What is known of Jenhay Vilonthar

Played by Ivan - ivanhartley@gmail.com

Jenhay began his life of strife as a young warrior within his tribe, on the Pontic Steppe. North of the Caucasus Mountains, south of the Don and Volga rivers, and bounded by the Black sea to the west and the Caspian Sea to the east, a lush, beautiful country in which to breed marvellous horses. Pressure from the Cumans eventually drove him from his native land, as his tribe were either obliged to pay tribute to these new overlords, or be destroyed. Jenhay chose the third way – he would become a mercenary and take as much revenge as The Blue Sky would allow.

He fought for the Russian Princes against each other and the Cumans, the Eastern Romans, Byzantines, as others know them, Greeks as they sometimes call themselves, against the Cumans, and against the Turks. He fought for the Turkish Sultan, against the Byzantines, the Persians, and the Cumans. In battle he was ferocity personified, as he exerted himself the wine dark birthmark on his face became darker. He earned himself a reputation for this amongst the Greeks against and with whom he fought. His Turkish comrades regarded him as a cold-blooded killer for his slaughter of any Cumans he came across on their campaigns.

His travels as a mercenary have given him some linguistic skills. Jenhay is able to make himself understood, with some difficulty, in Turkic, Persian and Greek. This is very useful in getting his point across in his current business activities, although, he is certain that a little more practice could alleviate some of the difficulties he experiences from time to time. Perhaps, if one of his deals goes badly, he could acquire a local wife in settlement, thus improving his Greek?

He has now given up his life as a mercenary, in favour of making a living by lending the loot he plundered over the last ten years. He has a reputation as pagan usurer with the local (Greek/Cappadocian/Byzantine) Christian population. He drives a very hard bargain, and rigorously insists on the terms of his agreements being met. His spreading reputation for ferocity amongst these folk is of assistance to him in enforcing his deals, and as yet, he has not had to employ any of the weapons he typically carries when collecting a debt.

He is very careful not to involve his previous employers in any of his current dealings, as he is reasonably happy at the covenant of Mystikae Eikona, having met Humbert, with whom he shares an interest in horses. He thinks that having to push too hard against the ruling power might be a little beyond him and may result in being driven away from this region. Besides, he’d probably have to take a loss on his business dealings, and that is unthinkable.

Who knows, perhaps he and Humbert can make a decent living from “improving” the horses of this region, so that they rival those of his beloved steppe.



Ariagne Trichina
Steward of Mystikae Eikona
(Played by Ray)

Ariagne hails from the Thessalymike region of the Eastern Empire, on the west shore of the Thermian Gulf near Mount Olympus. She was married to a landed nobleman named Athanasios and had borne him two sons and a daughter. Over the course of their marriage, she became more and more involved with the running of his estate, to the the point where she was in charge of everything by the time her husband was tragically taken from her some time ago. Their oldest son inherited his father’s title and lands, while their daughter served as a lady-in-waiting until she was wed herself not too long ago.

By custom, upon Athanasios’s death Ariagne was faced with with the choice of either (a) entering a convent or (b) remarrying. Not satisfied with either option, Ariagne went with (c). She had long heard rumors of an order of scholars who weren’t what they seemed; discreet questioning of some of her acquaintances and a hasty journey led her to the doors of Mystikae Eikona, accompanied by her young son and the shade of her dear departed husband (who has, in death, taken more of an interest in his wife and her happiness than he had in life). Fortuitously, her arrival at Mystikae Eikona several years occurred shortly after the departure of the previous steward.

Ariagne is somewhat petite, with olive skin, auburn hair and dark brown eyes. She is very strong-willed and can be stubborn at times, especially when she feels she is right. She is also very determined to do what is best (even when those with whom she is dealing don't realize that what she is proposing is for the best). She is astute enough to know when to push and when to let things go. She is also a skilled negotiator, and has no small experience in dealing with Byzantine politics, albeit not at the highest levels. She grudging accepts that, although she is the Steward of the covenant, that she may have to make considerable concessions when dealing with the Magi, although she will try to get them to see her side of the situation as well as making sure they accept the consequence when they discover that she was right after all. Her top priorities are the welfare of her son and of the covenant; luckily, the two have not yet conflicted. She has some knowledge of horse husbandry, and will be interested to learn some about mining, agriculture, and pottery so that she will be able to make better informed decisions about those aspects of the covenant’s prosperity.

Although Greek is her native language, she also speaks both Latin and Turkish with a slight accent, and can read and write in both the Latin and Greek script; she does not yet know how to read or write Turkish, although that is also on her agenda.