Peleps Caedmon
Basic Information
Name: Peleps Caedmon
AKA: Caedmon (KAD-mun), Cad (by close friends, Aden likely among them)
Player: Dan H
Type: Dragon-Blooded Exalt
Age: 20
Aspect: Water
Concept: Fresh graduate of House of Bells, deferring military service to see Creation and straighten out ambitions
Motivation: Help to reform the fractured Realm military
Political Affiliation: The Realm, House Peleps
Anima: Cad makes it rain.
Likes: Wine, tobacco, history, bird watching, sleeping in
Dislikes: Dairy, early mornings, crowded rooms, cynics
Peleps Caedmon: Character Sheet
Stories
Baptism by Fire
- Congraduations! - Aden's Graduation Party, a small gala of a few hundred guests.
Background
Iselsi Arekov's cigarette was the only light in that dim tavern corner. The brightened glow illuminated his face as he took a drag, exhaling it into the already-musty air and letting the silence hang for just a touch longer than the smoke itself. As it dissipated, he spoke to Cad.
"So now that I've told you who I am, Peleps Caedmon, how about you tell me about yourself? I know your father only professionally, and lurking in someone's shadow does not reveal as much as the Eye would have you believe."
Cad smirked through a sip of his beer, setting the brimming mug down on the table and leaning back. He thought for a moment, still a bit bewildered by the knowledge that his father had appointed him some kind of secret agent guardian angel - how very Mardok, Cad thought to himself. Still, Arekov had clearly taken a risk by revealing himself, so Cad obliged him.
"As you know, I was born to Peleps Mardok and Saraban Alma. Let's talk about my father first, since that's where you're connected to this story. What's it like being Peleps Mardok's kid? Heh, I sort of suspected from the get-go that I wasn't going to have a normal life when the other kids in primary school whispered of my father as an information broker and a pirate. That was back when I knew him as a proud Imperial captain, and back when I didn't realize all of those things weren't mutually exclusive. He never pushed me too hard towards a career in the military - It was tacitly expected by my extended family and the House that I would attend the House of Bells and become a captain, like all good Peleps men do, but Mardok himself never leaned heavily on that point. Looking back on it, maybe he felt that somehow the dishonorable things he'd done would make him a hypocrite if he tried to force a military life on me. Don't get me wrong, though - both of my parents were Exalts with a decent pedigree and there was a decent probability I'd be one too. They pushed me to excellence, and it didn't get any easier when I Exalted near the end of primary school. That was the one time Mardok got harsh with me - he told me that being Dragon-Blooded wasn't a free pass. He said that even though Exalts were ten times as powerful as a man, they had to work one hundred times as hard. Especially these days - more Dragon-Bloods than ever. Being Dragon-Blooded was a great blessing alright, but lately it's just a foot in the door. Everyone who's anyone was a Dragon-Blood, so despite my power, I still had to work for anything I wanted - no handouts. Mardok made it clear things would be harder for me than they were for him. That the Realm wasn't in good shape. I remember that last year of primary school and the summer before secondary school - lots of long boat rides with Mardok while he talked about the state of things. He revealed some things to me that I didn't know before... Some of which were difficult to hear... Well, you know that part."
Cad took another sip of his beer, giving Arekov a moment to recall the unspoken memories Cad referred to - of Mardok's fall from grace, of his his mother, Alma's betrayal of the throne, and several others. Arekov's connection to the All-Seeing Eye meant that he surely knew of these affairs, and might have even been involved. Cad didn't feel much like reliving them, so he continued.
"And it was that summer that Mardok took his only shot at convincing me to follow in the family tradition. He told me that there were enough people in the Realm who knew what I should do with my life that he wasn't about to try to butt in and add another opinion to the pot. He did go on a little diatribe, however, about how fractured the Realm had become, and how its strength was fading because the Great Houses were recalling all of their resources and using them not to the benefit of the Realm, but for their own good - even if it meant to the detriment of other Houses or the Realm. He pointed out that the Navy was the one institution largely insulated from that infighting - that by and large, it was still independent of any one House and out to serve the Realm as a whole. His figuring was that if any reform could happen in the Realm, especially in the Legions, it would have to come from within the Navy, or at least follow its example. That's when he gave me his wavecleaver daiklave."
Cad patted the hilt of the sheathed sword hanging at his hip. He continued, "I guess that one lecture really set in - Although I wasn't particularly passionate about any one career path, I decided the Navy seemed like as good of an option as any. In principal, I guess I woulda rather gone into politics, but I didn't need my dad to tell me what a hopeless shit show that was these days. So, with that in mind, I applied to the House of Bells. I got in, despite being a late applicant and having only average grades for a Dragon-Blood - People may scorn Peleps Mardok publicly, but they listen when he calls in his favors. So it was off to Arjuf I went."
"My time at the House of Bells was interesting. I wasn't your typical military cadet, insofar as there can be such a thing. I guess as a Dynast, your career choices are bureaucrat, monk, soldier, and sorcerer. Oh, and spy, I guess."
