A Character and Idea Graveyard. Necromancers Welcome
Neriwyr
Neriwyr is a group RP created by the amazing writer and friendly Dragon, Seniade. it's a very low magic Medieval fantasy RP set in an original setting, the world of Valyn. The RP and world have expanded far beyond what any of the players or GM had ever dared expect and hope for, and these characters will not be joining the Graveyard any time soon, if ever.
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Three countries share a continent surrounding a large central lake, and though they've avoided war with each other for some time, that hasn't prevented conflict with the wildmen who reside on the borders, and the recent Civil War that tore apart the country of Neriwyr. The majority of the RP thus far has taken place in Neriwyr and its capital city, as people who had flocked there for the annual festival are now making preparations for their beloved queen's funeral.
Katenka Markstone, Magic's Anathema
Full Name: Unknown
Nicknames/Alias: Katenka Markstone, The Witch-hunter
Gender: female
Age: 26, though she can only narrow it down to between 23 and 27
Marital Status: Single
Katenka stands tall at 5ft 9, and is built like a dancer, with lean well toned muscles and very little fat. she's built for endurance, not strength, and can appear to be very graceful, as she is always covered from head to toe in fabrics, leathers, armor and weapons. her hair is an icy platinum blonde, almost white. her adoptive father told her that when he first found her, she had dark hair, though trauma caused her to go prematurely grayish at an incredibly young age. it hangs down to her waist if let loose but is more often wound into a tight braid to keep it out of her way, pinned to her scalp or left down her back. her eyes are pale blue, with about as much warmth in them as a glacial lake, though there are one or two people who have seen kindness and even joy in those steely eyes. she's very tanned, as she spends a lot of her time outside in the sun, even when not wearing her armor.
She's covered in scars, not that anyone ever gets the chance to see them. a mixture of animal claws from a wolf or bear on her legs, two nasty sword wounds on her left hip and shoulder blade, and burns on her lower legs and right arms. but the worst of her scars, the ones she covers up because of, are stretched and old, earned when she was much smaller. she has matching scars on her upper arms, wrists, ankles, throat and thighs from where someone left rope bound around her for several days, tied so tight that it wore away the skin and left ragged imprints of the rough pattern of the style of braid the chord had been constructed with. she also bears down her arms, her spine, up both legs, across her stomach, and in a curved arch across her collar bone stretching from shoulder to shoulder, the faded remnants of an ancient runic script, cut deep into her skin when it was young and tender, wounds that never seemed to properly heal and leaving brutal scars that will never fade.
Likes:
* The Great Outdoors – Katenka is far more at home sleeping out under the stars than in a building. She loves the freedom of the outdoors and the wide openness of it.
* Making Jewelry – Katenka has attempted a few non violent hobbies, but none piqued her intrest like jewelry making. She's always on the lookout for interesting little baubles, stones, or carved pieces of wood she can wrap with silver wire.
* Watching Children – Katenka enjoys the innocence and happiness of children. Its something that motivates her, reminds her why she does what she does.
* Her Crossbows – Katenka's hand crossbows are special to her. Though various pieces have been repaired and replaced over the years, she's had the same one since she was a young girl. The second one was crafted to be a replica of the first, though Katenka can tell them apart from the wear patterns.
Dislikes:
* Cities - Katenka understands the necessity of cities and towns, but likes avoiding them. She can never sleep in a city. Too many people near by
* Magic - while there are few who actually like magic, Katenka holds a venomous hatred for it, and anyone who dares practice such rituals. She hunts such people with extreme prejudice.
* Harming kids – Katenka does not tolerate anyone who harms children. She has nothing against physical discipline like spankings, but abuse or killing kids is one of the easiest ways to end up dead.
In the north of Neriwyr, in the back woods, it was not uncommon for people who lived apart from the other settlements to not be seen for weeks or months, but with winter approaching there were always those who still didn't show. Eventually, someone would go check in on them, only to find an entire family gone. In one such case, a child was taken by the residents of the wild. She was bound, and when she escaped, beaten and bound again, tighter this time. When she fought back and bit, tighter still and harsher beatings. But they did not kill the young girl. They needed her.
