Background:
The village
of Karsten is a tiny hamlet on the east bank of the Rotsrum, in the konigreich
of Posen. Situated near the western tip of the Angonehm Wald, where the river
curves from westward to northward, the village once boasted a solid bridge that marked an important crossing into Wische. That was before the War of the Cross…
By 1653, that war was well underway, and the village of Karsten
was suffering for it. The local lord, despite his advancing years, was still
a valued member of the Imperator’s personal guard, the Order of St. Gregor. To
avoid the constant responsibilities, he had already turned the stewardship of the village over to his son and heir Klaus,
a handsome young man who had won an Avalon bride during his short career as a diplomat abroad.
They even had children- by 1653, Dietrich was seven and Johanna was nearly four.
For all his good looks and charm Klaus wasn’t much of a strategist, and when a large raiding band attacked, the
village stood almost no chance. The raiders killed most of the villagers, stole
nearly everything of value, and even destroyed the bridge on their way back into Wische, hoping to slow any possible pursuit. Three days later the riverboat ‘Karl’s Otter’ pulled into the wrecked
town on its regular run between the fast-growing city of Freiburg and the coast. Forced to stop long enough to clear the remnants of the bridge (which blocked most
of the channel) the crew had time to take stock of the place. Most of the villagers
were dead, still lying where they had fallen, and most of the survivors had fled- either to the presumed safety of other villages,
or simply into the forest, afraid that the riverboat crew were more raiders. Besides
the staring, sightless dead, all that remained were a half-dozen “survivors” who had already fallen into the nearly
mindless state known as waisen.
A further search revealed one more survivor- a little girl, no more than four years old, with a fierce look on her
tiny face and the shattered haft of a poleax clenched in her chubby pink hands. The
riverboat captain was a hard-hearted man, but even he wasn’t willing to leave the child to die by any of the countless
possible routes. When the boat pulled back out of town, they had a new mascot
of sorts.
Initially it took quite some time for the real lord of the village to learn what had happened there. Focused on his duty to the Imperator, and tormented by the loss of his son, Gerhardt von Karsten could
not bring himself to go to the shattered village at first. But as the clock of
years advanced, he thought of it quite often. When an injury forced him to retire
from active duty within the Order, he collected a few volunteers and traveled to the ruined town.
Only wreckage greeted him, wreckage and bodies that had been picked over by scavengers both human and animal- not even
the waisen dwelt there now, and the rare river traffic sped by, as if they believed the place was cursed. Gerhardt was no quitter, though, and he had brought with him folk of similar stock. Rebuilding was slow at first, but they kept at it. From time
to time a band of refugees would pass through- and sometimes a few of them would stay.
After a while, a few of the survivors slowly trickled back from whatever refuges that had fled to. Gerhardt decided not to rebuild the bridge, but he did agree to host a ferry landing, and he put in a new
dock as well, hoping to draw some commerce from riverboats that needed to resupply.
‘Karl’s Otter’ was one of the first boats to take advantage
of the reborn village- as much out of curiosity as any actual need. Over the
years, the little girl that Karl had plucked from the ruins had begun to grow up- the captain had unofficially adopted her,
calling her “Jenna”. She had spent most of her childhood aboard the
boat- when ice or persistent raiding closed the river for a time, she had been allowed to wander whichever city they were
stuck in. Of the two choices, she much preferred the river, and by the age of
ten she had learned quite a bit of the boatman’s trade. A practical man,
Karl had encouraged her to learn other skill as well- he hoped that in a year or two she might earn a maid’s position
in a reputable household. He didn’t want her to spend her whole life as
an itinerant riverboater. For all his paternal fondness, though, Karl would have
been the first to admit that the girl was little bit strange. Whatever she had
seen before her rescue had changed her mentally- she was always so calm and focused; Karl had never seen anyone to match her. He had seen Jenna, at the age of eight, stand her ground as a gaggle of gargoyles
swept down out of the afternoon sky- she was the only one calm enough to sweep the tiller around, bringing the boat in close
enough to shore to take cover under the overhanging trees. Nothing seemed to
disturb her- the funniest jokes, the fiercest insults only drew a faint smile.
