Count Linden Sanford ap Ailil
Ead Ath of the Villa Argente

Sidhe Grump
Offices of Sanford & Oake, Partner
Advisory Councillor on the Unseelie Concordia

Senator of the 112th U.S. Congress from the State of California

Description


Mortal Seeming
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 182 lb.
Ethnicity: White
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Short simple gray-brown but often shaved bald (matching beard around the mouth)
Clothing: Black business professional
Comportment/Cadence: Confident
Distinctions: An aging man of distinction and grace, waning his 50s while still boasting a remnant of California's rebellious "hippy past", Linden J. Sanford commands all the gravitas and shrewd awareness of any major successful politician who has won his senatorial seat in 5 consecutive elections
Supernatural Qualities: His high noble rank and mastery of its trappings only contribute to his commanding presence; furthermore, his very presence stinks of the hoarding of power, causing life to slowly wilt in his company
Accoutrements: Light jewelry, occasional cigar
Traits: Appearance 2; Style 3; Taint of Corruption

Fae Mien
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 183 lb.
Eyes: Sky-blue
Hair: Short simple honey-brown but often shaved bald (matching beard around the mouth)
Clothing: Black and purple with silver trim promenade formal
Comportment/Cadence: Confident
Supernatural Qualities: In his true fae form, the Sidhe grows taller, with the lithe grace of his elvenkind, and possessed of nearly-royal finery in his courtly robes and jewels; no weapons are apparent, but the domineering flash from his eyes reveals how he hardly needs them; furthermore, his very presence stinks of the hoarding of power, causing life to slowly wilt in his company
Accoutrements: Light jewelry
Traits: Appearance 4 (regal); Style 3; Taint of Corruption

"We shall never bow before tyranny and inequity. We shall rise and claim the mantle of hope and justice."

History


Date of Birth: January 20th, 1953
Home: Piedmont, San Francisco, California, United States
Family: Ulysses and Joan Sanford (parents), Alice (younger sister), Janet (ex-wife), William (son), Marzie (daughter-in-law), Sophie (granddaughter)
Chrysalis: Preordainment (though Linden was born into wealth in an upscale neighborhood in the Bay Area, he was a rebellious teenager and joined in the '69 Berkeley protests; however, the Shining Host returned that summer, and while Linden nursed a concussion sustained from riot police cracking down, a powerful Ailil soul flew into the convalescing teen, hurling the boy's soul into Arcadia and coming into his full noble powers and awareness, for Linden was one of the first Sidhe of the Resurgence), 1969
Mentor: none
The Test: Trial by Influence (Linden needed no Naming nor mentor, for he returned in full Sidhe majesty and self-awareness, if confusion at the modern world)
Comrades: Sophie Sanford, Bridget Duvessa, Cerys Macnamara, Benji Black, Salima Gurkani, Davina Birch, Daren Bierce, Xylia Foad, Winifred Waters
Key Event #1: War (though Linden had nothing to do with the Night of Iron Knives, he didn't disapprove of it either; the count also commanded a powerful traditional and Unseelie faction during the Accordance War that directly appealed to deeply Unseelie contingents of commoners, notably Redcaps; Linden personally recruited every corby in the Bay Area, particularly Oakland, whose might he used to batter through the famous Golden Gate Bridge trolls and help win the city for all the nobility)
Key Event #2: Treachery (after the Treaty of Concord, he accepted a small advisory role worthy of his rank and House, seemingly yielding to Summer Court dominance, but he already began to weasel his way into control, first by tipping the Radical People's Front commoner rebels to the whereabouts of King Sean, and later by introducing Queen Aeron to the satyr Hamal at one of his upscale hoity-toity Piedmont parties; at the same time, he worked his way through the humans' political machine, taking on city manager roles and then winning a state senate seat in 1976 on the Republican ticket, running always as a "young and hip" "socially liberal, fiscally conservative" moderate)
Key Event #3: Personal Tragedy (he met and married his mortal wife Janet in 1972 at law school, a youthful and fiery romance that resulted in a son, but the passion didn't last and they divorced by 1980)
Key Event #4: Treachery (he impressed the human world by his ability to balance first professional duties as a defense attorney, then legislative responsibilities with the senate, all with single parent duties, and his son Billy [Bill nowadays] grew up straight and narrow; this life story helped him win his first national Senate election in 1988 and kept him in office ever since, where he became notorious for his stubbornly moderate positions and frequent absences from the Capitol except for key votes, preferring to spend most of his time in his home state)
Transition: Victory (his son also went to law school, got married, and had a child with his sweetheart while still in college, giving Linden his first grandchild, who he recognized would Chrysalize as Sidhe, too, and decided to keep a close eye on her; meanwhile, he continued to amass allies and support to one day seize the whole kingdom from that impotent tramp, Aeron, and his peon regent, Baron Harold)

Remembrance


Magnitude: To the moments prior Resurgence
Details: Having been an active participant in the Resurgence, his gremayre really means life in Arcadia prior, but only fuzzy moments of the plans to pass the gate can be recalled; he only remembers that it was not a simple "oh hey, the gate's open again, come on, guys" whimsy, but rather the result of ages of planning and arcane efforts

Retinue


Names: Bill Sanford (son and junior partner at law firm), Vernon Oake (legal mentor and firm partner, still unaware of the fae after all these years), Eric Haven (chief of staff), Leslie Tike (press secretary), Vic Bandy (chief counsel), numerous other staffers, clerks, and paralegals both in his home offices in California and in D.C.
Roles: House Servants

Bunk Styles


Style: Social Butterfly
Examples: Call court to order, make an official proclamation, wave a noble sceptre, staredown, recite lineage

Significant Other


Name: Sophie Sanford, 2009
Nature: Companionship

Sophie



Weakness
Corruption Powers


Power doesn't corrupt; corruption empowers. Though Linden does not member and actively (and genuinely) disavows the Shadow Court, he's Unseelie to the bone. He will lie, cheat, steal, and even kill to win, despite his "virtuous old-banner statesman" reputation.

Likelihood of Corruption


High.

By the merits of his pivotal political roles in both mortal and fae society, he is a potential target of subversion or worse. Only his intense ambition keeps him independent so far.

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