shylarah

The Plague Knight Chronicles: Chapter 1

Really not much for Shiara to be doing until the things are dealt with. ^.^;

The Plague Knight Chronicles: Chapter 1

Shiara Cazarin, bone mage

The apprentice had deprived the beast of its head, yet still it tried to reach them. Even Shiara's warding was taxed by the dark magic animating the body. A twinge like a half-remembered nightmare tugged at her thoughts, but didn't resolve into anything of use. Whatever it was, it was old, maybe even older than some of the traditions she upheld.

For the moment all she could do was watch the knights and the lady fighter dismember their various opponents. She had nothing to use as a weapon aside from the shovel that she still held in her off hand. Even if she'd had a proper weapon, she was no fighter. Her strength lay in her magics, and she'd be a poor match for the beasts even with Kem's help.

The Plague Knight Chronicles: Chapter 1

Are we waiting on me? We're waiting on me, aren't we. *scurries off to write*

When Royalty Collides (#YIKES)

@alexfangtalon maybe put "interested in females" instead of just female? Gotta say, if that was what @ayzrules had as examples I'm gonna have to tease her about it. As for being warlike, I guess that's alright. IC it's politically questionable but OOC you've got a solid justification.

How Not to be a Douchebag 101

@Metronome how much trouble will Rhylaen be in if she doesn't wear the suit? And will they stop her from going in without it?

When Royalty Collides (#YIKES)

@MorningStar1399 it was indeed a joke, and there is no need to change it.

When Royalty Collides (#YIKES)

@MorningStar1399 looks decent so far, though the Luxemi loyalists will side-eye you for having startlingly blue eyes (no need to change it). Unrest and threats to the prince are kinda cool.

@DracarysBitch omg. You know, I never thought I'd have to say someone wrote to much for me, but you came close. Then again, I'm not very politically minded and I have a love/hate relationship with CSes. I'll get back to you. Gotta say, the King/Queen being at each other's throats is a fun thing. I'm definitely getting a very Russia/Iron Curtain feel from the half (third?!) of your kingdom sheet that I read, and I will come back to it and read the rest.

When Royalty Collides (#YIKES)

Edelessa/Valentine of Luxième

_{". . ."
imagery}

_{B A S I C S}

---

Name: Edelessa Sofia Valentine Blanchefluer (born D'Argent, granted the name Blanchefleur upon ascension to crown princess)
Nicknames: Valentine, Val, Bits (by some of her friends, as well as castle servants when people of rank are not around), Tina/Blue (by Anton) does not respond to Edelessa or variants thereof!
Title: crown princess of Luxième. She's to be coronated in a couple years, once she's old enough to be queen.
Age: 16 (born May 1st; just had her birthday)
Gender: female
Sexuality: primarily uninterested (heteroromantic; may be some form of asexual)
Betrothed to: Akio Bai of Talulia

_{A P P E A R A N C E}

---

Even among Blanchefluers, Valentine has particularly striking eyes of vibrant blue. They're easily her best feature, but like the rest of her face they are all too often hiden behind her dark hair. She never pins it back, and prefers to let it serve as a barrier between herself and everyone else. She has calluses from riding and helping look after the horses. She keeps her nails trimmed very short but even so there will often be traces of dirt under them if she's just come back from somewhere she wasn't supposed to be, and she is prone to ink and graphite smudges on her right hand. There's indication that she will be a tall woman, but right now she's just a leggy teenager.

Val prefers simpler dresses and very little makeup, though she does enjoy painting her nails. She favors burgundy, navy, and deep blue in her wardrobe, as well as pastels, but never *ever* the shade of sky blue that is Luxième's traditional color. She has an unseemly fondness for oversized hoodies and comfy sweaters, especially during the colder months, and if she can get away with it she'll wear jeans or other informal pants for her day-to-day wear. She's got a soft spot for bellbottoms with embroidery on one leg, so long as it's not a floral design.

