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Derrexi Tzelan
Age: 24
Role: Swordswoman.
Station: Noble, military officer.
First Appearance: Nov.
2nd, 2002.
Proud firstborn daughter of House Tzelan, she ceded her right to become
the head of the clan to her younger sister and trained as a swordswoman
in the Hawk's Talons School. During her service in the westernost border
of the Empire she proved to be an excelent fighter as well as a capable
commander, and was recommended to become a Falcon Knight, one of the few
women to achieve this honour. Astonishing her family once again, she declined
and put her sword at the service of the Empress. Still searching for herself,
she is sent to Beldatz to train a small cadre of female halberdiers called
the Hawk Maidens in preparation for the Festival of Renewal. She knows
nothing of the hotbed of intrigue and danger in the city, as she digs
up more than she bargained for in her quest to find herself. |
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Yanti (True Name: Yu'wuf)
Age: 17
Role: Troublemaker, explorer.
Station: Outcast, courier.
First Appearance: Nov.
2nd, 2002.
The young Yu'wuf left his parents at the beginning of his adolescence,
as the traditions of the Quetzerri foxfolk dictate. He took the human
name of Yanti as he liked the sound, and discovered his knack for sneaking
in and out of trouble. He found an easy job as a courier and messenger,
which gave him the chance to travel abroad and get paid. Another thing
he discovered was his additction to games of chance, which he excels at.
He has almost no savings as his fortunes rise and ebb like the tides,
and gladly enters Derrexi's service to both alleviate his encroaching
boredom and to get out of jail. How long his amusement will keep him at
her side is anyone's guess, including his own.
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Eclipse (Real identity
unknown)
Age: ?? (between 16 and 25)
Role: Agent of the Moonshades.
Station: Servant?
First Appearance: Dec.
4th, 2002.
Eclipse is a mysterious young woman, possibly at the service of the governor's
wife. She is a Moonshade, one of the legendary spies and saboteurs rumoured
to have a hand in every aspect of the politics of the Empire, but whose
existence has never been proven. Her job is to run errands and get information,
at least during the night. In the wake of the arrival of Lady Tzelan,
she has been commanded to watch over her, for the morass of politics she
is about to sink into is of interest to the Moonshades. |
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Larriki
Age: 20
Role: Monk and advisor
Station: Clergy
First Appearance: Mar.
8th, 2003
Larriki is one of many Skrii'qek birdfolk that left the Shattered Islands
to explore the rest of Nahast. His family was hit by a storm as they crossed
the Dawn Sea. His parents died just after they managed to leave the young
hatchling in the care of monks in the Aureous Feather monastery overlooking
Beldatz. he learned the tenets of the monk's philosophy, and adapted their
martial art to his unique physiognomy. He received dreams of a respendent
hawk flying around the bay and became a priest of Suze'en, Goddess of
the Sun, whose sacred animal is the hawk. The dreams have not ceased,
but at least they have been pointing at a near event that will shake the
foudnations of Beldatz, possibly of all the Empire. The Skrii'qek monk
is determined to find out what it is and, if possible, deal with it. |
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Xu're
Age: 26
Role: Sorcerer.
Station: Exile.
First Appearance: Dec.
7th, 2002.
Xu're discovered early his ability to wrest magic from the air itself.
Being born in the harsh Zergune Empire, his family tried to hide his talent
from the bloody priests, but he had to escape his home when he lost control
of his power and killed a tax collector. Almost dead from exposure to
the broken lands west of Zergune, he stumbled upon one of the greatest
secrets of the world of Nahast: the Land of Dreams. He was revitalised
by the spirits of the land itself, and learned the true nature of many
things, a knowledge that would have driven a lesser man insane. Travelling
half through the real world and half through the Dreamlands, he is making
his way to Beldatz, for he senses that something is about to be awakened,
unleashed or unsealed. His motives are his own, and does little to appease
the Solernian's distrust of any Zergunese travelling by himself. |
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Tercos Itzcori
Age: 38
Role: Leader of the Beldatz Watch.
