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  Baroness Greta Klusenaere

Bio: Greta is a late 15th cen. German lady born at Castle Eltz on the Mozel River. Started as a lady-in waiting to Countess von Eltz, showed an early aptitude for linguistics and information gathering, and was shipped off to Wales to work for the Countess' good friend, Mistress Tannis of Tir-y-Don. Acted as translator and covert mischief maker for Mistress Tannis for many years. Married off to a minor Knight who died young, but left her with a title and a small amount of money which she parlayed into a tidy nest egg.  Believes in cultivating friends in many places.

Known Aliases: Stealth Baroness, Greta Cuisenart, Her Okey-dokeyness.
Device: Gules, on a bend dovetailed between two thistles Or, a bendlet Sable
Badge: A chaplet of thistles Or (Fieldless)
Current Interests: Calligraphy & illumination, Geoffrey, early printing, needle arts (sharp pointy things!), cooking, casting, rapier, covert mischief, non covert mischief, etc.
Quote: "You pierced your WHAT?!?"

"I have a coronet and I'm not afraid to use it!"

"That was obviously designed by drunken monkeys."

Homepage: Greta's Manor

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  Lord Hadardus Blach (aka Lord Hadrurus Blackhand "The Lost")

Bio:  Lord Hadrurus did not fall from grace as much as he made a wrong turn in Albuquerque*, where he was found by the FFG'rs, and guided by the Shenafin.  These days he is part of the crew of the good ship Angry Seabass, one of the Fallen From Grace vessels, where he helps spread the evil on the Seven Seas.

PS:  He's still not sure that he's not lost.

*Spain, not New Mexico.

Current Interests:  Shenafin, rapier, The Black Tigers, chess.

Quotes:  "Febreeze can only take you so far . . ."  "C'mon Walrus!  You know I've got no game!"

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  Lord Magnus Rasmussen

Iinter-kingdom SPecial envoY

Portrait: Objects in camera may not be as innocent as they appear
Known Aliases: That dagger guy, you know?
Current Interests: Calligraphy, Pewter casting

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 Baron Marcellus Capoziello da Napoli *

Bio: Patriarch. Marcellus was born to a distinguished family of horse breeders from the north of Naples. Being that he was the second son, tradition held that his role in life was laid out for him - he would join the Church and spend the rest of his days praying for the health and well-being of his family. Being the good son he was, Marcellus promptly joined a Benedictine monastery with all the zeal of his thirteen years. But this was not to last. His intelligence and questioning nature promptly got him in trouble, and it was not long before he decided that perhaps a life in the clergy did not exactly suit him. At the age of fifteen, to the dismay (and not inconsiderable anger) of his family, he left the monastery and joined the crew of a merchant sailing for Istanbul.

Nineteen years later, Marcellus is still sailing and has no desire to return to the monastery, even though his estrangement from his family troubles him greatly. He has proven to be a keen businessman with interests in various merchant ships and other ventures, and has become involved (financially and otherwise) with the Maîtresse Belphoebe de Givet, whom he met in the days when she was on the run from the Spanish Inquisition, and who he has since married. He currently spends his time with Belphoebe and other various friends and business associates, and avoiding angry family members like the plague.

Portrait: With a patriarch like this...

Homepage:  La Salle de Marcellus

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Bio:  No one is sure where Shenafin came from, but the Fallen From Grace bunch is only too happy that she has joined their ranks (and they don't want to ask many questions about it).  Shen is currently a crewmember of the "Angry Seabass," one of the Fallen From Grace merchant ships, under the capable(?) leadership of the inimitable Captain Kiefer R. Unch. 

Nicknames:  Mommy, The Original G.P.S. (Girl Preventing Stupidity)*
Interests:  Rapier, The Black Tigers, Costuming, Hadrurus.

*And where would guys be without one of those?

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These folks have been away for a while, but pop up occasionally, when we least expect it.  Rumors that they are running covert operations for the Company are mere speculation.

