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Domhnall, Iridiel and Angora


After a few seemingly too long moments (one could begin to think the poor fellow had managed to knock himself out on his way down), the probably quite humiliated squire slowly got up. “I’m fine,” he squeaked, before clearing his throat and trying again. “Turns out mud doesn’t care who you are, either. I...” He faltered, then sighed. Mud doesn't care who ... the what now?
"Dinnae know wha' were ya doin', lad, but I s'pose tha'd be one way tae obtain camoflage if ya don' have one given by nature," the forestfolk expressed, absently scratching one black-bearded cheek as the dark brown-green eyes in his brown-and-green splotched face confusedly took in the young black-eyes's newly modified appearance. "One'd figure ya ha' a crossbow aimed a' yer heed, but ain't more than a crow in these trees."

Oh dear. No sooner have I gotten clean than this one decides to take a mud bath. Angora's inner thoughts were a mixture of confusion and humour. This once-stoic defender of peace and morality, reduced to gibbering fits of ... what could only be described as palsy. Well, it was either that or he'd had a slight mental breakdown and probably needed a massage, a good stiff drink and lots of pampering, either one of them.
He was also decidedly less majestic-looking as a result of this misadventure; his once-brilliant white shirt and his breastplate, both of them were now [i]very[i/] brown ... as was the majority of his face ... and his hair. Angora bit back a laugh at the irony of his situation - no longer was he the knight in shining armour who pronounced sentence upon the accused! Now, he was in the mud and the blood with the rest of them...
Was he going to succumb to a spirit lurking in his sword too, and then have to have a foreign healer repair his own mind? Mmh. Perhaps not. Don't curse it, Angora.
The squire, for what it was worth, had wiped away the majority of the mud before attempting to speak, only for his voice to fail him. He squeaked out a declaration of wellbeing. Angora wasn't convinced. Her smile hadn't faded, for all this - she checked the mud underneath where he had, uh, 'fallen over', for rocks and any stony promonitories. No sharp edges. No blood. Good. Could have been hazardous to his health - even more so than the sight of her nude form. A cut in the mud like that would easily become infected, and though the aforementioned healer was somewhat awake, Angora would rather her abilities weren't immediately tested.
She heard the brown and green splotchy man - Domhnall, she quickly reminded herself - start talking in his coarse, rough speech. A crossbow aimed at the head? Crows? Oh, right. He had assumed that the squire had dived for cover from an unknown assailant! Perhaps not exactly false, given the circumstances, though the assailant was quite known, and she didn't need a crossbow aimed at his head. Angora shrugged and returned her focus to the squire, seemingly oblivious to his shame and his embarrassment.
"Well, uh ... you take care of yourself, right? That looked painful, and you're kinda lucky that you didn't hit a rock or something. Would have been quite the mess if you had, too." She picked up Jaelnec's hat and offered it to him, though the hat had also fallen victim to the seemingly ever-present earth.
And then, to compound Angora's shivering chilliness ... she felt the first few drops from the sky fall upon her head, trickling down her black hair and into her eyes. She could taste the water as it dripped onto her lips, as a drizzle slowly emerged into a torrent from the menacing clouds above. Rainwater ran in rivulets down Angora's neck, down her back, down her chest, splashing against her bare skin in the rents in her clothing.
"We... should probably get moving." It was increasingly difficult to hear oneself over the noise of the rainwater now pounding down on the leaves and trees around them.
At least the squire wouldn't have to worry about the mud for long.

Well, the very least his well-honed hunter's instincts were not off, Domhnall wryly thought to himself, now beginning to genuinely shiver rather than just briefly shudder from the abrupt change of temperature. It had been but a couple of minutes since he had assessed the threat of impending rainfall as the greatest threat over their heads, and sure enough, here it was.
"I'm won' tae agree with the lass here," the forestfolk agreed, half-speaking loudly, half-shouting over the rain and his own shivering. He'd probably die of hypothermia if he continued to stand there much longer. "So le's pick up our things an' get going, aye?" The things which, incidentally, were all over the place.
With luck, the rain would not be for long - sudden downpours like this seldom were. It was entirely possible it wasn't that expansive, either - the leader of this rag-tag group was probably quite right to take off ahead of them. Might have spared himself and the white-eyes a cold shower, for one.
Without further ado, he motioned Iridiel to come, and took off jogging to where most of their things had been left. The highlander woman, uttering an inventive stream of swearwords in her native tongue, followed after him.
Jaelnec has yet to master the art of contemplating firewood.

Could I get a name for some small semi-rural town in any duchy which is big enough to have a dozen to two guards? (Otherwise I'll just pick and name one at random.)

