TARALEILA MACINTYRE
(ALANNEAN MACEACHERN)

A THOUSAND YEARS AGO:
The Sidhe rose up and attacked the MacEachern Clan in vengeance for the MacEacherns’ slaughtering of the Goodly Folke. Over the course of one day, the Clan was wiped out to a man, their knowledge of cold-iron forging lost forever. Or so the Sidhe believed.

But in their assault, the Sidhe were careless. Small groups of MacEachern survived, escaping the massacre and fleeing to the sanctuary and secrecy of other clans. The Sidhe were satisfied with the destruction they had wrought, and confident that humanity had lost access to the secret of killing Sidhe. However, the Clan MacEachern has survived, albeit in secret and never in great numbers. They have lived in hiding, passing down their knowledge to ensure its survival, as well as the history of their clan.

ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO:
Tara Rose MacLeod, one of the descendants of the MacEachern clan and a talented Glamour mage, was wandering the Highland moors when a passing Sidhe lord spotted her. Noticing that she was not only highly proficient in Glamour, but was also stunningly beautiful, he disguised himself as human and began a conversation with her. The conversation ended with a promise to meet again the following night, and soon the two were constantly seeing one another… without either of their people realizing what they were doing. They met in secret, practicing their magic, and the Sidhe lord became increasingly fascinated by this human woman, while she was astonished at this “human’s” remarkable talent for Glamour.

NINETY YEARS AGO:
After ten years of secret meetings, magical journeys, and growing feelings, the Sidhe lord finally felt compelled to confess to Tara who he really was. Because he had no inkling of the other’s true identity, what had started as mutual attraction developed into love.

She had two immediate reactions – the first was joy that this man that she had fallen in love with was also in love with her, for she had also felt herself losing her heart to this beautiful and talented man. The second was mortal terror that he knew her true background and meant to destroy her because of it.

But her lover remained ignorant of the truth, so Tara remained silent and allowed her heart to lead her. She joined him at the edge of the Sidhe lands, and there they set about building a home and a new life together.

Then one day, Tara became pregnant.

EIGHTY YEARS AGO:
She gave birth to a baby girl, who she named Alannean. Together the little family lived in the Highlands, and all seemed remarkably peaceful. Tara would often sit outside with her baby, look at her love, and feel that all would be well. So far, the pair had managed to avoid detection by either the Sidhe or the Highlanders, although each of them in their hearts ached to rejoin their people. But somehow they knew that their fragile happiness would be shattered if anyone else knew of the liaison, or worse, of the child.

Every day, Tara would play with her baby, admiring her almost unearthly beauty. Every day, Tara would think of the mixed blood that ran through the baby’s veins. And each day, Tara wondered when the truth would finally come out. That happiness was shattered sooner than any of them would have thought, and by the very truth that Tara had sought to conceal.

SEVENTY YEARS AGO:
Alannean awoke from a deep sleep to the sounds of her father’s shouts and her mother’s screams. She crept out of her bed and peered through the door to see her father waving a sword around, cursing at her mother, who was cowering near a wooden chest by the window. Near her feet was a plaid that Alannean had never seen before.

Her father lunged forward, grabbing her mother by the wrist and yanking her to her feet. Alannean could see that her mother’s dress was torn in the back, and on her mother’s right shoulder blade was a tattoo of a horseshoe.
MacEachern…” he hissed. “So this is what you’ve been hiding from all these years.”
Alannean went cold. She knew that name, all Highlanders knew of the doomed clan that had been slaughtered by the Sidhe a thousand years ago. And she knew why. Was that what her mother was? What she herself was?
“Yes, I was hiding!” Tara cried in anguish, and in fury. “My clan was murdered by the Sidhe a thousand years ago, and we know what long memories THEY have, so what else could I do but hide who I was, WHO I AM?”
“DON’T YOU REALIZE, YOU DAMNED WOMAN?” he screamed, his face pale with rage. “YOUR CLAN SURVIVED! AND WHAT SURVIVED WITH YOU?” Suddenly he went absolutely silent, his face now completely white. And he turned to look towards Alannean’s bedroom, and saw Alannean kneeling there, watching them.

Alannean, still crouching by the door, saw her mother go just as pale. She saw her father lift his sword and start towards her. She saw her mother pull a dagger from her plaid and plunge it into her father’s back. She saw her father turn and cut her mother down.
She saw her mother fall. She saw her father fall. And she saw them both die.

For a long time, she hunched there before finally creeping forward. She looked at the bodies of her parents. Her mother, cut down by a Sidhe sword. Her father, stabbed in the back by a MacEachern dagger.
And beside them on the floor, the MacEachern plaid, stained by the blood of both.

FIVE YEARS AGO:
A young woman arrived in Kirkwall at the Chapter House of the Knights of the Rose and Cross, escorted by one of the Knights. Perhaps fifteen years of age, she wore a black chemise, with a strange plaid wrapped around her. The pattern looked familiar, but was all in shades of black, white, and grey.

Every day for a month, she knocked on the door of the House, asking to see Andrew MacClaine and Miles Valroux du Martise.
Every day for a month, she asked to join the Knights.
Every day for a month, she said, “I am someone who can help you.”
Every day for a month, she was told that joining the Knights was by invitation only.

Then one day, the Knights were summoned to a nearby village. There they found the body of an Unseelie in the middle of the village square. Then reports began coming in of other Seelie deaths, and each time, they heard of how the Sidhe had been harassing or terrorizing the locals, only to be stopped by a young woman who appeared out of nowhere. She would arrive, kill the Sidhe, and vanish again. She sought no reward, wanted no recognition, and refused to give her name. When asked why she had assisted them, her answer was always the same.

