Kasmeer Meade's father
Kasmeer Meade's father, or Daddy,[1] (1281–1326 AE)[2][3] was the patriarch of the noble Meade family in Divinity's Reach in Kryta. He and his wife had two children: Kasmeer Meade and Kyle Meade. After his wife's death, he took care of their children and was well regarded in Queen Jennah's court. When Kyle got in trouble with criminals while gambling, the father spent the family's entire fortune to pay them off so they would not kill Kyle. As a result, the patriarch was unable to pay his own bills and was arrested and placed in debtor's prison while the Ministry seized the Meade's belongings, including the family's home. The father died after being stabbed in prison, leaving Kasmeer and Kyle to survive on their own as penniless former nobles.
Biography[edit]
Early years[edit]
The Meade patriarch was born in 1281 AE to a renowned noble family in Divinity's Reach in Kryta.[2] He and his wife had two children: Kasmeer Meade, and Kyle Meade. His wife died when Kasmeer was young, leaving the father to raise the children on his own. The patriarch was said to be good father, sometimes taking Kasmeer to the carnival in Divinity's Reach while holding her hand, which Kasmeer remembered fondly.[3] He used to tell his children stories of the legendary dragon Glint and her prophecies, and how noble the dragon had been as a friend of humans who also fiercely protected her family like any good mother.[4] He occasionally took Kasmeer with him when he had an audience with Queen Jennah, and Kasmeer got to meet both the queen and Countess Anise.[5]
Kyle liked to gamble and got involved with criminals in Lion's Arch to whom he ended up owing a lot of money. The criminals threatened to kill him unless he paid back his debts. After the father learned about his son's troubles, he used the entire Meade family fortune to bail Kyle out. However, the patriarch could no longer pay his own bills so the Ministry arrested him. When Kasmeer got back home from her mesmer lessons, she witnessed her father in chains while the Ministry Guard prevented her from speaking to him. The guards seized all the Meade belongings, including their house. They let Kasmeer keep what she was carrying and wearing, allowing her to retain her mother's hereditary staff. One of the guards pitied Kasmeer, however, and told her that she could take one item from the family home. After weighing her options, Kasmeer chose the stuffed bear which her father had given her. A minister settled into the Meade house some time later.[2]
After the Ministry had arrested the father, it forced Jennah's hand by making his situation public. The queen and the nobility had an image to upheld to law-abiding Krytans of all social classes, so Jennah had to honor the Ministry's laws and allow them to place the Meade patriarch in debtor's prison.[6] Kasmeer visited her father as often as she could, but he hated her seeing him in such a state. The father had to mingle with the lower class prisoners who did not take kindly to the fact that a nobleman was among them, and he was eventually stabbed to death in early 1326 AE.[2]
Legacy[edit]
The Meade patriarch's death left the homeless Kasmeer and Kyle to fend for themselves without any financial support while Krytan nobility shunned them because of their poverty and the family's now tarnished reputation. While Kyle's actions afterward have not been revealed, Kasmeer managed to secure a job as the detective Marjory Delaqua's assistant to make ends meet. Despite her father's misfortune casting its shadow over her, Kasmeer's actions in the service of Kryta helped redeem her family's name over the following years, and Anise convinced the queen to eventually reinstate Kasmeer as a noble in the royal court.[7]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Nightmare Chamber dialogue
- Kasmeer Meade: I have to stay here. Daddy told me to wait for him. He's coming. He's going to take me with him this time.
- ^ a b c d The Origins of Madness: A Moment's Peace
- Kasmeer Meade: (sigh) It's my father's birthday. He'd have been forty-five today.
- Marjory Delaqua: I'm sorry. Do you want to talk about it?
- Kasmeer Meade: I just miss him. He didn't deserve to die like that...like a rat in a cage.
- Marjory Delaqua: Why was he in jail?
- Kasmeer Meade: He was in debtor's prison. It's not what you think. He was a good father.
- Marjory Delaqua: How did he get into debt?
- Kasmeer Meade: My brother, Kyle, liked to gamble. He lost a lot. My father loved him, and he used family money to bail him out.
