Artemesia Family
House Artemesia
The noble house of Artemesia (pronounced: ar-tay-MES-ee-ah) has its main estate, the Villa d'Artemesia, atop a small hill in Commonyr, a short distance outside the city of Krimml on the East Continent.
Contents
Common Origins
A small family of herbalists once inhabited the northeastern regions of the East Continent. They were called "Wormwood", after a plant of the same name. For generations, they simply made herbal medicines for the townsfolk with whom they lived. This all changed by the seventeenth Wormwood generation. A young and ambitious son was born to the youngest Wormwood male and his wife. He was named Jeherad, and at the time of his birth, a heavy windstorm passed through the village. The elder of the family, who was in attendance at the birth, foretold that this boy would be the winds of change for the Wormwood clan.
Twenty-one years after Jeherad's birth, a passing hero of the land was looking for volunteers for his army. Having long been bored with the life of an herbalist, Jeherad took what little supplies he could carry and joined the noble's growing ranks of militiamen.
Having fought through numerous battles, Jeherad soon distinguished himself as a reliable soldier and an unstoppable survivor. In addition, he bore a striking resemblance to the noble whom he served, a feature that would become useful in future encounters with infiltrators who wished to kill the noble.
After ten years of fighting as one of the noble's men, Jeherad was promoted to captain of the squad, and indeed, after ten years, Jeherad was the only one who had survived since that day the noble called for volunteers. What was more, the noble presented Jeherad with a bright silver medallion, purified and polished such that it glowed white, and forged and shaped into the form of a tree. The noble told Jeherad that it was the family seal of the Artemis family of minor nobles. Jeherad was given the rare honor to become accepted as an adopted brother to the noble, which the commoner, overwhelmed, fell to his knees and eventually accepted.
The story of Jeherad says that he married one of the noble's sisters after he proved himself worthy of nobility. For all intents and purposes, he was no longer Jeherad Wormwood, but Jeherad Artemis. In accordance with his new identity, he changed his name to Jared Artemis, and he had two sons by the names of Nathan and Lorn.
Nathan followed his father as a warrior, and became a hero of the land, whereby he also died a hero of the land. Lorn focused more on the paperwork associated with being a noble. His actions in the background, along with Nathan's valorous deeds in the public eye, cemented the status of the former Wormwoods as nobles.
Alchemical Secrets
Nathan had no children, although he did adopt one of the Wormwood children as his own, to promote the eventual integration of the commoner family with the noble family. It is said that the day Nathan arrived to receive the infant, an earthquake occurred in the distance, but the tremors were felt even in the village. The elder foretold that such an event meant that the boy would grow to someday shake the earth that he would be forced to wander for many years. This newborn, adopted when Nathan was already 40 years of age, was given the name Samael, and, due to the nature of Nathan's military career, the boy was sent to the care of a young couple whose family was associated with the Wormwoods for many generations.
The young man was an alchemist who was the latest in a long line of alchemists. His wife was rumored to be an elf, from the lands further east, but no one ever ascertained the truth of the matter. The two were given the task of raising the young Samael.
Three years later, Lorn and his wife, Micah, had a son as well. They named him Jared, for the child was born on the same day as Lorn's father. At this time, the oldest surviving member of the original Artemis family formally declared that the name be changed to Artemisia, a name that also referred to the Wormwood plant, that also retained the name of the former noble house. The members agreed, but suggested that the spelling be modified slightly to reflect that such an integration had not been completed yet. And indeed, there were still Wormwoods living as peasants and Artemis who refused to associate themselves with those they thought to be vulgar mixes.
Two years after the birth of Jared, the wife of the only child of the noble Artemis family gave birth to a son, whom they named Garret.
Wormwood Line
Descendants of Jeherad Wormwood who married a noblewoman of Artemis.
Generation 1
Samael Artemesia, Born of Common Blood
Chaotic Good
Jared Artemesia, Jeherad's Successor
Lawful Good
Penitent Hero
Neutral Good
During his transition from mercenary fighter to a man of peace in the Far East, Jared read the last mantra that he had transcribed from the White Book of Awakening. The mantras that drove him to a fury and those that made him kill without thought had long been cast away into the winds. Only one last mantra remained, and he used it to seal his violence away, for good. It was then that he decided to pursue the true meaning of the one word that continued to haunt him, thinking that it would be the only thing he would need to care about. Once he found the one answer, he would return to his family, once in many years, and for the last time.
But things changed, and he met Garret's younger brother Zephyros, a brash, loud youth whose nature contrasted sharply with Jared's. Nevertheless, Jared saw that his cousin had the right ideas, and so he decided to follow Zephyros to Asena, where the younger man wanted to seek riches and beautiful women, so that he could serve as Zephyro's moral compass.
Kalen Artemesia, Quiet Thinker
Lawful Good
Generation 2
Mahalo Artemesia, A Poem for the Sky
Chaotic Good
Ramuh Artemesia, the Twenty-First Symbol
Neutral
Ramuh Artemesia, Lonely Anti-hero
Lawful Neutral
Upon immigrating to Beluaterra from the Far East, primarily in search of the power to one day best his cousin Iksandros, Ramuh tried to join Heen. Instead, he was shuttled to the "capital" at Tahgalez, where he became a member of the Netherworld. Since then he has integrated relatively well to the daimons' system, bearing the mark of the daimons, among other things.
Kylen Artemesia, Cheerful Random One
Lawful Good.
She passes out colorful star-shaped cookies to spread the magical power of love and friendship.
Peregrin Artemesia, Very Ordinary Person
Neutral Good
He's ordinary and very normal. He has no distinguishing features, so move on because he is thoroughly nondescript. Even that rebellion was nothing notable. He's dead now, so who cares. Forget about such a boring person.
