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Background
Born of the Blackfens, Clarke grew up in the swampy province surrounded by those who had been defined by the guerilla war that Couviere had fought and those who had spent their lives in resistance. Then becoming a ward in the city of Rovilon and being trained as a BlueChevalier, the young t'Cauthone has learned to speak softly and to operate from the background, observing life out of nuance and a perspective of trying to grasp all the angles of an incident and how to best gently nudge things over to the desired result. Preferring to be more of a manipulator than a warrior, he prefers to operate with a minimum of visibility, acting only when success has the greatest chance of garnering the desired result and with a minimum of risk. Overly cautious, he would rather bide his time and wait for a more opportune eventuality to come about than risk taking action prematurely.
Born in 1845 to Gerald t'Cauthone and Ilonna t'Cauthone (nee t'Vanille) of the Blackfens, Clarke's had a relatively normal childhood, with one sibling. His family were nobles in the infamous Blackfens, where over the Thirty Years War between Rovilon and Couviere the nefarious swamps were used as staging grounds for constant guerilla war against the Rivanan occupiers, the commoners of the swamp conducting hit and raid attacks against the soldiers that occupied their home throughout the war. As a young child, Clarke spentmuch time over in the company of such men and women, and grew to appreciate the commoners who had stood up for their home realm. He grew up as a child enjoying the backwoods nature of the barony in the swamplands, learning how to navigate the twisted passages over that lead through the fens, how to survive over in the swamps, and rough and tumble play.%R%RBut his family also had a reputation, and at times the young Clarke, left to the care of almost what felt like the swamps themselves and the mad lights of the swamps had a glimmer of truth to then. He had an aunt who was claimed to have been a witch whom had been swallowed up, and the heir to the barony was rumored to be mad throughout his life, though whether it was true or not was always difficult to say at best. In the swamps, Clarke often as a young child was left to others to take care of as his father, whom had been made a deputy treasurer in Rovilon, and Clarke was primarily raised over by other family and members of the household. But also even as a young child it would seem that he would just be another bereft to be another occupant of the bayou. But, as fate saw he had a somewhat different path in life to come as he was coming to be of age when he came of interest to one of the families of Rovilon.
With his father Gerald a treasurer in Rovilone amongst the nobles, Clarke had something rarest of all for an inhabitant of the Blackfens, even for a nobile family. Someone with contacts and favors. His father was able to get his son fostered over in Rovilone, and Clarke grew up from Rovilone around the time he was ten, being fostered over amongst one of the minor families of the court and growing up in the seat of the House t'Valdan, in one of the great cities of the Edge. And so a swampland bumpkin had the good fortune to grow up in one of the greatest cities and, while appreciative of his origins and what the Blackfens had taught him, had a chance to go out into the wider world, something he swore he would not put to waste. A very rare thing, Clarke had to work beyond his reputation as just a country bumpkin, particularly in the quite esteemed and regimented and gallant Blue Cavaliers.%R%RSo, Clarke took another direction and lesson while in the service of such valiant warriors as he came of age. Being of the swamplands had taught him the valueof subtlety. He could not match many of the Cavaliers for skill and valiance, so Clarke went more for a lifestyle that suited the fens in his learning. That of subtlety, talk, and misdirection. While at the court and being trained Clarke focused mor eon the arts of diplomacy and negotiation. On knowing who was important and what was going on behind the scenes. And of learning what things were going to happen. He also came to be very patient, perhaps even excessively so then. For the flashy and reputed Cavaliers, Clarke would much rather not be noticed then and blend in, not doing any particularly famous acts of daring while he was a squire, nor feats of known repute. He was, for all intents and purposes, while glib and analytical, rather ordinary and average. He took upon the habits and the reputation of House t'Valdan more than he did of the Blue Cavaliers, from his teachings and experience sin the court learning to look at all of the venues available for diplomacy and how to craft a deal and a bargain behind the scenes, occasionally taking steps to gather more information of events behind the scenes to learn to craft a better bargain rather than going for all of the manipulations required for elaborate stagecraft and political schemings.
