Sydnee Stanton

Sydnee Stanton was the 31st Pendragon of Slayer Dragons and carried the sword through a tumultous period as the Society of Assassins imerged as a major player in the events of the verse.

Early Life

Sydnee was born in A.Y. 2211 in one of the many city states that dot the Agras Plane. Her childhood was somewhat mared by the rising presence of the Society of Assassins who were known to conduct operations in the region. Sydnee's home state was one of the rumored locations of High Tower and believed to be in the same area as the Wizard Breakers who founded the society originated.

At age 18, Sydnee was very aware of the events of the age. The Venta Event had just exposed the Society as having broader-potential. Sydnee enlisted in the First File that same year.

Military Service

Sydnee's time in the First File would be short-lived. Though by all accounts a capable recruit, her superiors immediately identified in her a much greater potential. She completed only basic training before being re-assigned directly to Stormwind Keep in Arindell where she was soon placed on extended leave so that she could take the Trials and become a Slayer Dragon.

Slayer Dragon

Sydnee completed her trials in short order, displaying a high degree of dependability and tenacity. A favorite of the then-carrying Pendragon Anthony Trac, she was annointed in A.Y. 2231. Her completion of the trials in such a short time was made possible by special dispensation from Anthony, who believed her military service fulfilled many of the basic requirments. Like Emily Pode and the much later Hunter Jusenkyou, her completion of the Trials would not be recognized as an official record.

As a Slayer Dragon, Sydnee was not well-known for her prowess in combat. She tended to avoid battle whenever possible, and was often percieved as weak. Much of her time was spent shadowing the aging Anthony Trac, who recognized that in the coming years, a different kind of Pendragon qould be required.

Pendragon

The sword was passed to Sydnee in A.Y. 2242. Anthony had taken ill the year before, and Sydnee caried out most of his duties by proxy. This helped give her reign legitimacy, as she took up the sword at a time when many were questioning Anthony Trac's leadership and the place of the Slayer Dragons in the modern Alliance.

Sydnee immediately set about strengthening her political position by reaching out to the powerful Gudersnipe Foundation. At the time, the Alliance and Foundation were still working out the exact terms of administration over Joint Space, and it seemed an open conflict was inevitable.

A strong and authoratative leader, Sydnee brough the Foundation to the negotiating table and always spoke as though the Alliance was much stronger than it really was. Her attitutde towards the Foundation was one of equality, she acted as though things were much the same as they had been on the Day of Dawn's Reflection when Uther's army met the old Gudersnipe Army on the battlefield.

At a time when militarily the Alliance was in decline, having only a small force of heavily out-dated ships, and the Foundation had just completed a major fleet overhaul and expansion, Sydnee's position was not a strong one. Many felt she was attempting to goad the Foundation into an all-out war, but her poltical style was actually quite brilliant.

The question between the Alliance and Foundation was never one of who should lead, but whether or not the Alliance could produce a strong and authortative leader. By making her stance one of strength, Sydnee convinced the Foundation that the Alliance would endure.

High Points

At the height of tensions, Sydnee was able to confince the Foundation to remove one of it's most dreaded weapons from active service: the Boing-Boing missile.

Later Life and Death

Sydnee's time carrying the sword would set the stage for Robert Desaradie, one of the greatest Pendragons of all time. Unlike her predacessor, Sydnee did not grow weak near the end of her life, and still carried the sword with dignity and honor. She spent little time grooming her replacement, a man whom she had known his entire life. Desaradie, annointed just 7 years before Sydnee's death, was a clear front-runner and an obvious choice.

Sydnee died peacefully knowing the sword would be in good hands, having never drawn it herself.

Legacy

Her role in establishing a firm relationship with the Foundation would have a lasting impact even into the Sixth Age