Patchouli, Spicy Thief
Chaotic Neutral
Maroon Artemesia, Gentleman Thief
Neutral Good
A man who claims to be versed in procuring items at 100% discount. He likes women, whether they be noblewomen or commoners, though he is less likely to talk about the latter.
Artemis Line
Those of the original noble House Artemis that accepted somewhat reluctantly the incorporation of the Wormwood and Arcturus families.
Generation 1
Garret Artemesia, The Azure Stargazer
Lawful Evil
Garret Artemesia, The Mark of Answers
Chaotic Neutral
After his banishment from Ordenstaat, Garret had a long time to reflect on his ways while walking through the blasted wastelands of the darklands. In time, he shed his old ways, relinquished the selfishness, the passions, and the twisted methods he once used to gain equally twisted goals. In the darkness that was the Night, he sought only the answers.
Zephyros Artemesia, the Arrogant Windcaller
Chaotic Neutral
Rujo and Cecilia had another son named Zephyros six years after the birth of Garret. Like his older brother, Zephyros was offered the best of tutors and environments. But he had a tendency to belittle his fellow students when they would perform worse than he, and to protest the unfairness when students performed better than he. This culminated one day into a fight between Zephyros and the child of a much wealthier noble family. Though Zephyros won the scuttle, his parents withdrew all education for him, which put him, still only eleven years old, without any formal means to improve his skill. By this time, Garret had already moved to the Far East, so there would be no help from his brother.
During his time cut off from schooling, Zephyros took up many mischievous acts, stealing food, vandalizing market stalls, switching road signs. Before he was twelve, Zephyros was caught and thrown into prison. His family chose not to bail him out, and for a week the child sat alone in a prison cell in Krimml. When he was released, he begged the guard to let him be a policeman as well, that he saw the error of his ways, and that he would like to learn some useful skills now that he had no education. the guard directed him to his city-run police squad, and within three months Zephyros was accepted into a training program.
As the years progressed, Zephyros managed to become efficient at leading police work, and his naturally loud and prideful nature was unchecked in such an environment. By the time he was twenty, he had acquired a small reputation as the most brazenly arrogant police force leader in his sector of the city patrol. But he felt that there was something missing, and so he left one day without warning to go to the Sultanate of Asena, with the intent to find riches and beautiful women, both of which he enjoyed, as well as that something missing. On the way he met Jared Artemesia, whom he at first saw as a weak and defenseless coward who was afraid of battle. But after some talk, Zephyros learned the story of Jared's past, and he thought that his cousin would be a good resource to learn some things that he never had to opportunity of learning.
Generation 2
Way Artemesia, Service in Honor
Lawful Neutral
As the eldest in the current generation of the Artemis line of pure-blooded nobles, Way volunteered to take the duty of restoring the Artemesia name as worthy of being called nobles. After being shaken in reputation due to actions by members of the family like Ramuh and Garret, who had, in separate places, sided with daimons, as well as Iksandros, who became an outlaw, Peregrin, who initiated a senseless rebellion, Maroon, who bragged about stealing and womanizing, and the more frequent arrival of commoners from the Wormwood family who did not conform to the ways of nobilty, the name of Artemesia had some stains on it. Thus Way decided to become an example of a true noble, who would place the laws and traditions above all else, and have pride in upholding them. It is his intention that through his efforts and example, the Artemesia family would be recognized as capable of producing honorable and respectable nobles.
Rowen Artemesia, Service in Valor
Lawful Good
Rowen is Way's first cousin, and also descends from the pure bloodline of the Artemis family. However, he has closer relations to the Wormwood descendants, especially Kylen and Maroon. He sees the former as his older sister, even though they are not blood related at all. He sees the latter as a trouble-seeking free spirit, but still a goof friend. While Rowen also seeks to restore the Artemesia name, his methods differ from those of the Artemis representative, Way. Unlike the older cousin, Rowen recognizes the importance of familial relationships, and would not be so absolute in following and enforcing the laws and traditions of nobles. He sees battle as necessary to protect those he cares about, even though it requires the slaying of other men, in contrast to Way's perception of battle as a necessary method of enforcing the decisions of his leaders. Regardless of the different methods used, Rowen, like his counterpart in the Far East, seeks the same goal by demonstrating his own virtues.
Arcturus Line
On a trip through the snow-laden fields of his family estate one lonely winter evening, Jared came across a dead mother and her dying son. He saved the boy and took him in to be raised by the Artemesia family in Commonyr. All that remains of the Arcturus family is the seal that the dead woman had on her body.
Generation 1
Iksandros Artemesia, Keeper of the Last Arcturus
Neutral
Iksandros grew up knowing he was adopted from the Arcturus family, but did not let that get in the way of his relationships with his family members of the Artemesia family. Growing up together, he and Ramuh became close as brothers. Ramuh was the livelier one, dedicated to honor and becoming a great hero. Iksandros was the quieter lazy one, who wanted only to sleep all day.
Generation 2
Fred Artemesia, Fried Chicken Salesman
(Tasty) Good Chicken
Apparently Iksandros impregnated some noble lady. Fred likes fried chicken, having a steel bucket full of fried chicken breasts, wings, and thighs, at all times. He pays his soldiers with chicken tokens, which are specially made wooden coins that can be exchanged for fried chicken.
Unknown Line
These are apparently Artemesias, but no one really knows what in the world...
Generation...???
Monkee Artemesia, the Kung Fu Monk(ey)
He looks like a monkey because he's really hairy and has something that looks like a tail but it's not certain whether it works. He also gets drunk and knows kung fu. He is also a monk.
