Tianxia:Coinneach de Priondargas

Coinneach de Priondargás, known to some as Kenneth Pendergast, is a Vampire nobleman from western Ireland, formally styled as the 11th Marquess of Connemara and 15th Lord of Clifden. Due to his youthful appearance, he is known as Tiarna Beag, or the “Little Lord” - although this is actually a term of endearment given to him by his subjects. He is well known for being a bit of an eccentric, but none who live on his lands seems to mind.

Officially, at least in Youkai circles, he is the ruler of a large territory that includes all of Connacht, as well as parts of Munster and Ulster, but he doesn’t take too much of an active part in the administration of this territory. He also owns a small fleet of sailing vessels, most notably the barquentines Eastern Wind and Grand Southern.

He has been known to travel frequently, often in search of ancient artefacts and items of supposed power, as he is an avid collector of such curiosities, although in his zeal to acquire them, he has spent a great deal of money, often unnecessarily.

Background
Very little is known of his early life, and he is not exactly forthcoming on the subject. What is known is that he was adopted by Conchobhar de Priondargás in the latter months of the year 1416. Conchobhar, a descendant of Maurice de Prendergast, had been turned by a powerful vampire nearly a century before, and had spent much of the time since then carving out a small empire for himself - recruiting, forcefully or otherwise, many other “Youkai” to aid him.

Rather unusually, considering his youth, Coinneach was turned by his adoptive father early in the following year - or at least that was the official story at the time, although later events would cause some reason to doubt this.

With his father being an active, powerful leader, there was no reason to believe that Coinneach would have to assume any kind of leadership role for quite some time, and so he was largely free to do as he wished. He did, nonetheless, receive the full education expected of a noble at the time, including an extensive schooling in the arts and sciences, as well as being trained in the ways of war, from how to wield a sword, to the methods of leading men in battle.

It was during this time that he developed an interest in, and revealed a surprising talent for sailing, culminating in his almost single-handed capture of a royal navy ship, which he would sail up and down the coast for the next three decades, preying freely on any villages close to the shore. When he returned home, he would accompany his father on inspections of their outlying territories, and also learn from the elder de Priondargás the finer points of hiding oneself amongst the humans, before taking to the seas once more.

It was during one of these voyages, that his father was killed in battle with a powerful Wight from the eastern country. By the time the news reached him, his aunt Daimhin had already assumed leadership of the family and had already begun consolidating her power. He rushed back to Connacht as fast as possible, even flying ahead of the ship for two whole days, but wasn’t even able to return in time for the funeral.

Daimhin, being fiercely ambitious, was quite eager to get Conchobhar’s rightful heir out of the way, but at the same time couldn’t move against him directly, so she arranged for him to be granted a minor fiefdom on the eastern coast, ostensibly until such a time as he was experienced enough to take his father’s place.

This plan backfired somewhat, however, when several other powerful figures rallied around Coinneach, seeing him as either the rightful claimant to his father’s title, or simply a vehicle through which they could improve their own standing. The century that followed would be a time of great tension in Connacht, as numerous factions squabbled politely, and sometimes less politely, for a better position come the now-inevitable-seeming confrontation.

The final tipping point came when a group of his supporters, without his approval, stole his father’s sword and delivered it to him. Daimhin and her supporters saw this as the coming of a coup, and immediately laid siege to Coinneach’s castle at Clifden, forcing him to flee, before razing the castle, leaving no trace of it in their wake.

He would spend the next several decades on the run, unwilling to declare war on his aunt for fear of further destabilising his father’s territory. It was during this time, that he was visited by a mysterious storyteller, who prophesised his victory, but also challenged his right to rule. With his honour at stake, he was forced to challenge the storyteller, and so they met with swords drawn beneath a red moon.