  Lord George Geoffrey of Exeter *

Bio: George is actually two personas: George the first and grandson George the third, we don't talk about George the 2nd) Multiple personality disorder is only slightly quackers. ;P An English privateer, boson on a Welsh ship, George raids on the high seas traveling greatly, vanishing for months at a time returning,with wild ideas, tales and loot. Trying to buy his way into the "legit" nobility. While fighting, carousing, and spying in various ports for likely victims, he is often in the company of pirates, rogues and thieves. Oh my.

George 3rd is the rich fop of a grandson, that George 1 would be so disappointed in. He is artistically and intellectually inclined, but has no fashion sense and works hard at being a perpetual student, studying to be a fool and comedian. Often in the company of gypsies, traveling performers, fools, and anyone willing to laugh, especially at him.

Portrait: That's his conscience?
Known Aliases: The Bearded Lady
Current Interests: Rapier fighting, games, chocolate, becoming a vertically enhanced fool, ... jack of all trades master of none
Quotes: "Chocolate, it's not just for breakfast any more."
"I'm too big to pick pockets, I loot bodies."
"He wasn't alive, much."
<staring and waving fingers> "These are not the pirates you are looking for....... Move along."

Homepage:  Devil Ducky's Den

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  Lady Giovanna Mancuso *

Covert nocturnal operations

Portrait: Evil in Fair Disguise

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  Rois Bheag inghean Chiarin *

Member of the Brute Squad, keeper of the lost and found (if I find it, you've lost it)

Portrait: Do not stare directly into the gypsy's eyes
Known Aliases: Rose, that short fencer with the long hair, godforsaken gypsy
Interests: 'borrowing', fencing, singing, sleeping

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  Lord Seamus O'Maoiliriain

Bio:  Seamus O'Maoiliriain was the third son of the keeper of Cragg Castle, in Ireland. This privilege, if any could be counted – for this is an Irish Tale – was short lived. When Henry VIII invaded Ireland, under the banner of the Catholic Church, Seamus’ father and brothers promptly took arms to fight the intruding armies.  Alas, they were all slaughtered in battle, leaving young Seamus an orphan and his mother a widow.

But Seamus’ mother was a resourceful woman.  Not wishing to lose her only remaining child, she fled to her paternal home in Scotland, where she seeked the protection of her father, the Keeper of Falkland Palace. Her father welcomed her home but promptly sent her off to her brother, the Cardinal of St. Andrews, as she was the product of an embarrassing peccadillo from his younger days and did not want her around as a continuous reminder of that.  Besides, his brother could more easily explain the illegitimate child for he was noted to have quite a few. 

And all was well and it would seem that Seamus' place in the world had been restored. But alas, this tale is not only Irish but Scottish, and soon after his arrival his mother passed away.  Young Seamus, an enterprising lad just like his mother, soon took employment with the Cardinal but this too was not to last.   St. Andrews castle soon found itself besieged by the Protestants who, no sooner they had taken the castle when they slew the Cardinal and hanged him naked from the outside walls.  Their sense of humor in the face of harassment was sadly lacking.

The Church thing just wasn't paying out for Seamus - far too many killings and tortures. Being down on his luck he did what all good Irish do!  Take your sorrows directly to the local pub. Or in Seamus’ case, the bawdiest drinking hole in the Port of St. Andrews. It was here that he relayed his tale to a kind group of strangers. Tales were told and enough beverages were plied to make a cat sing.  And of course, a melee ensued. Seamus was quick to blade and quicker to feet, legging and leaving foe in his wake. In midst of battle he did hear, "Yep, he's an Atlantian thug in the making."  

That day Seamus did learn a valuable lesson: "If you're gonna stick your head out you're gonna get hit."   In this case he got hit with a beer mug and the last thing he remembered was a voice saying, "Hey guys!  We just got ourselves a cabin boy!"  That night the Flotsam, under the command of the infamous Catalina d’ell Aqcua, sailed from Scotland for the fair shores of Atlantia with a Seamus onboard.