Hmm. And how probably would Jordan get eaten if he were to spot Morgan before Ixion? @Rhaevnn Xeno The Viper himself should be mostly safe, not so sure about his squire (barring intervention from his master).
Domhnall, Iridiel and Angora


Kings were there to keep the throne occupied? No, come now, she might be young, but Angora knew that was just naivete and folly to truly believe that the King, the undisputed ruler of Rodoria, was merely a figurehead. True, the Dukes spoiled and ranted and raved when the King had his back turned, but the King was the man in charge, surely. Surely? Now she doubted herself. Perhaps the King was just a figurehead, controlled by puppet masters behind the throne- she stopped herself before she went on. It wasn't the King she hated. No, not at all - it was the very institution of the monarchy. What right did one man have to rule over all others because of his bloodline? Why were the common people always ignored, nay, shoved to the side, when it came to government? Wasn't the government supposed to be taking care of the people? Surely... the people themselves knew what was best for themselves? Well, maybe not.
Angora herself was no politician. Iridiel, on the other hand, she could be a politician if she wanted to be one. A hot-headed firebrand she was, especially when it came to defending people and her own right to freedom. Angora remembered that Iridiel had said that she had been exiled for her own beliefs - or perhaps it was the killing of two officials who believed otherwise. Either way, surely she could understand Angora's point? If she understood it of course, which was not a given when speaking to a foreigner. Iridiel showed no real signs of interest in the conversation for her part. She looked to be simply enjoying snuggling up to her green-skinned friend. Which brought Angora back to the point at hand - the muddied cloak that currently adorned her shoulders.
Angora sat up, and attempted to lift the cloak over her head to present it to Iridiel. "You, er... you should probably have this back now. I'll be fine."
Iridiel shook her head. "I gave it to you."
As Olan was approaching the downed woman (“The fire didn’t do anything, you know? In any case I’m pretty sure it’d be better for you not to kick it. You know?”), Domhnall peered at the vague direction Jaelnec was supposedly in. As the forestfolk had been idly contemplating the firewood in lieu of inadvertently (or intentionally) staring at the above-knee parts of the very naked Angora (somewhat disturbingly, it now occurred to him that her lack of shame could have had at least as much to do with the "getting close to your target" part of her job description than the it she had been stuck with for over half a year), he had missed what exactly the young black-eyes had been up to; he would've assumed he merely jumped to his feet a couple of moments before Angora commenced with her assault on the campfire, but no, the entirety of him had disappeared from immediate sight altogether...
"Sorry... My uh, temper got the better of me," Angora mumbled embarrassedly as she took Olan's hand to help her to her feet. She had noticed the strange antics of the man who initially had been oh so confrontational towards her... he had tried to do a backflip... from a sitting position, over the log that he had been sitting on. Angora's mind tried to work out the logic in that as she rushed over after Olan had helped her up to check on the black-eyed one. Angora knelt beside him, shaking him by the shoulders gently, trying to conceal the broad smile on her face.
"Are you alright?" She fought the urge to follow up with, See anything you like? She wouldn't be that brazen. These were people of honour and morals... She'd already sullied that enough with telling them about the Firm.
Iridiel, for her part, was silent, rolling her eyes and finally detaching herself from Domhnall's warmth... albeit very reluctantly. She would have liked that cloak right about now, but the human likely needed it more, especially given the state of her at the moment. Her outfit, though clean, was still little better than rags. And likely adding to the squire's embarrassment, it didn't leave much to the imagination. She must be freezing still. Hussy.
Domhnall regretted the absence of Iridiel's warm weight resting against his chest even more than the highlander did the reverse; somewhat demonstratively, the forestfolk raised his shoulders and shuddered slightly as a damp gust of wind made sure to immediately remind him of the general ambient temperature. All good things come to an end, he supposed, finally begrudgingly getting back up to his feet to see what manner of fate had befallen their young black-eyed companion. At the very least, moving about should also give some warmth...
Well, the squire had not gotten far, as it turned out. Angora was poking at the poor fellow, who had somehow achieved a prone position face down behind the log he had sitting on. To the best of his knowledge, something like that could happen to a startled housecat, or perhaps a cub not quite in control of its facilities yet, rarely a larger animal, let alone a humanoid. Unless, perhaps, they just spotted a crossbow pointed at them a few trees away. That might have justified such a hasty taking of cover. But alas, the sparse trees around remained bereft of any life but them bigger than a crow. The only serious threat hanging overhead was that of it starting to rain again.
Angora would doubtlessly not enjoy it more than any other of them. Now that she was clean, it became apparent how poorly her clothes were, one patch of pale skin chasing another. Perhaps we should lend a fishnet for her or something - it would probably have fewer holes in it. Wisely, he withheld commenting on it loudly for the time being.
I think I'll put Sir Yanin's family holdings down in Etlon. I'll still need some semi-rural town just about anywhere in the country where Yanin could have been for over a year (head of guard of sorts).

