Fiona Marlowe (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
incendiaria) wrote2020-06-27 09:54 am
incendiaria) wrote2020-06-27 09:54 am
Information
Name: Fiona Grace Marlowe
Age: 25
Species: Half faerie, half human
Sexuality: Pansexual
Appearance: For the most part, Fiona appears like an average human, apart from the fact that her ears are more pointed, elven-like, than a human's. She usually keeps her ears hidden or covered in a glamor spell when needing to hide, which...is most of the time tbh. When she’s using magic, or when she feels/senses/sees magic nearby, her eyes tend to turn slightly silver. Her basic appearance is here. She also has a tattoo of an owl just below her collarbone/above her breasts, like this.
World: The world as we know it. Or do we? Can we be certain there are no cracks or faults in the world, or that we are even the only world that exists? Perhaps more beings reside here than you might first imagine; that shadow out of the corner of your eye might be a demon, or an angel, depending on who you ask. That girl ahead of you in line at the bookstore? Could very well be a werewolf without you knowing it. That child that just tapped you on the shoulder? A ghost who meant to tap your friend, to lead them on into the afterlife.
The world is wide, and large; there's more than one, in fact, and the many places in which they all converge. If you can dream or think it, it probably exists. You might even be able to become it, whatever it is, depending on if you know the right people. Gods, goddesses, nymphs, angels, demons, monsters, vampires, and all the rest, they all walk among us.
Well. Except for the faerie, of course. It's been five centuries since any of them walked in this particular world. Or so they say. But given how often faeries come up in stories, in all of the stories everywhere, in fact, I wouldn't bet on it.
Fiona comes from an urban fantasy, multiverse setting in which every myth, fairy tale, urban legend, stray piece of folklore, etc. is real and all kinds of worlds, of various populations, advancements, capabilities, and periods of time, exist all at once. To call it a mess would be an understatement, and yet, somehow, it works. Not perfectly, of course; tensions run high between those with power and those without, those who want to change the world for the better and those who want to change the world for the worst. There have been many skirmishes, tense encounters, battles, and wars over the years, more so than could ever fit into any one history book.
Sometimes, ordinary humans take notice; mostly, miraculously, they do not, a combined effort of just about every supernatural type to keep tensions and power struggles from getting any messier than they already are. Yet, still, somehow, the truth always ends up bleeding into human society, whether through myths, stories, or, lately, comic book interpretations.
The fae, powerful, winged beings under the rule of Queen Titania, have withdrawn from the worlds at large for the past five hundred years, keeping to themselves in their own world known as the Midsummer Gardens except for the Wild Hunt, the shadows of which, on occasion, can be seen across the stars. They say that they're tired of conflict, that they'd rather keep to themselves for the sake of peace.
Of course, Fiona's existence is a testament to how truthful those claims really are. And she is hardly, in fact, the only living embodiment of the way faeries have kept up in contact with the outside worlds over the years.
Relationships:
Marian Rosewood: biological mother, deceased. Ordinary human and a nurse who loved stories too much. Killed by a mercenary group of ghouls working for a higher power.
Hamish Briar: biological father, alive. Steward in Queen Titania’s guard retinue, general of the Wild Hunt. His affair with Marian Rosewood was brief but passionate, and remains a closely guarded secret, though not as closely guarded as he thinks. Originally unaware of Fiona's existence, he reacts rather badly when he does find out, though he rectifies that once he and Fiona start to get to know each other.
Amelia Marlowe: Fiona’s biological aunt and adoptive mother, a witch made, not born, who uses energy found in nature to fuel her spells. Or so she says; her ambition is great, and her desire for power even greater. Fiona grows up believing Amelia to be her real mother until she discovers otherwise; she’s especially infuriated once she realizes her aunt has been using magic to keep her from uncovering the truth, and even further furious when she realizes that her aunt has been syphoning magic from her. She’s eventually lead to believe that her aunt kept her existence secret solely to be able to make use of her magic, though the truth is hardly that simple. Her anger at what she feels is her aunt’s betrayal manifests to the point where she chooses not to intervene when a vampire attacks Amelia, turning her into a vampire. As a vampire, Amelia is even more ruthless and ambitious than she was as a human, but she does eventually try and begin making amends with Fiona. It’s a long and bumpy road they have ahead of them.
Daniel Marlowe: Fiona’s uncle by marriage, and adoptive father, also a made witch who channeled his magical energy from electricity. He was killed when Fiona was 18, murdered by the same group of mercenaries who killed Marian. Also briefly had an affair with Marian right after he married Amelia. Fiona uses this knowledge, when she discovers it, against Amelia.
Everett Marlowe: Fiona’s younger brother/cousin, Everett struggles with magic, hating it but surrounded by it at every corner, especially given that he knows Fiona’s true heritage. Eventually is bitten and turned into a werewolf, and once he finds out that Fiona left his mother to the mercy of vampires, severs their relationship and tries to sell Fiona to the highest bidder. Fiona eventually, with the help of Everett’s sister, Belle, kills him in self-defense. His anger and hatred is such, however, that he cannot move on into any sort of afterlife, and is thus determined to haunt Fiona. A consistent pain in the ass, Fiona tolerates his presence because she carries guilt for what she did to him, and, eventually, the guilt of what she did to Amelia.
Belle Marlowe: Fiona’s older sister/cousin who died at the age of 16 when Fiona was 10. At the time, Amelia told her it was a tragic car accident. Later, Fiona discovers Belle went to the Crossroads, the mystical center where all planes of existence converge, to leverage her soul for greater power, and lost. Fiona eventually encounters her again when Belle rises from Hell as a Crossroads Demon, forging an uneasy sort of alliance that eventually becomes a genuine friendship.
Brooke Lockwood: Wife of Esperanza Fuentes and Fiona’s truest friend, the one who helps her get her life together after she discovers the truth about herself and her aunt’s betrayal, col-leader of the Flowers by the Gallows, along with Esperanza. Brooke is a witch from a cutthroat family, looking to find her own way separate from the bloodthirsty ways of her family. One of two people Fiona trusts the most.
Flowers by the Gallows: A group of ragtag outsiders all looking for their own answers/on the run for reasons of their own, made up of witches, faeries, vampires, werewolves, angels, spirits, and all manner of those affected by the supernatural, they are their own support system and a group determined to try and right the wrongs of society. Typically, they find ways to support the downtrodden and oppressed while screwing over the rich, powerful, and those that have screwed them over, but they also work for hire, if the price is right. They work as smugglers, mercenaries, thieves, assassins, and a whole host of other jobs. They consist of a large network of different small groups all across the worlds.
Esperanza Fuentes: Fiona’s biological half-sister and wife of Brooke Lockwood, co-leads this particular group of the Flowers with Brooke. They’re constantly navigating their relationship, but Fiona thinks her a good, decent person and is very much in awe of her skills in wielding her magic. The other of two people Fiona trusts the most.
Abilities: Technically, Fiona’s entire existence is illegal on…just about every level, and her enemies consider her dangerous for being half-faerie and half-human, representing the betrayal of the Peace Truce and a threat to the good of society. Or so Queen Titania helps encourage everyone else to believe in her quest for power. Humans and faeries are not supposed to conceive children, let alone dally together in the first place, ever since the Peace Truce between the two species over 500 years ago. Fiona is powerful, with access to unique abilities, even with only being half fae. (One of the reasons fairies decided to separate themselves from the rest of the worlds is due to their potentially overwhelming magical strength. Fiona’s father, Hamish, is from a particularly ancient and powerful line of magic, himself.)
While she doesn’t have access to all faerie magic, being half human, what she is capable of is still impressive enough. As someone born with magic, she doesn’t have to seek out power from other sources to fuel her magic; she has her own, in the form of magical energy that goes by many names, the most popular being: Incendiaria. Fiona, as someone trying to keep herself hidden, usually expends extra energy in order to disguise whichever magic she uses.
However, given that Fiona only discovers who she is at the age of 19, she is definitely a work in progress when it comes to using magic; one glance at the way she wields magic will show that she’s skilled, but obviously less refined when compared to those who have been studying and practicing magic a long time.
Also, as someone who is of the fae, her magic radiates this fact by giving off a distinct aura, which means that she has to be careful when she uses it. As a precaution, Fiona’s studied and gotten rather good at ways of disguising her magic. However, this also means that she expends more Incendiaria than most magic users at once, given that she has ensure she has enough for both whatever spell she wants to use and a way to disguise that which marks her magic as fairy.
