Wren Concord

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I will do anything to keep my family's secret and uphold its loyalty to us. And I will do anything to climb the ranks of where I serve. I wonder which one will win out.

~ Wren Concord ~

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The House with a Secret

A member of the Concord family, Wren the elf has worked hard to enter the ranks of the Tenelean Crows. Her family of Ravennian origin, she had to fight tooth and nail to be recognized as loyal to the Tenelean crown, using methods considered unorthodox to the rest of the organization. Wielding an ancient and secret power of her family known as the Saint of Concord, Wren is dead set on making a name for herself and climbing the ranks in her family’s new home.
Wren was born in 1452 in Mendago, the capital city of Ravenna. The first 26 years of her life she was raised among the Ravennian high society, playing the normal faithful daughter of Ravenna on the outside, but behind closed doors constantly aware that her family had a foot out the door already. Because, they had a secret no one outside the family could know, for risk it could see them shunned.
A secret and mysterious patron they only knew as the Saint of Concord. The source of their strange power, their military success, and even their political prominence, tied to this strange phantom they believe to have existed throughout the Concord bloodline. The full-blooded members are characterized by shadowy marks across their eyes which they keep hidden.
House Concord was originally one of the Noble houses of Ravenna, once a fairly prominent presence in the Department of the Military. The family business was the operation of an officer’s academy, to give commissioned officers training in strategy and logistics. The elven family has a long memory of military experience, and as such many of their ranks made for good teachers.
Having risen to some level of power in the period of the absolute monarchy, the family’s patriarch has vivid memories of when the Ravennian Civil War swept the land. Seeing the writing on the wall in the midst of the year-long war, for the sake of his family he had defected to Mendago’s rebellion. In doing so, the Concord family gained a level of security which supplied a foothold to the establishment of the Concord Military Institute. But all was not well, religious reform clamped down on which gods were free to be worshipped. Due to this, the secret of the family became an even deeper secret.
In secret, the family, Wren included, still supported the actions taken by the former king, Joseph Lamonia III in showing amnesty to people of unconventional faiths, especially since their's stemmed from a power separate from the Dawn Father or the Seaworthy. Still they worked to support their country, dissenting in secret. But, while they were dedicated to the secrecy of their Saint, neither did they wish to defend a place that would reject them if given the chance.
So, when the matriarch of the family, Dove Concord had died, it came to Wren as no surprise when a plot began to defect to a more culturally ambiguous land. The Tenelean Empire. Wren and her brother Thrush prepared for it for a long time, rehearsing and drilling day after day, because an action like this would not be taken lightly. Not only would a powerful military house of Ravenna be leaving, but this act bordered on treason at its highest degree.
Connections inside the empire were pre-forged, promising guaranteed land once the house crossed the borders. Then, the day finally came when House Concord made its secret journey across Ravenna.

Defection to an Empire

When that day came, carrying the Ark of the Saint with them, Wren personally looked forward to Tenelea. She spent much of the journey daydreaming about what it would look like and what their new house would look like. Especially she looked forward to exploring the new cities with her father, who was an avid historian and was knowledgeable about many of the older cities of Tenelea and Ravenna.
On most of the journey through Ravenna, she quietly sat next to her father Gillian as he whispered stories to her and Thrush to distract them. The whole journey through Ravenna was like an exciting adventure, and the farthest she had travelled from Mendago in her entire life.
That excitement crashed to the ground west of Trispire. As the family left that city, an enemy made their move to intercept them. It was hard to tell whether they were trying to kill or capture the family, but no matter what, the Concords always put up a fight. Gillian, though not a full blooded Concord, fought tirelessly for his family. But, it cost him his life. Sending the children off in a skiff with Wren's uncle Robin, her mother Raven and Gillian took the very last one with the the few staff that stuck with them up until now. They pushed off, but Gillian was hit and gravely wounded by a crossbow bolt, and was swept away in the river to never be seen again.
Wren never saw it happen, but just heard her mother’s cry in the night.
The rest of the journey across the Delta River into Forokia and then to Enendale was less exciting and more morose. Emotionally and physically exhausted, Wren spent the rest of the journey not speaking much. Her first journeys through Tenelean cities didn’t match what she had imagined. They looked as she had hoped, but it didn't feel the same without her father's voice beside her.
When they arrived in Enendale, a partially built empty keep was awaiting them. The future site of the Concord Military Academy, now located in Tenelea. It was here she waited while her mother spent a grueling ten hour meeting with the Iron Emperor himself in his throne room. Wren could only imagine how intimidating the man must be in person and what sort of terms the two sides would inevitably come to.
When Raven returned, Wren got the news at the same time as the rest of the family. They would, from here on, be a noble house loyal to Tenelea. But, Wren never forgot that uneasy look in her mother's eyes when she said so. It was an expression Wren had never seen before, and she could only wonder what had happened behind the closed doors of the imperial throne room.

