Name: Nicolas Sauveterre

Race: Touscaine Human

Age: 40

Social Class: Minor Noble

Profession: Knight

Brief Description: The Lord of Sauveterre is a tall, well-built man with a demeanor that can be both disarmingly charming and frigid. As the youngest son of the last Lord Sauveterre, Nicolas was never given the same doting opportunities as his eldest brothers, and learned to make his way through intelligence, force and subterfuge. He is not a man to be trifled with.

Skills:

[Profession] Combat Horse Riding
[Profession] Animal Training: Horse
[Profession] Command
[Profession] Iron Will
[General] Awareness
[General] Charisma
[General] Intimidation
[General] Connections -- Major House Lysander
[General] Connections -- Major House S'craeux
[General] Torture

House: Patriarch of House Sauveterre

History: Nicolas Sauveterre was the last child of the previous Lord Sauveterre, one of five sons and seven children altogether. He grew up in the same mix of luxury and brutal combat training that most noble sons do, alternately eating the finest food and being beaten by swordmasters for most of the day.

Outside of this standard training, Nicolas was mostly left to his own devices, being fifth in line of succession in the house hierarchy and thusly considered relatively unimportant. Because of this lack of familial support, he learned to make his way in the world via his own skills, which are numerous enough to ensure a ready supply of enemies, friends and sycophants.

When he was eighteen, there was something of a scandal; though details remain hazy to the general public, one of his companions ended up with a sword through his belly after rumors of having slept with Nicolas's mistress. It was all quieted with a great deal of money -- not to mention the death of his father and brothers.

It is known without a doubt that the last Lord Sauveterre and his two eldest sons died on the field of battle in one of the innumerable wars that have shaken the land. The fates of the other two, however, are considered somewhat murkier. One apparently died when robbed of his money by a whore, knifed in the throat by some unknown man presumed to be her pimp. The woman could say nothing, having been found dead a few days later. The one nearest to Nicolaus in age simply grew ill, fading away as happens to so many, although the timing was muttered about by those who will mutter about such things.

In any case, the death of his brothers by the time he was twenty-one meant that Nicolas ascended to the head of the house. Seeing a need for a wife, he married into the Tsiefcane family, picking the younger daughter of the Lord Tsiefcane, Anaida. In the twenty or so years since that time has passed, she has given him six sons and one daughter, ensuring their place in the top rank of the Sauveterre family.

Besides being an able fighter, Nicolaus Sauveterre is also a skilled diplomat, or as skilled as any proud lord is. He has often been sent by affiliated major houses to negotiate with other houses, as well as being part of groups sent by the king himself to the other peoples of the nation. In short, he is a man with a great deal of power and money, and ruthlessness second to none.

Celebrity Claim: Gerard Butler

Name: Anaida Sauveterre née Tsiefcane

Race: Touscaine Human

Age: 36

Social Class: Minor Noble

Profession: Chatelaine (Sub-profession of Merchanteer)

Brief Description: Pride is the first word that can be applied to the Lady of Sauveterre. She is immensely proud of her position and of her family, though not in such a way as to be shallow. Rather, she sees the way of the world and is determined to put her family at the top of the heap, at the cost of anything up to and including human life. Dark-haired and cool in demeanor, she is not so locquatious as her husband, but is able to hold her own in courtly situations.

Skills:

[Profession] Economics
[Profession] Haggling
[Profession] Item Appraisal
[Profession] Mathematics
[General] Subterfuge
[General] Seneschal
[General] Heraldry
[General] Connections -- Major House Lysander
[General] Connections -- Major House S'craeux
[General] Charisma

House: Matriarch of House Sauveterre

History: There is nothing particularly remarkable about the history of Anaida Sauveterre nee Tsiefcane. The third of five children and the youngest daughter of Anyn Tsiefcane, head of the noble house of the same name, she was trained from a young age in the art of any noble woman. Her upbringing was centered around making her a capable, well-mannered head of a household. To this extent, she was fostered out to the major house of Lysander for nearly a decade, which is where she met the man who would become her husband, Nicolas Sauveterre.

At first she was not so sure of the match with the new Lord Sauveterre, having heard the rumors about the demise of the males of his family -- but her ambition, hidden beneath an exterior that can seem demure at times, fired as high as his and it was clear, from the time she first spoke to him of such matters, that theirs was a meeting of similarly-patterned minds.

In the two decades since their marriage, Anaida has borne her husband seven children, ranging in ages from fourteen to twenty. While her husband is away on campaigns and diplomatic missions she runs his household with an iron fist, ensuring that all goes well and seeing to the domestic needs of retainers, servants and other affiliated members as well as ruling over the growing Sauveterre clan with its children, cousins and other members.

Celebrity Claim: Carrie Anne Moss