Dyelli Beybi

Smoke and Steel

Name: Coralie D'Ambois
Species/Race: Monchian
Sex: Female
Age: 25
Court Alignment: Black
Role: Pretender
Appearance: slight, 5'4'', dark hair, blue eyes

Hider

Strengths and Weaknesses

Skills: Coralie D'Ambois is literate and numerate. Also quite handy with a cutlass. She is also a practiced negotiator
Weaknesses: Navigation at sea is a dark art Coralie does not really understand.

Background:

Backstory: Coralie D'Ambois was born as the younger daughter of a not-particularly significant Vichian Noble House, but one with delusions of grandeur. Her mother, Callia was a member of the Hasikos dynasty from Inbur... not that Coralie remotely cared about any of that nonsense.

At 17, much to the horror of her parents, Coralie eloped with the notorious (and handsome) corsair, Anquetil Champernon, Captain of the polacre, Hiver . After a year together, Coralie fell pregnant, bearing the corsair a son, also named Anquetil. Only a year later though, the younger Anquetil died of scarlet fever. Coralie was, by all accounts, inconsolable, and the situation was only made worse when the news reached her some months later that Anquetil Senior had died of his wounds after being hit by grapeshot off the Calarian Main.

Coralie attempted to return home, only to find the doors barred to her. Coralie was disowned and neither of her parents would allow her into the house, let alone see her. The scandal she had brought on the family was, it was explained by a butler, too much to bear.

This left Coralie in a rather precarious position as she was quite without any means to support herself. Realising a lack of relatives meant that there was dispute over who owned Anquetil's assets, Coralie decided to make a bid for then arguing she was, in effect, his common law wife and that he had intended to marry her when he returned from his voyage (which was a pure fabrication). The chance paid off and Coralie inherited Anquetil's apartment at port, the Hiver and a whole lot of debt she hadn't realised he had.

The Hiver needed to put to sea and make some money, fast. Mostly to escape the scrutiny of the debt collectors, although also because she needed the distraction, Coralie decided to 'Captain' the ship herself though, in reality, for the first few voyages, she remained a figurehead and let the ship be run by her First Mate, Momin Asinger, while she learned the trade.

Full of simmering anger at life and her family, Coralie renamed the Hiver, Vengeance.

The first voyage brought back a small haul, enough to save the ship, though not the apartment and Coralie put to sea again.

Better at finances than the late Anquetil Champernon, Coralie has made a reasonable amount of money as a 'privateer' over the last six years and has grown into a capable Captain in her own right. Her goal is to earn enough money to set up in a house larger and more opulent than that of her parents - not something that would have seemed plausible... until now.

Taking on a Doel Union Letter of Marque, Coralie, through a quite extended piece of subterfuge, managed to capture a Calarian treasure galleon, earning herself no end of notoriety, a reasonably amount of money and the emnity of the Calarian Doge who would like nothing more than to see her hanged.

With the outbreak of war, Coralie was convinced to use her rather vague connection to the Inburian Royal Throne as justification for an expedition to the mainland. Some of Coralie's followers seriously would like her as Empress, though the majority of the Corsairs and Mercenaries that make up the core of her army see it as an opportunity to loot elga manors.

Coralie had made camp outside of the village of Sidskold when her forces were surprised by an Imperial force of 6,500 troops. Coralie commanded 9,900 troops, though many were peasants who had joined the revolt and her artillery was not in position when battle was joined. Imperial morale was high, expecting the corsairs and peasants to break and scatter.

On the left, Coralie's small force of mercenary cavalry routed the first wave of Imperial cavalry only to be driven back by Imperial reinforcements. This, however, was the only success the Empire had at Sidskold In the centre, Coralie personally took command of her Iktani musketeers who held the village against several determined attacks from Imperial forces. On the right the Empire tried to outflank the Black Army by moving more cavalry through swampy terrain though Coralie had anticipated this and the Cavalry, took heavy fire from volunteer regiments before finally breaking in retreat. With the centre collapsing and Black forces advancing across the battlefield, the Empire abandoned their guns. The Battle of Sidskold was a slaughter, with nearly 900 imperial soldiers killed, and a further 2,700 captured. Just over 350 rebels were killed or were otherwise unaccounted for. The battle cemented Coralie D'Ambois as more than just a piratical nuisance - anyone who underestimates her is in for a rude surprise.

Wild Beasts of the Earth (Gothic Horror)

"These days, sure," the Gravedigger gave an exasperated sigh, "I don't know what you think you're going to find. The police poured all through that grave at the time, took photos and evidence away then said it was clear. It's got an occupant now."

Empire of the Clouds

...

“Do you have faith this plan will work, Captain?" Mitunbaal asked as she caught up from him from behind. She recalled him being more neutral during the meetings after take off, and the old captain was older than anyone short of the Elgan aboard. He was more neutral than she had been at the very least. "This could see us shot, even if the opportunists among us, god willing, resist their baser urges to steal some of the gold.”

