CISLUNAR DHASANT: THE CITY OF GARGOYLES

Elianora Caitrin Paochi was the third child of the noted weaponsmith Girard Paochi and his wife Anabella. She was well-raised and educated with the wealth brought in by her father's work. She learned about blades and weaponry early from him, and although he wouldn't let her near the forge and anvil, he found her nimble fingers of great help in sewing fabric and tooling leather for hand-grips, scabbards, shield-covers, and pennons. She grew into a pretty and independent young lady, fond of her family, but restless in her commonplace life. She dreamed of travel, romantic adventure, and of course, her very own Prince Charming.
One day her fairy tale came true. Young Lord Tirnan, heir to the Raventree title, came to her father's shop to order a new rapier. Surprised to see a delicate-looking young girl carrying a longsword the way a soldier might, he smiled and challenged her to a mock duel. To his amazement, she not only accepted, but held her own reasonably well. She lost the duel but won his heart. They were married a year later; she was 18 and he was 25.
Unfortunately, Tirnan's family did not approve at all of the match. She was a commoner to them, no matter how wealthy or honorable her family might be. Tirnan's sisters settled for simply being rude to her in subtle ways they expected her to miss, but Lord Nandos, the head of the household, was openly hateful to her. He continued proposing "better" matches to his son and urging him to dissolve this "shameful union" before any children came of it.
However, Tirnan and Elianora soon had a house of their own, and once free of his family's interference, their happiness blossomed. Tirnan continued teaching her how to fence. He himself was an officer and a master swordsman and made an excellent teacher; she was just beginning to feel more confident with her blade when they discovered she was pregnant. Almost a year to the day from their marriage, she gave birth to their first son, Malachi. Olivar followed two years later, and little Gaetano two years after that.
In between children, Elianora continued fencing, both to stay in shape and to stay close to her husband. Her other hobbies included sewing, reading history, and writing out letters and legal documents for her husband. She also continued to try to make peace with her husband's family, as well as helping out her own extended clan in what small ways she could. She made a few friends among the lesser nobility, but Nandos' censure prevented her from moving among the truly influential. She chafed at this at times but was mainly fearful that her restrictions might hurt Tirnan's status; in those years she was mainly interested in her husband's success and her family's happiness, not her own pride.
Of course, it had to end. Nine years after their marriage, Tirnan was killed in a senseless duel, and Elianora was left a widow at 27. She was deeply shocked and cried openly at his funeral. However, the worst was yet to come. Nandos claimed her sons as the next heirs to his title and took them home with him straight from the funeral ceremony. Unable to cope with her loss, Elianora did not realize at first that he intended to keep them for good. She tried to confront him in his home, but he intimidated her with a bewildering array of accusations, legal hocus-pocus, and half-veiled threats until she backed down, and then he cut her off from the family funds and forbade her to approach the Raventree estates again.
Heartbroken, she made a few more attempts to see her children, but was turned away every time. Finally she retreated to her parents' home and spent her days mourning in relative solitude. Finally, though, her spirit has rebounded, and she is determined to do whatever it takes to win her way back to her children's sides. She is currently researching the laws regarding inheritance and custody and is looking for ways other than remarrying to improve her leverage against Lord Nandos. She hopes to keep her own reputation as clean as possible, but is willing to look anywhere for help and to sacrifice many former snobberies and prejudices to achieve her goals.