In 1865 his life of training and otherwise light pursuits about the court would grow much deadlier as the Blue Cavaliers would be called upon as a regiment to serve House t'Valdan as the dark Cardinal orchestrated his play for power behind the scenes. His regiment mobilized, Clarke would have to wield his blade in battle rather than training for the first time in the trials that would lie ahead as the regiment showed their devotion and dedication to their House and Couviere as a whole. Clarke, as a Knight, participated over as the Blue Cavaliers clashed with the Cardinal's Men in deadly skirmishes and then as the Cavaliers were forcibly disbanded.
The Cavaliers would still serve virtually to a man over in loyal service to their house regardless, whether as mercenaries, volunteers, or simply ordinary soldiers, and Clarke would do as the rest of his men would, working to clear their name in service to their lords. Their battles would be desperate on the field as the nobles and even the Syndicate would work at undercutting the twisted schemes of the Cardinal, and in the coming months Clarke would know little of the greater things going on behind the scenes. For him, it was just quick back and forth battles, skirmishes, and fighting side by side with men whom he had thought were but mere hotheads. For Clarke, hewould b ehumbled at seeing men whom he thought valued machisimo above all else showing their gallantry above and beyond all else, and acts of chivalry and honor that might have been from another age, whether the men were Blue Cavaliers or not.%R%RClarke would be one ofthe Blue Cavaliers who would fall in over with Jean-Paul t'Valdan and protect the Prince through his travels as was their duty. He would find the Prince to be an excellent commander, though the constant pace of their movement would be exhausting for the young Knight. When the Prince was captured by Wraiths many of the Cavaliers who survived scattered, trying to find an opportunity to rally with them, and Clarke would be with one such small group. His knowledge as a man of the Blackfens helped the group of knights remain unnoticed in this desperate time, his knowledge helping them to blend in and look for opportunities to strike and to rally.
When the captured Prince was covertly freed by Alina, it would take some time for the rest of the Cavaliers to catch on, eventually rallying over to their Prince as they regrouped and fell back to his side. As 1866 went on the Couvierans would rally over against the actions of the Cardinal, and Clarke would be one of those who went to the call of the Queen as the regiment reformed and fought alongside their house once more. The forces loyal to the Queen would go to rally to help free Rovilon in a difficult battle, and Clarke would see many of his friends perish in helping aid the forces of the Queen against the Cardinal's guard, and note to his own sorrow as the battle went back and forth that he would have liked to have known them better as friends.
With Rovilon freed, Jean-Paul would be named Lord Marshall and sent with additional forces to rally against the barbarians and relieve Valetta, and Clarke would march to his first combat against the deadly barbarians. Injured over the battle, he would be recovering when pushed to service in the quick nighttime raid against the barbarian camp, where his skills a tpathfinding from the Blackfens would help quickly skirmish and disengage, and the lessons of guerilla warfare he had learned as a child would play a small part then in the battle, but help him to realize that they were still useful lessons in this day and age. Still, the forces of Jean-Paul could not quite break the siege, limited to for the coming months skirmishes and raids against the flanks of the Ice Queen as the rest of the forces of the Edge rallied.%R%RA sudden attack of Berserkers from the Ice Queen in an attempted assassination against the Prince would prove some of the most difficult fighting of Clarke's life and limited experiences, in the end the day being saved by the sudden depowering of the Berserkers and most of them being cut down in the melee, confused by their loss of rage. The fighting of the next several days would be brutal regardless as the Barbarian Queen would press her attack on both the city and the Prince. It seemed like the night would fall as would they. But, formeradversaries turned allies would save the day as forces of Rivana would come, the fresh army driving off the barbarians, breaking the siege, and saving the city. For Clarke there would be another lesson in life's ironies as he would spend some time with, injured being tended to by Rivanan medics and meeting some descendents of those who had served in the Blackfens of the occupying army. After the Battle of the Three Crowns the injured Clarke would remain in the fortress to recover before returning back to Rovilon proper to serve with the Blue Cavaliers once more. He would, in the battles, perform adequately but not with any spectacular feats of reknown, and feel after that he had not acquainted himself particularly well, and give himself as the months went on reason to have o consider how he had pplied himself in service.
