Description

Titles: Countess verr Baunesste
Standing: Lady-in-waiting to Queen Soah Eguzkiñe
Appearance:

She is a tall and fair-skinned woman with a strong build. Not delicately built like most noble ladies of the court and her red hair and small nose make her less than appealing to most noblemen. She usually keeps her red hair loose and braided on the sides as in customs of the empire. She wears elegant dresses and walks with the grace of a lady swaying her hips side to sides and giving a curtsy. Her eyes are a turquoise green and very wide. Cute freckles kiss her nose and rosey cheeks. She doesn't wear much jewelry and prefers to keep it elegant but simple. A common sight is her in traditional woman's hunting attire and either hunting or practicing the Borean past-time Horse-back archery.
House: Æðelstan of Bora
-Words: Besteen faltak aurreko aldean, geureak bizkarrean. Other people carry their faults up front. We carry ours own behind our backs.
-Seat: Baunesste Castle is considered a small fief in comparison to the vast northern kingdom of Bora but it encompasses a large portion of the Keren-Borean Mountains and ends in the fertile valley of Ebausore making it a wealthy gateway into the Frozen North. Lots of glacier lakes and forests making it famous for large cedar and pine and mining in the rocky slopes. In the valley is Ebausore City, a major portal for commerce where many smithies, weapons, lumber, northern goods, crops and Borean wines can be traded to the mountain kingdoms of Derue and the Frozen North. Baunesste also rules several small villages in the region. The castle itself is built on the cliffs of Baunesste and you need to take a long winding road through the forest to get there. It's an old stone castle built by the Baunesste Royals before the current line of kings were even heard of. More like a fortress than a castle it has been rebuilt and refurbished many times since the second Æðelstan prince Aiki used it as a fort against barbarian raids. Built in a large stone circle with five tall towers jutting out of it on the outside it seems very bare but inside famous Borean tapestries, large staircases and red carpets run through it's well-lit corridors. There are two indoor gardens the downstairs houses fifty servants' rooms comfortably with a kitchen upstairs across a large and well decorated dining room. The nobles sleep in large bed chambers fit for generations of Borean nobility and the basement has a well lit kitchen and table for the servants . Those who work in the castle have little to complain about as the current Lady Berezi does a lot for herself and asks little of her household. Before the current mistress the castle was a Royal summer cottage. If you continue down past the eastern garden and through the gate you'll come a little ways down to the royal Baunesste Stud where the famous Royal Borean Draft Horses are bred and sold throughout the empire. Lady Berezi takes care of the estates but Lady Osane verr Baunesste is considered the countess and represents Baunesste at court due to her royal heritage.

-Family:
Berezi Nahia venre Baunesste, mistress of the late Lord Ekkehard ven Æðelstan. Birth name is Guðríðr Ragnarrsdottr. Mother of Lady Osane and manages the estate of Baunesste in northern Keren-Borea region. Famous breeder of Borean Draft horses at the Baunesste Stud and exports them all over the empire.

Lord Kemen Aitor Estebe ven Æðelstan, king of Bora and father of Third Queen Soah. Rules over most of the northern feifs and is one of the closest vassals to the late Emperor. Younger Brother of the deceased Horse Master Lord Ekkehard ven Æðelstan.

Prince Ekaitz Ekkehard ven Æðelstan, heir to Borean rule and known across the empire as the best horse-archer and a deadly sword. Unmatched in his horseback warfare except Lord Delian.

Third Queen Soah Eguzkiñe soverr Æðelstan, third wife of the Lion Emperor and mother of Kendrik. Daughter of Lord Kemen Aitor Estebe ven Æðelstan and Lady Maaike Mirenne of Kiosne.

Miren-Élodie Haizea soverr Æðelstan, Duchess of Rheol de Gurutze and Lady of Hiodei. Famous for her wits in business and produces some of the best wines in all the Hundred Kingdoms and constantly at odds with the House Darloq and Montclair in trade. Currently seeking ways to gain a foothold in the southern trades including trying to convince her cousin to take a Montclair suitor because it would benefit both houses. She has also tried to get Osane in the eyes of King Raine. Widow of Duke of Rheol de Gurutze, Lord Unaipetri du Gurutz.