Cad shrugged with a half-smile that grew a little less jovial when he noted Arekov's lack of reaction to his wisecrack. He took another gulp of beer and kept going.
"So anyway, you got a lot of people who weren't 'typical' military types. But still, I wouldn't say I was a majority. I was more cautious than competitive, more caught up in debating than fighting, more interested in the personality quirks of famous generals than their strategies. Still, that sociability got me a long way. My swordsmanship and raw strategy skills weren't really much off from the average at the academy, in one direction or the other, but I was able to use those differences I mentioned to my advantage. When everyone else was trying to impress the quartermaster with their skills as a soldier, I was learning his favorite card game and becoming his best friend at rec hours. And believe me - when everyone is trying to stand out by doing the same thing, my name's the one he remembered when supplies were scarce. As I got to know the other cadets, I started to learn their quirks on the battlefield, just like I learned the personality quirks of those old generals. I probably don't need to tell someone of your persuasion that a person's tendencies tend to manifest in most of their actions, even if that person doesn't want them to. Those quirks reveal a lot about a person's tactical mindset. With that increasing familiarity, I really began to excel in combat and strategy drills. I started to develop a bit of an ego, honestly - it seemed that as long as I could hold out long enough to develop a sense of how the opposing force was being led, I could usually guess their next move, adapt on the fly, and pull out the victory. Of course, it always helped that my men were often better equipped and better fed - remember my schmoozing with the quartermaster. There was one guy, though."
Cad stopped to take another drink while Arekov listened patiently, the spy beginning to work his way through another cigarette. His silence was a touch unnerving, but Cad continued.
"This guy, Cathak Aden - a true warrior. He was the true picture of a Cathak cadet - headstrong, majestic, brilliant in battle, seemed invincible. The last place you'd find him was hanging back giving orders; his men practically had to shove him out of the way to get a chance at the enemy. But this worked incredibly well - no cadet at the academy inspired his subordinates like Aden did. Even in a mock combat drill, all the cadets envied that unshakeable confidence and unmistakable pride that Aden exuded while leading the charge. That's not to say he wasn't a strategist - quite the opposite; he knew his own style well and took excellent advantage of his front-line-heavy attacks. Anyway, I guess you could say we developed a rivalry - two sides of the same coin. Two of the more effective commanders in the cadet class, Aden a brazen, unstoppable warrior leading by example, and me, a wily, clever commander, playing the field cautiously while I developed a strategy and biding my time setting up the perfect counter. That's not to say there weren't other standouts, of course there were, but none so starkly opposite as Aden and I, so our rivalry attracted the most attention. In one of the later, larger war games, Aden and I finally got paired up on the same side, each commanding a Wing."
Personality
Despite his average breeding, Cad embodies his aspect very well. In keeping with water's ever-changing but ever-present nature, Cad believes personality is a fluid concept. He never reveals too much of himself upon meeting a person, instead preferring to act reserved until feeling out that person's prejudices and motives. Then, he gradually opens up, adapting the side of himself he reveals to those prejudices. This has led to some calling Cad dishonest or deceptive, although Cad half-jokingly argues that a person can quite readily be honestly deceptive.
In contrast to his friend Aden, Cad also believes that friends and enemies are fluid concepts, and that there's plenty of grey area in between. As a result, many of Cad's interpersonal relationships are transient in nature, although Cad prefers it this way (the better not to get too attached to the affairs of others), and there are exceptions.
Although Cad's seemingly withdrawn demeanor is partially motivated by his conniving nature, it also stems from humility. Cad is well-aware that the Dynastic world is teeming with intrigue and guile, and he's not so arrogant as to believe that he has the experience to know how to respond to every situation. In these cases, Cad would rather observe than risk making a tragic mistake. This aspect of his nature carries into his overarching ambitions - Cad has seen enough of the military's inner workings to suspect the current arrangement is fundamentally broken, but he isn't sure just yet how to fix it; this is part of his motivation to see the Threshold - he wants an outside perspective and is comfortable admitting he currently lacks the skill set and concrete plan to make any reforms. More idealistic and zealous Dragon-Bloods say that Cad is somewhat lacking in ambition, but the reality is more nuanced.
Cad's tendency to mold his approach to the personal facets of the people he's dealing with carries onto the battlefield. As a commander, Cad excels against enemy officers with whom he is personally familiar - he has shown tremendous intuition for predicting the actions of his opponent and countering them beautifully in these situations. When meeting enemy generals in combat for the first time, Cad fights cautiously and conservatively at first, gauging his enemy's style and devising a clever, often unexpected retort (this mimics his argumentation style in debates about matters of policy and philosophy). Although he has an average temper and is quite capable of being serious when the situation is dire, he is known for a relaxed, wise-cracking sense of humor in combat.
Goals & Objectives
Coming Soon...
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Personal Quote
"I don't love military life, but I don't mind it either. It's an honest way to get killed."