Difference between revisions of "Fionnuala"
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The Woman in Red is a creature bound by the rules of her people. Playful, loving of games and sport, fiercely independent, quick to laugh; prideful, arrogant, mocking, cheerfully disdainful of human custom but at the same time fascinated by human company; incapable of guilt or regret, confused and revolted by the concept of weeping; lies with every other word, steals without compunction, but is faithful to a bargain. Those whom she favors may find themselves the victims of her generosity, whether they want it or not, and she does not take kindly to having her gifts rejected. Artlessness amuses her but rudeness she will not tolerate. She will retaliate swiftly to being touched without permission. Like most of her people, she adores children and will countenance (and in fact indulge) almost any mischief from them. Woe betide anyone who does a child ill in her presence. | The Woman in Red is a creature bound by the rules of her people. Playful, loving of games and sport, fiercely independent, quick to laugh; prideful, arrogant, mocking, cheerfully disdainful of human custom but at the same time fascinated by human company; incapable of guilt or regret, confused and revolted by the concept of weeping; lies with every other word, steals without compunction, but is faithful to a bargain. Those whom she favors may find themselves the victims of her generosity, whether they want it or not, and she does not take kindly to having her gifts rejected. Artlessness amuses her but rudeness she will not tolerate. She will retaliate swiftly to being touched without permission. Like most of her people, she adores children and will countenance (and in fact indulge) almost any mischief from them. Woe betide anyone who does a child ill in her presence. | ||
| − | ==Glamourie== | + | ===Glamourie=== |
<blockquote>''"...there was a man of H----, whom the tounfolk saye is biwicchen, who, when ask’d the sake of his enchountement, told that in the Midsumor, he was in the holt at P---, with his byndel upon his back, and that a grete Lady upon a White Palfrey came to him, and geve him to drink from a silver Cuppe, which she bade him take as a gift, and from that day he has been stone-blind, albest he newse yt nowt, for he swears he sees all sondry mervels, but in sooth, he stumbleth all about, tho yt be full licht. He produced the Cuppe, which he had hid benethe his bedde, til he likened what he should make of yt; but the cuppe was of common wood, much crack'd and worm-riddled, that could have held no more licor than a Sieve. When ask'd to give it up, that yt micht be examined close, this wight swore noone should ever lay hand on yt, for yt was all the tresour he had in this World, and would yet make him his Fortune. And in the toun were some who say, This lady was the Quene of Fayerye."''</blockquote> | <blockquote>''"...there was a man of H----, whom the tounfolk saye is biwicchen, who, when ask’d the sake of his enchountement, told that in the Midsumor, he was in the holt at P---, with his byndel upon his back, and that a grete Lady upon a White Palfrey came to him, and geve him to drink from a silver Cuppe, which she bade him take as a gift, and from that day he has been stone-blind, albest he newse yt nowt, for he swears he sees all sondry mervels, but in sooth, he stumbleth all about, tho yt be full licht. He produced the Cuppe, which he had hid benethe his bedde, til he likened what he should make of yt; but the cuppe was of common wood, much crack'd and worm-riddled, that could have held no more licor than a Sieve. When ask'd to give it up, that yt micht be examined close, this wight swore noone should ever lay hand on yt, for yt was all the tresour he had in this World, and would yet make him his Fortune. And in the toun were some who say, This lady was the Quene of Fayerye."''</blockquote> | ||
Revision as of 16:36, 2 October 2018
| Fionnuala ni Niall | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Information | |
| Title(s) | Lady Niall; Queen of Cnoch-na-Niall; the Woman in Red |
| Archetype | Fairy Queen |
| Hair Colour | Red |
| Eye Colour | Black |
| Height | 6'2" |
| Build | Statuesque |
| Notable Features | Well-healed injury on left hand; missing ring and small finger |
| Born | 137 AR |
Fionnuala is one of several names assumed by a fae creature residing near Myrken Wood. It is not a name she uses publicly, and no one knows it. You don't either. You might know her as Niabh. Or Victoria. Or Rabbadon. Or Jack. Or the Woman in Red. Or she might ask you to give her loan of a name, as she has none. Just don't give her yours.
Description
"Do not think the fairies are always little. Everything is capricious about them, even their size. They seem to take what size or shape pleases them, having no inherent form but changing according to their whim, or the eye that sees them."
Appearances have little meaning to the Woman in Red, who changes her seeming as often as some women change their gowns. There is some evidence that her most common appearance is as close to her "real" one as one is likely to see: a very tall, well-built young woman who appears to be in her middle twenties, wide-hipped and broad-shouldered, with a dark bronze complexion and brilliant red hair. Her eyes are solid black, with no sclera or visible pupils; these she is more likely to glam into normal brown eyes, as she had learned that this detail above all others unnerves humans. Her ears are tapered, better than a hands-length long, and lightly furred with gold hairs. Most other details are wholly decided by whim, vanity, and the necessity of the moment.
"Witness the nature of these creatures, their caprice, their way of being good to the good and evil to the evil, having every charm but conscience. Beings so quickly offended that you must not speak much about them at all, and never call them anything but daoine maithe, which in the common means "good neighbor," yet so easily pleased, they will do their best to keep misfortune away from you. Their evil [is] wholly without malice."
