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Captain Anton
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Officers
Lt. Beau Daniel Bozard
Lt. Thealfas
Lt. Sparrowhawk
Lt. Connor O'Riordain
Sergeants
Sgt. Robert MacKrea
Sgt. Rakaiah
Sgt. Wilym Munro
Line Troops
Han of Normandy
John Hardbottle
Will Tanner
Robert Scott
D'Art McQueen
Nyall Hyrne
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Sergeant Rakaiah
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Rakaiah was born in 1431. Her birth was not a happy one; she was immediately taken from her mother and sent into hiding. She was taken into the lands of England to be raised by a modest family of no importance. She was not told the details of her heritage, only that one day she might ‘avenge the wrongs done to her bloodline’.
When she was but twelve, another travesty occurred in her life. They came in the night. The sound of hoof beats in the mud, horses whinnying. The door being smashed down... the yelling and the screaming. Knowing all the hidey-holes and secret passages, she hid herself before the brigands made it to her room. Even though she was a small child, she knew what was going on, to her adoptive family. The screams, the images she saw when she peeked through spy holes, still haunt her in the night. She wasn’t sure of the politics of why it happened, or if it was her ‘secret’ that caused it, she just got to witness the aftermath. Using hidden passages, she snuck her way out of the castle, running as fast as her little feet could take her into the forest. One of the brigands did see her flee outside of the castle, but the stars were smiling on her as she was able to make it into the forest before he caught her. She knew these woods better than anyone, and she was quickly able to find a safe spot to hide. Barely able to escape, she swore an oath to the heavens that night to avenge her adopted family against these foul men who had the nerve to take her family away from her. She memorized their faces, their colors, everything she was able to see about them.
The toughest road was ahead. She knew her adopted family name would lead to her death, nor was her true name safe, so she hid it away and took the name Rakaiah of Burnley. To be able to obtain the training necessary to exact her revenge, Rakaiah took on the guise of a young lad. She knew the punishment for this if she were caught… she knew the punishment all too well. But, she had no choice. She traveled with merchants, dressed up in makeshift armor, sword in hand, guarding their traveling caravans. Many years, and much training in the ways of being 'unladylike', passed before she came into the friendship of Sparrowhawk of the Archers of Ravenwood.
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While eating in an inn one evening with Sparrowhawk, one of the brigands entered. Rakaiah barely managed to contain her rage and anger while he gorged himself upon roast duck and mead, greasy and slimy like the pig he was. But the time came when he finally left the inn, and Rakaiah stormed out after him, leaving a very confused Sparrowhawk sitting alone at the table. Walking towards him, sword already drawn, her mind snapped at the last minute and she rushed him, slamming into him and forcing him face first into the dirt. She stood there, panting, waiting for him to turn around, to see her face, to recognize her, to know who was about to kill him. But when he turned around, there was no look of recognition, no sudden fear: he had no idea who she was. "Of course you don't know who I am..." she hissed at him, "you never saw me... but I saw you, I saw what you did to my family!!!" and she lifted her sword up to pierce him through the heart, but he had had plenty of time to pull out his sword and deflect her blow. The fight began, and even though Rakaiah was the less skilled one, the stars decided to shine on her once more. She was able to kill the brigand, but in the bloodlust of battle, she didn't even notice the wound he had given her. It was just as Sparrowhawk was running up behind her that she clutched her side and passed out.
When she awoke, she found herself mended, at the Archers encampment, with her secret (as well as many other things) uncovered. The Archers did not punish her for her deception after she told them of her oath of revenge. She didn't tell them her family name, or where she came from, and the Archers never asked either. Surprisingly, they offered her to join their group, to become better skilled with the sword, so that she might one day be able to fulfill her vengeance oath.
Rakaiah is still with the Archers, though she leaves from time to time to search for the rest of the brigands that killed her family, something her red-headed temper won't ever let her forget. (She's even been able to get herself on board a ship from time to time in her search... but that's another story.) Even though her "secret" has been revealed, Rakaiah has not returned back to her lady-like ways. Where as the other women in the encampment prefer bodices and skirts, Rakaiah is most comfortable, and truly happy, in plate mail and pantaloons. She still travels in the guise of a man, and the Archers play along with that game. In the meantime, Rakaiah has taken up a hobby that she hopes to use one day when she catches up with the culprits, the fine art of torture. She is trying hard to perfect her art.... but she hasn't mastered it yet, because she's having a difficult time finding volunteers....
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