Lady Barbrey Blackwood
Blood and valour, honour and warfare.
Description: Barbrey is past her prime and into the winter of her life, and her weathered face bears all the wrinkles and deep lines one might expect of a woman of near sixty. A hard-lined, square jaw is framed by a mop of wild grey hair, with the occasional auburn streak harkening back to her youth in a faded, rugged Northern beauty.
Tall for a woman, there is an alert and ready position to her posture, and when she moves, only the slightest slowness of age shows -- it seems that the years have at least granted her longevity. Her figure is still lean and muscled, and a perpetually wild look in her eye makes her seem ever-ready for combat.
Personality: At first glance, one might assume that the winter years of Barbrey Blackwood's life have lent her an even temperment -- cool and gentle. But that would be a false assumption. Though she has changed with the wind, and changed with the times, her vigorous passion for life is ever-resting beneath the surface. Her reservation is a mere mask for the more proactive side of her: she would much rather charge into battle than sit around a dining table. Her demeanour to those around her can best be described as "frank" -- though she does not mock, and the barbs of her truth are not sharp, she does her best to avoid the pointless and poisonous platitudes of some other nobles.
She is most chivalrous, some might say, when in her natural environment -- the wondrous outdoors, as befits those who cling onto shamanistic beliefs. Indeed, in spite of her martial demeanour, there is a wisdom in her knowledge of religion.
She is a stalwart ally to those who would look upon her kindly -- but would make a fearsome foe indeed.
Background: Nearing her seventh decade, Barbrey has lived a long life of courageous feats. Born near sixty years ago as the younger child of the Chief of the Blackwood Tribe in an age remembered by few in the realm.
A proper woman of the north, she took to the sword and spear as soon as she was six: and with such skill and valour she did. Inspiring awe in her clan from her adolescent years, all were sure that she would be the one to lead her brother's armies to battle, and defend the Blackwoods with courage and passion once he inherited. And so they were right -- a barbarian strength, sheer willpower and devotion to the spirits led her as an advisor first to her lord brother, and then after his passing, to his son Geraint. She never married, nor had children, but nonetheless remained a valiant figure in her house.
Blackwood's bending of the knee to the Crovane duchy, however, is a recent move that Barbrey is somewhat divided over. While she respects the spirits and knows there must be practicality in these hard times-- she is a traditionalist at heart and finds a pride in her millennia-old lineage, who never bent the knee to the Compact or anyone else. Still, she tries to devote herself to her house and family as much as she can.
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