Name: Madam Ieya
Age: 85
Sex: Female
Sexual Orientation: Bisexual
Craft: Courtesan
Rank: Master
Location: Western
Physical Description:
Long iron gray hair, lovingly brushed and braided by her posse of maids. Bright blue eyes and milky white skin from years spent indoors and plying her craft at night. She has accumulated a fine set of wrinkle lines and a slight layer of fat in her elder years, but otherwise remains the picture of health and beauty within Pernese standards. She dresses to impress, and enjoys fostering the impression that she never wears the same outfit twice. Truthfully, she is something of a seamstress herself, and it is a hobby for her to alter existing garments into new ones regularly.
Personality:
Cool, collected. Unflappable and unswayed by emotions, she can lie in the same breath she wishes a daughter all the best. Runs her business with the same grace and efficiency she herself lives. Some may view her policies as a little bit soft, but she doesn't particularly feel the need to defend her decisions. The prosperity enjoyed by her underlings and customers speaks for itself, and with many powerful men and women coming to her to soothe their worries, what indeed does she have to worry about? Can be cut-throat with political adversaries, having long ago recognized the need to be that way, though she refuses to give up her womanhood for them. Despises the idea that women in power must abandon their femininity, and in turn flaunts hers. She is a tried and true courtesan, and wears pride and command like a shroud.
She is not, however, all grace and beauty. She does have to deal with the darker side of human nature, and as such can be seen by those with stronger morals as being a bit corrupt herself. She still buys girls when they are brought in through the back alley, and even if she is giving them a better life then they would get if they didn't appeal to the main Courtesan Hall, the fact remains that she bought them without batting an eye. Still, she has earned the trust and loyalty of her people, and whenever her own sense of morality comes knocking, she finds herself hard pressed to embrace it with a guilty conscience. She is trying her best, and will continue to do so. Morals and ethics are for those who lead easier lives.
Positive Trait List Graceful, diplomatic, calm
Negative Trait List Arrogant, ruthless, calculating
History:
Started as a cheap, low end brothel girl herself, was sold in the back alley at 6 and was kept as a simple performer. Worked her way up until her late twenties, was selected and trained as a courtesan until her late 30's when her master died. Took over two of her master's establishments and set about securing herself before anyone else could attempt to unseat her. Spent the next years adding her own touches to the business, including making life a little easier for the youngsters in the district (making sure the gifted ones were properly schooled in the ways of the craft hall they desired) and developing a more sophisticated clientele. Her girls, being properly educated and full Courtesan Hall members, have the ability to decline clients and to keep the marks they make. This in turn restored a bit of pride in them, which attracted a different type of man... one who was unhappy with an arranged marriage or just sought warm company over the cold and angry stranger in his own bed. Many of Ieya's 'girls' are not girls at all, but are performers and professionals of many stripes. Ieya considers herself a bit of a collector, both of fine garments and talented people.
One of the most important things Ieya changed, however, was enlisting her own security from the Mercenary Hall. Made up of men and women, the guards of the Floating World are all sworn to Ieya herself, and are incredibly well paid for guards. She built them dormitories and supplies all of their basic living essentials, and in return asks only that they accept no bribes, and that they guard the lives and honor of everyone living in Ieya's sphere of influence; with respect to the laws of the Hold of course. Clients who cause a disturbance are always roughly given the boot. Ieya does not tolerate violence towards any in her care, and she maintains a list of individuals who are not allowed in any of her brothels or gambling halls.
Other: As a master of the Courtesan Hall, Madam Ieya runs her own string of businesses along a particular patch of road in Western Hold. She takes apprentices and guides journeymen, sending each off to the main hall for their official certification with their final projects in hand, but she also dallies in some of the darker aspects of the trade and has been called up on charges in the past.
Her area, unofficially known as 'The Floating World' has a series of businesses. The most well known is a small performance hall and eatery known as the 'The Blue.' The interior is supposed to remind the denizens of Western Hold of the deepest parts of the oceans and has an ethereal quality to it. The gambling halls number about four, with the most profitable being the often-times rowdy 'The Water Lily.' The Madam's main residence and training hall is called 'The Shell' while the main road running through her businesses is sometimes called 'River Road.' Tellingly, the barracks she built for her cadre of personal security guards is across the street from her residence. It has a more forbidding name - 'The Reckoning' or to those unfortunate enough to cross the residents of the place 'The Slammer.'
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