Even the enormous surprise that greeted them on the dock of the revitalized village wasn’t enough to faze her,
though Karl himself was stunned beyond words. For the first person to stride
down the dock to the newly-moored ‘Otter’ was an elderly man in a dracheneisen breastplate, his empty left sleeve
pinned up at the shoulder- with an enormous grin on his face and sudden tears falling from his eyes. Gerhardt, anxious to improve the fortunes of his village, made it a point to greet each new riverboat personally-
but he had never dreamed he would be confronted with a child whose face and eyes were a perfect reproduction of his own son’s
features at the same age. Instead of dinner in the (almost) restored tavern,
Karl and Jenna found themselves guests in Gerhardt’s small manor in the center of town.
The three of them talked throughout the night- Jenna told all she could remember of her early years, and tales from
her childhood on the river, Karl told of the devastation he had found and of how he had rescued the young girl and helped
to raise her, and Gerhardt spoke of his own memories of his family and the village (both as it had been, and as he hoped to
see it become). Within a day, Karl and his crew had moved on, rewarded both with
as much coin as Gerhardt could provide, and with the names of some useful contacts.
Jenna, now restored to her real name of Johanna, remained with her grandfather- in the village that she might someday
inherit control of.
Gerhardt quickly realized that he was not going to be able to raise the headstrong young woman on his own, and that
she would need to know many things that he could not hope to teach her. Calling
in a few favors, he enrolled her in on of Eisen’s many military academies- he knew that would help her on her way. There Johanna was exposed to a variety of people- firstborn nobles training to protect
their future domains, later children of noble blood who sought a way to provide for themselves since they would not inherit
land, and talented commoners who hoped to rise into talented solden.
Years passed, and Johanna kept learning. In addition to normal combat
training, cadets spent some time as squires to recent graduates or academy faculty, showing them the good and bad sides of
many facets of life, from battlefield engagements to courtly pomp and intrigue. Johanna’s
ability to remain calm in any situation served her well in both types of interaction.
Cadets also ate better than many of their fellow Eisen, and the diet and constant exercise forged Johanna into a very
strong, tough young woman. Even though her height was not particularly impressive,
her fierce determination and athleticism allowed her to learn the proper use of the zweihander- though the weapon was as tall
as she was…
In the fullness of time, Johanna graduated from the academy and returned home to Karsten. But even before she arrived, she knew that the village was not yet her home- she knew that she had the
basic skills that she wanted, but she wanted the seasoning of real experience- and the stories she had heard over the years
in the academy had inspired a desire to see some of the world beyond Eisen’s borders.
To her relief, her grandfather was very much in agreement. Johanna spent
the winter in the village, preparing for her journey. Gerhardt spent the time
showing her around the village, showing her what it had been like before her birth, and relating what he was planning for
the future. He also introduced her to the townsfolk, from the lowest bauer to
the mayor himself- someday these would be her vassals, if everything went well. Perhaps
most importantly, though, he told her stories of his own past, and of his compatriots in the Order of St. Gregor. With the Imperator’s death, the order had become little more than bounty hunters- but they had traditions
and honor still. Johanna had heard of the order before, but her grandfather’s
stories fascinated her- as Gerhardt had hoped, she quickly decided that she wanted some of that honor and respect for herself. When spring finally arrived, Johanna made her final preparations- she had the basic
skills for a foundation, and now she had a solid model for her conduct and a firm goal to guide her. The night before she left, her grandfather called her into his study- he had one final gift for her, so
that the outside world would know what they were dealing with. Before the injury
that had ended his own military career, he had fought with a zweihander as well- a blade that he had left behind in the barracks
of the Order of St. Gregor, which had also served as a museum of sorts. But now
he had had his old friends return the weapon, and he passed it on to Johanna- the blade was made of dracheneisen, the one
sure mark of the Eisen nobility.
And when the morning came, Johanna boarded
the ferry across to Wische- even as the sun rose she took one last look at the village of Karsten. She knew that when she finally returned, that village would be her home…
==============
20 Questions:
1.
What country is she from?: Johanna is from Eisen- specifically the village of Karsten, on the western border of the
konigreich of Posen. While her father was an Eisen man, her mother was from the
Highland Marches of Avalon.
