Lady Charlotte Valerie – Codename: BLACKTHORN – is the head of the Night Roses criminal cartel on the former Paradise World of Chrysus, a planet renowned for its natural beauty. Valerie is the last heir of the royal family that once ruled Chrysus before it suffered a massive calamity that turned its prosperous ecosystem into a barely habitable wasteland. Desperate to return her house to glory and fulfill the Imperium tithes, Lady Valerie created the Night Roses; a criminal syndicate that dealt in various illegal activities including the cold trade. In the wake of the Great Rift, however, the Night Roses suffered a massive setback, losing valuable Xenos tech and becoming separated from the light of the Astronomican. By the time diplomats of the Erra'kau Sept approached Lady Valerie, she was already past the point of no return in her desperation. She had no love for the T'au Empire or the Greater Good, but their offer of providing terraforming technology to restore her world was all the temptation she needed to accept. In return, her Night Roses would serve as arms dealers acting on behalf of the T'au Empire in supplying weapons to growing anti-imperial revolutions in nearby systems. Lady Valerie is a woman of utter diligence but values power and prestige as she continues to hold tightly to her family's tradition by wearing luxurious silks, ebon heels, rosary perfumes, kempt white hair, drinking fine black wine, and proudly showing her house's heraldry in ceremonial armour. The irony that she walks in an elegant gait, despite being surrounded by scum and xenos is not lost upon her, but she cares not how she fulfills her goals. However, her current values are symbolized by her most prized possession: the last Night Rose, a symbol of House Valerie and a native flower of Chrysus, that is now extinct. She is the last of her house and willing to restore her homeworld to glory, no matter the personal cost, and sever her former loyalties to the Imperium.
