A note for everyone in the roleplay: we are using 'Ser' for the terminology of referencing official knights, the term 'Sir' is non-existent in this time.
EDWIN LYSANDER
- Allegiance should be changed to "House Rathmore", not just "Rathmore". - His family should be labeled as who they are; who is his father, mother, brother, sister, etc. - He can't be "avarice" because avarice is a noun, not an adjective. You can say he is "avarice incarnate" for better description. - There's no such thing as "free men"in the lands of Estiala. Everyone is subject to the crown. - In the backstory, who is Robert? There is no mention of Robert whatsoever. The closest name to Robert is Richard.
- Solace: hey look it's Rey from Star Wars - She is not a lady, because she's not the wife of a lord. She's a princess, a daughter of a lord. - If it's not incredibly important, Solace and I would prefer you PM us to tell us what happened to the people she was bethrothed to, unless it's SUPER DUPER secret.
1: No problem 2: No problem 3: I wrote avarice? Forgive me, I likely meant avaricious. 4: A freeman is still a subject of the crown just like everyone else; A freeman is a peasant who is distinguishable from a villein or serf in that he is not tied to the land, that is to say he is literally "free" to come and go as he pleased whereas a lot of peasants were obligated to stay on the land they were tied to and could only leave with the permission of their lord. The feudal system is based on obligations, oaths and the like; A villein or serf is subject to hereditary ownership by a lord. If you were a serf and I was your lord I would basically own you and your descendants. You work for me and in exchange you get to live off of some of what you farm. The land is mine, however, not yours; You are just a tenant. If you are a freeman then you may decide to work for a lord as a farmer but you can leave if you like whereas other peasants could not. You might, if you are very industrious, careful and lucky, save up some money and buy a small plot of land of your own for you and your descendants to live off of. Traders and merchants were often freemen and so freemen enjoyed greater social mobility with some becoming well off. He may have been a peasant but he was a free peasant. Basically its just a higher class of peasant within the feudal system who had more rights and less obligations than other peasants (the magna carta, for example, states that no freeman could be imprisoned or stripped of his freedom or possessions without due process.) Some freemen would become yeomen under later definitions of the term.
5: Ah, sorry; My writing doesn't appear to be to clear this time around; Robert is the local clothier. The opening paragraph of the backstory notes that Edwin's family "... And mostly made their living through herding sheep and selling the wool to the local clothier, Robert."
Mind if we agree to have some history between some of our characters?
Namely, I'm thinking my good Viktor to have a large and cumbersome debt toward Edwin, but that at the same time he tries to use his father Duke Euric, to shield himself from it.
Euric himself, since he's the head of the wealthiest region of the kingdom, is profoundly annoyed by Edwin's very existence and job, the master of coin having to deploy enormous efforts to get any penny from the duke and his vassals (Should he get or even fail to get the taxes he asks for, I'm thinking of Edwin always being the one Euric points his finger at for every ounce of gold he has to tax his people.)
Could be an interesting intro maybe? Viktor being there to try and haggle for debt consolidation, milder interests, etc. The two of them either walking out satisfied, or, most likely, hating each other. Thoughts?
Hm. I'd be good with that, would definitely be an interesting introduction.
This took way too long to finish for how short it is. I apologise; I have been busy lately
"I have too often found greedy to be a word that the jealous thrust upon the successful to protect their fragile egos."
Name: Edwin Lysander
Age: Twenty eight
Titles: Lord of Whitehill, Master of Coin
Origin: Locksley Town, the West
Allegiance: Rathmore
Family:
Arthur Lysander (Father) Mary Lysander (Mother) Lynne Tailor (Aunt) Jim Lysander (Uncle) Edwin Lysander, Lord of Whitehill and Master of Coin Ser Peter Lysander (Brother) Elizabeth Lysander (Sister) Amelia Blackfly (nee Lysander)(Sister) Arthur Lysander (Brother) Jasmine Woodvile (nee Lysander)
(Sister)
Personality: Ambitious and avaricious, Edwin is a man who is extremely diligent and is always looking for days to enhance his fortune... And ways to spend it, for if there is one thing he has it is a love of wealth; It is sweeter than honey and stronger than the sword, for any blade can be turned aside with a gold coin. His greed has become nearly as widely known as his ability, having acquired him the nickname "Magpie" for his efforts. He embraced it fully and went so far as to use a Magpie for the sigil of his house.
Edwin is a proud, or arrogant as some would say, man who does not forget slights easily, even if it was never meant as one in the first place. For example, he is quick to become defensive and brazen if one should suggest that his success can be attributed to divine blessing; in his own words, he did not toil tirelessly forging business partnerships and clawing his way from the dirt to have the success attributed to a magical sky fairy.
