuvering with her wings. Able to launch herself over a dozen feet into the air, and glide at a fair speed (distance dependent on starting height). At an angle she can throw herself nearly twenty feet across from a standstill, thirty with a running start.
Backstory: Born in the coastal area of Lapseus, Rendyl was raised by a Dockmaster of a port town. She knew little else, owned by this man but treated with respect if she behaved. Prejudice taught her people didn't care about her, so she tried as hard as she could not to be ignored. She threw herself into learning to read and write, as well as count currency. She quickly adapted to being his assistant on the docks, an extension of his authority when things got busy.

When she was ten, she started going out on fishing boats, learning how to sail with the fishermen and help them bring in catches when things were slow. She learned fast and was soon able to prep a ship for departure almost single handed. It was this time that she also learned the sea had moods, and the stars were guides that pointed the way home. She was happy, or as happy as she could be with people trying to pluck feathers from her wings every day at the docks...

Then on a particularly busy day, as she was running to complete an errand for the Dockmaster, a Mage was yelling at a guard, who was lying on the ground with a bloody nose. The Mage raised a hand and his Gate appeared. Before Rendyl could think she yanked a fish barrel's lid off and launched herself in front of the guard. She didn't know what magic she was about to get hit by, but Lady Luck was with her. The Mage threw a condensed ball of air towards the man, and she had managed to deflect it with the makeshift shield. The Mage was so stunned by the turn of events that the guard's companions were able to apprehend him.

The Guard's employer met with the Dockmaster, and that day, Rendyl belonged to Lord Drakus of Immolis. Though a few years later that changed to Solaris.

She was quickly whipped into a proper soldier, trained with swords and shields, and at Lord Drakus's insistence, able to train using her wings. Six years pass since she changed hands, and now she was her Lord's personal bodyguard, proven in combat and loyalty.

Equipment: Tailored leather and Mail armor, personal curved shield three feet wide by one foot tall, with a scimitar sheathed on the inside. On her right outer thigh a slightly curved long knife. Rarely carries anything else, but owns a twenty foot rope she will carry on the left hip.

Name: Drakus Ludire Immolis
House: Immolis Solaris
Age: 22
Race: Mageborn (pure bloodline)
Gender: Male
Appearance: Drakus stands tall above average height with the chiseled defined features of a long line of handsome important men. He has a firm build and strong shoulders from a short lifetime of martial drills.

---

Reputation: For those that don’t personally know this young lordling and haven’t met him, the rumours are he is firstly a powerful gate wielder. Secondly he is just, kind and giving. Understanding the power of public opinion has caused him to create such an image.

Those that have had the opportunity to meet him might say he can come off as quite the elitist snob. Swathed in an air of regal arrogance he is cold, condescending and and acts better than those around him. He has little time or attention for those he considers his lessors. (Commoners and non-mageborn) He will however make an exception for entertainers.

However the few that get to know him know of the secrets behind his confidence, his endless drive and determination. The overwhelming irrational self expectations that he strives ruthlessly to uphold, forever requiring more than he has to give.

Alignment: Neutral: leaning heavily towards Mages. There is nothing wrong with technology it is simply that mages are superior and should be the ones to posses it.

Skills: As an ex elite judiciary investigator and justice deliverer for the Immolis family, Drakus worked on the high profile and discretionary cases that could not be left to just anyone. Therefore he is heavily trained in the art of combat, tracking, investigation and reading people. He is also an above exceptional dancer, versed in many styles.

Backstory: Born a unique magical prodigy, Drakus was subsequently treated as such and believed himself to be a direct descendant of the mage queen herself. His self esteem and arrogance soared, growing alongside with his powers. This only put him at further odds with his brothers, who were surprisingly different to him. A fact that had never escaped Drakus.

Drakus is no fool and is aware of the unfamiliarites between his siblings and himself. It is an unannounced fact that has divided them ever since childhood. Not only is it the hair and eyes but more importantly his gate. A contrasting opposite to theirs in both power and type.

