Ravenfrost

[Ravenfrost]

Dionysius​

Main Base: The Land (business office and bachelor quarters)
Alternate Residence: The Sky (official von Scheidten family residence)
Name: The Honorable Dionysius von Scheidten
Goes by: Mister von Scheidten
Role: Citizen; Financial Backer/Investor

Character Pitch: Dionysius and Valentin, twin brothers orphaned at age 6, were taken in by their grandparents, Baron Quirinus von Scheidten and his wife Sarah. Raised from birth in an elite anachronistic environment they are sole heirs to the Baron's wealth as well as having their own considerable independent fortunes.

Almost identical in looks, the twins are opposite in temperament. While the gentle, kind-natured Valentin takes after their deceased father, Dionysius seems to have the temperament of their dead mother--a Russian beauty with the face of an angel and the soul of a she-devil. (Madness is rumored to have run rampant in her family.) Dionysius seems to find almost everyone except family and their retainers unbearably lacking and irritating, holding them at arm's length with a demeanor that ranges from glacial to volcanic.

Why are they in the Golden City?

The old Baron turned his back on society after young Valentin proposed to the girl he loved and was thrown out by her parents, who sneered that the von Scheidtens were "grasping parvenus--nothing better than robber barons!" (Since the von Scheidtens did not rise to prominence until the late Middle Ages.) Furious, the Baron vowed to seek a better, more open-ended life for his grandsons. Having heard about the Golden City from a friend and having a fascination for tinkering and inventions, the old man happily set up as an investor there, soon becoming known for his fair dealings and business acumen.

Initially, upon arriving in the Golden City, the two brothers were frequently seen in each other's company. However, these last few years it has become quite rare to glimpse them together.

Increasingly, Valentin's delicate health keeps him sequestered at the Baron's imposing residence in the Sky (he enjoys calligraphy and flower arranging on his better days). Dionysius, however, trained to become the Baron's business partner. Surprisingly, Dionysius seems to enjoy the work and is doing well at the firm, Bright Horizons, which is welcome news to his family. However, his anxious grandparents are still waiting for the day when he will bring a friend (or sweetheart!) home for dinner.

Having had his fill of elitist Sky-dweller society and marriage-minded individuals, the irascible Dionysius subsequently acquired an independent residence on the Land, purchasing a building for renovation, adjacent to the office. Slowly, he is beginning to look less like a relic of his grandfather's era. Notably, he has become more careless in attire and his bachelor quarters are in dire need of organization. Plus his cooking is atrocious. Reluctantly, he must look to hiring a servant or two.

Suddenly there arise sordid rumors of a sadistic criminal nicknamed the White Snake, a human trafficker who specializes in tender young flesh, and is purportedly tall, thin, pale, and well-favored. "Speaks like a gentleman," it is noted.

"If I had a silver for every rumor about a 'fair-haired' criminal in this city…" sneered Dionysius, crumpling the flyer which an avid busybody had brought to show him and throwing it after the fleeing rumormonger. "Keep yourself and such damnable trash out of this office, you old bag of wind, or it'll be the worse for you!"

Appearance / Comportment: Currently 25 years of age. Dionysius (and his twin brother Valentin) inherited the looks of their mother--a Russian ballerina who looked made of glass, but who could arm-wrestle a man twice her size. Dionysius has long white-blonde hair, pale smooth skin, and eye color of a crystalline gray-blue. He is 6 ft. tall, graceful, slim of build, but sleekly muscled. He possesses a cold feline beauty and has a low melodic voice which often descends into harsh tones. His demeanor with strangers is often detached, haughty, suspicious, or combative. Born under the sign of Scorpio.

 

[Ravenfrost]

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NPC - The White Snake
Role: Criminal
Main Base: Unknown​

The Rumors:

Criminality of one sort or the other has always run rampant among the poor and desperate and thus hardly makes for astonishing news in the Golden City.

