Name: Rhowyn

Species: Drezhein

Zodiac: Pisces

Ro is the youngest of the children (younger even than Junior), she’s the only one born after Anthem had left, and returned to, Ithea. As such, she was in a curious position in her family in that she was the only child raised by both of them, as a family.

She was just shy of her seventh birthday when Ithea died, and thus she wasn’t even sent to boarding school until after both of her parents deaths. Young as she was, she also didn’t entirely understand what had happened. 

Always kind and sweet, Ro was a quiet and well-behaved child, and had a very strong bong with her big brother Gavin. Their bond is still strong as adults, even though they no longer see each other.

When she turned fourteen, Ro left school and her family behind. She took nothing with her but food and set out to travel the country. That is when she met Kimyair, who stepped in and saved her from a gang of bandits. The two traveled together for several years before settling down together in Northern Inua. Ro has the most magical ability after Cyan, a powerful healing gift, and a bunch of plant lore courtesy of Kaite, so she was easily welcomed in her new community as a wise-woman. 

In Inua Ro lived a simple and happy life along with Kimyair and their ten children. They were well-protected and the unpleasantness brewing between the humans and the Drezhein had no place in their lives. At least, it should not have. Ro surprised everyone by openly defying the Sanirran government and offering safe haven to any Drezhein who could make it to her home. Her new community backed her, because the Northern Inuans, unlike the Sanirrans, had a long, friendly history with the Drezhein.

That sort of news travels fast and while most adults were content to fight on their own, Ro did find herself the foster mother of dozens of other Drezhein children throughout the years of the war.

She was greatly grieved when her granddaughter Rona (whose mother had moved to Sanirra long before) was taken, and even more so when Rona became the face of the Drezhein revolution (and retook the name Silverwood). But it’s in the Silverwood blood to cause trouble, so Ro did what she could and provided an introduction for Rona to Cyan and Gavin, who may have had some hand in the cause (though neither one would ever admit to it).

Other than her one act of defiance, though, Ro is content to live her calm and peaceful life surrounded only by friends and family.

Names: Keiran & Dumas

Species: Drezhein

Zodiac: Aquarius

Keir and Dumas, the twins, eternal partners in (not literal) crime. They’re a good mix. Keir is more like Ithea: he’s talkative, friendly, and has trouble telling good ideas from bad ideas, because all ideas are exciting. He often gets them into trouble (and out of it, to be fair). Dumas is more like Anthem: a little quieter, a little more bookish. He’s the twin with the plan.

They are both curious and active, and willing try anything in the name of trying it. They share a great love for the outdoors, as well as a desire to frequently test themselves. This was mostly manageable as children despite some of the more dangerous trials. The two of them had more broken bones than the rest of their siblings combined and with as quickly as Drezhein heal, they also often had to get things rebroken and set correctly. This did not discourage them, and their interest in discovery continued into adulthood.

Both boys are intelligent but, like Cyan, rarely spend attention on subjects that don’t interest them. Their grades in school were not the best, but they certainly hold a detention record for dangerous stunts. They were nine when Ithea died, and gave Gavin the most trouble.

It is no real surprise that they were called to adventure and exploration as adults except, of course, for the fact that people did not do that. Therefore it is Keir and Dumas who hold the honor of “discovering” most things outside of the already well-known continents and cultures.

Keir treats everything like a party and is generally interested in everything they find. While he throws himself wholeheartedly into every culture and experience, Dumas usually hangs back with a notebook in one hand and a quill in the other. It’s Keir’s ideas and questionable leadership that take them to the far corners of the globe but it’s Dumas’ careful note-taking and natural writing ability that make them famous for it.

Keir is extremely handy, and is better at botany and field medicine. Dumas learns languages faster, and tends to be more prepared. Between the two of them, they somehow manage to survive all the scrapes they get into, though not always in one piece.

Both have wives at home, though Keir is a bit of a womanizer and he does leave a trail of bastards behind him. Dumas, on the other hand, is touchingly faithful to his wife and is always bringing her presents. 

When not adventuring, Dumas writes books about their adventures and Keir gives lectures on the same. 

They’re the only siblings with frequent contact with Ro.