@Bingelly

"Madame," Arkadios inclined his head politely to Mitunbaal, though he didn't immediately answer the question, apparently taking a few moment to consider the thought, "Well, young Miss Spyrou promised them a cut so one can't really begrudge it to them. I would rather move the whole lot back to friendly territory but if Miss Spyrou hadn't revealed this location -" he gave a nonchalant shrug, "-we would have proceeded to Grendell without ever visiting here and were she not to have promised some money it is likely people who are essential to the running of this ship might not have agreed to make the journey. So I supposed whatever amount makes it back to the Empire is better than none. And I would assume it will be the vast majority."

"It is not an ideal situation," he added after another pause, stopping to stare thoughtfully back at the river, "But it is the one we find outselves in. And we are making the best we can from it."

---

The morning after next...

As dawn approached and people started to head back towards the now, fairly well depleted gold reserve, anyone on the top of the balloon might happen to see shapes silhouetted against a nearby ridgeline. Moving shapes. Training a telescope would reveal the shapes as horsemen. They would definitely have seen the ship. The ridge was a little over a mile away. 20 minutes or so at a brisk walk.

Smoke and Steel

@InfamousGuy101@Badarby

All these characters look grand, though when you put them into the character sheet can you please split them out into individuals so I can make court-specific lists at the top?

Smoke and Steel

Indeed!

And I know there is quite a bit of chatter about potential characters in all factions so I'm feeling quite positive.

Smoke and Steel

Name: Vestele Loralen
Species/Race: Elgafolk
Sex: Female
Age: 67
Court Alignment: White
Role: Lady in Waiting
Appearance: A slender 5'7'' with coppery-brown hair and light-brown eyes.

Hider

Strengths and Weaknesses

Skills: Not many to speak of.
Weaknesses: Is not going to be any use in a fight

Background:

Backstory: Vestele Loralen is not the kind of person you would expect in the white court. Although she is reasonably young by elga standards, Vestele hasn't known much of a life beyond that of a steppe nomad though she definitely enjoyed her experiences in the capital when she did have an actual roof over her head rather than a tent.

When civil war broke out, Vestele happened to be in the capital with a trading expedition though her clan rallied to Orrian Corfina's banner and Vestele quietly ducked out of the city before anyone could arrest her, joining the train of the mustering army and following it when it set off to meet the Eastern Imperial forces at Lysfelt.

Lysfelt was a great victory for Western forces and the celebrations afterwards were raucous and involved a lot of alcohol. Vestele blames the alcohol for it, but at some point in the celebrations she was caught in flagrante with one of the Prince of Usantaka's retinue - a human. The scandal was enormous and Vestele was exiled from the clan.

Realising her fortunes in the West were ruined and she would be received with suspicion in the East, Vestele decided to take off for Trefgodwig, rationalising that Andronika Hasikos would be quite keen to enlist an elgakvinne into her retinue. Vestele's calculations paid off and since making the journey she has made the most of the creature comforts afforded to being in the inner circle of a Pretender. Andronika, however, expects a bit more from Vestele than simply being her pet elgakvinne. Rather, Andronika imagines that Vestele will prove a useful diplomat when it inevitably comes to negotiating with one of the Corfina brothers...

Smoke and Steel

Name: Vassos Costaou
Species/Race: Inburian
Sex: Male
Age: 41
Court Alignment: White
Role: Lieutenant Colonel of the Royal Regiment of Foot
Appearance:An imposing 6'2'' man with short, dark hair and eyes

Hider

Strengths and Weaknesses

Skills: A trained, veteran soldier and competent commander.
Weaknesses: Can't swim.

Background:

Backstory:Vassos can't remember much of his childhood before he was abducted and taken to the military Academy in Alveby. Like many young boys in outlying areas he was snatched up, dragged to the capital and put through the pseudo-monastic Academy that turned boys into loyal members of the 'Owned Men'. Despite, technically, being a slave, property of the Emperor, Vassos and the other 'Owned Men' enjoy a greater degree of privilege than other humans. They live comfortable lives, they can amass wealth, and when they come to retire, they are able to marry. Indoctrinated from their first day, the 'Owned Men' are typically loyal to the Emperor, particularly when they are young. Vassos, however, is not young, and has spent plenty of time listening to other humans, many of whom have ideas about the Empire that are quite different from what he was taught at the Academy...

Vassos has never risen to any position of command, though he was initially picked for the Light Cavalry, a more prestigious position than that of mere infantry.

Over the past 22 years, Vassos has served in numerous border raids against the Quinians though in recent years he was moved to Grendell, stationed to keep an eye on the creatures that roam the Blighted land. He fought in several skirmishes against the Orcs, finding them physically repulsive though of little comparative threat compared to Quinian riders.

