Lady Shylvaindae de Veamort

Eccentric Noblewoman and Vindictive Veteran of the Dragonsong

If luck is a Lady, bad luck is an Ishgardian Countess. Despite being born the legitimate daughter of a wealthy Lord Shy grew up in the harsh streets of the Brume. Following the death of her immediate family and the dissolution of her House on heresy charges she was taken in by a lowborne Chocokeep.

But as it has so often been said, those thrown to the wolves often return leading the pack. She and her friends not only managed to avenge her family, slaying a dragon and her own uncle in the process, but prove her father's innocence in the face of the charges laid at his door by the Inquisition.

Now this retired Dragoon serves as the financial backer for much of her friends' adventuring work; when she isn't preoccupied with procuring fancy wines or breeding Chocobos.

The Noble House of Veamort

"On Darkened Wings"

The de Veamort family are vassals belonging to the High House Dzemael, to whom they are distant relations. Their line can be traced back several hundred years, beginning with a seventh son. With little left for him to inherent he struck out on his own, making a name for himself as a Knight.

Since then their family have been known primarily for three things. The first is producing dragonslayers of exceeding talent. Each generation is bound for a handful of Dragoons or Temple Knights.

The second is their dark skin and honey eyes. Overall one would be forgiven for mistaking them for hailing from Gridania. However Ishgard never experienced such a clan splitting as their Southern neighbor and as such, they are not in fact true Duskwights. Rather they are merely a dark skinned minority among the Ishgardian Elezen.

Finally, and quite oddly, their bastards seem to keep cropping up. Illegitimate children born to the House are given the name Dreymur and are often trained to "shadow" their half-siblings, serving as a blade in the dark for their political ploys. It is speculated these bastards are purposefully sired to take on this role. They are feared, cunning and never far from the heir.

The House's ancestral home is Crow Valley Court, an estate situated far out into the Coerthas Western Highlands. The surrounding county of Crow Valley, for which the estate is named, has belonged to Veamort Counts for several hundred years. Largely the land is employed for mining and is rented out for most of the year, but there are a few small hamlets encompassed in its boundaries.

Crow Valley was auctioned off when the House was temporarily abolished to pay their outstanding debts, along with the rest of the family's assets. Due to the Calamity, the Inquisition were unable to find a buyer and with House Veamort's name cleared it has been returned to them. Unfortunately it was left in such a state of disrepair much of the ancient manor is now in ruins. Repairs are ongoing.

The family crest has traditionally been the image of a crow on a red background with a black trimmed banner. As the only notable member of the House left, Lady Shylvaindae's personal crest of a bluebird on a yellow background is often used interchangeably.

Lineage

BLoodlines are Confusing

Shylvaindae is descended from the long line of House Veamort and the Barons of Vaudame; a small family allied with the Durendaire House. Some of the more historically prominent family members include;

Kecinne the Maiden and Drexine the Fair, twin sisters as well as a Dragoon and Temple Knight combo. Regarded as something of a novelty for being not one, but two women who choose to take up arms rather than be content Ladies of Court. When Kaserien I died without children the line continued through Drexine's sons.

Lord Voullont I was a relatively quiet Count who kept to himself, and made rare public appearances. His half-sister Elnelle, a Dreymur, was far more popular. She was seen as a woman of the people but it's rumored she may have been a Dark Knight.

Shylvaindae herself has several namesakes, including her grandmother and several of her great aunts. Like most noble families they have a baker's dozen of hand me down names that get reused every couple generations. Shy however was specifically named for her uncle.

Several other Houses have, naturally, married into the line in places. Such is more than expected among the nobility, some of the more prominent lines include Houses Achron and Sibaruse.

Breaking with that tradition entirely, Shylvaindae instead chose to marry her friend and long time adventuring companion Gylbart instead. She invites anyone with a negative opinion of this to keep it to themselves. Her temper is not without end, after all.

Biography

But Have You Heard My Fifteen Chapter Backstory?