Keeping an eye on the people moving about in Zerul City, seeing whether there is a good opportunity for him to step in. (Unless, again, someone wishes to bother him or his squire first - Yanin's currently wearing the cloak atop of mail, for the record.)

Er... And am I to assume no one would try to stop Aemoten at the gates?
Domhnall and Angora


It appeared that the young black-eyes was not particularly opinionated on the matter, Domhnall had to conclude. Either that, or he decided to keep his opinions to himself. Whatever the case, the current leader's placeholder grudgingly resigned to accepting Angora's revelations with just a single word, fine. Huh. The forestfolk's eyes flitted from Jaelnec to Angora.
It... wasn't the response she was expecting from the man who had so vehemently been crusading against her way of life. Angora smiled - at least he was no longer hell-bent on demanding that she turn her life away from the Firm overnight. Such a thing was simply not possible, not to mention she might have a visit from a Con or two over her defection away from the Firm... or even her father. Erik was a Captain-Junior in the Dramburgh family - a family that was built on the Cleaners... Erik himself was a rarity - an outsider who attained high status in a family despite lacking their name. The Kelenwyn group was not a large one, but they were efficient. Angora doubted that even she would escape with her life. Admittedly, the man had a point - her hands were soaked in the blood of those she had killed, though perhaps he and others like him didn't quite realise what a Cleaner did. No matter.
Angora returned her attentions to her clothes. They were still damp - not to mention freezing cold - but they could probably ill-afford to spend too much longer sitting in front of a fire. Next to the green and brown man, his companion with the shock of red hair and blue lips slowly came to from her nap. Perhaps a subtle clue from the gods, Angora thought to herself, giggling quietly. The Black Sword's glow had ebbed away to a dull smoulder from the bright fiery runes that had been showing earlier. Angora turned the blade over in her hands several times... it was warm, very warm to the touch. She laid the blade on her clothes.
“I suppose it isn’t important in the end, you know?” Olan piped up. “The Withering doesn’t care who you are or what you do. And that’s our objective, right? Getting rid of the Withering?” Though somewhat surprised, the young black-eyes seemed to agree. That was right, this was their mission... The group's, and now theirs by extension. Iridiel had said her goddess instructed them to join the group on their quest ... or something of the sorts. The gist was what was important here. Healer first and foremost... Seemed like the sort of thing that would fit the bill quite nicely, in any case. Speaking of Iridiel, she was certainly beginning to stir now.
"Yeah... the Withering." Angora's face fell. So that was their mission was it? To cure the Withering, the greatest plague that the mortal world had ever seen? Wonderful. "Funny thing, isn't it, disease? From King to common folk, you're just as vulnerable. Makes you wonder, doesn't it - what truly makes a King so worthy of respect and obedience, when they're just as soft and fleshy and mortal as the rest of us?" Angora shrugged and went back to poking at her clothes. Iridiel - at least Angora thought that was her name - seemed to have woken up fully by now, though she was still yawning her head off and murmuring something in her native language to her companion. Were they a couple? Or were they just very good friends? Angora didn't know, nor did she really think it was her place to know. They were foreigners, they could have banned marriage for all she knew... She looked around at everybody. Perhaps she could let the clothes dry on her body, using her natural heat...
"I should probably get dressed."
"Ya do that," figured Domhnall. The clothes were probably still damp, but then again, she could also just move herself closer to the flames... Probably had a lower risk of setting the clothes on fire than just moving the clothes by themselves even closer to the fire.
What really separated a king from the common man... Some agreement made by the majority? The woman was quite right as far as Domhnall was concerned. King, peasant, at the end of the day they were just all people. Did not mean one was more correct than the other, or that the majority was necessarily right, or fair. Iridiel was only here because someone decided that her intentions did not matter, after all...
"Good morning," he noted to Iridiel, who had now lifted her head from his shoulder. He kept his arm around her for the time being, though; the warmth was nice, and he'd been sitting still for a while...
"Hmmmh... morning, still? I can't have slept for long I suppose..." Iridiel yawned and gently placed her head back on Domhnall's shoulder, pressing herself into his chest slightly. The warmth was most definitely welcome ... and Iridiel watched as Angora was going to find that out the hard way.
Angora got to her feet, cursing quietly as she took hold of her clothes from by the fire and moved them away from the odd spark or two, before snatching them up in her hand and allowing the cloak to fall from around her shoulders, heedless of what the others might think of her naked form on show to them all. Shit, that's cold! Instinctively she drew her hands about her breasts, shivering from the chill wind biting at her flesh, but she forced herself to forget about the chill for the moment in exchange for donning her clothes - though she wondered quite how well they'd actually protect her, given their poor state of maintenance. She swore repeatedly as she dressed herself as hastily as she could, though true to what she thought... it wasn't much good. The rips and holes combined with the damp clothing to render her perhaps even fucking colder than before! At least she could rely on the cloak to keep her warm- the cloak that was on the floor in the mud.
At last, her temper perhaps snapped once and for all. "Fuck it all!" In her anger, Angora aimed a kick at the fire, which missed, thanks to her still-foggy state of mind, and perhaps the side effects of having been kicked in the face several times. She fell to the floor, lying there thoroughly upset, embarrassed and exhausted.
Evidently still drowsy, Iridiel took his comment as an invitation to snuggle closer to him (not that he had anything against it), whereas Angora, from what he knew, quite uncharacteristically to Rodorians, opted to just change her clothes in the full sight of them all. It might have been that living in the forests under the influence of some critter that did not care at all for the common manners of its host for ten months or so had slightly dampened her sense of privacy... If Domhnall had any further thoughts on the matter, he did not seem to show them, and instead seemed to be trying to figure out whether he could reach one of the nearby logs to toss it to the flames and not move himself while he was at it.
All was fine and good until Angora decided to ... kick their campfire? Whatever her intent, she missed her target and fell flat on her back, eliciting an instinctive jerk from Domhnall's free hand and shoulder before he caught up with the fact that there was little way for him to do much unless he removed Iridiel from himself and got up. For a moment he paused, looking at Iridiel, then back at Angora, then at the two black-eyes. Assuming that one of them had not moved already (or, in Jaelnec's case, made himself sink underground), he lifted his eyebrows at them. Well? Are you just going to sit there with your hands free?
@yoshua171, @Rhaevnn Xeno, @Mercinus3: Just a reminder that I have a character (and an associated secondary) in Zerul City I'm as of yet unsure where to put, too.
Hmm... Would probably fast-forward Aemoten sometime soon-ish (but not as first priority, but at the latest when Jaelnec has forwarded to this morning, which is also Jillian/Gerald's tomorrow ... erh).