It’s also worth noting that fairy magic is more potent/powerful than the magic of witches, even naturally born witches. Fiona, being half fairy, is as powerful as the average born witch, to give some idea of how the magic between fairy and witch varies. Fairy magic is malleable and witch magic is not, due to a rumored curse cast upon the witches by a vengeful demon nearly an eternity ago. Fairy magic is highly valuable, especially to witches who syphon their powers from elsewhere. Thus, over the years, a tense rivalry between faeries and witches has grown, leading to various acts of hostility between the two groups and nearly escalating to the point of outright war, another reason the fae chose to isolate themselves. Morgan Le Fey of Avalon is also a point of contention between fairy and witches, as both lay claim to her as ‘theirs.’ That she hasn’t been seen in the same amount of time as the fairies have sealed themselves away is also cause for tension and concern.
Glyphs: Fiona can cast glyphs of varying potency and ability, everything from a glyph to erase someone’s memory to acting as a personal battery and elongating her magical energy, to binding enemies in place and, her personal favorite, unleashing a horde of angry bees. She can also cast glyphs of specific material, such as silver, iron, gold, etc. for specific use against certain violent monsters. (Silver for werewolves and vampires, iron for other faeries, blessed violet for demons, unholy rose for angels, etc.) Naturally, using glyphs, like any other form of magic, requires use of Incendiaria; the stronger the glyph, the more Incendiaria required. Her glyphs are fairly strong; stronger than those of a witch, less powerful than those of a full-blooded fae.
Glamours: A defining trait of fairy magic is the ability to disguise and distract, and, in this particular area, Fiona is particularly skilled, thanks to her reliance on such magic so often in order to protect herself. She can cast spells in order to distract enemies, blend in with the crowds around her in order to escape difficult situations, and temporarily transform how people perceive her (i.e make herself look like someone/something else). Fiona has studied and discovered ways to disguise her magic as well, as a means of deterring her enemies and keeping herself hidden. The stronger and more prolonged the disguise, the more Incendiaria Fiona needs to use.
Spells: A variety of spells, charms, and incantations for a variety of uses, from the more practical, cooking, cleaning, sewing, repairing, etc., to spells to aid in combat. She can make objects float, summon objects to her or cast them away, summon light and banish it (like the Lumos and Nox spells in Harry Potter), make use of fire, lightning, ice, etc. as offensive spells in combat, cast temporary barriers as protection, curses, hexes, ability to unlock doors, etc. The more powerful the spell, the more Incendiaria required to make use of it.
Runes: Like glyphs, Fiona can make use of runes in her magic, mostly to enhance whichever spell she’s trying to cast. Magic users of all sorts (made and born alike) can paint runes onto their skin with special ink known as phoenix ink, said to come from the blood of a phoenix, for additional enhancement.
Potions/Poisons/Concoctions: Regardless of magical ability, everyone can craft potions, concoctions, and poisons, so long as they have the right ingredients. Fiona has studied and is well-versed in the more practical sorts of potions, healing potions, potions that restore energy and Incendiaria, etc., and she knows several others for the sake of first aid. She is especially skilled in making glamor potions and potions able to grant a form of disguise, given that, even without magic, she reeks of being of the fae. She usually doesn’t bother with concoctions, given that she can easily set enemies on fire if she so wishes. She knows her way around poisons, too. You never know, after all. And it’s better to be prepared.
Glimmer: Faeries, especially powerful faeries, like Fiona’s biological father, have the ability to shapeshift into an animal of their choosing; once chosen, this animal is the only creature they have the ability to turn into. As Fiona isn’t fully faerie, she does not have this ability, nor does she have wings or the ability to fly. What she does have, however, is an ability she calls her ‘glimmer’ power. She can change the color of her eyes and hair at will, and she can also alter the style of her hair as well. This is relatively minor magic and doesn’t require much energy, but, again, her use of this magic is distinctively fae, so Fiona, when she does want to use this ability, has to take care and spend extra Incendiaria to ensure that no one else can detect the nature of such magic.
Basic Self-Defense/Non-Magical Fighting: Fiona can't always rely on her magic in a fight, given the potential for how much Incendiaria she expends at once. As someone on the run and caught in a budding war, she has honed other fighting skills in the name of being able to defend herself. Mostly, she works with daggers and knives in a dual wielding style, but she can also make use of a crossbow. She also knows some basic elements of self-defense from taking classes at her community college and from high school; she's a scrappy fighter, and she isn't afraid of fighting dirty when the occasion calls for it. It should be noted that, as skilled and capable as Fiona is, whether fighting with her magic or without, she is not invincible and is very capable of defeat, especially against those with more experience.
Weaknesses:
Iron:Even though she’s only half-fairy, Fiona bears the full brunt of being weak to cold iron, also known as ‘iron everything except the sort found in human blood.’ Mild exposure to iron usually leaves her with a headache, a fever, and chills throughout the body; touching weapons made of iron usually burns her skin. Extreme exposure to iron will render her weaker and weaker until she dies. For weapons for her personal use, she generally has to get creative, and she generally tends to favor weapons made of copper, silver, and gold.
Guns: In her world, the only beings capable of using guns are full humans. The most similar weapon she can make use of is a crossbow, which suits her just fine, as Fiona really doesn’t like guns. Given how much iron and steel are involved in bullets and the mechanism of guns overall, even minor gunshot wounds can prove fatal to Fiona.
Moon Dust: A poison made of salt, sugar, sour milk, dandelions, and rose petals that is particular effective against faeries and half faeries. Depending on the dosage, Moon Dust will slow Fiona down, render her barely capable of movement, knock her unconscious, or, with the right amount, kill her. Amelia used a potion mixed with a small amount of Moon Dust to help keep Fiona docile, complacent, and unaware of her true heritage over the years.
Not Immortal: Unlike full faeries, Fiona is partly human, which means she is vulnerable to everything that causes harm to humans, such as illnesses, wounds, etc. Being half faerie means she is capable of recovering slightly more quickly than a regular human, but that depends on the severity of the illness/injury. She also ages like humans, even her life expectancy is slightly longer. (Half faeries can live up to fifty years longer than humans, but, again, that depends on health, if the individual is taking care of themselves, etc.)
Too Much Magic Use: If Fiona runs out of Incendiaria, she’ll pass out from exhaustion, or nearly pass out.
Appealing Blood/Magical Energy: Fiona’s blood is like candy, cake, pot, and kava root all rolled into one for various supernatural entities: demons, vampires, and werewolves. For others, such as angels, sirens, selkies, and demigods, it’s fairly toxic. Her magical energy is especially appealing for witches and other magic users looking to bolster their powers.
Personality:
• Studied at the Mr. Darcy school of ‘my good opinion once lost is lost forever,’ also known as girl not only holds a grudge, she clutches it tight and sleeps with it at night. Fiona is pretty unforgiving and ruthless when she feels betrayed, and she holds it against whoever it is she feels betrayed her. She is still reeling from the fact that she only recently discovered the truth of her life, and only, really, by accident, given that her discovery leads her to believe her aunt never meant to tell her the full truth, if any of it, in fact.
• Stubborn AF. She is pretty set in her ways, especially when she feels strongly about the matter at hand, and she can be bullheaded when she feels she is right and everyone else is wrong. She will always try to have the last word in arguments, and she tends to escalate situations rather than diffuse them. She’s gotten herself into a fair amount of fights because of this.
• She prefers solving her problems with violence, and she has a reckless streak of seeking thrills wherever she can find them. Tends to favor one-night stands and casual flings over any sort of serious relationship.
• She has her share of vices; coffee, tea, chocolate, sweets, cigarettes, etc. When she needs to, she has been known to try and drown her sorrows through alcohol, and she really does love seeking thrills where she can find them, whether through a bar fight or ziplining. She is very disappointed that she can’t actually fly.
• Given that she’s been through many a deception and a betrayal of everything she’s known in her life, Fiona finds it hard to trust others. She prefers keeping some kind of distance between herself and the rest of the world. She’ll ally/partner with others if they can come to an agreement, but, at the end of the day, she’ll think of such an alliance as temporary; a business transaction. That being said, she is polite and capable of taking the high road when the occasion calls for it, though, she’ll have to believe in the high road first.
• Big Damn Hero. If Fiona has the chance to do something showy that could also easily get her killed or something more practical but with a greater chance of failing, she’ll choose the former, every time. She cares a lot, despite how often she’ll insist otherwise, and she won’t hesitate to sacrifice herself if it means she can save people. Naturally, this lands her in a fair amount of trouble, such as that time she nearly died after throwing herself right in the path of a rampaging dragon in order to help rescue a trapped group of people traveling in the mountains of Avalon. She nearly got burned alive in the process, but you know. Yolo, and all that. She may or may not have taken a selfie with the dragon’s corpse after defeating it.