Even though never being told, Drakus still always assumed that he would be the next lord of Immolis despite one of his brothers being older. For he was blessed after all and had the far greater power.

When lordship passed over not only his older brother but also he too himself and was instead granted to the youngest and most unseen sibling. Drakus was livid. Once the shock and disbelief settled, he was so furious that in his defiant rage he even attacked his family. The damage he had done that day, emotionally and physically could have been overlooked, could have been somewhat undone and left to heal if only he had wanted it to. But he hadn’t. Internal feuding went on for months before Drakus retreated with a small cohort of followers and claimed a patch of Immolis territory for himself, starting his own house. A house where he would be lord.

Miscellaneous: Other relationships;

---

Gate: ‘Solaris’ - power of the sun
_{Heat (Initial). Force, Light (secondary)}
Drakus’s unique mastery over his gate is unparalleled. He is not just a prodigy but an anomaly. Harnessing the power of the sun he calls his gate ‘Solaris’. He even claims it to be a lost primary gate, while few there are those that believe him.
With access to the power and heat of the sun he can manipulate the world around him in a number of unique ways.
Flow: High.
Favour: Extremely high
Field: 20 Meters

---

Equipment: Nothing Yet...

---

Name: Solaris
Domain: Entertainment and Indulgences. Leisure, luxuries, art and competition.
Exports: Perfume, potions, paints, jewellery, Instruments, bards, books and paper.
Location: Broken off of the most north eastern part of Immolis, the newly named Solaris shares boarders with Reason, Granis and Croan. It has access to trade routes and a river.
Members: Some of the prominent figures of Solaris

• Rendyl - The female Avian sailor is head of his personal guards and is overseer & advisor of docks, trade and resources.
• Hision - This long time friend and tower of muscle runs the arena, is master of infrastructure and defense and also overseas the sculpting sector of the arts academy. Has a Force+Earth gate.
• Elonia the blind - this once fierce amazonian warrior now deals with softer matters such as those of the Plaisir district and teaching the art of music. Has a reverse heat gate.
• Roth Patchel - A distant cousin to Drakus and major stakeholder in Solaris. Runs the theatre and jongluers guild.
  No known gate.
• Abbey Rose Smith - Technological advisor. Found attending the craft school she was promoted to oversee it.

History: Solaris is fastly becoming considered the epitcenter of all art, culture, indulgences and entertainment. With its grand theatrical stage, mighty coliseum, art academy and jongluers guild it is no wonder why. Strict laws keep the beautiful town a thing of vibrant peaceful harmony.
However, it has not always been this way.

Districts: Solaris is divided into two halves by the river, upper and lower or newer and old. Housing is mostly spread out through the lower (old) with a bit in the upper (new) reserved for dignitaries, guards and the likes.

• The Lidicrum(Sight)
  In the upper most inner part of the rebuilt Solaris sits the Lidicrum. The grand grounds of a keep that hosts the states prized trifecta of entertainment. The Arena, theatre and zoo. Only the best and most qualified bards can grace these streets and merchant access is strictly monitored as to not effect or distract from the feel of this place.
  Within the grounds of the Lidicrum, the main entrance, sits The solar temple or temple of the sun. Another great attraction as it had become more of an art museum than holy house.
• Aspirant grounds (Sound)
  Commonly known as the neophyte trap is the walled of section of upper Solaris reserved only for those attending or staying at one of the three great halls within. The Jongleur guild, the crafters alliance or the Music & Arts academy.
  Along the walls sits three towering Bell towers used to signal different events.
• Plaisir (Smell)
  Filling in the the leftover space of the upper capital of Solaris is the Plaisir. Hosting Bath houses and pamperies to serve all intentions. It also has the finest Perfumeries to match and beautiful serene Flower gardens.
• Craft district (Touch)
  This is much of what it sounds like. Consuming much of lower Solaris the craft district encompasses much and is home to the many print houses, jewellers, tanners, blacksmiths and tinkerers. Even the northern end of the docks and markets fall here.
• The Sol (Taste)
  The deliberate play on words is announced as the heart of the city. It wide grounds stretching beyond the walls contains the Orchards, the
  winery’s, taverns and food market.

