#caslore

Tragically, Heinrix is Cas' first experiment with genuine romance. He's intelligent, handsome, constantly spying on her, and she's emotionally drawn to him. They're lonely people, living in identities separate from the ones they grew up with, trying their best in a job that chose them. But those jobs are fundamentally at cross-purposes more often than not, and vast cultural differences often lead to misunderstandings that turn into rows, especially where Cas' decisionmaking is involved. Those cracks only get deeper as time goes on. Heinrix needs time to figure out what he wants, but comes off as inconsistent because he can't keep himself from blurring the lines between his Job and his Feelings. Cas needs assurance, but is so unyielding in her expectations that she can't meet Heinrix where he is. They do reach a genuine middle ground in Commorragh and Cas is able to open up to Heinrix in ways she wouldn't otherwise have. But that calm immediately blows up after Cas brings back her new war trophy Marazhai. The argument that follows is the first nail in the coffin. They both feel undermined and unheard and are too angry to really speak to each other until after the escape. The penultimate blow is struck with that dinner, despite the love confession. Cas doesn't doubt Heinrix's feelings. But she's made it clear where the source of her unhappiness lies, and at that point, if he still chooses the Inquisition over her, she accepts he doesn't find her worth committing to. What finally ends things is Heinrix demanding not to be a casual dalliance when confronting Cas about her closeness to Marazhai. A cooler head might have recognized this as being Heinrix's way of signalling a desire to stay with her. Unfortunately, that specific wording instead brought Cas the closest she's ever been to wanting to maul someone like a feral canid. It.... took a while for them to be on neutral ground again.

Cymbry and Bisera in general

The girls are fraternal, although both still heavily favor Vladaym with their lean builds and dour features. They're dark haired and dark eyed, and were it not for Cas' complexion, both could easily pass for being void born. They even possess the same uncanny countenance that many find viscerally unpleasant upon first meeting them.

The fact that they are twins was partially planned—Cas preferred to have her heir and a spare in one go. They're born on Dargonus and are raised with the same general education befitting heirs of a Rogue Trader—better even due to Cas making her realm a haven for xenoheretical scholarship. The girls are free to pursue their own niche interests as they grow up, rounding out their identities beyond simply being "von Valancius heirs." In fact, Cas forbids her daughters' tutors to negatively compare the two's prospects at all. They are to compliment each other, not compete.

Their relationship with Cas' heritage is complicated. Ashleen is one of their first languages, and they speak it with their mother and each other all the time. They're raised with a lot of the same values, and are familiar with certain songs and folk tales—filtered through Cas' occasionally hazy memory—and at minimum do possess the same clan tattoos on their arms. However, they consider themselves to be Footfallen/of the Koronus Expanse first and foremost. It also helps that both have the same "sixth sense" about Warp phenomena unique to many born in the region. They're more in-tune with their corner of space than most.

Their relationship with their sort-of stepdad is... tense to say the least. The girls had known of Marazhai's general existence, but the exact depth of his relationship with Casimira didn't really click for them until he was suddenly reintegrating himself back into their mother's life as though he had been gone two minutes instead of two decades. For his part, Marazhai is "nice" in that he knows any harm to Cas' daughters will be accompanied by a swift divorce and one-way trip to Slaanesh's palace. Mostly, they are secondary figures to him, barely above notice—especially once Ezhan is born four years later and Cas gives him all the same rights and privileges of a legitimate von Valancius heir.

Since their mom had spent the last few years of their adolescence otherwise occupied, the twins decide to start on their expected time away from the dynasty on Footfall with the Kasballica. Partially because the Kasballica is the von Valancius dynasty's most loyal support, and partially because of their parental connection. It doesn't matter that they don't feel a familial bond with Vladaym Tocara or vice versa—it's about the snub to Casimira.

Cymbry von Valancius

The older twin, Cymbry is a natural spacer despite spending her early years planetbound. Growing up, she was a fixture at Dargonus' librarium and as an adult contributes several first-hand accounts to its archives. The lure of the Void and its hidden knowledge calls to her, and she especially loves visiting the Halo Stars for a look at cultures outside the Imperial norm. Within the Protectorate, she especially loves visiting Janus, less for the Asuryani themselves and more for how their influence is felt by the people there.

Of her siblings, she's more outgoing than Bisera but not as wild as Ezhan. Like her mother, Cymbry smiles easily and conducts herself with a confident bearing that makes her a natural fit for the social scene she most often finds herself in. Particularly adventurous nobles, pirates, and visiting Rogue Traders often appreciate Cymbry's company because she will absolutely compliment Lord/Lady So-and-So on the beauty of their, surely authentic, xenos artifacts. A ring made from the crystal skeleton of a Vaporian Sand Tiger? And they hunted it themselves? Oh she must know more...

