Fair, quiet, and acquiescent by nature, Crispin Fowler is a young man who was taken in by the late Lord Victor Swiftwind when he was no more than a toddler. Raised in the shadows of Arthur Swiftwind and his siblings, Crispin exhibited a green thumb and an eye for design from a young age and gradually became the household's gardener, earning a living wage building magnificent flower boxes and climbing vine arrangements throughout the manor's grounds. Crispin is shy and naive but would give the very shirt off his back to the people he cares about.
Taken under the wing of the young and prominent Victor Swiftwind at the age of eight after the death of his mother, Crispin Fowler was a servant of the Swiftwind family for many years before eventually disappearing altogether.
Originally named Novak by his parents, Crispin changed his first name and took the surname Fowler after the cook at the Bellaerie orphanage he briefly lived at, whom he was particularly fond of. The boy's father could not be located without the assistance of his mother, and while Crispin was never officially adopted, Victor Swiftwind arranged to be the boy's caregiver until a suitable guardian could be found. The two would end up being close companions for many years; by the time Victor grew a bit older and married his young and beautiful wife Edna, Crispin was coming of age and had become an official part of the Swiftwind family staff.
Crispin was incredibly talented with plants and was remarkably good with his hands, and by the time he was twenty, he had become the Swiftwinds' expert gardener. Crispin designed intricate, decorative flowerboxes, garden beds full of lush, blossoming beauties, and water features that stunned even the most cultured of Essenmark aristocrats. Perhaps the part-elf gardner's most prized achievement was a hedge maze that still stands at Lannora Ivy today, now decorated inside with benches and statues to admire as one makes one's way through the hedges. Crispin also helped build the gazebo that overlooks the pond on Lannora Ivy's grounds, and was known to sometimes stand on the structure late at night and watch the moonlight over the lake.
During these years, Crispin's father got word of his mother's death several years prior and began trying to locate his son; however, it would take Filorean "Fillory" Shaedor long enough to reconnect with his son that the relationship between the two was forever strained thereafter. They did establish a connection and fairly regular communication though, and it was through this communication that Fillory learned that his now-adult son had recklessly fallen in love with the madame of his house, Edna Swiftwind. This began several years after Victor Swiftwind had lost interest in his wife and the affair lasted for several years before Crispin learned that he and Edna were expecting a child together. By this time, Victor and Edna's eldest, Arthur, was already almost of age, and Crispin had watched Edna bear and care for all 3 of Victor's children even as Victor grew more cold and distant from his family in general.
Fillory laid some protections over his son and his bloodline when he heard the news, and was filled with a strange new joy at the concept of having a grandchild for the first time in his long and very accomplished life. Crispin too was overjoyed, and Edna had not felt so full of delight since her very first pregnancy with her eldest son, Arthur. The spirit of love filled the Swiftwind household and radiated to all who entered it for several months...and then, Crispin disappeared.
Edna was devastated beyond belief. Already unloved and resented over her pregnancy by the husband who had not touched her in years, Edna suffered in silence, unable to express her sorrow or sense of isolation to anyone out of the sheer terror that someone would find out and use this information to ruin her and Victor both. The sadness that Victor's lack of love had once filled her with returned triple-fold in Crispin's absence, and all Edna could think about was the sudden disappearance of her lover and how completely overwhelmed and alone in the world it made her feel. Had Crispin left her? Had he changed his mind about always being nearby for her and their child? Had something horrible happened to him?
Fillory subscribed to the latter theory. He scryed and searched for his son with all the resources he could muster, but someone had hidden Crispin's trail very well indeed. The enchanted coin Fillory had given Crispin as a location charm failed to activate and find him, perhaps having been removed, and no amount of money or effort turned up any new leads for months. As time passed, Fillory began to feel certain that somehow, Victor Swiftwind had determined the identity of his wife's lover and destroyed him.
During the last several weeks of her pregnancy with Crispin's child, Edna's health began to rapidly decline. Barely eating or drinking and unable to pull herself out of a daze for hours at a time, Edna lost weight and began to get weaker and weaker. When the day of her child's delivery arrived, Edna suffered an incredibly long and difficult labor that sapped every ounce of strength she had left, leaving her barely conscious after the ordeal. After Edna and Crispin's daughter was delivered, Edna continued to hemorrhage. Edna called her newborn daughter Elspeth, and shortly thereafter lost consciousness. Despite the best efforts of Edna's nurses, the bleeding could not be stopped in time to save her life. It was in this way that Elspeth Swiftwind was born, recorded legally as the daughter of Edna and Victor Swiftwind, and entered into the world with the comfort of neither of her true parents.
The more time passed, the more brightly a cold flame burned in Fillory's heart whenever he thought of Victor Swiftwind. The man had knowingly claimed Crispin's newborn daughter as his own, and he doted upon her as though doing so could erase the ways in which he had mistreated her mother. Fillory hated knowing that his granddaughter was alone and under the authority of such a man, but he knew all too well that any overt move against the Swiftwind family was the first move in a long and potentially messy political war. So Fillory watched, waited, and continued to solidify his own connections and position in Essenmark's Parliament until he could find some sort of opening...and then, he would find a way to protect his kin.
The tragic tale of Edna Swiftwind is one that almost none know, not even her elder children, who so loved her. Crispin Fowler, once Novak Shaedor, has not been seen since before his daughter was born. Elspeth Swiftwind, part-elf granddaughter of the Grand Enchanter of Essenmark, Fillory Shaedor, has discovered that she is not only a mage but a Dreamer, a mage with incredible powers linked to the Fade and elven magic. Nothing for Elspeth has turned out to be what it seemed, and as she moves forward with her friends in the Swiftwind Mercenary Company, her heart aches for the absence of the parents she never knew even as it is emboldened by the knowledge of her grandfather and by the love and support of the half-elf dhampire, Silus Salvatore.