Shylvaindae was born on the 27th sun of the 6th Astral Moon, 1557. Shortly after her birth her uncle returned home after several years afield, accompanied by his illegitimate son Kaserien. The cousins, while having an occasionally spotty relationship as adults, were close as children.

When Shy was still young, her mother and elder sisters were killed by a dragon. Her father did his best to raise his remaining child but after being accused of heresay, he was forced to flee Ishgard and try to prove his innocence. Under questionable circumstances, he was later found dead by dragonfire.

In his absence, Shy's uncle took charge of the House's affairs but in truth he had framed his brother. Once his blasphemous schemes came to light, that he was consorting with dragons, the whole House was incriminated. Shy's uncle fled, leaving what remained of the family to imprisonment and execution. Still only a child at the time, Shy was instead made a ward of the Holy See and put into the Church's care.

Finding the orphanage abusive, she fled to the streets. Living in the Brume was harsh and after being harassed by a gang one eve, Shy met a man named Cisoix; an aging Chocobokeep who was want to hit youths with his trusty broom. Having lost his own family, he took her in and raised her as his own.

Shy would go on to become a Dragoon, desperate to clear her family's name and revenge herself on both her uncle and the dragon that had killed her mother.

Years would pass with never a word of either, causing her to venture out in search for them. Fate had another plan however, as this was when the Calamity struck, causing her to become incredibly lost and unable to find her way back to her snowy home. This was how she came to join the Bluebirds. The rest, as they say, is history.

The Bluebirds Adventuring Company

Make a Little Birdhouse in your Soul

The Bluebirds Adventuring Company are a Free Company under the Twin Adder founded by Shylvaindae, as well as her companions Gylbart Carver and Kesai Serris.

The three met in Ul'dah following a heated exchange involving, of all things, a pair of pants. All three disagree about the origin of the garment but seeing as how it vanished anyway, it was of little consequence.

While initially weary and stroppy over new people joining their party, Shy would eventually come around to the idea as the Bluebirds aided her in her search for Heidiset. Upon the revelation of her uncle's evil it was they who helped her be rid of him and restore her birth right.

The Bluebirds are currently continuing business as usual, selling their unique skills in the arts of combat for gil. It's a life full of risk and danger but it's the path they and many of their friends walk. After all, someone has to rise to the occasion when more desirable heroes are preoccupied. It helps if one is being paid.

Shylvaindae has come to find her place with the group overtime despite her initial distaste for rookies. She's now the slightly overbearing mother figure of the group and does her best to watch out for any new hires they receive.

OOC Information

Stuff About Me

I'm a pretty laid back veteran RPer. I love my lore, it's super interesting to me and I love to see how I can use it in usual ways to get the most fun out of a character.

I'm always up for RPing, so feel free to give me a DM on Discord if you'd like to make a new friend (RoxUrSoxOff#9729)

My character's usual locations are Limsa Lominsa or Ishgard, but given money is no object to her she can pretty much appear wherever at her heart's content.

If you'd like to set something up you're welcome to hit me up. Other Ishgardian RPers specifically are more than welcome to try and weave our backstories together. Being Nobility you can never have too many distant relations and allied houses.

I'm also the FC lead of BB-RP so I can be a little busy now and then, so do bare with me! Thanks <3

The Harridan

The Wicked Witch of the Pillars

Lurking the streets of Ishgard late at night, the darkness belongs to shadowy figures while all folk decent and sensible are long since asleep in their beds. Dark Knights are to Coerthan children what angry elementals are to Gridanians or man-eating wolves to Limsans. Frightening, not entirely understood and given a due consideration of fear.

One such denizen of the dark arts is known locally as the Harridan; a fancy old Elezen word for what amounts to witch. A wicked, bossy woman. She is considered a heretic and wanted on several counts of murder; her victims include several members of the clergy, a dozen inquisitiors and half a barracks worth of Temple Knight recruits.