It was in the villages around Grendell that Vassos began to be exposed to other Inburians who hadn't been through the Academy. Initially their ideas made him uncomfortable, though he listened, mostly because he knew he was Inburian. Gradually, some of those ideas started to take hold and Vassos started to imagine a free Inbur.

After a drunken brawl that marred an otherwise spotless career, Vassos was fined and transferred to slave caravan duty for six months. It was not a prestigious role, though it was a fateful one, for it was there that he bumped into Andronika Hasikos and agreed to help her escape, hoping she would eventually raise a rebellion to free the Motherland.

After several attacks by Imperial agents which nearly killed the girl on more than one occasion, Andronika did exactly that and appointed Vassos Lieutenant-Colonel to her Royal Regiment of Foot (with Aonène Alzina La Noue de Bellièvre as the symbolic head of the Regiment and Colonel). Vassos took an active part in holding the wall during the seige and subsequent battle of Trefgodwig, commanding the Regiment's musketeers in repelling an Imperial ladder party.

Vassos remains an important advisor on military matters in the White Court.

Smoke and Steel

Name: Andronika Hasikos
Species/Race: Inburian
Sex: Female
Age: 19
Court Alignment: White
Role: Pretender
Appearance: 5'6'', youthful looking, with dark hair and eyes.

Hider

Strengths and Weaknesses

Skills: Comfortable with pistol, smallsword and broadsword. Has the rare and valuable 'gift of healing'. Additionally, Andronika is pretty good with people.
Weaknesses: She's a teenager and can be a bit prone to overestimating her own abilities

Background:

Backstory:Andronika Hasikos is one of the surviving members of the Hasikos dynasty (she is the Great, great, great, great, great, great niece of the Dakis III, the last Emperor). She is the eldest of three daughters of another Dakis, though her 'claim' is something she's never really thought about. In her mind, the idea that the Hasikos dynasty might enthrone itself again after 200 years was almost comically silly, though being one of the surviving members of the house has given her a certain amount of prestige amongst the Inburian community and she has, by human standards lived a relatively privileged life. She grew up in a rustic country villa, North of Grendell. There were servants, albeit not so many that she could escape chores. Her father mediated disputes amongst the local human community, giving some form of justice amongst a people mostly ignored by Haltian law.

At 17, Andronika was engaged to Ioakim Costaou, a (relatively) wealthy local trader, 20 years her senior, and it was expected she would cement the marriage within the year, one which would afford her the ability to continue living her comfortable existence and which would bring Ioakim considerable prestige.

Unfortunately for her, it was about this time she began manifesting the so-called 'gift of healing'. It first manifested when, while visiting the market, she witnessed an old man's leg get crushed by a cart. Andronika did what she could to bind the broken and twisted limb, though the other villagers who rushed to the scene were adamant the damage was too serious and the mangled leg would need to be amputated at the knee. Together, they took the man to the local physician, only for the physician to declare that, once the man's damaged clothing had been cut away, his leg was, miraculously, well on the road to recovery.

In the following weeks, Andronika was asked to assist with several injuries of both people and livestock and it rapidly became clear she was developing a magical talent. Quickly the stories reached the ears of the local Elga lord, who sent a summons to the family farm, demanding that Andronika present herself at the manor to assist with the healing of a favourite horse. Andronika was nervous, though hardly in a position to disobey and she went to the Manor stables, performing the task as required. As she left though, she was promptly arrested, accused of stealing silverware from inside the Manor, somewhere she had never actually been invited.

Initially she protested her innocence, though it quickly dawned on her that everybody actually knew she was innocent. The pantomime was being conducted in order to allow the Lord to sell her into slavery. Something he did a week later after finding her guilty of burglary in a hurried trial. Healers are worth a lot of money, particularly to a provincial Lord.

Andronika, however, was not the kind of person to go away easily and, having convinced one of her guards to help her escape, an event which resulted in the death of several Imperial soldiers, fled into the Morktree with the aforementioned guard and several other escaped prisoners where the group traversed the nearly impenetrable forest, to emerge in the Kingdom of Carnelfenney as winter fell.

One of Andronika's companions on the journey, and close friends, is the Aonène Alzina La Noue de Bellièvre, the woman now believed to be the 'Dawnbringer', prophesied to bring an end to the Blight. Partly due to her proximity to Aonène, several attempts were made on Andronika's life, almost resulting in her death on more than one occasion. This, more than anything else, spurred the young Hasikos girl to raise her banner in rebellion.

When an Imperial Army arrived in Carnelfenneyan territory to 'escort' Aonène to the Emperor's court, Andronika used her regiment to supplement the garrison in the town of Trefgodwig and, when a relief force finally arrived, personally led a sally against Imperial forces in support of the King's army. This cemented her reputation for bravery, though quietly it wasn't an experience Andronika has any particular desire to repeat.

Smoke and Steel

It's a good start!

Smoke and Steel

@Demencia@Tesserach

I'm going to stamp these apps as accepted