Foothold in the Empire

Whatever it had been, the impact it had left on the house had been a good one. The family grieved the loss of Gillian in their own ways. Raven and her brother Robin dedicated themselves to the reinstatement and transfer of the Concord Military Academy. Of the lands they procured, a decent sized plot of land just outside Enendale's inner limits was set apart. Stationed on the edge of the tall cliffs, it was the ideal location to rebuild the CMA for their new Tenelean clientele. Quarried from the local stone and infused with magic, the academy keep was built looming over Enendale's imperial cliffs, balanced on the edge over the ocean below.
With the keep and the grounds around it, as well as other holdings out in the country, the Concords had everything they needed to once again climb the ranks. At first it was slow going - even with the information given to get in the good graces of the emperor and his court, turncoats generally were not well liked nor trusted. But, true to Tenelean form, the Concords proved their worth over time through hard work, merit, and ability. Within a few decades they had a burgeoning and rapidly growing school producing officers and soldiers who were capable and intelligent, trained in a unique mixture of the Tenelean and Ravennian tradition with a unique Concord spin on it.
It proved invaluable in the War of Turmoil. The quality of training, experience, and information provided at the start was an asset the empire could not ignore. Raven was invited to join one of the three seats on the Court of Conquest, where she has sat to oversee the direction and development of the Imperial Corps ever since. The other family members found their various places throughout the forces of the Empire, leaving the house embedded deep into the iron war machine.

Appearance

Wren Concord is a full-blooded elf. She has longer dark wavy hair and a slender, tall build. Her right eye is a warm hazel, but her left eye is often a blazing, ghostly green. The lines of her shadow mark glow, appearing seared into her skin around her left eye. But, she is able to freely change the color of one or both her eyes to hide this mark, a power directly connected to this mark.
Her skin is fair and her sharp elven features prominent; she still retains pointed elven ears having never undergone the Tenelean tradition of cropping, in which an elf's ears are cut until they resemble a normal human's in a show of rebellion against their ancient Endolin brothers. And she exerts an otherworldly grace common to fair elven race.
She often dresses in a sharp military style uniform with leather reinforcing armor, such as the long gloves and cavalry style boots she sports. The red sash around her waist is a remnant of her father, Gillian Concord, and the old Ravennian uniform he once wore. On several parts of her uniform she wears the emblem of her house, the Concord Crest.
Her magic manifests in the same kind of smokey green energy that comes from the Saint of Concord when it makes an appearance. When she calls upon these powers, a smooth metal helmet with a solid faceplate covers her face and head, with the blazing shadow mark over where her left eye would be visible - were there any openings or features on the helmet. When she speaks in this way, it is as if the voice of the Saint is speaking directly through her.

The Saint of Concord

The Concord family’s best kept secret is a dark one. The powerful phantom tied to the Concord Bloodline, known to them simply as the Saint of Concord, or The Saint for short. The spirit holds the collective experiences of the Concord family, and when a member dies their memories join this collective, becoming fused into the Saint, making it more powerful.
Many would consider this a form of necromancy, and indeed it may be. But the Saint of Concord is not malicious, simply loyal to the family, vowing to protect and train the family for eternity. But still there are parts of it that are an enigma even to the leaders of the family, those who keep the records and history of the Concords closely. Who is the Saint? Is it the first Concord? Does it actually keep the souls when a Concord dies, or simply the memories? What sort of magic brought about its origin? Is it even a Concord at all?
Wren met the Saint face-to-face on the eve of her 99th birthday. The final step to her training as a youth, overseen by her mother and uncle, as is tradition. The Saint granted her a gift, one that was meant to evolve as she grew as a fighter and duelist. To her was granted a sword: The Stellar Jay’s End - a curved cutlass-like blade suited to Wren’s dexterous fighting style, along with a host of powers to instill fear on her enemies in the field.
The Saint’s anchor to this mortal plane is an enormous grimoire - a titanic book locked away deep beneath the Concord Family Keep in Enendale behind arcane locks, doors, and shrouded in secrecy. A chamber sits with the caged tome along with the family reliquary. The reliquary are the previous members of House Concord, who have passed on either to age or to battle. Instead of remains, an object of importance (often an object given to them by the Saint) is kept there with an inscription of their personal crest. All these things surround the Windborn Grimoire. If one opens the pages, the Saint is summoned and you can turn the pages of the grimoire to read the memories of the Concords whose experiences have joined the Saint.

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The Incursors were made and Wren was the first recommendation. Can't say she was a bad one.

