Dubhaine Family/Etain
| Dubhaine Family | |
| Fame | 40 |
| Wealth | 17575 |
| Home Region | Ashforth |
| Home World | East Continent |
Etymology
Properly translated from the original Fontanese dialect, the name Etain means "passion", "jealousy" giving her full name the meaning "passionate woman of dark countenance".
History
Etain is the only daughter of Naevan, the son of Lady Brigdha Dubhaine and Bedhwyr, and Erfrayj a minor elven noblewoman somehow related to the sprawling Serpentis clan. The Dubhaines trace inheritance matrilineally placing Etain outside the line of inheritance and she was raised at her grandmother's court in Negev, recognised as family and much loved but with her life mapped out for her. She would hold a commission in her grandmother's Toxophilites and serve some knight loyally, marry respectably amongst the lesser nobility, have a daughter or two, then in the fullness of time be knighted or take the cowl.
This was in the days when Negev was the centre of the Flow of the Balance with a renowned monastic school dedicated to the arts, the sciences, the mysteries, and arms. Young Etain excelled in her studies with ease yet for all the training and discipline, the long hours of meditation and reflection, her blood raged against the future set for her. Her parents might be content to live the courtly life but she hungered for adventure. So it was that not long after attaining her majority she resigned her rank and set forth into the wilds to prove her worth not only to her grandmother and the Lords of Shadowdale but more importantly to herself.
Many decades would follow during which Etain earned a reputation as an explorer, a procurer of rare items, a scholar of mysteries, and a hunter of fell beasts. In time she would become a Stalker of the Adventurer's Guild and gain the confidence of Crowned Heads and Dukes, remarked for her discretion. Her commercial acumen and wise investments allowed her to build a substantial fortune, allowing her to live the independent life she had always desired.
Yet eventually Etain would have to accept her destiny as a noble when her grandmother's last act as Shadow Queen was to ennoble her, a single signature changing her life forever. In due course she would rise to become Lady of Viseu, one of the wealthiest towns in all of East Continent, then Cauldron Master of Shadowdale, and following the abdication of Shadow King William she would herself become Shadow Queen.
Appearance
If Etain's parents are night and day, then she is the glorious dawn. The gold threads of elfland weave through the dark forest of Dubhaine tresses, the prominent features of her grand-dames tempered by ancient summers when the world was young and the First War a future memory. Golden irises swirl into pits of deepest black, at one moment filled with ancient knowledge, at the next bubbling with youthful passions. The same lithe, willowy frame is there, but it moves more subtly, the primal power of the predatory great cat sheathed in a harlequin's humorous grace.
Whilst the Curse of Sirion has calmed somewhat the fiery Elven blood Etain inherited from her Serpentis ancestors she still seems as blissfully unaffected by time as her sorcerous grandmother, though to what extent this is natural or imputed only the most learned of the wise can speculate with any certainty. What few signs of aging there are in her face escape all but the most determined inspection and her demeanour is most often that of a young woman in her early twenties, tempered at times by a seriousness at odds with her apparent youth.
Etain's wargear is that of a Toxophilite minus its insignia. The long concave stave of Sirion rosewood strung with spider silk, the black bodkins, the slender stabbing sword and hooked hunting knife, the lantern target shield, the night-black brigandine doublet, the russet coat and hood.
Her dress uniform comprises a sombre maroon military doublet with rank insignia at the collar, and thick hose under long suede boots, black and fastened from top to ankle with delicate jet buttons. A maroon cloak hangs about her shoulders, fastened with a platinum brooch bearing the Dubhaine coat of arms, and a longsword in the elven style rests at her side.
Personality
Whilst Etain lives the life of a common adventurer she's well read - probably more so than most nobles - and pursues a deeper practical understanding of the mysteries. Many rumours are told of the powerful sorceries Lady Brigdha commands and Etain is inspired to seek out such knowledge even at the risk of her life.
Her ancestry has given her a double-dose of passion for life and liberty. Freed from the strictures of her contemplative upbringing she finds pleasure in her vices, though rarely with the malice of the Serpentis nor the seriousness of the Dubhaines.
Etain’s deepest vice is the hunger for knowledge and left to her own devices she would still be a rootless adventurer, an antiquarian wanderer, an explorer of lost tombs and ancient ruins. She has however found solace in her new status as the Matriarch of House Dubhaine, the vast fortunes at her disposal affording the opportunity to enrol at Krimml Academy for the genteel education her studies at the Grey University in Karabala failed to provide. She has also begun the construction of a magnificent library in the town of Viseu, inspired by accounts of her cousin Aibhlidhn’s collection in Ar Agyr.
Unlike her grandmother, Etain is not known for the use of glamours and illusions in her normal course of dealings but as a Knight of the Balance, a warrior guardian of the mysteries of Shadow and Flow, such powers must surely lie within her ken.
As is common with House Dubhaine little is known of Etain’s private life though in recent years she has taken a younger student at the Academy, Dame Peregrine, under her wing and the two women are often seen together socially.
