Galactic Renaissance | GalacticRenaissance / House Carlysle History browse

Since the death of the Lord Morgan Carlysle ?, the fates of the House would have been subject to the winds of chance if not for the efforts of his half-brother, Malcolm Haldane. The Haldane has held the house together through a turbulent period only by dint of his will. And not only against internal and external threats- but against himself. Vows made according to tradition have been brought into question; the Haldane has facilitated the rule of Carlysle for years as Morgan's health failed, being not only the hand of Carlysle, but it's brain as well. Through his years of failing health and old age, Lord Carlysle had his good days and bad- and on those bad days, The Haldane was trusted with the very running of the house. So why not now in truth?

For The Haldane, it was because of not only the vow of his 'office', but because of a vow he had made to a dying Iago ?; to care for and provide for his children- to keep them out of the path of his father. While it seemed that one of Morgan's other issue might have been able to take the throne, Malcolm was willing to let the children be- to have the life that Iago had wanted for them. But he had never dreamed that this might come to pass. So many children, dead. And now only the twin children remained, and the grandfather was dead. The only obstacle to their acceptance gone. How could he now deprive them of their birthright.

As for the twins themselves, Grayson and Geneva grew up in the upper echelons of one of the lesser houses of Carlysle- the Talvaise. Their mother died when they were young, leaving them in the care of their grandmother, Jessica Darke. She was a strong woman, and a strong influence in their lives- always drilling into them lesson after lesson, driving them onward. It was as if she knew that they were for better things than their lot in life would indicate- for though they were upper echelon, as members of a lower house, their prospects were not bright. They were both precocious, headstrong and very much in love with life and each other, which made for a bad prospect. Carlysle lands are built very much like stairs, with the house estate literally in the upper tiers of the lands, and the other echelons going down from that point. Jessica's modest estate- a sprawling affair one-level affair with several small enclosures joined by walkways- was positioned as low in the upper echelons as it could possibly have been. Which meant it was close to the lower echelons. The twins were fond of escaping the tender ministrations of their grandmother by slipping anonymously into the lower areas, gaining an education of a different sort. The firm hand and influence of their grandmother kept the twins from serious trouble; more her moral influence and strong will than any actual physical prevention of their excursions. But always in the shadows was The Haldane. His and Jessica's relationship had always been tenuous at best.

Jessica blamed The Haldane as much as herself for the twins predicament, and Iago and her daughter's end. She tolerated him for the twins sake, but didn't tolerate him to be in their presence. Jessica had, for once, subsumed her own ambitions under her desire to see the twins raised properly. She had always thought that only her lowly birth kept her from her rightful place in society. And so she had schemed and arranged, and when that didn't work for her, had done the same for her daughter, only to find out that she had garnered attention all on her own from the higher echelons- the highest actually. Though the affair was illicit, she had encouraged it- encouraged her daughter to seek more. It was obvious that the Carlysle boy cared about her, so it would only take a nudge. But no. That hadn't ended well.

So Jessica had taken on herself to raise them, and even if they never knew of their heritage, the provision that Iago had left would keep the children. For she had lost her taste for the game, and gained a true taste for the role of nurturer. She had sacrificed what she needed to to make sure that both had sponsorship into the finest schools, and even if she couldn't give them Aquila City, she could give them the best that she could in the Carlysle lands. But it was never enough- only her constant struggle with them, and affection for them could battle the free spirits they had inherited from their parents. That and the quiet hand of The Haldane.

So it was that she was truly surprised when The Haldane's agent had shown up. And even more surprised after she turned the agent away, when The Haldane showed up in person. As far as she was concerned, all that needed to be said had been said years before. But she was absolutely floored when he told her of the need of House Carlysle for the children. This brought forth the Jessica of old- her anger, her pain. Where had they been all these years? Just because Lord Carlysle couldn't recognize the legacy Iago had left? Couldn't recognize that all men have feet of clay- that his son had made a mistake, but from that mistake had come the most precious children? And only now would they have what was theirs after all the family they should have had had perished? Where was the justice in that?

But in the end she had submitted, although she came along as part of the bargain, and now, after all of these years, she has what she wanted. But as the children have been removed from her direct influence, has she lost what was important?