~ Darius Flugzeug ~

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Year of Birth

1452 AC

Aligned Organization

Tenelea

In the Shadows

Adwald had to admit, this Concord Military Academy was nothing less than impressive. The hallways were clean and spacious, and the open courtyards nearby were alive with friends and colleagues itching to spar. And nothing was nearly as intimidating as the small arena everyone called the Nest. This was where a student's military aptitude was really tested, in a walled-off stadium hanging over the imperial cliffs that loomed out into the open blue.
Not to mention, most of the floor you stood on was clear, reinforced glass framed with Tenelean Iron; no matter where you stepped, you could see the entire distance down beneath you if you looked. And Adwald could only assume that was not a good idea around here. In another lifetime, he may have actually enjoyed attending this Tenelean academy in public.
However, he wasn't Tenelean, he was not looking to join this place, and he was certainly as private as you could get stalking the academy grounds from up high in a darkened room of a spire currently not in use.
At this moment, the Vulture was behind enemy lines. He was looking for his target while he sharpened the head of an arrow he was holding, and began to weave evocation magic into it that made the head glow a lava red. One arrow was all he needed, he knew that.
It sounded overconfident, but what kind of Vulture would he be without it?
The sun was setting to an orange hue and the courtyard was starting to fill. It wasn't long now, the ceremony was about to begin. Slowly, Adwald drew the bow from around his waist, knocking the arrow into its string. Triple checking he stayed as deep in the shadows as he could, the string pulled back as he aimed the arrow to the yard. Then, he waited.
At some point, he couldn't tell if he had stopped breathing or not. That wasn't what mattered in this moment. All that he focused on was when the doors to the main hall opened, and the family members to whom this academy was named for began to march out.
First, Thrush Concord. From what Adwald had uncovered, he was easily the strongest of the family. His muscles could be every bit as intimidating as the halberd he carried on his back at all times.
Robin Concord came behind him. The man was dressed head to toe in imperial regalia, a testament to his status as an officer and as a teacher at the academy.
But, there was supposed to be a third member. He looked, but couldn't find Robin's niece and Thrush's brother, Wren Concord anywhere. He would think she would be inclined to attend a military assembly that involved her family.
Perhaps not.
Adwald shook his head. That's not what mattered. What mattered was his target who was the last one to exit the doors and take her place beside all the other Concords in front of the student body.
Raven Concord.
This was the woman pulling all the strings. It was not hard to know she was the matriarch of the house, or that she was one of the three seats in the Court of Conquest in the empire, or that she was the deaconess of the academy.
What had been hard to know was actually finding her. It had been weeks of Adwald skulking inside Enendale and avoiding detection.
But everything had paid off. Now, he had a clear straight view of her as she took her place on the large stone podium that looked over the students. Adwald heard her begin to speak, though from this distance, it was only blurred feminine sounds.
It didn't matter to him anyway what she was saying. In the end, the Concord family betrayed Ravenna and threw their lot in with the worst people imaginable. For all Adwald knew, they needed to be stopped.
He steadied his aim as he fully drew the string back now. Moments went by as he perfected the trajectory of his shot and waited for the right moment.
Finally, a pause came to whatever Raven was saying and there was a round of applause.
Thwick! Adwald let the fire-branded arrow fly. Just one arrow...
It soared through the wind. It never lost its path aimed straight at the matriarch's head.
No one had time to react. Adwald inwardly triumphed for a split second as the arrow struck through... and... passed through her?
The arrow went straight through Raven like nothing but air and the arrow lost itself inside a nearby hedgerow. Her figure suddenly dissipated into a puff of smoke just as screams and shouts began to echo all through the courtyard.
A decoy..? Had they known all along?
There was a split rush of movement just behind Adwald. In a flash, he ducked out of the way just as a saber sliced across the stone he'd been crouching at. Two leaps backward, and he had more comfortable distance from his attacker.
When Adwald got a clear look at their face as they stepped into the light from the window, he realized just how much he'd underestimated the Concord family. Specifically, Wren Concord.
She stood in front of him now, one saber raised at him, a second sheathed at her side. She wore an imperial optio's uniform just as clean and fashioned as that uncle of hers did.
Of course there had been a reason she was not with the family. She was as patriotic as they came; she wouldn't have just skipped.
"I hope it's been a pleasure, you staking my family out for the past month." The girl took a step toward him, Adwald needed a way out. "But your game's over."
Wren had the doorway completely blocked. It didn't matter if he could outmatch her or not, his time and luck had run out.
Adwald looked to the window. Dawn Father protect me.
Adwald attempted his escape, throwing everything he'd worked for, including himself, out the window.

That assassin got away. But, that will surely send a clear message to whoever hopes to cross us in the future.

~ Raven Concord