Reevan the Jester

Reevan the Jester, an officer of the bazrrod demon Ashmadael. Later, an independent mercenary captain of Reevan's Merry Circus

Reevan the Jester (Northern Marches of Huncle Circa 2428 A.a.H. - ?) was a western Ozcura Grey Orc from the Free Clans of the Wilderness , officer of a warband in the Dark Legion under the command of Ashmadael, in 2439 during the Campaign of Sargos. Later, she became the captain of her own mercenary company, known as Reevan's Merry Circus, during the 2450s and 2460s.

Reevan got into gang fights over water resources in Khar-Bad to make money. She can be quite the bloody bandit and a 'smiling killer'

Attributes

• Wears the tri-tailed jester cap (without bells)
• Also wears a domino mask
• Excellent trained hand-eye coordination
• Juggler
• Swords-Orc
• Sleight of Hand
• Grinning Killer
• Organizational Skills
• Circus Fixation
• Negotiator

Biography

Early

Reevan was born circa 2428 A.a.H., somewhere in the Northern Marches of Huncle, possibly in Vin, Goelathia or Lysandia. She was born into an Ozcura Orc band that seemed poor and badly led, living a migratory existence interspersed with living in one little village or another. While still a toddler, circa 2430, in Goelathia, the band thought to raid a traveling circus, but was too weak to attempt to do so, and traded with them instead. Largely being taken for what little they had; Reevan herself being sold to the Andlielle Brothers Circus, to Jean Andlielle, supposedly by her mother, although probably by Reevan's aunt, much older sister, or another caregiver. Jean Andlielle reasoned that an Ozcura Orc was exotic enough in the Five Kingdoms of the Northwest to attract attention in her own right.

Reevan loved much of her circus life. Here she is caring for the werewolves Bark and Bite, two demons within the circus that she became very friendly with

Circus

Demihumans often faced prejudice and danger in the Five Kingdoms. Here, Reevan faces a bad encounter in the city of Alfdreim for hate against orcs and ozcuras

Young Reevan was 'mentored' to an also very young half-Loranor girl appropriately named Katya who began to teach her juggling. Katya would become Reevan's close friend in the circus. Her caregiver would be a matronly Green Orc named Lullabelle, who took care of most of the children of the circus. Reevan would also be friendly with the Werewolf twins Bark and Bite, whom she would feed and take care of as they rarely, if ever, left their wolf form. Reevan would become a skilled juggler and sleight of hand magician, she would be a herald of the circus, sent into towns to attract attention for the circus.

Reevan would generally love her time with the circus, but curiosity of humans for ozcura 'pretty orcs' was also mixed with animosity for orcs in general, and the so called 'pretty orcs' as Ozcuras are often called were no less reviled than others. Largely due to the failure of the human (and elven / half-elven) colonies of the Polforian states. Endless raids by Orcs, and other denizens of Polforia had angered and embittered many of the people; former colonists had often returned to the Five kingdoms having lost everything they owned or valued often including their families. Hence, there were occasional encounters of people who were infuriated to see goblins and orcs in their midst as part of what was meant to be entertainment.

(By this time, the imprisoned demon princes would have escaped (as of sometime in 2434 A.a.H.). While this information was downplayed and existed primarily as rumor, it nonetheless put the people on edge. It also might have changed the behavior patterns of various demi-humans as well.)

Reevan became unhappy with the circus and the human audiences who were often all too easily to turn against demihumans. She resolved to leave the circus

The crew manager, Vauguelin Andlielle was not very sympathetic to the issues of the circus employees regarding prejudice, specifically to Reevan's problems. As the Andlielle Brothers were a Grey elf family, they were well aware of prejudice and difficulties. They were also aware that things could sometimes be much worse. Nor did they much decry such prejudice against their workers, as this kept the demi-human folks from striking out on their own in a hostile world, and kept them dependent on the brothers and their circus. Reevan was actually quite intelligent and insightful and would gradually come to see not just the unfairness of the outer society, but the superficies of the circus itself leading her to becoming increasingly unhappy with her audiences as she grew up.

