Username: 
Password:    
Remember Me

Search by :  Username E-mail Region Interest AOL IM ICQ Number Yahoo! ID MSN Username Jabber

Lady Reyne Mordha (heldbytheblade) wrote in watchers_rp,

“How terribly disappointing when your reputation doesn’t precede you,” Reyne quipped with an entertained smile, since a great deal of her own reputation had a tendency to remain utterly disconnected from her for the most part. “I believe she is strong-willed enough to create one for herself, if she must.” We make our mark, indeed. “I was fortunate; my place fell into my lap.” Well, the Hand at the time told her what it was. Same thing.

No, Reyne still did not think it that complicated. She did think that the Lady Hand was going to have fun with this one. “I assume most are accustomed to hearing it from me, certainly. I cannot speak for the others.” But she would love to. “And it has been a while since I’ve met a man aware of myself or my family name who will say such where I can hear, and definitely not to my face.” She gave a light shrug. “The most common reaction is to stare at whatever skin my armour leaves bare or to goad me into a duel -- which only boosts my ego, because I never lose those fights.” Men who deliberately provoked a woman when they knew she’d been trained for combat were usually idiots. It was fun to be underestimated, however. “Nearly the same,” Reyne confirmed with a nod. “It is still important.” She paused. Was it really? “If you’re the firstborn daughter or whichever daughter has become the family heir… And I suppose we have more of a say in who we marry.” Thoughts on her twins, Reyne tipped her head. “Where the rest of the realm will sell their souls for sons, we would really rather have daughters, so illegitimacy is not exactly uncommon. Who would know?” Save any husband. “The child takes the mother’s name after all.” She gave a soft chuckle, as though she had only just realised something about her own countrywomen. In truth, she understood them perfectly well. “And as you say, we are a matriarchy.”

Truly not giving a fig if the servants were listening -- they always did and she loved to play up to that fact -- Reyne grinned. “Hel Mordha was originally built as a coastal lookout -- a fort, really -- so the villagers all have a healthy dose of mariner’s superstition about them.” That was true, but that she had helped it along over a century or so would remain unsaid. “Any man who marries a Mordha is apparently doomed to die an early death. No man has ever paid any heed to that. Probably because the doomsayers leave out the part where pirates were likely involved and the respective Lady Mordha died not long after in similar circumstances. As I said: coastal lookout.” She paused, then added: “Pirates are fun.” Anyway, where was she? Ah. “Our church is, I have been told by multiple sources, cursed by druids. Or the Keeper. Or we incurred the Creator’s wrath. Pick one, they amount to the same thing: we have no church. They keep getting destroyed.” Reyne shrugged it off like it was nothing, but then the stories she spoke of technically occurred long before her time as far as Calista would be aware. “A century ago... or two or three -- who knows these days?” She did. “The whole residing Mordha family was apparently killed inside it. Or so the story goes.” The idea was waved away. Clearly, it was ridiculous. “Whatever the truth, it’s not been rebuilt. The clergy don’t stay long either.” And she even managed to say that without sneering.