Aeron is a Seelie Sidhe Wilder of House Fiona and Queen of Pacifica.
Overview[]
Born Erin Hartman in 1969, Aeron awakened to her faerie self when she was 10 years old, on her Uncle Sean's farm in the wine country. Sean, King of Pacifica at that time (and approaching his Last Winter) immediately named her Tanista, the heir apparent to the throne. Since her Saining, Aeron has received training from every sort of tutor available: in the six years it took for her to ascend to the throne, she has been through every sort of trial, course of tutelage, and simulated political conflict her tutors could devise. She learned to use the sword, the bow, the machine gun. She learned psychology and the Arts and was tutored in the ways of the Gallain and the Prodigal by native teachers.
Still, all of this training did not change Aeron's behavior... she was an extremely bratty childling and went on to become a fairly spoiled wilder. King Sean would not allow her to live at the freehold until she reached 18, the age of majority, and was able to assume the throne.
Sean was so taken by his niece that he was unable to see her obvious character flaws, and the fearlessness and wild passions of House Fiona exacerbated her selfish, demanding nature. It was not until his death that her mettle was truly tested. When Aeron was 16, the Radical People's Front attacked King Sean with Iron blades. He was ambushed in his pickup truck on his way to visit one of his favorite wineries in the wine country.
Aeron threw herself into a period of mourning that lasted from Beltaine until Samhain. During this black time, her selfish, immature self seemed to die. On the night of October 31st, 1985, she led the knights loyal to her in a hunt of commoner radicals that would later become known as "Aeron's Reaving." She personally took the blood-price for her uncle's death quietly, with great resolve.
So avenged, Aeron assumed the throne, confirmed as the Queen of Pacifica by High King David himself. Something had happened to change her during the first years of her reign... she made a lot of policy changes (such as the instigation of the custom of hospitality and the establishment of a Commoner's Reeve to administrate the commoner population of Pacifica) during that time. She attended court with regularity, and made sure to always be seen at King David's court whenever it was in Caer Angeles.
It was there that she met the satyr Hamal, a struggling acting coach. It was instant and complete romantic love at first sight. There would be no fainting, weak, courtly love for Aeron, who had learned that her time was short in this world and that she must seize what she wanted for the moment.
Within a week, Hamal had taken up residence in the queen's own apartments, scandalously refusing to even announce his attention to court her formally. Within a month, Aeron had delegated her authority to underlings, leaving it up her royal baron Harold diMarcos to rule her fief for her, making only the most sweeping of executive decisions. To this day, she lays abed most days, watching decadently as her court begins to spiral into chaos, letting Hamal tell her it is not her fault, that it is her job to serve herself, her pleasure... and through such self-service, she will cause her kingdom to blossom into a self-aware, self-developed place. Enlightened and complete, each citizen will be fulfilled as she is fulfilled.
No one can speak to Aaron without her holding her ears closed to their words. no one can tell Aeron of their fears for her, for her fief. Inside her, there is a need to cause the burning extremes of Banality and Glamour to become one uniform reality. She is painfully close to slipping over to the Unseelie. What she does not realize is that this will alter the character of her own kingdom. Indeed, there are powerful forces already at work that will benefit greatly if she changes Courts.
Appearance[]
Aeron's cloud of fiery hair hangs down below her knees when totally unbound, a prospect she does not relish, as it requires hours of combing and brushing before her hair becomes remotely manageable again afterwards. Her bright, dark eyes mark her ancient Native American ancestry, which might also explain something of her reticence to bring war against the Nunnehi.
Personality[]
Lost in a sensuous dream that is quickly turning nightmarish, Aeron knows that something is horribly wrong but has no idea what it is. Even worse, she knows that she should be able to stop it but has no idea how. She feels so put upon, as everyone is asking her to decide this, declare that, ride off and slay this, adjudicate that... can't they all just see that she wants to be left alone? Only Hamal understands her, just as Uncle Sean did. She has no idea how she got along before she met Hamal, and the things she did back then; riding off to slay chimerical beasts, settling silly border disputes, seem so ridiculous now. It's more and more difficult for her every day to keep her mind on what she is doing. She would rather just let herself drift.
When dealing with Kithain, bored but imperious is the key. She is still Queen, after all, and her word is still law. Still, no matter how stern the stuff she was made of, she is going soft and decadent. Furthermore, she does not care who knows it. While she has not descended near the "off with her head" paranoia of Carroll's Queen of Hearts, there are times when it gets awfully tempting...
Treasures[]
Aeron possesses a recurve bow called Hawk's Cry. It is enchanted so that any bird's feather placed in the nock will become a chimeric arrow of surpassing accuracy. Aeron carries Hawk's Cry into battle, handing it to her squire when she chooses to fight, drawing her weapon, Nightbiter. This blade is a treasure which can change its chimeric black blade-shape and size to several different forms, including a battle axe, broadsword, and spear. Aeron is proficient in each form's use. She also possesses a fine coat of draconian mail taken of the first creature she slew at Midsummer's Hunt, riding with the king.
Stats[]
Court: Seelie
Legacies: Troubadour/Rogue
House: Fiona
Seeming: Wilder
Kith: Sidhe
Physical: Strength 2, Dexterity 4, Stamina 3
Social: Charisma 4, Manipulation 3, Appearance 6
Mental: Perception 3, Intelligence 3, Wits 4
Talents: Alertness 3, Animal Ken 2, Athletics 4, Brawl 3, Dodge 2, Empathy 1, Intimidation 4, Kenning 3, Subterfuge 2
Skills: Craft 2, Drive 3, Etiquette 4, Leadership 3, Melee 4, Performance 2, Stealth 3, Survival 3
Knowledges: Computer 2, Enigmas 3, Law 2, Linguistics 4, Medicine 3, Mythlore 4, Occult 2, Politics 4, Science 2
Backgrounds: Chimera 3, Contacts 4, Dreamers 5, Gremayre 2, Holdings 6, Resources 4, Retinue 5, Title 6, Treasures 4
Arts: Chicanery 2, Legerdemain 2, Primal 4, Soothsay 3, Sovereign 5, Wayfare 3
Realms: Actor 5, Fae 5, Nature 3, Prop 3, Scene 2
Glamour: 8
Willpower: 7
Banality: 5
References[]
- CTD: Immortal Eyes: The Toybox, p. 67-69
- CTD: Nobles: The Shining Host, p. 98