Bandits, knaves, rogues... reformed.
The Umbernaulds are a rugged family of Scottish islanders who were bandits and scoundrels — until recently. They are working class and halfblood. If you would like to adopt an Umbernauld or ask a question, please PM me or post here. 
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<3Key Traits
 Reformed Bandits The Umbernaulds were discrete but prolific highwaymen until January 1890, when young Goldcrest Umbernauld was tortured and killed by someone he'd robbed. The family has subsequently decided to go legit and seek out acceptable (working class) occupations in society. Some are adapting well. Others... less so. |  Scottish Islanders For generations, the family has lived on the breathtaking Isle of Skye in Northwest Scotland. The Umbernaulds are therefore hardy and windswept, with strong, age-old accents, speaking both English and Gaelic. They live in Windkirk Manor, which sits upon a cliffside coastal stretch near the town of Portree. Scroll down for more details. |  Halfblood Wizards Magic has never been a vital identifier of this family, but it runs strong in recent generations. Magic aided their exploits as bandits, and now will help them travel long distances to pursue stable jobs and schooling. Their criminal wealth affords them the latter. Linnet and Jackdaw are the first Umbernaulds in living memory to attend Hogwarts. |
 Birdborn By wild coincidence, Rosefinch and Cormorant were both named after birds. So when they married they decided to make it a tradition. All Umbernaulds have since been named for birds. |  Dirk Warriors The dirk is a long Celtic dagger favoured by the Umbernaulds. They have several in the family, and all Umbernauld children are taught to wield them alongside their wands; bandit life or no. |  Tavern Owners The Wee Kelpie tavern has been in the family for eighty years. Nestled in the town of Portree, The Wee Kelpie is owned by the elderly Rosefinch and run by herself and two grandsons. |
Family Tree
"Birds o' a feather flock a' thegither. "
| Player Needed! | Cormorant · 71 · Once a fierce marauder, Cormorant has long retired from thuggish crime. He is gruff, gentle and bookish, and has built a great library in Windkirk Manor. He intends to trawl the bookshops and libraries of the country and garner more texts, tomes and knowledge. He is quietly proud of his brood, but somewhat detached. |
| Player Needed! | Rosefinch · 66 · The sharp, sound matriarch of the family is as alert now as she was at twenty. Once a hoarder of ill-gotten wealth, Rose now focusses on her Skye tavern, The Wee Kelpie. She has also begun to take Floo into Hogsmeade and Irvingly to nosy on the lives of others and encourage girls to swear and rebel. |
| Player Needed! | Redshank · 48 · This lithe willow is a cold, wicked, stoic warrior... but recently let slip some late-blooming humanity at the death of her son. Unexpectedly willing to forsake the bandit life, now she has ambitions in the Ministry, thinking her borderline psychopathy may be well-suited to politics. She had a husband, Tristram MacAllister, but did not take his name. Theirs was a passionate but loveless affair, ending in his quick death from a muggle ailment 15 years ago. |
| Played by Dante | Sparrow · 29 · Sparrow did not give up banditry when she fell pregnant. In fact, often she'd use her bump or newborn to appear the damsel in distress before striking — she is an exceptional con artist. For this reason, her family expects Sparrow to thrive in whatever career she now chooses. She cares for her wanes, but cares not who fathered them. Sparrow is more loner than leader. |
| Played by Willow | Shrike · 26 · Shrike is a stalwart leader, a guiding force, and in essence the head of the Umbernauld family. Further to wielding his twin dirks with brutal precision, he was the group's tracker, trapper and mapper, bequeathing him a fresh career as a Cartographer. Most of his focus is on the evolution, betterment and success of the family. |
| Played by Beanie | Peregrine · 25 · This brooding looker was the family's fixer, establishing marks, transporting plunder, and disposing of the occasional carcass. He is a sleuth, a shadow, an observer; and takes after his grandfather as a keeper of knowledge. Peregrine would make an illustrious bookkeeper or professor. Just not a very ethical one. |
| Played by Kayte | Owl · 22 · Owl misses bandit life like a bird misses the sky. She was a sickly child and thus came to the game late; but learned fast, and soon became one of the family's quickest, hardest fighters. She is very visceral, athletic, and a fiend for adrenaline; the only Umbernauld obsessed with Quidditch. |
