For Apris' eyes only

What Shion knows

Shion has been in the "care" of Shark for 17 years since when she was put up as a slave due to the calamity of her village and family. 1 year in, she consumed the elixir that halted her aging, which only tightened Shark's grasp on her. She would then come to terms with many of the things that Shark does in his life, including the types of orders and operations are carries out as well as the type of person he tends to be.

Shark himself

Shark will likely come off as a cold and cruel person with sadistic moods here and there. However, he does show more genuine human emotions at times. Usually when he is alone, which Shion is likely to witness if she peeked every now and again. Even when it's just them two, Shark will occasionally display his more human side and show signs of stress or even forgiveness. Even for Shion, however, it's hard to tell which side of him is the act and which side is the true Shark, or if they're both acts. What she does know is that while Shark is cruel, he has some degree of care/interest in raising her. He is known to others as the "White Shark".

Shark's Accomplices

Shark has a number of accomplices that Shion has likely to have encountered, whether it be through simply encountering them in the mansion or when she was called to be a servant during meetings he had. She does not know all of his accomplices, but likely has met all the ones that work closely with Shark.

The first person she'd likely know quite a bit is Golbrodo the Loan Shark, Shark's leading financial advisor. Wrapped in healing bandages and a royal arsehole, Golbrodo is rude and crude to most people he encounters, Shark and Shion included. Nonetheless, he does know a lot about business and market, and was the mentor of Shark in such areas, so Shark respects him to an extent. Shion likely has learned nothing from this guy other than he is an upstuck twat. The most interactions between them is either Shion serving him drinks during a meeting, or Shion being sent to him to collect/give him financial reports and the like. Golbrodo was burned and disabled 9 years ago, during his attempt to wow Shark with an experimental fire spell. It backfired and permanently scarred him with ever burning scars, making him wear special healing bandages at all times. He is a craven and weak fool, but security helps make up for his weakness. Shion can recall his appearance before the accident. He used to have a pompadour with sharp features and eyes, and wore cleaner versions of his current clothes.

The second person she'd know a lot is Shark's personal medical advisor and the owner of the clinic in the Moseli Cartel, Furgus "Pufferfish" Blotton ( [url=i.imgur.com/v8Rk9yC.jpg]i.imgur.com/v8Rk9yC.jpg[/url] ). Despite his sophisticated appearance, Pufferfish is a particularly nasty person to be around due to his "medical fascination". Claiming to not be a sadist, he is merely interested in the reactions his procedures create within people; physically and mentally. Shion has likely delivered orders to him and collected medical supplies/subscriptions from him. He emits an eery presence and talks in a slow, creepy way. Not much has likely happened between them, except that Pufferfish would likely oversee any treatments Shion may have gone through if she were injured or fell ill in the past. Pufferfish has been with Shark since before Shion joined.

The next person is someone Shion likely works a lot with, Besily "Thresher" Dane ( https://i.imgur.com/F3MEFWp.jpg ). Despite how it looks, her lower half of her right leg is entirely wooden because she lost it in an accident. The rest is just wrapped in leather straps like her arm. She indeed appears like this all the time, mostly because she hates wearing stuff because of her former line of work; she wears what she does as consideration for those around her. Despite looks, she is around Shion's age (31). She is Shark's primary weapons supplier. She keeps an eye on stocks, sets prices for rare items and takes care of orders from sources. It goes without saying that Shion has likely spoken with her many times. Interactions outside of business are severely unlikely. Thresher can be best described as empty. While not a slave, her bandit clan was wiped out in the same manner as Shion's clan was, but instead of being taken as a slave she killed the slavers that tried to get her, losing her eye in the process. Shark found her when a convoy he was supervising was attacked by a "one-eyed naked girl wielding all kinds of makeshift weaponry". She was taken in at the age of 13, and has been with Shark for 18 years. She became a weapons specialist by 16, and the supplier by the age of 18. When she became 18, she lost her leg during a failed testing of an experimental trap mechanism. Shion knows all this because Thresher has likely spoken about it with her to try and sympathize in terms of their backgrounds. However, because she is empty and unsociable, it is unlikely Shion has learned anymore than this since most of their talks are among business-related matters.

