Jane Starr

Lady Jane Starr is among the most widely known figures in Albion Society, renowned for her leadership during and after the Calamity in Kemet. She spearheaded the rescue of the children left behind when the Cult of the Leviathan annihilated the vast majority of the Kemeti population, and then devoted herself to their care as they grew. She has been a tireless advocate for their rights and inheritance, and has single-handedly blocked multiple legislative efforts to declare the contents of Kemet the property of the Albion government. As Duchess of Windmere, she is one of the Empire's wealthiest and most influential figures - and one of the few to have wielded that power in a manner broadly regarded as unambiguously virtuous.

Early Life

Lady Jane is the only child of Lord James Starr, the former Duke of Windmere. The Duchy of Windmere is among the most affluent in the Empire. Unlike some noble houses, House Starr has no history of spendthrifts, gamblers, or wastrels, having managed its wealth with prudence and foresight over several centuries. When her father died in 1791, Lady Jane inherited both the title and estate, becoming the Duchess of Windmere -and the wealthiest individual in the Empire after the Emperor himself.

She attended the University of Carbury, where she studied history. Though she possessed more than enough wealth to live in comfort, Lady Jane sought a life of purpose and distinction. She chose to join the Imperial Diplomatic Corps, a branch of the Foreign Office, drawn by the challenge and the opportunity to serve the Empire abroad. Her noble title made her an ideal candidate for high-profile diplomatic assignments, where the presence of a duchess as the Imperial representative signaled honor and respect to the host nation. She quickly proved herself a gifted diplomat, and her colleagues in the Corps came to value - and often request - her presence during delicate negotiations.

It was also during her time at Carbury that Lady Jane met Miss Elen Vaughn, a mathematics student sponsored to Exchequer College by the Ministry of the Treasury. Miss Vaughn was not of the nobility - her father was a senior clerk at the Bank of Albion - but she possessed formidable mathematical talents and was being prepared for a high-ranking position within the Treasury. She and Lady Jane became close friends, and upon graduation, Miss Vaughn declined the Treasury appointment to serve instead as Lady Jane's personal secretary and companion. Their partnership would continue for the rest of Miss Vaughn's life.

The Calamity in Kemet

By 1813, Lady Jane had risen to the rank of senior diplomat and was entrusted with one of the most prestigious and delicate postings in the Empire: ambassador to Kemet, the most powerful and influential nation on the continent of Lemuria. At the time, she was engaged in direct negotiations with the Pharaoh Undying, the eldest and most respected of the Living Gods, seeking to persuade him to join the coalition opposing the Cult of the Leviathan in Elbid.

The Dragon Wars had raged across the northern continent for nearly a decade. Though the Empire had thus far managed to hold the Little Dragon and his cultists at bay, the situation was increasingly precarious. Kemet, long regarded as the pinnacle of civilization, was seen as a potential turning point in the conflict. In hopes of inspiring the other Living Gods of Lemuria to take a stand, Emperor Robert IV personally selected Lady Jane to lead the diplomatic effort to secure Kemet's participation.

So when the Cult of the Leviathan unleashed the ritual that killed The Pharaoh Undying and all those bound to him through ceremonial worship, Lady Jane was in Kemet. While those around her were paralyzed by the scale of the massacre - nearly five million lives lost in an instant - she acted immediately. She began organizing anyone within reach, directing search and rescue efforts, and coordinating aid for any possible survivors.

It was she and Miss Vaughn who first uncovered one of the most horrifying truths of the Calamity: that nearly all who survived were young children - most under the age of eight - too young to have taken part in formal worship of the Pharaoh. Across the nation, they found countless small children left alone, suddenly orphaned and surrounded by death.

Lady Jane would later say that, in that moment, she felt the hand of God in Heaven upon her. She knew - deep in her soul - that she had been placed there to save, protect, and care for the children of Kemet. She had the wealth, the influence, the skills - and most importantly, she was there, when so many others were not.

The rescue effort she led has since become the stuff of legend. She commandeered three Albion warships, ordering their captains to abandon all other priorities in service of the children. She requisitioned the local representatives of the Wayfarer's Guild, placing no limit on the cost of their services as they ferried rescuers to the farthest corners of Kemet within hours of the Calamity.

When the Guild later declined to issue a bill for their work - indeed, could not, as many of the mages involved refused to record the full extent of what they had done - Lady Jane personally endowed each of the mages who aided that day with a private income sufficient to ensure they would never need to work again should they choose not to.

Finally, she enlisted the aid of the oldest surviving children of Kemet, those who knew their cities and villages better than any foreigner ever could. Among them was Asar Ben-ka, eight years old at the time of the Calamity. He became one of Lady Jane’s most trusted collaborators, organizing and directing his fellow children in the urgent work of saving as many of their peers as possible.

It was an impossible task - too many children, scattered across too vast a land. And yet, through determination, coordination, and the extraordinary efforts of those who rallied to her call, Lady Jane succeeded. Against all odds, the vast majority of the children left behind after the Calamity were saved. There were losses - each one mourned by those who found them - but more than four thousand children survived, carried to safety through what many would later describe as nothing short of a miracle.

Windmere House

But her work was not yet done. Lady Jane had rescued the children of Kemet, but she knew that rescue was only the beginning. These children would need shelter, care, education - and above all, love. That very evening, exhausted and surrounded by the first rescued survivors, she and Miss Vaughn sat down to plan what would come next.

The first step was clear: the children had to be brought to Albion. Kemet had become a graveyard. It was not a place where children could remain - not while the bodies of their families still lay unburied, nor while the cities stood empty of adults. That same night, Lady Jane sent urgent instructions to her staff at Windmere House, the ancestral seat of the Duchy. Before the first ship reached Albion's shores, construction on new buildings had already begun.

Windmere had long been one of the grandest estates in the Empire, and the house itself could easily accommodate two or three hundred guests. But that would not suffice. Lady Jane ordered the immediate expansion of the estate to house every orphan in her care. The formal gardens were sacrificed to the cause, and what had once been a great house on extensive grounds swiftly transformed into something closer to a village. When she arrived with the first wave of children, she personally inspected every new structure, ensuring that each home met her exacting standards.

Meanwhile, her staff scoured the nation for caretakers - nannies, tutors, nurses, and physicians - who could assist in the care of the traumatized children of Kemet. They found them in abundance. The Calamity had shocked the Empire to its core, and word of Lady Jane’s mission stirred hearts across Albion. Volunteers poured in from every province and city, eager to offer what help they could.

The Church of Albion responded with particular force. Locals still speak in reverent tones of the day five hundred vicars gathered at Windmere, each taking an infant into their arms. To many, Lady Jane's work was seen as the work of God in Heaven - and all felt called to take part in it.

Mother Jane

Lady Jane Starr resigned from the Imperial Diplomatic Corps the day she returned to Albion. She believed, with unwavering certainty, that God in Heaven had given her a mission - one that only she was uniquely placed to fulfill. She was prepared to dedicate her life, her fortune, and her will to that sacred charge.

Windmere House was transformed into Windmere Sanctuary, and for the past seventeen years, Lady Jane has remained its constant and guiding presence. The Sanctuary now employs hundreds of staff, all devoted to the care and upbringing of the children. And the children of Kemet were not the last. The wars did not end, and every day more orphans are made. As the original children of Kemet have grown and ventured out into the world, their places have been filled by others in need of shelter, healing, and love.

They call her Mother Jane - a name first given by Asar Ben-ka, and quickly adopted by the others, despite her objections. The name has endured, not out of ceremony, but because it speaks the truth of who she has become to them.