Editing Dame Margot

[[File:Margot.jpg]]

'''''Many legends, many tales, many stories..'''''

==Current Offices==
*Chatelaine:Head of the Castle Amber Staff.
*Amber Mistress of Special Festivities. 
*Royal Social Advocate

=='''History'''==
*She is an ancient member of the court of Amber. She is one of the oldest retainers of Amber. She has held a wide variety of offices and roles including Cook's assistant, Chief Cook, Queen's Dresser, Queen's Dressmaker, Wash Mistress, Mistress of Pets, Mistress of Maid Servants, Mistress of Royal Staff, all the way to Queen's Chief Lady in Waiting.  
*She has served as Chief Herald and Keeper of the [[Amber Order of Precedence]]  

While she has not served as leader of the College of Heralds she is a member of its Council.  She is a member of many councils and associations. 
*She is a member of many guilds as well having served in many roles for over the 30 year term many guilds require for a Life Membership. She is one of the most frequent appointees to the [[Council of Commentary]] usually filling a King's Appointment although several guilds favor appointing her because of her connections.
*She is virulently opposed to the [[Non-Partisan Anti-Agolith Association]].

==='''Origin'''===
Her origin is unclear since it predates the formation of the Kingdom of Amber.  However some parts of her personal legend are reasonably certain.  She was a member of House Pardunas
*Her accolade is so ancient that she ranks in the Order of Precedence in the top 5 of the nobility, below the royalty. While she uses the title Dame, accorded for her first peerage, she holds a collection of coronets, including Duchess of Amber.  She holds nearly every award the crown offers for non-military service and most they award for military service.
*While she dismisses her rank as Queen of Amber it is undeniable that during the Repair she wore the Coronet of th Queen of Amber, and it being a powerful magical artifact allowed it, recognizing her as Queen of Amber, and possible a ruling Queen equal to the Kings of Amber.  This is a sticky question in Amber.
*Rumors are that she was one of the members of the groups of settlers Oberon and Clymnea brought to the fledgling city.

==='''House Paradunas'''===
What is known is that she was of a noble house called House Paradunas, and not its founder, implying that her parents brought her to Amber, possibly as a child.  It is listed in the early records, fourth of the first 10 noble houses created by Oberon in Amber. It did not achieve greatness and all its members eventually perished, in battle and of old age.  Leaving her the last member of this ancient house. 

There is a tradition that the baronage of House Paradunas was granted to its Baron, Rolo Paradunas, at the time of the creation of the formal Duchy of Amber, as part of the Kingdom of Thelusia.  That Rolo and his wife Malat had been batman and chief lady's maid to Oberon and [[Cymnea]] in the very first centuries of the construction of the Castle Amber, and that Margot was their daughter.  The house was composed of collection of grooms, soldiers, scribes and clerics, all who served under Rolo and Malat.  

The members of House Pardunas were servants and as such rarely came to the notice of historians.  There are a variety of genealogies none of which Margot will confirm.  Having come from Thelusia the members of the house aged and died.  Soldiers of the house died in early conflicts, most of which involved monsters and wild creatures existing in the lands that eventually became amber.  Rolo himself is supposed to have been slain by manticores. 

In time, the few estates, fiefs, rights,and holdings given to Pardunas fell into disrepair as retired members died.  Margot, a member of the royal staff rarely managed family accounts until it occurred that she was the last member of the house. At that time she traded nearly the total possessions of her failed House to purchase a corner suite and 2 neighboring suites, in the Servants Quarters of the Castle Amber and to secure a servant's role in the staff of the new kingdom. Opening them up to each other she created a space long used for meetings, social gathers and other activities in the day to day life of the Castle Amber and its staff. Her service to the family and court of Amber stems from the days after she moved into the castle.  She has lived in that corner suite ever since.  
 
===='''Current Status of House Paradunas'''====
*The ancient charter for House Paradunas is still active and it is listed as the 4th of the original 10 houses chartered by Oberon and Cymnea. Dame Margot is the only member of the Noble line and is accorded the rank of Baroness. 
*The estates, material and treasures of the house were lost, sold, or destroyed over a couple centuries by its leaders right before the declaration of the Kingdom of Amber. Lady Margot of Ainsi traded the last of the lands of the House for her suite in the castle. There is a tale that when she offered the land to King Oberon all that was left was scorched land and a single scrap of paper with the house's charter.  She entered her bare suites in her only dress and bare feet, clutching her charter and her bill of sale.  The rumor has always been that her suites are the only parts of the castle that do not belong to the royal household.
*The charter for Houe Pardunas and the Bill of Sale for Castle property, signed by Oberon and Cymnea are framed and hang in a back hallway among many scrolls, awards, and other family documents.  This hall is not generally used by activities in her suite.
*One piece of property is still listed as the possession of the House, though in practicality it is the possession of Dame Margot.  The [[Fief of Ainsi]] is a small holding deep in the western portions of Amber near Yal.

