Princess Xara Draewyn

History

From her earliest memory, Xavier was the sole figure in Xara’s bleak existence who made sense—a quiet, patient constant amid a storm of violence and twisted familial bonds. In a court where love was razor-edged and blood was proof of devotion, her brother stood apart. He alone glimpsed the quiet spark within her, the magical potential she had hidden from their mother’s prying eyes. Each secret meeting, whispered spell, or quiet moment in shadowed alcoves cemented Xavier not just as a sibling but as her solitary companion—someone who saw more in her than mere innocence or calculated threat. To Xara, their shared silence spoke louder than any words.

Nicknames & Petnames

To Xara, Xavier was always "Xavi," a simple pet name stripped of formality, delivered with the sort of casual sweetness only she dared to show in Geoneth. She spoke it with ease, as if it were the only natural thing in their harsh reality. Occasionally, she teased him as her "Shadow Twin," referencing their shared paths through darkness, yet always with a sincerity that others in their cold family rarely, if ever, offered. To her, the nickname represented comfort, safety, and genuine affection—all commodities rare within the Draewynn family.

Relationship Reasoning

In Xara’s eyes, Xavier was a lifeline, the only anchor in a sea of twisted expectations and ruthless ambitions. Her bond with him wasn’t born merely from shared blood, but from mutual understanding of the cruel intricacies their parents had designed. Xavier’s silent acceptance of her—scars, magic, and disturbing serenity included—offered her validation nobody else dared to give. To Xara, Xavier represented both solace and the promise that she was not entirely alone; he was evidence that humanity, or at least a trace of it, still endured within the Draewynn lineage.

Commonalities & Shared Interests

Xara delighted in the quiet things they shared—hidden arcane studies, secretive exchanges of knowledge, and subtle acts of rebellion against their mother’s oppressive gaze. In Xavier, she found a scholar’s curiosity equal to her own, someone who valued precision in magic as she valued precision with her blade. Together they quietly explored forbidden magic, intricate runes, and the secrets locked away within the vaults of Geoneth. For Xara, these moments of mutual exploration were precious, small islands of joy amid oceans of turmoil.

Shared Secrets

Xara's most precious secret—her subtle yet powerful gift of magical telekinesis—was entrusted solely to Xavier. Her brother was the only soul permitted to witness her practice, pushing and pulling objects with graceful ease, hidden from the court’s prying eyes. This magical secret was not merely shared; it was given freely as a token of absolute trust. In Xavier alone she found safety to reveal vulnerabilities; she saw their shared secrets as evidence of a bond more potent than blood, stronger than steel.

Shared Acquaintances

Master Azikar, the keeper of forbidden lore, served as a bridge between Xara and Xavier’s worlds. To Xara, Azikar was more than a scholar; he was an opportunity—someone who could deepen her understanding of arcane secrets while solidifying her connection with Xavier. Yet, she watched Azikar carefully, aware that the old master danced precariously between her brother’s trust and their mother’s ambitions. Through Azikar, Xara recognized the delicate threads of court politics, threads that could either reinforce or unravel the bond she had so carefully cultivated with Xavier.

History

From the moment nine-year-old Xara learned that the porcelain-pale girl at court was her elder by only a season—and her step-sister—she began treating their every encounter like a tactical exercise. She trailed Xena through corridors the way a hunter follows fresh prints, mapping the princess’s habits with quiet fascination, storing patterns the way others collect jewels. Xena’s poise repelled most children, but it intrigued Xara; here was someone who wielded silence like a blade rather than a shield. Yet whenever the older girl’s serene courtesy sparked envy in surrounding courtiers, Xara felt a hot, possessive pride—that calm is partially mine; our bloodlines share a corridor of fate. Publicly she tested Xena’s patience with barbed questions and sly pranks, earning a reputation for petty cruelty; privately she guarded the princess’s secrets as fiercely as her own. Those dual masks explain the ledger the scribes keep: Xara’s actual regard sits deceptively positive, while her displayed barbs register as open disdain. In a court where honesty is weakness, she has decided that loving her sister in the dark is safer than praising her in the light.

Nicknames & Petnames

Inside her journals, Xara calls Xena “Glassblade,” admiring how something so fragile in appearance can still draw blood when wielded with precision. To Xena’s face she often scoffs “Snowdrop,” a feigned insult about wilting flowers that masks the same admiration. Servants whisper the younger princess is a “shadowbell,” forever chiming behind Xena’s every step—Xara pretends not to notice, though the name secretly delights her.

