Morgaine
Title:
a Retainer of Taurdain, Senior of the Clothiers Guild; Seamstress
Description:
As a woman of slight stature and diminutive build, Morgaine is easily overlooked at first glance. To look again, however, is to take in the spark of her hazel eyes and the firm set of her jaw that alternates easily between a broad smile and a deep frown depending on her mood. Fair of skin, Morgaine's hair is as black as the evening sky when there are no stars to lighten its ebony blanket; it is kept, almost without fail, in a braid that rests on her back, dropping down to the base of her narrow shoulder blades. Her clothes are simple but well made, constructed of the finest cloth and sewn together with an expert hand. A belt of leather is tied about her waist, small pockets hanging from its length that contain, among other things, the tools of her trade: needles in varying sizes, spare thread, numerous thimbles, and tailor's chalk. Her hands (when they are still enough to be seen closely) are heavily calloused and meticulously clean; indeed, her whole person exudes an air of being carefully put together even after hours spent laboring over the cutting table.
History:
Born in Esgaroth in the year 3018 to Gawin (a fisherman) and Morgyn (a minor healer of local renown), Morgaine was, from birth, a headstrong child. Born into a sizeable family with a father and mother consumed by their respective jobs' daily demands, she found herself constantly fighting to be noticed among her three elder siblings. Consequently an independent child of spirit, she quickly became headstrong and decided early in life to make her own way.
Growing up among the fishermen of Esgaroth's teeming wharf, Morgaine learned to love the water and the fruits of its depths at an early age. Fishing and fish-mongering was not, however, for her. One day, after being severely punished for allowing one of Gawin's nets to sink along with its catch, Morgaine presented her father with a replacement. When asked how she came by the money to buy such a net, she proudly declared that she had made it. The make was of such quality and the fruits of its use so great that she rose quickly in her parents' esteem and was soon apprenticed to a local netting merchant despite her youth.
Morgaine became quickly bored of her apprenticeship and abandoned her post before its completion, much to her parents' chagrin. Not one to remain idle, she spent many days pacing through the crafts guild until her eyes lighted on a seamstress of local fame. This was Vivianne, a woman whose appearance in Esgaroth some years prior had caused a stir among the locals, none of whom knowing from whence she came. In the time since, she had set up a considerable business in textiles, her goods being unparalleled in quality. When first Morgaine approached her, Vivianne refused to take on an apprentice. It was about this time that a noblewoman came to Vivianne with an order for a new gown, and although Vivanne had more work still to complete before she could take on a new project, she accepted the commission. Morgaine wasted no time in taking the opportunity to prove her worth: after weeks of watching Vivianne at work and practicing on her own in the wee hours of morning, she snuck into the seamstresses' workroom after hours and finished a gown fit for a lady in a matter of hours. The next morning, Vivianne found Morgaine asleep on the floor beside the mannequin bedecked in the completed gown; she took the young woman on as an apprentice the next day.
The two women worked side by side for the next 15 years, building their business into one of the most prominent of its kind in Esgaroth. Known throughout Dale as producers of some of the finest clothing in the land, they prospered in both wealth and friendship and together played active roles in the Clothiers' Guild. One of the few points of dissension among the women was Vivianne's loyalty to House Arathmor. Although Arathmor controls the Clothiers' Guild of which Morgaine is a member, the younger seamstress has always been made uneasy by the politics of that particular house and remains skeptical of their dubious methods of maintaining power in Esgaroth.
When the older woman died of old age, she left everything to her partner. She has maintained the business ever since, and continues to search for new methods of construction and learn of new styles from abroad in order to keep her competition at bay. Morgaine owes much of her reputation to the efforts of Lady Selyne of Taurdain who encouraged the talented seamstress and promoted her designs among the other nobles of the Craftsman's House. Morgaine herself was made retainer of the House just before Lady Selyne's death, and she has served loyally in that capacity ever since. Among her current customers is Lady Selyne's daughter and senior of the Guild of Craftsmen, the Lady Corawyn.
Although unmarried and without children herself, Morgaine is the godmother of all seven of her siblings' children. Her niece Gwenda is often seen in the company of her aunt, helping her sell her wares at market and beginning to learn her godmother's trade.
Firm and unbending as an oak tree when in the thralls of making a business deal, Morgaine is nevertheless kind-hearted and happy to lend a hand to any that ask. Dedicated to her craft and to her family, she works hard at whatever endeavor she has set her mind to and does not cease until her task is complete. When working with needle, thread, or shears, she is one-minded and can go without speaking for hours on end. But take her from her workroom and set her down in a hall among friends and no laughter will be louder, no wit more sparkling than Morgaine's.