On the Grid
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Clarke has been shaped by both his life in the Blackfens, but more by that his fostership in the court of Rovilon. While his childhood in the down and dirty Blackfens showed him to appreciate the rough life of the swamps and the people there, he enjoy sthe comforts of Rovilone much more. But the lessons of his youth were primarily of influence in teaching him that things are more than they seem, and there is very rarely, if ever black and white influences upon anything, with many people of the swamps and their connections spanning throughout the depths and darkness of Couviere.%R%RAs a Blue Cavalier, Clarke t'Cauthone has had caution be his watchword. Being of a more diplomatic manner, Clarke prefers to act as a mediator and go-between. The general mildness and reputation of Rovilone has rubbed off on him more, and he prefers to act, when he does, in a competent and quiet manner. He takes his time when interacting with others to try and see all the pieces on the board, to grasp all the possible influence son each player and each circumstance. He would rather not wield a blade when he can a word.
Also cognizant of his age and bearing, he would rather not act before he has a sense of all the influences on a situation, whether it be a personal interaction or standing by in negotiation. This leads to him being slower to wield a blade and a word that can often come off as cowardice to a degree. He can be overly cautious at times, preferring to wait for the optimum opportunity to press with events rather than take a risk. It could also be that he does not wish to do something that would end up with him spending the rest of his life back in the Blackfens, and if that means having a quiet life of little recognition serving in the Blue Cavaliers and of little reknown, he is quit ehappy to be satisfied with that, for now.
Logs and Sundry
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(alina clarke corvin esyld gabriel joshua log lucas noel odilia paege social talia vorian)
(alexandra artos clarke conrad corvin esyld event gabriel jonathan log lucas odilia talia vorian wilson)
(alexandra amara clarke darren devlin elrick emilia evelyn event gabriel gawain joffrey jonathan leander liam log michael quentyn raelyn raimond thaddeus)
(alexandra alina alivia amara ariane cesare clarke cynthia darren dawn devlin drusilla elaida elrick emilia esyld evelyn event gabriel gastogne joffrey jonathan leander lero log manfred mina orion quentyn raelyn raimond samuel thaddeus tiadora tristan vorian)
(alaric alexandra alina alivia amara ariane cesare clara clarke cynthia darren drusilla elaida elrick emilia evelyn event gabriel gastogne joffrey jonathan leander lero log manfred mina odilia orion raelyn raimond samuel thaddeus tristan vorian)
(alexandra clarke event jonathan log odilia talia tiadora)
(adrienne aidric clara clarke emilia event log lucas raelyn thaddeus)
(clara clarke emilia event gastogne log miranda odilia philippe raimond thaddeus tiadora)
(amara clara clarke dora eleanor emilia evelyn event leander liam log odilia raimond symon thaddeus tiadora)
(alexandra clarke devlin emilia evelyn event jonathan leander liam log martyn raelyn raimond symon thaddeus tiadora)
(adrienne aidric alexandra amara clara clarke devlin dora eleanor emilia evelyn event gastogne jasper jonathan leander log lucas malcolm martyn raelyn raimond samuel symon thaddeus tiadora)
(amara clara clarke devlin dora eleanor emilia evelyn event gastogne jasper log malcolm martyn odilia philippe raelyn raimond samuel symon thaddeus tiadora)
(alina amara annaliese antonia benjamin cesare clarke elrick event florencia gabriel joffrey leander log louisa martyn michael nadine samuel thaddeus)
(alina antonia clarke corvin elaida elrick evelyn event gabriel log lydia raimond tristan)
(alexandra clara clarke darren devlin elrick emilia event jonathan log lucius michael raimond samuel thaddeus tiadora)
(alina clara clarke corvin elaida emilia event jonathan log lucas tristan)