There are many differing accounts of this battle, although the only two who know the truth are Coinneach and the storyteller. Some say that the little lord vanquished his foe instantly, while other accounts have them fighting until the very moment before dawn, or even fighting to a draw. Yet other stories have them fighting not with blades, but with words, and one particularly interesting variation, that is decidedly not told in polite company, has them settle the manner via a rather spirited drinking contest that ends with them coming to blows over the last barrel of ale. Despite the details of the story, the end result is the same - the storyteller disappears, and the little lord returns to his followers with the resolve to declare war against his aunt, rallying all who would follow him before marching on her capital. Using his power, he was able to completely deplete the value of the family treasury, leaving Daimhin unable to pay her troops, or even to purchase supplies for those who would continue to follow her. His army captured the capital almost entirely without incident, and he forced his aunt to confess her crimes with his sword at her throat.

He did not kill her, however, instead forcing her into exile. The next two decades were spent consolidating his power as much as possible, but several lords on the edges of his family’s territory chose instead to seek independence, either banding together for mutual protection, or allying themselves with other powers, human or otherwise.

Having restored what he could of his father’s territory, he once again took to the seas, leaving a group of his most trusted advisors to oversee matters in his stead. He first travelled east, posing as a trader and visiting the cities of the slowly crumbling Hanseatic League. The year was 1611.

With the humans’ rapid technological advancement, he found that those like him were being increasingly forced to eke out a meagre existence alongside the expanding human civilisations. This troubled him greatly, and his voyage - originally meant simply to give him time to reflect, took on a new purpose - to find a new way for those like him to survive as they had in the centuries before.

His travels took him around Europe to the Mediterranean, and ultimately to the Orient. On his return journey, he would travel as far as the Americas, where he would briefly visit the colonies before returning home. Along his voyages, he attempted to broker some mutually beneficial agreements between the various Youkai communities - to varying degrees of success.

He returned home in the year 1663, to find the situation had become much more dire than when he had left. The humans were expanding across the country, bringing with them the trappings of their civilisation, and working rather vigorously to stamp out any trace of the strange or the supernatural. It had gotten to the point where not even all of Connacht remained under his family’s control.

He set about stabilising the situation as best he could - but the circumstances were against him, and it didn’t help that there were few who would seriously listen to someone who looked as if they were barely fourteen years old. Still, he managed to secure the safety of most of his subjects, even if this usually meant moving them out of the way of human expansion and hoping for the best.

With the start of the 18th century, it was clear that more drastic measures would be needed. By that time, he had also managed to put a vague plan together, although his detractors claimed that he spent more time getting drunk and getting into fights than he did being a leader. In truth, he... well, he had been doing that, yes, but he had also been loitering around harbours for a reason, and that was to make contact with any other Youkai who travelled the seas, having them carry messages for him and calling in what favours he could.

By the middle of the century, he had more or less succeeded in silencing all but the most vocal of his critics, with the establishment of a small group of likeminded communities, loosely allied in the spirit of mutual cooperation. Modelling itself after the Hanseatic League, this organisation helped Youkai to avoid the worst of human interference, whilst providing the essential supplies that many of their kind needed to survive, and that were quickly becoming ever more difficult to acquire without inviting further trouble.

It wasn’t much, but it held together for the most part, allowing most of these little isolated communities to survive well into the 19th century, although a few of their friends across the ocean fell silent as time went on. However, the de Priondargás family also made some gains during this time, as a few of their vassals that split away following the conflict between Coinneach and his aunt found themselves eager to return to what little security his trade organisation could provide. The return of their territories allowed the little lord to expand his holdings as far north as Ulster.

It was also during the latter half of the 19th century that the communities of this “Youkai Hansa” began taking significant advantage of human technological progress for their own ends. Improvements in the handling and storage of food allowed for large scale redistribution of resources, which made it far easier to escape attention by hunting in less advanced parts of the world and shipping the resultant “harvest” to where it was needed. By 1850, the factories at Clifden were bottling over a hundred gallons of blood a month.

Another significant boon came in 1872, when Coinneach was visited personally by a delegation of Youkai who had come all the way from China, representing a veritable Youkai empire that stretched across much of Asia. In return for the use of his organisation’s ships to establish trade routes to the Americas, they would supply all the needed food for his people and his allies for a period of no less than 70 years. Although quite suspicious of their motives, he readily agreed - as their proposal was quite in line with the values he had been quite publicly - at least amongst Youkai - championing for centuries.