• Absolute human (half-human, at least) disaster. Fiona barely holds herself together on a good day; she struggles with having to live on the run constantly, various forms of anxiety, and the clusterfuck that is her biological family. After what Amelia put her through, she struggles with the idea of whether people want to get close to her only to use her, another reason why she tends to keep people at a distance. She often makes poor life choices and puts her foot in her mouth, usually after stepping in wyvern shit.
• Believes strongly in a sense of right and wrong, even when her morals don’t entirely align with those of society. She stands up for what she believes in and tries to do as much good as she can, even as she might fuck up in the process of doing so. She tries to pretend otherwise but the truth is that Fiona has a heart, and it damn well bleeds.
• Clever, intelligent, and determined, Fiona makes use of the fact that people tend to underestimate her in order to help her survive. Given that she’s been exposed herself as part fae, she has to keep on the run, and keep thinking ahead in order to avoid capture by any number of people who want her for various reasons of their own, hence her proficiency in magic that can disguise whatever marks her as fairy.
• Desperate times call for desperate measures; Fiona, if caught between a rock and a hard place, will rely on any means to survive, even including accepting help from people who used her and/or tried to kill her at an earlier point in her life; her hands are fairly dirty. Beggars can't be choosers when trying to stay alive in the middle of a brewing war, is her philosophy, even though she'll loathe being pressed into accepting such help.
• Once her trust is gained, as difficult as that can prove, Fiona’s a loyal friend, good to have on your side in a fight. She will do anything for those she cares for, fight for them, care for them, look out for them, etc. She might pretend she enjoys being on her own but the truth is Fiona absolutely loves and adores her friends/members of her found family, a contrast to the shitshow that is her biological family most of the time.
• Fiona was originally studying to become a nurse by taking classes at her local community college before she discovered the truth about herself. Now that she’s in deep with the world of the supernatural, and trying to stay ahead of the vast amount of people who want to drink her blood, syphon her power for themselves, eat her, and/or kill her, she works odd jobs, usually at odd hours, to survive, everything from smuggling to mercenary work. Between this and the various people she fends off as they come after her, she has a fair amount of blood on her hands and a trail of bodies in her wake like she’s some kind of video game protagonist.
• It is a truth universally acknowledged that every Chosen One (or Cursed One, as Fiona herself would call her entire existence) must have a smart mouth, or something to that effect. Fiona’s fairly snarky; she feels as though, without a sense of humor, she would very much go insane.
• Despite everything she’s been through, Fiona, in her heart of hearts, is actually somewhat of an optimist. She fights hard and works hard, keeping her head to the ground when things go even more to shit than usual, and determined to survive, despite the odds stacked against her. She’s determined to not only survive, but to thrive, and to prove everyone wrong, including her own self-doubt. She definitely usually won’t admit this out loud, however; she’ll wave it off with some kind of smartass comment.
History:
• Born April 8th, 1995 to Marian Rosewood in a private birth, with only a midwife and her team, secluded at Marian’s cabin in the woods just outside of Concord, New Hampshire. Her father, Hamish Briar, left Marian before she could tell him she was carrying his child, and he doesn’t become aware of Fiona’s existence until they cross paths many years later.
• Fiona doesn’t get much time with her mother; she enjoys the first five years of her life with her before Marian is murdered by a mercenary group of ghouls hired by Sir Gwawr, a rival in the courts of the Midsummer Gardens (the only known faerie realm, a world that seems to combine medieval, Renaissance, Victorian, steampunk, Edwardian, and Great Gatsby aesthetics all in one, up to and including the available technology), looking to sow chaos and overthrow Queen Titania. Fiona survives because Amelia Marlowe, who informed Sir Gwawr of Marian’s location and of her affair with one of Titania’s court, arranged to have Fiona in her care at the time at her home in a small town just outside of the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts.
• Amelia, a skilled witch who is made, not born, relies on the energy of others in order to fuel her own spells. She recognized Fiona for what she is immediately, even before she was born or Marian finished explaining how she came to be pregnant with Fiona. Always ambitious and aiming for more power, Amelia both loved Fiona and saw her as a tool to be used to help her achieve her goals, a viewpoint she carried over to the rest of her family, particularly, her husband, whom she also manipulated to suit her own needs.
• Amelia erases Fiona’s memories of her life with Marian, making her believe Amelia is her biological mother all along. She uses a variety of different forms of magic to ensure that Fiona is safe from those who would want to hunt her, as well as to ensure that both Hamish Briar, Fiona’s father, and the rest of the faeries remain ignorant to her existence; an act of protection and selfishness all at once.
• For the next fourteen years, Fiona leads a relatively safe and unassuming life. She is aware of magic and witches, given that Amelia, her husband, Daniel, and their oldest daughter, Belle, all practice the craft. Belle, however, inherited her mother’s ambition, and, at the age of sixteen, when Fiona was ten, went to the Crossroads, the mystical point of convergence between all the worlds, and bet her soul for more power. Unfortunately, she lost and was dragged to Hell. Amelia told Fiona that she died in a car accident.
• Fiona’s younger brother, Everett, hated magic, and struggled with what he knew of Fiona’s true heritage. He fought with both of his parents about the matter, unaware that Amelia had enchanted his father as a means of keeping Fiona for herself. He often acted out, and, one night, when he was thirteen and Fiona fourteen, he wound up bitten and turned into a werewolf. He left home after that, and Fiona didn’t see him until years later.
• Despite the violence permeating throughout her family, otherwise, Fiona lead a relatively normal existence, attending school, making friends, going to after school activities, etc. She really enjoyed science and math, particularly, and she loved running track. She also enjoyed drawing, though it isn’t a particular talent of hers, and she very much liked doing plays with the drama club. She wasn’t popular but she was well-liked and respected among her peers; she got good grades and often made the honor roll. Amelia, despite everything else she was doing to and keeping from Fiona, often told her she was proud of her.
• She had a variety of allergies, including to peanut butter, so she never thought it odd when Amelia told her that certain kinds of iron could hurt her, even kill her. In comparison to Belle and Everette, Fiona was the perfect child, though she often felt the weight of what was expected of her, and the loss of her family over the years.
• Just after Fiona turned 18, Sir Gwawr sent his mercenary group after Daniel Marlowe, killing him rather ruthlessly. Fiona would later come to learn that he did this so that Amelia would know her place; no fairy answers to the whims of any human, no matter what they might have agreed upon.
• Amelia, grieved by this loss, starts to make mistakes in the way she protects and deceives Fiona. Soon after Fiona turns 19, while studying at the local community college to become a nurse (unknowingly like her biological mother), she accidentally summons light in her hand, startling her very human classmates and herself both. She arrives home to demand answers of Amelia, and they wind up in a heated argument that only seems to keep escalating. Fiona’s own determination becomes strong enough to become a kind of magic on its own, strong enough that she breaks through the magic Amelia’s cast on her and the various potions she’s used on her; she begins to remember, and she is furious.
• Unfortunately, this shattering of the shield that bound her to her aunt alerts the rest of the worlds to her existence, and before she can demand answers from her aunt, Fiona immediately finds herself on the run, leaving behind her old life that was never really hers to begin with.
• Fiona, fueled by anger, regret, sadness, and a whole variety of other emotions, struggles to find her footing at first; she ends up throwing herself into all of the poor life choices she never could make before, whether instigating a barfight, or using her magic in reckless ways. She nearly dies several times over in the process of finding herself, and it’s only when she meets Brooke Lockwood, an experienced witch also on the run for reasons of her own, that she manages to pull her life together.
• Reluctant to trust anyone after what happened with Amelia, Fiona swallows her pride and takes a chance with Brooke, a choice that ultimately saves her life. Despite the rivalry between witches and faeries, Brooke proves a true friend to Amelia, perhaps the first she’s ever known. Amelia learns to trust her, and they look out for one another.
• Brooke introduces Amelia to her other friends, a network of outsiders trying to make the best of bad situations, known as Flowers by the Gallows. The Flowers provide Fiona with the opportunity to start learning how to build her own life, as well as study and hone her magic.