The Woman in Red is a creature bound by the rules of her people. Playful, loving of games and sport, fiercely independent, quick to laugh; prideful, arrogant, mocking, cheerfully disdainful of human custom but at the same time fascinated by human company; incapable of guilt or regret, confused and revolted by the concept of weeping; lies with every other word, steals without compunction, but is faithful to a bargain. Those whom she favors may find themselves the victims of her generosity, whether they want it or not, and she does not take kindly to having her gifts rejected. Artlessness amuses her but rudeness she will not tolerate. She will retaliate swiftly to being touched without permission. Like most of her people, she adores children and will countenance (and in fact indulge) almost any mischief from them. Woe betide anyone who does a child ill in her presence.
Glamourie
"...there was a man of H----, whom the tounfolk saye is biwicchen, who, when ask’d the sake of his enchountement, told that in the Midsumor, he was in the holt at P---, with his byndel upon his back, and that a grete Lady upon a White Palfrey came to him, and geve him to drink from a silver Cuppe, which she bade him take as a gift, and from that day he has been stone-blind, albest he newse yt nowt, for he swears he sees all sondry mervels, but in sooth, he stumbleth all about, tho yt be full licht. He produced the Cuppe, which he had hid benethe his bedde, til he likened what he should make of yt; but the cuppe was of common wood, much crack'd and worm-riddled, that could have held no more licor than a Sieve. When ask'd to give it up, that yt micht be examined close, this wight swore noone should ever lay hand on yt, for yt was all the tresour he had in this World, and would yet make him his Fortune. And in the toun were some who say, This lady was the Quene of Fayerye."
Put simply, glamourie is a magical skill that alters perception...yet there is nothing simple about glamourie. It can be used to change the appearance of objects and people or to subtly heighten or twist emotion, turning reasonable caution to blind panic, simple affection to lust, or vice versa. The danger in glamourie lies in its persistence (a glamourie does not require the physical presence or even consciousness of its caster to endure, and it endures perhaps indefinitely) and its pervasiveness (any number of people viewing the glamourie will see precisely the same thing), indicating there may be extremely powerful mental manipulation at work.
The other danger of glamourie is that it appears to have an internal failsafe of convincing people not to question it. In short, no matter how unlikely or out-of-place the glam, one's first instinct is to believe that it is entirely plausible and to react accordingly. Long familiarity with glamourie or certain magical gifts of perception may allow the viewer to recognize the unreality of the situation: while they will still see the glamourie, they may understand that it is not real. Iron or steel cannot be glamoured and its touch dispels the illusion from any glamoured object.
Certain animals react differently to glamourie. Wild beasts tend to perceive it but understand that it is not real (a wolf who sees a false fire will quickly realize they can walk through it). Domesticated ones usually, though not always, react to glamourie as humans do (a horse will shy away from false fire--and be burned by it).
Cats completely ignore it, but cats ignore everything.
Background
The Broken Dagger
In the summer of 215, the Woman in Red presented herself at the Broken Dagger in the guise of a young serving girl named Niabh who was seeking work to support herself in Myrken. She quickly became employed as a maid to Lady Patience. Just as quickly, she acquired an unladylike reputation for brazen flirtation, sneaking out at all hours and reappearing exhausted at dawn, and befriending some of Myrken's more unsavory elements, including the madman Catch. At roughly the same time, the Woman in Red began putting in sporadic appearances, usually lured by the prospect of parties, music, and dancing.
When Lady Patience left the Dagger for town in the following year, Niabh parted ways with her and likewise quit the Dagger for parts unknown, after which the Woman in Red began to show herself more frequently. "Niabh" still visits the Dagger, claiming now to be in the employ of another noblewoman. This noblewoman is likely to be the Woman in Red herself.
The Present
The Woman in Red tends to appear at the Dagger only after dusk, taking no more than a cup of tea as an excuse to chat, flirt, and (if warranted) bedevil both newcomers and regulars. Only a very few intimates are aware of her true nature, and even they have no way of keeping track of her multiple identities. A few of her personae work odd jobs at various places in Myrken Town. Others can never show their faces there again. Travelers at the banks of Silver Lake roughly a league southwest from the Dagger are advised to be wary of traps, cantrips, misdirection, and the occasional well-placed arrow.
The Woman in Red has what we will delicately refer to as "an understanding" with Hokwing Silvergild, based on their mutual love and respect for the Woods, their aggravation with their inconvenient mating seasons, and a habit of killing things together. She has also been engaged with in a growing war of attrition (by post) with former governor Glenn Burnie. Her central relationship in Myrken, however, remains with Catch, whom she both reveres, protects, and on occasion enables.
The Raven
Messenger to the Woman in Red. Loyal. Surly. Swears a lot. Can be distinguished from ordinary ravens by his greater size (half again as large as a common raven) and by the band of red-and-gold feathers on the undersides of his wings. Has only three clear supernatural abilities: the power of speech, the power to find anyone he is directed to seek out, and the power to deliver his message in spite of all obstacles, up to and including impregnable walls. Cannot be bought with rum cakes, but can certainly be rented for them.
