PCs:Silver Fox

Silver Fox Race: Human, Tyeduan Classes: Barbarian, Blackguard Most active on server: Mikona, Wilderness Contact: Leave a message

Silver Fox is a Tyeduan Blackguard of Maleki, best known as a sell-sword and the leader of the Midnight Mercenary Company.

Origins: The Great Raven Clan of Tyedu

The Great Raven Clan was, until recent times, a small and rather backward tribe of Northmen who made their living from the fruits of the icy northern oceans, supplemented by hunting and gathering, limited crop cultivation and the spoils of the constant wars and raids between Northman clans. The Clan draws its name from their patron Spirit-God, the Great Raven, who, it is believed, acts as a guide and protector to the crews of the Clan's long-boats, hunting whales and other monstrous maritime creatures to support the tribesmen back home. Life is hard for all tribesmen, and all are expected to contribute as much as they can - man and woman, adult and child. The icy wastes and frozen seas are extremely unforgiving of those who cannot or will not support themselves or their fellow tribesmen.

The people of the Great Raven clan lived their quiet, dolorous existence until recent events changed matters to their benefit. The catalyst was a visionary hero by the name of Wolf. Wolf was not originally of the Great Raven, but had instead been cast out of his own clan years before as penance for some unknown misdeed. Instead of quietly accepting his lot, he grasped the opportunity with both hands. He left Tyedu altogether and forged a career for himself as a soldier of fortune. He travelled far and wide, bodyguarding here, training troops there, amassing a phalanx of friends and allies as well as considerable wealth. It was while he was serving as a bodyguard in the Kurathene Empire that he met his future wife, the daughter of a minor noble family named Helena. When Wolf finally came back to his Tyeduan homeland, satisfied with his exploits and wishing to settle down, he was adopted by the Great Raven clan. In time, this skilled and well-liked warrior would become the Clan's greatest Chieftain, ushering in a new age of openness and prosperity as he turned the tribe's nautical expertise and his own knowledge of southern tastes and commerce to the Clan's profit. Where the Great Raven had merely existed, they soon flourished, as ships carrying amber, furs, exotic fish, blubber and timber plied the sea-and-river routes into the marketplaces of the Kurathene empire.

While the Clan prospered, so did the Chieftain's family. With Helena, Wolf (now Great Bear, the honorific title of all Great Raven chieftains) had two children. The eldest, his daughter, he named Silver Fox.

Origins: Early Life and Education

As is expected of all tribesmen, Silver Fox learned to hunt, sail and defend herself. It was soon discovered that she was blessed with the gift of battle-rage, a trait the Clan's shaman noted as marking her for future greatness. While she enjoyed no privilege as the chieftain's daughter, she earned a reputation as a skilled hunter, a fine sailor, and a generally well-liked and valued member of the Clan. Her future was to lay away from her homeland, however. When she turned eighteen, Silver was sent for private tuition in Kuras, at Mistress Isabella De'Markesi's School for Young Ladies. Why this was so is ambiguous. Silver was informed by her father and his closest companions that Wolf wished to see her 'civilised', so that she could continue the work her father had started, opening up the Clan and turning it into a prosperous trading hub. Later events made Silver doubt this account.

Whatever the reason, Silver spent two unpleasant years in Kuras. She did not enjoy the experience, and is unlikely to talk about it, even with those who know her best. What is sure is that the experience marked her in a few notable ways. She learned to read and write, and to speak Common fluently, to accepted Kurathene standards. It also left her with a speech impediment - a marked hesitancy in speaking - and a general distrust of southern 'civilisation'.

When her tuition had finished, she returned to life with the Clan. While Silver is reluctant to speak of her time in Kuras, she is completely silent on the three years she spent with the Clan after returning. Her father was already in his seventies by this point, and grew ever more withdrawn as he aged. Coupled with this, traditionalists within the Clan, centred on the tribe's shaman, began to decry the new practices Wolf had brought, urging a return to the quieter form of life they had enjoyed for so long. Silver's own wanderlust began to grow, and finally, one day, she struck out to make her own fortune by booking passage to Mikona.

Midnight Mercenary Company

Silver's career as a mercenary started shortly after her arrival in the south, after a chance meeting with a warrior named Var, and the woman who became her patron in these early months, Miette Hartley. After some initial teething troubles, the Midnight Mercenary Company was formed. Based primarily in Mikona, it turned out to be an excellent time to enter the business, as Drotid's assault on the nations of T'Nanshi and M'Chek began in earnest. Work was easy to come by, and the group swiftly made a name for themselves as a skilled and discreet band.

The cementing of the group's reputation came at the first battle of Eastshore, where they detected and harried the first waves of Drotid's amphibious assault on M'Chekian shores. The alarm was raised in the great garrisons of M'Chek while Midnight, and several other volunteers, fought to stem the tide of Shaahesk making landfall.

Silver thrived in her leadership of the group, which brought her wealth, friendships and not a little notoriety. Her own greatest struggle came as a result of a job Midnight had taken, transporting cargo across M'Chek. This culminated in the destruction of a Shaahesk smuggling ring, including as their agents human Annihilators, with a shadowy figure, Mikel, a devoted servant of Aarilax, at their head. Incensed at the destruction of his plans, Midnight and Mikel's cell fought a quiet war through the streets of Mikona. Silver herself was the target of numerous assassination attempts, most of which, through luck or judgement, she was able to survive relatively unscathed. Eventually, an uneasy alliance was formed which finally put paid to Mikel's machinations, but the experience weighed heavy on Silver.

Midnight is currently on hiatus while many of its members serve in M'Chek's elite Blackhawk Company.

Blackguard

Silver Fox converted to the worship of Maleki soon after her journey to the southern lands. While her faith and her work as a mercenary brought her both success and fulfilment, she was acutely aware that she sought a higher purpose in her life. With the support and encouragement of her close friends, she began to walk the path of the Blackguard, with Father Kurt Villainova as her mentor and guide. After a long series of trials and quests which clarified her feelings on life and her faith, and sharpened her resolve no end, Father Villainova knighted her as an Anti-Paladin; a Blackguard of Maleki.

Her new calling was, at first, kept a secret, primarily for pragmatic reasons, as Silver was being hunted by assassins at the time. Her dual identity, as Silver Fox and as Blackguard Hope, also enabled her to clarify her thoughts on her friends and her enemies, her life and her place within the world. She revealed her allegiances soon after the apparent death of Angus Blacksail.

As is common among Malekites, Silver takes a highly individual approach to her faith and her calling as a Blackguard. Her courtesy and apparent helpfulness have caught many a stranger or adversary off-guard, but her steely resolve, strength of will and skill at arms ensure that her commitment to her faith is beyond doubt.

Allies and Associates

Midnight Mercenary Company:

• Quin
• Etzeth Tzeleth
• Angus Blacksail
• Ulu Elexin
• Orfanos
• Aur
• Merago Jert

Others:

• Miette Hartley
• Flenken Jolliemausch
• Vintrinia Carnen
• Liam Dald
• Vesdrac Noss'tau
• Vilne Elor
• Kassha Firehart
• Kurt Villainova
• Lilliana Be'letane
• Lisa Michelle Ormane
• Telina Sunmar
• Sir Haverith
• Lucien Dark

Silver Fox's Tyeduan Phrasebook

(Forthcoming!)