Relationship Reasoning

Xara believes alliances must be chosen, not inherited, and she is determined to choose Xena—even if that choice is veiled beneath mischief. Xena embodies the courtly grace Xara’s mother will never teach her, so studying the princess feels like stealing coin from Georgette’s own vault. Each successful prank proves that perfection can crack; each shared secret proves that cracks can be mended with trust. Xara resents anyone who misreads Xena’s composure as weakness and has poisoned more than one rumor to keep predatory nobles at bay. Meanwhile, she savors the fact that Xena’s official record shows no feeling toward her at all, for indifference is safer than affection in the Draewynn ledger. One day, Xara hopes those blank numbers will flip—public trust for private devotion—but she can wait; patience is another lesson the Glassblade teaches.

Commonalities & Shared Interests

Both sisters worship patterns: Xena in treaties and etiquette, Xara in spell-work and hidden passages. Evenings find them in opposite corners of the same library—Xena annotating trade agreements, Xara levitating quills just out of reach of bored scribes—each pretending not to watch the other. Neither enjoys loud revels, preferring the controlled tension of a chessboard or the hush of garden labyrinths at dusk. When Xena rehearses diplomatic greetings, Xara times her breaths to the bow, testing how long the older girl can hold composure under silent sabotage. They share an unspoken disdain for those who mistake kindness for permission. Both are children who learned early that knowledge is currency; together they mine it from unsuspecting adults with complementary finesse. In those moments, rivalry curls into camaraderie like twin snakes around one staff.

Shared Secrets

On the third night of the Frost Festival, Xara caught Xena sneaking sugared plum wine from the royal cellar; rather than tattling, she swapped the bottle for watered cordial and kept the key. In return, Xena now overlooks the faint violet glow that seeps from beneath Xara’s door when her telekinesis lessons go awry—no questions asked, no alarms raised. They bury any contraband in a hollow behind the south-garden sundial, agreeing that whoever breaks the pact must dig it up alone. Xara also guards a copy of Xena’s shadow-fund calculations, stolen from the princess’s desk and memorized before being burned; leverage, she reasons, is love wearing armor. For her part, Xena once slipped Xara a silk patch to cover the empty socket where Father’s blade took her eye, promising beauty need not bow to brutality—Xara has worn it beneath war-paint ever since. Their secrets are mismatched puzzle pieces, yet they fit because each girl refuses to snap them together for anyone else. Thus, in silence, they practice a loyalty the court cannot quantify.

History

From the moment of Xara’s birth, Georgette viewed her daughter as a curious anomaly rather than a true child. Born of meticulous calculation and arcane precision, Xara was both an achievement and a mild disappointment—worthy enough to survive but imperfect enough to remain intriguing. Georgette's clinical detachment defined their bond: she never cradled Xara tenderly nor shielded her from harm. Instead, she watched with clinical curiosity as her daughter navigated the court’s deadly currents. For Xara, Georgette became a distant, inscrutable puzzle—part mother, part oppressor—fueling both resentment and a twisted desire to surpass the very woman who crafted her existence.

Nicknames & Petnames

Georgette addresses Xara in cold, precise terms, often calling her simply "Little Thorn," a name laden with subtle mockery and hidden threat, emphasizing her daughter's persistent, yet insignificant efforts at rebellion. Conversely, Xara's references to Georgette fluctuate between outward politeness and whispered contempt—behind closed doors, she has privately labeled her mother "The Weaver," acknowledging the queen’s role in spinning their twisted fates. Their names for one another are not terms of affection but coded symbols in their relentless game of dominance and subtle defiance.

Relationship Reasoning

To Georgette, Xara represents an entertaining diversion—a living experiment on the limits of resilience and rebellion. She tolerates Xara’s open hostility and frequent assassination attempts as fascinating, even amusing proofs of her daughter’s innate potential. Xara, however, views her mother’s cold amusement as a profound insult and a challenge. She continually tests Georgette's patience, attempting to push the boundaries of the queen’s cruel detachment, striving desperately for either recognition or destruction—whichever comes first.