The next guy Shion would know is Koan "Hammerhead" Hertle ( https://i.imgur.com/uJ5wplh.jpg ). He came much after Shion's induction into Shark's gang, being but a lowly thug upon his initiation 8 years ago (Shion would have been about 22-23). In 2 years, he became head of security in Shark's mansion and the Moseli Cartel. Despite keeping to himself a lot, he tends to speak and act aggressively and will often try to start fights. Despite this, he says he hates fighting; his excuse is that he hates pointless things pissing him off even more. Shion has likely spoken to him on occasion, but probably not that much. What is likely to have found out about him is that his mask is created from the remnants of his mother's dead heart and that he bleeds out livestock as a secret hobby (info from Shark), likely leading to beliefs that he has just a few screws loose in his head. Other thing that probably interests Shion is that he is quite a looker with his mask off ( https://i.imgur.com/RghytyB.jpg ). His clothes came from tailors who knew about New World clothing; while it looks like the real deal, they are detailed fabrications based off of the accounts of supposed Othersiders. Shark hates Hammerhead's sense of fashion.

Next there's the nameless "Monkfish" ( https://i.imgur.com/QRK1N4f.jpg ). He acts as Shark's mystical and magical advisor, and is in charge of evaluating the worth and ingenuity of magical items that end up in the hands of Shark's market. Despite his calm, collected demeanor and shabby appearance, he is a very high ranking member of the group because he is also in charge of many slave-trade operations. Shion likely met Monkfish's men first before being directed to Shark over time. Remaining typically carefree about most things, including the murder of people and the enslavement of the survivors, which draws him the distaste and hatred from some people because of his dismissive nature. It is highly probable that he is high on some kind of drug most of time, since he is known to be a consumer. Which drugs exactly isn't known. Aside from serving him drinks or delivering things to him, Shion is unlikely to have spoken to him, nor ever want to. He also has his own personal slave whose name is not known to Shion ( https://i.imgur.com/kmfoknp.png ). What she does know is that the slave is a vampire, and therefore a more powerful and rare asset than Shion is (possible envy/jealousy).

Then there's Lacey "Cookiecutter" Farengihold ( https://i.imgur.com/DHJcbRy.jpg ). Likely an individual of much of Shion's scorn, Cookiecutter is a voluptuous woman in charge of the more social side of the cartel (casinos, clubs, etc). She is constantly making playful attempts for Shark's affection, which he has none of. Her age is a secret to everyone, but most people tend to not care because of her appearance. She likes to act cute and innocent towards people to get what she want, and 90% of the time it works. She also has a strong affinity for chocolates and sweets. Underneath her sweetness is a bitter center, a power hungry control freak that must have everything perfect. Though she is not entirely out of control, for she is known to be a crafty schemer as well. However, despite all this, she is completely in Shark's pocket if he orders her to do something, just because she has been crushing on him since he was a teen (which goes to say something about her age....). In combat, she can use ice magic and is adept with a short blade, so she isn't to be taken lightly. Not particularly strong, but able to take out a couple thugs that try to get frisky with her in a dark alley. She is known to go through slaves like cupcakes in a bakery; it is not unusual for her to have a different slave each day. Most of her slaves tend to be attractive young men (much to their despair). When she gets tired of them, she sends them to the "factory" (more on this later). In encounters with Shion, she has likely teased her about being trapped in a little girl's body with many types of gestures and also probably talked down to Shion all the time. However, there are times when she shows jealousy because of how Shark treats Shion.

There's a recurring courier, the nameless "Sleeper" ( https://i.imgur.com/OslnLv6.jpg ). Sleeper is a courier Shion has likely encountered many times. He is likely the one that came to deliver them the message that they are to go to the Federation when they were in Elthern. Sleeper, despite his name, specializes in fast travel, and is primarily used by Shark to deliver orders or notices that must arrive at a certain place in little time. How he travels his unknown, since he always travels alone, but it is implied by rumors Shion is likely to have heard that he does nothing but sleep when back at the cartel, but when he is sent out on a task, he never sleeps or rests till the deed is done and he is back home.