AS THE FLOATSAM FLOATS:  Not too long after the beer mug incident, Seamus introduced some democracy aboard the Flotsam.  As a result, the Cat has been voted Governor of her own island and Delphina is the new captain of the Flotsam.  Unexplainably, Cat has not been happy with this turn of events, even though the generous offers of rum by the loving members of her former crew.  Rumor has it that the indigenous creatures of the island also took a vote, and that the Flotsam found Cat floating aimlessly at sea. 

When pulled aboard she inquired of Seamus, "How can I get my ship back?" Seamus, with a look of innocent surprise upon his face as to why she would ask him and not the Captain -- but not to miss such a wonderful opportunity -- replied with a canary eating grin, " Like any good Pirate, work your way up from cabin girl!".  (Some aboard thought they heard the Cat mumble, "How bout I just kill you," as they dragged her below deck.)

UPDATE:Captain Cat has now recovered command of the Flotsam by the simple means of bribing Delphina into giving her back her ship in exchange for a the black hat of the Chaos Pope.  Consequently, Seamus has been demoted to barnacle. Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter of “As the Flotsam Floats!”  (This story has been brought to you by the color gold.)

Quotes:  Daggers are for fools...God I love them!;  It wasn't a mutiny it was a democratic vote!; Hey, nice island . . .want some rum?; I am so ashamed! Yoo Hoo Cabin Girl!
Nicknames:  Cabin Boy (The Irishman formerly known as); Golden Boy; Shameless; Mollusk. This is just the beginning. Stay tuned!
 

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  Bio: Thomas Lyon is the descendant of Thomas Lyon of Braemar, a 14th century Scotsman who started the brewery which funded Thomas' initial investment in Fallen from Grace. Because of his namesake's proclivity for sampling his own wares, often immoderately and in dangerous proximity to open flame, he was quite known for his self-directed volatile and explosive qualities.

Thomas' family migrated to England, under suspicious and best left uninvestigated circumstances, a few generations ago, and Thomas himself came to London to establish contacts necessary for growing the family business. Despite early difficulties, often resulting in or from his acquaintance with less than reputable business people, he finally achieved some success, coincidentally around the same time he began associating with Fallen from Grace.

He is now known to use Fallen from Grace's shipping interests exclusively for importing raw materials, often from exotic locales, and exporting the finished product of the family brewery around the islands and to the continent. He has also invested some of the wealth this association has brought him back into the company to the point that he is currently an equity stakeholder with some voting stock. It is also rumored that some of the incoming and outgoing tuns are not necessarily filled with fermentables and potables, although no one who has ever made such claims has stood by them for very long, often making loud, hasty public retractions.

Re-enactment Background: Thomas started historical re-creation in the SCA *harumph* years ago, at the College of Rencester. He was active there throughout college and for a bit after, cultivating his initial interests in duello (often joking about violating William and Mary's charter while practicing fencing in the Sunken Gardens in the middle of Old Campus), dancing, and brewing. Another fun trivia fact: when Thomas authorized in duello for the very first time, he became a Freescholar. (This was some years before the Treaty of the White Scarf, that changed the scarf for Provosts to white, introduced the gold scarf to which the title of Freescholar was moved, leaving plain, authorized fighters with their blue scarves lowly Scholars.)

Thomas went inactive a year or so out of college, for a few years, due to nasty, bad politics with the local group where he was living at the time. At that time he, and his then fiancee and now wife Giovanna, dabbled with Revolutionary War re-enactment, in particular hooking up with a Colonial dance group.

Thomas became active once again around 1997-1998, after moving to the DC Metro area, where he still resides. He has also played with the Traynd Bandes of London, an Elizabethan militia group, in particular Gardiner's Companie, as a pikeman. He has also dabbled with the English Civil War Society of America, in particular the King's Life Guard of Foote.