| Played by Kit | Firecrest · 20 · Firecrest was an vivacious, beaming, blazing firecracker; until the torture and death of Goldcrest, his identical twin and closest friend. Goldcrest was a sweet soul, and his loss rocked the family; his twin most of all. Now Firecrest spends his days helping his grandmother at the tavern, dour and grim, wishing for a way to rediscover his identity and find some return to light. |
| Player Needed! | Swift · 19 · Swift is a darting, sensual, twitchy fellow who likes to stare. He works at the family tavern, The Wee Kelpie, ever eager to speak with the patrons and learn their tales. He frequents other social houses too, and is considering a part-time job at one further from home. A wild child and a curious cat, Swift feeds on stories... intoxicated or otherwise. |
| Played by Nichole | Linnet · 12 · Not yet in her teens, Linnet is the family mastermind. Wise folk know to listen to her; others just think her an irritant. It was her revelation that the family must change drastically to avoid another Goldcrest incident. She is a catalyst, an intellectual powerhouse. Having been homeschooled by her great grandmother, Linnet is now keenly looking forward to joining Hogwarts (as an older First Year), a privilege funded by criminal wealth. |
| Player Needed! | Jackdaw · 11 · Jackdaw is shortly to join Hogwarts as a First Year, but would much rather be a bandit. A purse-snatcher before he could walk, he is furious the family went legit before he could kill his first man. It is likely that knavish Jack will be a highwayman in the halls, a crook in the classroom, and a plunderer in the dormitories. |
Over the sea to Skye...
The Isle of Skye is a large Scottish island resplendent with craggy mountains and silver lochs. Here in the 1890s, it is unconnected to mainland Scotland but reachable by boat. The island's largest settlement and capital is Portree, which boasts a busy pier and fish exports.
The Umbernaulds live two miles South of Portree, and are not a well-known family despite owning one of the popular local taverns, The Wee Kelpie. Because of how they've earned their wealth, the family are purposefully mysterious and historically tended only to mix with black market patrons or otherwise corrupt locals. But now that the Umbernaulds have gone legit, they are open to mixing more regularly with fellow Skye natives. Having said that, the Umbernaulds are spending an increasing amount of time off the island in such mainstream communities as Hogsmeade, Irvingly and London, using apparation and Floo powder for nippy transportation.
The Umbernaulds live two miles South of Portree, and are not a well-known family despite owning one of the popular local taverns, The Wee Kelpie. Because of how they've earned their wealth, the family are purposefully mysterious and historically tended only to mix with black market patrons or otherwise corrupt locals. But now that the Umbernaulds have gone legit, they are open to mixing more regularly with fellow Skye natives. Having said that, the Umbernaulds are spending an increasing amount of time off the island in such mainstream communities as Hogsmeade, Irvingly and London, using apparation and Floo powder for nippy transportation.
The Wee Kelpie
The Wee Kelpie was opened eighty years ago by Cormorant's father, Knox. A kelpie is a horse-like water spirit prone to inhabiting Scottish lochs and able to take human form. According to family myth, Knox fell in love with a kelpie who may have gone on to mother his children. (Which is bullshit... right?)
The building used to be a bakery, and still has that homey, cosy feel. It has always been a favourite of Portree locals; but also of black market buyers, on whom the Umbernaulds would offload their ill-gotten gains. These dealings were very cautious and surreptitious; the townsfolk never got a whiff of The Wee Kelpie being anything other than a legit local business.
It is now, though. Legit, that is. Honestly it is. As of the Umbernauld's big reformation in January 1890, lawless buyers were warned away from the tavern; and those who didn't listen found themselves victim to a Memory Charm.
Rosefinch owns and manages The Wee Kelpie (it was a wedding present from Cormorant). Aiding her are two grandsons: the outgoing Swift and the mourning Firecrest, who together mind the bar and stock and sweep up. There are a handful of bedrooms upstairs.
