Giran is a city that has grown into a trading and commercial center accelerated by its bustling port with visitors from all over Aden. The city's splendor offers various attractions such as circus, dog racing, and chess clubs. However, sickly poverty lies a foot away from Giran in slums and far more. Ghosts living on past glory haunt the Abandoned Castle Ruins while in the Shadow Stronghold the bandits plunder with the traitor House Evant at their back.
In the recent update of 〈Lineage W〉, players can experience the city of splendor ‘Giran’ and its new characters. In this article we will explore the main characters of Giran and the choices they made in their environment and fate.
Young Lord on the Throne of Giran, Female Cross-dresser Jude
Sexism prevailed in the Middle Ages, and the role of women was strictly limited. To overcome prejudice and discrimination, some women chose to dress up as men. In the 18th century, Anne Bonny and Mary Read dressed as men and roamed the Caribbean as pirates. In the 19th century, French novelist George Sand used the male pseudonym "George" and enjoyed wearing men's clothes and smoking on the streets. Jude is also a character who had to abandon her name “Judith” to seize the throne of Giran.
Judith, an illegitimate child of the previous lord Taris, was born on the Red Rider’s Road. She immediately left for Giran when she found out that her father was Taris in the course of her mother’s death. Dancers gave her affectionate advice to cross-dress. Hence, Judith cut her hair short and pretended to be a boy.
A Kid with a Knack at the Port
Judith arrived safely in Giran, but her father Taris repudiated her. Although her innocent heart was devastated, Judith did not return to her hometown. Ever since she discovered the secret of her birth, she dreamed of becoming a great merchant like the former Lord Jude Giran who brought commercial splendor to the city. It was her dream that kept her in Port of Giran, developing her talent by acquiring miscellaneous skills from far traveling merchants.
Judith also learned how to read the trend and the flow of money, and how to lead a negotiation using the carrot and stick approach. She used her talent in giving advice to a merchant whose business has dropped off. The advice generated profit for the merchant. Soon, word got around about the “kid with a knack at the port” and reached the ears of Taris.
Becoming a Member of House Giran Under Terms and Conditions
Taris had a young son Thomas who could not inherit House Giran because of his birth defect. Therefore, Taris placed Judith as interim successor under the condition that she will leave the throne when Thomas would grow up and have his own successor. Taris gave Judith the pseudonym “Jude” after his predecessor and accepted her as a family member of House Giran. Taris also imposed the following terms and conditions. First, Judith must bring up Thomas in affluent circumstances. Second, Judith must cure the birth defect of Thomas. Third, Judith must arrange a marriage for Thomas with a noble family and pass on House Giran to the son of Thomas. Violating any of these three conditions would activate a spell by Taris and reveal his will disclosing the identity of Judith. Judith also had to continue acting as a man not only because of the advice from the dancers of the Red Rider’s Road but also because of the order of Taris as it was a principle in Aden that women cannot be the heir to the throne.
Jude Rises on the Throne of Giran
Jude turned dismal and her dream faded away under the rigorous training by Taris. Fortunately, Thomas was a sweetheart who fully appreciated her unlike his father. Feeling close-knit affection toward him, she decided to protect Thomas regardless of her contract with Taris. Convinced by the good relations between Thomas and Jude, Taris confessed a secret to her. It turned out that he had been paying a huge amount of gold and Goddess' Teardrop to the Red-Robed Mage Karasald in hopes of curing Thomas. He had also been manipulating the family’s account. As soon as he revealed this secret, Taris turned debilitated and died of illness.
Jude continuously raised the tax rate of Giran so that the family vault will never run out of gold despite the staggering amount of expenditure on Karasald. Bread and circus were used to quell the wave of despair throughout the city. If only Karasald could heal Thomas, the increasing number of paupers and merchants shutting down was out of her concern. Then one day, the Red-Robed Mage Karsald kidnapped Thomas.
* Travel around Giran with Jude and find out more about her walk of life at 〈Lineage W〉.
Thomas, Destined to be the Vessel of the Goddess of Death
Since ancient times, mask has been used to hide identity or to disguise. It was also used to cover the face with wounds. During the war, helmet was used to protect one’s head from the enemy’s attack. By wearing a helmet one can also hide expression and can gain courage through the psychological stability that it will protect the wearer from the enemy's sharp weapons. As such, mask is a tool that can provide psychological stability in addition to its physical functions. In 〈Lineage W〉, Thomas also wears a helmet for psychological stability.
Taris got married at a late age. His wife was as weak as a kitten. She had a hard time conceiving and gave birth to her baby two months earlier. Both the mother and the baby were likely to lose their lives because of the difficult delivery. In the midst of agony, a midwife enticed her.