As for the "when" of Yanin, then ... "this" morning (the ... waking I'on up morning, to not desync time further), and as soon as possible. Waiting till Jaenec/Aemoten might make some sense, but might not be the best idea, with them potentially upping and leaving soon. Where are Morgan and Ixion now? How feasible is it that I'on will turn up in the same pub (or whatever other location) he is in? Heck, get Jordan in trouble if it might speed things up (just try not to kill him outright).

As for where ... Seclyr is actually the only duchy I outright excluded (because I also wrote that at least two of the Glade siblings are either outright or indirectly studying magic (not entirely canonical, but seemed helpful here)). I suppose I kind of narrowed it down to Etlon, Gilmah, Nemhim or Pelgaid when I tried to make a guess (not sure if Gilmah is particularly likely, or it's just the viper on the coat of arms, and Yanin's identity). Not sure why I didn't give Wenal too much consideration?
The knighthood the Glades were part of was canonically named after the state (The political build of said state might not be entirely applicable to Rodoria, hence), and while it was recognizable in some nearby countries if you named it, it wasn't really international. The original Glade (or, well, Galeid) holdings were three-four dozen farms with fields and the manor buildings/ground/animals/workers. The family had some marginal standing before (the coat of arms has been around for at least a couple of generations before Sir Tareon, for instance), but it was Sir Tareon (Yanin's father) who really earned them their current standing and renown, largely through military tactics and prowess (from late teenage years to early forties; he's withdrawn a bit for the last decade, and is more socially, than tactically active).

(Hope it makes sense and/or clears a few things up. Too sleepy to continue anything now.)
*turns office into space station, because obviously, I did not have enough screens here*

No sign of Nessa, still, even after a fully-fledged e-mail. Should I time-skip Aemoten to the next morning? Will poke at Legion after Christmas-party-event, unless too tired. Any comments on Yanin, yet? I suppose I'm somewhat more railed to get to do something now that something is happening again ... the whole mess of naturally resolving of who goes where and such left aside.

*wanders off to desnowheapify car*
I think this is all of Yanin and co's CSs besides Yanin's family/reputation things. I'll finish the family things soon-ish (possibly after establishing where the whole bunch would actually fit).