Name: Abigail Harlow
House: Balaur
Age: Mid/late teens
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Appearance: Slight of build and pinched with hunger, Abigail stands at a measly 5'2 and perhaps 60 kilos soaking wet. She's devoid of colour, her eyes pale, her hair blonde and lanky. Clothes never seem to sit properly, and she's littered with scars and scrapes.

---

Reputation: Virtually unknown on a larger scale, though perhaps recognised in her homeland as a daughter of a middling class of nobility that was just scraping by.
Alignment: Mage by birth, technologist by nature. She believes that the combination of magic and technology would greatly facilitate the production process in her homeland without the massive loss of life from the workers.
Skills: Abigail was taught the basic skills of womanhood from an early age. She can cook, clean, sew, knit, and has some simple knowledge of herbal remedies.

Growing up on a stables, Abigail also learnt how to care for the horses as well as the tack. She can patch and repair it to an extent. She's also a very competent rider, especially in steep and rocky conditions.

Backstory: The Harlows are the sort of nobility that cling to some distant bloodline. Her father didn't inherit much, if any of the assets. They all went to his brother and left Mr. Harlow with a few acres of rocky scrubland and a handful of horses. They're longhaired mountain breeds, and using what little money he had left, Mr. Harlow bought out a quality stallion and made ends meet. Mrs. Harlow was as barren as the lands they struggled upon and with much effort, and at their mid fourties, she gave birth to a young girl called Abigail.

Naturally, this put a lot of strain onto the lass. She was not male, and could not run the stables. She needed to be married off to someone with wealth. So pressing and urgent was the matter that they both nearly overlooked her latent magical abilities until she sporadically combusted a bale of hay, which was precious enough in the mountains to give her a proper scolding and a little more surveillance. It was hard enough to find a suitor - harder still to take one that spurts fire.

When a Black Knight came riding through their borough proclaiming his need for an apprentice and a rider, Abigail's parents did everything short of shoving her into a bridal dress and tossing her at the stranger. He didn't even have to marry her - at this point, a dowry or a down payment would suffice and, well, if those long lonely nights lead to a blossoming affection, all the better. So long as she brought in supplementary income and assets, they didn't mind what happened. Abigails opinion on the matter wasn't of any grave importance, and she should have been glad for the opportunity to do what she loved for a man of such high esteem, provided she uphold the family honour and carry herself with all the pseudo-authority of a scrounging upper class woman with absolutely no money left to her name.

Miscellaneous: The breed of horse that the Harlows specialise in are called Balaurans. They're on the larger side, like a shire. They tend to be dark brown or black with shaggier fur, similar to wild ponies. They're known for an awfully stubborn temperament and their indefatigable strength.

---

Gate: Fire
Flow: High
Favour: Average
Field: 30m Max in any direction.

Name: Victor Moltke
House: Balaur
Age: 52
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Appearance: Height, build, any notable features. Pictures are encouraged!

---

Reputation: A Black Knight of the Steppes, loyal to his lord and country. He's an educated nobleman who holds both magic and technology in high regard.
Alignment: Leaning slightly towards technologist, but primarily neutral due to his upbringing.
Skills: Victor excels at analysis and assessing his adversaries’ strengths and weaknesses, utilising his knowledge and experience to exploit those weaknesses. Victor approaches his problems with aggressiveness, prefering to always take the initiative and remain on the offense. In terms of notable education, he has been taught to hone his magic in Teglo and went on a three year research journey into Kothlin. He has been learning swordsmanship since he was ten years old and can ride a horse.
Backstory: The Moltke family is elaborate and slightly eccentric, given that most of the Balaur nobility tend to err towards religion. Whilst still respecting the holy scriptures, the Moltke family holds knowledge as just as important and often produces scholarly field agents that go abroad for research. Victor was not to be denied his birthright.