2. How would you physically describe
her?: While she is not extraordinarily tall by Eisen standards, Johanna is taller than most Thean women- a couple of inches
short of six feet tall. Likewise, she is athletic and in excellent physical condition,
but not obviously bulky- she is stronger than she looks… Her eyes are a
lively grey-green color, and her face is attractive enough, but not stunning- especially not if one’s taste runs towards
the frail and delicate. Her hair is straight, and falls just past her shoulders
on the rare occasions that it is not tied back in a simple braid- blond with just a hint of red, her tresses betray both Avalon
and long-ago Vesten blood in her heritage. She almost always has a slight smile
on her face, a look of calm self-assuredness.
Johanna tends to dress rather simply- she is far more concerned with function and comfort than with fashion. Her only usual nod to clothing convention is that she usually wears the slash-sleeved shirt of an Eisen
doppel-soldier- in her case; she considers it a fair warning rather than boastfulness.
She sometimes wears a traditional wide-brimmed feathered hat as well, but she doesn’t pay much attention to it-
she tends to lose the hat almost immediately when the situation gets “interesting”. Over her shirt, she usually wears a close-fitting black leather vest with her Guild pin on the collar. In foul weather she often wears a black digger’s coat as well.
Johanna tends to travel heavily armed- the most obvious weapon is the zweihander slung across her back, a dracheneisen
blade that is just about exactly as long as she is tall. This is the sword that
her grandfather gave her- while she carries it nearly all the time, she only draws it when she is fighting to the death (including,
of course, any large-scale engagements). For more routine work, she uses a plain
steel panzerhand and a saber; in addition she usually carries a pistol or two and several knives- she won’t admit exactly
how many.
3. Does she have any recurring mannerisms?:
Johanna has few mannerisms worth noting. She does have a habit of rather ostentatiously
shaking out her shoulders and cracking her knuckles when a fight seems imminent. Other
than that, most people only notice the things that she _doesn’t_ do: outside of a real fight she never raises her voice,
and nothing ever seems to shake her cheerful, restrained smile. Perhaps the most
important mannerism to note concerns her zweihander- she never draws that blade unless she expects a fight to end in death.
4. What is her main motivation?: Johanna’s
main motivation is the simple desire to excel, both as an individual and as a leader.
She does not wish to merely survive or to earn simple material rewards- and she does not want to succeed through luck,
or favoritism, or political maneuvering. She wants to be the best that she can
be, and she wants to feel that whatever rewards or honors she attains are ones that she has honestly earned.
5. What is her greatest strength? What is her greatest weakness?: Johanna’s greatest strength is her willpower
and self-control. Even the most shocking sights or most infuriating insults cannot
shake her calm steadfast demeanor- when combined with her straightforward, honorable nature this makes her an unshakeable
ally (or an implacable foe). In a way, those traits are also her greatest weakness. While she consciously realizes that most people (even most Heroes) do not possess
the same level of courage and determination that she does, she often assumes them to be braver or more steadfast than they
actually are. And as an honorable, straightforward sort, she is often unable
to believe the depths of deceit to which some people will sink- she knows, on a rational level, that some people thrive on
lies and trickery but she cannot understand just how dishonest (and how clever) those people can get.
6. What are her most favorite and least
favorite things?: From a purely material standpoint, Johanna’s favorite thing is her zweihander- not so much for its
actual usefulness, but because of what it represents: her grandfather’s hopes, his honor, his respect. And in a larger sense, her own hopes and dreams- centered not so much on the blade itself as on the seal
of St. Gregor set into the pommel. In a less material sense, she loves physical
activity- especially combat, either live or in practice (or even instruction, either given or received). She also loves hearing stories of survival and heroism- all the more so because she knows that she can’t
tell stories worth a damn herself.
Her least favorite things are a bit harder to quantify. For food, it would
be anything raw- that is what animals eat, not men. Or maybe that dog urine that
the Montaigne call ‘wine’… On a more general level, she hates
enforced inactivity. While she enjoys sleeping late once in a while, what little
time she has spent as an invalid has assured that she never wants another minute of it.
It isn’t just the boredom, it is the palpable sensation one’s skills withering, and one’s body wasting
away bit by tiny bit.