Station: Military officer.
First Appearance: Jan.
1st, 2003.
The strict and grim Captain Itzcori has served the governor of Beldatz
since he first learned to wield a sword. He acquired all his military
expertise not from a lofty noble's academy, but from hands-on experience.
Originally a commoner, his outstanding service has earned him rank, fortune
and honour for him and his family, although many of Beldatz's nobility
see him as a bothersome upstart. He refuses to enter the field of politics
even if his position as leader of the city's army does give him a lot
of power, which he disdains claiming that he is only a dutiful servant.
Scrupulous and honest, he follows the warrior's code even if it is not
expected of him to do so. |
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Lady
Beltzane Matsidari
Age: 50
Role: Leader of the Beldatz Moonshades, governor's wife.
Station: Nobility.
First Appearance: Dec.
4th, 2002.
This cold and calculating woman has been playing a dangerous game of intrigue
in Beldatz for years. As the leader of the Moonshades in Beldatz, it is
her job to manipulate events and people to follow the secret order's agenda;
whatever it is. She is in direct communication with the Empress and seems
like a loyal subject of the Imperial Throne, but once night falls all
bets are off, as she schemes and plots behind her husband's back, sometimes
aiding him, sometimes hindering him, but always ruthlessly achieving her
goals. She has a vested interest in Derrexi's success, although why this
is so remains unclear. |
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Lord
Oskardi Matsidari
Age: 52
Role: Governor of Beldatz
Station: Nobility.
First Appearance: Aug.
24th, 2003.
Good natured and seemingly addle-brained, Lord Matsidari rules Beldatz
and its surrounding lands with fairness and a hands-off approach, letting
the people who know their business to do whatever they think is best.
He would like to see his daughter married off to Leial Azpikeri in order
to secure a hold into the Merchant's Guild, although Diru Azpikeri pursues
the matter for the same purpose. He knows that there is something strange
brewing in his city, and plays dumb in order to lure out whatever plot
is being cooked up under his nose; unfortunately, he is not as clever
as he thinks he is, although he is definitely not as foolish as he appears. |
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Lady
Tzie Matsidari
Age: 17
Role: Scribe, governor's daughter.
Station: Nobility.
First Appearance: Jan.
15th, 2003.
Shy, insecure and bookish, this lady is ripe for an arranged marriage,
but her own disinterest in all things romantic (whether by fear or something
else) and her mother's pickiness keep her unbethroted. She serves her
mother as a scribe and record keeper as she spends most of her time in
the castle's library or reading in the gardens, but also is aware of some
of her mother's darker connections and acts as her messenger and go-betweener,
when the situation would not put her at risk. She refuses any invitation
to join the Hawk Maidens as she is too afraid of fighting, although her
nervousness in the matter may hide some secrets of her own. |
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Master
Gaizco Zarranz
Age: 42
Role: Portmaster of Beldatz' docks.
Station: Retired military, civil servant.
First Appearance: Mar.
22nd, 2003.
Grissled veteran of the Solernian Navy, Gaizco Zarranz is also a retired
adventurer himself, an explorer of no small skill who was one of the few
humans to be freely accepted by the Maevindran elves. He arrived in Beldatz
with a baby daughter in his arms, and found a ready job as a portmaster,
given his skill with dealing with the various races that stop by Beldatz.
He is gruff and strict, but very fair in his judgements. He tries to stay
out of the politics game, but his position draws him to the game of influence
brokerage, and he always looks out for Niriko's interests in everything
he does. |
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Leial
Azpikeri
Age: 26
Role: Swordsman.
Station: Son of the leader of Beldatz's Merchant Guild.
First Appearance: Aug.
9th, 2003.
