Vangon Tarside

Vangon Tarside

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Vangon is a rather attractive woman. He main feature is her bright blue eyes she inherited from her mother, Carelle. She is of average height and quite broad in the shoulders. 
She gets her aquiline nose from her father. Her long chestnut, wavy hair hides a long scar behind her ear. She was badly injured a few years ago when Southern pirates boarded her brother's ship.
Despite her average size, Vangon's arms are unusually long, and she puts this feature to good use when fighting with her rapier.

Special abilities

Vangon discovered she can wield magic - she is a Rune Wielder  - when she moved to Norhaven with her family. During one of her forays on Norhaven Beach, she uncovered an ancient golden ring. She immediately felt the pull of it, and after a few months deciphering the runes engraved inside it discovered the ring had a shield effect.

Fieldin dubbed the ring The Mermaid Ring as it was found buried under the rough carving of a mermaid in a shore cave.
Vangon is very careful to hide her magic from everyone around her, and only Kem knows she can wield the ring.

They both speculated on how she inherited the magic in her blood. Vangon suspects that her mother, Carelle, had distant connections with the Glassader Clanberarers. 

Apparel & Accessories

Vangon does not go anywhere without an arsenal of knives and her rapier. The rapier is the only weapon visible, the knives are hidden around her person, usually under her favourite, fur-trimmed, blue coat.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Early Life

Vangon Tarside, formerly of Clan Glassader was born thirty years ago, the second daughter of a wealthy merchant family of Hollyholm.
Her family had owned merchant ships for generations and the Tarsides were respected traders shipping goods to and fro The Eastern Isles.

All changed when Vangon was 15. Convicted of fraud and malpractice by the Thane's Justice (The Circle of the Blaze), her father, was stripped of all his assets and wealth. More tragically, the family was deemed clanless and cast out from the Glassader clanlands.

From a pampered existence as a Hollyholm heiress, Vangon found herself destitute and without a place to call home. Shortly after he was convicted, Vangon's father committed suicide. Her older brother, Fieldin Tarside, took charge of the family.

Only 24 at the time, he managed to earn his family's passage on a ship sailing north to the The Lost Coast. The Lost Coast is one of the only places in Alven where traditionally the clanless can scratch a living, away from the influence of The Thane of Alven and the The Arkivon.

Three weeks after they set sail, the Tarsides arrived in the port city of Norhaven. At the borders with Clan Boarsden and Alven, Norhaven is a lawless smugglers' paradise. The Overlords in Norhaven are a consortium of pirates calling themselves the Red Buds.

The Red Buds were formed 20 years ago when the two most powerful families in the port buried the hatchet and decided to make a common front against the raids of a rival clan from Lucknow, a port further up the coast.

Treasure Hunting

Fieldin quickly found employment with the Red Buds. His intelligence and training on his father's ships stood him in good stead with the Red Bud lords and ladies. He was able to settle his mother and sisters in a basic but clean cottage in a quiet, fishing district of the harbour.

There Vangon learned to be street-smart and finished off her education by learning how to swing a blade. At the age of 20, she decided that married life was not something she wanted for herself.
Most young women of her age had already tied the knot and had one or two children of their own.

Her own elder sister, Fierda Tarside had married within a year of arriving in Norhaven and already had a little girl. Vangon decided to follow her brother who had just become captain of one of the Red Bud ships, the Salty Seal.

Vangon joined the ship as a consultant antiquarian. She did not formally join the organisation and stayed independent of the Red Buds. Since young, she had been fascinated by the many objects her father's ships brought back from all over the continent and had read extensively on the topic of relics and ancient artefacts.

Fieldin's mission for the Red Buds was to source ancient objects (and possibly treasures) from around the Lost Coast. The northern coast had been the centre of the Ancestors' civilisation and there were still many sites not explored along the coast.
This was, of course, a very dangerous business as the Ancestors were magic wielders and vestiges of their past lives could prove to be protected and deadly. However, there is a booming market in archaeological finds, and wealthy clans pay a lot of money to add precious objects to their collection.

Disaster

After five years of adventuring, Fieldin tragically lost his life when he was attacked by the Hawkhyves in Nedderhyve. He and two of his men had gone ashore to do a preliminary exploration of the Rucinon Ruins situated on a hill above the town.