Portrait: "I am not a thug, really."
Known Aliases: The Kamikaze Scotsman
Interests: Brewing and vintning, dancing, duelling
Memorable Moments: Being wrapped in a great kilt for the very first time, on the lawn at Emerald Joust some years ago before many kingdom notables. Committing acts of derring-do witnessed by two different Queens, on two different occasions. The first appearance of the Kamikaze Scotsman. What I can recall of Pennsic XXX after the blunt trauma to the skull.
Quotes: "Better dead than shabby."
"Belphoebe, did they at least see the sheep?"

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Bio:  Nobody knows where Thomas came from.  In fact, it has been said that Thomas is a figment of our imagination.  He will appear to be there, glimpsed out of the corner of your eye.  But when you turn around, he'll be gone.

Where will he turn up next?  Or will he continue to wander like Waldo?  Don't miss the next chapter of "As the Thomas Turns."

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  Bio:  The Walrus was found wrapped inside a rug in the markets of Istanbul. What was he doing there is anyone's guess. Rumor has it that he was the cabin boy in a pirate ship and that when he fell asleep on the rug, someone with a sense of humor thought it funny to roll him up. They say that the boy was still asleep when the ship got to port and the Captain decided to sell it - the rug, not the boy - among a whole batch of loot to Delphina The Mad, who was running a used goods emporium at the time.

When Éammon woke up hours later, he started screaming like a banshee. This prompted Delphina to think that the rug was haunted and to bring her brother Friar Liam Bartholomew Insipid (who would later become a Cardinal) to exorcise it. When asking the "spirit" to identify itself, all they could understand from it was "Walrus." (He was trying to say Wallace but the muffling of the rug and his thick Irish brogue didn't help one bit.) So Walrus became his name. Forever.

Walrus became Delphina's trusted assistant, and followed her to Italy when she had to leave Istanbul in a haste on account of one of her daggers unexplainably finding it's way into the back of a sheriff. By that time he had already met Baron Marcellus and Baroness Belphoebe as they had a partnership in Delphina's merchanting and nautical ventures -- which have proven to be quite profitable for everyone.  (There is also the rumor that The Walrus is actually the secret child of Belphoebe, a product of a liaison in her younger days, but no one has been able to corroborate this information.)

Marcellus and Belphoebe have tried to teach him how to fence, with very little luck so far. The Walrus is more interested in the business end of the term "fencing" than in the fighting implications of it. And he has been proving over and over to be quite good at it!

Known Aliases: The Walrus, Monkey Boy, El Brato.
Interests: Fencing, cooking, girls, wreaking general havoc, sleeping.
Walricisms: "You guys are the reason I'm on therapy!"  "Mom, defend my honor.  I'm too lazy to get up."  "Lord have mercy on my soul,   because Mom and Marcellus will not!"

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  Bio: Where Lady Zada came from, nobody knows for sure. But on various occasions, this notorious lady has claimed to be the direct descendant of Egyptian Pharaohs, the Khalif of Medina, and the Queen of Sheba. It is suspected, however, that she was the daughter of a fisherman in Ephesus and that when her parents decided to give her away in marriage to the local apothecary--a man about 60 years her senior--Zada ran away with a caravan of gypsies never to be heard from again.

All we know is that the Lady Zada has become a gifted performer, exotic dancer, and wielder of rapiers.

It said that Zada first met the Patriarch of House Fallen From Grace, Baron Marcellus Capoziello da Napoli, in the bustling markets of Istanbul, where she was a regular customer of Delphina's Quality New and Used Goods Emporium. Marcellus promptly recognized the potential of the lady as a source for valuable and much marketable information. Thus, a very useful and profitable business relationship ensued.

Delphina's hasty flight from Istanbul, after the sad demise of a sheriff via one of her daggers finding its way into his back, was a blow to Marcellus' family business--not to mention Delphina's--and for a time they lost track of Zada. She resurfaced in Spain a couple of years later, traveling among a troupe of performers, and has since resumed her business relationship with House Fallen From Grace.

Portrait: So glamorous
Known Aliases:  Zada Byrd
Where Located: It's anyone's guess

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