A bad encounter occurred in the 'elf' city of Alfdreim, circa summer, 2437, where Reevan was unjustly persecuted and she and Katya were punished and humiliated by the city. Vauguelin Andielle allowing Reevan and Katya to be left standing bound in stocks and punished by the city's less upright inhabitants. This event 'broke' Reevan; and so she resolved to leave the circus when the opportunity presented itself when the circus moved to the northern marches for the year in about two months time.

Northern Marches

Ambush

The Andielle Brothers had seen Ozcura orcs 'shake them down' before, but upon journeying into the northern marches they were trapped by a particularly 'serious' ambush of over seventy ozcuras. While this 'serious' raid was largely just young ozcuras doing their 'first raid', and they COULD ultimately be bought off, this was a far more frightening encounter than ever before. Other ozcuras showing up in a coordinated manner at the halted circus wagon train with livestock and food raided from nearby farmers would further underscore the situation. Perhaps because of the escape of the demon lords, the ozcuras of the marches were now far more ambitious and militant minded than they had been for about a century since the rise and fall of the demon warlord Terrag the Scourge.

A dear amount of the circus property was absconded with by the ozcuras, and Reevan had actually impressed the raiders with her slight of hand magic tricks which might have helped the circus survive this encounter. Reevan would go with the raiders as she wanted to leave the circus and, in fact, had little choice in the matter as the raiders wanted to recruit her.

Marriage

Reevan would soon experience the 'up and down' life of an ozcura orc (aka grey orcs or pretty orcs). A life that she had been born into, but had almost no memory of. As an outsider, she would be 'coddled' in some ways by her fellows but abused in others. First, her 'fancy' circus belongings being taken from her 'for safe keeping', second, she would enjoy a feast and ritual 'marriage' to an ozcuro (a male grey orc), and then, third, being beaten up by one of her 'husband's' other 'wives' in his harem in a 'pecking order' sort of way.

She would be treated as both an adult and as a child for her age and her ignorance of ozcura society. Her marriage, such as it was, apparently amounted to very little given a number of raids which were undertaken and the world of these ozcuras disintegrating over a number of months of the fall and winter. Oxzcuras being killed or fleeing from their usual homes or the country altogether as the human forces had responded to their raids by banding together and relentlessly persecuted them.

Raids and War

Reevan experienced actual line fighting in the Northern Marches of Huncle as well as just raiding. This was an important lesson on the dangers of being a grunt in war and the value of leading from the rear

Again, the situation was much different than it had been in the past. Normal tribal behaviors had changed, with large raids taking place. This gave Reevan an opportunity to serve as a raider herself, with her knowledge of humans making profitable raids with low bloodshed possible. Reevan would use these opportunities to rise in the society and to buy much of her stolen stuff back.

However, as the marches of Goelathia, Vin and Lysandia came together to fight what had become a small, poorly equipped army of ozcuras and other orcs, the orcs would be routed multiple times. Eventually, survivors being forced to split up and hide in the northern wilderness, and finding that there were few places to hide. Ultimately, Reevan would find herself and other survivors to crossing the Western Dargoina Mountains at the end of winter and entering the eastern demon land of Polforia.

In Ashmadael's Service

Khar-Bad

Reevan entered Polforia circa 2438 A.a.H. and seems to have found her way to the demon city of Khar-Bad, where she entered into the service of the minor Bazrrod demon Ashmadael, the so called Ozcuro Demon. The Dark Legion were rapidly reuniting the lands of Polforia, and wanted to quickly attack the Five Kingdoms of the Northwest and to again conquer all the continent of Aels. This was likely a major why Reevan was able to find her way to Khar-Bad and into service so soon, the demons 'were hiring' as it were.

There, perhaps for her 'leadership' experience at conducting raids in the Northern Marches of Huncle, she sort of became an 'officer in training'. She became a student of the great Chainmail Bikini Warrior ozcura known as Layla the Slayer. There she learned swordplay from Layla and presumably learned how to manage a warband. In truth, she probably learned a great deal from Layla as to how to fight, but much of her ability at managing might have rather come from her time in the circus. Indeed, she would refer to HER warband as being her 'Merry Circus'. Ozcura routiers were notoriously poorly trained, and Ashmadael's ozcura companies doing little to change such a reputation.