The Hawkhyves are the overlords of this part of the coast, called The Fleece , and when the Kin found out that Fieldin was part of the Red Buds, a fight followed. Fieldin was knifed and killed on the spot while the two members of his crew managed to flee the bay on a fishing boat to rejoin the Salty Seal.

New Deal

Vangon was distraught at the news of her brother's death and swore to avenge him one day. After that, she came back for a while to the family home in Norhaven and started to build her own business in antiquities, building on the contacts she had acquired during the last five years.

Vangon kept her identity secret, using the shorter name of Van as a moniker. She soon became known as a reliable dealer in the trade. The money she made was enough to give her mother a comfortable living. Van bought a new family house in the more affluent Norhaven artisan district.

To help her with exploration and digs, Van brought together a very small tight-nit crew, all very capable sailors and adventurers she had met while sailing with her brother.
Her main partner is a young Easterner by the name of Kem Nilstren. Kem was the only person she trusted around her. Bit by bit, Kem was able to melt Van's heart and the two of them became lovers.

Two years after she started her business, Van left Norhaven and accompanied by Kem, booked passage to the Fleece. There, they settled down in Nedderpoint passing themselves off as siblings and miners. Van's interest in the Fleece was twofold: she wanted to discover where her brother had been buried and more importantly who had killed him.
She also knew that the whole bay was a very important Ancestor's site and there was much to explore, discover and plunder in the caves and tunnels below the Runcinon Ruins.

More Danger

For the last three years, all was well. Van and Kem earned the trust of their Nedderpoint neighbours. They were even shown through some of the cave tunnels around the bay. They bought a house near the Mawdark cave and were able to delve quite deep within the tunnel system, bringing back many valuable items for the underground markets of Holyholm.

Just last year, they stumbled upon a particularly special kind of stone the locals called  The Blank Stones. The pale, translucent stones reacted to Vangon's magic and she knew she had found something very special indeed.

Van and Kem found 5 in total deep in a vault below the Rucinon Ruins. Van kept three to herself to study and she sold two in the space of 6 months for a small fortune.

Unbeknown to her, the objects have drawn the Arkivon's notice. For the moment, she is safe in Fleece Bay but for how long?

Gender Identity

Vangon's gender identity is pretty fluid and she does not regard romance as something worth spending time on.

Education

Vangon has had an excellent education. Her father wanted her to try for The Assays or the Marks when she came of age. Lowmel was aware of Vangon's keen intellect and envisioned her daughter joining the Arkivon or The Sanctuary as a way to push the family forward in society.
When her father was cast out, her formal education stopped, but Vangon had always had an affinity for studies and she continued reading and researching Alven's history in particular.


Vangon was interested in the ideas of The Enlightenment and through her unorthodox career met some of the new scientists of Alven and their forward-thinking, unconventional ideas. For example, she corresponds regularly with Nielson Durstern, an antiquarian of some renown in Hollyholm, and a few serious collectors in Highfort.

Mental Trauma

Vangon has never forgiven the Arkivon and Clan Glassader for casting out her family. She is still persuaded that her father was framed. Her brother, Fieldin was of another mind.
Fieldin thought that their father had not been totally innocent, and he had always blamed Lowmel's ambition for his fall from grace.

When Fieldin was killed in Nedderhyve, something snapped in Vangon. She is intent on avenging her brother's death and sees the Hawkhyves and the Kin as an enemy to take down. In her pursuit of vengeance, she has already managed to make two of the men responsible for her brother's death disappear. Kem tries to temper Vangon's feelings with little success up to now.

Intellectual Characteristics

Vangon' s intellect is formidable. Her knowledge of Alven is something many people would envy. She uses that knowledge in a very practical way. Right now, her goals are to make sure her family is safe and secure and living comfortably. Sometimes, she dreams to come back to Hollyholm and manage a fleet of ships of her own and restore her family's fortune. 

Morality & Philosophy

Vangon does not believe in the Gods, and has a more fatalistic view of the world than most. Her beliefs have been coloured by the life she has led.
She believes that knowledge, science and magic will one day dethrone the blind faith her people have in the Gods. As she uncovers the relics of the Ancestors, a part of her hopes that a brilliant mind, somewhere, will find a way to replicate their brilliant technology and usher Alven into a new golden age.  

