Description: She possesses an undeniable warmth and gentle confidence that pervades her aura. Though on the petite side of average, she carries herself tall and fills up the space around her with her force of personality, giving the impression to those in her presence that she should be far taller than she is. Painted in earthly, warm hues that seem to compliment her temperament including caramel skin that seems to have its own golden radiance and deep carob hair that spills down her shoulders to frame her sweet but ultimately serious face. This warmth carries to her smiles upon her full mouth which are rare, but pure and genuine when they are offered. Her almondine eyes are a shade of stormy cognac that in the right light can appear green and while they are surely lovely, her most striking feature is her voice. Sultry, it carries a wisdom and weight to it, smokey and beautiful it is capable of holding whole rooms in rapt attention without using much volume.

Personality: Samantha possesses a great empathy, and is naturally warm, affable, and down to earth. She strives to be as honest as possible at all times, but cannot abide hurting someone. An eternal optimist, she always sees the silver lining to every cloud and the beauty in every rainy day. She can see almost any situation or story from any side, which also makes her a great mediator at any time. Easily, she wins friends wherever she puts her feet and she genuinely wants nothing more than the world to be a better place. It's true she may be a gentle soul, but her spirit is of steel and once she's made up her mind about something or decided she's going to do it there's hardly anything that will stop her or get in her way.

Background: Despite her youth, Marquessa Samantha Deepwood's moving speeches before the Assembly of Peers has some nobles referring to her as 'the conscience of the Peers'. This is faint praise, as she stands nearly alone as one of the few nobles whose oratory consistently has focused on the plight of those beneath the nobility, but her unique background allows many of the more indifferent nobility to forgive her stranger notions on matters such as social justice for commoners. A uniquely tragic background, in fact, and the rest of the peerage is likely to give her some understanding because of it.

When she was but a child, House Tyde rose up in bloody rebellion against House Thrax in the far east and threw the Mourning Isles into civil war. King Alaric III grew alarmed that the bloodshed could spread, and wished to bring the unruly vassals to heel and settle the conflict, gathering his banners to argue from a position of strength. House Deepwood, as vassals of House Bisland and thus to House Grayson, answered the call along with the rest of Grayson's servants, but the elderly Marquis Deepwood sent his sons and most of his forces while staying home with just a token honor guard and family to watch the Deepwood lands. Unfortunately, the Gray Forest Reapers heard of the sudden vulnerability of the marquis' lands. The powerful Abandoned clan struck while the family was nearly defenseless, slaughtered the handful of defenders and commoners at the estate, and took the very young child Samantha Deepwood hostage for ransom. Samantha's family did not survive, and while Duke Gabriel Bisland led a rescue and put the majority of the Gray Forest Reapers to the sword that shattered their power for a generation, the badly traumatized child was left to be raised by tutors and regents as the future Marquessa of Deepwood March. Now the young woman has grown into adulthood and is a full Peer of the Realm, but she has never forgotten the deaths of all she knew when she was a child. She feels a bone deep obligation to do right by the dead and build a better realm for tomorrow.

Relationship Summary

Acquaintance:
Family:

Gabriel - Guardian and Father Figure

Iona - Guardian and Maternal Influence

Michael - Foster Brother

Friend:

Aleksei - Just For Fun

Deceased:

Rymarr - Husband