Species: Vampire - NOT from Gaia; she came over from Earth, where vampires are similar but fundamentally different.
Birthday: May 13th, 1881.
Physical description:
Avaline began her long existence as a human, but she gave that up as the fear of her own mortality overtook her. She is now a vampire, one that has clearly existed for a very long time – more than a hundred years, in fact. Her already fair skin lightened with every passing decade, stopping only once it had reached a heavily anemic pallor, making her look very much like every drop of blood in her body was siphoned away. When coupled with an apparent lack of breathing rhythm when she isn’t talking or otherwise taking in air involuntarily, this means she could easily be mistaken for a corpse if one were to observe her resting in her bed. Her corpse-like appearance is quite jarring when she's physically active, creating an unsettling disconnect fueled by a feeling of primal wrongness.
The unease is not helped in the slightest by just how thin her petite frame is. Standing at 4'10", she has become thin to an ungodly level over the years, to the point where any honest description of her shape has transcended the use of favorable adjectives, like lithe or slender. Starved and emaciated are far more accurate, as they both capture in a single word just how tightly her skin conforms to her bones and seemingly frail muscles. Every single one of the ribs beneath her nearly flat bosom is clearly visible, and her waist, hips, and thighs are all so thin that nobody should find them attractive. Frankly, she would look half dead even without her pallor, or the numerous scars on her arms and torso she got from vampire hunters capable of putting up a decent fight against her. The fact that she can stand up in strong wind conditions has mystified more than a few people, to say nothing of her prodigious feats of strength that would be impossible for humans with her size and build.
Her face is round in shape and looks mostly normal, aside from the hollow cheeks and sunken eyes with crimson irises that constantly reflect just how thirsty she is at any given moment. It even has a considerable amount of conventional beauty in the form of full lips, long and pronounced lashes, and an adorably small button nose, highlighted by the use of flawlessly applied eye shadow and lipstick, always in either black or lighter shades of purple. Her facial beauty is, however, still tarnished by how unsettling her waifish figure and pale skin is. All the make-up and pleasant facial features in the world would never be enough to keep her from looking every bit like the undead monster she is.
One thing that definitely isn't normal about her face makes itself apparent whenever she smiles. Her perfectly spaced teeth, which have taken on a permanent faint yellowish tint, come complete with completely pale gums and, most importantly, a pair of long, sharp fangs where her cuspids used to be. Her fangs aren't long enough to protrude over her bottom lip, but they never change shape to adopt a normal appearance, so they’re always going to be highly visible whenever her lips are parted.
About the only physical trait that is unambiguously attractive is her vivid and silky black hair. The sheen is positively radiant, and the soft and supple locks remain as healthy as they were at her death all those years ago.
Powers/Abilities:
Shapeshifting: Unlike most vampires on both Gaia and Earth, she can transform into a raven instead of a bat - an entirely voluntary choice meant to make her a lot less noticeable out in the open. It's an innate ability not affiliated with her knowledge of the Dark Arts, but she still had to learn how to harness it.
Enhanced strength: As strong as twenty strong men combined.
Enhanced speed: Faster than even the fastest ordinary human. Only a speedster on her level or higher can keep up with her.
Enhanced reflexes: Very agile, with inhuman fine motor dexterity on the side.
Dark Arts proficiency: Since she arrived in the world of Gaia, she gained proficient understanding of several different forms of black magic; most notably, necromancy, the art of bending the forces of life and death to one's will. Most of her knowledge came to her as a job requirement, since she's the proprietor of a Dark Arts supply shop, but some of it was the result of idle curiosity.
Weaknesses:
She finds garlic repulsive by nature, so she won't cross a threshold if there's a braid of garlic bulbs hanging near it. Even wearing a lei woven from garlic flowers is sufficient to keep her at a comfortable distance, if desired.
Symbols, charms, and items that provide proof of religious faith will also repel her. She can't cross any threshold that has been marked with a paste made from holy water and powdered communion wafers, which both have the power to burn her skin. She could be slain by driving a stake made of ash or white oak through her heart, but stakes made of any other wood would just paralyze her. Decapitation and immolation would be fatal, as would prolonged immersion in holy water.
