Livia Agrippina Freemont
Age | 51 |
Species | Pine marten |
Pronouns | She/her |
Size (Extra Small, Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large) | Medium |
Build | Stocky |
Rank | Matriarch of the Freemont Family |
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:
At a glance, Livia is the type of woman for whom 'striking' is the adjective that first comes to mind. It is not for any exceptional beauty; her face is rather sharp, her cheeks angular and her fur a bit rough where age begins to show its mark. Rather, it is for her bearing, an imperiousness of countenance that could rival the Empress herself, that gives the impression of power. Her dark brown fur is fading to dun, and the orange cream of her chest turning to washed-out yellow. Unlike those femmes who take the time to grow out and style the fur on their head, Livia adopts to keep her fur cropped in a more masculine style, and wears simple dresses of flat whites and grays, cinched with sashes or belts about the waist, whenever she can get away with dressing plainly. In moments where high fashion is required, she opts for sternly-cut dresses and waistcoats of black or dark blue, a severe look that has caused her to be referred to in social circles as 'the schoolmarm'. The sharp look given by her dark eyes to those who disappoint or irritate her only serves to reinforce this perception.
PERSONALITY AND HISTORY:
Livia has always been referred to as a 'strong femme', though not always as a compliment. As a kit, her parents bemoaned her stubbornness, lamenting that they would never make a match for her. She refused to have anything, from clothes to books to hobbies, pressed upon her, defiantly choosing for herself what she wore, what she read, what she did. She outlasted scores of nannies and tutors, until all had bent to her will out of weary resignation. She learned the spear and the spindle, dressed in trousers and skirts as the mood took her, and read any book that drew her attention. In particular, she became obsessed with the diaries and journals of Amaronian women of the royal bloodline, or those who had married in. She immersed herself in the words of femmes who had raised emperors, wed them, steered them away from calamity, or had watched as their wisdom was ignored and disaster fell upon fools. One passage from her namesake, a Livia of old, stuck with her: "Only fools, those animated by greed, vanity, or base ambition, crave the throne; and those of such character who ascend it never gently descent, but fall or are thrown to shatter upon the ground. Regardless of our wit, our character, our capacity, by dint of birth we femmes are denied the throne, which gives us but one avenue toward such power: that as to steer the beast upon the throne as the captain steers his vessel, navigating the unwieldy ship of the Imperium through the rocky straits of history. It matters not if the fame of the ship outlasts that of its captain; it only matters that it be guided safely to port, the lives bound to its fate preserved."
As she matured, Livia adopted as pragmatic focus on achieving what she could with what she had. Her family, while Amaronian through and through, were minor players in the games and schemes of the Imperium. The only dynasty of pine martens that truly held power and influence in the Imperium were the Freemont family, a line that boasted ministers, generals, and admirals, including the powerful and ambitious Gordon Freemont, Mayor of Bully Harbor, who was wed to the equally fierce Nuori Sken. His younger brother, Eadric, was coming of age, but the Freemonts had little reason to consider an offer to pair him with Livia; her family could not promise heaping chests of gold as a dowry, and Livia's reputation as a sharp-tongued, obstinate wench heralded her in each room she entered. If she was to make a match, she would have to do so on her own terms.
She started at the outside, and worked her way within. A meeting with a minor cousin of the Freemont house over tea (and the new import coffee) was enough for Livia to demonstrate her wit and skill as a conversationalist. An evening drinking and throwing darts with another proved she could be entertaining and unorthodox. A shared book club with an aunt of the Freemont family demonstrated her intellect, and a sparring match with her husband showed her resolve. Individual by individual, Livia worked, slowly and arduously, to change the tenor of her name amidst the Freemonts, until her family was finally receiving invitations from Richard and Lisa Freemont, parents of Gordon and Eadric, to cigars and brandy in her father's case, tea and cards in her mother's.
Livia was within striking distance of finally being considered an eligible match for the younger Freemont when disaster struck. Following a failed attempt at imposing martial law on Bully Harbor and whispers of ambition to launch a coup against the Emperor, Gordon Freemont was assassinated by the Ministry of War's elite strike force the Black Five, rumored to be acting on the Emperor's direct orders. The Freemont bloodline, while spared the Emperor's full wrath, had lost their rising star, and suspicion tainted the voices of all who spoke their name. Livia's own parents bade her to forswear their company, saying that such a match would only bode well. Livia, instead, saw it as her time to act.
