Xanxa Symanah's Blog, page 7

Character Profile: Lady Riga Castiglioni

Lady Riga Castiglioni is the second child and only daughter of Lord Adriano and Lady Vera Castiglioni.  Spoiled from birth like her other siblings, she grew from a spiteful and demanding child into an imperious and dangerous adult.  Like her mother, she favours pink.  Most of the time she dyes her hair pink and wears pink clothing.

 

Character Profile: Lord Enrico Castiglioni

Lord Enrico Castiglioni is the eldest child of Lord Adriano and Lady Vera Castiglioni.  During his infancy and childhood, he was over-indulged and never disciplined.  He neglected his studies, relying upon his younger siblings to provide answers when he needed them.  As a result, he grew into a violent and demanding adolescent and an arrogant controlling adult.  Throughout his entire life, he resorts to bullying and violence to get his own way.

 

Character Profile: Neeral Dyzin

Image of Neeral made using Tengr AI image generator

Neeral was a young sorceress born with the gift of fire. She had to learn how to to control it. At ten years old, she achieved mastery of fire. She loved using her fire sorcery to entertain people at the Modjian fairground. Later on, she had to use it for rather more serious purposes on missions.

Nozkha Agency

The Nozkha Agency began on Mondias as an anti-Cyadmovement.  The word Nozkha originatesfrom pre-Cyad Mondian language.  It canmean night or nothing depending on context. Both definitions suit the purposes of the rebels.

Their leader is known as the Zlerok; another original OldMondian term meaning shadow.  All Zleroks are Vyrdigaan Order sorcerers orsorceresses working undercover and implanted with dispersing crystals to hidetheir sorcerous crystalline energy signatures. They wear black hooded robes and use personal alchemy to change theirappearance when necessary.  They also usemisdirection spells and banishing spells to make people forget seeingthem.  When a Zlerok passes into theBeyond or wishes to retire from active duty, the Vyrdhrii Elders choose anotherand instruct them on how to carry out their covert role.

Nozkha Agents work quietly behind the scenes to underminethe Cyad Confederacy with small acts of defiance and sabotage.  They pose as ordinary Cyad citizens and aretrained to blend in.  They learn to recognisethose who have grudges against the Cyad and take subtle steps to determinewhether or not the malcontents would be suitable for recruitment.

The Nozkha specialise in unauthorised communication devicesand networks.  They also deal inforbidden books and entertainment media.

Their sigil consists of a shiny black stylised cloud on agrey background.  They make extensive useof codes, symbols and ciphers based on Old Mondian dialects and obscurecomputer programming languages.

Parallel Mondians

The Parallel Mondian movement began during the early stagesof the Cyad Confederacy’s formation.  Theoriginal members were academics, historians, writers, artists, musicians, actorsand craftspeople who wished to preserve the pre-Cyad way of life, includingtheir culture, language, arts and entertainments.

They set up their bases in disused warehouses, libraries andother buildings in remote regions which were of little interest to the Cyadregime.  They collected pre-Cyad books,works of art and entertainment media. They made copies which they circulated to all their secret bases.  They also used Nozkha smuggling networks torelocate some of the more valuable items to Yttria and Malvania, where theywould be kept safe in academic and scientific enclaves.

They never set out to overthrow the Cyad.  Their main aim was to try to coexist inpeace, hence the name they chose for themselves.  They do not consider themselvesanti-Cyad.  They will only use weaponsand other violent methods to defend themselves.

Over the centuries, they came to realise that peacefulcoexistence with the Cyad Confederacy was unlikely to happen.  In more recent eras, they abandoned thatapproach.  They now concentrate theirefforts solely on preserving their culture. Like the Nozkha, they prefer subtle ways of defying Cyad authority.

 

Cultural Information: Margians

 

Little is known about the culture on the four worlds of the Margian system — Margis Alpha, Margis Beta, Margis Gamma and Margis Delta.  Margians tend to be impractical dreamers who yearn for the glories of bygone eras and try to model themselves on legendary folk heroes. 

The Margians operate a strict and well-trained military organisation.  Warrior crews live a semi-nomadic existence.  They build camps in wilderness regions where they put their soldiers through a rigorous training regime.  Their whole lives revolve around fitness training, battle training and warfare practice.

Character Profile: Arnesto Giragrakian (AKA Theo Babaloney)

Image of Arnesto/Theo was made using Sefirot Studio.

Arnesto/Theo was created in a Cyad laboratory using genetic material taken from random samples. After being part of a failed experiment and dumped on a garbage planetoid, he was found by a Sartorian salvage collector and subsequently adopted into a Sartorian family.

Despite the love and care of the Sartorians, he grew into a troubled pre-teen with serious abandonment issues.  His fixation with finding his biological father led him to make unwise and dangerous decisions.

 

Character Profile: Mendel Giragrakian

 

Image of Mendel Giragrakian made using NightCafe AI art generator.

Eminent Cyad scientist Mendel Giragrakian was somewhat rebellious and often chafed against the rules.  He was dedicated to his research and cared for little else, except his young assistant Vronytza.

He was the biological father of Arnesto (AKA Theo). Due to the Cyad's methods of artificial reproduction in laboratories, Mendel remained unaware of his son's existence until Arnesto/Theo sought him out. Theirs was not a happy parent/child bonding.

Character Profile: Mildred (Millie) Cox

 

Image of Mildred (Millie) Cox made using Yodayo AI.

Mildred, who prefers to be known as Millie, is the daughter of a former prostitute.  She benefitted from a libertarian upbringing, which often caused her to question or disobey rules at school.  She is streetwise and has a natural instinct for figuring out people's personalities and motivations.  She excels at dance and martial arts, later becoming  an instructress in both disciplines.  She finds academic subjects boring.  She has a yearning for adventure and loves to travel.  Later, she met reticent lawyer Maurice (Maurey) Ardglass and found herself attracted to him.  She led the way in the relationship.  Their decision to marry surprised most of their family members and friends.

Character Profile: Bridget Murphy

Image of Bridget Murphy made using Yodayo AI.

Bridget Murphy's parents originally came from the independent Kerajan territory, set apart from the rest of Viria.  As a result, she is brought up in an extremely strict environment.  She has little opportunity for making friends, except at school.  Her best friend is Rayleen Shanahan.  She maintains their friendship despite her parents' disapproval of the Shanahan family.  She struggles to find her own way in life, which causes difficulties in her close friendships.