Sunlight will not harm her, but she can't shapeshift during the day, and she becomes sleepy and lethargic until sundown. She can muster the strength of will to get through a work day, but just barely, in most cases. Sundays and major holidays are spent locked inside her bedroom from sunrise to sunset, resting on her bed in a state of torpor halfway between sleep and death.
She has none of the other weaknesses commonly ascribed to all vampires by the ill-informed, such as being unable to cross running water or a threshold uninvited. She casts a reflection and a shadow, and she can and has been captured on picture and film.
Town / Home: Lives in Barton Town, in a large house dubbed the Rookery.
Occupation: Self-employed. Owns and operates a candle and Dark Arts emporium called Wykid Wix. It actually turns a very generous profit and draws in some big names. One of her best customers was a very wealthy and very important player in Durem's criminal underground.
Family and Friends:
* Her legion of Skello Kitties, which were created by accident. She's put them to work as sales assistants for no pay, but the arrangement isn't completely ideal. The bony little knuckleheads somehow turned out sentient and, more importantly, very mischievous, so they get bored easily and like to play tricks on her for their own amusement. All in the name of fun, of course.
* Ian, fellow shopkeeper and object of a hidden crush. Rufus doesn't care for her much, though, for justifiable reasons - he has seen the Skello Kitties, and their existence makes him wary of Avaline.
* Rina, proprietor of her favorite cafe.
* Leon, Captain of the Barton Regulars, who is sometimes called upon to ensure anything far too dangerous to sell won't fall into the wrong hands.
Likes: Blood, candles, customers, and her car, which is a Possum dubbed the Lavender Machine due to the paint job.
Dislikes: Garlic, crosses, wooden stakes, and body glitter.
Backstory:
"My name is Avaline Fitheach, Ava for short. I live in Barton Town, where I work in my shop, Wykid Wix - a quaint little candle and black magic supply store on the northwest side of town, not far from The Music Box. You name it, I probably have it - as long as it isn't something too dangerous to just hand off to a prospective buyer. I've learned the ins-and-outs of many different branches of the Dark Arts in the service of making sure I only sell the genuine article, and then only to practitioners who understand the risks. Even unsavory sorcerers deserve professionalism from their suppliers.
You may have noticed, but I am a vampire. I'm not like the ones that naturally occur on Gaia though. I'm not as suave and fetching, for one, and I have a list of vulnerabilities Gaian vampires don't have, but at least I don't sunburn easily and sometimes catch fire - I'm just naturally nocturnal. It's a long story and I'm not going to mention anything too personal, but I'm from another planet called Earth, where I'm sometimes called a revenant by those aware of my kind's existence.
I was a vagabond, for many reasons, which meant lasting friendships were few and far between. I had to exist in the shadows and murder innocent humans on a regular basis to keep the thirst in check, something I'm not all that proud of, and I never really felt comfortable with the idea of joining any of the vampire nests I sometimes stayed in for a few days. To be honest, I came to be weary of a solitary nomadic existence in a world where I had to hide from the eyes of most humans.
And then, something happened in 2007 that I don't think anyone would have expected. Vampires like me can't talk about him using any of his formal holy names, but Earth's closest equivalent deity to Gaia's patron goddess took notice of me and my loneliness. In an act of divine kindness I thought he would never spare on a vampire on principle, he reached out to me and set up a meeting with Gaia to discuss the possibility of crossing over to this world. I said yes to the idea, of course.
It wasn’t all kittens and rainbows for the first several months, thanks in no small part to Vladimir Von Helson's stupid little slap fight with Johnny Gambino drawing me into unwanted conflict with humans, but things eventually got better in the wake of that foolish invasion. After traveling around to see where I felt the most comfortable, I settled on living here in Barton after establishing a good rapport with the locals. I found my calling selling candles and black magic supplies not long afterwards, and, well, here I am. I hope that answers any questions you might have."
Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 10:21 pm
Character Prompts
Do you have a playlist of music for your OC?
No.
What is your OC's most cherished memory?
The first time she personally met Ian and Rina, when Ian started running Barton Boutique again after the events of Halloween 2k7. It was at a party celebrating Ian's return, which she technically crashed out of curiosity, and they welcomed her as a new face in town.
What is your OCs favorite spot to hang out, and with what kind of people?
A spot underneath the middle bridge in Zen Gardens. Anyone else who's down for hanging out there is welcome.