• It’s through the Flowers that Fiona also learns that she isn’t alone; Maverick Peterson, a young man older than her by a year, is also part fairy, his mother dallying with another of Queen Titania’s court, as are Emilio Rivers, Charlie King, and Ariana Smith. Esperanza Fuentes, older than Fiona by ten years, reveals herself to be Fiona’s biological half-sister when Fiona discovers her father’s true identity.
• Fiona also learns that her existence, along with the existence of every other being with any ounce of faerie blood in them out there (the exact number of which is unknown), could start a war, if revealed, as they would reveal that the faeries broke their part of the peace treaty of 500 years ago; a fair number of extremist groups, looking for blood and violence, would happily sell her out/reveal her and those like her if given the chance.
• She also learns the hard way that her blood is a combination of drugs and candy for certain supernatural creatures when she’s bitten by a vampire; Esperanza rescues her and begins teaching her methods of disguise and protection.
• As messy as her nineteenth year was, the spring Fiona turned twenty turned into a real clusterfuck. She ran into Everett, now a werewolf, and a member of a brutal group of criminals known for leaving a trail of bodies in their wake. They have an awkward, cold sort of reunion as Fiona saves Everett’s life and he reveals to her that he knew what Amelia was doing to her all along. Fiona, furious, feels betrayed that he did nothing, and they part on even worse terms.
• Fiona also encounters Belle, now a Crossroads Demon, making a deal with someone Fiona once saved through her work with the Flowers. She tries to intervene, but is too late; the man’s soul is sold in one of the crappiest deals in existence.
• Her and Belle get into a fight, and Fiona actually manages to win, hurting Belle rather badly. In the end, though she feels like she ought to kill Belle, she just sends her back to Hell.
• Amelia finally catches up with Fiona, cornering her in an underground, supernatural fight club. They argue, Amelia trying to convince Fiona to come home, that she’s changed. Fiona doesn’t believe her, and she’s especially enraged once she discovers Amelia’s carrying a charm to try and help cage her and make her more compliant. They get into a fight, and while it’s a close call, Fiona gains the upper hand, and, with a brutal gesture, drains Amelia of the magic she borrowed for the night, and leaves her, weakened and exposed, as a group of vampires hone in on her as easy prey. Fiona doesn’t look back.
• Everett confronts her a month later, having encountered his mother as a vampire as part of one of the jobs he works. As much as he disagrees with what Amelia did to Fiona, he feels as though Fiona betrayed the family by leaving Amelia to die, essentially. They fight, and Fiona almost dies.
• Belle, finding a way back from Hell, intervenes; she transfers Fiona’s injuries to Everett and sends him fleeing on the brink of death.
• Fiona and Belle talk, finding their way to an obscure and out of the way diner to do so. Belle explains herself, and she tells Fiona that going to Hell is actually the best thing that could have happened to her. She explains that there’s no love lost between her and Amelia, given that she found out what Amelia did to her father when crossing between various afterlives, and Fiona explains that she feels free now, after a year spent out on her own with the Flowers by the Gallows.
• It takes another year and several battles for Fiona to come to an alliance with Belle, but, eventually, they become something close to friends, and they are currently growing closer, almost as close as they were when they were younger.
• Fiona is constantly learning and refining her magic, and she never stays in one place too long. Luckily, the Flowers by the Gallows, as a network, has resources so that Fiona always usually has at least a couch to sleep on for the night. She travels relatively lightly, keeping her belongings to one overstuffed duffle bag for ease. That being said, she enjoys fashion and making use of her limited resources to pull together an outfit, one of the few luxuries she allows herself. Typically, she prefers wearing leggings with a dress or tunic shirt, along with ‘ass kicking hooker boots,’ as she calls them, and whatever jewelry she can find. (Think a combination of Isabela and Sera from Dragon Age.)
• Everett, determined for revenge, constantly tries selling Fiona out and tries to kill her. Little does Fiona know, Amelia actually works to prevent him from doing so, and she succeeds, for the most part. One night, Everett fights Fiona to the point where she kills him in self-defense, turning him into an angry, restless spirit who cannot pass onto the afterlife due to the baggage he has tying him to life. (Namely, his grudge against Fiona.)
• Everett haunts Fiona constantly, to the point where she learns various exorcism spells just to be able to send him away when he’s really bothering her. It takes a year, when Fiona turns 22, before Fiona winds up confronting Everett, torn by both wanting to be rid of him for good and the guilt she feels in causing his death. They end up fighting against a horde of demons together, and it actually opens them up to a moment of listening and understanding.
• They come to a truce, of sorts; Fiona will help Everett find his way to the afterlife, and Everett will help protect Fiona and assist the Flowers by the Gallows when they need it.
• Naturally, just after this tender moment, Sir Gwawr, tipped off by a rival of Fiona’s bitter about her magical abilities, discovers and kidnaps Fiona along with several other half faeries, transporting them to the Midsummer Gardens to use as leverage to overthrow the Queen.
• Fiona and her fellow kidnapped companions are presented at court, meant to start a scandal. Hamish Briar is truly shocked by Fiona’s existence, so much so that he questions loudly how she could even be real, in front of the entire court, and hurting Fiona deeply.
• However, Queen Titania is not cowed by Sir Gwawr’s tactics; indeed, she only smiles at the sight of Fiona and company, and it’s then that they all realize that Sir Gwawr played into the Queen’s hands all along, moments before she executes Sir Gwawr brutally. She then tells Fiona and her companions that they have a choice: enlist as part of Queen Titania’s forces, or remain in the Midsummer Gardens to serve in the palace. From her speech, it is clear she means to start a war and emerge the ruler of all from it.
• Fiona immediately tries to make a run for it, but is just as immediately caught and brought to the dungeons. It takes a few days until her father sends for her, a few horrid days consisting of terrible food and some torture.
• Hamish brings Fiona to a hidden chamber in his rooms. He seals it with magic to ensure that they aren’t overheard, and then he explains that, no, he didn’t know she existed, and that, as much as he would like to get to know her, they don’t have time. He explains how Helena, mistress of Prince Regent Oberon, is looking to overthrow Titania and put a stop to her madness. He also tells her that there are at least seven others vying for the throne, but he’s pledged his loyalty to Helena, whom he loves, awkward as that sounds.
• Hamish tells Fiona that, essentially, all hell is about to break loose, what with faerie politics about to spill over into the rest of the worlds. He provides her with a means to contact him using her owl tattoo; he reveals that he has a similar one on his left shoulder, and he crafts a spell that enables them to communicate through the tattoos. He explains that he has done this for Esperanza, as well, and that he wishes she would have told him about his other daughter. Fiona responds by saying she probably didn’t think it was her place to say, feeling protective of her older sister.
• Hamish introduces Fiona to Helena and other members of Helena’s supporters briefly before organizing a way for Fiona and the others to escape. Two go with Fiona; the rest have all signed up with Titania’s forces.
• When Fiona makes it back, she immediately seeks out Brooke and Esperanza, explaining what just happened. They inform her that she’s been gone an entire month, even though, back in the Midsummer Gardens, it felt like only a few days.
• Literally five minutes later, Queen Titania broadcasts a message across all the worlds using her magic, explaining the existence of half faerie children, the dangers they possess, and the rewards for turning them in, a handsome bonus is alive.
• Fiona, Esperanza, and those remaining of their half faerie friends all immediately go into hiding; they invent different identities for themselves, and they learn to guard against those hunting them with even greater efficiency.
• Belle, Everett, and even Amelia all reach out to Fiona, offering to aid her as best they can. Fiona, desperate, takes them all up on their offers, and it’s through their help that she manages to evade the best of Titania’s hunters and those looking to collect the bounty on her head for themselves.
• Through the Flowers by the Gallows, Fiona is able to still pick up and complete odd jobs in order to get by, everything from grumpy winged cows to fierce dragons, and all of the strangeness in between.
• She spends the next three years studying and practicing magic, working odd jobs, and keeping on the run, even as Titania begins to escalate in her desire for war. She communicates with Hamish as much as she can, and she tries to meet up with Brooke, Esperanza, and others from the Flowers as much as she can, as safely as she can. She starts to get really proficient in disguise magic. She tries to help those caught in the middle of Titania’s whims as much as she can, and she fights back against the increased war efforts of Titania as much as she can.
• Eventually, Fiona isn’t able to communicate with her father as often, as the communication between them can be hacked, as they find out the hard way. The last Fiona heard directly from Hamish, he was almost found out. Helena reaches out to her directly to inform her that Titania has taken Hamish prisoner and is torturing him.
• Fiona works on a rescue plan while continuing to pick up odd jobs along the way. She’s in the middle of hunting down a dangerous herd of wyvern in exchange for food and additional weapons when she winds up in the Kingdom of the Pierced Heart.