Eight days later, the child's limbs and throat rubbed raw from the coarse rope they'd bound her with, she was dragged into the center of a large group of people. The screaming, singing and dancing were overwhelming, the drums drowning out most of the other sounds. Cut loose for a moment and dragged onto her back, legs and arms splayed out, the child stared up at the stars, clearly visible in the night sky. Even years later, the most vivid part of that horrific night would be the sight of those stars. A knife was raised above her chest as the screams and drums hit their crescendo.
What came next was a cacophony of screams and blood. When the child was cut free, she growled, punching and clawing, shrieking angrily before biting the bare part of the arm that was not covered in leather armor. A blow to the head ended her fighting, the blood stained ground the last thing she saw.
Garruk Markstone had been tracking this particular group of wild men for two weeks. Determined to locate their leaders, the ones who held the knowledge of the ritual that was being performed. He'd stayed nearby, planning and watching. The leaders arrived, and with them, their sacrifice. It always broke his heart to see a child so young dragged in. he did not have much time to strike, and he was only one man. He needed to wait until everyone was enthralled. When the dagger was raised, he struck with vehemence, slaying five of the eight men who stood in the center. Every stroke of his blade held purpose, and no energy was wasted. Even the ones that seemed to miss held purpose, as he cut the child free and grabbed her, fleeing the scene before the wild men could recover.
He had not been expecting the child to put up a fight, let alone bite him so hard that her teeth stained red with his blood. As much as he hated it, the only way to escape alive was to render the spirited lass unconscious. He brought her back to the nearest village, but no one recognized her. This only pleased him in the end, as part of him admired the child's fierceness. Any other child would have screamed and cried, petrified by fear. But she was a fighter, and the way he saw it, had been delivered to him for a reason.
“well aren't you a Cantankerous little Shite?”
but it was too much of a mouthful for a name, so he called her Katenka. As argumentative and uncooperative a child she was, he found it too easy to hone that into something more. Her stubborn nature became a well of determination and inner strength, her force of will so strong that even he found it hard to temper the steel she was made of. He chose to raise the girl as his own, teaching her the skills she would need to remain by his side. Survival skills in addition to weapon skills. Proper maintenance of her gear, discipline and patience.
"Father says it's equally important to know how to take care of your weapon as it is to fire it."
He taught her the teachings of Mithras, bringing her to the temples that dotted the land. She met priests and swordsmen alike, but understood that she and her father were different from them. They were beholden to no one, but protected their country from a threat that others failed to see or understand. Despite their prey being the practitioners of magic, he was always quick to remind her that this was not revenge.
"Never forget your past, child, and certainly never be ashamed of it. it's what made you who you are. but don't dwell on it, don't be tied down by it. or you will never be able to move forwards."
Katenka, like her father, was a devout follower of Mithras. As she grew older and more skilled, he began taking her on missions with him, letting her take the front seat on some of their investigations. He wanted her to learn the right way to go about their job. Unlike others who undertook this sacred duty, Katenka and Garrok took the approach of trying to disprove such accusations, only accepting that magic was involved when they had concrete proof, or once they had exhausted every other possible option. In the time of her training, they only encountered one case that was found to be actual Magic.
For the most part, even as she grew into an adult, Katenka and her father did various odd jobs. Their true profession was not one that paid, and in order to eat, they took on Mercenary work. When they wanted to be alone, Garruk took his daughter back to the place he'd always considered his sanctuary. If there was anywhere in the world that the two of them would truly call home, it was the town of Redwater. Even after Katenka became his partner and the two began investigating more dangerous threats and locales, the two often returned here to find a bit of peace in their lives. It was after particularly harrowing missions that they spent a longer amount of time recovering here, more mentally than physically.