Name: Kaitlynn

Species: Drezhein

Zodiac: Cancer

Kaite is the middle child. She was Anthem’s favorite daughter, the only one who shared his interest in gardening. They spent quite a bit of time together, out in the many gardens around the Silverwood mansion. A definite tomboy, that hardly means she had less to offer Ithea. In fact Ithea taught Kaite how to hunt, how to understand the forest, and how to fight.

Generally easy-going and friendly, Kaite got along with all her siblings though she was closest to the twins. While Kaite did very badly in school, she’s extremely handy and has an almost instinctive ability to build and fix things – meaning she was a valuable asset for all of their experiments. It is from her that Keir learned how to MacGyver his way out of trouble. The three of them got into quite a few youthful misadventures.

She was ten when Ithea died, and her sturdy practicality was of great help to Gavin in the beginning. And also later on. While Kaite has no real desire to be involved with crime, she feels a deep responsibility for her family and so she is also an occasional part of the criminal empire as a cleaner.

When not assisting her siblings, Kaite found work at the Sanirran imperial palace as a gardener and enjoyed it immensely. It can be said, however, that she enjoyed the attentions of Lady Jenessa even more.

When the war between the humans and the Drezhein became more intense, Kaite understood that she was in danger and that Jean – descended from the failed peace children between the former empress and the Drezhein First Lord – was even more so.

They eloped together, taking up residence in an abandoned cottage a few miles from the Silverwood mansion. Kaite found new employment as Gavin’s gardener, and concentrated thereafter on fixing up the cottage and settling into life with Jean. They later adopted three war orphans, and live quite happily.

Kaite also is the one most interested in the family history and embarked on a project to find and record as much information about Anthem and Ithea as possible, and knows more about the Silverwoods than anyone else.

Name: Gavin

Species: Daemir

Zodiac: Virgo

Gavin is the third Silverwood kid, and the one who takes after Anthem the most. He is Anthem’s favorite son, by far, and was often used as a sort of weapon against Charlie, which certainly led to their rivalry. Their rivalry was certainly based on Anthem and not Ithea, who never stinted on love with any of the children.

As a child Gavin was basically the epitome of the spoiled, rich, brat. At home he behaved for his parents and, usually, for Cyan if she was left in charge, but gods help any babysitter who was hired to care for them. (That’s actually why Cyan was usually left in charge). 

At school, he was another story entirely. Gavin did the best in school of all his siblings, he was top of the class in grades and no small contender in athletics. So he also was often appointed to be hall monitor, and later, wing monitor, which only gave him an outlet to bully and harass the other children.

This changed after Ithea’s death. He was twelve, at the time. Charlie and Cyan were gone and suddenly Sonya was in charge – an extremely unreliable guardian who would have probably shopped and drunk her way through Anthem’s fortune if something wasn’t done.

Gavin did step up to this challenge, taking control of the money and the care-taking of his younger siblings, and also managed to be a good influence on Sonya, subtly manipulating her away from her selfish pastimes and towards better behavior and taking better care of them.

Given a challenge and a serious responsibility, Gavin was able to put many of his abilities to good use and was no longer compelled (or perhaps simply no longer had the energy) to be a bully. It’s also due to him that the younger siblings have a much closer relationship with him and each other than they do with the older two.

After school, Gavin caught up with Cyan and went into “business” with her, something that he also excelled at. While he is also social, he is more reserved and restrained than she is, which means he’s often overlooked. This arrangement suits both of them. After a time, Gavin took over most of the business and the position of crime boss while Cyan entertained herself with smuggling.

While he often spends time in Sanirra, the heart of their business ventures, Gavin actually resides in the old Silverwood mansion – which he had restored at great expense, and lives there very comfortably. 

Name: Cynthia

Species: Vekain

Zodiac: Leo

Cyan is the second oldest of the Silverwood children and the one who is probably the best “mix” of her parents. She has the strongest magical gift out of her siblings, so she spent a lot of time with Anthem, as he taught her to use it. As the oldest girl, she was also doted on by Ithea and learned quite a few things from her as well.

Cyan has always been dramatic and glamorous, and has always excelled in anything that catches her attention. School was not one of those things. While she made frequent use of Anthem’s library of classics, philosophy, and magic at home, at boarding school she was never anything other than average. Nonetheless she is extremely intelligent, and anyone who underestimates her has a deadly surprise in store.