Lastly, there's Shark's mysterious hired assassin that goes under the alias of "Wobbegong". Not much is known about this person, even to people close to Shark. The only ones who know much are Shark himself and Hammerhead. But rumors go around about Wobbegong. The most common are that he can appear in more than one place at once and that he has never failed a mark. What is true is unknown. Truly a mystery. But Shion would know, that to send Wobbegong means that Shark really wants them dead.

The Halls of Jaws (Mansion), and other places

Shark's mansion is called the Hall of Jaws. He provides rooms and security for each of the accomplices listed above (except Sleeper). Some of them operate from offices within the mansion, but others tend to go outside to do their jobs (like Cookiecutter and Monkfish). Slaves can be seen running the corridors constantly, taking orders and serving the various denizens of the mansion. The style of the mansion is rather dull, being dark shades with hints of aqua and green here and there. It's not the most pleasant place to look at, but it's considered top-end in Moseli. The building is separated into three complexes;

Lower area - The "public" area, consisting of slave quarters, kitchen, restaurant, foyer and entrance/exit. The restaurant is open to people who are willing to pay well. The slave quarters is reserved for slaves that are currently under employ for work in the mansion. Access to the rest of the mansion is prohibited unless authorized by the front guards. The stairs in the foyer lead to the second area.

Upper area - Off-limits to unauthorized personnel, this is where the facilities and lodgings for Shark's accomplices lie, spread across three floors (Cookiecutter has the 3rd floor all to herself). The 1st floor has rooms for Monkfish and Hammerhead. Monkfish seldom uses his room. Hammerhead has his security office next to his room, where he keeps in contact with his spread out officers via written report or clairvoyant telepathy. The 2nd floor has the rooms for Golbrodo, Pufferfish and Thresher. Golbrodo's office is located next to his room, which has a view of the cartel. Pufferfish's room doubles as an office (and therefore is twice as big as the normal rooms), and it serves as the clinic for the mansion. He runs a separate clinic outside the mansion through employees. Thresher has a room on this floor, but is rarely ever seen in it. Shark is considering renovating it. The 3rd floor, has mentioned before, is Cookiecutter's floor. Here she has had constructed an expanded bedroom, personal spa, swimming pool, dressing room and a "secret room" for her "surprises". The 3rd floor of the mansion is also dolled out in bright colors, much to the dismay of the other residents.

Shark's Lair - The top area of the mansion is reserved for Shark's use only, and those he authorizes. This includes himself, Jalzi, Shion and his accomplices when there are meetings. This top area consists of two floors. The 1st floor has the room for Shion and a number of other chambers, including Shark's private bathing area and his study. The study is the area Shion is likely to have been taught by Shark in, and Shion has access to his bath as well (within given hours). The 2nd floor is entirely Shark's personal quarters, including his bedroom and throne which overlooks the city. None are permitted here at all, except when meetings are held in the throne room.

As mentioned earlier, there is a "factory". It is located underneath the mansion, underground. Here are where some of the products that Shark sells are produced, by working slaves in the dark depths. They primarily produce weapons and armor of plain design to sell to bandits and the like, but other things such as sweets (as per the word of Cookiecutter) and even drugs are produced here. A hidden side to the factory is that it is also the torture/execution den that slaves are taken to when deemed useless or guilty of offense. The way torture and execution mechanisms are operated is via the slaves working in the factory; unaware of the multiple outputs of their hard work. Shion never has worked in the factory. When Shark took her in, he took her on a tour of the factory, including the torture den. This was also the place Shark took Jalzi from before putting him into Shion's ownership.

A Timeline, or something

So here's a brief summary of the timeline involving Shion and Shark.