The fourth time Katenka encountered actual Magic, she and Garruk had split up, unable to cover enough ground together. It was Katenka who found them, and used the bird call they'd mastered to alert each other when out of sight. But backup would not arrive fast enough. Katenka attacked in an effort to stall them, but as an effort to seal the deal and give up their own lives so that the ritual would be complete, the pyre was lit. the girl's screams as the fire surrounded her burned their way into the huntress's mind. The instant she had an opening, Katenka took it, diving into the blaze itself to rip the girl free. She escaped with severe burns on her lower legs and the arm that had encircled the girl. But as Garruk finished off the Coven, Katenka discovered their efforts had been in vain. They'd prevented the ritual, but the twelve year old girl died in the woman's arms.
For the first time since he'd found her, Garruk left Katenka for a few months. Their failure to save the child had shaken his daughter to the core, but some of the men who had done this had gotten away. Knowing that Katenka needed time to process what had happened, he left her in Redwater and continued on his own. Katenka joined forces with the Soldiers stationed at the Garrison, unable to sit still and take some time like Garruk had ordered. She spent her time doing scouting missions for them, and the long multi-day treks gave her time to think and process what had happened. When Garruk returned, she left with him again, having learned the most difficult lesson, and one that Garruk could not teach. Accepting the fact that you can't save everyone.
That lesson was driven home upon their return to Redwater. They'd seen the smoke from a ways out, and hastened their return. They were both exhausted from the hard ride, but they pushed on. Stealth had always been one of their strong suits, and here it was a veritable blessing. An anti-Alymer Militia had taken the Citadel by surprise. The Soldiers were holed up, trying to keep what space they had, but the Militia was gaining ground, showing no signs of letting up. To Katenka, these were people she had called friends, people who had helped her through a bad time in her life. And to Garruk, this was his home, the place he came to find peace. It wasn't supposed to turn into a war zone. The two waited until night fell before they began their own assault, stealthily picking off stragglers and weakening their numbers. Catching sight of the two mercenaries, the soldiers pushed back, and the militia was crushed. But not without loss. No one questioned her, or tried to stop her, when Katenka burried Garruk by the lake, beneath the tree he'd always loved.
They had not lead an easy life, and he had long prepared her for this possibility. He'd taught her everything he could to give her the skills to go on without him. He'd always planned to stay in Redwater when he became too old for their hard life, and that was where she left him, right where he'd always wanted to be. Now on her own, Katenka continued his work. She still returned to Redwater, both when she needed to rest and to visit with the man she'd called father. The new Lord of Redwater was skeptical of the mercenary woman at first, but after learning what she and her father did for this town, and what she did as a profession, he offered her the use of the guest rooms whenever she visited, on the grounds that she continue to keep Redwater safe from such otherworldly threats.
In the three years since his death, Katenka has been on an aggressive campaign. She is known in most parts as a ruthless, but honorable mercenary, and to others who know the nature of her profession, she is considered to be one of the best. At present, she was just beginning her return to Redwater when she catches wind of something disturbing...
A History of Pain
Avelina "Sparrow" Chandler, the Lady Songbird
Lady Dame Morana Gabriella Landau, Dunain's Shaddow
Full Name: Avelina Ophelia Chandler
Nicknames/Alias: Sparrow, Birdie, Lady Songbird
Gender: female
Age: 31
Marital Status: Single
Full Name: Morana Gabriella Landau
Full Title: Lady Dame Morana Gabriella Landau, Jewel of the Lowland Forests, Protector of the Eternal Flame, and beloved ward of castle Kimmermost
Gender: female
Age: 27
Marital Status: Sworn Single, though not Chaste
Sparrow is a short woman, standing 5ft 4 on a good day, in shoes, and maybe on tip toe. she has soft and kind Hazel eyes and faded brown hair that is most often found in a messy bun with the occasional braid strung through it thanks to the children she oversees. she's petite, with soft curves, and certainly isn't slender. she has light colored skin, spending most of her time indoors, but she certainly couldn't be considered porcelain. when she does wear jewelry, most of its hand made by the children, or gifts from friends or grateful patrons. She's just as likely to take it off and give it to someone who truly admires it as she is to wear it. when outside, she wears gloves to protect the burn scars on her hands, skin still sensitive after all these years.