He was homeschooled by tutors until he was ten, and began combat training on top of his studies from then on. His gate was a generalised skillset but a versatile tool and, whilst shoddy during his youth, he was promptly transported to Teglo at seventeen for several years of magical training. When he returned at the age of twenty three, his swordsmanship was his primary focus. He was titled as a Black Knight at thirty.

One of Victor's first adventures was to the northern snows of Kothlin, where he delighted in the technological advances of the civilisation and did plenty of studies of his own. During this trip, he made sure to keep his blades sharp by joining in various duelling clubs which gave him a lead into the higher echelons of Kothlin society. He spent three years there, studying and learning from their libraries, before returning to his home country.

Once in Balaur, Victor released a statement. During his tour of the country he will be looking for a suitable companion, one sturdy protégé who was unafraid of rough conditions and hard work. The offers came pouring in, and he had to make several loops around the plains to review his choices, but ultimately a young farmgirl caught his attention. Her fire gate gave them common ground, and she had a keen look in her eye that showed promise. It would be a hefty investment - he had to pay simply for the pleasure of having her - but her noble blood and wary demeanor stood out to him more than the clamouring masses that shouted empty promises and false claims.

Miscellaneous:

---

Gate: Fire
Flow: High
Favour: Low
Field: 35m radius maximum

Name: Meredith the Shieldbreaker
House: Balaur
Age: 45
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Appearance: Standing at a hulking 6'4, Meredith is about as broad as she is tall. Were it not for her long hair, charcoaled eyes and fuller lips, one would have mistakenly assumed that she was a he. Her flesh is disfigured with swathes of scar tissue, even across her face and chin. She is usually clad in her darksteel armour for public events, upholding the image of a ferocious, Balaur-born Black Knight. Under less extenuating circumstances she can be spotted in very simple, sturdy pieces of clothing that sit tight around her scar-dappled muscles. She carries herself like a warlord.

---

Reputation: The Shieldbreaker name isn't a name - it's a title, and it was earnt. The lives of Meredith's ancestry are short and brutal. Heir to a petty warlord's fortune, she stands alone in her lineage to do what she does best: bend the knees of the public by force. She's known as an odd mixture of a slavemaster, a warlord and a leader of her people, depending on who you ask.
Alignment: Neutral. Meredith spends little time worrying over the broader political implications of the decision, preferring instead to focus on the more immediate problems in her province.
Skills: Presuming, of course, that sheer brute strength isn't a skill, Meredith is extensively trained in combat through her many battles. She has some knowledge of tactics and planning, but her real speciality is the maintenance of a reputation. She can use propaganda and bribery to spread rumours throughout Croan and is skilled in acting and being able to falsify the truth around certain events to suit her ambitions.
Backstory: Meredith's ancestors were the first to kneel before Darius and she intends to maintain the tradition. She learnt what she knows from her father, who was far greater of a leader than she and left some pretty large boots to fill. It went without saying that a youth of working in the mines, rubbing shoulders with the destitute but gorging on three heavy meals a day, had coupled with her genes to produce a behemoth of a lass. Her father instilled discipline and forced humility by giving her a taste of serfdom. She still has mixed feelings about it, both grateful and resentful for the life lessons it brought. Regardless of her own opinion on the matter, it influenced the way she lead her people.

When Meredith was old enough to hold a sword, she challenged her father for dominance over the province. She was promptly defeated and learnt a valuable lesson in arrogance. Her teenage years were devoted more to study than to labour, cutting her hours by half to teach her behind closed doors. She started to become alienated from the people as the class boundaries began to widen between herself and the workers. She was still subjected to a gruelling workout each day, and had very little in the way of free time which stunted her socialisation skills. It didn't matter all that much - she was to be a ruler, not a friend.