Commonalities & Shared Interests

Both mother and daughter share a deep fascination with power and magic, though their approaches sharply differ. Georgette’s obsession lies in control, precision, and arcane dominance, while Xara quietly pursues subtler applications of her emerging abilities, harnessing precision through hidden magic and the blade. Their mutual respect, however begrudging, arises from this shared pursuit of mastery. They occasionally converse in carefully controlled exchanges about arcane theory and subtle manipulation, a rare common ground where open hostility momentarily yields to uneasy, wary dialogue.

Shared Secrets

A significant secret hangs quietly between them—Xara’s concealed magical gift. Though she fiercely guards the full extent of her telekinetic power, Xara suspects Georgette senses something beneath her surface, silently aware her mother might already know her secret. Georgette indeed has glimpsed fragments of this hidden talent but chooses to keep it secret from her daughter, preferring to observe how Xara’s careful concealment evolves. Each woman guards this shared secret as a hidden card—waiting patiently to exploit or leverage it when the precise moment arrives.

Shared Acquaintances

Master Azikar serves as an unwitting intermediary between mother and daughter, a figure whose loyalties remain carefully ambiguous. Georgette employs him as both spy and scholar, carefully monitoring any arcane interest her daughter reveals. Xara, understanding Azikar’s precarious role, uses him cautiously to glean subtle information about her mother’s intentions and vulnerabilities. Through Azikar’s careful maneuvering, both mother and daughter quietly observe one another, each carefully extracting knowledge, fully aware of the intricate dance of power playing out between them.

History

King Xaverius has always seen Xara as a strange yet oddly compelling offspring—a child whose defiance and boldness, even at a young age, echoed his own ferocious temperament. Their bond has been defined through trials of strength rather than typical father-daughter interactions; Xara’s relentless attempts upon his life have become tests of resolve, strength, and loyalty. From Xara’s perspective, these violent exchanges represent twisted approval, a measure of connection that proves to her she is truly his daughter. For Xaverius, the confrontations became a reflection of his own strength—his child both rival and proof of his legacy, a dangerous game played on the blade’s edge of affection and brutality.

Nicknames & Petnames

Xaverius rarely uses affectionate terms openly, but in the quiet aftermath of their confrontations, he occasionally calls her "Little Fury," a nickname tinged with dark approval and grim pride. Xara herself keeps no petnames for her father, addressing him simply as "Father"—a respectful yet subtly defiant title. Their names for each other emphasize the unique formality and intense rivalry that characterizes their interactions, revealing respect forged in conflict rather than warmth born of familial care.

Relationship Reasoning

For King Xaverius, Xara represents both an annoyance and an intriguing challenge—a child whose relentless defiance both irritates and impresses him. He tolerates her attacks partly from grim amusement and partly to gauge her true potential, intrigued by the fire and spirit she embodies. From Xara’s perspective, each encounter with her father is a desperate bid for acknowledgment, an attempt to measure herself against the monumental shadow he casts. These violent meetings are their language of intimacy—harsh, dangerous, yet strangely honest.

Commonalities & Shared Interests

Father and daughter share an instinctive respect for strength, power, and combat. Xaverius finds genuine satisfaction in Xara’s blade skill and unyielding spirit, traits he values above all others. For Xara, her father’s mastery of warfare and ruthless strategy represents the pinnacle of ambition, skills she relentlessly strives to emulate and ultimately surpass. Their shared interest in martial prowess binds them together, even as their blades clash, creating a mutual understanding neither fully admits aloud.

Shared Secrets

Their shared secret is etched visibly upon Xara’s face: the loss of her left eye. This scar, inflicted by Xaverius himself during one particularly fierce encounter, symbolizes their twisted bond—a secret mark of shame and pride, never openly discussed yet silently acknowledged by both. To Xaverius, the wound is proof of his uncompromising strength; to Xara, it is a lasting testament of resilience and a deeply personal claim to his reluctant acknowledgment. Both understand this shared secret's profound meaning, a permanent reminder of their intertwined fates.

Shared Acquaintances

The figure linking father and daughter is Master Azikar, the scholar whose neutrality and knowledge Xaverius exploits to maintain a subtle awareness of Xara’s activities. Xaverius uses Azikar to gauge his daughter’s growth and ambition, respecting yet suspicious of the scholar's careful diplomacy. Xara, equally cautious, views Azikar as both opportunity and threat—aware that through him, her father sees far more than she wishes revealed. Azikar serves as their delicate, silent intermediary, reflecting each back upon the other without ever explicitly taking sides.