Training abroad served to mould Leial's ideals far away from his conniving
and manipulative father, and returned to Beldatz as a just man, if a little
aloof. He is perfectly aware of his father's machinations, but is honour-bound
by blood to put up with him. He likes Lady Tzie Matzidari, but agrees
with her mother that a bethrotal would not make her happy. He is a little
aimless, excelling in the forms of swordsmanship but having little real
combat experience. |
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Diru
Azpikeri
Age: 62
Role: Plotter and schemer.
Station: Aforementioned leader of Beldatz's Merchant Guild.
First Appearance: Aug.
24th, 2003.
A man who rose to his fortune due to hard work and by leaving several
stabbed backs behind, Diru Azpikeri founded and leads the Merchant Guild
operating in Beldatz, independent of any other similar guild that operates
in the Empire. He's a calculating man but far from cold, prone to holding
deep grudges although he manages not to let his personal feelings cloud
his judgement. He has acquired several dark contacts and is plotting to
become the true power in Beldatz, and he is not so far from achieving
that end. He is behind many of the troubles of the city, for which he
has the "solutions" to make him appear like the city's savior,
one of which is the mercenary corps complementing the Watch's ranks, although
the merc's disregard for civil duty is beginning to backfire on him; he
sees Derrexi's arrival as a dangerous weight to tip the precarious balance
in which his plots thrive. |
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Xisve'ki
Age: Unknown, but counted in millenia.
Role: Dark undead sorcerer.
Station: Evil force behind the potential downfall of Beldatz and
its people.
First Appearance: Aug.
9th, 2004.
Xisve'ki used to be one of the Hooded Ones, a priest-king of the forgotten
reptilian civilization of Nahast's Third Age. He foresaw the downfall
of his Age and embraced undeath to at least save himself to preserve the
glory of his people. He slept through the end of the Third Age, through
the entire Fourth Age and through the beginning of the current Age, his
power greatly diminished because of his exile to the Lands of Dreams.
He has woken to a world he scarcely understands, dominated by pathetic
mammal-things and where the spirits he used to command have become gods.
His goals and his methods are an enigma, but he is working "for"
DIru Azpikeri while he regains his power and understand the people of
this Age. |
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Quitzam
Age: Late 50s.
Role: Eccentric wizard.
Station: Lighthouse master, unofficial teacher.
First Appearance: Dec.
7th, 2003.
Nobody quite remembers when Master Quitzam moved to the southern lighthouse.
The lighthouse itself was no longer operating thanks to the smaller and
more potent lighthouses build right along the Beldatz docks until the
night he moved in. He brought with him a pack of xolotzins to attend to
his everyday needs and has never asked for payment from the city. He has
assisted the Watch now and then with magical matters but otherwise prefers
to stay apart from society, conducting whatever studies or practices he
does in the solitude of the fort. He was annoyed when Lady Tzelan and
her girls moved in, but has accepted a position of teacher in exchange
of having Jakitza as his apprentice, the first and only one anyone has
heard of him accepting, let alone requesting. |
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Niriko Zarranz
Age: 15
Role: Natural born leader.
Station: Hawk Maiden trainee, commoner.
First Appearance: Nov.
2nd, 2002 (look at the background :) )
Niriko is a blonde in a land where dark hair is the norm, her skin much
fairer than that of any of her friends, and the reason for this is her
secret shame: she is one of the first half-elves to be born in Solerne.
Ridiculed through her entire childhood, she spent a lot of time and energy
winning the respect and friendship of all children her age, but she still
gets strange looks, and still keeps her slightly pointed ears hidden under
her hair. Her father is the portmaster in Beldatz, and he will not tell
who her mother is except for the fact that she was an elf, and she abandoned
both of them weeks after Niriko was born. She is all too eager to join
the Hawk Maidens as the perfect way to realise her dreams of being independent
and, most importantly, respected. |
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Behari
Age: 18
Role: Angry, angsty and loyal friend.
Station: Hawk Maiden trainee, former prostitute.
First Appearance: Oct.
12th, 2003 (story), May
16th, 2005 (comic).