Originally named Novak by his parents, Crispin changed his first name and took the surname Fowler after the cook at the Bellaerie orphanage he briefly lived at, whom he was particularly fond of. The boy's father could not be located without the assistance of his mother, and while Crispin was never officially adopted, Victor Swiftwind arranged to be the boy's caregiver until a suitable guardian could be found. The two would end up being close companions for many years; by the time Victor grew a bit older and married his young and beautiful wife Edna, Crispin was coming of age and had become an official part of the Swiftwind family staff.
Crispin was incredibly talented with plants and was remarkably good with his hands, and by the time he was twenty, he had become the Swiftwinds' expert gardener. Crispin designed intricate, decorative flowerboxes, garden beds full of lush, blossoming beauties, and water features that stunned even the most cultured of Essenmark aristocrats. Perhaps the part-elf gardner's most prized achievement was a hedge maze that still stands at Lannora Ivy today, now decorated inside with benches and statues to admire as one makes one's way through the hedges. Crispin also helped build the gazebo that overlooks the pond on Lannora Ivy's grounds, and was known to sometimes stand on the structure late at night and watch the moonlight over the lake.
During these years, Crispin's father got word of his mother's death several years prior and began trying to locate his son; however, it would take Filorean "Fillory" Shaedor long enough to reconnect with his son that the relationship between the two was forever strained thereafter. They did establish a connection and fairly regular communication though, and it was through this communication that Fillory learned that his now-adult son had recklessly fallen in love with the madame of his house, Edna Swiftwind. This began several years after Victor Swiftwind had lost interest in his wife and the affair lasted for several years before Crispin learned that he and Edna were expecting a child together. By this time, Victor and Edna's eldest, Arthur, was already almost of age, and Crispin had watched Edna bear and care for all 3 of Victor's children even as Victor grew more cold and distant from his family in general.
Fillory laid some protections over his son and his bloodline when he heard the news, and was filled with a strange new joy at the concept of having a grandchild for the first time in his long and very accomplished life. Crispin too was overjoyed, and Edna had not felt so full of delight since her very first pregnancy with her eldest son, Arthur. The spirit of love filled the Swiftwind household and radiated to all who entered it for several months...and then, Crispin disappeared.
Edna was devastated beyond belief. Already unloved and resented over her pregnancy by the husband who had not touched her in years, Edna suffered in silence, unable to express her sorrow or sense of isolation to anyone out of the sheer terror that someone would find out and use this information to ruin her and Victor both. The sadness that Victor's lack of love had once filled her with returned triple-fold in Crispin's absence, and all Edna could think about was the sudden disappearance of her lover and how completely overwhelmed and alone in the world it made her feel. Had Crispin left her? Had he changed his mind about always being nearby for her and their child? Had something horrible happened to him?
Fillory subscribed to the latter theory. He scryed and searched for his son with all the resources he could muster, but someone had hidden Crispin's trail very well indeed. The enchanted coin Fillory had given Crispin as a location charm failed to activate and find him, perhaps having been removed, and no amount of money or effort turned up any new leads for months. As time passed, Fillory began to feel certain that somehow, Victor Swiftwind had determined the identity of his wife's lover and destroyed him.
During the last several weeks of her pregnancy with Crispin's child, Edna's health began to rapidly decline. Barely eating or drinking and unable to pull herself out of a daze for hours at a time, Edna lost weight and began to get weaker and weaker. When the day of her child's delivery arrived, Edna suffered an incredibly long and difficult labor that sapped every ounce of strength she had left, leaving her barely conscious after the ordeal. After Edna and Crispin's daughter was delivered, Edna continued to hemorrhage. Edna called her newborn daughter Elspeth, and shortly thereafter lost consciousness. Despite the best efforts of Edna's nurses, the bleeding could not be stopped in time to save her life. It was in this way that Elspeth Swiftwind was born, recorded legally as the daughter of Edna and Victor Swiftwind, and entered into the world with the comfort of neither of her true parents.
The more time passed, the more brightly a cold flame burned in Fillory's heart whenever he thought of Victor Swiftwind. The man had knowingly claimed Crispin's newborn daughter as his own, and he doted upon her as though doing so could erase the ways in which he had mistreated her mother. Fillory hated knowing that his granddaughter was alone and under the authority of such a man, but he knew all too well that any overt move against the Swiftwind family was the first move in a long and potentially messy political war. So Fillory watched, waited, and continued to solidify his own connections and position in Essenmark's Parliament until he could find some sort of opening...and then, he would find a way to protect his kin.
The tragic tale of Edna Swiftwind is one that almost none know, not even her elder children, who so loved her. Crispin Fowler, once Novak Shaedor, has not been seen since before his daughter was born. Elspeth Swiftwind, part-elf granddaughter of the Grand Enchanter of Essenmark, Fillory Shaedor, has discovered that she is not only a mage but a Dreamer, a mage with incredible powers linked to the Fade and elven magic. Nothing for Elspeth has turned out to be what it seemed, and as she moves forward with her friends in the Swiftwind Mercenary Company, her heart aches for the absence of the parents she never knew even as it is emboldened by the knowledge of her grandfather and by the love and support of the half-elf dhampire, Silus Salvatore.
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