3. Selise Quara ya Dascovia

Selise Quara ya Dascovia

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    Character Name: Selise Quara ya Dascovia
    Login: v.Black

    Same text can be found on the wiki page._

    Of House Dascovia

    The Founding Days
    The first important member of the Dascovia family was Horasio Agosto, who lived during the early days of Alaghôn. His major achievement was building an underground network as well as the foundings of a small temple of Loviatar in the city. Many of the currently existing connections between families can also be traced back to Horasio's lasting works. Most of these connections were only made possible by his marriage to the noble family of Dascovia. Selise ya Dascovia, a young heroine, had made a name for herself during a war or another by singlehandedly defending an important strategic point. Horasio used his charm to gain her trust and eventually her hand in marriage. While her family refused to acknowledge the infamous husband, they soon died off one after another, leaving Selise as the only heir.

    The pair had three children, Diego, Dona and Anton, and all three turned out much to their parents wishes. Each proved a valuable asset to the family by marrying quite succesfully and further increasing the wealth and status of house Dascovia. When Horasio finally died, a proud grandfather of sixteen grandchildren, the cult of Loviatar had attracted more people than the original temple could comfortably hold and plans were made to expand the temple. It was shortly after his death that Selise became a liability to the remaining parts of the family, drinking and talking far too much. The following years were harsh on the cult and drove them further underground. The original temple was destroyed, the cult said to have disappeared.

    It took three generations until a Salazar Horasio and his cousin Quara Dona both of house Dascovia, managed to revive the cult to a smaller image of its former glory. They build up a front of a succesful trading company, specializing on importing the finest wines from Halrua. A business that should withstand all tests of time and until this day provides most of the official and inoffical expenses of house Dascovia. With the money they so earned they funded a rebuilding of the darker dungeons of the Dascovia estate, discovering the tunnels leading to the abandoned and destroyed temple. Under the directions of the cousins the temple was partially rebuild and reopened for the use of their horrible rituals. This time, these darker activities were kept more secret and covert. The cult thrived and only few, very honored guests were since permitted to visit the actual unholy grounds.

    The Recent History
    During the short reign of the blue dragon Anaglathos, the then head of house Dascovia a Quara Luisa used the time to expand the business quite effectively even into slavery, secretly importing a steady supply of pleasure slaves from east and west. Unfortunately for house Dascovia, the reign of Anaglathos was cut short before their new business could really catch root. Quara Luisa was forced to make pricely amends to various other merchant houses to escape full punishment. Even though it didn't quite ruin the house financially, it put a serious strain on it in more than one way. Most were relieved, when she died in mysterious circumstances shortly after the murder of the hero who had bested the dragon. This more fortunate death also ended unhelpful rumors of a possible involvement in that very murder.

    Leaving neither heir nor husband behind, Luisa Quara's death caused a short struggle inside the family which was finally resolved when Harasio Marco and his Halruaan wife Alaethe took over. Originally, parts of the family disregarded them for their rather irrelevant line in the Dascovian family tree, but their skill in negoations with traders proved just how important a steady income of goods was for house Dascovia's finances. Under their skilled hands the official business flourished and expanded and ever since then the most skilled in dealings with other people were officially heading the family. They were often also the leaders of the cult of Loviatar, sometimes husband and wife shared the leaderships and rarely cousins or more distant relatives. This policy kept house Dascovia quite succesful and their wine trade flourished.

    For decades the profits of house Dascovia kept steadily improving, allowing them to spend more and more of their income on the cult of Loviatar. Slowly the temple was rebuild and because house Dascovia often had quite charismatic leaders, they managed to attract quite a few wealthy merchants to their darker habits. But it wasn't until a century ago and the days of Salazar Pieron that the house extended their business once more into the less savory things. He picked up the old contacts and imported the odd slave from the Dragon Coast. Eventually his contacts suggested to sell harsher drugs than alcohol in Alaghôn. And because of their special, two-head nature, house Dascovia was able to hit this new business off surprisingly well, even if only few specialized drugs were introduced.

    Quara's Generation
    The year after Selise Balama and her huband Tethost took over, twin girls were born to Diero Horasio and Chathi, they were called Selise Alaethe and Selise Quara to honor the current leader of house Dascovia. But while their parents were merely helpful in small, supporting roles, both of the children quickly proved to be gifted with a hint of their mother's yellowish skin color. That coupled with rich, black hair made them grow up as somewhat the little dears of the house. Selise Balama made sure their parents received all they needed to turn the two children into smart young girls. For a family like the Dascovias that included a very carefully tainted religious education, guiding them the first steps to Loviataran worship. Thus the two girls slowly grew up, enjoying the relatively comfortable life of a rich merchant family to the fullest.

