Insignia: A solar eclipse (with the sun coming out from behind the moon)
The prose could do with some revising, but otherwise this page is basically done.
According to Milana, the Barshen clan historically oscillated between "doing great good and making great profit". The late fifth and early sixth centuries AK were a great profit period, as the family's doppleganger training and smuggling operations brought them wealth, political clout, and marriage with the aristocratic Marek clan. (In those days the Barshen had a mockup of Auramkil on the southern continent where they trained their dops, possibly to impersonate various key figures in the city.) The Nirduk and Parnos clans both wanted to tap into and exploit the Barshen smuggling network, and the Barshen clan was destroyed in the fireworks. The Barshen were thought to have been completely annihilated for a quarter century, but the identity of one survivor is now commonly known; the existence of a second living Barshen is a more closely guarded secret. (Someone else claiming to be a Barshen has recently surfaced in Banzeel, but this is probably a half-elven -- possibly half-drow -- friend of Elbret Shorin's named Lexar.)
According to Pobhitakhor, the Barshen and Nirduk clans are both offshoots of Lessania's clan (probably referring to the Clan of the Shooting Star, though he could have meant the Clan of the Setting Sun). There is a tenuous connection between their insignia: The period of totality for a solar eclipse lasts seven minutes.
A successful merchant who died sometime around AK 500. His death was officially considered accidental, but some folks weren't so sure.
Senneth's widow. Fighter/mage specialized in enchantment/charm, very active in political circles (not surprising for a daughter of the Marek clan), intent on bringing the Barshen fully into the aristocracy of Auramkil. Stymied the Nirduk clan's attempts to absorb the Barshen clan and its smuggling network long enough to arrange an alliance with the Parnos clan. Ruthless enough to have servants whose job was to impersonate her children and die their place. (Since dops revert to their natural forms when killed, either these were skilled high elves or some sort of corpse visage-type magic was in place.) Killed by the Nirduks, along with the rest of the family (more or less), to prevent the alliance.
Senneth and Mena's son. Groomed almost from birth for a bright political future (including membership in the Elite Guard) but was less than thrilled with his assigned role in life (and downright rebellious when push came to shove, studying Orcish instead of horseriding and refusing to specialize in enchantment/charm until he had a better sense of what the possibilities were). Completely ignorant of the details of the family business, especially their extensive doppleganger training and smuggling operations (to maintain his deniability, perhaps), though his younger sister sometimes imparted a few tidbits she'd overhear while practicing her thieving skills.
Ganeth's arranged marriage to Solera Parnos was the crux of a major new political and economic alliance between the Marek and Parnos clans, and the entire Barshen family was eradicated (or so everyone believed) by the Nirduks in AK 555 to prevent the alliance from forming. (The Nirduks didn't seem to be strong enough to do this on their own at that point, so one suspects they either had backing from another powerful party that wanted to see the alliance nixed or benefitted from a double-cross by either the Marek or Parnos clans themselves.)
Ganeth left the Empire before anyone could figure out he wasn't dead and wandered around the frontier for a long time; he eventually surfaced in Zubberg (or whatever it was called then) late in AK 575 with a serious case of self-induced amnesia. His memories resurfaced shortly before Kambheer in AK 579, and the Nirduks discovered that he was still alive in AK 589. After the Nirduks failed to kill him on several more occasions, Ganeth and Streck signed a mutual non-agression pact on AK 590/5/23, and Ganeth ended up joining a somewhat reformed Nirduk clan in AK 591.
Ganeth's younger sister (born in AK 478), who gets her own page. 3/4 mage/thief (I think).
Half-elven bard (around 4th level?), Milana's SO for at least the last decade. Able to project into (or be sucked into) Dreamspace without a gateway. Framed for Pobhitakhor's murder in Silverton, later found to be innocent. Currently back on the southern continent trying to revive Erevan's following.
Retired member of the Elite Guard and Ganeth's first trainer. Veros was probably a little tired of all the politics and secretly enjoyed Ganeth's rebellious nature; he was a little unconventional himself, having married a human woman late in life. He was responsible for spiriting Ganeth and Milana away when the Nirduks killed the rest of the family; he was able to get Ganeth out of Auramkil, but died crossing the mountains to the frontier. Recommended Zubberg as a relatively safe area to begin an adventuring life (thanks to the influence of the Wizard of Zubberg).
Human nightblade, Milana's trainer. Another unconventional type who kept her original surname after marrying Veros. Got Milana out of Auramkil on the night the Barshen were massacred; last seen in Silverton around AK 578.
An elven scholar; Veros' cousin. Ganeth and Milana thought they were sneaking off to study mathematics, literature, and whatnot with him, but he was actually employed by Mena (and probably got into some trouble over the Orcish). Demos' house was also the only place Ganeth and Milana could speak privately, without being spied or scried on by their mother or her servants. His knack for talking his way through things by exploiting a nice smile and general likability didn't save him from becoming a political prisoner by AK 579. According to Nomistrus, someone fitting Demos' description recently surfaced in Banzeel, possibly working with the revolutionaries.
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