Reevan finished 'growing up' under Ashmadael, with outfits designed for succubae being used by the ozcura orcs. This matching Reevan's new and deadly persona as an accomplished fighter

At some point in time, Reevan and those under her acted as a gang in Khar-Bad, and fought deadly fights with other gangs over access to well water. It's not clear if this happened before or after her excursion to Huncle in the Campaign of Sargos, but probably happened before. It might have been something of a 'proving ground' for her in becoming an officer and a warband to command in her mission in Huncle in the upcoming war in 2439-2440. Reevan proved to be a deadly fighter using her newly learned sword skills as a 'laughing killer', gleefully dispatching enemy gang members to gain territory and extra coin.

This violent new demeanor might be said to represent something of a change of persona. Earlier, in her role as a raider in the Northern Marches of Huncle, she often used her knowledge of humans to avoid deadly conflict as much as to steal more loot. This newer and deadlier persona would be seen in her raids in Huncle during the Campaign of Sargos. Although, it should be noted that even there, Reevan's fellows and subordinates thought that she wasn't violent or direct enough. She was no longer a child passively leading other child raiders as a guide, but a young ozcura officer leading more seasoned ozcura warriors from the often brutally violent land of Polforia.

Opening of the Second War of the Power

The demons had raised a truly immense group of armies, and wanted to sweep over and conquer the Five Kingdoms in one year in the (as proposed) Campaign of Sargos. Reevan's part in this was to take her warband over the mountains and into Huncle so as a feint. The idea was that the more northerly Öster Gate would look like the principal attack route into the often weak country of Huncle. The true principal attack coming from the Degoland Pass instead, albeit, so large was the attack that essentially ALL avenues of reaching west of the Dargoina Mountains might be said to qualify as 'real attacks'.

Reevan was chosen for this role for her experiences in Huncle, perhaps also for having crossed the Dargoina Mountains in the end of winter? In any event, she seems to have departed in the autumn of 2439 to cross the mountains, it is unknown if she went by the same route that she had left the Northern Marches a few years earlier, and then journeyed south into the Oster Gate Valley to begin raiding as a means of distraction first, and intelligence gathering second.

Goza

On Campaign

Reevan would face issues early in her raiding campaign in Huncle. In conducting a nighttime raid on a farm, her warband would come across the being known as Goza, a 'World Walking' character, hypothesized to be a goblin crossed imp in the World of Aiers. Goza is ultimately an extra canonical character, but her presence for Reevan and her Merry Circus was very real, and would continue to be real. Reevan would suffer very heavy losses and would withdraw having failed to raid the farm or subdue Goza.

Afterwards

Afterwards, she might have continued with her campaign with her much reduced forces for a time, and then withdrew later, returning over the mountains? In any event, she would soon go east again, and word of the loss would be sent to Ashmadael. Additionally, Goza would also travel to the east, possibly following Reevan's Merry Circus? Goza would clash with ANOTHER of Ashmadael's warbands, in this case, a warband that had retreated from the failed northern campaign against Nortender and had turned into bandits by 2440. Goza would slaughter most of these bandits, the (currently unnamed) leader would later be seen to have returned to the service of Ashmadael.

Ashmadael him/her self would go out in her female body and seek to fight Goza, using Reevan as one of her warbands seeking Goza out. Goza would again slaughter many ozcura warriors, even with a magical enhancement by Ashmadael, and Goza would ultimately defeat and 'kill' Ashmadael herself. Reevan would have abandoned her demon master along with surviving members of her warband and left Ashmadael to her fate. Vitold, the steward of Ashmadael, would lead a force out to retrieve Ashmadael's Soul Stone, it being found by the currently unnamed warband leader who had once faced Goza before.

The Ozcura raider Klutz being aggressively recruited into the Merry Circus

Later Events

Reevan had effectively left her master's service having abandoned Ashmadael to Goza. Presumably, she and her surviving warband members would reorganize and embark on an independent mercenary company as Reevan's Merry Circus. Not many specifics are known, but this mercenary company was structured as Reevan remembered her time with the Andlielle Brothers' Circus, complete with 'Acts' performing for both crowds but also in a martial way. It's unknown if the Merry Circus was tolerated by the Dark Legion as a morale booster of the orc populace in an era of dashed hopes? Or if it truly had some martial value as a mercenary company? But it would continue to operate for years into the 'next generation' where the ozcura known as Klutz would be forced to join.