Stats
The following scores are based on anecdotal evidence.
| Class | Age | Honour | Prestige | Money |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | 74 | 30 | 27 | 1493 5000 |
| FAME | ||||
| Reputation | 10 | |||
| Prestige | 22 | |||
| Honour | 2 | |||
| Notoriety | 4 | Outcast | 14 | |
| Wanted | ||||
| Reaver | 1 | |||
| Rebel | ||||
| Skills | 24 | Swordfighting | 44 | |
| Jousting | 31 | |||
| Leadership | 45 | |||
| Trading | 20 | |||
| Bureaucracy | 15 | +10 from unique items | ||
| Oratory | ||||
| Infiltration | 5 | |||
| Adventuring | 29 | |||
| Spellcasting | 26 | +7% from unique items | ||
| Legacy | 21 | Rulership | 28 | |
| Dukedom | 8 | |||
| Lordship | 33 | |||
| Knighthood | 16 | |||
| Combat | ||||
| Wealth | 28 | Possessions | 40 | |
| Trader | 16 |
Unique Items
| Item | Type | Condition | Prestige | Bonus | Acquired | Lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White Earrings of the Ancients | Accessory | 66% | +9 | +7% Spellcasting | 02.02.1024 | |
| Ebony Mace of Erik Eyolf | Weapon | 89% | +4 | +10% Bureaucracy | ||
| Sturdy Suit of Balkeese | Armour | 46 % | + 10 | +16% Trading |
Titles
- 1022
- Knight of Evora, September
- Vice-Marshal of The Shadowdale Homeguard, September
- Margravine of Viseu, October
- Cauldron Master of Shadowdale, November
- 1023
- Shadow Queen of Shadowdale, January
- Duchess of Southern March, January
Household
- Brigdha
- Paternal Grandmother
- Bedhwyr
- (Deceased) Paternal Grandfather
- Naevan
- (Deceased) Father
- Erfrayj
- Etain’s Mother, a minor princess of the Serpentis clan
- Affected by the curse visited on Sirion
- Leopald
- Younger Brother, an experienced irregular forces officer
- Kris
- A chosen man, a veteran of The Ghost Watch and then a personal guard of Brigdha, now retired
- Owns a smithy near Oporto with multiple daughters he wishes to see married well
- Hrolf
- A chosen man, veteran of The Ghost Watch and then a personal guard of Brigdha, now retired
- Temple guard in Krimml with a priggish wife and three pinch-faced sisters-in-law
- Seamus
- once armsman to Hrolf, now one of Etain's personal guard
- Anagridh
- Elven Aunt and former travelling companion of Brigdha, a minor princess of the Serpentis clan
- Due to her involvement in the Akesh Temple Catastrophe which took place in the immaterium she was unaffected by the curse visited on her Elven kinfolk
- The Ghost Watch
- Formerly Aednadh's bodyguard and the preeminent special forces regiment in Sirion's history, then a shadowy network of agents serving Brigdha, now once more a combat unit
- Iraen
- Once Lady Moira's squire, Iraen is now chatelaine of the household holdings in Evora
- Ernst
- Captain of The Ghost Watch
- Amparo
- Captain of the Bloody Knives
- Tomagdh
- Etain's squire
- Brie
- A young page girl
Associates
- Peregrine
- The only other female student in Etain's classes at Krimml Academy
- Ker Iestw the Chirugeon
- A surgeon of Krimml
- Nangellis
- Assistant to Ker Iestw. She trained under Neris the Wise, apothecary to Lady Brigdha.
Commands
| Name | Description | Army | Captain | Men | Type | T | R | W | A | D | M | C | CS | Provisions | Entertainment | Designation | Pay | Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ghost Watch | The Shadowdale Homeguard | Shadowdale Homeguard | Ernst +3 | 52 | MI | 78 | 3 | 70 | 45 | 15 | 97 | 76 | 736 483 |
100 | -Dance Hall | army | 100 | 12.09.1022 09.12.1022 |
| Bloody Knives | The Shadowdale Homeguard | Shadowdale Homeguard | Amparo +4 | 22 | SF | 81 | 4 | 75 | 90 | 0 | 100 | 100 | 723 |
100 | -Whores | army | 49 | 10.12.1022 29.06.1023 |
| Knights of the Balance | The Shadowdale Homeguard | Shadowdale Homeguard | Quintoria +4 | 24 | SF | 75 | 4 | 75 | 90 | 0 | 99 | 22 | 595 |
0 | army | 49 | 08.07.1023 ?? | |
| The Queen's Irregulars | The Shadowdale Homeguard | Shadowdale Homeguard | Reuban +6 | 189 | MI | 72 | 3 | 70 | 55 | 0 | 100 | 70 | 1786 |
100 | +Dance Hall -Pub Crawl |
army | 308 | ?? 23.05.1024 |
| Ghost Watch | The Shadowdale Homeguard | Shadowdale Homeguard | Hildebart +3 | 68 | SF | 79 | 4 | 75 | 90 | 2 | 96 | 57 | 1452 |
100 | army | 147 | 23.05.1024 |
Personal Journal
- 1019
- Memories of Jor
- 1020
- August
- 1021
- May
- 1022
- Etain becomes the new Dame of Cual Dubhaine in Evora