Outgoing doesn't mean diplomatic however. Cymbry was often the "but why?" child in her youth, and even as an adult she struggles with letting things go when she feels the other party is being bullheaded or nonsensical. And too, since "bullheaded" is a familial trait shared by both she and her mother, Cymbry is the sibling most likely to be on the outs with Casimira for issues big and small.

She is the least combat-oriented of her siblings. While not helpless, Cymbry would prefer to either keep mobile with a pistol or shoot from far away. She is very much the officer in that while she is capable with the sword she keeps on her hip, it's best utilized for sport if she can help it.

Perhaps because of her more curious nature, she is more interested in Ezhan than Bisera is. Her brother is an intellectual curiosity, a nuisance, and then much, much later, her adventuring buddy. Cymbry prefers to be daring with her choice of expeditions, and since Ezhan likes a good fight, he can have some enrichment by handling any creatures that are on the path between her and whatever artifact she thinks she's located.

Bisera von Valancius

The younger twin, Bisera is quieter and more self-serious than either of her siblings, possessing much of Cas' coldness without the same obfuscating layers of friendliness on top of it. She's very exacting in her expectations, and it's hard to know her true feelings about much of anything except when she's been disappointed. Bisera is perfectly comfortable ordering the lashing of a subordinate with the same tone one would ask for a cup of water.

If Cymbry is the scholar, Bisera is the businesswoman. She makes an effort to know who is interested in what, and why. She even goes so far as to install complex-but-subtle eye enhancing and memorance implants so that she can record objects, people, and events to be analyzed and recalled later on their next occurrence. This also makes her a walking databank for her mother and sister's ever-growing collection of xenotech baubles. (Eventually, Cymbry caves and gets a similar system installed—they share multiple data banks so what information one twin learns, the other can access as well for her own purposes.)

Bisera is heavily tattooed, with many bearing Iocanthan motifs similar to Casimira's. Unlike her mother's, Bisera's tattoos are not ink, but technological: skinplants. Each has a function. Some are made to encode data, connecting her to various private data banks. One in particular connects her to her favorite grapplehawk, a model modified to deliver electric shocks through its talons. Others can be selectively illuminated, useful both for doing work late at night and for dazzling her fellow nobles at parties.

Her love for, and willingness to utilize, cybernetics makes Bisera a ready friend to the malateks of the Expanse. She even commissions weapons from them, usually connected specially to her through a mind impulse unit. (Casimira doesn't see the point of such a measure. What if there is a machine spirit disruption and the gun doesn't work?—of course, the benefit is that if Bisera can't use it, nobody can.)

She takes the longest to warm up to Ezhan. She does not like or trust Marazhai or his spawn. To Bisera's mind, Ezhan is too loud, too reckless, too preening, and not nearly half as clever as he thinks he is. Although, she tolerates him better on the other end of his Gap Decade when he at least has some maturity and life experience under his belt.

Ezhan von Valancius

The miracle baby lovechild of the family, and dreadfully aware of it. Ezhan is the sibling that is the most obviously identifiable as Cas'. Same bravado, same facial expressions, same curly auburn hair and big brown cow eyes that make him look more sweet and sensitive than he actually is. Despite being an absolute terror from birth, he grew up with a much more lenient Cas than what his sisters had. And of course he did. He's a treasure.

As he gets older, Ezhan is more and more Marazhai's creature in looks and personality. Supremely self-absorbed, often careless with those he considers his lessers, and has never blamed himself for any wrongdoing in his life. Part of this behavior is a front, exaggerated to better emulate his father. Part of it is genuine. Ezhan is, like his mother, deeply insecure about his place in the world and tends to work through that by being a dick.

Since he is decades younger than the twins, Cas has him partially fostered with some of the younger Werserians while she's away from Dargonus. Whether they are a moderating influence for him is genuinely hard to tell, but he is closer to these foster-siblings than his own sisters growing up. They are spared the worst aspects of his personality, if nothing else.

Counter to his sisters, Ezhan spurns augmetics on principle and isn't very fond of ranged combat either. His superior Aeldari senses do not need enhancement for one, and should a fight happen, he wants blades in his hands and to be in the thick of things. He takes from Cas a tradition of asking his chirurgeons not to smooth over the nastiest of his scars. Those are badges of honor. (He does have to admit however, that Bisera's skinplants are fun and at least once considers getting one of his own Iocanthan tattoos redone as one.)

Despite Marazhai's insistence that Ezhan should supplant his sisters as heir, Casimira raises her son the same as she did her daughters. This has its benefits and drawbacks. Ezhan never doubts his place as a potential heir, but his sisters are an unavoidable comparison point even if not explicitly said. Thus, he often wavers between throwing himself into a pursuit to show he's better, or becoming apathetic towards a subject to keep from looking like he's struggling. By the time he's old enough to start the more hands-on parts of his training, he still hasn't figured out a calling that interests him enough to pursue.