November 2015

*lounges in the long boot setting up a makeshift tent in it* well then they all seem mighty interesting. I must know more about your cat children.

WELL, since you asked so nicely:

This is Kyne Marrowtaster, Centurion with the Blood Legion and veteran of the Ebonhawke sieges, so she’s an older gal. She’s pragmatic and ill-tempered and she’s larger than most males. Like most charr, she has many, MANY siblings, however, the two most notable are her half-sisters (by the same mother but by an Ash father) Gorgo Bearmaw and Sable Slagspitter of Ash Legion.

Kyne and Sable, in particular, have a fairly antagonistic relationship.

Kyne, like many other charr women her age, has a plethora of cubs, mostly full grown by now:

Her eldest are her twin daughters, Brevet Shrewdspear and Blight Brokenspear by the sire Damascus Bloodstained. Capable soldiers and well on their way to a successful career in the Blood Legion, Kyne rarely has to worry about dim-witted Blight with Brevet looking after her. They are the most like their mother, inheriting her large frame and demeanor.

Balteus Shovelblade is a Blood Legion sapper sired by Aurus Gutreave. He is a soft-spoken charr, intelligent and even-tempered. He’s always looking for ways to create a better bomb and so spends most of his time tinkering with one incendiary trinket or another. His romantic interest in other males has been known to his warband since childhood and they’ve always been quick to defend their ‘bandmate, but he’s since learned to let his work speak for itself.

Atilius Steelchain would be the last cub to be sired by Damascus Bloodstained before his death. Atilius isn’t a very bright lad, but he is a good-hearted charr and dedicated to the Legions and their greater interests. A soldier to a fault, he will do whatever his superiors tell him to do, though he isn’t above knocking skulls together to establish his leadership. He is the only of Kyne’s cubs who could actually be larger than the old Centurion.

Lorica Daggerdance is the first of Kyne’s cubs to be sired by Iron Legion’s Smolt Geargrind. She was a talented combatant and showed plenty of promise, but, sadly, her life was claimed by the ghosts of Ascalon shortly after her warband graduated from the Blood Fahrar.

Syska Ghostroar is Kyneska’s youngest cub and second child sired by Smolt Geargrind. She and her late sister were the only of Kyne’s brood who did not inherit their mother’s size, but they more than proved their keen wit and sharp eyes. Syska is a notable sharpshooter and weapons developer with the Iron Legion and, despite her small frame, she has a fiery spirit, taking great pleasure in destroying the ghosts that plague the countryside.

Of course, I don’t have enough space to describe all the other charr in my roster! Though, if anyone ever wants to know anythin’, I always welcome questions!~

Oh also! (Same anon.) does Marrowtaster have any favorite foods? She seems like a deer meat sort of cat.

Kyne’s an avid cook and, though she’s not exactly gourmet, she loves to experiment. In fact her love of food is what earned her her ‘band name “taster”.

She’s not really picky, anything at all that used to be alive and kicking suits her just fine. Deer, cow, devourer, moa, shark, boar, she’s even taken to eating saurians in the Maguuma jungle. Though, she’s fond of rabbits on a stick for a snack.

Recently, she’s been subjecting her Sylvari friends to vegetarian recipes of her own creation out of curiosity. As Charr can’t really eat vegetables, she doesn’t taste the food, so whether or not the dish is a success is largely determined by luck and experience.

ft. Kyne Marrowtaster and Oziroan

*hides under the lip of the boat just watching eye barley poking above the rim* I see. Does she normally subject her salad friends to such things like this? Also does she have a lot of non Charr friends?

Kyne does not, in fact have very many non-Charr companions. She can count all of them on one hand. Like many of the Legion soldiers of her generation, she still struggles with xenophobia in a pretty big way.

One has to remember that, up until a mere five years ago, her whole life has been about the brutal, systematic and total elimination of Humans in Ascalon. She and the Marrow warband have been at odds with the the soldiers of Ebonhawke for the majority of her life. She’s seen her comrades fall at human hands and she’s has taken more than her fair share of lives. (In fact, she keeps notches on the inside of her helm, recording every Human she’s killed)

However, Kyne was born in the high mountains near Norn lodges and so was raised near them before she reached the Blood Legion Fahrar. As a result, she’s most at ease around Norn and has formed lasting relationships with her childhood neighbours.

Over time, she’s even come to respect and care for a few Sylvari friends.

Though, this is more the exception than the rule. She still finds these newcomers inherently suspicious and their more than passing resemblance to humanity puts her on edge.

Despite this paranoia, Kyne will always trust the word of a Sylvari over a Human’s, any day.

ft. Kyne Marrowtaster, Abigail Bearheart, Oziroan, Bel, Mal and Will.

Hmm alright then we'll last questions for Marrowtaster then I'll have to move to some others. What's here stance on the orders of tyria. Does she appreciate the work they do and does she actively fight in an order. Also she seems like a pretty sensible chief does se have any other hobbies or quirks?

Ever xenophobic, Kyne admittedly was skeptical about how effective (or frankly necessary) a coalition of several species could even be against the dragons of Tyria. However, after mounting casualties from both the Brand and on southern shores full of undead, the Blood Centurion had to concede to a need for action. She greatly resisted the idea at first, balking at the poor discipline amongst the soldiers and the general lack of proper equipment they brandished. However, when she met the General Almorra Soulkeeper, Kyne had found a like-minded sister-at-arms and soon began to coordinate with the Vigil with more enthusiasm. She was quickly promoted to Warmaster and was set to work training recruits.