7. What about her psychology?: Johanna’s
psychology is actually fairly simple. Her incredible willpower and determination
do not completely prevent her from getting emotional- but they do keep her from being ruled by or overwhelmed by those feelings. As such, she is almost entirely motivated by positive forces (the desire to excel,
pride, loyalty, and her concept of honor) rather than negative forces (such as fear, anger, or hatred). Even when negative emotions do influence her, she is far more able to restrain her actions. Her willpower also allows her to focus upon her goals, both personal and professional- many things that
might distract or deter a less-committed person make no headway against her. In
more mundane terms, she is almost always rather cheerful, in a calm, low-key sort of way- not much really bothers her.
8. What is her single greatest fear?: As
one might have guessed, Johanna is not terribly well-acquainted with fear. She
is also no fool, though, and she is quite well aware that there are many challenges in the world that cannot be vanquished
by any amount of physical prowess, courage, or guile. In general, even such things
do not provoke real fear in her- only a sense of resigned acceptance.
Johann has only one real fear, and it lurks well back in the dim recesses of her mind- she would never speak of it,
and she can only barely admit it to herself. It is, in fact, a rather common
fear in modern Eisen, for its victims are everywhere, and no one seems to know the true cause- Johanna fears becoming one
of the Waisen. For someone whose courage and strength of mind are such a source
of pride, that mindless, almost subhuman state seems a far worse fate than any death she could name.
9. What are her highest ambitions? What is her greatest love?: Johanna’s greatest ambition is to see Eisen reunited. Her dreams do not end there, however. Specifically,
she wants to see Eisen reborn, with a worthy Imperator ruling the reborn land, and the Order of St. Gregor restored to its
honored role as the Imperator’s personal guard- and with Johanna herself as a part of that esteemed Order.
Her greatest love, then, would be her desire to express herself through honorable service to a just cause. In her case, that means fighting the good fight, and never giving up.
It is often a difficult thing to keep her from putting her blade (and her life) on the line if she feels a cause is
worthy.
10. What is her opinion of her country?:
Johanna loves Eisen, but she realizes how far it has fallen. More importantly
she loves the _idea_ of Eisen, and she treasures the thought of having her homeland united once again, made all the stronger
for the trials that the land and her people have endured. Despite these patriotic
ideals, she knows that Eisen (either as it is now, or as it might become) would not be suitable for everyone- and, indeed,
there are many people that would not belong there. As such, she does not trumpet
her beliefs to those around her, and she usually ignores those who disparage her homeland- she simply writes them off. Those who speak honestly are entitled to their opinions and those who insult Eisen,
whether out of spite and malice or in jest, are merely fools. And there are far
too many fools in the world for Johanna to tend to all of them herself.
11. Does she have any prejudices?: Johanna
has few enough prejudices, and most of them are fairly common. She has a typical
solden’s dislike for nobles who aren’t willing to get their hands dirty if a task demands it, and a matching dislike
for many of the “pointless” luxuries or excesses of courtly life. Like
many solden, she also has a mild distrust of anyone who can’t be counted on in a fight- even total noncombatants are
all right, as long as they know their place, but those who turn coward or wild when blades are drawn can’t be trusted. On a more personal level, Johanna also harbors a mild distrust of those who drink
too heavily. Like many Eisen, she also has a bit of a soft spot for children,
especially intelligent or well-behaved ones.
12. Where do her loyalties lie?: Johanna’s loyalties lie in three areas: loyalty to herself, to her friends and compatriots, and to
her country (or more precisely to her vision of her country). Her loyalty to
herself might be more accurately labeled a desire to stay true to her principles, and her idea of honor- in her mind no one
can respect or trust someone who does not stay true to their own heart. This
is the loyalty that makes her keep her word when she gives it.
Her loyalty to her friends and companions has similar origins. No one
can really respect or care for someone who will abandon their friends. Having
someone trust you, having them take you at your word, is one of the best gifts that they can give you- and to betray that
trust, to break a promise or abandon a friend without cause, is the worst failing a man can have.
Her loyalty to her vision of Eisen is a more nebulous thing. That vision
inspires her wherever she goes, and whatever she does- and her loyalty to that vision means that when she is confronted with
a number of choices, she will choose the option that best serves that vision, as long as her other loyalties are not compromised. She would not, for instance, abandon a friend to go off chasing some rumor that might
lead to a brighter future for Eisen- but she might try to convince that friend to come along, or see them through their time
of need and go her own way afterwards, with proper notice given to accommodate her departure.