The little lord’s good fortune would continue into the 20th century. With assistance from his new allies in Asia - mostly in the form of troops and weapons, he was able to greatly expand his territory, beyond even that originally held by his father. Shortly following this, he was officially recognised as the Marquess of Connemara. At the same time, however, he was becoming increasingly leery of the increased influence of these outsiders, helpful though they might be, and took steps to limit their influence, which they accepted without complaint, their leaders’ attentions having already shifted elsewhere.

The inter-war period was a fairly interesting time for Coinneach, as it was during this time that he developed an interest in magical artefacts, having had the chance to compare his family’s sword to records provided by his Asian allies. With his holdings fairly secure, he took to travelling again, this time in search of other items of similar power - often spending large sums of money to acquire anything even rumoured to hold some measure of power.

By the end of the 20th century, he had amassed a rather notable collection of curios, and had generally succeeded in bringing some measure of stability to the Youkai communities of western Europe, which earned him some degree of recognition, although he was by no means widely revered, having developed more of a reputation as a businessman than as a ruler.

Although human expansion continued to be a looming threat, it seemed that for the time being, there was no immediate cause for concern, leaving Coinneach de Priondargás, the Little Lord, free to pursue his curious hobby without interference.

He still did not look a day over fourteen.

Personality
The first impression anyone would have of Coinneach de Priondargás is... well, that of a little kid, if one with a rather foppish sense of dress. That impression will be quickly shattered, however, as he tends to both curse and drink like a sailor - partly because he is one, and partly because that is precisely the image he cultivates. For those that can look past his childlike appearance, he would seem to be a bit of a rough-edged, hard-drinking Youkai, more likely to settle a dispute with his fists than anything else. He can almost come across as arrogant, and is certainly very self assured - give him even the slightest chance, and he will waste no time talking about himself and his adventures.

This facade is probably helped a great deal by it being partially true - while he certainly knows how to conduct himself in polite society, he isn’t really one to mince words, and would prefer to settle things as directly as possible, and if that means punching someone in the face, then he’ll sooner roll up his sleeves and get to work than waiting to talk it out over some fancily named food and drink. While certainly quick to anger, he is also not one to hold grudges - having recognised that those tend to be nothing but trouble in the long run. His overpowering public persona is just that - a mask he wears in order to make himself seem simple and understandable.

Despite his oft-times rough manner, he is a fairly insightful and perceptive individual, having been capable of, in the past, leading revolutions, deftly sidestepping the rise of human civilisation, and even organising a large scale commercial alliance that has persisted for several centuries. He is also extremely well read - a side effect of developing an interest in ancient arcane artefacts. Having travelled widely, he is also well versed in numerous cultures’ specific quirks, and can generally manage fairly well irrespective of where in the world he finds himself.

Outside of his dealings with others, he is a fairly private individual who prefers to keep out of the limelight and quietly indulge his own eccentricities. There are few that can truly claim to understand his motives or seemingly unforeseeable whims. In addition to collecting artefacts, he also considers himself something of a gourmet. Although this is partly a lie, he can proudly boast to having tasted the people of four continents.

Power/Combat
While he was educated in the ways of combat, both armed and unarmed, he has arguably learnt far more by simply getting into, and out of, a lot of fights over the centuries. There is little he doesn’t know about fighting, and actually knows a lot of the principles behind even advanced martial arts, but don’t ask him to name them. He simply fights, and he isn’t above fighting dirty.

Being a vampire, he of course has the incredible strength and speed characteristic of his species. In combat, he has been likened to a hurricane, sweeping around and often through his opponents with almost insolent ease. Although in and of themselves, his great strength and speed are not what make him fearsome. Instead, it is the fact that no matter the odds, or how powerful his opponents may be, when it comes time to fight, he does so with a smile and often a laugh, actually enjoying it regardless of the potential for injury. His apparent near total disregard for his own well being is what has made many, even those more powerful than him, hesitate to face him directly.

He puts that same borderline-chaotic passion into his swordsmanship, even though he is often wielding a blade as big, if not bigger than he is, wielding a sword with near effortless grace and incredible skill. If he is dangerous with his claws, then he is positively lethal with a blade.

