Inguin di Corenveni

Mistress of Enchantment at the Great School of Magic

AC 1012

"To hold sway over the minds and hearts and minds of mortal men is to hold great power and greater responsibility."

Appearance

Inguin di Corenveni is a statuesque Caurenzan beauty—tall, sleek, stylish, and sexy—but that she lacks the dark and sinister air that surrounds so many bella donnas. Her intelligent black eyes shine with warmth and cheer, without losing their allure nor their seriousness, and her expressive smiling face reflects her good-hearted nature, which only adds to her appeal and charisma. At work, she wears the magnificent yet proper attire as befits the Mistress of the most glamorous position at the Great School. At social affairs, she is seen only in the most elegant of Caurenzan fashions.

Personality & Quirks

Inguin has a heart of gold—if not platinum. She is kind, gentle, and pleasant. Of course, being a Glantrian, she is not naïve—and she knows full well how to use her little tricks of flirtation, seduction, white lies, and the more than occasional charm spell, to get her way. Her good nature prevents her doing something truly devious—which she knows she is fully capable of! At worst, she can be accused of hedonism, as she enjoys, perhaps a tad too much, a multitude of pleasures for one in her position.

Inguin can be amorous and passionate, but is always loving and seeks the best for another person. She can also be very serious and intense, especially when she is teaching at the Great School of Magic, but she is always generous and supportive, which endears her to her students and fellow wizards.

Background

In AC 985, Inguin di Corenveni was born to a family of enchanters from Sirecchia. Her father, Guido di Corenveni, was a trusted advisor at the Caurenzan court, and her sister, Alessa di Corenveni, twelve years her senior, was already an enchanter specialist at the Great School of Magic. Inguin spent a charmed life as a child in Sirecchia. Magic came easily to Inguin, and she had learned her first charm spells from her father at the age of 7.

By the time she enrolled in the Great School of Magic in Glantri City in AC 995, Inguin had already discovered her powerful influence over people—both with her magic and her natural charms. Inguin spent the next few years in Glantri City with her elder sister, now an instructress of enchantment magic, whom she had come to admire and emulate. Signor Guido would often visit his two daughters, if only to benevolently remind them of the wise and judicious use of their magic, but it was Alessa by far who had taken up Inguin's education.

Alessa taught Inguin mastery of their magic, as well as other matters of well-bread young ladies, such as etiquette, fashion, and the arts. It was also Alessa who introduced Inguin to the cosmopolitan wonders of the City of Canals, such as operas, wines, banquets, cafés, balls, and—when the time came—men. And although Alessa and Inguin would often indulge in these pleasures, their magical studies always came first.

At the turn of the millennium, Alessa became the Mistress of Enchantment, while Inguin at 15, became the youngest instructors in enchantment magic at the Great School. This rise in fortune brought with it an endless round of invitations to parties, suits from eligible bachelors for both sisters, as well as introductions to prominent personalities—most notable of which was Princess Carnelia de Belcadiz, who shared many interests with Alessa, socially, magically, and otherwise. (Princess Carnelia knew the potential of a powerful enchantress as an ally and a pawn, and thus initiated Alessa as a Witch.). Only news of their father's sudden death in Sirecchia dampened their otherwise fairy tale existence.

In AC 1003, Inguin began to note subtle changes in her sister. For one thing, Alessa began neglecting her duties at the Great School to attend—and even host—the most extravagant and decadent of parties, often times leaving Inguin to take over classes, experiments, and other tasks. Inguin also noticed that Alessa had taken up the habit of using an illegal Alphatian drug called zzonga; and worse, Alessa was encouraging many Glantrians to take up the "fashion" of this addictive habit. Perhaps most disturbing of all was Alessa's sudden radical—yet often conflicting—attitudes towards the Alphatians. Alessa would speak strongly against the Alphatian Empire and even the "traitorous" Blackhill Alphatians—to the point of invoking a violence and hostility against them. And yet when confronted with the actual prospect of war, Alessa turn around and party like no tomorrow, living up la dolce vita—even at the brink of the Alphatian War itself!

Inguin began to investigate the mystery behind her sister, when war did break out between Alphatia and Glantri in AC 1005. When the Alphatians attacked the Principalities with summoned creatures, Inguin and the other enchanters of the Great School were tasked to control such monsters or magically bolster the moral of the Glantrian troops. (And while Alessa herself was scarcely seen on the battlefield, she was always present at the impromptu victory celebrations afterwards.)

In AC 1006, when the Great Meteor crashed and destroyed Caurenze, Inguin was greatly distressed, but she was all the more tormented by the lack of emotion of her sister at the catastrophic event. For the next few years, Inguin became totally estranged from her sister. Of course, Alessa was making herself scarce and the events the Great War were keeping everyone more than occupied.

In AC 1008, Inguin found a crucial clue about Alessa. Inguin had discovered that her father was involved in a conspiracy at the Caurenzan court—and was thus murdered. More disturbing was that Alessa had somehow learned of Guido's murder—and was subsequently assassinated as well, back in AC 1002! This of course did not make sense to Inguin, but after further investigation (and resourceful use of her mind-affecting magic), Inguin concluded that her sister was being impersonated!