She’s known for her friendly demeanor. Cyan can, and does, make friends with everyone – from the lowest circles to the highest. That flexibility is probably what enabled her various careers to succeed as well as they did.

She is also, beneath the dazzling exterior, an extremely responsible and rational person. It was known that, at some point, Anthem would probably deteriorate in the way Harketein do and become dangerous. Ithea made her friend Sonya swear to kill him if she was not around to do so. Upon Ithea’s death Sonya, not wanting to leave her cozy house and social scene for who knows how long, put Cyan in charge of the situation, telling Cyan to send for her if Anthem ever became violent towards the family. A terrible responsibility for a thirteen year old girl, but one that Cyan shouldered with ease.

She did not, however, consent to live with Sonya after Anthem’s death. Nor did she take her portion of her inheritance. Instead she took her leave with nothing but a single travel case worth of clothing and jewelry and set out to make a name for herself. 

She did just that. On the surface, she was an extremely dramatic, flamboyant, and well-liked stage actress. At the same time, she began the work that would later lead to the organized crime syndicate that she and Gavin share responsibility for. Let it be known that Cyan, among other things, has no problem doing her own dirty work.

Eventually she retired from the stage and took up residence in a bar called Maelstrom, a very high end place that probably makes her about as much money as her acting did. In certain circles, Maelstrom is also known as a place where one can go to get anything, legal or otherwise, as long as they catch Cyan at the right times, and use the right words to ask for it.

She lives a high profile life, frequenting the highest of social events, and picking most of her various lovers (male and female both) from among the nobility. She is always in the public eye and this, in some ways, protects her from the effects of her other career. She is famous, visible, rich, and leaves no evidence. While her connection to the criminal element is known, or at least guessed at, there’s nothing anyone can do to stop her. Those few who have tried have conveniently disappeared, never to resurface. 

Name: (for us to know and you to wonder about, but it’s not Charles)

Species: Draconian

Zodiac: Libra

Charlie is the oldest of the Silverwood kids and the most contentious. He’s Ithea’s favorite and Anthem’s least favorite. Anthem once tried to disown him, though Ithea didn’t let that happen. He was, however, left out of Anthem’s will. It’s fine. Ithea left him pretty much everything.

As a child Charlie clung pretty closely to Ithea, shadowing her everywhere, when he was home. While he was at boarding school he had an absolutely miserable time, and he started developing his emotional and behavioral issues at an early age.

While he behaved fine for his adopted mother, with everyone else he was unyielding and prone to outbursts of anger. He was often in trouble for skipping classes, for talking back, for fighting, and for destroying property. His relationship with his siblings was strained, the worst of it was with Gavin (the two of them have an extremely deep and abiding hatred and distrust for one another) and with Cyan, who often took advantage of his temper tantrums to get out of trouble.

His issues came to a head after Ithea’s death. Charlie was fourteen when she died, and it wasn’t but a few weeks afterwards that he got into his only real major fight with his father. Charlie accused Anthem of being responsible, to which Anthem reacted not well. The accusation resulted in an actual, physical, knock-down drag out fight after which Charlie fled and never returned.

He moved to Daemirra where, after some initial fucking around, he met Tony. Tony gave Charlie an outlet for his anger (and a bit of his money) in an extremely ill-advised revolution against Empress Tristiana, which failed badly. 

Tris, out of some familial feeling (her beloved half-brother, Junior, is also Charlie’s half-brother), decided not to execute them on the spot. Instead she gave everyone involved a test job – difficult and with a high rate of failure. If they did not make themselves and their ventures productive within a certain amount of time, then they would be punished.

Charlie was put in charge of a failing boarding school for delinquents which, as it turns out, he actually has a knack for. He is good, not only at reaching out to the children under his care, but also at inspiring them to learn and better themselves. Now that school is extremely well thought of and rich people also want to send their children there, though the student body is still primarily made up of “troubled” children.

With time and a stable and supportive living situation his own issues eased. He and Tony enjoy a very good relationship, have two children (Kylo and Callie), and have decent positions in the Daemirran court.