At range, he is somewhat less threatening, but not by much. As with any Youkai, he has the capability to form and unleash danmaku attacks, but he doesn’t seem to consider them that much, and is more likely to simply throw out a vast cloud of bullets as a cover to allow him to close into melee range. Even so, the sheer weight of fire and often indiscriminate way in which it is directed is enough to force most to give him a wide berth when he begins slinging magic - even if they happen to be on his side at the time. Especially if they happen to be on his side at the time.

Weapons and Artefacts
He certainly owns a significant collection of magical artefacts, although he doesn’t seem to make use of most of them, and indeed might not even fully understand the use of every single item in his possession. The only artefact he typically carries and wields is his family’s sword, but it wouldn’t be beyond him to bring out something else from time to time.


 * Fragarach - the sword of the de Priondargás family, although it is not clear how they came to own it. It is also known as the Answerer, or the Retaliator. In appearance, it is a fairly typical longsword, with a wide cruciform hilt and a pommel in the shape of a Celtic cross. Its most notable power is to place the wind at the command of whoever wields it, and it is capable of cutting through any barrier or defence. It also has the power to automatically respond with an attack equal in power to any directed against its wielder, but perhaps its most famous property is a powerful geas that compels anyone with the sword pointed at them to answer truthfully any question they might be asked.

Spellcards
Having comparatively little training when it comes to danmaku combat, and having never been exposed to any sort of formalised danmaku duelling system, he has nothing quite equivalent to a spellcard, although he does have a few regular patterns that may be candidates for such.


 * The first is a primarily defensive pattern where he draws lightning from the air and forms it into the rough shape of a triquetra, spinning the three-pointed shape around himself to ward off potential opponents or interfere with their attacks.


 * The second is an all-out attack involving every possible type of bullet he can conjure, which is simply grouped together and hurled at the opponent in a single, condensed cloud. The appearance is much like a lumpen, misshaped beam, but the potential impact is... significant, to say the least.


 * The last commonly seen pattern from him would appear to be a variation of the second. As in that attack, he gathers a diverse array of danmaku, but then merely rushes his opponent, bringing the bullets along with him, while inevitably dropping some in a loose, scattered trail behind him. It’s a bit like jousting, only with far more potential points of contact.

Major

 * Hyakumonogatari no Seitoukai: The mysterious storyteller who both prophesised his rise to power, and disparaged his right to rule, leading to their famously and variously recounted battle. Although they only met that one time, Coinneach has often received strange letters that nobody remembers delivering, and he believes these to be correspondence from the storyteller. At first, these letters urged him to tell a story of his own, and he eventually relented and wrote a book about sailing. The next letter simply informed him that he had told the wrong story.

Minor

 * Lan Yi:A rather eccentric scholar from the east, who has visited him several times. They seem to get along fairly well, and Yi has often sold, traded, or simply given various curios to the Little Lord, seemingly without expecting anything in return, although he is at least always treated as an honoured guest. Yi once introduced Coinneach to the game of Go, although the vampire couldn’t figure it out, got drunk, and proceeded to scatter Go pieces all over the floor, resulting in them stepping on the blasted things for weeks.


 * Daimhin de Priondargás: His aunt, whom he defeated in the war of succession that followed his father’s death, and sent into exile rather than choosing to kill. They don’t hold a very high opinion of each other, but do at the very least seem to have some degree of grudging mutual respect, although it has been centuries now since they’ve last spoken.

Trivia

 * He has a notably strong aversion to iron, but otherwise doesn’t seem to be bothered by silver - hinting that he may not actually be a vampire as he claims, or if his claims are true, then he would be a most unusual example of his species.


 * Although rarely seen, his wings provide another hint that he is perhaps not what he claims to be. Witnesses have described them as being similar to those of a dragonfly or other insect, instead of the bat-like wings one might expect from a vampire. He has dismissed these claims as simple delusions, often while insulting the person who raised them’s eyesight, intelligence, stature, choice of clothing, or all of these at once.


 * Having spent so much time on ships, he has developed a rather unusual gait when on land. He mostly avoids this by instead choosing to fly everywhere, which he seemingly accomplishes via magic. When asked why, he’s been known to remark that “the fuckin’ ground is too still.”