By Corinth.
This post makes assumptions about the relationship between Adrienne Hart and Mad Dog McCroun, all in the name of good melodrama. If this doesn't play well with you or your campaign, feel free to ignore it. (I don't offend that easily.)
Amongst the many orphan children in the Mongok orphanage lives a child of orphans. Her name is Andrea, and she is the daughter of Adrienne Hart and Mad Dog McCroun. Her existance is a closely-guarded Ascended secret, but not for the usual reasons. Instead of concealing her from their enemies, they concealed her from their own; Adrienne believed that she died of SIDS years ago, and Mad Dog didn't even know Adrienne was pregnant. The reason for this inhumane treatment resides in the mind of the Unspoken Name.
Over a decade ago, Adrienne Hart was a scared teenager. Her lover, a like-aged Mad Dog McCroun, apparently died in a disastrous fire sparked by a typhoon. She found out that she was pregnant shortly thereafter, and at that time a young Lodge member found her after single-handedly fighting off a handful of over-zealous Triad footsoldiers. He talked her down and took her in because he saw in this young woman the makings of a supreme operative.
Word of the junior member's actions reached the Unspoken Name, who took it upon himself to oversee this unusual project. It was he who ordered the cruel double-deception, and the junior member dutifully complied; shortly after Andrea was born she was taken away, and eventually she arrived at the same orphanage that housed her parents. The reason? To break Adrienne completely so they could rebuild her as the perfect assassin. It worked.
Father, mother and daughter all believed the others dead until Operation Killdeer came along. Mad Dog and Adrienne died, as we know. Unfortunately, the deaths of her parents was only the beginning for young Andrea. Now that her mother was dead, the leadership of the Lodge clamored for her to take Adrienne's place. This cut to the heart of the current Unspoken Name, for not only did he love Adrienne, but he was also the one who found her and made her into what she was. Guilt for his past actions mounted, for he had come to love Andrea as his own daughter despite (or maybe because of) all that he did before. His hesistation didn't go unnoticed by his rivals, especially Mr. X. Young Andrea's life just got a lot more interesting...
Last modified: September 10th, 1997; please send comments to durrell@innocence.com.