==Known Things==
*It is an open secret that she had dalliances with Oberon in between Queens, and that she turned down the throne and a marriage proposal from Oberon.
*Margot is the administrator of many of the behind the scene activities at nearly all State functions.
*While many stories about her early years are spread around they are rarely spoken of in her presence.  
*She is unfailingly kind, sharp witted, and courageous. She is a forceful personality and in the age of King Random is one of the few people on the [["No Knock List"]]
*There has long been a rumor that she has born at least one child to Oberon but which one that is has never been clear.
*It is known tht she was given permission from Oberon to discipline his children at will.  
===Banidoc, Son of Benedict and Margot===
In the earliest years of Amber, before the creation of the kingdom, Margot was essentially a confidant of the family and frequent traveling companion.  During one expedition she and Benedict found a shadow and to both of their surprise she became pregnant.  During this interlude she  bore Banidoc and she and Benedict raised him.  When they returned to Amber they claimed Banidoc was a shadow of Benedict.  To what degree this subterfuge was believed is anyone's guess but in time he became Benedict's second in command.

===Margot and Aging in Amber===

The functions of [[Aging in Amber]] is a topic of much conversation in the circles of social and magical groups.  In many of them Dame Margot is an example of someone who has maintained a life of extraordinary length due to the enthusiasm of life.  Margot appears mature, but vibrant.  Older members of the staff might speak of times when she looked elderly but she never grew beyond the point of looking in her mid 60s.  However at various times she has grown to look like an overactive teenager.

===Powers===
While she does her best to seem a normal person it is clear she has many deep powers. 
*Sorcery: She is a known sorcerer.  She admits to having the [[Mal at Reiss]].  
*She owns a stone, almost certainly a shadow of the Jewel of Judgment, which she wears at all times though it is not visible.
*She clearly has conjuration though she tries not to use it.  In practice it appears that anything she is looking for seems to be suddenly near to hand.
*She has a coronet created by Dworkin.  It is a very simple mithril band with pearls and coral.  She almost always wears is it but it is so subtle that her hairdo or her ever present wimple cover it. 
*She is adored by the cats and dogs and the family pets of the Castle.  She is adored by the horses of the military.  She  is hated by pigs and chickens.
(GM Note: Dame Margot has acted as a PC confidant many times in game play and is always willing to talk to them in times of need)

==The Court of Queen Margot==
[[Dame Margot]] has worn the both the Crown of Amber and the Queen's Crown.  Having been accepted by these two potent magical artifacts it is necessary to list her as a Queen of Amber, and a Ruling one at that.  This incident of [[The Court of Queen Margot]] is sufficiently murky on facts and built up in popular fiction to the point that determining the facts are unclear.  

What is clear is that at some point during the Repair Dame Margot donned both crowns and both crowns approved her service.


[[File:Dart.jpg]]

=='''[[Dart of Hale]]==

Often with Margot is Dart of Hale. The Assistant to Dame Margot. Jokingly called the "Concierge of Amber" A go-to guy for many services in the realm. He often deals with minor details. He is often involved in room assignments for nobles, royals, visitors.  He is always tasked with arranging permanent room assignments for newly arrived family members.

He knows everyone.  The common joke about this efficient ever-moving man is that he "knows a guy"

While not overtly of a military bearing it is known that Dart, in his youth, served in the military and eventually served in the [[Elites]].

=='''Known Items of Dame Margot'''==
===Margot's Barrels===
These are a series of Barrels made in antiquity, using the Jewel of Judgement originally, that have had many uses and frequently generate new barrels.
*Armor-4-Invulnerable
*Intel-1-Understand instructions and convey contents
*Alt Form-1 -Open or closed.
*Ability-1-Purify-Removes impurities & poisons
*Ability-1-Weight-weighs 1/10 of full weight when in use.
*ability-2-transport-Contents can transfer, whole or in part, from one barrel to another.  The range apparently stretches from Amber to Diaga.
*Horde-*3-The creation of these barrels is a skill Dame Margot has and she alone can fine tune the raw materials into barrels that fit within her Barrel Storage System.
The Jewel of Judgement was used in creating this ability for Margot.
*30 pips

===Margot's Coronet===
An artifact of great power made in the earliest years of Amber by Dworkin when Oberon granted her a patent of nobility. It is a narrow band with pearls and coral.  It can adjust its size to fit various headwear but Margot is almost never seen without wearing it, even in the dirtiest of settings in the butchery or the kitchens.

===Margot's Cooking Tools===
*Engine Speed 4 Transfer 5
*Combat Reflexes 2 Transfer 5
*Deadly Damage 4 
*N&N forms-2
*Ability-1-destroy poisons
*Horde*3
*Originally created using the Jewel of Judgement.  Includes knives, ladles, and other tools.  Over the millennia she has often gifted collections of a dozen tools to her assistant who have moved on in careers as head cooks in many royal and noble houses or have started many restaurants throughout the Golden Circle.  Having a set of her tools is a sign of high regard and is often a point of pride for the employers who hire those with Dame Margot's instruction and approval.
*69 Pips

*Most people carry an eating knife and spoon as a normal accouterments.  Margot carries 3 of the tools of this set, one of which is always a small paring knife.

===Margot's Pots and Pans===
*Armor-4-Invulnerable to damage
*Intel-1-communicate contents and cooking process
*N&N Form-2-Each pot in this series has the shape of a small castiron egg pan as well as 11 other forms.
*Horde* 3
*Originally created using the Jewel of Judgement. As with the Tools, Margot often gifts these to graduating assistants.
*21 pips