“Lay down your life for the Goddess of Death. Then the Goddess shall relieve life for your baby.”
Mentally and physically exhausted, she fell for the trick. The midwife and nannies who turned out to be hardline Ahanists immediately held a ritual. Tragically, the ritual was not intended to save her baby. It was a ritual to build a vessel for the Goddess of Death to descend to the continent. The ritual caused serious damage to the baby’s head leaving him with birth defects.
Vessel of the Goddess of Death, But Also an Innocent Young Master
Thomas was small for his age because of slow growth and still acted like a child at the age of 14. He also stammered, which was his own defense mechanism against the constant mind intervention by the Goddess of Death.
Thomas was kind and innocent like his mother. He pitched his voice at Taris not to scold Jude. Once, he broke a teapot while trying to bring tea for Jude who was studying late at night. It was his good nature that touched Jude’s heart.
A Prophet Trapped Under a Mask
From time to time, Thomas roamed around the castle in the middle of the night or called Jude to odd places out of the blue. After close examination, Jude realized that his eccentric behavior was in fact an advantage to House Giran, especially to herself. With his good nature and his unique capability, the bond between the two grew strong.
Peace did not last long. The Red-Robe Mage kidnapped Thomas at a festival near his 14th birthday. The Mage holds a ritual to complete Thomas as a Vessel of the Goddess of Death. After seeing his future in a prophetic dream, Thomas calls players into the unconscious world to ask for help.
Thirsty for Endless Battle, the Tainted Diar
Antonio Salieri is a musician who was jealous of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart despite his own talent. In history, many in the second-best position considered themselves incompetent compared to the person in the first place in spite of all the effort and talent. Although Salieri is known to have not been the incarnation of jealousy in reality, he has been stigmatized because of the film "Amadeus" (1984) which depicted a scene where Salieri poisons Mozart out of jealousy.
House Evant is a family of dragon slayers, a house that always lagged behind House Druga. Believing that Druga is the informer responsible for his family’s fall down, he clung to becoming the most powerful house of dragon slayers at all costs. Accordingly, Evant convinced Diar to receive a constant transfusion of the dragon’s blood.
The Collapse of a Dragon Slayer Family
House Evant was less competent as the house received less blessing from God compared to House Druga. Hence, House Evant developed Anti-dragon Weapons and explosives to overcome weakness with technology and training. The Anti-dragon Weapon could also be used in the war of man. Concluding the weapon as a potential threat, the royal family tried to purge House Evant under the pretext of treason. The Evants barely escaped and hid in the mountains where Diar Evant was born.
Madness Expressed Through the Dragon’s Blood
Diar’s father absorbed in the research of using dragon’s blood to produce outstanding Dragon Slayers, far more talented than those from House Druga. Transfusion of the dragon’s blood is likely to send the blood recipient to death because of its toxicity, but small doses of regular transfusion led to a leap of development in physical ability and five senses. The hesitation out of risk vanished after experimenting on his own body. Diar’s father soon gave a transfusion of the dragon’s blood to his one and only son, Diar. By fortune, Diar grew up well absorbing the dragon’s blood.
Diar vigorously trained and received blood transfusion of the dragon’s blood until the age of 16. He mastered all the weapons that existed in Aden and how to manufacture and use the Anti-dragon Weapons of House Evant. On his 16th birthday, he went on his first dragon hunt. He penetrated the heavy defense of House Druga and succeeded in knocking down Giant Wind Drake all by himself. A rush of accomplishment, excitement, and ecstasy ran through his body the moment Diar pierced Drake’s neck and showered in its blood.
Diar’s father wanted Diar to devote himself to the reinstatement of House Evant. Meanwhile, Diar searched for his next target, but all dragons of Aden were already under close guard by House Druga. Thirsty for more blood, Diar was plagued by frustration. The reinstatement of House Evant was now out of his attention. The dragon’s blood pulsed strong in half of his veins, and to battle with dragons until his last breath had become his only reason to live. For that reason, his father had become more of a hindrance. Eventually, he killed all those who did not follow him, including his father.
Red-Robed Mage Tempts to Temptation
Diar wandered all over Aden to hunt various monsters, but his desire for the dragon did not diminish. It was at this moment that the Red-Robed Mage Karasald approached him.
“I will dedicate this world to the Mother of the Dragons. Abide the day of Her coming as monsters shall follow Her footsteps and all monster shall gain their strength in prosperity.”
Blinded by the blueprint of the future, Diar immediately made an alliance with Karasald. It did not matter how much the world would get ruined or how many people would be sacrificed if only he could have blood on his hands until the last day of his life.
Little did he know. He was to turn into a half dragon half human under Karasald’s scheme in the near future.
* Meet Diar, the Tainted Under the Blood, at the Wind Dragon’s Nest.
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