Age: 25
Species: Half faerie, half human
Sexuality: Pansexual
Appearance: For the most part, Fiona appears like an average human, apart from the fact that her ears are more pointed, elven-like, than a human's. She usually keeps her ears hidden or covered in a glamor spell when needing to hide, which...is most of the time tbh. When she’s using magic, or when she feels/senses/sees magic nearby, her eyes tend to turn slightly silver. Her basic appearance is here. She also has a tattoo of an owl just below her collarbone/above her breasts, like this.
World: The world as we know it. Or do we? Can we be certain there are no cracks or faults in the world, or that we are even the only world that exists? Perhaps more beings reside here than you might first imagine; that shadow out of the corner of your eye might be a demon, or an angel, depending on who you ask. That girl ahead of you in line at the bookstore? Could very well be a werewolf without you knowing it. That child that just tapped you on the shoulder? A ghost who meant to tap your friend, to lead them on into the afterlife.
The world is wide, and large; there's more than one, in fact, and the many places in which they all converge. If you can dream or think it, it probably exists. You might even be able to become it, whatever it is, depending on if you know the right people. Gods, goddesses, nymphs, angels, demons, monsters, vampires, and all the rest, they all walk among us.
Well. Except for the faerie, of course. It's been five centuries since any of them walked in this particular world. Or so they say. But given how often faeries come up in stories, in all of the stories everywhere, in fact, I wouldn't bet on it.
Fiona comes from an urban fantasy, multiverse setting in which every myth, fairy tale, urban legend, stray piece of folklore, etc. is real and all kinds of worlds, of various populations, advancements, capabilities, and periods of time, exist all at once. To call it a mess would be an understatement, and yet, somehow, it works. Not perfectly, of course; tensions run high between those with power and those without, those who want to change the world for the better and those who want to change the world for the worst. There have been many skirmishes, tense encounters, battles, and wars over the years, more so than could ever fit into any one history book.
Sometimes, ordinary humans take notice; mostly, miraculously, they do not, a combined effort of just about every supernatural type to keep tensions and power struggles from getting any messier than they already are. Yet, still, somehow, the truth always ends up bleeding into human society, whether through myths, stories, or, lately, comic book interpretations.
The fae, powerful, winged beings under the rule of Queen Titania, have withdrawn from the worlds at large for the past five hundred years, keeping to themselves in their own world known as the Midsummer Gardens except for the Wild Hunt, the shadows of which, on occasion, can be seen across the stars. They say that they're tired of conflict, that they'd rather keep to themselves for the sake of peace.
Of course, Fiona's existence is a testament to how truthful those claims really are. And she is hardly, in fact, the only living embodiment of the way faeries have kept up in contact with the outside worlds over the years.
Relationships:
Marian Rosewood: biological mother, deceased. Ordinary human and a nurse who loved stories too much. Killed by a mercenary group of ghouls working for a higher power.
Hamish Briar: biological father, alive. Steward in Queen Titania’s guard retinue, general of the Wild Hunt. His affair with Marian Rosewood was brief but passionate, and remains a closely guarded secret, though not as closely guarded as he thinks. Originally unaware of Fiona's existence, he reacts rather badly when he does find out, though he rectifies that once he and Fiona start to get to know each other.
Amelia Marlowe: Fiona’s biological aunt and adoptive mother, a witch made, not born, who uses energy found in nature to fuel her spells. Or so she says; her ambition is great, and her desire for power even greater. Fiona grows up believing Amelia to be her real mother until she discovers otherwise; she’s especially infuriated once she realizes her aunt has been using magic to keep her from uncovering the truth, and even further furious when she realizes that her aunt has been syphoning magic from her. She’s eventually lead to believe that her aunt kept her existence secret solely to be able to make use of her magic, though the truth is hardly that simple. Her anger at what she feels is her aunt’s betrayal manifests to the point where she chooses not to intervene when a vampire attacks Amelia, turning her into a vampire. As a vampire, Amelia is even more ruthless and ambitious than she was as a human, but she does eventually try and begin making amends with Fiona. It’s a long and bumpy road they have ahead of them.
Daniel Marlowe: Fiona’s uncle by marriage, and adoptive father, also a made witch who channeled his magical energy from electricity. He was killed when Fiona was 18, murdered by the same group of mercenaries who killed Marian. Also briefly had an affair with Marian right after he married Amelia. Fiona uses this knowledge, when she discovers it, against Amelia.
Everett Marlowe: Fiona’s younger brother/cousin, Everett struggles with magic, hating it but surrounded by it at every corner, especially given that he knows Fiona’s true heritage. Eventually is bitten and turned into a werewolf, and once he finds out that Fiona left his mother to the mercy of vampires, severs their relationship and tries to sell Fiona to the highest bidder. Fiona eventually, with the help of Everett’s sister, Belle, kills him in self-defense. His anger and hatred is such, however, that he cannot move on into any sort of afterlife, and is thus determined to haunt Fiona. A consistent pain in the ass, Fiona tolerates his presence because she carries guilt for what she did to him, and, eventually, the guilt of what she did to Amelia.
Belle Marlowe: Fiona’s older sister/cousin who died at the age of 16 when Fiona was 10. At the time, Amelia told her it was a tragic car accident. Later, Fiona discovers Belle went to the Crossroads, the mystical center where all planes of existence converge, to leverage her soul for greater power, and lost. Fiona eventually encounters her again when Belle rises from Hell as a Crossroads Demon, forging an uneasy sort of alliance that eventually becomes a genuine friendship.
Brooke Lockwood: Wife of Esperanza Fuentes and Fiona’s truest friend, the one who helps her get her life together after she discovers the truth about herself and her aunt’s betrayal, col-leader of the Flowers by the Gallows, along with Esperanza. Brooke is a witch from a cutthroat family, looking to find her own way separate from the bloodthirsty ways of her family. One of two people Fiona trusts the most.
Flowers by the Gallows: A group of ragtag outsiders all looking for their own answers/on the run for reasons of their own, made up of witches, faeries, vampires, werewolves, angels, spirits, and all manner of those affected by the supernatural, they are their own support system and a group determined to try and right the wrongs of society. Typically, they find ways to support the downtrodden and oppressed while screwing over the rich, powerful, and those that have screwed them over, but they also work for hire, if the price is right. They work as smugglers, mercenaries, thieves, assassins, and a whole host of other jobs. They consist of a large network of different small groups all across the worlds.
Esperanza Fuentes: Fiona’s biological half-sister and wife of Brooke Lockwood, co-leads this particular group of the Flowers with Brooke. They’re constantly navigating their relationship, but Fiona thinks her a good, decent person and is very much in awe of her skills in wielding her magic. The other of two people Fiona trusts the most.
Abilities: Technically, Fiona’s entire existence is illegal on…just about every level, and her enemies consider her dangerous for being half-faerie and half-human, representing the betrayal of the Peace Truce and a threat to the good of society. Or so Queen Titania helps encourage everyone else to believe in her quest for power. Humans and faeries are not supposed to conceive children, let alone dally together in the first place, ever since the Peace Truce between the two species over 500 years ago. Fiona is powerful, with access to unique abilities, even with only being half fae. (One of the reasons fairies decided to separate themselves from the rest of the worlds is due to their potentially overwhelming magical strength. Fiona’s father, Hamish, is from a particularly ancient and powerful line of magic, himself.)
While she doesn’t have access to all faerie magic, being half human, what she is capable of is still impressive enough. As someone born with magic, she doesn’t have to seek out power from other sources to fuel her magic; she has her own, in the form of magical energy that goes by many names, the most popular being: Incendiaria. Fiona, as someone trying to keep herself hidden, usually expends extra energy in order to disguise whichever magic she uses.
However, given that Fiona only discovers who she is at the age of 19, she is definitely a work in progress when it comes to using magic; one glance at the way she wields magic will show that she’s skilled, but obviously less refined when compared to those who have been studying and practicing magic a long time.
Also, as someone who is of the fae, her magic radiates this fact by giving off a distinct aura, which means that she has to be careful when she uses it. As a precaution, Fiona’s studied and gotten rather good at ways of disguising her magic. However, this also means that she expends more Incendiaria than most magic users at once, given that she has ensure she has enough for both whatever spell she wants to use and a way to disguise that which marks her magic as fairy.
