O'Ways Family

Family Coat of Arms

The Family Values are: Honour, Service, Truth.

                                               "Bene Agere Et Nil Temere"

Family History

A common family, they referred to themselves as 'Seekers' as they saw life itself as a way to seek the Truth in all things. They revered the Great Dragon, a creature they consider to be a manifestation of wisdom, knowledge and courage. To them, the Dragon represented all those capacities of human nature that can elevate the mind and soul to the highest levels, bringing wisdom, compassion and light into the world but can also bring them down to the deepest ignorance, cruelty and darkness.

When the last days of Drachenwald were afoot, some of the family were caught up in clashes with take-over forces and were killed. With Only Kay, Micha and Megistos left alive, the latter sent his two sisters to the north, to find a new home for the family. They never made it there as they were ambushed during this journey. Megistos occupied a nobleman's estate that had fled Drachenwald, and the family was recognised amongst the Noble classes of the Cagilan Empire. Megistos returned to studies and published several tomes on the nature of matter and the immaterial.

Several years on, Megistos had gotten in touch with a young man that lived with his brother in the woods. He had never lived amongst men, therefore the boy did not even speak English. He was able to communicate with anything around him through some kind of universal language. Intrigued, Megistos took the boy home with him and started with teaching him to speak. The boy learned fast and was very eager to, so Megistos kept on instructing him, until the young man could be considered some kind of scholar through his knowledge and wit. He had a natural gift for mathematics, physics and logic. Megistos decided to adopt him officially, to be his heir to the family seat.

When Cullen came of age, Megistos disclosed the entire family's history, including the macabre faith his sisters had suffered. But now he also revealed that in Kay and Micha's company were also their two young daughters, Deirdre and Siobhan, and where his sister's bodies had been found months after they had disappeared in the Alaise mountains, there had never been any sign of his nieces. Cullen swore to find them and became a Knight of Alatol at the age of 17.

He soon had tracked one of them, Deirdre, back to Hidale. The two young girls, age 8 at the time, had been taken by the bandits that had raided the coach in Alaise to be sold as slaves in territories overseas. One of them seemed to have been more a burden than an asset to them and they dumped Deirdre at a pharmacist's practice in Hidale. There, she had learned about healing and surgery, and she could be considered a healer by her own right. When Cullen passed through the region he immediately recognised the strong-willed redhead to be his foster-father's niece. She immediately travelled to Alatol and was accepted by Megistos as his own daughter, therefore granting her equal position in the family to Cullen.

The family’s values are Honour, Service and Truth. Honour as a form of self-respect and of others, accepting that differences between people and all things are actually there to enrich the experience of life and make it an enriching voyage, and also as a statement that every person is as valuable as anyone else. Service, for those who hold knowledge and wisdom have the sacred duty to share them with all who are worthy. Truth, as the one, incomprehensible reality, that brings both fact and speculation, empirical evidence and intuitive self-interrogation together into a sustainable theory of life and beyond.

Siobhan

Avalon, Beluaterra

Druid Priestess of 'The Order Of The Druids'.

Cullen was never able to track Siobhan's steps beyond Calis harbour, where she had been sold, but no clues where left what had become of her. Word from her came years later, when the sea captain she had been sold to years before disclosed her true origins to her as he lay dying, asking her to forgive him. He had always led the girl to believe she was his own daughter. It is very unlikely she did forgive him, as unlikely as him dying of natural causes.

She grew up at sea, which has naturally had it's impact on her personality. It was a hard life in the merchant fleet, surrounded by not always the most sophisticated company, most of the men she met in her young life were naturally sailors and merchants. She was taught to read by the ship’s cook, a former scribe to a noble of Ash Sea Islands who had fallen from grace. He was her best friend during her younger years and was eventually killed in a bar fight in Wayburg by a sailor from Fontan. This motivated Siobhan to learn how to handle a knife, in order to defend herself against those with less ‘honourable’ intentions. Due to her good looks, sharp wit and – knife she became known, or rather, notorious, in the maritime community. She loves the sea and the freedom it provided but her interests in spirituality were always bound to lead her to a life of religious service, but she found monastery walls way too limiting for her.

She got in touch with Megistos from Light of Fountain, where the ship had landed on the eve of the Captain’s death. After a while Megistos sent her some gold for her upkeep and explained the family values of Honour, Service and Truth.