In working with the Orders, Kyneska Marrowtaster had began to slowly trust the other species a bit more, understanding at last that a unified front will always outlast against a common foe.

Since then, she has been elevated to Senior Pact Commander and is directly responsible for the coordination between all Commanders under Marshall Trahearne. While she takes her responsibilities seriously, she often resents how much paperwork her lofty position brings her and the old veteran is continuously shirking administrative minutia to lend a more active hand in leading her troops directly. Her Aide-de-Camp is usually left to sort through the papers, though, assuring the Pact has a clean and organized chain of command.

And regarding to quirks: She has a few, but nothing terribly noteworthy. She abhors missing meals as she’s convinced it’s bad luck to “miss the last meal you may ever have”. She keeps a journal that only remarks upon the weather of that day and what she ate.  And she keeps a separate journal to record every fish she’s ever caught.

Although it is worth mentioning that, due to a combination of a childhood shield-training incident and numerous broken noses, Kyne snores like a war engine and, if conditions are humid enough, she can even be heard snoring when she’s awake.

*A mortal shell lands nearby. There's a note in it, send via Iron Legion mortal post service* Hi there! Firstly I'd like to say I was amazed by Kyne the moment I saw her on tumblr long time ago. How not to love such firce, big and strong charr women ;). Also I adore the way you draw charr expressions! On to the first Ask: What's Kyne opinion about Iron Legion technology. Both on the battlefield, as firearms, cannons, machinguns and war wagons, and outside of it.

Kyne has a very healthy respect for the Iron Legion and it’s innovative technology. Thundering mortar blasts and the cracking of rifle shots are some of the most heartening sounds to her. One of the old Charr’s favorite childhood memories is that of her whole warband, cubs of only 8 or 10, gathered around the launching platform, trying to out-roar the revving engines of the war wagons. She has always admired them, though she never envied the soldiers crammed inside. As an infantryman, her place was in front of those wagons, protecting them and their engineers with shield formations.

Her own rifle originally belonged to a fallen Iron soldier. Kyne had snapped it up in the middle of a heated assault and it has saved her life numerous times since.

Of course, Kyne still believes with all her heart that the Iron Legion’s greatest contribution was the portable barbecue she had received as a gift from her ‘bandmates upon her promotion to Centurion.

And second question (separate because of ask letter limit): As I understood Kyne had at least 3 mates. What kind of relationship they had, and how long it lasted? Was it more like full of passion till the fire put out? Or more stable and based on partnership? How they separated their ways? Does she still keep in contact with them?

You may not think of it to see her now, but when Kyne was younger, she was the very picture of a newly graduated Blood Legion soldier. She was a rip-roaring, crowd-thrashing, whiskey-guzzling, jet-loose young Charr who firmly believed in playing hard and fighting even harder. In this respect, it’s important to know that Kyne has had many, MANY mates, most of whom she can’t even recall. Though she’s only had cubs by three of them.

Every relationship was different, some lasted a few months, others only lasted a night. The relationships with the fathers of Kyne’s cubs were no exception to that rule.

Smolt Geargrind, sire of Lorica and Syska, is a smaller male from the Iron Legion. Normally, Kyne would never even give such a little piece of Iron scrap the time of day. However, a few too many whiskeys and an argument over rifles soon devolves into….Well…Something else.

As sire to Kyne’s youngest cubs, she often checks up on him and Syska, whom she agreed to hand over to the Iron Legion Fahrar. The two still enjoy a friendly rivalry.

No one really knows who Balteus’ sire is for absolutely certain. All that could be gathered is that Kyne and Aurus Gutreave had attended the same party some months before Balteus was born. Both of them had imbibed a little too much liquor and neither of them remembers much of the event, but this little dark-furred cub looked an awful lot like Aurus and so they simply agreed he was the father. Probably.

Despite her numerous paramours, the only serious relationship Kyne has ever had was with one of her very first mates, Damascus Bloodstained.

They met on the Fields of Ruin, outside Ebonhawke. Since they were greenhorns and still a bit too wild to trust with more important sorties, the two groups of young adults spent a lot of time at their camps as a rear guard. This allowed the two Legionnaires, Kyne and Damascus to strike up friendly banter that Kyne today sorely misses.

The two eventually became an exclusive pair for a number of years and were, for the most part, a happy, functional couple despite their warbands constantly being deployed in different areas. However, when Damascus learned that Kyne was being posted to escort a party across the Brand, he demanded to come with her. Kyne refused, fearing for her mate’s life. The argument became heated and they almost came to blows.

They parted ways angry and soon, after a grueling trek, Kyne was safely across the Brand. Though, tragically, she learned that Damascus Bloodstained, along with most of his warband, were lost to an overwhelming force of Ascalonian ghosts. There was no dramatic goodbye, no chance for reconciliation, there wasn’t even a grave for her to visit. Just a slightly crumpled letter with an emotionless word of sympathy. She simply carried on.

How do your charr feel about Gladium, and deserters in particular?

Most of my Charr feel the same way about Gladium as anyone else: A mixture of pitty and suspicion. Some don’t much care either way and my own Gladium, Bala the Bilge Rat, has found meaning in sailing ships out of Lion’s Arch.

Deserters are a very different issue. Most, if not all of my Charr (Kyne chief among them), would feel honour-bound to kill a deserter on sight. Even Gladium do not, for the most part, choose to be Gladium and most are still loyal to the Legions.

Of course, it is a matter of opinion. As far as Sable is concerned, it was the single best decision she’s ever made. Don’t listen to her, kids. Stay in school.

ft.Kyne Marrowtaster and Sable Slagspitter