Likes:
* Singing and Music – Sparrow has always loved singing. She writes songs for the children, as well as songs for herself, friends, or whatever she's inspired to write about. As part of her upbringing as a little lady, since she wouldn't sit still to learn things like embroidery or flower arranging, her parents allowed her to indulge, learning how to play as many instruments as she could. her favorites are the harp, the flute, and the tambourine.
* Arts and Crafts – Sparrow loves being creative, and not just with music, but mainly she loves watching the children be creative. weather its painting, or sewing quilts, making clay beads for jewelry, or anything along those lines, Sparrow encourages a passion in it. most of the children who grow up in the orphanages become trained craftsmen of some kind, aprenticing when they are old enough.
* Reading – on the rare occasions that Sparrow finds herself alone, she likes to read. her favorites are bardic tales of love, war, and adventure, most of wich she relays to the children at bedtime, leaving out the gorry or detailed romantic bits, naturaly.
* Her Work – Sparrow is very passionate about helping others, and particularly greif counceling or working with children, wich sadly often go hand in hand when it comes to the orphanages. its not entirely autruistic on her part, however. she enjoys feeling needed.
* Gossip – Sparrow gets a sort of perverse pleasure from the gossip she overhears, going out of her way to track it down sometimes. she likes to know things, to be the one guarding secrets or to overhear something she shouldn't.
Dislikes:
* Politics - Sparrow prefers things straightforwards, black and white. she detests the manuverings and fake smiles of the noble class, and in some ways is glad she's out of it.
* Animals- even as pets, sparrow can't stand animals. they're dirty, loud, smelly, and she fails to see what good they serve in people's homes. she's never been fond of riding horses, but can understand why some people would have a guard dog, though a human would be far more effective in her opinion.
* Being Alone – Sparrow has spent most of her life in the company of others. weather she was sleeping in a room with a dozen other acolytes or a chair in the orphans rooms once she became a Deaconess. one would think that she would enjoy her alone time, but to her it feels strange and weird to be alone for longer than a few hours.
Avelia Chandler was born to the Count of Linwood, the region due east of Keldrige Fortress. Linwood Manor was a lively place, with five little nobles running around, as well as the townsfolk. Mavis and Layla had not intended to have any more children, and though they did not mind the newest addition to their family, they simply didn't devote as much time to her as they had their other children. Her eldest sister Rachel was more than happy to step up to the plate, especially as the infant became a toddler. She would take the girl everywhere with her, more like a doll than an actual child. When the girl finally started speaking, people found it quite hard to get her to stop. Avelia seemed almost mesmerized by the sound of her own voice. She would coo and babble even if she couldn't think of actual words to say. Seeing the girl's potential when she finally seemed to notice her youngest child, Layla was quick to hire a voice coach and singing instructor for the girl.
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Though rambunctious and rebellious, the little lady in training would sit still and quiet for hours when working on her voice lessons. Her mother often teased that if all else failed, their little Birdy could always become a bard. The people of the town began to refer to her as the little Lady Sparrow, a name that has stuck well into adulthood. To her parents distress however, the girl would simply not outgrow her contrary nature. She was quick to get dirty, and harder to clean, eager to run away and play with the peasant children rather than mind her studies. Even Rachel had a hard time getting the little girl to cooperate, though she fared far better than her parents.
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When Avelia was ten, her sister married Dominic Cortell and moved to Keldrige to be with her new family. To Sparrow it was like loosing her mother. The child was inconsolable to the point that a deal was struck with the Cortells to allow the little girl to spend a good portion of the year there. But only on the grounds that Sparrow mind herself like a proper lady and cease the foolishness. And surprisingly, it worked. The girl threw herself into her studies, finding a passion for history and the great epics. The girl was always better with art and music, tales of old and language. The two families began to speak at length about a second union between Avelia and Samuel, the younger brother of Dominic coming of age and soon to require a wife as well. It was a courtship that Sparrow may well have agreed to, if given the chance, as it meant being able to remain with her sister. Alas, this was not meant to be.