History

-History:
Bora was famous for it's wine and vast vineyards being called the Lion King's vineyard. Nestled in amongst the Keren-Borean mountains to it's north and the end of the great Rheol to it's south that feeds into the mass irrigation systems of the rich and fertile valleys of Bora. The mountains of Keren-Borean are but the Footstool of the great mountains of Muthrindel which span across two kingdoms south to Bora's northern border and change into the small Keren-Borean mountain range. This placement made the northern kingdom of Bora the wine bottle of the Hundred Kingdoms. The kings of the House of Æðelstan have ruled this wine country for twelve generations and remained independent of the Cartadian empire until Lord Aitor Gotzan ven Æðelstan married Dorothée-Élodie del Acraman, the Lion Emperor's great aunt and coming under Cartadian reign. They bred the heavy horses of the north to the light-boned horses of the south and further became famous for producing war horses for the armies of Cartada.

When all hell broke out through Cartada, Amalric's relatives in Bora hid him in their mountain estates through the Keren-Borean. He was always on the move and many men of Bora rode with him aided by the strong and intelligent Keren-Bor war horses. At that time sis cousin Ekkehard ven Æðelstan, a grandson of Lord Aitor ven Æðelstan and his Acraman wife also supported and rode alongside him. He was the lord of Bora at that time and always faithful to the Lion King. Named the Horse Master of the Cartadian Court, Lord Æðelstan was in many battles until his death in the campaign against the Frozen North. Before his death the Horse Master was engaged in many skirmishes and raids on northern clans. In one raid he found a beautiful redheaded barbarian he renamed Berezi. He couldn't marry by law as a noble and instead took her as a mistress and gave her a rich estate in the Keren-Borean mountains. Ekkehard left behind a sole heir through his Muthrindelian mistress Berezi but the Crown of Bora went to his younger brother Kemen Aitor Estebe ven Æðelstan. The child by the mistress was a bastard and therefore could not inherit the throne of Bora. Out of respect for the former Lord of Bora, King Amalric supported the Mistress Berezi and the girl child and insisted she be allowed the same education as her cousins. Given the title Sorne verr Baunesste (meaning child of Baunesste, the estate name of where she lived) she was considered a lower noble of the house of Æðelstan. She attended the prestigious academy of Ainzane with her cousins, Lord Kemen's daughters Soah and Miren.

She became an accomplished rider and hunter. Osane is an intelligent child and possesses her father's talent in horsemanship and writing. Osane is also very close to her cousin Soah and accompanied her to court by her cousin's request and Lord Amalric's favor because of her father who she could not remember since he died when she was but a babe. Still many praised her saying she was much like him...it was just unfortunate she looked so much like her barbarian mother. She tended to her cousin and advised her on many things. Her cousin was beautiful, smart and Bora controlled many of the northern fiefs now having a strong voice in the court. Soah was the pride of Bora, it's gem and vine. Osane merely was background. When her cousin won the Lion King's favour with her spirit and ambition as well as her beauty every noble of the house of Æðelstan was thrilled and Osane stayed at court as the new queen's lady of the privy chamber. There were times the Lady Nightengale found Osane in the gardens andtalked with her about literature and the history of kings. She was surprised by the girl's intelligence which is so often mocked because of her northern-bred mother. Osane is a strong individual who has a thick-skin and is usually very good at ignoring what the others say but she has a temper and sometimes leads her to really tear a new one into some stick up the butt lady. To others Osane just seems far too human to be nobility.

Reputation: Osane is preceived as someone just floating on the graces of the late emperor and the queen to some nobles due to her less than savory heritage. Others don't like how unladylike-like she acts because of her love for hunting and horseback archery. Still she has shown great loyalty to the Lion and his queen, her cousin. She is usually respected for her strong will and determination to see things through for her queen. Usually she keeps a low profile and attends to her queen. She is not known as a local beauty as most men find her red hair offensive and her eyes too eerie. She looks like she can see straight through you and stays to the sidelines during balls. She seems rather unapproachable but the late king liked that fire about her. She really is known for being too blunt or crass compared to the 'dignified' older nobles. Osane has never been drunk despite being a 'wine child' and doesn't care to engage in such stupidites. She has a job to do. When she is not out amongst the horses or accompanying her cousin she can be found in the royal library. Osane tries not to anger too many prominent houses just for being in the same room as them.