Captain Temila

For those Dark Elves unlucky enough to be born outside of the noble enclaves, life is often nasty, brutish, and short for those without the protection of a noble patron or powerful guild. The desire to survive and accumulate power drives even the lowliest of servants, and acts of violence, cruelty, and betrayal are the quickest way to do so. This is not to say that there is no such thing as law and order among the Dark Elves, however. Rather, the mailed fist of the law is applied more forcefully on the poor, and then often only at the behest of the elite. Needless to say, every settlement has its own way of enforcing its rules, but most employ the services of various mercenaries and cutthroats as ad hoc police forces. It is one such force that Captain Temila commands. She and her crew are the law in the settlement of Blackthorn, in the southern shadow-groves of Durham Forest. As one of the larger settlements in one of the safer parts of the forest, Blackthorn has a population double that of its nearest neighbor, which means that it has double the unrest. Temila began her career as a simple soldier in Blackthorn’s expeditionary forces. She and her fellows were tasked with protecting the logging parties sent to clear pathways through the forest and collect wood for construction. These expeditions were and are highly dangerous, but lucrative, as the giant insects that stalk the deep woods are relentless in their hostility to the Elven invaders. More than once, Temila fought these nightmarish monsters, but to her credit, not a single wood harvest was lost… though many of the loggers were not so lucky. It was this rate of success that saw her promoted through the ranks, until she was given command of an outpost at the far edge of Blackthorn’s territory. Temila’s new responsibilities included the inspection of goods and travelers using the few relatively safe paths through the forest. It was in this capacity that she first made the acquaintance of the master of Blackthorn’s chitin-collector’s guild. The chitin-collectors journeyed deep into the forest in search of the discarded husks of the great insects that dwelt there. These valuable exoskeletons have a variety of uses, including as components for armor. When a caravan of chitin-collectors came under attack by one of the larger forest-monsters, a hulking beetle-like beast, Temila and her warriors responded swiftly. While many of the caravanners perished, Temila ensured that the cargo of husks was preserved. Her quick-thinking earned her the favor of the guildmaster, who saw in her the perfect person to oversee law and order in Blackthorn. His recommendation to the nobles who funded his expeditions saw her promoted once more, to ensure the security of the entire settlement. Temila is ruthless when it comes to the preservation of Blackthorn and its elites, favoring a heavy hand when it comes to matters of public safety and the preservation of her masters’ property, as well as her own reputation. For Temila, that has become a point of personal pride. Anything that endangers she swiftly quashes, with extreme prejudice. The hardened killers under her command are experts in the arts of crowd control and intimidation. But while she is more than happy to send others into battle, she is no stranger to violence and rarely misses an opportunity to take her spiked halberd and heavy shield to seditionists, bandits, and other undesirables.