However, suddenly there are hushed stories of a sadistic criminal nicknamed "the White Snake," a depraved and slithery fellow with unsavory predilections who specializes in the human trafficking of young flesh. (It's whispered that he keeps the finest morsels for himself until they grow stale.) Anything above the age of 16 is old meat, very old meat.

Still, they say no one of any age should be so foolish as to feel secure, as he and his two henchmen have often left a trail of blood as they swagger in, taking what they want, come hell or high water, before stealthily gliding away, leaving no clues.

So far most sightings reportedly place the White Snake in Pariah Bay and the Underground, but isn't it just a matter of time until he casts his net wider? (Oh, not the Floaters of course. Even he wouldn't have the nerve! Would he?)

Purportedly tall, thin, pale-skinned, and well-favored with ash-white hair.

The White Snake

Art Credits

(to the best of my knowledge)
Top: "Broken" by Donato
Bottom: Detail from artwork by Zeilyan

 

[Ravenfrost]

Valentin in earlier days

Main Base: The Sky (Baron von Scheidten's family residence)
Name: The Honorable Valentin von Scheidten
Role: Citizen (and Ornament to Society)​

Character Pitch: Valentin and his twin brother Dionysius arrived in the Golden City in their mid-teens under the aegis of their grandparents when the Baron, fascinated by tinkerers and inventors, decided to become a financial backer for a choice few after Valentin's "unfortunate incident" (as Grandmother called it).

It was a shock moving from a tiny aristocratic and anachronistic society, bound with chains forged in a past century, to the freedom and mayhem of the Golden City. A happy shock. Sheltered and cosseted, the always-popular Valentin felt his whole world to be collapsing after being rejected by one of the most important families in their elite circle. Not just he and his brother, but his dead parents and Grandfather and Grandmother were deemed to have bad blood!

But now he knew that world had been a shallow lie. And though he missed Elaine and some of his old friends, he was on the whole, glad for the unfortunate incident.

"Mad, bad, and dangerous to know" brother Dionysius had taken it hard as was his wont. (Some day, Dionysius was going to turn himself inside-out with his brooding and find real trouble.)

But Valentin flourished. There was so much to see, so much to learn. With his beautiful manners and accommodating temperament, he was liked (or at least tolerated) everywhere he went, making new acquaintances under the oddest of circumstances.

A vision formed. Valentin started to plan his future.

Then to everyone's alarm, his often delicate health started to deteriorate rapidly.

Now, sadly, Valentin is confined to the Baron's imposing residence in the Sky—where he practices calligraphy and flower-arranging on his better days. (The nature of the malady is not clear to the Baron, but apparently the doctor knows his business, since Valentin always feels so much better after his visits. For a few days, at least.)

Valentin's company is still much in demand among Sky society, but he is not well enough to deal with visitors. Not being mechanical-minded, it was a while before he gave in to the idea of ordering and utilizing custom-made automatons as go-betweens with his admirers in the Sky, receiving and sending trinkets, poems, and personal notes. Now he quite enjoys arranging the wardrobes of his mechanical attendants and having them perform their little tasks.

Dionysius, who has taken up residence on the Land adjacent to the Baron's workplace, recently paid Valentin a visit, bringing him the local news and gossip and mentioning the rumors of a criminal nicknamed the White Snake.

"Horrible," cried Valentin in agitation. "The poor children! Do you think it can be true?" He coughed delicately into a white lace handkerchief for a few moments, while his brother politely averted his gaze. "And did someone really suggest that this … evil Snake … might be a relation of ours? I don't think I can bear it! Those Cloak people must DO something about this!"

Appearance / comportment: Currently 25 years of age, the frail-looking Valentin has long, white-blonde hair, pale skin, and eye color of a crystalline gray-blue. He is 6 ft. tall, willowy, and light-footed, with the grace of a dancer. He has a sweet melodic voice and a gracious demeanor. First-born, under the sign of Libra (his brother Dionysius arrived a short while afterwards under the rulership of Scorpio).​

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Healing Valentin