[SkyWishes21]

Lady Cassalena du Côte, local noblewoman and benefactor of the Gold Singers. She's a charcoal rosetted tabby savanna because I just couldn't decide and ended up here! I have so many ideas for her I can't wait to develop her.

name: Lady Cassalena du Côte
gender: trans female
bracket: the gold singers
house: Aurreratu
element: fire
rank: benefactor
description: charcoal rosetted tabby savanna with deep blue eyes

[Venatici]

what a lovey lass,, approved!! you can start your development tasks now ^^ <3

[SkyWishes21]

Task One || Describing Your Bracket
The Gold Singers are primarily a guild. Members of the Gold Singers are both librarians and metal workers, although most people outside of the bracket have a tendency to focus more on the metal working aspect. Although everyone tends to have individual projects, there are a few occasions where there are large undertakings where everyone is involved.

The Gold Singers are a well established bracket, founded a couple hundred years ago by librarians of the Ravenwood Library. Ravenwood was one of the oldest libraries, however it was falling under financial difficulty and there was fear that the library would be repossessed. There happened to be a librarian, Magel, who was a retired smith and still owned an extensive forge that others used. It took some convincing, but Magel eventually taught the librarians how to smith. It took some time, but the Ravenwood librarians were able to use their newfound smithing abilities to raise enough money to save the library. To this day, Magel is respected as the founder of the Gold Singers.

When it comes to ranks, there are very few. It’s fairly unstructured. The only proper “ranks” that exist are the curator of the library, the head of security (there’s a lot of valuables in the library!), the owner of the forge, and the occasional specification on those who do security and some people who only work in the library and some who are only smiths.

There does exist a bit of confusion on the “Singer” aspect of the Gold Singers’ name. There doesn’t seem to be a huge aspect on singing, after all. Most of the time, though, people who think that are thinking pretty literally. It first comes from the ability that they have to “sing” gold into a variety of beautiful shapes. Filigree is especially praised in this way as filigree is difficult to accomplish. The title Singers also comes from the sounds of Ravenwood Library and Forges, from the echoing footsteps inside the library proper to the rhythmic pounding of the anvils. To those both inside and out, it sounds like a glorious, glorious song.

Modern day Ravenwood is a very structurally sound building, filled with rooms and and towers. One could spend days in there with the cold stone and comfortable rugs, exploring every nook and cranny for hidden secrets and old books. The most valuable treasures are kept in the curator’s tower, where no one gets past the curator and the security.

The forges are nearby and officially part of Ravenwood. They’re far enough away that the smoke doesn’t damage the books, but close enough that it isn’t that much of a walk between. Ravenwood forges are very well maintained and it isn’t uncommon for there to be visitors who want to simply watch the smiths at work. Ravenwood forges are owned by a descendant of Magel and are passed down from parent to child unless the parent deems the child unfit to care for the forge.

Only the curator, the forge’s owner, and the head of security actually live on Ravenwood property. Everyone else lives in a home nearby. These people can live lives outside of the Gold Singers, although that isn’t tradition. Most people prefer to live in the small Ravenwood town that’s popped up as more people have joined the Gold Singers.

The Gold Singers are very familial as a whole. Any stranger is a friend (unless proven otherwise) and everyone is treated with kindness. There is security of course, and you don’t just take strangers to the most valuable places, but overwhelmingly, the Gold Singers are considered one of the most genial brackets.
There isn’t a particular house that the Gold Singer’s prefer to associate with, although they’re situated near abouts Merkatariek. They’ll accept anyone from any house

Task Two || Your Characters Role
The first thing you learn about Lady Cassalena is that you simply do not call her Cass. That will earn you an earful at best. You call her Lady Cassalena, or Cassalena if for some reason you cannot call her “Lady”. This refusal of nicknames simply contributes to her stern demeanor. After all, she is a lady. You do not demean a lady.

Cassalena is very high born and bred, and simply doesn’t like being treated as a “commoner”, though of course she doesn’t consider the Gold Singers commoners any more than any other respectable guild. She’s the sort of lady who likes to wear more fancy clothes and outfits and has a fit over correct grammar.

