Magdalena Seneca

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Creator: Wolfi
Roleplay: Ordadus
Nickname: Maggie

NAME: Magdalena "Maggie" Seneca
GENDER/PRONOUNS: Female, she/her
ROLE: The Loyalist
OCCUPATION: Admiral
AGE: 62
NATIONALITY: New Soliman
FAVORITE COLOR: Gold

CURRENT MOTIVATION: Maggie embraces New Solimar's motto ("Glory Favors the Fearless") in every way. It's been 30 years since New Solimar earned its independence, and she's been a die-hard patriot this entire latter half of her life. Her country is young but wise, and she has complete faith in its leaders - many of whom she knows personally - to make the right decisions and do what's best for their people. New Solimar are the "good guys" - for Maggie, that truth is in black and white.

This belief carries through in Ordadus. Following Captain Cato's death, Maggie takes it upon herself to continue the mission of exploration and conquest. She's a woman who needs clear direction, and if it isn't given to her, she'll choose one herself and stick to it stubbornly. Her new goal is to get back home, but it's not her own survival she's motivated by, it's her duty.

Were it to fall under New Soliman rule, Ordadus would undoubtedly become the most successful trading port in the Argen area. Set up proper lighthouses to minimize the danger of fog and rocks, figure out a way to cull the bloodweed, build sprawling wharfs with taverns and markets - in no time at all, ships will be using Ordadus as a midway point in their journeys across the Argen Sea.

Maggie sees it as fate that she discovered King Ordavin's hideout all these generations later. Ordadus is New Solimar's rightful territory. It belongs to the courageous descendents that suffered under Ustanan persecution for generations while Ordavin and his kin prospered in their luxurious ice castle.

Underneath layers of stubborn courage, Maggie has a final, deeper motive. She has family back home she would like to see again, especially after losing the family that was on the ship. She won't bring it up willingly (she sees it as an emotional weakness) but it's there, those faces - her husband's, her daughter's, her grandchildren's - a constant ache in her heart.

BACKSTORY: At sixty-two, Maggie has lived through a lot of change. Long before the successful revolution of her people, Maggie and her family lived in the slums of a coastal Ustanan city. Known as the Blue Quarter, this area of the city was mostly home to Soliman speakers, and their sense of identity and culture was powerful - so powerful, in fact, that in a few years these families would form the naval branch of the Soliman revolution against Ustana.

Maggie's father was a shipwright's assistant and her mother a maidservant in the local lord's villa. Maggie and her older sister helped their father when they could. Otherwise, they attended a Soliman schoolhouse, where Maggie first learned to hate the name Ordavin.

As revolution in Ustana began to stir, Maggie's father was sure his two daughters were trained in the basics of self defense. Maggie enjoyed practicing swordplay especially, and once she was old enough she turned down the not-so-tempting offer of joining her mother as a maidservant in favor of enlisting with the nautical wing of the revolution.

She worked as a rigger on one of the Soliman ships that targeted the larger but more sluggish Ustanan ships. It was dangerous work and her status as a rebel kept her away from home, but her family was proud of her, and she was proud of herself. She liked having a clear purpose each day - even the most tedious tasks had meaning.

The revolution lasted for twelve years. In that time, Maggie gained more combat experience and became deeply entrenched in the Soliman cause.

One day when she was visiting her father in the Blue Quarter, they were attacked. She lost her eye trying to defend him, but he died from his wounds. She's still evasive about that day when someone asks about the eyepatch.

As New Solimar found its footing in the world, Maggie continued to serve as a naval officer. She married and had two children, Francis and Isabella, but wasn't at home much - her passion, first and foremost, was serving her kingdom. She eventually became captain of her own coastal defense ship, leading her crew with rigidity and honor.

Retiring from her life as captain and accepting the more sedentary responsibility of admiral was a welcome change, at first. Grandma Maggie was looking forward to spending more time with family, but she soon became restless. So when her grand-nephew, Captain Cato, asked her to accompany him on the Gloria Invicta's maiden voyage in an exploratory adventure across the Argen Sea, she accepted without hesitation.

PERSONALITY: Maggie is a no-nonsense natural leader who likes having control of a situation. Stubbornly set in her ways and slow to trust, she equates strength with survival and weakness with danger, and as a result she keeps her emotional cards close to her chest. Her strong morals play out in actions more often than in speech.

Underneath that tough exterior, though, is a deeply protective, maternal spirit that comes out in full force when loved ones are threatened. She'll defend the people she cares for to her last breath, but she won't coddle them - love, for her, means creating a space where strength and endurance can grow.

APPEARANCE: Admiral Seneca stands at 5'7" and has collarbone-length silver hair, usually tied back in a messy ponytail with a big blue ribbon, tendrils framing her face. Her deep-set eyes - that is, eye - is dark brown; the other is a milky white, always covered by a brown leather eyepatch. Her eyebrows are thick and dark, darker than her hair. She has hollow cheekbones, a cleft chin, and sun spots all over her ruddy skin.

Her admiral uniform includes a white collared shirt with ruffles in the front and puffy sleeves, a blue tailcoat with golden trim and buttons, a thick leather belt with a sword on one side and a flintlock pistol on the other, tawny pants, and leather boots.

PROJECTED ARC (Subject to Change): Politically, Maggie will concede that Ordadus can become an ally rather than just more territory for New Solimar.

Emotionally, she'll learn that courage can also come in the form of vulnerability. Grief is something she's ran away from her whole life, just like King Ordavin. Here on this island, grappling with immense loss, Maggie will learn how to muster enough strength to truly begin the grieving process.

It's hard to imagine a Maggie that wouldn't want to leave Ordadus; this trait will stay the same.