Caduca Aris

Caduca Aris

Caduca Aris is the half-ogre, half-human half-brother of Jon Aris and Dorimo Aris, serving as the primary diplomatic emissary of the Aris family to the native peoples of the Farseas. She is, by all accounts, one of the most singular individuals in the swamp: a diplomat by calling who could also tear a door off its hinges, a pious believer who curses fluently, and a woman whose eyes always carry more worry than her smile lets on.

Appearance and Presence

Visual: think Kingpin crossed with Steve Irwin. Caduca is enormous — half-ogre blood ensures he'd be imposing even without the deliberate physicality he projects. She favors a pith helmet, drab fatigues, leather armor, a royal signet ring and armlet, and a perpetual collection of maps and notes. She is always smiling. But her eyes show worry that her mouth does not.

Personality

Caduca is loud, proud, unafraid, honest, and delightfully derisive — and he loves the swamps with a protectiveness that makes him dangerous to anyone who threatens them. She is pious and empathic in ways that can seem incongruous in someone who can charm a bullywug chief and crush his ribcage in the same afternoon. Her faith grounds her; her size enforces her; his personality moves everything in between.

She is deeply aware of Jon Aris's weaknesses. He sees, with clear eyes, that Jon can be moved by the right promises, that his grief makes him susceptible to those who offer him support, and that his tendency to compromise has limits that he himself hasn't yet found. This awareness has not yet become a problem. Whether it will depends on how Jon handles the Manshoon situation.

Role

Caduca's function in the Aris power structure is to be the bridge: between Jon and the swamp peoples who need to be convinced, cajoled, or confronted. She rejected the ultimatums of Carrsack when peaceful overtures were the wiser path. She goes where Dorimo Aris would create an international incident and where Jon himself would be too easily manipulated. "Anything Dorimo can't ginsu with fists or blade, Caduca handles with personality." The reverse is also understood to be true.

See also: Jon Aris, Dorimo Aris, Aris, Erdrick Aris.