_{P E R S O N A L I T Y}

---

Valentine is a quiet and often sullen girl. She is afraid of a great many things, and covers her fear with anger when she can't just ignore the cause. She prefers not to talk if she can help it, and spends a lot of her time with her eyes glued to her phone, her tablet, her camera, or a book. She likes to keep a barrier between herself and others, and she's found she's happier that way. There are one or two tutors that have reached her, and of course she adores Anton. Beyond that, she's friends with a handful of the palace servants and few others. She has opened up a little since her arrival in Athens, but not nearly to the degree desired of her. She still hates the role she's been forced into and resents those that try to trap her in it. She is always slipping away to the stables, to the nearest field or forest, to the library, to any corner where she can be on her own. Most of the time she takes her camera with her, though she sometimes brings her sketchbook instead. She can sit for hours sketching, or wait without moving as long as it takes to capture the perfect shot of wildlife. Valentine is stubborn, but it tends to be more silent protest than screaming. She is not comfortable enough with others to yell at them, but if she doesn't wish to do something she just won't do it, and most of the time there is nobody around comfortable forcibly dragging her. The only time she really makes a lot of noise in public spaces is when she is so thoroughly distraught that she can't manage to stay quiet, and usually she escapes the situation before she reaches that point. Even when it comes to standing up for Anton she's more likely to use quiet venom and bodily get in their way than yell -- though she does have a very unladylike vocabulary if she wishes to use it.

Online Valentine is a different creature. She loves the faceless anonymity granted her by the virtual world, and the escape it provides. She follows a handful of webcomics, chats on several forums, runs a photography blog, and is a member of two different MMOs. Her digital life is colorful, bright, and far more social, to the point where even her few irl friends note that she's much more responsive by text or voice chat than in person. But through it all she is very careful never to reveal who she is. She never posts photos taken inside the palace walls, and she does not talk about her personal life beyond very general statements. She does, however, occasionally use some of that unladylike vocabulary on party members who do something exceptionally stupid (and where do you think she learned it?)

_{L I K E S & D I S L I K E S}

---

LIKES:
~Anton
~pastries, especially danishes
~fruit, especially blueberries
~grape leaves
~the library
~crosswords
~anime (she loves the art style)
~her cellphone
~anonymity
~match 3 games, mahjong matching games
~high fantasy rpgs, including a couple MMOs
~rain
~the ocean
~spiders (but not the really big ones)
~horses, especially hers
~wildlife
~ferns and ivy
~fall leaves
~photography
~sketching
~climbing trees
~hoodies
~bellbottoms

DISLIKES:
~people
~crowds
~blood
~the dark
~fireworks
~fresh laundry
~centipedes
~dating sim games, dressup games
~her given name
~people who call her by her given name
~people who want her to act all proper
~people who try to cut her hair or pin it back from her face
~people mocking Anton
~any clothing in Luxèmi blue
~flowers, especially white ones

_{B I O G R A P H Y}

---

Born the daughter of a younger son's younger son, Edelessa escaped the slaughter of the revolution through sheer luck. She had snuck off to visit a friend and ended up spending the critical hours in a cart full of sheets that needed washing. To this day she cannot stand the smell of a laundromat. She survived off canned goods from the kitchens until she was found by the Athenian team sent to help rebuild. Her eyes and the fact that she'd not gone anywhere were a good indication of her pre-revolution status, and her identity was later confirmed. With most of the ruling family dead -- including all of her immediate kin -- and the Senate in shambles, Athens was deemed the best place for the traumatized girl, now a freshly minted crown princess.

Edelessa wanted nothing to do with any of it. She was terrified of crowds, of blood, of the dark, of anyone and everyone. She refused to eat at proper meals, shut herself in the bathroom rather than sleeping in her bed, and wouldn't talk to anyone. She set about finding the best ways to slip away from her minders and made liberal use of all of them. Many of the servants tasked with caring for her viewed her with pity, the exiled princess who jumped at her own shadow. Some were genuinely kind, hoping to make her feel more at home.

In the end it was the young prince who finally got through to the girl, and over the months and years that followed the two became very close. Anton introduced her to horseback riding, and he bought her the first proper camera she ever owned (she still has it). He was the one to proposed the idea of online courses when the princess had to be dragged to lessons.

Discovery of the internet was immensely liberating for Valentine. Online she could be anyone, not an exiled noble shoved into a role that didn't suit her and that was never meant to be hers. Besides, what government remained in Luxième had little power and it's become increasingly evident that she will be at most a figurehead unless she puts serious effort into changing things -- an effort she has no interest in making.

Four years ago she and her "big brother" discovered that the plan was for the pair to be married once Valentine was old enough. She was absolutely horrified at the idea, and the first serious interest she's shown in statecraft has all been directed at finding a solution that she can live with. She has no interest in marriage, no interest even in ruling, but she's made little progress. She hopes that this business in Aciras means that Anton will be marrying someone else, and she'll be left in peace.