It’s also worth noting that fairy magic is more potent/powerful than the magic of witches, even naturally born witches. Fiona, being half fairy, is as powerful as the average born witch, to give some idea of how the magic between fairy and witch varies. Fairy magic is malleable and witch magic is not, due to a rumored curse cast upon the witches by a vengeful demon nearly an eternity ago. Fairy magic is highly valuable, especially to witches who syphon their powers from elsewhere. Thus, over the years, a tense rivalry between faeries and witches has grown, leading to various acts of hostility between the two groups and nearly escalating to the point of outright war, another reason the fae chose to isolate themselves. Morgan Le Fey of Avalon is also a point of contention between fairy and witches, as both lay claim to her as ‘theirs.’ That she hasn’t been seen in the same amount of time as the fairies have sealed themselves away is also cause for tension and concern.
Glyphs: Fiona can cast glyphs of varying potency and ability, everything from a glyph to erase someone’s memory to acting as a personal battery and elongating her magical energy, to binding enemies in place and, her personal favorite, unleashing a horde of angry bees. She can also cast glyphs of specific material, such as silver, iron, gold, etc. for specific use against certain violent monsters. (Silver for werewolves and vampires, iron for other faeries, blessed violet for demons, unholy rose for angels, etc.) Naturally, using glyphs, like any other form of magic, requires use of Incendiaria; the stronger the glyph, the more Incendiaria required. Her glyphs are fairly strong; stronger than those of a witch, less powerful than those of a full-blooded fae.
Glamours: A defining trait of fairy magic is the ability to disguise and distract, and, in this particular area, Fiona is particularly skilled, thanks to her reliance on such magic so often in order to protect herself. She can cast spells in order to distract enemies, blend in with the crowds around her in order to escape difficult situations, and temporarily transform how people perceive her (i.e make herself look like someone/something else). Fiona has studied and discovered ways to disguise her magic as well, as a means of deterring her enemies and keeping herself hidden. The stronger and more prolonged the disguise, the more Incendiaria Fiona needs to use.
Spells: A variety of spells, charms, and incantations for a variety of uses, from the more practical, cooking, cleaning, sewing, repairing, etc., to spells to aid in combat. She can make objects float, summon objects to her or cast them away, summon light and banish it (like the Lumos and Nox spells in Harry Potter), make use of fire, lightning, ice, etc. as offensive spells in combat, cast temporary barriers as protection, curses, hexes, ability to unlock doors, etc. The more powerful the spell, the more Incendiaria required to make use of it.
Runes: Like glyphs, Fiona can make use of runes in her magic, mostly to enhance whichever spell she’s trying to cast. Magic users of all sorts (made and born alike) can paint runes onto their skin with special ink known as phoenix ink, said to come from the blood of a phoenix, for additional enhancement.
Potions/Poisons/Concoctions: Regardless of magical ability, everyone can craft potions, concoctions, and poisons, so long as they have the right ingredients. Fiona has studied and is well-versed in the more practical sorts of potions, healing potions, potions that restore energy and Incendiaria, etc., and she knows several others for the sake of first aid. She is especially skilled in making glamor potions and potions able to grant a form of disguise, given that, even without magic, she reeks of being of the fae. She usually doesn’t bother with concoctions, given that she can easily set enemies on fire if she so wishes. She knows her way around poisons, too. You never know, after all. And it’s better to be prepared.
Glimmer: Faeries, especially powerful faeries, like Fiona’s biological father, have the ability to shapeshift into an animal of their choosing; once chosen, this animal is the only creature they have the ability to turn into. As Fiona isn’t fully faerie, she does not have this ability, nor does she have wings or the ability to fly. What she does have, however, is an ability she calls her ‘glimmer’ power. She can change the color of her eyes and hair at will, and she can also alter the style of her hair as well. This is relatively minor magic and doesn’t require much energy, but, again, her use of this magic is distinctively fae, so Fiona, when she does want to use this ability, has to take care and spend extra Incendiaria to ensure that no one else can detect the nature of such magic.
Basic Self-Defense/Non-Magical Fighting: Fiona can't always rely on her magic in a fight, given the potential for how much Incendiaria she expends at once. As someone on the run and caught in a budding war, she has honed other fighting skills in the name of being able to defend herself. Mostly, she works with daggers and knives in a dual wielding style, but she can also make use of a crossbow. She also knows some basic elements of self-defense from taking classes at her community college and from high school; she's a scrappy fighter, and she isn't afraid of fighting dirty when the occasion calls for it. It should be noted that, as skilled and capable as Fiona is, whether fighting with her magic or without, she is not invincible and is very capable of defeat, especially against those with more experience.
Weaknesses:
Iron:Even though she’s only half-fairy, Fiona bears the full brunt of being weak to cold iron, also known as ‘iron everything except the sort found in human blood.’ Mild exposure to iron usually leaves her with a headache, a fever, and chills throughout the body; touching weapons made of iron usually burns her skin. Extreme exposure to iron will render her weaker and weaker until she dies. For weapons for her personal use, she generally has to get creative, and she generally tends to favor weapons made of copper, silver, and gold.
Guns: In her world, the only beings capable of using guns are full humans. The most similar weapon she can make use of is a crossbow, which suits her just fine, as Fiona really doesn’t like guns. Given how much iron and steel are involved in bullets and the mechanism of guns overall, even minor gunshot wounds can prove fatal to Fiona.
Moon Dust: A poison made of salt, sugar, sour milk, dandelions, and rose petals that is particular effective against faeries and half faeries. Depending on the dosage, Moon Dust will slow Fiona down, render her barely capable of movement, knock her unconscious, or, with the right amount, kill her. Amelia used a potion mixed with a small amount of Moon Dust to help keep Fiona docile, complacent, and unaware of her true heritage over the years.
Not Immortal: Unlike full faeries, Fiona is partly human, which means she is vulnerable to everything that causes harm to humans, such as illnesses, wounds, etc. Being half faerie means she is capable of recovering slightly more quickly than a regular human, but that depends on the severity of the illness/injury. She also ages like humans, even her life expectancy is slightly longer. (Half faeries can live up to fifty years longer than humans, but, again, that depends on health, if the individual is taking care of themselves, etc.)
Too Much Magic Use: If Fiona runs out of Incendiaria, she’ll pass out from exhaustion, or nearly pass out.
Appealing Blood/Magical Energy: Fiona’s blood is like candy, cake, pot, and kava root all rolled into one for various supernatural entities: demons, vampires, and werewolves. For others, such as angels, sirens, selkies, and demigods, it’s fairly toxic. Her magical energy is especially appealing for witches and other magic users looking to bolster their powers.
Personality:
• Studied at the Mr. Darcy school of ‘my good opinion once lost is lost forever,’ also known as girl not only holds a grudge, she clutches it tight and sleeps with it at night. Fiona is pretty unforgiving and ruthless when she feels betrayed, and she holds it against whoever it is she feels betrayed her. She is still reeling from the fact that she only recently discovered the truth of her life, and only, really, by accident, given that her discovery leads her to believe her aunt never meant to tell her the full truth, if any of it, in fact.
• Stubborn AF. She is pretty set in her ways, especially when she feels strongly about the matter at hand, and she can be bullheaded when she feels she is right and everyone else is wrong. She will always try to have the last word in arguments, and she tends to escalate situations rather than diffuse them. She’s gotten herself into a fair amount of fights because of this.
• She prefers solving her problems with violence, and she has a reckless streak of seeking thrills wherever she can find them. Tends to favor one-night stands and casual flings over any sort of serious relationship.
• She has her share of vices; coffee, tea, chocolate, sweets, cigarettes, etc. When she needs to, she has been known to try and drown her sorrows through alcohol, and she really does love seeking thrills where she can find them, whether through a bar fight or ziplining. She is very disappointed that she can’t actually fly.
• Given that she’s been through many a deception and a betrayal of everything she’s known in her life, Fiona finds it hard to trust others. She prefers keeping some kind of distance between herself and the rest of the world. She’ll ally/partner with others if they can come to an agreement, but, at the end of the day, she’ll think of such an alliance as temporary; a business transaction. That being said, she is polite and capable of taking the high road when the occasion calls for it, though, she’ll have to believe in the high road first.
• Big Damn Hero. If Fiona has the chance to do something showy that could also easily get her killed or something more practical but with a greater chance of failing, she’ll choose the former, every time. She cares a lot, despite how often she’ll insist otherwise, and she won’t hesitate to sacrifice herself if it means she can save people. Naturally, this lands her in a fair amount of trouble, such as that time she nearly died after throwing herself right in the path of a rampaging dragon in order to help rescue a trapped group of people traveling in the mountains of Avalon. She nearly got burned alive in the process, but you know. Yolo, and all that. She may or may not have taken a selfie with the dragon’s corpse after defeating it.