A Girl, a Lyre, and a Dream forgot
Sparrow was still a rebellious and deviant child, though she was far more careful to conceal her indiscretions. Her spirited personality and care free attitude would have gotten her in trouble far sooner if people had been aware of what the fifteen year old girl was up to. She was brought home early by an escort from house Cortell, who informed her parents of what the girl had been found doing. Her father was livid, as well as embarrassed and horrified that his little girl would dare stoop so low. Sparrow had been caught by the Dutchess Melissa, pleasuring herself with the aid of a low-born serving girl by the name of Samara. The two had been dragged from the linen closet, the serving girl fired and sent home in disgrace, while Sparrow was returned to her father, with the firm affirmation that there would be no marriage to be had between “that sinful creature” and their perfect son.
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The fifteen year old girl was given a choice, much to the pain of her elder sister, who begged all involved to overlook this simple mishap. Sparrow was given the choice of becoming sworn to a temple, and devoting herself to a life of Piety and servitude, or her indiscretions would be revealed, and though it was not said out loud, probably with embellishment. Either way, the girl was to be disowned. They left the choice in her hands weather it was to be public or private. Within a week, the girl arrived in Oakwell Hold, where she was sworn in as an acolyte of Devon.
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It was here that she would remain for the next eight years. A girl of her station suddenly dropping everything and joining a religious order was cause for suspicion, and it took her longer than most to attain priesthood. They were insistent on making sure that she was as devout a follower as she claimed to be. Still, the young woman was determined to prove herself. Beneath her rebel persona lay a kindhearted soul. The temple brought this out in her, playing to the girl's strengths in art and music, as well as her love for reading and history. She worked well with the elderly and dying, who wanted for only a listening ear. The young children too loved her, as she had stories in her repertoire that could hold them in breathless silence. She was a failure at any sort of cooking, something that was kindly overlooked after she suffered severe burns on her arms trying to stop a boiling pot from spilling. When she was twenty three, she was finally accepted as a full priestess, and moved to a hospice just outside the capital.
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Though she had very little direct interaction with the man initially, Nikolai Romanov was keeping an eye on her. His predecessor had denied the girl's application for priesthood on the grounds that she was a spoiled noblewoman who should have to work for what she was given. Nikolai saw how hard the girl worked, and when he became head preist, he was quick to accept. The woman was gifted, and embodied what they wanted in a priest or priestess. She had more than earned her place. He had her transferred near the capital so he could observe her progress. Here she thrived, choosing to introduce herself only as Sparrow, distancing herself from her familial ties. She remained here for a few years, before her administrative skills and level head landed her a spot in the capital itself. Her task here was different, as she would be sent to locations that were having problems and help the establishments get back on their feet. She would also be sent as a councilor into locations that needed one, due to bad winters or illness claiming more lives than usual, or border towns recovering from an attack of some kind. Her gentle nature was a gift in these places, and word made its way back to Nikolai of how grateful the people were for his god's involvement.
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When she was twenty nine, Sparrow returned from an outlying village only to be summoned to the head priest's office. She'd interacted with him peripherally, but usually only with the members of his inner circle. She was more afraid that he'd learned of her activities outside of work than anything else. When dealing with so much pain and death, everyone had different ways of coping. Sparrow found releif in the arms of her fellow countrymen, and women. It was what had cost the woman her family before, and she feared it would cost her the church she'd come to love so much. But what he truly had wanted from her was far different. Sparrow was made the seventh member of his inner circle, answering only to the man himself. Instead of being assigned missions or tasks, she could choose where she went, and where she was needed. It gave her the autonomy to act as she saw fit, because he believed her responsible and devoted enough to know when something was beyond her Authority. She would have the ability to act on his behalf, as the others did, when he was not available. Over the next two years, Sparrow became very close with the man, coming to see him more as a father figure than anything else.
