The daughter of escaped slaves, Toni Ironsides has risen far from her origins. Her hatred for the Guild stems from witnessing her mother’s execution and from their decision to uphold the barbaric local laws in its member nations. Toni vented her rage as an underground fighter, then as an Earthside resistance member, where she drew the attention of Victor Ramos.

Among the Oxfordian Mages, Toni rekindled her love of learning, and impressed Ramos with her keen intellect. He elevated her to leadership of the M&SU, where she proved to be natural leader and radical, always ready to turn the common man against the Guild.

In secret, Ramos also used Toni and the Mages to keep the Arcanists in line, hunting down rogue elements within the faction. Toni resented this, as it meant fighting those who should be their allies, but she tempered her guilt with the belief that Ramos was committed to bringing down the Guild.

Soon after the death of Herbert Kitchener, the new Governor-General Franco Marlow approached Toni with an offer that was impossible to refuse: emancipation of North America’s slaves in exchange for the terrorist leader of the Arcanists, Victor Ramos.

Despite her hatred of the Guild, Toni knew she would never get a chance like this again. Making a deal with the devil never comes easy, but the answer to the proposition was clear, and soon, Ramos was hauled away from Malifaux to a jail cell in Vienna, guarded by an immeasurable number of Guild Guards.

The decision haunts Toni to this day, both in the guilt she feels and in the schism it has created within the M&SU. She often thinks back to the day when Ramos offered her the opportunity, sometimes regretting the decision to accept, and other times pondering if there was ever truly an alternative. The substitute of it being overseen by someone such as Kaeris was akin to lighting a powder-keg, burning the tower down around them. Unthinkable.

For now, she guides the M&SU with a tenuous grip, as other elements within the Union, and the Arcanists it was meant to cover for, continues to fracture in resentment. Every day is a struggle just to hold things together, but Toni knows that if they cannot stand together, they most certainly will fall.