Should probably figure out how exactly to introduce him ... wherever Ixion and Morgan are? Or would he get his own encounter? Both?
Name: Sir Yanin Glade

Ethnicity and species: Rodorian, human (white)

Sex/gender: Male/man

Age: 22

Physical build and appearance:
Sir Yanin Glade doesn't tend to leave the most approachable first impression. He is a tall man - 6'7'', or about two meters -, with a build that's neither narrow nor pronouncedly broad, neither overweight nor so thin one could see all muscles clearly defined through the skin. Rather, he seems well-proportioned and -balanced, naturally both strong and agile - an assessment which wouldn't be wrong. Furthermore, he keeps his training up very rigorously.
It's, however, not his apparent physical prowess which tends to make people wary of him. It's far more his mannerisms, mien, and way of expressing himself (and, just perhaps, the vague impression that he might actually make use of said physical prowess if he did not get his way otherwise). Most of the time, his expression seems either blank, forced or mildly annoyed. Or very annoyed. And occasionally confused, though it remains unclear whether or not it isn't just his disbelief at your insistence on arguing with him. He gives rather abrupt, confrontational impression, and seems to frequently disregard apparent power levels - that is, if he doesn't instead simply seem to mostly ignore you, and just absentmindedly give replies when directly addressed. He is equally likely to stare at you for too long and intently, or not bother looking at you at all. Incidentally, it would also appear that any attempt to intimidate him in turn merely elicits a blank stare.
Sir Yanin's complexion is pale - he doesn't seem to tan during summers, either -, with deep-set and contrastingly dark brown eyes and thick, nearly black dark brown eyebrows. With strong brow and strong jawline, his face appears almost rectangular, with an averagely proportioned, if slightly crooked nose. His hair is slightly lighter dark brown than his eyebrows, slightly wavy, and of somewhat ambiguous and varying length - maybe fifteen to twenty centimeters as of the present time. He's usually clean-shaven, though he might neglect to do so for a few days if he doesn't have to appear before people.

Usual attire:
These days he can usually be seen wearing heavy long black hiking boots - chosen more for comfort than looks - and black pants, off-white shirt and silver-trimmed dark blue gambeson accompanied by a wide, black leather belt with a silver buckle.
Attached to said belt are a couple of pouches, a dagger's scabbard on the right and a sword's to the left, both of the latter black leather reinforced with dark wood and silvery metal. Within the longer scabbard a finely crafted steel longsword with a 108 cm blade resides (fullered, hollow grind). The two arms of the guard curve slightly towards the blade, and have the overall width of 24 cm; in addition, the guard comprises of two metal semi-circles on either side of the blade's base for additional protection. The total length of the guard, grip and pommel is 30 cm. The grip is wrapped in black leather, and the pommel is round. On closer inspection, one can see the pommel has a falcon holding a live strike-ready viper between its talons engraved in its back, painted copper and black. The overall weight of the sword is 1.6 kg. The dagger is remarkably similar, just with a 26 cm blade, enough grip to comfortably fit one hand, and no semi-circular bits to its proportionally reduced guard.
Even when just traveling, he somewhat commonly also opts to wear a long mail vest with his gambeson, and if he knows he'll be in actual combat, he'll supplement it with a visored conical helmet, with mail attached to the edge for neck protection (that one limits field of vision and affects general comfort a bit too much to wear while just traveling).
On top of everything else, a black hooded cloak might be worn - not so much for warmth (the gambeson is rather warm on its own), but rather to make him less conspicuous and as protection from rain.

Other equipment, rations and clothing (includes that carried by, but not associated with, his horse):
493 rodlin.
Soap.
Straight razor.
Flint and iron.
Thread (white, black), needle.
Ink, quill, a couple dozen sheets of paper.
A leather-bound notebook.
A little bottle of oil, a whetstone and a rag.
Cloth that can be used as bandages.
Flask with strong alcohol.
A flanged iron mace, 1.2 kg.
A halberd (iron), 185 cm length, ash pole.
An elm recurve bow (left-handed), 175 cm long, about 40 kg draw force.
A steel arming sword, 75 cm blade, 90 cm overall length, simple cross-guard, leather-wrapped oval grip, round pommel.
Rope (~8 meters).
Tent (waterproofed canvas x2, rods, support poles).
Two blankets (human).
Four pairs of socks (black).
A tabard in his family colors and symbolics (red and blue, diagonally, copper and black trim, copper-and-black falcon holding a copper and black viper).
A backup pair of pants (black).
Extra underwear (3).
Three off-white cotton shirts, two dark blue.
One dark blue silk shirt.
A copper-and-black-trimmed dark blue long jacket (or a very formal variant of his usual gambeson) with crimson lining.
Two knives more suitable for cooking and eating.
A fork.
Three spoons.
A small cauldron.
Two cups (clay).
A metal rod, about 60 cm long.
Smoked dried meat (~2kg).
Bread (4 loaves).
Two dozen sweet-spicy baked things (about a kilogram). Yanin calls them cookies, but that's probably not it.
Dried fruit (200 gr) and nuts (800 gr).
Salt and various spices.
Tea.
A backpack and a canvas bag to fit everything that does not fit in the saddle bags.