What is your OC's hobby?
Reading some of the books she sells from the backroom.
Avaline still thinks of humans as prey to some degree and will occasionally make comments to that effect. She's trying to let go of her thoughts and urges and prior experiences, but habits going back several decades die hard.
Their absolute most treasured possession in whole wide world of everything?
She sent a valentine to Ian and Rufus a few years back. The picture they sent back holds place of prominence in a scrapbook she keeps detailing the time she's spent in Gaia.
What is the most immoral thing your OC has ever done?
Murder. Back before becoming a citizen of Gaia, before the 2k7 vampire invasion made peaceful integration possible, she regularly killed humans to satisfy her thirst. She didn't have a choice in the matter, certainly, but that does not morally justify murder, and she knows it.
When is it that any trait of their "naughty" side can be seen?
If she really doesn't like certain customers, she likes to make them uncomfortable by making lewd comments in order to hustle them out the door as soon as possible.
What is your OC's greatest fear?
She's afraid of being thrust into a situation where she's forced to murder people to survive again.
She still has the blase "it's a necessary evil" mindset she developed in order to cope with the monstrosity of it, but she still considers it a moral failing. She doesn't even want to try atoning for it, because there's no way she can make what she did right. All she really can do is hope it never has to happen again.
Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2018 10:01 pm
What was the driving inspirational force behind your OC?
Avaline developed out of an older Gaia OC I'm honestly embarrassed of. She was a vampire detective with a bad case of trauma-induced amnesia who could use necromancy to interrogate murder victims. Then I realized just how stupid and unoriginal that was, and I challenged myself to come up with a less shitty OC. I'm not fully convinced that I've succeeded, but at least I have something that's easier to work with if I decide to do something with her.
What do you use as a creative muse to fuel your OC's personal development?
I'm not sure what metric we're measuring personal development by.
In terms of how I can improve how she looks on paper? I'd say the fuel comes from a desire to put substance over style. I want to define more clearly her using fewer and smaller words.
In terms of character development? That seems to come as a natural consequence of the changes I'd described in the previous paragraph, but Avaline ended up developing beyond that in some ways, too. Like her reasons for deciding to live in Barton. I never really expanded upon them until joining this guild gave me the inspiration to do so, but now that I have, it feels like some crucial piece of the puzzle finally fell into place.
If you could base a drink (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) on your OC, what would it be?
Bleeding Scotswoman: A Bloody Mary variant similar to a Bloody Scotsman, with one part single malt Scotch instead of three parts vodka.
What's your OC's beverage of choice?
Hard cider by the tankards full. Just because food can't sustain a vampire doesn't mean she can't go bar hopping and get drunk.
Your OC is home alone. What is their secret, embarrassing home-alone hobby?
She has a secret basement library in her house where she likes to read teen and young adult romance novels. She's so embarrassed by it that she decided to make getting into the room a puzzle that wouldn't look out of place in a point-and-click adventure game.
What genre(s) of movie does your OC prefer to watch? Any specific subgenres?
Psychological horror and crime thrillers.
Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2018 7:41 pm
Name something(s) your avatar never leaves home without.
For her, drinking blood is almost as much an addiction as it is a necessity. If she goes too long without feeding, her mind regresses to a feral state until she has hunted down and bitten a human. This can also happen if she smells or sees freshly shed blood, such as is produced by someone accidentally cutting their face while shaving with a straight razor - although it's much easier to muster the willpower to avoid consequential bites if she drank blood recently.
To prevent situations where she loses her higher-order thinking and moral agency, and to curb her dependency on fresh blood, she keeps IV drip bags filled with donated blood in her fridge. She never leaves the house unless she's damn sure she has at least one bag on her to prevent emergencies like that from occurring.
List a random fact about your OC.
She was born in a port town on the northern cost of the Scottish Highlands. She still occasionally speaks with a lighter, distinctly Gaelic-sounding regional brogue that could be mistaken for an Irish accent to the untrained ear.
What music genre/sub-genre do you think fits your OC best?
It's a toss-up between alt-rock, punk, and dark cabaret. Emo sounds like the best candidate for sub-genre under the alt-rock umbrella.
Is that their preferred genre/sub-genre? If not, what is?
