Melcendre

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Melcendre was born in Charlyon, and though she is culturally Lyonese, she considers herself Owain also due to her love for the continents vast cultures. Melcendre's mother, Olena, was a servant of Lady Lelandra Monbatten, a Lyonese noble. One of Melcendre's earliest memories is the scent of her mother's perfume as they walked across the coast of an Val Ion where the Black Sea stretched as far as the eye could see and the scents of lavender and sea salt mixed.
When Melcendre's mother died, shortly after her fourth birthday, she was raised by Lady Lelandra and in her care Melcendre learned much about the royal courts of Aigea and much of their cultures.
Olena's death cast a pall over Melcendre's normally sunny disposition. She became melancholy but in a way which made her ever more endearing to those who visited Lady Lelandra. In an effort to cheer Melcendre her new guardian gave her whatever she asked for; Melcendre only ever wanted books and tomes. As a result, she quickly developed an obsessive interest in stories, ballads and songs from over Aigea, as well as any tales she could learn from Lelandra's elven servants. Tutors were soon called for by Lady Lelandra to foster Melcendre's passion.

At sixteen, Melcendre made her first trip across the nomadic sea to the capital of the Oskuwan Empire, to attend a wedding celebration with Lady Lelandra. There she met and was impressed by Lady Ula-Nara, a wealthy widow and patroness of the arts. Ula began calling upon the aging Lady Lelandra shortly after the celebrations, who often left Melcendre to entertain the bewitching foreign widow.
Melcendre was captivated by Ula's worldliness and daring, and the two became close friends. On a hunting trip, Ula gave Melcendre her first bow. In teaching her how to use it during that trip, Melcendre wounded (but did not kill) a bear the hunters were tracking. The bear, still able and dangerous went for Melcendre, who killed the bear with a second shot through the eye. This intrigued Ula more, acknowledging Melcendre's willingness to kill to save others.
That same summer, Ula visited Melcendre at her Lady Lelandra's Val Ion estate, and the widow began to teach her way of the bard: manipulation, subterfuge and combat. Always her teaching was subtle and disguised, easily assumed to be merely a lady's idle amusements.
At twenty, Melcendre had become a skilled bard and jester, taking up residence in courts and taverns. The underground networks begun to rumble of a jester so beguiling and charming that no man or woman could keep their secrets from her, or their throats. The name whispered was "The Red Smiler" after the red smile like cut left across the necks of those who crossed her.
These secrets and killings increased Melcendre and Lady Ula's wealth tenfold, and in time Melcendre became so infamous that word of her talents reached the ears of the Entherian King Magnus across the Nethermore mountains. When she arrived at court, she did not present herself right away instead posing as a handmaiden to a decoy. Not until she was sure of the King's motives did she reveal herself.

Current Status

Serving as Royal Spymaster on the Royal Council

Current Location

Montheus Castle

Ethnicity

Lyonese

Year of Birth

1097 ABA 33 Years old

Birthplace

Val Ion

Sex

Female

Eyes

A melancholy green

Hair

Long, fire red.

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Soft, pale and clear skin

Height

5'6

Belief/Deity

Church of the Five

Aligned Organization

Kingdom of Enther

Other Affiliations

• The Royal Council