Duchess Velorina Argent

The mysterious (and ruthless) leader of the equally mysterious group known as The Sway, **Duchess Velorina Argent**, simply known as 'The Duchess', is a ruthless and cunning woman who hides many secrets up her sleeves. She commands The Sway with an iron fist, and all of her underlings both fear and respect her.

## Abilities

 **Intellect** | Great

Duchess Argent is more than just a ruthless personality; she's a genuinely formidable opponent on the battlefield, having surprisingly good physical capabilities in the form of high agility, the ability to fly (due to her species), and knowledge of both magic and bladed weaponry. Her two primary weapons are a curved sword with a hilt designed to look like a Seti's head, and a black tessen of Shenkuu craftsmanship.

She's also capable of magic, able to wield a multitude of Faerie Abilities, such as Snowager's Breath (which enshrouds a nearby area/opponent in a wall of ice), Sear (standard fire ability), and Silence (which temporarily prevents the opponent from casting spells of their own). Of course, her high intelligence and cunning nature also makes her an admirable tactician.

And there may be even more secrets up her sleeves; she's a highly secretive woman, after all, and there are things that even her right-hand man Lord Norheim doesn't know about her.

## Friends and Foes

### Friends/Allies

* **The Sway's Inner Circle** - The Inner Circle of The Sway consists of her and five other Neopians, with the Nimmo known as Lord Caspian Norheim being her right-hand man. These are the only people she actually likes (somewhat).
	+ **Lord Caspian Norheim** - The right-hand man of The Duchess, Lord Norheim is known for being a brilliant tactician, and is the primary mastermind behind many of The Sway's schemes.
	+ **Sir Gerhardt Klein** - As charming as he is underhanded, Sir Klein is often pegged as the diplomat of the Inner Circle, using his charismatic nature and silver tongue to (ahem) sway things to his favor.
	+ **Sir Nicolae Petran** -
	+ **Lady Helena Day** -
	+ **Lady Siobhan Brady** -
* **Other members of The Sway** - The lesser members of The Sway are tolerated at best, and it's not uncommon for them to be seen as expendable assets by Duchess Velorina (and, by extension, the inner circle).

## Personality

Ruthless and cunning, there are few things Duchess Argent won't do in order to further the goals of The Sway. Of course, it's not in her nature to be open about her schemes, preferring secrecy above all else; much of The Sway's power comes from how little information people have on them, after all. Duchess Argent is quite condescending, and habitually refers to others as 'child', even if they may be around the same age as her (or even older).

If Duchess Argent has to sacrifice her own members in order to secure the best possible outcome for The Sway (this usually doesn't apply to members of the Inner Circle), she will without hesitation; she has little compassion for others, and, while elegant with her words, is also blunt, and doesn't sugarcoat things. She doesn't tolerate failure or foolishness, either. While generally even-tempered, she becomes especially cold and cruel when sufficiently angered, sometimes to sadistic degrees; it's no wonder the other members of The Sway's Inner Circle fear as well as respect her.

### Negative Traits

* Ruthless
* Condescending

## Quotes

> "*Stay right there, would you, child?*"
> ― Casting *Snowager's Breath*
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> "*Do not fail me. I needn't remind you the price of failure.*"
> ― General quote
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