• Absolute human (half-human, at least) disaster. Fiona barely holds herself together on a good day; she struggles with having to live on the run constantly, various forms of anxiety, and the clusterfuck that is her biological family. After what Amelia put her through, she struggles with the idea of whether people want to get close to her only to use her, another reason why she tends to keep people at a distance. She often makes poor life choices and puts her foot in her mouth, usually after stepping in wyvern shit.
• Believes strongly in a sense of right and wrong, even when her morals don’t entirely align with those of society. She stands up for what she believes in and tries to do as much good as she can, even as she might fuck up in the process of doing so. She tries to pretend otherwise but the truth is that Fiona has a heart, and it damn well bleeds.
• Clever, intelligent, and determined, Fiona makes use of the fact that people tend to underestimate her in order to help her survive. Given that she’s been exposed herself as part fae, she has to keep on the run, and keep thinking ahead in order to avoid capture by any number of people who want her for various reasons of their own, hence her proficiency in magic that can disguise whatever marks her as fairy.
• Desperate times call for desperate measures; Fiona, if caught between a rock and a hard place, will rely on any means to survive, even including accepting help from people who used her and/or tried to kill her at an earlier point in her life; her hands are fairly dirty. Beggars can't be choosers when trying to stay alive in the middle of a brewing war, is her philosophy, even though she'll loathe being pressed into accepting such help.
• Once her trust is gained, as difficult as that can prove, Fiona’s a loyal friend, good to have on your side in a fight. She will do anything for those she cares for, fight for them, care for them, look out for them, etc. She might pretend she enjoys being on her own but the truth is Fiona absolutely loves and adores her friends/members of her found family, a contrast to the shitshow that is her biological family most of the time.
• Fiona was originally studying to become a nurse by taking classes at her local community college before she discovered the truth about herself. Now that she’s in deep with the world of the supernatural, and trying to stay ahead of the vast amount of people who want to drink her blood, syphon her power for themselves, eat her, and/or kill her, she works odd jobs, usually at odd hours, to survive, everything from smuggling to mercenary work. Between this and the various people she fends off as they come after her, she has a fair amount of blood on her hands and a trail of bodies in her wake like she’s some kind of video game protagonist.
• It is a truth universally acknowledged that every Chosen One (or Cursed One, as Fiona herself would call her entire existence) must have a smart mouth, or something to that effect. Fiona’s fairly snarky; she feels as though, without a sense of humor, she would very much go insane.
• Despite everything she’s been through, Fiona, in her heart of hearts, is actually somewhat of an optimist. She fights hard and works hard, keeping her head to the ground when things go even more to shit than usual, and determined to survive, despite the odds stacked against her. She’s determined to not only survive, but to thrive, and to prove everyone wrong, including her own self-doubt. She definitely usually won’t admit this out loud, however; she’ll wave it off with some kind of smartass comment.
History:
• Born April 8th, 1995 to Marian Rosewood in a private birth, with only a midwife and her team, secluded at Marian’s cabin in the woods just outside of Concord, New Hampshire. Her father, Hamish Briar, left Marian before she could tell him she was carrying his child, and he doesn’t become aware of Fiona’s existence until they cross paths many years later.
• Fiona doesn’t get much time with her mother; she enjoys the first five years of her life with her before Marian is murdered by a mercenary group of ghouls hired by Sir Gwawr, a rival in the courts of the Midsummer Gardens (the only known faerie realm, a world that seems to combine medieval, Renaissance, Victorian, steampunk, Edwardian, and Great Gatsby aesthetics all in one, up to and including the available technology), looking to sow chaos and overthrow Queen Titania. Fiona survives because Amelia Marlowe, who informed Sir Gwawr of Marian’s location and of her affair with one of Titania’s court, arranged to have Fiona in her care at the time at her home in a small town just outside of the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts.
• Amelia, a skilled witch who is made, not born, relies on the energy of others in order to fuel her own spells. She recognized Fiona for what she is immediately, even before she was born or Marian finished explaining how she came to be pregnant with Fiona. Always ambitious and aiming for more power, Amelia both loved Fiona and saw her as a tool to be used to help her achieve her goals, a viewpoint she carried over to the rest of her family, particularly, her husband, whom she also manipulated to suit her own needs.
• Amelia erases Fiona’s memories of her life with Marian, making her believe Amelia is her biological mother all along. She uses a variety of different forms of magic to ensure that Fiona is safe from those who would want to hunt her, as well as to ensure that both Hamish Briar, Fiona’s father, and the rest of the faeries remain ignorant to her existence; an act of protection and selfishness all at once.
• For the next fourteen years, Fiona leads a relatively safe and unassuming life. She is aware of magic and witches, given that Amelia, her husband, Daniel, and their oldest daughter, Belle, all practice the craft. Belle, however, inherited her mother’s ambition, and, at the age of sixteen, when Fiona was ten, went to the Crossroads, the mystical point of convergence between all the worlds, and bet her soul for more power. Unfortunately, she lost and was dragged to Hell. Amelia told Fiona that she died in a car accident.
• Fiona’s younger brother, Everett, hated magic, and struggled with what he knew of Fiona’s true heritage. He fought with both of his parents about the matter, unaware that Amelia had enchanted his father as a means of keeping Fiona for herself. He often acted out, and, one night, when he was thirteen and Fiona fourteen, he wound up bitten and turned into a werewolf. He left home after that, and Fiona didn’t see him until years later.
• Despite the violence permeating throughout her family, otherwise, Fiona lead a relatively normal existence, attending school, making friends, going to after school activities, etc. She really enjoyed science and math, particularly, and she loved running track. She also enjoyed drawing, though it isn’t a particular talent of hers, and she very much liked doing plays with the drama club. She wasn’t popular but she was well-liked and respected among her peers; she got good grades and often made the honor roll. Amelia, despite everything else she was doing to and keeping from Fiona, often told her she was proud of her.
• She had a variety of allergies, including to peanut butter, so she never thought it odd when Amelia told her that certain kinds of iron could hurt her, even kill her. In comparison to Belle and Everette, Fiona was the perfect child, though she often felt the weight of what was expected of her, and the loss of her family over the years.
• Just after Fiona turned 18, Sir Gwawr sent his mercenary group after Daniel Marlowe, killing him rather ruthlessly. Fiona would later come to learn that he did this so that Amelia would know her place; no fairy answers to the whims of any human, no matter what they might have agreed upon.
• Amelia, grieved by this loss, starts to make mistakes in the way she protects and deceives Fiona. Soon after Fiona turns 19, while studying at the local community college to become a nurse (unknowingly like her biological mother), she accidentally summons light in her hand, startling her very human classmates and herself both. She arrives home to demand answers of Amelia, and they wind up in a heated argument that only seems to keep escalating. Fiona’s own determination becomes strong enough to become a kind of magic on its own, strong enough that she breaks through the magic Amelia’s cast on her and the various potions she’s used on her; she begins to remember, and she is furious.
• Unfortunately, this shattering of the shield that bound her to her aunt alerts the rest of the worlds to her existence, and before she can demand answers from her aunt, Fiona immediately finds herself on the run, leaving behind her old life that was never really hers to begin with.
• Fiona, fueled by anger, regret, sadness, and a whole variety of other emotions, struggles to find her footing at first; she ends up throwing herself into all of the poor life choices she never could make before, whether instigating a barfight, or using her magic in reckless ways. She nearly dies several times over in the process of finding herself, and it’s only when she meets Brooke Lockwood, an experienced witch also on the run for reasons of her own, that she manages to pull her life together.
• Reluctant to trust anyone after what happened with Amelia, Fiona swallows her pride and takes a chance with Brooke, a choice that ultimately saves her life. Despite the rivalry between witches and faeries, Brooke proves a true friend to Amelia, perhaps the first she’s ever known. Amelia learns to trust her, and they look out for one another.
• Brooke introduces Amelia to her other friends, a network of outsiders trying to make the best of bad situations, known as Flowers by the Gallows. The Flowers provide Fiona with the opportunity to start learning how to build her own life, as well as study and hone her magic.
• It’s through the Flowers that Fiona also learns that she isn’t alone; Maverick Peterson, a young man older than her by a year, is also part fairy, his mother dallying with another of Queen Titania’s court, as are Emilio Rivers, Charlie King, and Ariana Smith. Esperanza Fuentes, older than Fiona by ten years, reveals herself to be Fiona’s biological half-sister when Fiona discovers her father’s true identity.
