Dr Donald Caffery, Prime Minister of Sable
Caffrey is the King's Prime Minister, and head of the current Tory Government. He has been in power for about twelve years (having been re-elected twice), and during that time has become highly influential in the Commonwealth. He went into politics about thirty years ago, having previously taught Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Sable, as well as being a noted singer and patron of the arts.
A surprisingly likeable man for a politician, he has an unerring knack of getting people to do what he wants them to do, both within Sable itself and in his dealings with the Reich and out into the Shadows beyond, and is an expert at keeping the peace around him. He keeps a close eye on goings on within his sphere of influence.
Archbishop Dennis Dessain, Patriarch of the Church of Sable
Archbishop Dennis entered the church as a young man and has served it faithfully for many years, being appointed Archbishop by the King in SY130. He is a registered mage and Sensitive, with an expertise in healing, and while he is very rarely seen to practice magic, considering it inappropriate for the religious leader of both Talented and non-Talent to flaunt his Talent, thus setting himself apart from the majority of his flock, he is a member of the Sable Magical Oversight Committee. He is severe but fair, and in his capacity as Archbishop is a good, devout man. A strong friendship exists between himself and the King, and he is a frequent visitor to the palace.
He is married to Alyssa, daughter of Lord Brett Collins, and they have a son and daughter, both of whom are Talented.
Sir Allan Thorne, Lord Chief Justice
The Lord Chief Justice is the Head of the Judiciary of Sable, as well as sitting in the Cabinet. Justice Thorne has been a lawyer for over eighty years, and a judge for sixty of those, during which time he has been responsible for a number of significant judgements which have been enshrined in the body of law. He has been Chief Justice for about five years, having been appointed on the death of his predecessor, who was killed in a vehicle accident when visiting the Commonwealth. Previous to that he served two terms as a Law Lord (separated by a period of fifteen years).
Alexandra Smedley, Mayor of Sable
The Mayor is the head of the Sable City Council - a body of the most respected and influential people within the city, although separate from those elected to the Lower House of the National Government. She is in charge of the administration of the City itself, while the government deal with the rest of the City State. Alexandra is also the head of one of the larger merchant houses, and as such her family are becoming more powerful within the city as the trading base with the Commonwealth continues to grow.
Simon Ellis, Master of Sable Mage College
Simon Ellis is the first and only person to have held the position of Sable Mage College. He is a Sable resident, born and bred. His Talent manifested when he was twelve, and from that point onwards he never had any doubts that he would become a mage. His arcane skills and abilities are well above the average, and as a theoretical mage he is better.
His specialisation is as a defensive and transport mage, but he has also written a number of papers about the Talent in general, relations between Talented and non-Talented, the increase in the number of conjurers, and the future of the magical arts. Nowadays, however, he does not teach as much as he did, concentrating more on the administration of the College and his work with the Sable Magical Oversight Committee.
He and his wife Kate are considered to be personal friends of HM King Robert, and together they were trusted enough by the King to bring up his grandson, Dominic, before the latter was welcomed back into the Royal family by his father. A close relationship endures between the Prince and his foster parents.
Dr Alexander Kowalski,
Vice-Chancellor of
the University of Sable
Dr Kowalski oversees the day-to-day running of the non-arcane higher education in Sable. While in the past there was a tendency to see the University as playing second fiddle to the Mage College, Kowalski has done a great deal to raise the prestige of his establishment.
He joined the Faculty of the University of Sable about forty-five years ago, lecturing in Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, but he got very frustrated with the general attitude of the other staff, especially with regard to what seemed to be a universal inferiority complex towards Sable Mage College, so he made it his mission to improve that, and within ten years had manoeuvered himself into the position of Vice-Chancellor, making him de facto head of the University (Chancellor being more of an honorary post).
Whereas earlier in his tenure, the University had to compete for students against the likes of Rushwick University on the strongly academic Commonwealth Shadow of Deansway, its reputation has improved sufficiently to allow it to be able to chose the brightest and best potential students from within the Commonwealth.
Francesco de Saint-Germain, KG
Comte Francesco is accredited as a nobleman, although he does not belong to any of the Sable noble families, and is a familiar face on the Sable court and social scene. He is a very old friend of King Robert's who moved to Sable at the King's invitation in its earliest days, and has taken Sable citizenship. His place of origin is not recorded. He is an extremely experienced magician, with particular specialisms in investigation and healing, and competence in offensive, defensive and trans/comms magic, and serves with the King, Archbishop Dennis and others on the Sable Magical Oversight Committee. He is also a highly skilled ritual magician, and is one of the few registered blood mages in the Kingdom, this being one of the many areas of expertise he can bring to the Council and the King.
He looks to be in his early-forties, but then, he always has, although his eyes seem to give an impression of extreme age which his body belies. Beyond his abilities as a magician, he is a linguist without par, and is fluent at least twenty languages, with a familiarity with many more, although he always speaks with a slight accent which seems to be unplaceable. He is a man of letters and a patron of the arts, as well as being an accomplished musician and composer in his own right. He has also exhibited as an artist, and in times of crisis (of which there have been thankfully few), he offers his services as a physician to the Sable Royal Hospital.
He lives with his small household in one of the well-appointed mansions on the Park Rim Drive, fairly near to the Bridge House/Royal Guard complex, and in addition has an extensive estate to the east of Manston, near the River Stratton, where he breeds horses. He is unmarried, although he is periodically seen around Sable City in the company of women, and has certainly had affaires de coeur in the past. However, in the last couple of years, when he has been seen at social functions, he has often been accompanying Grand Pilot Rebecca von Kleist.