This post doesn't have a whole lot to do with Citizens of Gaia, as such. It's just some world-building, and a tiny bit of backstory, devoted to Avaline that I kept myself busy with writing out of boredom. Parts of it borrow heavily from Dracula, which I freely admit, but I lifted what I did out of a sincere love for the book, and a desire to add a personal twist to it while remaining faithful to the source material.
Also worth noting: I'll be posting this in my journal in multiple parts for the benefit of people outside the guild, but any additions to it made in this thread will be edited into this post. If Astrid or one of the crew members has a problem with it being here in the guild, please let me know via PM, and I will delete this post as soon as possible. With all of that in mind, let's dig in!
The Compendium of István Blaskó – English translation by Joan Harker
Prologue: A Letter from Joan
Letter dated Jan. 5th, 2007
Dear Avaline,
Hello, old friend. I’ll get right to the point, as depressing as it is. I regret to inform you that the excursion into the mountains of Hungary I wrote to you about, led by the Albion Vigil and the Order of Unbound Knights, has failed completely, and that a full retreat has been issued with limited success.
I had hoped that our group would be sufficient in number to handle the threat posed by the vampire nest we were meant to rout. A good deal of us were green, but there was such a significant number of senior hunters on hand that I thought we stood a decent chance.
But I was mistaken, and because of my hubris, a lot of good people were lost. Among those whose lives were claimed are my grandfather, Louis Harker; and our mutual friend, István Blaskó. I’m sorry for not listening, and for leading them to a gruesome and untimely death. I know now that if I had heeded your cautionary letter, these and other losses could have been prevented.
Our failure can be attributed to many factors, but only three of them outside of my pride are of any real significance:
First, we were ambushed, as you warned me we might be. The nest was far bigger than all of our previous intel lead us to believe, and we only realised just how prepared they were for us far too late to issue a retreat that could have saved a lot of lives.
Second, as you suspected, they had help that could only have been the result of an inside job. I don’t know who or why, but somebody privy to our strategic planning meetings and recon mission reports sold us out, which gave them more than enough time to set their trap. I’ve already started heading a purge to try to flush out any moles, but, honestly, I don’t expect us to find any in either Order.
Third, and most worrying, is something none of us could have expected. The nest was headed by three of The Twelve, working with each other to bear down on us with all the thralls, beasts, and minions they had to throw at us. Even if we knew about this and had planned for it accordingly, I’m convinced that our effort would have proven just as futile in the face of such overwhelming force and power.
I may have made a bad call, but I’m not a fool. I know that the focus must shift from extermination to damage control and, if it comes to it, containment. I don’t want to think about what would happen if the three of them got the same idea Dracula had. If they ever decide dealing with the locals is a lot harder than setting their sights on developed nations where vampires have faded into a distant memory, remembered only within the pages of a book, then the world as we know it will cease to exist. As it is, local governments are starting to ask a lot of funny questions.
Right now, I’m trying to draw the other orders and any independent allies I know I can trust into the fold. I’ve already sent out messages similar to this one to the Winter Guardians and the Order of the Divine Light to brief them on the situation, as well as all the independent hunters I know of and any solitary revenants like you I know well enough to trust with recon and espionage jobs. If we all come together, the world may stand a chance.
I have included, along with each of the messages I’ve sent, a copy of a compendium of knowledge written by István. I promised him I would publish it for anyone in the know to read, and in sending it out, I am keeping that promise to honour his memory and everything he stood for. I’ve translated it into English from the original Hungarian it was written in to make sure the broadest possible number of potential allies can read it, and included a few notes of my own where there was room to do so.
Godspeed, and may there ever be at least one candle to light the darkness,
-Joan Lucy Harker, Paladin of the Albion Vigil
Ch. 1: On the Nature and Hunting of Vampires
For as long as I have been a hunter, I have heard a wealth of myths about the creatures all hunters swore an oath to defend humanity against. Many of them – like the idea that sunlight is fatal, or the old wives’ tale that would have you believe vampires suffer from an obsessive compulsion with counting spilled grains – are plainly untrue, and patently absurd. Spreading those ridiculous myths is not the purpose of this condensed body of knowledge. I am interested only in the facts about what they are and what their actual strengths and weaknesses are.