Social status and family ties:
The Glades presently hold fourty-three inhabited farms with their fields and lots, about three dozen hectares of forest (largely firewood), and a mansion with associated stables and a small orchard of its own, situated in Etlon. On local basis, they're decently well-known and respected, though some members of their family more than others.
The Glades' mansion and grounds are governed by Yanin's father (Tareon, 51), who has the reputation of an iron-willed and skilled combatant, strategist and negotiator (qualities which served the Glades well in achieving their current position), but also a rather ruthless and unforgiving man whom you do not want to cross. Though Sir Tareon is no longer in his prime fighting condition due to some old injuries, reduced training regimen and age starting to slowly creep up on him, he would still make a rather formidable opponent. Most people, though, will shy away from merely facing his rather imposing figure in a wrathful state.
Yanin's mother (Melone, 47) has relatively little input on the proceedings of the Glades' holdings other than the (younger) children's care and education (which is a matter she seems to have taken to her heart), as well as the managing of household servants. She's a quiet woman, soft-spoken and well-mannered, not fond of either confrontations or scheming. She stands tall and rather broad-shouldered - though no match for Sir Tareon -, but seems to be quite pale and often tired, frail rather than powerful, even more so in recent years.
Sir Yanin Glade furthermore has six living brothers (Jeran, 28; Elan, 26; Javien, 23; Gerain, 18; Marlon, 15; Adrian, 10) and three sisters (Eleanor, 25; Alaisi, 21; Ilene, 3). One of his brothers (Manin) died when he was an adult (at 24, three years ago). Melone has also underwent multiple miscarriages, at least two of which are semi-publicly known, more suspected. As she got older, her ability to conceive and carry to term seemed to lessen (as might have her general health, claimed those who had known her for a long time); Ilene's successful birth was a true surprise, but also came the closest to ending Melone's life out of her many pregnancies.
Sir Jeran as the eldest son will supposedly be succeed Sir Tareon as the head of the holdings; he is leaner in build, though, and while is undoubtedly steadfast where it matters, he does not seem to share his father's temper. He is overall more diplomatic, more understanding individual; people have also described him as a nobler person, a gentleman rather than a soldier. Or a more idealized knight. The Falcon of the Glades. Currently single.
The late Sir Manin, in turn, was perhaps his father's favorite son; though he was more of a shadow of his direct ancestor in his skills, their personalities were definitely a fit. Curiously enough, in spite of them being similarly tempered (and Sir Manin being perhaps the nastier one of the two), the company of one another seemed to have calmed the both of them down, or at least get them high enough spirits to make more concessions. Even his aspirations were close to his father's, and that's what eventually did him in - Sir Manin fell in armed conflict. Caught a crossbow bolt in the neck, to be exact. Tareon has been a lot more bitter, irritable after the fact.
Sir Elan is ... an "odd one", his father used to say. Which, in his eyes, meant bookish and quiet, at least until he found someone willing to listen a lecture on whatever got his interest last. Elan is otherwise rarely seen in social situations, and tends to spend time studying languages, deities and artefacts instead. His knowledge seems to have made him a decent conversationalist with whom it mattered, though - he is married to Lady Jeanette (23), a well-mannered noblewoman who has won both of Elan's parents' approval.
Lady Eleanor is much akin to her mother sans the health problems, though with a deeper interest in economy and finances, and some of her father's stubbornness. She is engaged to a Relimonian merchant, and thus rarely seen on the family grounds; it is typically assumed this arrangement will be out of practical considerations rather than something as fleeting as love. Sharper tongues might insist it's the numbers in her fiancé's books - others will say it's less to do with vanity and desire for wealth, and more with passion for playing the market in and of itself.
Sir Javien is neither here nor there. He is decent, but not exceptional at most things he does. More so out of lack of passion than intelligence - he's quite sharp, as far as wits go. He might be more hedonistic than most of his siblings, but bereft of scandals as he is, people don't tend to consider it a big deal, or worth noting. He is also one of the more social, charismatic and approachable ones, and seems to be overall well liked. Still single.
Sir Yanin Glade himself is an exceptional fighter, but otherwise not too noteworthy individual. People tend to consider him not really the amicable sort, nor, for the matter, too sociable - during events, he mostly kept to the side until he felt obliged to speak, and when he did, he was either quite laconic or, oppositely, confrontational. Some suspect he is an incarnation of the darker side of his father, and perhaps a crueler man than either Tareon or Manin ever were - an impression that is further deepened by the fact that even Sir Tareon himself might be afraid of him, deep down, enough so to have made a couple of concessions. His siblings have varied opinions on him, though even Sir Jeran - who is one of those who quite like him - occasionally refers to him as the Viper of the Glades. For the better part of the year and a half of his knighting, he served as a head of guard in Brow's Rest, Etlon, where people cautiously thought he was doing a decent enough job.
His middle sister, Alaisi is quite a carefree soul who took early interest in the magical arts, and after a visit to the magical academy of Zerul City in her teenage years, it turned out she might have sufficient innate affinity for the powers of her soul to be worth nurturing. A few years later, she was admitted, and is presently studying there. Most people who encounter her like her; though she shares the Glades' more robust build, people used to always call the younger version of her "that sweet girl".
Gerain is a knight still in the making, apprentice to one Sir Marcus, an old acquaintance - not quite a friend - of Sir Tareon. As Sir Marcus was also Jeran and Yanin's (but not Manin's or Elan's) master, he does seem to hold some reservations towards the boy, just in case he turns out more like the Viper than the Falcon. Chances are, the former managed to bruise his ego quite a bit... In practice, Gerain is at once both and neither. He lacks the kind warmth of Jeran or the brash straightforwardness of Yanin, and falls somewhere between the two in combat prowess and manner, but is probably a better battle tactician than either of the two, rivaling or even surpassing Sir Tareon himself. People seem to think that in him, nature has found a decent point of balance between the two of his older brothers. He himself is not too fond of the comparisons with his siblings, and would rather be considered as his own individual.
Marlon is just barely too young to be on a path to become a knight - as is generally expected of the male members of the family -, and as such, has other than regular training (as opposed to Yanin, who did start full combat training early) mostly focused on his education. More than anything else, he seems to share just about equal passion for numbers and magic. A decent young guy, if with a bit of a short fuse when distracted.
Adrian is still too young to formally do anything much besides receiving education. Seems to have a fondness for animals, though. Especially, for some reason, the monstrous sort. His parents are not particularly happy with that particular obsession, though they've permitted him access to some copies of the Deo'iel texts (in the hopes that it would facilitate interest in reading, at least), and offered to grant him his own horse sooner rather than later. A proper, full-sized one, as Sir Tareon does not believe in ponies.
Ilene is barely more than a toddler. At best, she knows how to use a fork, talk as a child would, and "sing" a bit. Nevertheless, she's her mother's current dearest.
Jeran, Javien and Yanin presently have squires; Elan insists that he does not possess the time for matters of that sort. The mansion has about four dozen various servants and other folk permanently on its ground (including stable workers), as well as three dozen guards on place and patrolling the broader grounds.