    Alaethe began to show the first signs of a magical talent around the same time that Quara developed an unhealthy curiousity for paintings. Her twin sister would often mock Quara when she dragged her off to yet another new painting she had discovered hanging in one of the many rooms of the Dascovia estate. Eventually, though, the estate held no more secrets for Quara nor Alaethe to discover and so the twins got into the habit of sneaking off the family grounds often neglecting to ask permission. For a while, everything worked out, but then they were caught while snooping around in the Falone estate. Long time enemies of house Dascovia, the Falones suspected the young girls of being sent to murder or incriminate them. When Selise Balama found out and succesfully negotiated the return of the girls, they had glimpsed the darker side of their family for the first time.

    After that, nothing seemed to be the same anymore. Selise Balama had suspected Chathi of being part of the twin's adventures and had her taken to the temple. After her return, the formerly loving mother became very deliberate in her affections very careful when talking with the twins, often barely holding back tears. But even then it was obvious that Selise Balama would pick either Tethosh Anton or one of the twins as a successor. For that their education had to be carefully guided and soon the twins were seperated, Alaethe received instructions to further develop her magical talent and Quara was sent off to the mountains to be instructed in something more useful than art. Though that was meant to turn her head back to business, it achieved the opposite, it showed Quara that family and business was not everything out in the world._


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    ((Oh well, I was bored, so I wrote more. Can also be found on the wiki page))

    This story is about the time Quara decided to leave her family behind and travel to a place far, far away.

    Quara's Choice

    Arrival
    With the coming of dusk the city burst into life, at least it had always been so in Quara's memory. The sun would die in a glorious display of colors but it was mirrored a thousandfold in the streets and houses spread before her. For a moment she hesitated, her gaze soaking up this spectacular sight. Sitting on a small hill, the Dascovia estate offered one of the best places to observe this sea of lights. Alaghôn at night would be second hardest thing to leave behind.

    The other reason not to run away rose as a large shadow before her now. The east wing only had two windows sending their light out into the dark. She recognized the top one as Anton's study. He always liked to invite people to his study to entertain them with an especially rare wine and probably the odd other thing. An unexpected smile settled on her lips with the memory of lazy evenings, a wine glass in her hand and the reassuring knowledge that servants would bring any amount of wine or fulfill just about any other wish she could think of.

    Seemingly out of nowhere the guard appeared, a torch in his hand and held it up to see her face. She tried her best not to be blinded by the unexpected light and still give the guard a friendly look. He was doing only his job, after all, but his insistence on waving the torch up made her horse nervous. Quara tried to give it a reassuring pat on the neck, she had named it after her mother Chati because of the velvety soft and shining black fur, similar to the long black hair she had inherited from her mother. The guard more snarled then asked: "Selise Quara ya Dascovia?"

    "That's my name," she replied softly. "And yours?"

    The torch was gone from her face the same instant, she felt more than she saw that he straightened and paled. He hurriedly apologized and then took her reigns, leading her horse up to the estate's entrance. She left the horse Chati in the hands of the guard, though it took her a moment to understand the strange look she received when she began to remove her things from its back. She had forgotten that here these things were done by the servants. By the time she had made her introductions to those of her family that cared, her things would have arrived in her room, the unpacking probably already done.

    As she approached the entrance, two servants pulled open the doors and she stepped into the brightly lit interior. Even the servants' clothes here outshone her simple, brown travelling clothes. Passing the archway into the splendid hall she took a moment to straighten up herself, her mother had called it wearing the gold. A daughter of house Dascovia was expected to represent the wealth of her house and she did that in the way she held herself. In the mountains wealth had meant little. If there was no food of any kind, it didn't matter how much you could pay for it.

    Homecoming
    Then she entered the hall properly and finally returned home. The warmest thing to receive was the only thing she craved truly from home. Her twin sister Alaethe now easily recognized because she wore a splendid, daringly cut dress, came to her first, throwing her arms around her and gave her a hug. The hug wasn't as close as Quara remembered them, but she put it down to the dress's restrictions. After that it was all even more carefully polite welcoming. Her father Diero was there, giving her a much warmer hug than she had expected. He apologized for the absence of Quara's mother, as did the head of the Dascoiva family, Selise Balama, who had come to personally welcome Quara back.

    The rest of the family or honored guests to attend her welcoming were all very deliberately polite, congratulating her on receiving such a good recommendation from her instructors. Inwardly, she had to chuckle as yet another young man winked to her, saying if she knew how to inspire men to write such beautiful pieces about her, he'd love to make her acquaintance. Quara herself had designed most of what the report on her activities contained. Rimardo had spent too much time in the mountains, hunting and fighting for survival, so he had recognized her skill with words, written or spoken, early on. She knew she had left a hole in the small band behind. A hole that wouldn't easily be filled.