Edwin is manipulative and cunning, with a silver tongue and a talent for 'enhancing' the truth. He is capable of donning different personalities in order to get what he wants and is good at discerning what other people want. For all his faults however he is quite a philanthropist; There are a number of orphanages in the capital which rely upon the generous donations and the tax breaks to charities that were given by the Master of Coin, though he would never admit his softness. Likewise, despite his lack of piety he remembers quite clearly that it was men of the church who taught him the skills he needed to have gone so far. Indeed, the few places where a poor man can rely on any form of charity are the churches. Though the upper clergy have found themselves hit much harder by their taxes, the poorer rural parishes have found themselves relatively secure and with occasional donation.
Background: Edwin was born in the town of Locksley some five miles from Caelorn, land belonging to Sir Richard of House Blackfly. His family were freemen who owned a moderately sized farm outside of the town and mostly made their living through herding sheep and selling the wool to the local clothier, Robert. As freemen, they were in a much better position than many of the peasants however they still lived poorly compared to the merchants and lords of the land.
The children were taught to the rudimentary aspects of literacy by the monks of the nearby monastery in exchange for them acting as servants for the monastery. As a result of this upbringing, Edwin was raised with a strong faith however this was shattered around his twelth birthday
Edwin and his siblings often went to play around the abandoned watchtower in their youth. Tragedy struck however when his brother Aidan tripped and fell for the tower during one of their games, breaking his young body upon the rocks below. Edwin lost his faith and never regained it.
Robert was married to Edwin's aunt Lynne and it was through her that an apprenticeship was acquired for Edwin at the young age of 13 with the hopes that Edwin would eventually be able to use his training to pull the family up towards the middle classes. To say Robert was an immoral man was to put it lightly; He often travelled to the capital on business and while there he would whore and gamble. Edwin found Robert in bed with a whore one day during one of his visits to the capital and was quick to turn the opportunity to his advantage; The young apprentice blackmailed his master and in doing so became an equal partner in the business which was characterised to the village as being part of a strong master-student relationship. In truth, Edwin held the cards and played then to his advantage.
The boy might have remained a comfortably off if unnoteworthy clothier if not for a twist of fate. The Lady Blackfly cared greatly for fashion and appearances and as fate would have it she passed through the town of Locksley on her way to the capital and was drawn to one of the display dresses that were kept in the window. Edwin was more than willing to oblige her ladyship and managed to ingratiate himself with her through discussing the various designs and fabrics and Lady Blackfly requested that a dress be made for her.
Lady Blackfly became a frequent visitor to the clothiers and became a major patron of the business, ordering many extravagant garments be produced. Before too long Edwin had built up a trust and friendship between himself and the impressionable noble woman and had manoeuvred his sister Elizabeth into being a handmaiden to Lady Blackfly.
Six months later Sir Blackfly was rendered incapable from an injury sustained in a drunken duel and thus Lady Blackfly took over his duties as his regent; Elizabeth convinced Lady Blackfly to allow Edwin to become the treasurer of the Blackfly's estate and although there was a great deal of opposition to it amongst the landed gentry Lady Blackfly appointed Edwin to the position of treasurer.
Edwin was illiterate save for being able to recognise a few select words from memory, however he was capable of using numbers and quickly proved competent as treasurer and forged many trade links and connections. The young treasurer returned to many of his old tricks and as he handled taxation and trade, his business partners and allies found themselves subject to far better deals and his rivals found themselves strapped for cash. Before too long, Edwin had accrued an outrageous amount of money and expanded his businesses across the entire Blackfly holdings.
Edwin did not cease there however and used his new found fortune to invest in business ventures throughout the entire west and became a major banker in the realm.
In doing so he developed a reputation as a financial wizard who could seemingly draw money from thin air; Edwin could squeeze blood from a stone if need be and as such caught the attention of the crown and his appointment as Master of Coin coincided with a massive donation to the royal treasury. The self made man was considered to be a very controversial appointment by the crown and was granted a noble title and a barony as part of the arrangement in order to prevent a commoner from holding such an important position. Having ascended from being the son of a shepard to being one of the richest and important men in the realm, it was inevitable that Edwin and the newly established House Lysander would be seen as social climbers and tricksters; a reputation which is not entirely undeserved.
Edwin has spent the past three years running the affairs of the royal treasury and doing an admirable job: the crown is in surplus and has access to cheap loans through Edwin's banking connections when required. While he may never have been particularly popular among the upper echelons of society, his ability is not in question and he is well known for looking after his friends; This has given him a number of allies and secured what would be an otherwise precarious position.
"Rising with the wind."
A white Magpie carrying a golden chain, emblazoned on a field of black
The families seat is Whitehill Castle, a moderately sized castle sitting atop a hill in the West with the town of Whitehill built around the base of the hill. Although they are not a powerful family in the sense of owning a lot of land and holding a number of vassals, they are a rich family and are capable of using their wealth to exert political influence. They are often seen as social climbers by members of the older noble dynasty's at court.