As such, I have deemed collecting this modest amount of extremely detailed knowledge necessary. I have also deigned to include brief histories and rank breakdowns of some of the most prominent vampire hunting organisations, as well as a list of The Twelve and some members of their lineages. Additionally included is a good-sized, if incomplete, list of revenants that can be left to their own devices, or even sought out for aid. Without further preamble, what follows is a professional discourse on the two types and natures of vampires in existence.
Type I: Revenant
Of the two types of vampire, revenants are by far the most commonly encountered, outnumbering their creators by several orders of magnitude. Created by an infectious curse transmitted through a bite, a revenant consists of a human soul anchored to their deceased body by the curse that reanimated them after they have died, a phenomenon from which their Old French name – which means “those who return” – is derived. Their soul and consciousness retain full ownership of their body, leaving their baseline personality intact. Thus, they can feel empathy and usually know how to judge the morality of their actions, unless they suffered from a mental disturbance that made them too unstable to understand their actions’ weight or immorality when they were alive.
Unfortunately, they are still compelled to hunt and prey upon living humans by a thirst that can never be fully satisfied. This compulsion to feed turns them into greedy predators, which brings them into conflict with vampire hunters all the same. Whether they like it or not, revenants are still undead monsters that will set their sights on and kill their chosen prey, which means we still have to stop them when they become too great a threat to human lives.
Revenants are capable of crossing a threshold, with or without an invitation. They can cross running water under their own power, do not rest in coffins, and can shapeshift into one animal, if they are old and experienced enough. They are nocturnal by nature. Sunlight won’t harm them, but they do become lethargic from dawn to dusk, which makes them relatively easy to track, and easy to dispose of if caught off guard whilst resting.
They can be hard to find and identify. With the exception of nests that settle in abandoned sites and buildings near dense human populations, revenants are generally solitary nomads and outliers who just want to be left alone in between taking victims from among groups of unfortunate passers-by. Older ones take on a sickly pallor and a starved, lanky thinness, but that can easily be explained away as the result of ill health. They cast a reflection and a shadow, and will appear in pictures and film. Even their eyes, which turn permanently red after their first blood meal, wouldn’t betray a revenant if they are smart enough to conceal or explain them somehow.
Hunters are advised to approach revenants with caution. As human as they are on the inside, they still possess the strength of twenty strong men, with speed and agility to match, and a ferociously defensive streak.
Type II: Nosferatu
As there are only twelve of them remaining, you will, if fortune is in your favour, never encounter a Nosferatu during the course of your career as a hunter. Also known as Vampire Kings, or, more simply, The Twelve, they are the remnants of ancient sorcerers that studied under the Devil himself, at the Scholomance. Although similar to revenants in terms of physiology, and, indeed, being the very monsters that created them in the first place, a Nosferatu consists of a demonic spirit pulling the reigns of a host body – hence their common name, which means “unclean spirit”. They do retain a human soul, but the soul is held captive and rendered powerless by the dominating will of the vampire spirit.
Trying to reason with them is, ultimately, pointless. Any charm or politeness they show is only an act designed to lure you into a false sense of security that they can then take advantage of in whatever way they desire, usually for the fulfillment of some task they cannot complete on their own. They are incapable of exercising any moral judgements they make, and so believe themselves above the human concept of good and evil, and they do not feel empathy. Only convenience and necessity would prevent them from murdering you or leaving you to their thralls.
They have the power to spread plagues and wither crops, and they can also control the weather. Free revenants they encounter are often compelled to serve them out of fear, and the ones they create directly, known as thralls, fall under their control through the use of necromancy. Thralls are somewhat autonomous, in that they can think and plan on their own to a limited degree, but they will never really have free will until and unless their master is disposed of, at which point they become ordinary revenants indebted to their liberators and their descendants up to three generations removed. Living victims of predation by a Nosferatu will have the curse lifted entirely, and won’t rise as revenants after death.
The full range of powers possessed by any one Nosferatu is unknowable, although it is always safe to assume they can shapeshift into any feral beast or lower animal they like. All of the known ones have or had the power to become a vaporous mist and can turn into elemental dust under the light of the moon, a specific trait passed down to their thralls. They can control wild animals to a limited extent, most notably rats and wolves. They are generally capable of putting humans under a hypnotic spell, although there are always humans who, due to either mental disturbance or the promise of payment for their help, serve willingly out of perverse loyalty. From dawn to dusk, they lose their mystical powers entirely, and, as with revenants, become lethargic. Only once during daylight hours may they shapeshift; at noon precisely, and not a minute sooner or later.