    Here, back in the family, nothing would feel quite as satisfying as it had when she was little. Among a house filled with Dascovians, she was just one of many. Probably even less important than a good servant. She glanced around the room, grinning at that throught. Yes, probably everyone here liked to think they were more important than the two maids near the hallway, one now hurrying forward to refill the empty glass of a guest. A good servant was priceless. New guests, however, were easily invited.

    Eventually she managed to escape further compliments or half-hearted welcomes and made her way back to the small group that had flocked around Alaethe. For a while she watched her twin sister chat away with some of the Dascovians from out of town. But she couldn't quite remember where they belonged, knowing full well that the signs on their shoulder straps should tell her that. When Alaethe finally noticed her she beamed and waved her over, excitedly including her in the conversation about the best ways to transport the wine from Halruaa, house Dascovia's most important trade.

    With the last months spent guiding caravans through the mountains, Quara was intimately familiar with the troubles of transporting things through dangerous territory, but the topic lost some of its appeal when it turned to the best ways to cross the Lake of Steam. Alaethe seemed relentless, though, nudging her and kept her there. The dry voices of the boringly business focused men and the now unaccustomed pleasure of wine made Quara tired and she barely listened to what was said, trying to find a music amidst the chaos of many voices.

    Before Selise Balama retreated and signaled the end of the small gathering, she came once more personally to Quara, complimenting her on very well spent time. To Quara's surprise, the head of house Dascovia also requested that she came to visit her, after freshening up a little. As she shot Alaethe a confused look, all she received in return was a wide grin and the cryptic words: "Oh, you'll see! It's great news!"

    The Offer
    Despite her wish to leave house Dascovia behind, Quara's curiosity was certainly picked and so she hurried off to her room, almost bumping into the maid that was leaving it. Before the maid could apologize, Quara had already seized her hand and shook it, thanking her for bringing her things up and unpacking them. For a moment, the maid remained stunned in the doorway and Quara slipped inside, finding a new dress spread on her bed. Apparently someone had taken the time to account for her growing and filling out. With the help of the maid she washed most of the dust off herself and put the dress on. Then gave the worried maid a warm hug and passed her some of the dried fruits she had bought on the last stop.

    When she arrived a few moments later at the door to Selise Balama's study right next to the library of house Dascovia, she almost looked and felt like a proper daughter of house Dascovia. Once more waiting for her audience but she didn't have to wait long, the door opened and the secretary bade her inside. Then he retreated back outside, leaving her with the words: "Please wait here, young Miss. The honored mother will be with you in just a moment."

    Thankfully the water used to wash her face had also driven off the sleepiness and so Quara used her lone moment to examine the room. Unlike other studies this room didn't hold many paintings but it had still held her fascination because the huge map that stretched over two walls was just as much a painting. Now she stepped up to look at the pictures in and around the Orsraun mountains. She was chuckling relieved about not having met any of the dragons during her time there, when the door to the library opened and Selise Balama and her husband Tethost entered.

    Hurriedly she gathered up the hem of her gown and courtsied low, greeting them formally. The pair waved her through further formalities quickly, only chatting shortly about her time in the mountains and the mirth they had found her in. Then they got right down to business. Out of the many young and aspiring children of house Dascovia, she was one of the three that seemed best suited to lead. "So we decided to offer all three of you a special chance to prove yourself for the family. Each of you will be sent to one of our houses along the trade route to Halruaa."

    Dimly Quara remembered this is what it must have felt for the maid, as she sat through the further explanations in a stunned silence. She was going to have the responsibility of making the wine trade run smoothly, strike deals with caravan leaders or ship captains, make sure the wine was not stretched during the transportation and so on and so forth. With only the faintest hint of irony, Tethost added: "And, of course, ensure that house Dascovia's reputation remains perfectly clear."

    There it was, then. The reminder. The reason to turn her back to her own family. It was all about the reputation, the face of the family as a whole. She knew there was some unsavory business going on, behind closed doors. Ever since her twin sister and she herself had been held for ransom by a very unfriendly other merchant house, she had learnt to believe the word in dark corners that her house was involved in kidnapping, extortion and maybe worse. She smiled now at Selise Balama, hoping that she wouldn't guess it was in thanks for her deed back then and not for the offer.

    Eventually they stopped explaining and Quara excused herself as politely as possible, truthfully saying the travels had made her weary and tired. In fact she was also tired of wondering whether or not this meant she could influence the family business on a whole, or would be forced into a role she didn't like. Unware of Quara's troubles, the pair nodded their heads benignly and together and Tethost guided her to the door. Just as she was passing through, he took her arm and smiled at her. "We think you're the best of these three, so we'll let you pick first. Don't disappoint us, daughter."