Notes on abilities and skills (to be added to upon necessity):
In spite of his apparent disinterest in learning such, he can read and write quite freely, as well as sort of do calculations, if given time and (preferably) something to write things down on.
He has also been educated in etiquette (even though he doesn't seem to know how and when to put it in use, or simply doesn't bother to), know who many of the important people are (or at least their names), know some history and lore, know some about materials, trading and in general the appropriate values of things, some about the different creatures of the land, and other varia. In spite of his lack of enthusiasm in learning it all, it would appear that at the very least his memory is quite good.
Where Yanin excels, though, is combat. Before he was granted knighthood a year ago, and in spite of never taking part in larger tournaments, he managed to locally acquire minor reputation for it, having rather quickly bested his mentors, and later, volunteer challengers who wished to try their hand against defeating him.
Last but not least, though currently unknown to anyone but Yanin himself, he also has a ... "demon problem" ... or, as might be more apt seeing the apparent absence of anything truly demonic, a void beast problem. Nothing at all can be detected near or in him in the magical sense outside of his soul appearing unusually weak (without the withering or evident signs of magical exhaustion), and magic unraveling near him, as if absorbed or dissipated. The beast's also overtaken his dreams.



Name: Jordan Forthey

Ethnicity and species: Rodorian, human (white)

Sex/gender: Male/man

Age: 17

Physical build and appearance:
Jordan is about 1.83 tall (a notch over 6 feet), narrow-shouldered, but quite fit guy. He has shoulder-length hair that, much to his annoyance, has been described as "potato-colored" - a sort of uneven light brown that's almost, but not quite dirty blond -, perpetually slightly concerned blueish-gray eyes, and quite youthful face which seems to acquire a random thin mess of (for some reason) blond hair, should he ever go more than two days without shaving.