• Fiona also learns that her existence, along with the existence of every other being with any ounce of faerie blood in them out there (the exact number of which is unknown), could start a war, if revealed, as they would reveal that the faeries broke their part of the peace treaty of 500 years ago; a fair number of extremist groups, looking for blood and violence, would happily sell her out/reveal her and those like her if given the chance.
• She also learns the hard way that her blood is a combination of drugs and candy for certain supernatural creatures when she’s bitten by a vampire; Esperanza rescues her and begins teaching her methods of disguise and protection.
• As messy as her nineteenth year was, the spring Fiona turned twenty turned into a real clusterfuck. She ran into Everett, now a werewolf, and a member of a brutal group of criminals known for leaving a trail of bodies in their wake. They have an awkward, cold sort of reunion as Fiona saves Everett’s life and he reveals to her that he knew what Amelia was doing to her all along. Fiona, furious, feels betrayed that he did nothing, and they part on even worse terms.
• Fiona also encounters Belle, now a Crossroads Demon, making a deal with someone Fiona once saved through her work with the Flowers. She tries to intervene, but is too late; the man’s soul is sold in one of the crappiest deals in existence.
• Her and Belle get into a fight, and Fiona actually manages to win, hurting Belle rather badly. In the end, though she feels like she ought to kill Belle, she just sends her back to Hell.
• Amelia finally catches up with Fiona, cornering her in an underground, supernatural fight club. They argue, Amelia trying to convince Fiona to come home, that she’s changed. Fiona doesn’t believe her, and she’s especially enraged once she discovers Amelia’s carrying a charm to try and help cage her and make her more compliant. They get into a fight, and while it’s a close call, Fiona gains the upper hand, and, with a brutal gesture, drains Amelia of the magic she borrowed for the night, and leaves her, weakened and exposed, as a group of vampires hone in on her as easy prey. Fiona doesn’t look back.
• Everett confronts her a month later, having encountered his mother as a vampire as part of one of the jobs he works. As much as he disagrees with what Amelia did to Fiona, he feels as though Fiona betrayed the family by leaving Amelia to die, essentially. They fight, and Fiona almost dies.
• Belle, finding a way back from Hell, intervenes; she transfers Fiona’s injuries to Everett and sends him fleeing on the brink of death.
• Fiona and Belle talk, finding their way to an obscure and out of the way diner to do so. Belle explains herself, and she tells Fiona that going to Hell is actually the best thing that could have happened to her. She explains that there’s no love lost between her and Amelia, given that she found out what Amelia did to her father when crossing between various afterlives, and Fiona explains that she feels free now, after a year spent out on her own with the Flowers by the Gallows.
• It takes another year and several battles for Fiona to come to an alliance with Belle, but, eventually, they become something close to friends, and they are currently growing closer, almost as close as they were when they were younger.
• Fiona is constantly learning and refining her magic, and she never stays in one place too long. Luckily, the Flowers by the Gallows, as a network, has resources so that Fiona always usually has at least a couch to sleep on for the night. She travels relatively lightly, keeping her belongings to one overstuffed duffle bag for ease. That being said, she enjoys fashion and making use of her limited resources to pull together an outfit, one of the few luxuries she allows herself. Typically, she prefers wearing leggings with a dress or tunic shirt, along with ‘ass kicking hooker boots,’ as she calls them, and whatever jewelry she can find. (Think a combination of Isabela and Sera from Dragon Age.)
• Everett, determined for revenge, constantly tries selling Fiona out and tries to kill her. Little does Fiona know, Amelia actually works to prevent him from doing so, and she succeeds, for the most part. One night, Everett fights Fiona to the point where she kills him in self-defense, turning him into an angry, restless spirit who cannot pass onto the afterlife due to the baggage he has tying him to life. (Namely, his grudge against Fiona.)
• Everett haunts Fiona constantly, to the point where she learns various exorcism spells just to be able to send him away when he’s really bothering her. It takes a year, when Fiona turns 22, before Fiona winds up confronting Everett, torn by both wanting to be rid of him for good and the guilt she feels in causing his death. They end up fighting against a horde of demons together, and it actually opens them up to a moment of listening and understanding.
• They come to a truce, of sorts; Fiona will help Everett find his way to the afterlife, and Everett will help protect Fiona and assist the Flowers by the Gallows when they need it.
• Naturally, just after this tender moment, Sir Gwawr, tipped off by a rival of Fiona’s bitter about her magical abilities, discovers and kidnaps Fiona along with several other half faeries, transporting them to the Midsummer Gardens to use as leverage to overthrow the Queen.
• Fiona and her fellow kidnapped companions are presented at court, meant to start a scandal. Hamish Briar is truly shocked by Fiona’s existence, so much so that he questions loudly how she could even be real, in front of the entire court, and hurting Fiona deeply.
• However, Queen Titania is not cowed by Sir Gwawr’s tactics; indeed, she only smiles at the sight of Fiona and company, and it’s then that they all realize that Sir Gwawr played into the Queen’s hands all along, moments before she executes Sir Gwawr brutally. She then tells Fiona and her companions that they have a choice: enlist as part of Queen Titania’s forces, or remain in the Midsummer Gardens to serve in the palace. From her speech, it is clear she means to start a war and emerge the ruler of all from it.
• Fiona immediately tries to make a run for it, but is just as immediately caught and brought to the dungeons. It takes a few days until her father sends for her, a few horrid days consisting of terrible food and some torture.
• Hamish brings Fiona to a hidden chamber in his rooms. He seals it with magic to ensure that they aren’t overheard, and then he explains that, no, he didn’t know she existed, and that, as much as he would like to get to know her, they don’t have time. He explains how Helena, mistress of Prince Regent Oberon, is looking to overthrow Titania and put a stop to her madness. He also tells her that there are at least seven others vying for the throne, but he’s pledged his loyalty to Helena, whom he loves, awkward as that sounds.
• Hamish tells Fiona that, essentially, all hell is about to break loose, what with faerie politics about to spill over into the rest of the worlds. He provides her with a means to contact him using her owl tattoo; he reveals that he has a similar one on his left shoulder, and he crafts a spell that enables them to communicate through the tattoos. He explains that he has done this for Esperanza, as well, and that he wishes she would have told him about his other daughter. Fiona responds by saying she probably didn’t think it was her place to say, feeling protective of her older sister.
• Hamish introduces Fiona to Helena and other members of Helena’s supporters briefly before organizing a way for Fiona and the others to escape. Two go with Fiona; the rest have all signed up with Titania’s forces.
• When Fiona makes it back, she immediately seeks out Brooke and Esperanza, explaining what just happened. They inform her that she’s been gone an entire month, even though, back in the Midsummer Gardens, it felt like only a few days.
• Literally five minutes later, Queen Titania broadcasts a message across all the worlds using her magic, explaining the existence of half faerie children, the dangers they possess, and the rewards for turning them in, a handsome bonus is alive.
• Fiona, Esperanza, and those remaining of their half faerie friends all immediately go into hiding; they invent different identities for themselves, and they learn to guard against those hunting them with even greater efficiency.
• Belle, Everett, and even Amelia all reach out to Fiona, offering to aid her as best they can. Fiona, desperate, takes them all up on their offers, and it’s through their help that she manages to evade the best of Titania’s hunters and those looking to collect the bounty on her head for themselves.
• Through the Flowers by the Gallows, Fiona is able to still pick up and complete odd jobs in order to get by, everything from grumpy winged cows to fierce dragons, and all of the strangeness in between.
• She spends the next three years studying and practicing magic, working odd jobs, and keeping on the run, even as Titania begins to escalate in her desire for war. She communicates with Hamish as much as she can, and she tries to meet up with Brooke, Esperanza, and others from the Flowers as much as she can, as safely as she can. She starts to get really proficient in disguise magic. She tries to help those caught in the middle of Titania’s whims as much as she can, and she fights back against the increased war efforts of Titania as much as she can.
• Eventually, Fiona isn’t able to communicate with her father as often, as the communication between them can be hacked, as they find out the hard way. The last Fiona heard directly from Hamish, he was almost found out. Helena reaches out to her directly to inform her that Titania has taken Hamish prisoner and is torturing him.
• Fiona works on a rescue plan while continuing to pick up odd jobs along the way. She’s in the middle of hunting down a dangerous herd of wyvern in exchange for food and additional weapons when she winds up in the Kingdom of the Pierced Heart.