_{OT H E R I N F O R M A T I O N}

---

MUSIC:
"Blue Eyes" by Within Temptation
"Behind Blue Eyes" covered by Within Temptation (originally by the Who)

Additional Imagery

SCREENNAMES: Shattershard (rpgs), Kintsukuroi (aesthetics), KintsugiKitty (linked accounts, "her"), FoilAndFoliage (nature photography), CurlicueQuiet (aesthetics and forums), PieceOfMind (generic forum things), Horsefeathers (specifically animals)

~Valentine has two horses, an older Andalusian blue roan gelding that's almost as old as she is by the name of Balios, and a younger Kinsky palomino mare called Chloé, given to her as a filly.
~multilingual

Luxième

_{B A S I C S}

---

Country: Luxième
Capital: Lumèrie
Current Ruler(s): none at the moment (deceased). Officially the kingdom is run by their Senate and a special advisory council of Athenians; in reality it's pretty much under control of the Athenian government.
Current Heir: her royal highness the Crown Princess Edelessa Blanchefluer is heir apparent, to be coronated once she comes of age
Kingdom Colors: sky blue and silver (represented by white on their flag)
Known For: wine and vineyards, excellent local cuisine, silk and related textiles, artisan crafts, complaining, protests, bloody revolution

_{H I S T O R Y A N D C U L T U R E}

---

Luxième is a tiny country just inland of the Athenian coast. While rich in natural resources they have always been too small to do a great deal with mining and factory production, and so focused more on grape and silkworm cultivation. Blessed with weather suited for farming, if not a great deal of actual land on which to farm, they rely on lucrative exports for profit and imported produce to supplement insufficient food production of their own, and a bad harvest can mean a difficult year for the whole country. As a result, farming techniques that maximize stable output are a main focus for research funded by the government and private institutions alike. The Luxèmi are aware that they cannot overfarm despite the short-term gains, and monitor their soils carefully. Not only can overfarming be harmful, but the perfect bottle of wine requires the perfect nutrient balance in the soil.

Four centuries ago Trèlins split off more or less peacefully, citing the difficulties of crossing the mountains and a history of inadequate attention since the lands were ceded to the Lux clan as the dowry of the chieftain's daughter that married the Lux chief to cement an alliance. The clan she came from was eventually absorbed into other forming nations, but the Trèlins territory remained with what would become Luxième. The Luxèmi king of the time was dealing with a round of bad harvests and could not support a war across the mountains. In a bold diplomatic move he agreed to grant the territory its independence under the rule of the current royal governor, a man he knew and respected. In exchange, Trèlins sent a one-time tribute and came to future negotiations on equal footing. It turned out that respected equals are much more open to requests than bitter subjects, and the two nations have been allies ever since.

Luxième has always been tumultuous, but nobody thought the tradition of highly-vocal protest and the occasional small riot would ever turn truly nasty. However, after several poor harvests in a row and with economic tensions due to global events as well, a serious revolutionary core gathered enough support to make a move. First they incited a riot during a major event at the castle. A handful of sleeper agents already in place started the massacre inside, and the resulting chaos did most of the rest, along with a few strategically placed explosives. Another team took care of the designated survivor and his family elsewhere at the same time. During the emergency senate meeting that followed, a small moving truck full of explosives took out a significant portion of the Senate.

The Athenian Federation stepped in and imposed order on what had turned into anarchy in the capital city of Lumèrie. Most of the core group were brought to justice over the following years, having gone to ground when they could not quell the riots on their own. But even before that, when a little girl with eyes of Blanchefleur blue turned up in the castle ruins, the Athenians put enough pressure on the remaining members of the Senate that she was sent to the Federation. They have more or less annexed Luxième at this point, and the Senate holds little power.

The original plan was to marry the princess into the Athenian royal family, but as the harvests improved and the remaining core members were brought down or chased out of the country, most of the nation did not much mind Athenian governance. Yes, there's a great deal of discussion about how they should go about being represented, but it's a matter of details more than direction. The princess has had little to do with her public and is mostly seen as a tragic figure but not a leader -- though she is adored all the same, and expected to return to the palace eventually. So long as they have good harvests and a government to complain about it doesn't seem to matter so much what the government is, though there's been a lot of resistance to dissolving the nation of Luxième entirely. The white flowers still fly proudly on their sky blue fields atop flagpoles across the country.

_{OT H E R I N F O R M A T I O N}

---

~The fleur-de-lis is a symbol of the country, and a white one that of the Luxèmi royal family (the Blanchefleurs).

~Only members of the royal family may carry the Blanchefleur name. The king's spouse may use it, but the spouses and children of princes and princesses may not. Generally the wife and children of a Blanchefleur prince take the name D'Argent, indicating that they are of a cadet branch of the family.

~Many of the Blanchefleurs (and a number of the Luxèmi high nobility) have bright blue eyes. This is seen as both highly desirable and indicative of noble status. Not all of them do, particularly when there is a dark-eyed spouse, but there are even fewer "common blue" eyes among the Blanchefleurs and the D'Argents than there are non-blue. As a result, there's a saying that "the bluer the eyes, the bluer the blood".

