Jane Roland

Character Profile

Name:	Jane Roland
Date of Birth:	c. 1774
Service:	Aerial Corps
Rank:	Admiral
Nationality:	British
Billets:	Dover covert, Captain to Excidium

Biography

Jane Roland was a strong, confident woman and an experienced aviator. Captain to the Longwing Excidium, she wore the three bars of a senior captain in the Aerial Corps and a medal from the Battle of the Nile. She also flew at the Battle of Trafalgar, leading Excidium's formation.

She had a distinctive scar across her face and neck that caused her left eye to droop. Although the details of her injury were unclear, William Laurence believed the scar to be the result of a sword wound. Her appeareance often caused stares when she appeared in public among non-aviators, but Jane would simply ignore them, seemingly perfectly comfortable.

As an aviator, she wore a uniform, including trousers, and was characterized as having a "mannish" stride. She was uncomfortable in traditional women's clothing, finding it inconvenient and annoying.

Jane bore a daughter, Emily Roland, in 1795. She was not and had not been married to Emily's father, and had not seen him since that time. Oblivious to or simply uninterested in society's reaction to her status as an unmarried mother, she demonstrated no shame about the details of Emily's birth.

It was expected that Emily would assume Jane's role as captain to Excidium upon Jane's death. Given that the tradition of familial captainship did not always succeed (e.g., Jeremy Rankin), Jane was concerned about Emily's prospects as an aviator and was relieved when Laurence, Emily's commanding officer, gave her a favorable report about Emily's character and progress.

Jane and Laurence began an intimate relationship while both were stationed at the Dover covert in September 1805. Both had an understanding of an aviator's transient life and enjoyed their time together while they could, accepting that their duty to their dragons and to the Corps must be given priority. An interesting note: Jane said she would've "offered" herself to Laurence except that she was busy at the time; this was his introduction to some of the less public aspects of the Corps.

After Obversaria's death, Admiral Lenton is moved to a quieter post at Edinburgh, and Jane Roland is made Admiral at Dover covert.