- Kasmeer Meade: They were going to kill Kyle.
- Marjory Delaqua: So then your father couldn't pay his own bills.
- Kasmeer Meade: That's right. So they took everything we had left, and they put him in prison.
- Marjory Delaqua: That's why you were looking for a job.
- Kasmeer Meade: And you hired me. I'll never forget how you saved me that day, Jory.
- Marjory Delaqua: I had no idea your situation was so...dark.
- Marjory Delaqua: He died in prison?
- Kasmeer Meade: Uh-huh. A nobleman in debtor's prison... Well, you can imagine what they...thought of him there.
- Kasmeer Meade: I visited him as often as I could, but he hated me seeing him like that.
- Kasmeer Meade: And then he was just gone.
- Marjory Delaqua: It must have been terrifying for you when they arrested your father.
- Kasmeer Meade: I'd been with my tutor, working on staff spells, and when I got home, they were there.
- Kasmeer Meade: They had him in chains, and they wouldn't let me speak to him.
- Kasmeer Meade: They wouldn't let me...do anything. They seized the house and were taking all our things. [...]
- Kasmeer Meade: The guard in charge took pity on me, I think. He told me I could take one item from the house. [...]
- Kasmeer Meade: I took the stuffed bear my father had given me... (sob) [...]
- <Character name>: How did he die?
- Kasmeer Meade: I'm ashamed to say, but since it's you, I guess it's okay. He was stabbed while in debtor's prison, paying the price for my brother's foolishness.
- <Character name>: Your brother?
- Kasmeer Meade: Kyle. He lost all his money and more gambling with criminals in Lion's Arch. My father spent our entire fortune to pay them off so they wouldn't kill him.
- <Character name>: Who put your father in prison?
- Kasmeer Meade: The Ministry Guard came to the house and took him away, along with all our belonging. Now, a minister lives there.
- <Character name>: They took everything?
- Kasmeer Meade: They let me keep what I was carrying and wearing, which meant I was able to keep my staff. It had been in my family for generations, on my mother's side. All else was lost–except the stuffed bear.
- ^ a b Kasmeer Meade dialogue during Sky Pirates
- Kasmeer Meade: This festival reminds me of when I was little, and my father and I used to go to the carnival in Divinity's Reach.
- <Character name>: Does your father still live in Divinity's Reach?
- Kasmeer Meade: No. He's...He's gone. My mother died when I was young, and my father...He was taken earlier this year.
- <Character name>: You must miss him.
- Kasmeer Meade: I miss the man who used to hold my hand at the carnival, yes. But, let's not talk about that. It's too nice a day!
- ^ Hidden Arcana
- Kasmeer Meade: My father used to talk about Glint and her prophecies.
- Kasmeer Meade: He said she was grand and noble, as noble as any Krytan. She loved humans.
- Kasmeer Meade: Except when they tried to steal her eggs. She defended her children like any good mother.
- ^ Rallying Call
- Kasmeer Meade: I won't get an audience with the queen, but I can speak with Countess Anise.
- Braham Eirsson: Nervous? I know you've had, um, issues with your people.
- Kasmeer Meade: No, I'm fine. I just haven't had to speak with Countess Anise or the queen for a while, not since...my father...
- ^ Disturbance in Brisban Wildlands
- <Character name>: She lost an opportunity when she took your title away.
- Kasmeer Meade: She had no choice. When the Ministry arrested my father, it forced her hand by making his situation public. The queen—and thus the nobility—have an image to uphold.
- ^ Party Politics
- Countess Anise: Hello, dear Kasmeer. Don't worry your little face over what the herald's papers say. You'll always be noble in my eyes.
- Kasmeer Meade: Countess Anise. That's direct...and kind of you to say. I'm afraid I don't feel particularly noble.
- Countess Anise: Then we must do something about that! Nobility isn't in the blood, as so many believe. It's in your choices.
- Countess Anise: Your return to grace is only a pardon away. If your talent for detecting lies is all you say it is...
- Countess Anise: Well, let's just say I'm confident we can convince the queen your value overrides your father's misfortune.