She’s a fairly independent lady as well. Cassalena doesn’t typically like to talk to people and is most often found reading a book or sitting in the same room as someone else next to them doing absolutely nothing. This leads her to come off as standoffish, but she’s really not. She just doesn’t quite know how to interact with people, that’s all.

To almost everyone’s surprise, Cassalena is an incredibly skilled smith. People expect her to be unwilling to go anywhere near the forges, yet she surprises them all by using them and even frequenting them. She really doesn’t mind being dirty, she just minds being talked to. The sounds of the forge are music to her ears, and she’s able to make the best swords and the most elegant filigree.

Despite her insistence on being treated like a lady, Cassalena isn’t a traditionalist beyond that. She bends tradition in ways that suit her and the Gold Singers. She may not show it as affectionately as others, but she really does love the Gold Singers. They’re like family to her, especially since she’s the last of her noble family around.

Cassalena is incredibly intelligent when it comes to facts and the like. All those years with books and such have made her memory impeccable and her brain full to the brim with silly little facts and clear logic. People come to her to solve technical problems and do math. When it comes to emotional intelligence however, Cassalena tends to struggle. She finds it difficult to relate to people’s emotions and indeed doesn’t always like to deal with her own, pushing things away so she can go back to doing whatever.

As a result, Cassalena has difficulty maintaining significant relationships with others. It’s something she’s struggled with her entire life. Perhaps being raised as the only child of a long standing noble family wasn’t very conducive to having a social life after all.

Task Three || Your Character's Reputation
Within the Gold Singers, few people know she’s actually part of them. She seems like those nobility who occasionally stop by, though she’s around more often than the passers by. People find her a bit mysterious and confusing. Why would someone of such nobility hang around this bracket after all, made up of the middle class?

People start talking to her and she comes of as stern with her curt words and tight voice. Her sentences are sharp, and people are afraid to speak to her for fear of their ears getting ripped off and torn to shreds. Cassalena comes off as cold and unwilling to talk to most people.

Among those who’ve been around longer, however, Cassalena is well respected. Her willingness to join in the dirty work of smithing and her elegant work have made her a veritable legend. No one expects such nobility to be willing to join in with those below her.

Cassalena’s most intimate friends find her to be a fairly pleasant person to be around. Quiet yes, but unafraid to speak up when necessary. She always brings something new to the table and is very thoughtful. Certainly, she has a tendency to be blunt around emotional issues and doesn’t always handle things the best way. But hey, she’s a good friend and does decently well if she’s very close to you.

Outside of the Gold Singers, Cassalena is the last of an ‘old money’ noble family, the du Côte family who has an estate near the waters and is generally well known. She’s respectable and is conservative with her wealth. People whisper that she might even be accepted to live with the king!

However, most people are unaware of her element - fire. It breaks the long line of water users that her family has had. If the general public found out, it could be disastrous. Not exactly in Cassalena’s plans for the future. She’d rather just stay with the Gold Singers rather than be stuck with a public outcry.

Task Four || Your Characters Element
Lady Cassalena’s element is fire, and she’s very skilled with it. Her fire allows her to smith in a way that every part is heated exactly right and manipulated into perfection. Some may wonder on such a contrast - such a cold person to such a heated element! It’s perfect for Cassalena though. Fire takes a lot of control that not everyone has, but she’s a very controlled person.

Cassalena does end up showing off with her two little fireballs hanging around her at all times, never touching anything, never burning what shouldn’t be burned. They just hang out there. They’re like her little friends. She’d never admit it to anyone else, but Cassalena has been known to talk to her fireballs like they were real whenever she’s trying to sort through something in her life that’s extra confusing.

Admittedly, when she’s not around the Gold Singers Cassalena doesn’t like talking about her element. Her family has a very long history of being water users and coast dwellers. Other families gossip about her and her element, wondering if she got air instead and that’s why she’s not vocal about it. Air did happen in her family after all. For her to have fire is unthinkable!

But fire she has, and she’s unusually skilled with it too. As a young adult, Cassalena sought out someone who could teach her the ways of fire. It took a few years of training, but her mentor taught her things that she could have never learned from her father.

Task Five || Your Characters History
The Gold Singers weren’t a part of Cassalena’s life until she was an adult. Though tangentially aware of them, they weren’t important at first.