Jennifer Carruthers,
Guildmistress of the Sable Pilots' Guild
Jennifer arrived in Sable City within the last decade, having apparently been brought in by King Robert to run the nascent Sable Pilots' Guild. A trained lawyer, she has had an interesting time defining the Guild's place in Sable society, and is now running it on a day-to-day basis. She is known to be friends with Crown Prince Dominic, and rumours occasionally circulate that in the distant past, she may have had an affair with Andrew de Lacy, before his first marriage, although these usually die down again almost as soon as they start.
Other City Notables
Colonel Sir Anthony Coryn (GCM), Head of the Episcopal Guard
The Episcopal Guard is outside the structure of the Sable military, and exists to protect the buildings and lands belonging to the Church of Sable, both in the City itself, and out into the Commonwealth. It has no jurisdiction outside of Church lands and Church business, unless specifically agreed with the mainstream military - specifically General Wallis. The Colonel himself is a former member of the Royal Guard, who transferred across about twenty-five years ago. He took command about five years later. Anthony looks to be in his early-thirties, and is tall and strongly built, as befits a soldier.
He has short, dirty blond hair and green eyes, and is known to be a graduate of Sable College of Military Magic.
Bishop Giovanni Branco of the Church of Vicenza
While the Church of Sable is the state religion, religious freedom does exist within the Kingdom. Bishop Giovanni is the senior cleric in Sable of the Church of Vicenza, one of the main alternatives to the state religion. He was born on the Commonwealth Shadow of Vicenza, home Shadow of his religion, and trained for the priesthood there. Having risen through the ecclesiastical hierarchy, he was appointed Bishop of Sable when his Church was given permission to build a cathedral in Sable City. He is an able administrator, he looks after both his flock and the more practical matters of the building of the cathedral with great aplomb.
Bishop Giovanni is a tall man in his late-fifties. He stands about 6'3", and has a commanding presence and a handsome aspect. His hair and beard are brown, but peppered with grey, and he looks at the world through intelligent brown eyes which miss very little.
Jeremy Conran, Leader of the Sable City Opposition
Jeremy is the head of the opposition faction within the Sable Council. He lost to Alexandra by a fairly close margin in the last mayoral election, and is one of her staunchest opponents on the floor of the council house. One of his platforms is that he believes a conflict of interest exists between Alexandra's role as Mayor, and as head of the Smedley family...although she tries hard to defuse such allegations. His own background is as a defence lawyer in the Sable criminal court, having moved to the Kingdom from his home Shadow of Weston shortly after it was admitted to the Commonwealth. He quickly built a reputation for himself in the courtroom by playing very much to the gallery, and this has made him both one of the most popular, and one of the most controversial members of the legal establishment.
In appearance, he is a handsome, dashing young man who looks to be in his late-thirties. He has shoulder length red hair, worn in the same style as the King's, and bright, blue eyes.
Donovan Braye, Admiral, Sable Merchant Fleet
Braye's offices are in Riversend, with a branch office in Sable City itself, and while his appointment is not a military one, he holds the honorary rank of Admiral. The merchant fleet has been going from strength to strength over the last sixty years, as the captains have become more experienced and better at their job as they have gone along. Merchant ships regularly travel up and down the Sable River, from the harbour across the water and slightly upstream from the naval base. However, the shipyards are actually down on the coast.
Braye is of medium build, and is in his early forties. He has blond hair and grey eyes, and hails from the Shadow of Eastlight, one of the maritime centres of the Commonwealth.
Metropolitan Police Commander Patrick Milton
Patrick has been head of the civil police force within Sable City for about ten years, and is one of the most senior policeman in the Kingdom, as the Sable City branch of the Metropolitan Police is the senior branch. He also deals with liaising with Colonel de Lyon and the Royal Guard for those occasions when mutual jurisdiction is an issue.
Patrick looks to be in his mid-forties, although he does have some worry lines that make him look a little older. He has jet black hair, dark brown eyes, and speaks with a slight lilt. When on duty he is one hundred percent professional, however off duty he has a mischievous sense of humour, and is well liked within the Sable establishment.
Daejan Asscher, Chief Coroner of Sable City
Born on Deansway at around the turn of the century, Asscher demonstrates a certain charm and a keen intelligence. He studied Magic at Rushwick, and obtained a position as a forensic consultant to the Deansway police force. He worked there for several years, during which time he was investigative mage on one of only half a dozen black magic killings in the history of the Shadow. This prompted him to make a study of the subject from an intellectual point of view. From there he moved on to working with the police on Karstadt, before applying for the Sable position in April SY153. He got the job, being brought in above the existing staff as a new broom, and over the last two years has ironed out the majority of issues that caused.
Edward Thomson, Governor of the Bank of Sable
Edward Thomson has had a long and distinguished career as an economist, working for the Sable Civil Service. He has also lectured at the University of Sable in his chosen subject, where he managed to make economics seem interesting to his students. He was appointed Governor of the Bank of Sable about ten years ago, and has kept an iron hand on inflation and interest rates within the Kingdom.
In appearance he looks to be in his early-fifties. He stands about 5'10", and has dark hair, streaked with grey, and blue-green eyes.