The Wee Kelpie is the Umbernaulds' home from home, with its open fire and foaming beer tankards, and privy to many an outburst of Scottish fiddle music.
The building used to be a bakery, and still has that homey, cosy feel. It has always been a favourite of Portree locals; but also of black market buyers, on whom the Umbernaulds would offload their ill-gotten gains. These dealings were very cautious and surreptitious; the townsfolk never got a whiff of The Wee Kelpie being anything other than a legit local business.
It is now, though. Legit, that is. Honestly it is. As of the Umbernauld's big reformation in January 1890, lawless buyers were warned away from the tavern; and those who didn't listen found themselves victim to a Memory Charm.
Rosefinch owns and manages The Wee Kelpie (it was a wedding present from Cormorant). Aiding her are two grandsons: the outgoing Swift and the mourning Firecrest, who together mind the bar and stock and sweep up. There are a handful of bedrooms upstairs.
The Wee Kelpie is the Umbernaulds' home from home, with its open fire and foaming beer tankards, and privy to many an outburst of Scottish fiddle music.
Windkirk Manor
Windkirk Manor was acquired two hundred years ago by a nefarious Umbernauld ancestor who conned and killed the original owner. It was a relatively new build when first acquired, designed in the Scottish Baronial style. The Manor sits upon a cliff overlooking the loch (and the sea beyond), where waves provide a crashing symphony below. There is a rather perilous cliff path down to the white beach, which is idyllic in the summer, and a common haunt of Umbernauld children.
Behind the Manor, a vast dark forest crawls up the low mountains, where Umbernaulds will often take the dogs and go hunting. In rare moments, golden eagles soar between the treeline and the heavens.
The road between Windkirk Manor and Portree is two miles long — keep taking it past Portree and you'll hit the main carriageway where the Umbernaulds would sometimes ransack traders; though most of their "work" as bandits was conducted on the Scottish mainland.
Behind the Manor, a vast dark forest crawls up the low mountains, where Umbernaulds will often take the dogs and go hunting. In rare moments, golden eagles soar between the treeline and the heavens.
The road between Windkirk Manor and Portree is two miles long — keep taking it past Portree and you'll hit the main carriageway where the Umbernaulds would sometimes ransack traders; though most of their "work" as bandits was conducted on the Scottish mainland.
Being a muggle construction, Windkirk Manor is fairly unremarkable to behold — notwithstanding its stately visage. But protective spells have been placed to ward off the uninvited, such is the family's defensiveness over their horded wealth and dark history. Being witches and wizards all, the Umbernaulds have magically enhanced and tailored their respective living quarters to meet their needs. The children make do with rather poky bedrooms in comparison, but compensate by enjoying free rein of the rest of the Manor. Nowhere is off limits.
The Manor keeps two servants — a housekeeper and a cook, Allie and Magaidh Abercrombie. They live together in Portree and are apparently sisters, but they look so different that it has become clear to some Umbernaulds that they are not related. Allie and Magaidh were hired by Rosefinch thirty years ago. It was difficult to find servants who were both wizarding and able to keep secrets, so they are not very good at what they do; but at least they have magic.
Animals are common companions around Windkirk Manor; stabled horses for travelling, dogs for hunting (and fondly rufflin'), and feral cats for keeping the rat population in check.
The Umbernaulds don't own any land beyond the immediate grounds; the gardens just sort of tumble off into the wild.
The Manor keeps two servants — a housekeeper and a cook, Allie and Magaidh Abercrombie. They live together in Portree and are apparently sisters, but they look so different that it has become clear to some Umbernaulds that they are not related. Allie and Magaidh were hired by Rosefinch thirty years ago. It was difficult to find servants who were both wizarding and able to keep secrets, so they are not very good at what they do; but at least they have magic.
Animals are common companions around Windkirk Manor; stabled horses for travelling, dogs for hunting (and fondly rufflin'), and feral cats for keeping the rat population in check.
The Umbernaulds don't own any land beyond the immediate grounds; the gardens just sort of tumble off into the wild.
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