Behari knows nothing of her parents, having been abandoned as a baby and
brought up in a small brothel. She became a prostitute as soon as she
became a woman, and has been the "property" of the brothel's
housemaster ever since. Neither she nor her owners knew that she is of
the Miyalli people, a different ethnic group than the main Solernian branch.
Having grown without any true affection and used as an object for the
good part of her teenage years, she has grown angry, bitter and quiet
(but prone to violent outbursts); the Hawk Maidens are her chance to discover
how fiercely loyal she can be. |
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Jakitza
Egoski
Age: 16
Role: Well-read, well-informed and brilliant strategist.
Station: Hawk Maiden trainee, middle class.
First Appearance: April
11th, 2004 (story), June
3rd, 2005 (comic).
Being the daughter of a government magistrate and a scribe, Jakitza grew
amongst books, and she loves knowledge with a passion. Her dreams of becoming
an imperial magistrate were shattered when Beldatz closed the schools
for girls, denying her the diploma that was requisite for the magistrate
exams. An excellent calligraphist herself, Jakitza has very good coordination,
but her still undiagnosed near-sightedness hinders her training. Her strength
lies in her quick mind, cool head and iron will. She joined the Hawk Maidens
as an alternative to advance her studies, but there she will develop her
strategic skills. |
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Gisako
Gizaletzi
Age: 17
Role: The loyal opposition, voice of dissent and giver of insights.
Station: Hawk Maiden trainee, upper class.
First Appearance: Nov.
29th, 2004 (story), June
14th, 2005 (comic).
A child of privilege, Gisako nonetheless feels sick about the rich merchants
and nobles that roam the courts and party halls. It's a mystery where
she got her morals given his father's ruthless business disposition and
her mother's indifference. Her curiosity and inquisitive mind got the
better of her when she stumbled upon the wrong conversation at the wrong
time, and she is now under the dubious care of Eclipse, acting as an unofficial
informant for the Moonshades regarding the Hawk Maidens and Derrexi's
movements. Despite her natural decency, Gisako is still a bit conceited
and self-important, and just asumes she's the better suited for leadership.
The Hawk Maidens will teach her some humility and give her a chance to
have friends that are not after her father's money. |
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Zintzi
Tainoz
Age: 15
Role: Confidant, advisor wise beyond her years.
Station: Hawk Maiden trainee, commoner.
First Appearance: Dec.
25th, 2003 (story), Oct.
24th, 2005 (comic).
A very tall girl for her age, Zintzi's height and quiet smile makes everybody
think she is older, especially when she speaks, because almost always
she says something deep and insightful, or helpful at least. She's Niriko's
best friend, and the only one in the Hawk Maidens with a boyfriend. Her
reasons for joining the Hawk Maidens are a mistery, but she says she did
because she wanted to have something in common to talk with her boyfriend,
who joined the Watch recently. |
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Eruhien
Age: 13
Role: Official mascot.
Station: Hawk Maiden trainee, poor.
First Appearance: June
14th, 2005
Eruhien does not have an exciting and intriguing life story (as short
as that would be anyway). She lives in one of the city's slums with her
parents, and is the oldest of five children. Doing odd jobs with her mother
and being a street urchin, she dreamed of a better life for her family.
When she heard that the Hawk Maidens would take care of her, she decided
to join so she could ease her parents' burden of raising a child, and
hopes to one day get them out of poverty. |
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Waio
Ko Xiang
Age: 45
Role: Steadfast pillar of stability.
Station: Hawk Maiden trainee, dwarven merchant class.
First Appearance: Oct.
24th, 2005
The dwarves of Kerrost are renowned craftsmen and merchants, and settled
in the northern districts of Beldatz to conduct their business, relatively
isolated from the human population. Xiang, only daughter of the leader
of Guild Waio Ko, grew up in Beldatz and is eager to get to know the humans
better, not to mention all the other kinds of people that arrive from
the mountain passes and the port. She convinced her father to let her
join the Hawk Maidens arguing that it could bring honor to the family
name, and thus make business with the humans easier. |
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