Characters

A member of a long lost line of the Thornclaw Clan, the not-so-gentle gentleman known as The Boss has only recently come back into the family fold . . . and into the family money. His rough manners and street lingo make it hard for him to be accepted in polite company. His life up to now is unknown, but rumor has it he walks on the darker side of the law. Best not get on his bad side.

He has served the Dowager’s family for countless ages and has become the Dowager’s secondhand man and confidant. Anyone who enters the house is immediately aware of his watchful eye and ability to predict a guests wishes and fulfill them before asked. Being “the Help” he is overlooked by much of the family and guests and is often privy to their plots and private conversations. He silently collects information and  knows everything that goes on inside the walls of Thornclaw Manor. His professional and austere manner often leave guests wtih the impression that he is a “cold fish.” Don’t ever dismiss the old adage, “the Butler did it,” because he probably did.

As the second in command to the Dowager’s sister, the High Priestess, the Cardinal acts to further the goals of the cause of Chaos. Unbeknownst to Her Highness, the Cardinal walks a thin line as the Dowager’s eyes and ears in the Church. Both powerful beings believe they can trust him, but can either of them be certain of his loyalties? One thing is certain, he enforces the will of the Church with an iron fist as its Grand Inquisitor.

A distant cousin who visits the Manor for months at a time. There is an air of sadness in her eyes as she lurks around the halls of the great manor in search of some mysterious treasure and mutters under her breath.

The Matriarch of the Thornclaw Family. She has been alive for millennia. She is shrewd and sometimes cruel and she always has a plan. She sits at the center of the Thornclaw family controlling the dynasty of otherworldly beings from the high-backed chair in her chamber. She is watched over by her doctor and the Apothecary who work to ensure that she will live for another millennium, but the three-eyed elder being can see that her end is in sight. She sees herself as the bulwark against chaos and through her order, she has allowed the humans of our world to survive and prosper.  Her control of the Manor allows her to maintain control of the realities of the universe, but she believes the stars are aligning against her and that a new age must come to replace the old. She has searched among her brood for her successor, but she continues to find them wanting. As the forces of chaos scratch at her front door, she fears there will be no one to protect the universe she has worked so hard to maintain. 

A distant relative from a faraway land, The Dragon Lady slithers into Thornclaw Manor with an air of mystery. Her sensuous ways and her vicious wit make her a formidable conversationalist, as well as a danger to anyone she sets her eye upon.

The eldest child of Lord and Lady Thornclaw, he has been known to fall deeply and tragically in love with a person or an idea at the drop of a hat. His emotions run hot and cold as he flits from one idea, person or belief system.  His fleeting desires burn brightly and like widlfire. He can be your greatest ally one minute while he is in love with your spirit and your greatest detractor once you fall from grace in his eyes. Rejecting his love is almost as dangerous as accepting it.

A dionysian lover of obscure and disturbing delights, he will travel to the furthest lengths, with cost never a question, for new flavors and experiences to tantalize his multitudinous disquieting tastes. His restaurant reviews can make or break a world-class chef and his celebrity column in the paper can eviscerate even the most eminent of lives. Everyone who is anyone is always certain to make sure that when he invites them to dinner, they aren’t on the menu.

This proud old warbird has many stories of valorous battle and he will regale you with them all night, sometimes twice, provided you keep him plied with a good scotch. He is tough and serious, just do not take his forgetfulness for weakness, he is every bit as sharp as his beak.

A haughty old financier of strange and sometimes terrible ventures. Those that he invests in beware that his money always comes with unusual strings attached.