~Luxième is closely allied with both Trèlins across the mountains and the Athenian Federation on their coastward side. The Athenians are seen as good trade partners with a respectable military. The Trèlinians are viewed as supportive and amicable, although the running joke is that they're good people but not ones you want living in your house. There is some rivalry between Trèlins and Luxième but it has always been a friendly one.

---

Rhia of Wales

_{"I do what I must, but that doesn't mean I can't have any fun."}

_{B A S I C S}

---

Name: Rhiannon Heledd Cadfael
Nicknames: Rhia
Title: crown princess and heir to the throne
Age: 21 years old (nearly 22; her birthday is July 20th)
Gender: female
Sexuality: pansexual with a preference for ladies
Betrothed to: no one yet (but soon)

_{A P P E A R A N C E}

---

Rhia has lively brown eyes, a generous (though faint) sprinkling of freckles across her cheekbones, and skin that looks great without any makeup whatsoever. Her wide nose, full lips, and darker complexion she owes entirely to her mother, but also some of her hair difficulties. She has a curly mane of rusty brown that takes a considerable amount of effort to look after, and as a result she usually cuts it once it gets past shoulder-length. She's not really fond of hats or hairpins, but she does like headbands. That's about the limit of what she can get to work, as her hair doesn't straighten well and she can't stand the work it takes to comb out her mane and put it in lots of little braids. She's a curvy young lady, 5'6 in flats (but she likes heels of all kinds) with a fondness for bold and colorful clothing patterns. She likes skirts even for casual wear as often as not, and loves tops that show off her shoulders. Her taste in jewelry runs from chunky modern pieces to woven metal designs, and she's especially fond of animal themes or things that are just plain silly.

_{P E R S O N A L I T Y}

---

Rhiannon is generally level-headed, though she can have a bit of a temper. She is equal parts girly and sporty, and has learned to handle the media presence in her life by mostly ignoring it. It's frustrating, but just a fact of life. She prefers casual gatherings to stiffly formal functions, though formal events not hosted by the government tend to be more relaxed, and thus more enjoyable. She's learned to handle even the most snobbish ones with patient equanimity, as befits a future queen, and knows how to talk without saying much of anything when she needs to. While she's trained to keep a regal reserve in public, Rhia is openly emotive in nature and prefers to be honest with her feelings and direct with her words. She enjoys the privilege afforded by her position and tries to keep it from weighing her down. She's independently-minded, and while she understands her obligations she also wants a chance at a "normal" life, or as close to it as she can get. She's not particularly fond of politics, and is perversely glad that her parents are young enough that she probably won't need to worry about inheriting for many years yet.

_{L I K E S & D I S L I K E S}

---

LIKES:
music, especially classical, folk, blues, and older rock
folk dances of all kinds
sports, especially archery, cricket, and football (soccer)
thrift stores
shoes
earrings
whimsical jewelry
turquoise (color and stone)
bold patterns
bonfires
fireflies
birds, especially raptors
long showers
fresh fruit
bean sprouts
noodles

DISLIKES:
muggy summers
formal dances
nail polish
rugby
long airplane flights
jet lag
excessive profanity
reporters that try to invade her privacy
designer brands that charge just for the label
skinny jeans
brussel sprouts

_{B I O G R A P H Y}

---

Pedr and Simone were an arranged match, the heir to the throne of Wales and a member of the extended Aciran royal family. Rhiannon is the eldest of three children, though the twins are younger than she by almost eight years. Her parents had her at 19 despite precautions, and then delayed having additional kids until after Queen Generys was pronounced in remission after being diagnosed with cancer. Rhia was too young to understand most of what was going on at the time, and she has many wonderful memories of her grandmother, with whom she had a close relationship. Queen Generys passed away when Rhia was fifteen, and the young princess took it hard, especially between her parents ascending to the throne and media coverage. She had a few extremely rough years where she threw herself into various wild and rebellious activities, though nothing so outlandish as to cause serious backlash. She dyed her hair black and shaved half of it off at one point, and she got a couple piercings. She's let her nose and eyebrow piercings close, as well as the second earlobe piercings, but she's kept the ones in the cartilage of her ears. It was during this period of her life where she discovered that she really prefers women over men, though she's not disinterested in the latter.