Fearing a plot that might have involved the Council of Princes themselves, Inguin turned to the one person she could trust about Alessa: Princess Carnelia de Belcadiz. At first, the Princess was sympathetic to Inguin and echoed her own suspicions about the errant Mistress of Enchantment. But as Inguin and the Princess delved further into the mystery, they discovered that Alessa's impersonator was no ordinary entity: it was a being of great power not of this plane—and perhaps not even mortal. Princess Carnelia advised Inguin to avoid any further dealings with this "Alessa," with the reassurance that the Princess would handle the matter herself.

At the end of the Great War in AC 1010, Alessa was never seen of again. She was officially declared a casualty of the final assault of the Alphatians. Inguin was deemed the most capable among the enchanters at the Great School of Magic—and upon Princess Carnelia's recommendations—became the next Mistress of Enchantment at the young age of 25.

To this day, Inguin does not know exactly who or what was it that impersonated Alessa, and Princess Carnelia had never shared her own discoveries about the impersonator. Inguin serves as the Mistress of Enchantment at the best of her abilities, and hopes to preserve the proud memory of her sister.

Web of Intrigue

Inguin di Corenveni is very popular and genuinely liked by everyone, both as an instructor at the Great School of Magic and as a prominent personality in Glantri City. Many a Glantrian gentlemen have had an eye for her (and she for them!) at one time or another, including Signor Giulio Fulvina (Transmuter9, AL N), son of Viscount Griseo Fulvina of Verazzano, before he left for the Empire of Thyatis. Although many of these romances have ended and are past, most of them remember her fondly and with much affection.

Grand Master Harald Haaskinz has only dealt with her professionally, but he respects Inguin for her ability and dedication to teaching. Princess Carnelia de Belcadiz affords Inguin the same respect as her sister and predecessor Alessa—except that the High Mistress of Witchcraft is not as inclined to introduce Inguin into her Secret Craft. (Carnelia has learned not to share those secrets to such an influential figure as she once did with the previous Mistress of Enchantment.)

Inguin has no true enemies, thanks to her good nature, her savoir-faire in dealing with people and the occasionally well-placed charm. The Countess of High Sonden, Lady Sinaria Verlien, holds a grudge against her, but even Lady Sinaria acknowledges that this is born from her own jealousy of Inguin's popularity as an instructor—and the affections of one handsome Flaemish archwizard.

The Mistress of Illusion at the Great School, LaVeron Chonere, remains the only constant thorn at her side, continually spreading rumors about Inguin and her romances, while trying to uncover nasty secrets about the Mistress of Enchantment. Inguin believes this to spring of LaVeron's petty and envious nature, but what neither of them realizes is that Dame Geneviève de Sephora, Countess of Touraine (and secretly the High Mistress of Alchemy), is merely using LaVeron as a pawn to uncover some beautifying charm or another from the Secret Craft of Witchcraft, which Dame Geneviève (wrongly) believes Inguin to be involved in.

Style of Magic & Combat

Statistics: 17th-level enchantress (Academician Wizard Kit); Str 9, Dex 15, Con 9, Int 18, Wis 16, Cha 18; AL L (D&D), LG (AD&D).

Languages: Elvish (Belcadizan dialect), Sylaire, Thyatian (Caurenzan dialect), Alphatian (Blackhill dialect).

Weapon Proficiencies: dagger.

Skills: alchemy, dancing, etiquette, local history (Glantri City), meditation, persuasion, reading/writing, spellcraft, spellflash.

Inguin is considered the expert of the school of enchantment and charm, and with good reason! Her spellcasting of charms is perfect and flawless. She has refined her technique, such that she can cast the most common charms with a simple gestures, a casual smile, a tinkling laugh, and even work them into normal everyday conversation. Inguin also knows to combine her subtle magic with her natural graces and gifts of persuasion. The keenest of observers would be hard pressed to prove that her influence over her subjects is more than mundane. Indeed, many of her subjects never realize they were actually under her control, and those that did were not inclined to complain!

While Inguin has focused more on placing charms on people, she is also proficient in enchanting magical objects. Inguin's methods for enchantments are not as polished as for charms, but her results are nothing short of perfect.

With the recent years of war, Inguin has proven that her specialty is not just "gentle magic" (as the less powerful wizardly schools are politely referred to). At the forefront of the Alphatian attacks, Inguin lead her fellow enchanters to use their charms offensively: to terrify and confuse enemy minds, to subjugate summoned creatures and control these monsters for themselves, and to bolster allied forces, both mentally and physically. And behind the lines, Inguin and her colleagues worked tirelessly to enchant and craft magical weapons for the Glantrian troops.

Inguin has a moderate repertoire of spells from other schools and knows their usefulness but prefers her own specialty, finding that she can achieve the same results (if not better!) with a well-placed charm. She would just as easily compel a charmed subject to reveal the truth rather divine the information herself, or dominate an enemy to turn sides and defend her instead of conjuring a creature to fight for her.

"It requires little skill to becomes the Mistress of Enchantment. One only needs a bit of charm and a lot of popularity. And considering her past, she has more than her share of being charming and popular!"

(LaVeron Chonere, Mistress of Illusion)

Author: Kit Navarro