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Overview
A young Royal Lancer from the line of Cassomirs of Firen, thus a cousin to the current Lord of the House. Though ill-fates have befallen many of her kinsfolk, she remains a bright and promising member of her lineage, wholly dedicated to the service of the Queen and Galenthia.
On the Grid
"A mode of conduct, a standard of courage, discipline, fortitude, and integrity can do a great deal to make a woman beautiful."
- Jacqueline Bisset
Bess is the daughter of Beric Cassomir, a younger brother of the late Baron Aric Cassomir. She was an athletic and active child, bursting with energy and exuberance at youth.
Her father served dutifully as a Royal Lancer during the Thirty Years War and placed great expectation on his firstborn child. With no opportunities or ambitions towards leading the House, her father was free to lay out a different, but no less exacting path for his daughter. Thus, Bess grew up knowing that she would do her best to follow her father's footsteps into the elite order of Galenthian knights.
While she became a page in the tumultuous final years of the Thirty Years War, Bess was placed at the royal court, where she learned the basics of court life, but also slowly started training in martial affairs, her athleticism blossoming into a natural aptitude with swords, inherited and picked up from her father. She also showed a penchant for dealing with horses and her easy-going manner endeared her to people as well.
When King Lucas died and the Succession War began, her father retired first to the countryside of Ironhold and later on to Firen. None dared openly say that the old Royal Lancer was shirking from his duty, because he had already served long and faithfully. Perhaps more importantly, he had in his time been fostered and had squired for men who now fought for the Thorn. His personal honor prevented him from taking up arms against them even if his House had sworn allegiance to the Rose.
The decision, however, drove a rift between Beric and his brother, who had decided to place House Cassomir firmly behind the Rose. Beric's refusal to heed his brother's call to arms led him to reach out to Raymund Langer, whom he knew from their days in the Royal Lancers. In Old Sir Ray, Beric found a man who understood his decision and so, with the leave of House Langer, Beric took his family to Firen.
This retirement from active duty and participation from the war seemed to stymie Bess' immediate career path. Instead of being sent to squire for a Royal Lancer, it now seemed that this was out of the question. To none was this a greater disappointment than to the young Bess. Before leaving for Firen, she pleaded with her father to be sent to the Royal Lancers on either side of the conflict, to those who served the Rose along with their Cassomir cousins or even to her father's old friends in the Thorn's ranks. Disappointed by his daughter's naively expedient way of thinking, Beric would not send his daughter away into the midst of a civil war.
But instead of sending her daughter off to the war to squire for a knight on the battlefield, her father ultimately turned to another old companion from the Lancers. Moira Langer, already old and grey-haired, had also withdrawn from the conflict when her House adopted its policy of neutrality, but was willing to take on the young girl for training at Firen.
While the Succession War raged across Galenthia, Bess lived and trained in relative peace at Firen. Several times the city faced attack from outside forces and she took the field alongside her knight to defend it. She did her duty well, pleasing her Langer hosts, but did not succeed at any heroics that would satisfy her own Cassomir heart. Denied such moments of greatness, Bess was hungry for any news from Galenthia beyond the city. Arturo Romante's death scared her, but news of the new queen delighted and intrigued her. She was always torn by her circumstances, but never more than when news came that the war had come to Ironhold with disastrous consequences (though at that time she barely remembered her ancestral home).
It wasn't until after the Thorn's execution when she got the chance to earn her spurs. The Queen's blanket pardon for those who remained neutral also covered Bess and somewhat justified her father's choices at the outset of the civil war. Showing her skills at the tournament held in honor of Queen Melisande's coronation, she was dubbed a knight and immediately sent into the first Selection since the Succession War started. Well trained and a little older than her competitors, she did well and was accepted into the ranks of the depleted Royal Lancers.
Since then she has served mostly as a bodyguard for the Queen, her age and gender proving fitting qualities. Though she now recognizes the deftness with which her father handled her training, while preserving her honor from the horrors of civil war, she is a little too stubborn to admit it. Compared to most other knights of a generation grown up amidst war, she retains a curious innocence, coupling it with an ambition for the glory that she has thus far been denied.
Bess is tall and dark haired. Her features are smooth, refined, and proportionate, possessing a statuesque marble nobility that is only enhanced by her physical grace. She has impeccable posture, and the level gaze of her darkling eyes constantly measures everything around her. Strong eyebrows frame the eyes, and around them and her ample lips, a face is formed by clear curves and smooth planes that are silently attractive. A faint spray of freckles is splayed across a straight nose and on her cheeks, giving her otherwise strong features a sudden youthful touch.
She is particularly leggy, with an athletic physique, which is not brawny but defined. There is something sleek and fascinating in her form. The obvious curves are all there, but they flow gently across her frame, rather than arresting attention. Moderate breasts and a supple waist are followed by a gentle widening into the hips that make the bends to finish into that striking length of long legs.
Wearing the black full plate and green cloak of a Royal Lancer, much of her figure is hidden and protected. The armor is finely engraved and decorated, though at places the artistry has suffered from hard use. Her visor depicts the face of some grotesque beast, perhaps a monstrous eagle or a wolf. Despite the artistry, the white griffon of the Romante, proudly emblazoned on the chest, is what stands out immediately. When not obscured by her helmet, her hair is usually done up in some form of half-up half-down style, either partly braided or held in a top-knot, but still leaving part of her hair falling down just past her shoulders.