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Current Events:
Sparrow had persuaded the primary orphanage in Alvan to take the children to the horse races. It was a massive undertaking, requiring the bringing in of additional priests and Acolytes to help coral the approximately fifty children. She was in attendance with these children at the races, glad to see the children so exited to be out and about. she couldn't have been prepared for what all in attendance would witness, or that she would now have fifty children in dire need of consolation, having watched their beloved Queen murdered before their eyes.
Most people make the mistake of underestimating the Lady Landau, as she stands at only 5ft 3in. she is light and flexible, like a titanian acrobat, though she's got proper hips and enough meat on her bones to keep her warm in the cold Dunain weather. she's on the paler side, being from the northlands, with multi colored eyes, greener towards the center, with browns and grays around the edges. her dark hair hangs down to her mid back, carefully done up in the latest fashions. She's well dressed and very proper looking, which makes the blades she hides within her clothes all the more impressive.
Morana sports on her back, between her shoulder blades, a unique familial crest, the left side being that of the Landaus, and the right, that of the Ashdowns, showing her Allegiance and the pledge she has taken. She has a few carefully hidden scars. But no other major marks. Her ears are pierced in the style of the other noblewomen. She's careful to keep up appearances, despite her unorthodox position in the palace, though her clothes are always carefully tailored for riding, fighting, and ease of mobility.
Likes:
* Hunting: Morana loves hunting, almost more than the brothers do. Cass has often teased her about looking like an eager puppy whenever the word Hunting gets mentioned. She is a skilled archer, though while out with a larger contingent, she is forced to let the boys do the hunting, keeping up the charade of being their “adoptive” sister.
* The Brothers: Morana loves nothing more than Cassius and Dimitri. She may have been raised to be their shadow, guardian, and companion, or even to lay down her own life for theirs if necessary, but in the end she would do so gladly, as they are the two brothers she’s grown up knowing. Their headmaster and tutor when they were children, though not allowed to physically punish the two princes for behaving out of turn, found it easier to cane the girl, realizing that she would not only endure such to spare them, but they would feel far worse for it than if he had caned either boy.
* Manipulation: Morana enjoys the finer points of manipulation and deception, often weaving an intricate web of lies around herself as easily as breathing. While she attended schooling with the boys, her training went far beyond the simple reading and writing, history and math that they were educated in, and was trained from a young age by some of the kingdom’s most skilled spies, Assassins and diplomats, to help her better understand her role as the prince's shadow.
* Linguistics: having been trained by these people, she developed a taste for codes, languages, and cyphers, often being given them to study and break as assignments, before learning it was more fun to listen in on the thieves around the city and figure out what cryptic things they spoke of. In addition to this, the empire’s former Diplomat to titania was teaching her about how to speak and what to say when to manipulate people. She eventually persuaded him that knowing Titanian would be crucial to her duties, and spent her teen years learning the language. She has several books in titanian that she’s acquired over the years, more for fun and to keep the language fresh in her mind, since there are few who know that she speaks the language fluently.
Dislikes:
* Animals: animals are better judges of character than humans, and pick up on many things that their masters do not. This makes Mora uneasy around them, both because they make her life a hassle when sneaking into places, and because they don't like her, putting people who know better on their guard against her. She’s alright with horses, only once they’ve gotten to know each other, as they make useful tools and eventually will trust her.
* Children: Kids are noisy and don't know when to keep their mouths shut. They are meant to be seen and not heard, and to study diligently and only play when given permission to. She obviously forgets how she and the two princes were as children.
* Neriwyr Cuisine: Mora finds it bland and boring, and not enough meat. She also has no love for cow, chicken, or pig. Those meats are tasteless and boring. She’d rather have hunted meat, or even sheep or goat. Something with a lot of flavor, fat, and meat.
