Bann Katherine Polperro

Lady Katherine Polperro (nee de Montfort) was an Orlesian noblewoman who became Bann Polperro of Gwadar through her marriage to Henry Polperro. She was the last owner of Gwadar Castle who sold the estate to the Chantry for use as a new site for the Circle. Her children went on to become First Enchanter, Knight Commander and Grand Cleric of Ostwick, the first set of siblings to hold all three positions in one nation, and Bann of Padstock.

## Biography

Bann Katherine was the only daughter of Louis de Montfort, the youngest child of Marcus de Montfort and Elena de Chevin. Louis was a distinguished Chevalier who made his name at the age of just 21 in the Orlesian victory in Denerim and was given Chateau Haine by his father as a wedding gift. His first son was born in 8:45 Blessed, and Lady Katherine was born five years later in 8:50. She was a bright, intelligent child who was well regarded by her tutors and peers, and when she was 16 years old she married Lord Henry Polperro of Gwadar, an Ostwick nobleman more than twice her age. An Orlesian chateau was built for her use on the estate as a wedding gift for her. His parents intended for her to take over the running of the estate, leaving him free to pursue his interest in hunting and womanising, but his gambling habit drove him to take more and more control of the estate to settle his debts.

It was a deeply unhappy marriage which produced four children and a further three miscarriages, and rumours circulated that Lord Henry had been caused at least one of her miscarriages in a drunken rage. He inherited the Bannon in 8:70 and proceeded to drink and gamble much of the estate away, with Katherine unable to prevent it. Her only hope of controlling him had been her family's ties and money, but when her eldest daughter Esme was admitted to the Circle in 8:74 with the fanfare customary to Ostwick, her deeply religious parents disowned her and struck her from any inheritance.

Bann Henry died in 8:78 following a bar brawl, and Katherine inherited the Bannon, the lands, and his considerable gambling debts. The debts were so large that they consumed much of the estate, leaving Katherine with little hope of regaining any family honour or status for her children. It was also an opportunity to claim a freedom she had never before known, and one she seized. She sold the Gwadar estates to neighbouring Bannons, and finally sold Gwadar Castle to the Chantry for use as a Circle, giving her middle two children, Roland and Sara into the Chantry's service at the same time. The Circle permitted her and her youngest daughter Erica, who was born three months after Bann Henry's death, to continue living in the chateau for as long as they pleased, allowing Katherine to maintain a standard of living suited to a noble woman of Orlais on what remained of the inheritance. By living on the Circle estate she was reunited with Esme and, when he turned 18 and took Templar vows, with Roland.

Katherine educated Erica herself, and taught her the skills she would need to manage a large estate or business empire. When she was 14, Katherine arranged for Erica to enter an apprenticeship with the Trevelyan family, and at 20 years old Erica married Lord Edward Trevelyan and took charge of the family's business interests. Lady Katherine moved in with them a year later, when her first granddaughter was born, and when she died in 9:14 Dragon she had seen her family go from near destitution to one of the most powerful families in Ostwick, with her children occupying three of the most powerful posts in the state and one of the most powerful Bannons.