Personality Characteristics

Savvies & Ineptitudes

Vangon is good at:

- making decision
 - being kind-hearted 
- reading runes and the layout of a site- Her knowledge of the Ancestors and ancient Alven is extensive
- keeping her professional life from her romantic interests
- being patient. She is a good listener and observer.
- cussing and swearing like a sailor


Vangon is not very good at:

- long-term relationships - She has commitment issues
- putting people above her all-consuming pursuit of knowledge
- taking orders - She hates organisations and authority of any kind.

Likes & Dislikes

Vangon likes animals and has a pet Flying Cat named Misty who she picked up in Nedderpoint.
Misty follows her everywhere despite the fact she can be a liability and a total nuisance at times.
Vangon is training Misty to carry out some light thieving for her. Misty is also very good at going into fissures and tunnels too small for a human.

Vangon does not like anything to do with the Arkivon and/or the Sanctuary. She is very distrustful of anyone in power. She deals with most people incognito and keeps a low profile.

Vices & Personality flaws

Vangon is known for being relentless in her pursuit of the truth about Alven's past. It is an all-consuming passion that has put herself and the people she loves in jeopardy at times.

On a personal side, her wit can be acerbic and she does not suffer fools gladly. To people who do not know her well, she can appear cold and ruthless.

Personality Quirks

Vangon is very particular about her chestnut brown hair. She likes to try out different - sometimes complex - hairstyles. Hairstyles (mainly pleats) are something that all clansmen - men and women - are particular about.
She likes hats and feathers and has a small collection of them.  Vangon is not particularly vain but likes to hide her neck scar with loose hair or pleats.

 Since Misty joined her crew, Vangon likes to fuss with the animal and spoils her rotten. Misty is happy for her mistress to treat her like this and uses her mistress' leniency to create mischief whenever she can.

Social

Contacts & Relations

Vangon is keen to act on her own behalf. She has very few people she can count on - maybe 7 or 8.  Her main partner is Kem Nilstren, she trusts him with her life. They have gone through much together and have each other's back. Kem is very much in love with Vangon, and will pretty much do anything to keep her safe, even going along with her hair-brained schemes.


Vangon refused to join the Red Buds when her brother died. She managed to distance herself from the smugglers of the Lost Coast - using them as intermediaries as necessary. She has been able to do so because of her good relationships and protection with an important member of the Red Buds: Trin Stoutheart . Trin is the eldest son of Arin Stoutheart , the leader of the Red Buds. 

Social Aptitude

Vangon is somewhat a bit of a chameleon. Because of her education, she is as much at ease talking to a powerful Clanbearer or a sailor on the dock. This aptitude is proving very useful when she is conversing with the more refined buyers of Hollyholm and Highfort.

Wealth & Financial state

Over the last five years, Vangon has managed to acquire a small fortune by reselling some of the artefacts and relics she found on the Lost Coast.  She has hidden most of it in the Mawdark cave near the Nedderpoint cottage where Kem and herself live.

Kem and Vangon have been exploring the cave system on the Fleece for a while now, and when Kem stumbled on a hidden vault in one of the Mawdark tunnels, Vangon decided this would be a great place to stash her treasures. 

Vangon is not motivated by money but because of her family's past precarious financial position, she likes to feel secure monetarily. She also loves to spoil her mother and sister whenever she can. 

Vangon Tarside (Ai generated image)

Current Location

Nedderpoint

Species

humans of Alven

Age

38

Birthplace

Hollyholm

Pronouns

they/them

Sex

female

Gender

fluid

Eyes

Blue

Hair

chesnut brown

Height

174 cm

Weight

73 kg

Quotes & Catchphrases

Vangon can surprise people with her mannerisms.  She is in general very well-spoken, but can easily pepper her conversation with the worst cusses and expletives. She learned those on the Norhaven docks. She is also known to take the names of the Gods in vain - 'By Corra's tits!' is one of her favourite cusses.

Belief/Deity

none

Known Languages

Vangon was instructed into one or two foreign languages - she is quite fluent in Frencalian for example. Her time on the seas has also made her passable in the dialect of the Eastern Isles and the Lost Coast Cant.