22 years ago, Shark began his rise to power and claimed the Moseli Cartel in 2 years. Golbrodo and Cookiecutter were with Shark during his rise. 19 years ago, Shark recruited Pufferfish as a child from a group of traveling medics and immediately put him to work as a medical assistant. This was the time the Hall of Jaws finished building. 18 years ago, Shark met and hired Monkfish before expanding his market into the slave trade. This was the time slaves became more common in the cartel and his business. This year was also the time that Shark found Thresher. 16 years ago, Shark's men found and enslaved Shion. Because of her background, Shark decided to take her in as his own slave. 1 year later, Shion drank the potion much to Shark's disappointment, but he continued raising her nonetheless. A few years of development time as the cartel expanded into a thriving community. Shion continued lessons under Shark. 11 years ago, Shark decided to allow Shion her very own slave in the form of Jalzi, a freshly conquered slave from a pirate crew Shark slaughtered. Shark would spend time telling Shion how to work with a slave and discipline them, among other things. Whether or not Shion carries out such things is up to you, but Jalzi was an atypical slave that didn't fit the typical resistant type.

What? Fix this.
Octie: FIXED.

Octie: Ok, here's some Matsuyama stuff in your own post. How intrusive of me.

For images, see the family tree at the bottom.

Matsuyama Clan

As you should know, Matsuyama is the largest, most successful clan in the Shogunate and is one of the 3 leading ones that hold power over the Shogunate in secret. They handle most of the "Shogunate's" actual affairs with foreign powers (of course, this isn't known outside the clan family itself). Because of this, many Matsuyama family members have an innate talent of persuasion. Just because they specialize in ambassadors and politics doesn't mean they are to be underestimated; they have the 2nd most formidable military in the Shogunate and comprise a majority of the armed population throughout.

In terms of inner workings of the clan, is it a notably strict and disciplined system that dictates certain tradition among family members. Firstly, the Matsuyama has a number of blood lines with it. The head of the Matsuyama family has multiple wives, with only one acting as the one who bears true Matsuyama children. True children bear the name itself, while children from other mistresses are labelled as "[name] of Matsuyama", or "[name] no Matsuyama". This was done to introduce a system run entirely by the family and to have many solutions should a leadership or inheritance crisis arrive. Most pure Matsuyama children are raised as ambassadors and leaders, with things such as military prowess and other skills assigned to the other children from the different lines.

There are multiple servants in the Matsuyama citadel, mostly maidens. The one Ai and Rokuro probably know the best is Suisumi. She is a maiden that has worked for the Matsuyama family for a couple decades and is one of the more experienced servants in the citadel. She was around for a majority of Ai and Rokuro's lives, helping with their upbringing along side their mother. Despite how time has passed, Suisumi still remains as one of the chief maidens and the assigned maiden to Ai and Rokuro. They also used to have a personal guard by the name of Yoban. However, since Rokuro took the guard duties upon himself, Yoban was re-assigned. Regardless, Yoban is the one who trained Rokuro and Ai the basics of self-defense among other things, and keeps in contact with them every now and again.

The current head is Zuukan Matsuyama, and the current true Matsuyama mistress is Yuzuha Matsuyama. Their only two children of true Matsuyama lineage are Rokuro and Ai. Zuukan has three other wives, forming three mixed Matsuyama bloodlines. These mistresses are Otsu no Matsuyama (Gakura bloodline), Mai no Matsuyama (Oowazaki bloodline) and Fumio no Matsuyama (Kaguya bloodline). A full family tree will be given later on.

Zuukan - https://i.imgur.com/zBxoamy.png
Yuzuha - https://i.imgur.com/U70yBId.jpg
Fumio - https://i.imgur.com/rWNYNvMh.jpg
Otsu - https://i.imgur.com/1rXdDT6.jpg
Suisumi - https://i.imgur.com/gDlbgcX.jpg
Syoumiri (Kaguya) - https://i.imgur.com/Utd3Swb.jpg
Kirin (Gakura) - https://i.imgur.com/6abQbMQh.jpg
Hyouzi (Kaguya) - https://i.imgur.com/gL3GJ0M.png
Juria (Oowazaki) - https://i.imgur.com/EzTaTdth.jpg