Unfortunately she's always known that she'd have to marry for politics, not love, and while she's had a few short relationships Rhia is mostly resigned to her duty as the crown princess, though she managed to convince her parents to delay the process a few years. They're all looking to find a match that looked both useful and tolerable. Rhiannon has a hand in the selection, in exchange for taking on a few minor duties at court, and she vetoed a few options for personality reasons. She knows that she won't find a perfect match, but she's looking for someone with a less formal side that she can work with, from a stable country that provides some benefit to Wales and the greater Britannian Empire.

_{OT H E R I N F O R M A T I O N}

---

~Simone Tiffany Lynton is first cousin to the current Aciran queen, via her father (a younger prince). This means Rhia and the Aciran princesses are cousins as well, and they have done some visiting back and forth.
~She's also related by way of her grandmother Generys's younger brother Pryce to the Reverans, though she's not talked to them as much the past few years.
~Rhia has two younger brothers, Emry and Harri, who are nearly 14.
~She plays harp, piano, and guitar, and also sings a little

Wales

_{B A S I C S}

---

Country: Wales (part of the Brittanian Empire)
Capital: Cardiff
Current Ruler(s): King Pedr Ithel Cadfael and Queen Consort Simone
Current Heir: Crown Princess Rhiannon
Kingdom Colors: green(s) and gold
Known For: sheep farming, fish, shellfish, beautiful landscapes, historical sites, vine and interlace motifs

_{H I S T O R Y A N D C U L T U R E}

---

Conquered by Britannia eight to nine hundred years ago, and has been a vassal nation ever since. Wales is not particularly large, and it was easier to let Britannia handle the majority of military matters with mainland nations instead of trying to win independence again (though they didn't realize that right away). They have a lot of agriculture, though it tends to be animal farming rather than food crops.

_{OT H E R I N F O R M A T I O N}

---

~The previous ruler of Wales, the beloved Queen Generys Olwena Cadfael, died of complications from cancer six years ago, a year shy of 60. Her husband died (or was possibly assassinated) early in her reign.
~Wales has ties to many countries in the Brittanian Empire, as well as direct ties to Aciras and Revera.

---

Johnathan "Sparks" Quinn, from Aciras

_{"Have you tried turning it off and back on again?"}

_{B A S I C S}

---

Name: Johnathan Quinn
Nicknames: Sparks, John
Title: none
Age: 21
Gender: male
Sexuality: gay

_{A P P E A R A N C E}

---

John is not a subtle man. Though of average height, his spiked, sky blue hair guarantees he stands out among the Aciran castle staff. He could probably do to lose a little weight, but he keeps himself in good shape. He has light brown eyes, a squarish jaw, and an easy smile. His natural hair color is blond, but he greatly prefers to keep it dyed blue, or occasionally another bright color. His taste in clothing runs to jeans and graphic tees, but he looks pretty good in a suit when he has to wear one. He doesn't have any piercings, but will occasionally wear a single screwback earring, or an ear cuff.

_{P E R S O N A L I T Y}

---

John is an easy-going man with a good sense of humor. He falls a bit on the nerdy side -- oh who are we kidding, he's a total nerd, but he's also a geek, and geeks are in. He loves hearing about a good prank, though he's too polite to actually play any himself. He's used to dealing with royalty, as he grew up in the serving rooms of the Aciran palace. He's quite clever but puts his intelligence to good use behind the scenes, and doesn't seem to have much desire for the spotlight -- despite his hair color.

_{L I K E S & D I S L I K E S}

---

LIKES:
computers
coding
robotics
AI
vidya
interactive fiction
memes
electronics in general
the color blue
Firefly (huge browncoat)
anime
puns
NotAlwaysRight
ThinkGeek
reptiles, especially lizards

DISLIKES:
people with no sense of humor
having to wear a tie
people who don't get technology
people who think they know what they're doing when they clearly don't
cabbage
people who play their music super loud in public areas
moths

_{B I O G R A P H Y}

---

John is the child of two palace servitors, and had an easy time of it growing up. He graduated college with honors and a degree in math&computer science, and went straight into the tech field. Robotics is his hobby, but his actual job is palace IT, helping make things run smoothly. He runs a tumblr blog that mixes fantasy and tech, called Technical Wizardry, and occasionally dabbles in interactive fiction with a couple friends.

_{OT H E R I N F O R M A T I O N}

---

imagery

---

Ianos Clerides from the Athenian Federation (NPC)

Name: Ianos Clerides
Age: 42
Gender: male

Bio: Ianos is the personal manservant of Andronikos Telesphorides, which also means he helps look after Valentine a good bit of the time. He is the very soul of discretion, and does his best to look after his charge(s).

When Royalty Collides (#YIKES)

@alexfangtalon is Konigreich still trying to take over the world?

When Royalty Collides (#YIKES)-Interest Check

(ignore this derp)