One key difference can be used to easily distinguish them from revenants at a glance. A Nosferatu will not cast a reflection or a shadow. Whether or not they will show in pictures or film is unknown, however, as nobody has ever gotten close enough to one of them to capture them on camera without dying. It should be noted also that they are capable of changing their appearance to look as lively and comely as they wish.
All vampires have a set of weaknesses in common. Garlic is an effective and easily-obtained repellent. Holy water and communion wafers can both be used to inflict burns, and communion wafers can be used as a superior form of protection, e.g. by forming a barrier by placing them in a circle around you. Immolation and driving a stake made of white oak or ash through the heart are both fatal; stakes made of other types of wood will immobilise revenants, but not destroy them, and they would have no effect on a Nosferatu. Both can be slain by decapitation; in the case of revenants in particular, it is the preferred method, being a quicker and more humane alternative to fire and staking.
Symbols and charms that provide proof of faith in whatever religion the bearer follows will also work for repelling revenants, but, of course, crosses of any kind carried by devout Christians will work best. For dealing with Nosferatu, nothing short of a crucifix will be sufficient.
Unlike revenants, Nosferatu cannot cross a body of water under their own power, need to rest in a coffin during the day – or a box filled with soil from their homeland, if they are abroad – and need an invitation to cross a threshold for the first time. Blades made of cold iron can be used to dispose of them by decapitation or piercing the heart, making them an acceptable alternative to wooden stakes. The only other means of destroying them are by immersing them in running water, or, if they are caught resting, shooting them in the heart with a sanctified bullet.
Note from Joan: Attempting to replicate the previously unheard-of success of my ancestor and his compatriots Quincey Morris, Abraham Van Helsing, Arthur Holmwood, and John Seward is ill-advised. The fact of the matter is, they were a single fellowship dedicated to the destruction of one Vampire King, and they only won because they got lucky. They didn’t even know about the other ones that are still out there.
Interlude: The Harker-Fitheach letters
Letter dated Jan. 10th, 2007
Dear Joan,
I’m sad to hear of their deaths, but you’re only making it worse by laying the entirety of the blame at your own feet. True, their deaths and several others could have been prevented had you paid mind to my warnings, but you’ve proven several times over that your judgement is sound, taken as a whole. I didn’t even know how spot-on my hunches would prove to be, really. It wasn’t entirely, or, indeed, even mostly your fault, Joan, and I forgive you for what part you did play.
I object to most of the steps you plan to take from here, however. Heading off the spread of panic is a good plan in the short term, but now that the scope of the threat that this nest poses is known, focusing on observation and containment is, as a long-term goal, unwise. I urge you to gather all of the resources you can and focus on bringing them to bear like the wrath of God. I don’t care if you have to reach out to the Morris Legionaries to pull it off – I want those three and the entire nest they built eradicated completely. Nothing less would be an adequate response measure, or an adequate price to pay for what they’ve cost us.
I also question the wisdom of getting that damnable and most assuredly traitorous Catholic Order involved. If opportunities arise for them to “thank” revenants who answer your call with eradication, I’m confident that they will. Nothing good could possibly come from getting the Vatican’s Lapdogs of the Divine Light involved.
Nonetheless, you will have my aid for five months. I can’t offer to help for any longer than that, as I’m preparing for a journey from which I can’t guarantee I will return. Do me the favour of not asking about it; I’m not at liberty to elaborate upon the details, and I’m not sure you would believe me if I told you any of them, to begin with. I will meet you in Budapest. I bring with me the whole of Dover’s north side nest, who were game enough to volunteer when they heard of what’s going on in Hungary – they’ve assured me they will be around to help you much longer than I can afford to.