When Meredith turned twenty seven, she challenged her father again, only this time she was armed with a hefty axe and a Gate. The magic was simple yet devastating; she gradually, slowly and painstakingly increased the heat and weight of her father's armour throughout the battle, and once he fell to his knees with fatigue, repeatedly slammed her axe into his shield until it was bent and cleft in twain, earning her the title of Shieldbreaker. As per tradition of her people, she had to execute her progenitor on the battlefield and assume his position as ruler over the mines. She never really comments on how that shift in power affected her emotionally.

For two decades since, Meredith has been uncontested in her rule over the province. For many of the natives, her traditional rise to power and the blood of a warlord were enough to garner respect for their new mistress. In the initial few years of her rule she mucked in with the labour to remind herself of the conditions in which her people work, donning her armour go avoid a pickaxe in the back and heighten the difficulty of the work. Since the mines exported a lot of steel, she worked tirelessly to improve the quality of life for the slaves. Whilst the hours of labour didn't let up, the meals were more sustainable and a team of professional medics were employed to provide healthcare for anyone injured or sick. Pregnant workers in their last three months of pregnancy were given less hours, and after giving birth they only worked half days for the first year.

Nevertheless, Meredith's status as slave master was unflinching. Whenever some of the workers rested on their laurels and pushed for pay or better rights, Meredith inflicted swift, merciless suppression. She was shrewder than her father and paid some of her workers to be whistleblowers and spies as well as propagandists, receiving better benefits in exchange for spreading good word about her rule and reporting any schemes to her taskmasters. She'd misdirect hostility towards dissenters and leaders of rebel cells by framing them to be under her payroll, or simply blackmail them into submission. Torture and interrogation were not below her sense of honour.

Finding that the peace talks may fundamentally change the way she needs to control her province, Meredith is on call for summoning to the tower and answering to any orders given by her direct superior.

Miscellaneous: Meredith has a retinue of six 'taskmasters' who report to her. They are unflinchingly loyal, nigh-worshippers of her rule, and each play an integral role in the management of her province without shirking their duties at the handle of a whip in the mines. By making these roles, Meredith shifts the public eye onto the taskmasters and elevates her authority. To see her personally walk afield was now considered an Occasion to remember. To see her carry the whip meant that the recipient was infamous enough to lure her down into the mines. The days when her mood was lighter and she handled the pulleys and listened to her people were the days where she was revered and beloved. Any other day was dominated by the shadows of these six followers.

Tyrus Adenti - the resident mageborn. He uses his air magic to eavesdrop and spy on his people (and the other taskmasters for that matter) by silencing his footfalls.

Jeremiah Oldesson - A hearty ex-slave who masquerades as a mediator between the populace and the taskmasters. Jovial, boisterous and fond of songs and poems, he boosts morale amongst the workers and maintains reverence of their mistress.

Ilmeri Daltmer - head of the medical facilities, she's also a priestess and uses religion to give the people hope. She goes out of her way to provide soup kitchens and sermons where she uses faith as a vehicle for gratefulness and optimism. Her healers, mostly female, are similarly agents who use their tender charms and gentle care to both bolster the morale of their patients and weed out any dissent to report back to the Priestess.

Bodkar The Cruel - Plays the role of 'taskmaster' in Jeremiah's region of the mines. He's the bad guy, the receptacle of the slaves' hatred. Jeremiah occasionally orchestrates revolts that are inevitably quelled by Bodkar. By focusing the slaves' contempt at Bodkar, Meredith feigns punishment and close surveillance over him to seem like a more justified ruler.

Yorrick Pearson - A more generic taskmaster who watches over the rails, making sure shipment of iron is kept at peak productivity. Not as heartless as most, he uses the infirm as cleaners instead of labourers to maintain better hygiene standards in his portion of the mines.

Rudd the Quartermaster - lord and ruler of the commissary, Rudd guards the inventory of the mines, oversees the supply routes and punishes thievery severely. He's often likened to a Wyvern.

---

Gate: Combination Gate (Force and Heat)
Flow: Average
Favour: High
Field: 10m max range