Personality
Bess is a disciplined young woman that didn't have much choice but to grow up as a perfectionist. This strict upbringing has not managed to rough up her natural good-natured personality, which was evident already early from her youth, but has instead given it a decided mischievous and sarcastic bent. Energetic, eager and often laughing, for some people Bess seems to break the Cassomir stereotype of a stick-in-the-mud. Yet when dissatisfaction enters her mind or her duties require more than her presence, Bess becomes chilly, serious and stubborn.
Having mostly avoided the horrors and gruesome realities of the civil war, Bess believes that honor does not have to die on the battlefield. There are some who would call her conviction naive and hopelessly idealistic, but she believes it with her heart. It is a belief ultimately instilled in her by her father's choices, who put his own reputation on the line to spare his daughter in order to make her the best possible knight for the peace that he believed would follow the long years of war.
Though she believes strongly in one's lineage as a major factor like most people, everyone gets a chance to prove their worth to Bess, no matter their origin or upbringing. Even an ugly tree can grow fruit and a good, strong tree can grow a foul branch. Bastards are the result of dishonorable action, so she feels conflicted about them, but she tries not the blame the result of such deeds as much as the perpetrator. Whatever your social class, however, those who don't pull their weight won't get much respect and should probably just move out of the way.
Quirks
Assumed Quirks:
Duty Bound - "Duty is its' own reward" could practically be the Cassomir house words. They tend to do what is required of them by those in authority over them, no matter the pain, inconvenience, or even sacrifice to themselves. In her mind, Bess was born to be a Royal Lancer and was trained with this in mind, so there isn't much that will cause her to pause in her duty.
Strong Willed - Cassomirs are usually courageous and forthright. While it may manifest in many different ways, they almost all share a certain strength of character and sense of self that allows them to endure through trying times.
Stoic - Cassomirs are usually fairly reserved folk, often muting displays of strong emotion in public and carrying a sense of humor that runs towards the deadpan variety. While they certainly cut loose occasionally, most folks tend to kind of see most of them as sticks-in-the-mud. Bess does break the stereotype somewhat, because she has an eager smile and an easy laugh that don't take much to bring about.
However, for her, the typical Cassomir stoicism presents itself as a deep icy reserve that she goes to when things don't go her way.
Well-Equipped - All Royal Lancers have a suit of full plate armor, burnished black with a white-lacquered griffon emblazoned on the front.
Chosen Quirks:
Glory Hound - Perhaps because she missed the battles of the civil war or perhaps because her father expected so much out her first born daughter, Bess is hungry for chances to prove herself. For her, descended from the line of Cassomir heroes and heroines, it seems only natural to seek such opportunities.
Talented Swordswoman - Bess inherited her family's gift for the blade and was trained by House Langer, so she has already demonstrated a natural proficiency with swords that has only been augmented by rigorous training.
Well-Connected - Growing up in Firen during the Succession War and having served as a Royal Lancer at court since then, Bess is both familiar with and to a lot of the more important Galenthian nobility.
(bess emilia graham henric jaelynn jarret klaudea log melisande rosalyn social)
(aidric bess cathrynn event gauvain goldhollow graham guillermo henric jaelynn klaudea log raelyn stephen thaddeus viola)
(bess bethany claire clara dacian emilia event felecia graham jaelynn jarret letholdus log raelyn tristan varian wulfred)
(alina artos bess james jaren log marcus oberyn sirrah social talia tristan yves)
(alaric alessa alina bess clara event fiona gabriel genoveffa henric james jaren log marcus michael oberyn remy sorcha talia tristan varian viola yves)
(alaric alessa alina bess clara event felecia fiona gabriel genoveffa henric james jaren jarret log marcus michael oberyn philippe remy talia tristan varian viola yves)
(alina artos atreis bess brennart corwin elrick evelyn event fiona gabriel genoveffa henric james jaren jarret log myrana ramius rowena tavi varian)
(alaric alina artos atreis bess brennart clara corwin elrick evelyn event felecia fiona gabriel gauvain genoveffa graham henric james jaren jarret log marcus michael myrana oberyn ramius sorcha stellan tristan varian)
(adelaide alaric alina artos bess corvin corwin event gabriel genoveffa james log marcus renlar sorcha stellan sylvain tristan varian yves)
Galenthia
Relationships
Deceased:
Relationships
Viscount (Sir) Letholdus Romante : Not only a Romante to be protected, but a knight and commander in his own right. I have great respect for the Viscount's achievements and character. |
Lord Tristan Romante : Perhaps not the Romante one might hope for, but he is the Queen's cousin. He is charming, in his own way, but I'm a bit worried about the company he keeps. |
Relationships
Deceased:
Lord (Sir) Raymund Langer : He was an esteemed knight and it was an honor to spend time with him in the Royal Lancers. His example and teachings will continue to guide us. |
Deceased:
Other Relationships
Countess Talia d'Geroux : I do not know her well, but we were briefly on a quest for a mutual goal. Not a woman to be underestimated, this Countess. Alas, undoubtedly a villain. |
Deceased:
Lady Alina al'Sylenthar : The Sinesse to Tristan's Lyonal. I believe to have tested her patience by doing my duties. |
Archbishop Sirrah Cantire : What can I say of this grandmotherly figure? She is a keeper of secrets and thus a very valuable person in our world. |