Arthur Lysander Mary Lysander Lynne Tailor Edwin Lysander, Lord of Whitehill and Master of Coin Sir Peter Lysander Elizabeth Lysander Amelia Blackfly Jasmine Woodvile
Exams. Why must exams exist. Anyhow! On the bright side I am done with the character sheet which I have been completing sentence by sentence. Unfortunately, its saved on my home computer which I wont have access to until tommorow so you'll get it then :)
Vain folded his arms as he watched her write and let out a heavy sigh; Gods' blood, the girl couldn't even speak to him! She was not going to last a day if she didn't shape up quickly. Finally, she approached him and showed him the piece of paper that she had been writing on.
He read over the paper in silence before raising his gaze to her, tearing the paper in two and casting it to the floor. So she had some spirit to her, she just needed to harness it. He approached her and leant in close, cutting through her sobs with a sharp voice
"Aymiria kree! So is that how the women do things in Gemminia? They act like pretty perfumed things and do nothing useful all day? Or is that the lords? I can never tell with you Gems; You're always too weak, you're always too feeble. You worry about your friend's family and those eight little orphan girls? Then you get yourself together and do something about it. Send those orphans your money, they can't eat your worry or tears. Your sister won't be kept alive by crying. I didn't ask you to be a perfect bride so remove those quotation marks from that phrase; It's not a quote. Stop fighting a man of straw and listen to what I am actually saying. You have a responsibility to the dead girl. You say you were her friend? If one of those lord's snapped the neck of my friends, I'd punish him for it- And yet here you are moping."
"Oh and you're not a wife, you're a bride; There is an important legal distinction in the western lands. I thank Vivari you aren't my lord's, I cannot imagine the state you would leave the aigzgandra. You would run it into the ground I suppose." Vain realised he was digressing and quickly brought his speech back to the matter at hand.
"Do you want to be regarded as anything more than a little fragile thing? If so then do something about your woes instead of crying to yourself about them; There are a pair of Unalim guardsmen outside the door, summon them and command them to get your friend's corpse sonit can be sent back to her family. Prove yourself a woman and not a child or people will push you around forever, people will hurt your friends with impunity and destroy your belongings without a care in the world. You have spirit enough to write this note to me and so I know you have spirit enough to act like a woman."
***
Zakroti watched quietly as the Lady Siadamkiru comforted her bride. He said nothing but took not of her actions and used it to judge what he could about her character. He cast a glance back towards his entourage to examine the reaction of Kasari to the occurrence; He was still working her out and noticed for the first time the small lizard she had with her, presumably it was what she had recovered from the storage room... so both of the Gems had pets then. Curious. He turned his head away after a few seconds and back towards Lady Siadamkiru.
Finally the Drakken lady turned away from the young girl and back towards him and appeared be doing her best not to slight him; He appreciated the effort at least.
He listened to what she had to say carefully, raising an eyebrow after her little speech about underdogs; He unclasped his hands from behind his back as she continued, glancing towards one of his Blackguard. Some people of interest was not exactly an encouraging phrase. It was very vague and the next comment out him slightly on edge given that the Lady clearly wasn't particularly trusting of these individuals, though he endeavoured not to show it and pushed it from his mind; After all, nobody trusted anyone here in Drakka. Nonetheless he would make sure that he was accompanied by a good entourage of his men rather than risk meeting these individuals alone.
"You are very mysterious but I shall be glad to act as your ally in this affair if it goes astray and would very much like to hear it out myself. As you say, our path is guile." Zakroti remarked after a short pause, clearly considering what she was saying carefully; A small smile played across his lips as he spoke, crossing his arms in front of him "And where, pray tell, is this meeting to take place?"
I am going off to sixth form for the rest of the day and will have a busy evening but I shall throw together a CS when I can. I would reserve the heir to House Rathmore if possible
Zakroti paused as he examined the Drakken lady before him, returning a short bow towards her and smiling up towards her (because, somewhat to his humiliation, he was indeed the shorter of the pair.)
Lady Siadamkiru Beneni. She had risen to prominence as a slaver just like he has; it seemed to be the preferred accomplishment of the underdog. She had almost certainly offed several of her brothers to get this position she had. Yes, perhaps she could help him
"Of course you may." He said with a smile as he stepped to the side, raising his hand to motion for the group following him to stay where they were so they were just out of earshot of they spoke quietly; He lowered his voice and spoke again "What is it you desire from me, my Lady Beneni? I don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting before."
***
Vain sighed quietly as he watched the girl from the chair he had seated himself in, reaching up and removing his helmet from his face and placing it on the table beside him.
"Stop crying. It won't solve anything." He said absent mindedly, noting the damage she was causing to herself with the jagged flute edge and rolling his eyes "Put that down."
When he looked up again, the girl was still crying and had hit her head off the wall in frustration. Well, there was one way to end this.
He stood up and approached her, seizing her and yanking her away from the wall. He snatched the flute pieces from her hand and cast them into the table before him. Then he shoved her towards the bed "Sit on the end of that and calm down. You lost an instrument and saw someone die so you break down? How old are you? Twelve? What did you expect when you were shipped off from your home? You are the bride of a Lord now, little one; Now act like one." Vain counselled, standing over her and keeping his stare locked onto her "You won't fix anything by crying."
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