“I am someone who can help you.”

The next time she arrived at the House, she was escorted in and brought before MacClaine and du Martise. For a long time, she sat there, staring at them with those implacable eyes.
“Who are you? How can you help us?” they asked her.
“Who am I?” she mused. “Theah knows me as TaraLeila MacIntyre, but in truth…”
She rose from her chair, loosened her plaid, and bared her shoulders. On her right shoulder blade was a tattoo of a horseshoe. And she raised her eyes to theirs and touched the sword and dagger she wore at her waist.

“I am Alannean MacEachern.”

She has been with the Knights ever since.
Character artwork coming soon!
Quote: "Emotion is such a human thing. And the only emotion I can still feel is hate. Everything else is emptiness."

Hair: Black
Eyes: Violet

Height: 5'11"
Weight: 135 lbs

Game: 7th Sea

Theme Song: "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence
Theme Music: "Caoineadh Cu Chulainn" by Bill Whelan

The ARMILLARY OF THE AGES Campaign

Beginning at some point during 2001, I began GMing a campaign for the first time in years.  The game was 7th Sea.  The players were many and varied.  And the campaign that ran on and off for almost three years has since become legend.

In all truth, I inherited this particular group of players and the initial campaign, when a rather bad break-up precipitated ousting the former GM.  Everyone else wanted to keep playing.  I offered to pick up where Craig had left off, if folks wanted to keep playing their original characters.  They said yes, I designed a couple of scenarios, and we were off and running.

True to swashbuckling tradition, there was much wine (sparking what has now become the famous Montaigne vs Castillian wine debate among the players), women (exactly how many of the PCs had Lecherous as a Hubris?), and song (we had a dancer and a guitarist, both of whom used their skills to seduce to great effect).  Wits and weapons were both rapier-sharp, but all was not always happiness and light.

To counteract the cheerful devil-may-care attitude, the group had frequent run-ins with the Inquisition (who is always unexpected, and not amusing), found themselves embroiled in political intrigue on a continent-wide scale, and even had dealings with things not of this world.  They danced with Death on more than one occasion, and did not always come away unscathed.

Angst and heartbreak also were laced through the campaign, be it the Inishman who'd been cursed by the Sidhe to play out a deadly game of cat-and-mouse, the Castillian whose sister had been abducted as a war trophy by a hated Montaigne general, two Vodacce women being hunted by the Seven Princes, or the Highlands woman known as the Iron Knight.  Triumph and tragedy were the characters' bedfellows for the duration of the campaign.

But the single thing that set this campaign apart from all the rest was, of all things... a ghost.

A ghost that not everyone could see.
A ghost that seemed to exist throughout history.
A ghost that could show you your entire life with a single touch.
A ghost that could play tricks with time.

The ghost, known as Alekto, was the focus of an overarcing story idea that took nearly the entire three years to resolve.  During this time, the players found themselves racing across every civilized country in Theah, researching lost cults, trekking through god-forsaken ruins, bargaining with madmen, evading the Inquisition and the Explorers' Society, until they finally discovered the titular artifact of the campaign - a great and terrible item that could rip apart the threads of destiny.

I honestly don't think my players drew a breath during the entire last session of the game except to hyperventilate.

We haven't played in two years, and people still talk about that campaign.

The ARMILLARY OF THE AGES Campaign Music

Regarding my game, the music helped inspire scenario ideas or else I used the pieces to help solidify the feeling I was going for in the game. (This is by no means the full track or scenario listing - these were the scenarios that took longer than usual and thus warranted music.)  To this day, none of my players can hear "Conquest of Paradise" without thinking of the 7th Sea game, as it was pretty much voted the campaign theme song.

In rough order of use, the track listing is as follows (plus the scenario title):

1. Der Name der Rose - Main Titles [scenario: Honour is My Guide]
2. The Lion King - To Die For [scenario: Secret Agendas]
3. Braveheart - Revenge [scenario: The Court of the O'Bannon]
4. Doctor Who: The Curse of Fenric - Evil from the Dawn of Time [scenario: Alekto's Ghost]
5. 1492: Conquest of Paradise - Monastery at La Rabida [scenario: Knight versus Knight]
6. The Truman Show - A New Life [scenario: Wanderers of the Waves]
7. The Princess Bride - Once Upon a Time/Storybook Love [scenario: High Society]
8. Quest for Glory V - Dance of Mystery and Intrigue [scenario: The Greatest Lover in Theah]
9. Quest for Glory V - The Rite of Justice [scenario: A Long-Awaited Duel]
10. The Princess Bride - The Friends' Song [scenario: ... But Never Noble Memory]
11. 1492: Conquest of Paradise - Conquest of Paradise [scenario: Destiny Has No Secrets]
12. The Mask of Zorro - Stealing the Map [scenario: Las Munecas Rotas]
13. The Truman Show - Truman Sets Sail [scenario: La Familia]
14. Glory - The Whipping [scenario: Blood of the Martyrs]
15. 1492: Conquest of Paradise - Hispanola [scenario: Sanctuary]
16. 1492: Conquest of Paradise - Light and Shadow [scenario: Dying for the Faith]
17. Gladiator - Sorrow [scenario: Dying for the Faith, Part II]
18. The Hunt for Red October - Putin's Death [scenario: Dance of the Fireflies]
19. The Shadow - The Hotel [scenario: Alekto's Ghost]
20. The Truman Show - Underground/Storm [scenario: Time's Tapestry]
21. The World is Not Enough - Pipeline [scenario: Running Out of Time]
22. Dark City - You Have the Power [scenario: The World is Unmade]
23. Shrek - Transformation/The End [scenario: Free at Last]

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