Anastasia O'Rourke, Countess of Halstaig
|
|
Anastasia Cassia of The House of Rourke, also known as Azariah, (11th of Snow’s Maiden, 1770-Present), being the eldest of her line was made the Countess of Halstaig at the young age of twenty-one in Arcas following her father, Padraig O'Rourke's untimely demise. She gained a notable reputation in The Holy Orenian Empire for her work as a politician, soldier & re-establishing her house in Almaris.
Contents
Biography
Early life
Anastasia O'Rourke was born into House O'Rourke to Padraig O'Rourke & Illaena Elendil. For the first few years of her life, she was moved between Aeldin & Arcas. Being constantly moved around gave her precious little time to make friends in either Realm which led her to lock herself in her room, reading & writing until she would pass out. She started to become more introverted & rejected the idea of going outside.
In 1783, the young Anastasia was awakened by a crude knock at the door by a house servant who came bearing a request for her presence downstairs. Peaking through a window in her room, she spotted a well-maintained carriage bearing the crest of an Aeldin house. Knowing full-well what this meant, she climbed out of her second-floor bedroom to the ground, seeking to escape. Almost seconds after her feet touched the soil the sound of a door splintering rang out from her bedroom prompting Anastasia to flee.
By nightfall, Anastasia found herself lost in the woods. Without a compass, she settled down, slumped against a tree to sleep the night away. The next day she was harshly awoken by the sounds of horses. A norlandic patrol had spotted her. The riders introduced themselves & befriended the young girl, asking her questions about where she was from. Not desiring to return to her home in Kaedrin she lied & said Curon; a former kingdom of Oren that was destroyed over a decade prior.
Feeling sympathetic for her, the Norlanders took her back to their home in Morsgrad & raised her until the age of sixteen. Through these three years, they taught Anastasia how to fight, hunt & ride. During this period of time, Anastasia picked up a job as a sell-sword; a sword for hire. On the 10th of Sun's Smile, one of her assignments took her to Helena, the capital of The Holy Orenian Empire where she was to distract the guards of the city so a small raiding party could kidnap an imperial nobleman. She was successful in doing such & due to that success, she was hired to do the same thing multiple more times throughout the same year until she was captured by a haenseni soldier & handed over to imperial authorities.
Once in custody, she was given the choice of death or joining the Imperial State Army by Joseph Clement, The Duke of Helena. Without a second thought, Anastasia chose the ladder. She spent the next two years in basic training which she completed with ease having already been training in combat & competency.
The Inferi War
Throughout the 1780's & 1790's, demonic forces pillaged the desert island off of Arcas known as The Korvassa. During Anastasia's time as a private in The Imperial State Army, she engaged in a multitude of skirmishes, battles & sieges with these foes. Her first battle came as The Seige of Vanmark where she was assigned to what was essentially a suicide squad led by Velhrun Darkwood. Large mammoth creatures patrolled the outskirts of the city & the objective of her unit was to climb aboard these massive beasts and divert them away from the main force whether by death or redirection. The attempts to board the mammoths failed with many soldiers in her unit ending up dead or heavily injured. Anastasia's unit continued to engage the beasts until the norlandic naval force arrived off of the coast of Vanmark and was able to obliterate the mammoths through cannon fire. After the battlefield was cleared of all hostiles, Anastasia sought to attend to the wounded.
Her next few engagements with inferi forces came through small skirmishes on the south coast of Arcas & scouting expeditions into the demonic territory. During this period of time, one of Anastasia's friends; Viktoriya was captured by inferi forces. Viktoriya's husband, Alaric DeNurem; the head of the military intelligence brought Anastasia, an imperial fire mage & a band of mercenaries to free the imprisoned Vik. Initially, the group attempted to negotiate with the inferi but the attempts at bringing the situation to a peaceful resolve were shot down. Hostile methods were tried shortly afterward & unfortunately for liberators, they were pushed back with no success from their initial mission.
In 1787, the allied descendant forces chose their next offensive target, Vitenna. Within a few weeks, siege preparations began to take shape on the beaches of Vanmark. W.I.P
Marriage
On the 4th of Harren's Folly, 1800, Anastasia married Carter Komnenos II in The County of Halstaig. The two had a small wedding with only family members and close friends attending. Anastasia wore a simple satin ivory dress with a short train laced with fine silver. She was walked down the aisle by her grandfather & arch-chancellor of The Holy Orenian Empire, Jonah Stahl-Elendil. Afterward, a small reception was held in Erin's Hall; the estate of House O'Rourke where the finest wines & pastries from the empire were feasted upon.
W.I.P
Titles, Styles and Honors
Titles and Styles
- 1781 - 1791: Lady Anastasia of Halstaig
- 1791 - Present: The Right Honorable Anastasia of the House of Rourke, Countess of Halstaig
Issue
| Name | Birth | Death | Marriage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gareth Padraig O'Rourke | 7th of Sigismund's End, 1803 | Alive | Unwed | Firstborn son of Anastasia & Carter, Heir to Halstaig |
| Auden Thien O'Rourke | 7th of Sigismund's End, 1803 | Alive | Unwed | Secondborn son of Anastasia & Carter |
| Iduna Anne O'Rourke | 16th of Horen's Calling, 1805 | Alive | Unwed | Firstborn daughter of Anastasia & Carter |