Dark, curly hair and blue eyes, a face one who has laid eyes on it will never forget. Like her cousin Deirdre, in bond her sister, she has a striking appearance and astonishes many that a young woman of this elegance could be such a hard worker. She became a troopleader of Light Of Fountain for a short while after she recieved her letters of nobility, she soon found more fullfilment in serving the people by preaching and comfort. After political disagreement, she and her best friend Kara Dairinn, also of Atamaran descent, both emigrated to Beluaterra. Siobhan then ventured off overseas to the Land Of The Standing Stones to study at the mistery-school led by Guillaume, where she studied the Arcane Arts, the Sciences Of The Skies, the Book Of The Gods and the ancient lore of Magic, shape-shifting and energetic domination. When she felt ready, she travelled to Avalon and after a brief period commanding infantry she decided to join the Order Of The Druids and carry on her mission of spreading the words of the Gods. Her main focus is therefore Service.

She has contempt for politics, although she often gets caught up in the middle of it as one of the voices of the Order of the Druids. Her convictions tend to lead her into conflict with politicians, because of her non-compromising nature. To her, doctrine is and ever-moving thing, subject to constant re-evaluation but immune to the needs of diplomacy.

Commands

Siobhan commanded the "3rd Alatol Dragonclaws", an infantry unit, in Light of Fountain but after she left the East Continent she wanted to start on a new slate and renamed the unit "7th Alatol Dragonclaws". After a couple of skirmishes and a foreign mission in aide of Avalon's allies she ended her military carreer.

Cynon

Avalon, Beluaterra

Druid Assassin of the Order of the Druids

Cynon is Cullen's natural brother, very much like him but also very much unlike him. He is not a noble of the family, but has emigrated to Beluaterra to live the adventurers' life in order to protect his brother from any accusations concerning his descent or birthright. He tries to be an asset to his new home and he is an avid hunter of undead and monsters, especially in the County of Sheja, where he also takes care of a Druid Grove. He is also an expert on gems and stones. If he and his dog Amaroque are not out hunting or on merchant business he is usually found at the 'Dark Dog', one of the more 'colourfull' inns the County has to offer.

During the monster invasion of Sheja, Cynon was imprisoned by the monster leader named Drool while guarding the Druid Circle. His friend Sandryana, also imprisoned was executed, so Cynon escaped to report of the monsters' acts. Siobhan pleaded with him to stay in Cteduul, but instead he headed for Sheja and his Druid Circle, only to be captured again. It is rumoured he severely insulted the monsters' Judge before being executed and that he sang the Alatolian County anthem before he died. His head was placed on a stake on the battlefield when the Avalonian troops attacked the monster army there, which inspired Chancellor Scarlett to load a catapult with monster-limbs and firing it at them, yelling "Drool, two can play at that game!"

It never became clear why Cynon chose to go back to Sheja. Was it his sense of duty to the Order of the Druids, his love for the County, or of the Countess Elzebeth herself? We will never know.

He died with honour and was adopted into the O'Ways family posthume.

Hamish

Cathay, Far East

Commander of the 13th Alatol Dragonclaws.

After a couple of years, Donovan, Megistos' Estate Keeper, recruited a young orphan to replace his son, who had been killed during the short but murderous invasion by Abbington forces in early 2007. The boy's father had been killed in that same attack on the County, and for a short while he served the family as stable-boy and gardener. Soon, Megistos discovered him to be able with the sword and that his wits were just as keen. He held a family Council where it was agreed that Hamish was to be adopted into the family, thereby granted nobility. He was put in charge of the 16th Alatol Dragonclaws, volunteers who escorted him to the Colonies realm of Giblot, where he staid for a few months, but due to lack of orders and action, he chose to emigrate again. He chose the newly formed realm Cathay as his new home and became a Knight of Leod. He volunteered for the Kingdom's first foreign military operation, a sortie into Ethalian lands to break the Arcaean siege of Larmebsi. He was almost killed at the subsequent counter-attack, where he shot down a former Marshall of the Cagilan Empire that now served with the Arcaean forces and as the fortunes of war decided, attacked his sector of the line. He has become more and more attached to the Kingdom and it is becoming ever less likely he will ever return to Atamara.

He is a tall man with dark hair and light eyes, very straightforward and even more outspoken than Cullen is. His values are his only doctrine and he will defend them with his life. With Deirdre he shares the love of battle.

Units:

13th Leod Dragonclaws

Credits

OOC: A big thanks to my lovely wife Kelly for the great shield.