Victoria

What is perhaps most surprising about the story of Victoria Greywater is that it most certainly starts well before her birth. Victoria's parents were a peculiar combination of people that really shook up the upper class socialites and gossips of the Empire. James Greywater was a strapping Eldrin gentleman, graduate of Sandhurst with a commendation in their Maritime and Naval division. Greywater was posted as an officer on board HMS Gladstone in the Spring of 1812. When the war broke out between the Americans and the Canadians, Greywater's ship was sent to America rather than joining the majority of the navy in Europe to fight Napoleon. While the majority of his shipmates, including his Captain, were unimpressed about having to settle the issues of separate nations when such a threat as The Frenchman loomed so terrifyingly over the theatre of Europe, a tricoloured nightmare in the face of the Empire, Greywater himself was satisfied with his deployment. It was his belief that a soldier was to follow orders and to carry out the will of the Crown to the absolute letter. He was less a man and more an engine for the Empire.

He stayed in the American conflict, with the HMS Gladstone bringing about decisive victories in the Atlantic, even while the American navy continuously succeeded in repelling the British Navy in both the Great Lakes and the Atlantic. Captain Johnston, Master and Commander of the Gladstone was killed in a salvo against the American frigate class vessel the Jefferson. Ascending to the captaincy in the heat of battle, Greywater's cool and collected demeanour so frequently noted as cold or unfeeling by his subordinates, became instrumental in winning the day. With calm calculation, Greywater navigated his ship into a direct broadside against the smaller American ship. The American guns couldn't exact as much damage as they would have otherwise been able to, and the dual layer of gun decks on the significantly more powerful British Galley was able to tear across deck and hull of the American vessel. The Jefferson left nothing behind itself but a steadily slowing series of bubbles, but the fight had not been sold cheaply. Gladstone had lost nearly a third of her entire crew compliment, but the day was won and they made their way to a friendly port in Prince Edward Island.

As the War of 1812 (as it would come to be remembered) raged on, Greywater continued to earn himself victories while simultaneously earning himself the ire of many of the men under his command. Their respect as well certainly, the man was a tiger of the open seas, a master of wave and wind, capable of running down foes with impressive leads and claiming every ship he encountered as either a prize for the Empire or a gift to Neptune, but his willingness to sacrifice the lives of those under his command also earned a great deal of distaste from the sailors under his flag.

In the Summer of 1815, having maintained what little order was to be held in the waterways of the Savage Continent, Greywater received word that Napoleon had finally been universally defeated at the Battle of Waterloo. With peace having been secured and well enough established in America and Canada, Greywater was to turn over possession of the HMS Gladstone to the Canadians and to return to Britain as an Officer, not a Captain, on board the ship HMS Odyssey. Greywater calmly accepted and returned to his quarters to gather his belongings. Within two days, he was back on the Atlantic, heading home. His achievements and decisions throughout the war had not gone unnoticed, however, and Greywayter was appointed his own command upon his return to Britain. With it came a substantial sum of money, along with a plot of land in Herefordshire where he was able to build his new family home, Dunfield Manor. Construction on the house took until 1821, when Greywater was sent once more to handle a problem in the Atlantic.

He was to be stationed at the disposal of the Admiral of Cove in Ireland. While there, he was afforded comfortable lodgings and a full staff to cater to his needs. It was under these circumstances that he made the acquaintance of a young woman by name of Siobhán ní Súilleabháin who was his maid attendant. She was the daughter of a wealthy farmer in the area who had wanted to earn a better life for herself by taking up a position in service of the Admiral. The money was better than being a simple farm hand, of that she was certain. She was only 12 years old, but there was something in her that piqued James' interest. He requested her services more and more frequently, often having her attend him personally at the expense of other servants. For a child, she was remarkably intelligent and perceptive, often contributing to conversation topics that should have been far beyond her.