Duty, Honor, and a Dash of Chaos
Had her sister not died as an infant, Morana would have been the third of six children born to the Duke Landau and his wife. The relatively happy couple were pleased to have a daughter, though Denatius had truthfully been hoping for a son. The Landau family had been close friends with the Ashdowns for several generations, standing at their side to help them take power and establish themselves as the reigning monarchs from the very begining. The most sacred of the duties and customs that their family practiced was the offering up of their second born son to the royal family, a child who would be raised along side the Ashdown royal children, with a sworn duty to protect them. A child who would be taught to mask their true purpose, either by existing in the shadows and moving unseen, or by simply appearing as nothing more than a companion, but ready to protect and defend, even willing to give their own life. Denatius’s younger twin brother Dieter had been the one chosen to serve the king, though the three men always remained very close friends.
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As the young girl grew into a toddler, the Dutchess became pregnant again, though she lost the child a few months before she should have given birth. The boy who was never born should have been the child given to the Ashdowns, and was a turning point in Denatius’s mind, as he began to eye his little daughter, a quick and inquisitive child who easily picked up on new skills, in a new light. When his wife gave birth to another daughter a few years later, Denatius made his decision, as the king now had two sons.
On Dimitri’s fifth birthday, the Duke and Dutchess brought their children to court, the lady Anatia privately begging her sister, the queen, to treat the little girl as one of her own. Morana was given over to the royal family in place of a son that Denatius feared he would never have. A girl could serve the purpose of this symbolic gesture of allegiance as well as a boy could, after all, who would suspect a young female companion to the two princes of being their most loyal and fearless guardian and Shadow.
True to her word, the Queen cared for her little niece as though she was one of her own, though strict, she was fair with her children, biological or not. She attended lessons with the boys, and played with them like brothers. Instead of the typical sewing or music lessons that a young woman of nobility would have received however, Morana was taught combat, stealth, and deceit, mostly at the hands of her uncle Dieter and a few others. She was allowed to accompany the boys hunting, as she was sworn to never leave their side, knowing from an early age what her duties were. To most people she would have seemed a very serious young woman, but her brothers knew she was just as much of a sly little troublemaker as the two boys were, often the one who would frame various servants for their antics around the castle, until their headmaster caught on.
As she blossomed into a young woman, she learned to use this to her advantage as well, taking what had been taught to her and developing her on techniques, using her skills and her looks to do what had to be done. By the time she was seventeen, her uncle decided that she had learned enough from him, and that there was little else he could teach her, returning full time to his duties of protecting the king and Queen.
But there were some things that could not be warded against, and when the queen became pregant with her third child, despite her eldest being nearly twenty, things did not go well. In the end, the strain was too much for the woman, and she died giving birth, the child dying soon after. Having loved Rhiannon as a mother, Morana took the queen’s death just as hard as the boys did,furious that there was nothing that could have been done. The midwife responsible for the queen’s care met an unfortunate end in the form of a mugging and stabbing, though the thief was never caught, and the city guards couldn't help but feel that twenty different stab wounds with three different blades was a little excessive for a simple mugging.
Despite being mainly there to guard the crown prince, she serves as shadow to both brothers, and has a bit stronger of a relationship with cass, though is very close with both. She took a small retinue of ten of her biological father’s men to neriwyr, acting as a well off woman of Dunain wanting to attend the festival. She positioned herself in the city itself, where she could sink in her feelers and gauge the general attitude towards the country and the princes. It turned out to be a well placed move after the queen’s assasination, though it had its downsides, as she was unable to do anything but watch as her fellow men and women were cut down, having promised to keep her identity secret. She picked off a few of the rabble who actualy made it up onto the rooftops with her bow, allowing the princes to escape before slinking back into the shadows, cursing their decision to split up.
A few days later, Dimitri came to her to inform her of his and Cass’s decision, and that he was leaving the city. The two of them decided that she would remain behind with Cass, though she did ask Dimitri to order her to do so, feeling conflicted in her duties. A simple plan was hatched to get her inside, using the established story behind her being in the country in the first place. As the Lady Morana Landau, she would go to the palace and inform both the guards and Cass that Dimitri was aware that a family friend was in the city, and had requested that she and her guards remain with his brother, for his protection.