Dark Lord Orchid Flintsparker val Shadepetal dren Thorngrove

Dark Lord Orchid Flintsparker val Shadepetal dren Thorngrove is fairly new to her title, previously being only known as Orchid Flintsparker when she grew up in the underdark garden-town of Thorngrove, alongside multiple other urchins of the region. Learning how to defend herself and the younger urchins, she still trusted the law of Thorngrove despite how it permitted discrimination and violence against her and the other urchins.

When the last of them became old enough to fend for themselves without being replaced by yet another young urchin, Orchid went to the surface alongside a few others that sought an unclaimed land to make their own. Surprisingly, the surface citadel of the former Dark Lord Ninebark Shadepetal's empire had been hundreds of feet above Thorngrove. She and her five companions were quickly brought through the justice system and brought to an arena to fight for their survival and supposed innocence as accused spies. Dark Lord Ninebark Shadepetal was in attendance and despite the similar appearance to Orchid's biological mother, the widowed ruler let her and her companions fight, believing that if she was indeed worthy, she would survive.

Orchid not only survived, but kept her companions from perishing as well, despite severe injuries and scars from the battle that all suffered. She soon found herself before the ruler and his court with her companions. An offer was made for them all to join the growing army on the front line, or for all but one to become exiled, with the other being held back to be experimented upon to help create a new line of soldiers. Orchid offered herself up to free her companions, and was escorted off, seeing them escorted out of the palace. She expected herself to be led to some dungeon, an underground chamber, or perhaps a tower, but was instead led to a lavish room and told to wait for the Dark Lord.

Time passed and food and drink was brought to Orchid, attire of assorted styles and fine qualities, spellcasters arriving and casting harmless spells, and yet she remained wary throughout, expecting some tragedy to occur. Finally, Ninebark came and explained it had once been her mother's bedchambers, and that she was verified by the mages to be Ninebark's long-lost heir. Two years passed as she was being groomed for her reclaimed inheritance, all the while trying to slowly learn the culture and laws of the land, before word came back that Dark Lord Ninebark was grievously injured during a battle. Months of treatments and spells cast, and yet the Dark Lord finally died after a millennia of rule. The old Dark Lord was dead. But the new Dark Lord still lived.

Dark Lord Orchid Flintsparker val Shadepetal dren Thorngrove was crowned less than a week later, and has since uncomfortably worked on restructuring and altering the laws of the empire. Recently, she has struck out to other lands to study their laws and cultures in order to find out how to improve the lives of all citizens within her empire. Regents follow her instructions in her stead, and spies keep her informed to ensure that they are obeying them to the letter. Rumors of unrest from evil citizens reach her frequently, yet she still wearily works toward managing balance between the good in her heart and the dark responsibilities that have been thrust upon herself. After all, if she should fail to learn how to achieve her goals and fail, quit, or be assassinated before reaching them, then the empire will either descend into chaos or be seized by a less benevolent tyrant. Four months ago she arrived at the Firebreathing Kittens Guild, and joined up in the hopes of learning from their expertise, and making friendships along the way... though she still feels rather awkward, given her upbringing, nurturing nature with those younger, and the role that has been thrust upon her that feels so antithetical to her outlook on life.

Orchid has dark purple hair, glowing golden eyes, and spotted purple skin, like that of her floral namesake. She is presently twenty, six foot tall, and weighs one-hundred pounds. She rides a draft horse named Hoya who carries most of her assorted equipment when not in use, though as part of her position, she always carries a few weapons around, as well as comfortable enough crimson clothing underneath her somewhat menacing-looking black plate mail. Hopefully at some point she'll be able to change things back home enough for a Dark Lord to be more friendly-looking, but for now, traditions affect what appearances she must give to keep the empire from slipping into chaos. She also wears a signet ring and a cursed mood ring that randomly affects her baseline emotions each day and indicate it by the color the inset gem displays.

Despite all attempts to keep up her friendly and warm demeanor, Orchid does have some of her parent's compulsive nature, focusing and pursuing obsessions with wild abandon until someone or something helps reel her in. Thankfully, her own obsessions aren't for conquest and an iron grip so much as confections, cute fashion, miniature sculptures, gardens, animals, books, music, artistic expression, and the occasional individual who she has taken a fancy to.

Her people largely have accepted the nature of the empire they live within and serve, though it was extremely isolated from foreigners that it wasn't invading, and reflexively violent. Though Orchid intends to bring peace to her people and a new sense of normal, she has an aching suspicion that she may have to walk a dark and frightful path to shake things up enough to allow change to begin, something which she dreads and fears she cannot escape... Orchid has hopes of making enough friends and learning far from home to be able to build up a proper plan for reformation, and offer proof that even a Dark Lord could be redeemed, that even if she does have to walk that enshrouded path, she will be able to walk back out of it and into the light, or have others to keep her from treading its edge for too long...

Regardless of how the rest of her people who are oppressed by the empire as a whole may see her, she desperately wants to protect them from an even worse fate if the empire falls in on itself, and is curious about how she can meld her old home into the empire to make it better, as well as how to reshape the empire from a force of pain and domination into humble gentleness and compassion. Unfortunately, honesty may be one casualty of her rise to power, as she has become unconsciously adept at manipulating people to get what she wants, even if she may think it is for the greater good. She has a long way to go, but usually fumbles forward at least so far, though who knows how long her luck will last?

Adventures:

Slime and Steel