Livia went to the one member of the Freemont family she had not yet dared approach: Eadric, the young, newly-named scion of the house. With all of her wit, earnestness, cunning, and adamancy, she made her case for why, in this moment, he should name her as his intended bride. "You are not your brother," she urged. "His friends saw him as great; his enemies saw him as too great. Neither view you as such. His enemies will come for you, and his friends will abandon you. You stand before the wave, but you need not stand alone. You do not need a simpering, frail flower that will cower before the breeze, nor an adder poised to strike your heel to secure her fortune. You need a wife who will stand next to you before the wave and dare it to learn the consequences lest it break. You need a femme who will stand braced behind you, to hold you up when your own paws cannot. And, when you cannot stand, you need a femme who will stand before you and draw the blows. All of that, I will be to you."
Astonishingly, her entreaties worked. Within months, they were wed; within a year, they were co-parents to their first kit; within three years, they could call each other friends; and finally, with seven years to learn themselves and each other, they became lovers. Throughout tumult and calamity, abdications, coups, and civil wars, Eadric and Livia held the family together, guiding the beleaguered Freemont Family through the death of Gordon's wife, Nuori Sken Freemont; the disappearance of Caden, her and Gordon's surviving son; and then the years of strife and civil war. Even when Livia's own parents and family foolishly chose to side with the Brudenell Regime, Livia held the family together, curbing their worst impulses and striving to teach them a share of the purpose and self-control that had guided her to become the matriarch of the Imperium's most famous marten bloodline. "The Freemonts are not emperors and empresses, nor should we be," she often lectured her kits well into adulthood. "We are stewards, caretakers of the Imperium, seneschals standing by to support its leaders. When they falter, we rise to catch them, or to shield the people from their fall. When the throne is empty, we guard it against the ambitious. When a child sits upon it declaring 'I am king', we remain the calm, measured voice in the room, talking him down until the tantrum is gone. Our purpose is ever to serve faithfully, loyally, yes, but to the Imperium always, with dignity, honor, and humble sacrifice."
After three decades, each one more trying than the last, Livia now stands as the pillar of the Freemont family, undaunted and determined to keep the family strong. Now that rumor abounds of the return of the lost Caden Freemont, she is equally determined to find him and ensure that, if he does not take up the family mantle, that he at least does not repeat his father's mistakes, to the detriment of the entire family.
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES:
Livia is determined to the point of relentless in pursuing her goals and ambitions. She is fiercely devoted to her family, and has wisdom born of years guiding them through difficult straights. She also has limited patience for the follies of youth, a cutting tongue that sometimes lands too sharply upon her own family, and a certain amount of contempt for the rest of the world which sometimes makes her seem haughty. Her 'us versus them' mentality blinds her to opportunities for collaboration, and she often plays things close to the chest that would best be handled as a group. Her discomfort in group settings makes her a poor hostess for the sort of events that high society demands, giving her a reputation for frigidity.
POSSESSIONS/REAL ESTATE:
A closet full of sturdy and reliable, if a bit simple and plain, dresses and clothes.
Quarters in the Freemont family estate in Amarone.
A reliable spear for sparring or self-defense.
A small condo in Bully Harbor used by various Freemonts when in town on business.
A closet full of sturdy and reliable, if a bit simple and plain, dresses and clothes.
Quarters in the Freemont family estate in Amarone.
A reliable spear for sparring or self-defense.
A small condo in Bully Harbor used by various Freemonts when in town on business.
SKILLS:
Physical | Mental | Social |
|---|---|---|
Spear [Proficient] (2) | Imperial Court Culture [Proficient] (2) | Managing Family Dynamics [Seasoned] (4) |
Stretching and Yoga [Novice] (0) | Political Theory [Proficient] (2) | Cutting Remarks [Proficient] (2) |
Water Aerobics [Novice] (0) | Bathhouse Etiquette [Novice] (0) | Book Club Discussions [Novice] (0) |
Skill [Rank] (Points) | Weaving [Novice] (0) | Skill [Rank] (Points) |
Total Points in Category: 2 | Total Points in Category: 4 | Total Points in Category: 6 |