Usual attire:
He is typically seen wearing worn brown leather boots, brown leather belt, gray pants, a white cotton shirt and (in current, colder weather) a woolen coat. He also has a simple, but steel, longsword with its own brown leather sheathe, attached to his belt at the left hilt. The sword is not much of a looker with its simple crossguard and round pommel; one can tell it's been "fixed" a few times - the blade has been ground down to 93 cm to fix a blunted or broken end from the original probably of around a meter, even -, but it serves its purpose, and Sir Yanin had insisted it's still semi-decently balanced. It's material is also a bit too soft, rather than brittle; seems to be without rust veins, though, so not too bad original metalwork or care. He also has a dagger (again with its own leather sheathe, though this one attached at the right hip), which is actually new and appropriate steel. Recently, Sir Yanin acquired him studded leather armor, so when conflict is to be anticipated, he'd be wearing those.

Other equipment, rations and clothing (includes that carried by, but not associated with, his horse):
A whole eight rodlin. Not much, granted, but it's his to spend, and Sir Yanin usually buys food and the essential supplies.
A leaf-bladed iron spear, ash pole.
An extra pair of gray pants.
Two extra shirts.
Five extra socks ... he is unsure where the sixth went, but guesses that should he lose another one, he'd have an even number again.
Spare underwear (3).
Flint and iron.
About half a kilogram of dried jerky. Two loaves of bread.
A little bottle of oil, a whetstone and a rag.
Soap. Straight razor.
About six meters of rope.
Cloth that can be used as bandages.
A small bottle of strong alcohol (moonshine).

Social status and family ties:
He's been Sir Yanin Glade's squire for about a year now, formerly having been the Glades' stable hand; that's about as far as his standing goes.
His family are farmers in Nemhim, owners of a small household, a couple of fields, and a dozen cattle. The household consists of Jordan's mother (36), his father's elderly grandmother (78), as well as still hosts his two sisters (6 and 12) and brother (9). His third sister and father succumbed to the withering a couple of years back.
Aside of Jordan, the Fortheys are otherwise unaffiliated with the Glades, and in fact condone his continued service after the demise of his father, when it should be his, as the oldest son's, duty to take over his father's place rather than go pursue some illusions of grandeur and potentially get himself killed. Him sending part of his allowance back to his family does not seem to affect their (or at least his mother and grandmother's) opinion on the matter much.

Notes on abilities and skills (to be added to upon necessity):
Knows how to take care of and ride horses. Knows how to cook. Knows how to take care of laundry and sort out supplies. And has a number of other quite mundane skills.
As a part of acquiring his status as a squire (largely on Sir Yanin's word - something he still feels indebted for, as it was very unlikely that a stable hand of no significant family background could have achieved the status of as much as a young low-ranking knight's squire otherwise, unlikely as further progress is even now), Sir Yanin has also been trying to teach him combat and social manners.
Sir Yanin is a decent, if somewhat impatient teacher of martial arts, so Jordan hopes to improve quickly. For the time being, though, his master recommends sticking with polearms in actual confrontations, if possible. He hasn't managed to defeat Sir Yanin even with spear against bare hands, though, which ... is not too encouraging. As far as social manners go ... a lot of rules. Sir Yanin doesn't seem particularly pleased with those himself, and is even liable to outright ignore his own teachings. But sir Yanin was also an actual knight of a decently well-known family. A peasant squire was probably not permitted to follow suit.



Name: Prince
Species: Horse.
Sex: Male (gelding)
Age: 8
Physical build and appearance: A "white" horse - actually gray, as indicated the off-tone of his mane, tail and socks. 173 cm or a notch over 17 hands tall. Allegedly Thoroughbred, though Yanin suspects he's quarter draft horse - too stocky for a full Thoroughbred. As it makes him better suited at carrying him and his equipment, his owner does not mind. Jordan is inclined to agree on both points.
Associated equipment: A well-made horned black leather saddle and saddle bags with matching stirrups and bridle. Silver details. A light blanket and a winter blanket, both silver-trimmed black. In addition, there's a blue-and-red light blanket, trimmed in copper and black - the Glades' family colors. Prince is shod (studded). In addition, a feeding bag, brush, comb, washcloth, lead rope (stored).
Note(s): Effectively Yanin's 16th birthday present.



Name: Buddy
Species: Horse
Sex: Male (gelding)
Age: 4
Physical build and appearance: A slight sorrel horse at barely more than 15 hands (152.4 cm) tall. Who knows what exactly he's supposed to be, but Jordan seems to be quite fond of him.
Associated equipment: Has a brown leather saddle and saddle bags, standard and a bit worn, but not bad quality, stirrups, bridle, a dark gray saddle blanket, and an old patchwork winter blanket. The latter's mostly light gray, but seems to have once been white and cobalt blue. Buddy goes bare-hoofed. In addition, a feeding bag, brush, comb, washcloth, lead rope (stored).
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