Sincerely,
Avaline Fitheach
Letter dated Jan. 14th, 2007
Dear Avaline,
Your concerns are noted and will be considered. However, I am not the only one with authority to make decisions about this nest anymore. Thanks to my failure in this excursion, I will now be working alongside my former protégé Sir Shelby Ironsides, KBE and Paladin of the Albion Vigil, and Eduard Rudolph Holzmann, a High Meister from the Unbound Knights. They both come highly recommended, and they’re as giddy as schoolchildren at the prospect of meeting the Scourge of Inverness herself. I was, however, able to convince them that the Morris Legionaries should be involved in at least some capacity, and I’m happy to report that the Americans were more than willing to lend a hand when we got in touch with them.
We look forward to receiving you and all you bring at Budapest. Please relay when you expect to arrive.
Godspeed, and may there ever be at least one candle to light the darkness,
-Joan Lucy Harker, Paladin of the Albion Vigil
P.S. I told you Shel would be knighted. That’s fifty pounds, Ava!
Letter dated Jan. 18th, 2007
Dear Joan,
Buy me a round in the nearest pub, then; I’ll drink to his accomplishment. We’ll be leaving Dover in groups of about five, spaced out two days apart. I will be among the first group, leaving at sunset on January the 24th with a daylight rest stop in Vienna; estimated time of arrival is 19:00 on the 25th. Meet us in the 11th District; south side, near the eastern bank of the Danube.
Sincerely,
Avaline Fitheach
Posted: Sat Oct 26, 2019 8:32 pm
What are your character's three most defining strengths, and how do they demonstrate them?
Her biggest strength is probably her ambition. She had dreams of owning her own business ever since she settled down in Barton, and she also saw a niche market that could be turned into something lucrative. So, she took the time to study the Dark Arts and candle-making in depth, made professional contact with bee keepers to establish a steady supply line of beeswax, and started off by selling handmade candles out of the trunk of her car. The fact that she has managed her own store well enough to turn a profit for several years is a testament to just how well her long shot paid off.
Her ambition is just part of the picture, though. Another key element of her business's success is her charisma. Her appearance is unsettling, yes, but she has an easygoing personality, a way with words, and an innate ability to disarm fear and suspicion, so most are willing to overlook her frightening appearance. She's usually professional and upfront with those she does business with and generally tactful with those she can't always afford to be honest with. In short, she is very good at making herself look more trustworthy than she might actually be.
She also has a knack for picking up skills easily, and she's very good at teaching herself new things. While hardly a master of the Dark Arts, she learned a lot in as much time as it takes many to master the basics. She's certainly no slouch when it comes to making candles, either, being practically a natural at it.
Conversely, what are your character's three most defining flaws, and how do they demonstrate them?
Her worst flaw is, without doubt, her inherently cowardly nature. When she was human, she scared easily at so much as the thought of danger and often shied away from genuine adversity, and turning into a vampire didn't change her that much. When she first met her sire and saw him for what he really was, she was beyond terrified. It was both her first and last brush with mortal peril, and she didn't exactly avoid dying. When he attacked and nearly killed her, and then offered her the gift of a pale imitation of immortality for his own selfish reasons, she readily agreed because she wasn't brave enough to accept death. She didn't even work up the nerve to leave his side until long after he had managed to mold her into something like himself: A charismatic but thoroughly dangerous creature of the night enslaved by her own cowardice, selfishness, and ceaseless thirst for the blood of living humans.
Almost all of the terrible things she has done in her entire existence since striking out on her own were done in service to her selfish devotion to her own needs, which is her second most glaring flaw. She is willing to throw anybody under a bus if it means the difference between survival and death, even people she shares close mutual bonds with. She may be genial and easygoing as a rule, and she may prefer to avoid killing humans out of a conscientious desire to be a better person, but situations where she's forced to abandon her conscience to save her own skin are no less terrifying to anyone unfortunate enough to be close to her.
She isn't just a selfish coward; she's also intensely envious. As much as she likes humans generally, she deeply resents them for having something she knows she was a fool for abandoning. By accepting the curse of vampirism with open arms without considering the long-term consequences, she gave up something truly priceless: Living. Not survival or life itself in a general sense, but living in the purest sense of the word. To be truly alive is about more than having a heartbeat and pulse; it's about waking up each day being well aware that it could be your last, and learning how to cherish each moment, count your blessings and find fulfillment with whatever time you have left. It took a few decades for the penny to drop, but when the reality that she would never develop the wisdom that only comes with finite longevity sunk in, it hit hard.