13. Is your hero in love? Is she married or betrothed?: Johanna is just as much a stranger to Love as she is to fear. She knows about respect and admiration, and even about the types of affection and loyalty that form out
of friendship or working together. But the flutterings of romantic or courtly
Love are unfamiliar to her- she has read of them, certainly, and even had people attempt to explain (or inspire) such feelings,
but nothing has come of these seeds so far. Perhaps someday, something will change-
but Johanna has begun to have her doubts. Love seems to make weaklings and simpletons
out of even the strongest and wisest people- she would rather not expose herself to that, but every once in a while, she gets just a bit wistful, wondering if she just might be missing something.
She is neither married nor betrothed. While she realizes that marriage
might be necessary sometime in the future, as a matter of duty, she would prefer to not worry about it for now. Certainly that day will not come before she finishes her wandering and returns home to Eisen. Her grandfather agrees on this- as matters stand now, he would control the future of the village if Johanna
was to meet an untimely end, and her premature marriage would only complicate the succession needlessly.
14. What about her family?: Of her real family, only her grandfather is still alive. She
has a deep respect and admiration for him, and genuine affection as well, but given her background she does not have the deep
family love and loyalty that many more traditional upbringings tend to foster. And
while she has not seen any of them I years, she also has a strong sense of loyalty and affection for Karl and the crew of
‘Karl’s Otter’- in many ways this bond is closer to a normal sense of family.
15: How would her parents describe her?:
Her parents, if they were still alive, would hardly know her. A better description
might come from her grandfather, who in many ways sees her almost as a daughter. One
such description can be found in a letter that he wrote to one of his old friends, now an instructor at the Gelingen Academy:
“The girl has such promise- not just as a swordsman, but as someone who we might have recruited for the Order years
ago. She’s stronger than her father ever was, both her back and her will,
and she has some of her mother’s fine look to her as well. She seems to
have learned a bit about honor- enough, at least, to give me hope of what she could become.
Now that I have actually written that down, though, I wonder- am I seeing what isn’t there? Am I crediting her with gifts that spring from my own hopes? I
don’t think so, but only time will tell. I only hope my beliefs are close
enough to the truth- I don’t know if I could handle seeing her come home in a shroud… Perhaps I should have raised her more like a daughter- it might have been easier to see her married, and
installed in a solid household, to make heirs for both lines. No, no, that is
no good- what is done is done, and there is no sense worrying about what she might have become. And I saw the fire in her eyes when I gave her my old sword…”
16. Is she a gentlewoman?: While she strives
to maintain the standards of conduct which constitute knightly behavior, Johanna is both a warrior and a bit of a pragmatist. She also has little patience with many of the “nonsense” that fills courtly
life. Thus, while she is an honorable woman, she is a bit too coarse to meet
the standards of many courtiers’ opinions of a “true” Gentlewoman.
17. How religious is she? What sect of the Church does she follow?: Johanna is not particularly religious- like many Eisen, she has
seen far too much of the trouble that religion can bring, and precious little of the good works that faith can inspire. If closely questioned, she would probably have to admit to being an Objectionist-
by the simple default that she is certainly not a Vaticine. In truth, though,
she prefers to keep matters of religion to herself- when talk turns to matters of faith, she first attempts to change the
subject; failing that, she will simply discontinue the discussion or leave it. “My
Faith is a matter for Theus, my priest, and myself.”
18. Is she a member of a guild, a gentlemen’s
club, or a secret society?: Johanna is a member of the Swordsman’s Guild. In
addition, she would like to earn her way into the Order of St. Gregor, despite its rather diminished stature.
19. What does she think of sorcery?: Johanna
is mildly suspicious about sorcery in general. So far she has not really had
much personal experience with it- almost all her contact has been through stories she has read or heard- and deep down, she
has a feeling that many of those stories are wildly exaggerated. On the
other hand, if even a fraction of the tales are true, it means that sorcerors are capable of incredible things, things that
Johanna herself can neither understand nor combat… As such, she tends to
classify “sorcerors” in the same category as alchemists and the engineers who handle siege cannons- potentially
dangerous, most likely mad, and best kept at a nice safe distance (whether they are friendly or not).
20. What advice could I give her?: “Well,
you’re a basically honorable, incredibly brave, physically impressive Eisen noblewoman on your own in the wide world… Only one real bit of advice seems appropriate- Watch your back.”