No, Cassalena grew up as an only child of the du Côte family. Her parents were older when they had her, having had a hard time having children and finding other things they wanted to do with their life. Her mother, Cathrine, in particular had dreamed of travelling, so when children became an almost impossibility she and her husband Richardo decided to travel the lands. Cassalena was a pleasant surprise and was doted on from the moment of her birth.

Young Cassalena wasn’t bratty by any means, but she was definitely spoiled. She’d come to expect that the adults in her life would give her things she asked for. When they didn’t, she basically stopped associating with them for a while.

This all changed when she was around 8. Her mother died suddenly to an illness with no known cure. Cassalena and Richardo were devastated. Cathrine had been an important part of Cassalena’s life for a very long time, and losing her crushed Cassalena. Her father coped better and did his best to help his daughter but she’d always shut down whenever he tried to talk about the subject.

Alongside that tragedy came the ordeal of Cassalena’s element. It became almost taboo for it to be talked about with those outside close family friends after someone (Cassalena doesn’t remember who as her father cut them out) blew up about family traditions.

This unintentional social isolation meant that Cassalena had very few close friends aside from the butler’s son. It wasn’t terrible, but it did mean that Cassalena wasn’t very familiar with friendship as an adult.

That fand and her lack of control of her element led Cassolena away from home as a young adult. She sought out the best mentor to teach her how to control fire. And she did - a wonderful sage known simply as Kay taught her how to be one with the fire she wielded.

Kay not only taught her the fine controls of fire but the beginnings of how to be a person, how to become friends and be kind. There were a few other pupils there with similar struggles and concerns. Cassalena would have never admitted it but there was that one beautiful dog that she may or may not have had a crush on.

But her paradise ended all too soon when a messenger arrived with news of her father’s death. Apparently he’d had an accident while fishing and hadn’t made it to shore.

A grieving Cassalena returned home to bury her father and figure out what she was supposed to do with all that money she’d just inherited. She hadn’t learned how to be in charge. There were many breakdowns during the transition period that no one knew about, except perhaps the butler.

After the mourning period, Cassalena began searching for a bracket to call her own. It wouldn’t do to be the only one, and despite her odd social tendencies she couldn’t be without people to call her own.

When she reached out to the Gold Singers, she found herself a saving grace when money was tight. The old curator, Oliver, was in desperation. The forges desperately needed repairs that he couldn’t afford without the families he cared for going without food. Those forges were the main means of bringing in income though. What was he to do?

Let Cassalena pay for it all, of course! What else was she supposed to do with that money?

In gratitude, Oliver offered to teach Cassalena how to forge. Though she hesitated at first, she tried it and she loved it. It was a perfect outlet for her fire and she learned quickly. Filigree quickly became her specialty. Those intricate details may have taken time, but it kept her mind busy and awed those around her.

Cassalena became incredibly devoted to the Gold Singers after that, and has been there through the curator change. She’s ready for anything, just you wait and see!

Task Six || Cassalena and the Forges
Once Cassalena discovered the forges, they quickly became a second home for her. Going back to the coast didn’t entirely feel like an option, not with the way gossip spread and people pried.

The first thing she ever made was a silver cup. It wasn’t a pretty cup and those pretty little paws of hers got burned when she accidentally melted the silver the wrong way and her paws were in the way. And by the flame, it hurt! She keeps it in her apartments now, though. It may be unusable, but it holds a special place on her shelf.

On that same shelf is her first attempt at filigree. It’s a bit of an embarassment, all awkwardly twisted gold in a strange bead form, but she keeps it there anyways. The bead is a reminder of all the progress she’s made, both as a person and in the forges. She considers the two to be interconnected.

Cassolena has sustained many injuries in the forge. Thankfully, most of them have healed. There’s one scar on her paw that never went away. She keeps her fur carefully groomed over it. It’s not that she’s not proud of her work, she just wants to be able to look good for her nobility friends. Her whiskers may be a bit crinkled and her fur can be a bit singed at times, but she still looks gorgeous.

Overwhelmingly though, the forge is home. It’s where she keeps her heart, pounding out her heart when everything seems overwhelming and she doesn’t know where to turn. It’s where she finds peace, joy, friendship even. They say home is where the heart is, and her heart belongs to the forge.