Rune |
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Portrayed by Kate Beckinsale |
Statistics |
Full Name |
Dana Maddox Hunt |
Age |
27 |
Height |
5'6" |
Build |
Slender and athletic |
Eyes |
Hazel |
Hair |
Brown |
Factions |
N/A |
Occupation |
Photographer/Photojournalist |
Alignment |
Neutral |
Claim to Fame
Detail-oriented Photojournalist / Daughter of the Lord of the Wild Hunt and a Witch
Reputation
As a photographer/photojournalist, Dana is quickly gaining a reputation as world-class, though she's still at the beginning of her career. Beyond that, however, she has very little in the way of public reputation. She hasn't been around long enough for that. Not in the human world, at least.
Among the Sidhe, she's a half-blooded mongrel who only continues to exist because the Queen of Air and Darkness hasn't tired of her, yet. (Mainly because she's smart enough to avoid her royal majesty as much as possible. Hanging out with Mom, FTW!)
Biography
When Shannon Maddox spent the summer in Sommerset, England, visiting relatives, she didn't expect to meet the love of her life. Nor to lose him so quickly. She was barely 21, taking a break between college and "the rest of her life" when she met Aaron Hunt, a bartender at the local watering hole. They had a fling. It was pretty hot. Then, he just kinda… disappeared. But a baby-bump appeared in his stead. Nine months later, in the spring of the year, Shannon was back in NYC and young Dana drew breath for the first time.
Ultimately, Dana's childhood was fairly normal — for a Maddox girl, anyway. Shannon Maddox, like her foremothers before her, was a witch. So, when her daughter mentioned the fairies in the garden behind their small house, it wasn't really a big deal. Even the fact that animals gravitated to her and she would speak to them in ways other children really didn't (or how they would run terrified from her when her temper was up — even though she did nothing against them) wasn't a big deal. Shannon didn't really worry about it. It was the other things that became a little more telling. The fact, for instance, that food cooked in an iron skillet could make the child sick for days, and the fact that even steel utensils 'tasted funny' to her. Indeed, just about everything in the house was converted over to copper, ceramic, and bamboo, because of it. And when she hit puberty, it all became that much more confusing.
Witchcraft, the sort practiced by and in the blood of the Maddox women, was fairly predicable. Powerful, when applied correctly, but still… subtle. Predictable. Shannon knew from experience, it manifests shortly after a girl's first menses and develops along a fairly even curve. First, there are the small powers: In the Maddox line, typically a healer's touch or a protective shield. Sometimes both. Then comes the actual craftwork: Learning the potions and salves, the small artifacts and talismans, the wands and rods, and the small spells. Except that didn't quite work for Dana. With her, small spells went awry, potions and salves rarely did what they were supposed to (but did all sorts of other entirely unexpected things), and artifacts, talismans, wands, and rods, all tended to break. Or overload. Overloading was remarkably common. For the longest while, Shannon despaired of teaching the girl anything constructive. Oh, and her "small" powers? Nothing Shannon could have predicted.
First, there were the dreams, dreams that became unpredictable visions. And rarely pleasant. Often about death, sometimes about conflict, occasionally about terrifying chases across midnight skies. More troubling were the ones that were predictive… and uncannily accurate in those predictions, when the symbolism in the dreams was properly interpreted. Then, there were the times the girl seemed to stare right through her mother at other things, other realities, perhaps, given the descriptions the girl would give when Shannon could regain Dana's attention. The girl could manifest shields. That was something, at least. But she could manipulate those shields to such a fine degree she would create shapes with them and throw them around like toys. And she learned to call animals to her without the spells her mother used. Most disconcerting, however, was the girl's tendency to disappear, much as her father had done — into shadow, into mist, in the blink of an eye, when no one was watching. Shannon would glance away for a second and Dana would be gone, only to reappear from somewhere else moments, sometimes hours, later.
And then, Aaron returned. He stepped out of the mist with the girl, one spring morning 'round about Dana's 16th birthday. Shannon's delight turned to dismay when she realized he had come to take Dana away from her — to take her, he said, to meet her talaith, her clan, his family and "people". Truthfully, Dana wasn't any more keen on going than Shannon was in letting her go. Shannon tried to accompany them, but Aaron refused, saying it was safer for her if she remained in the mortal world.
It was about then that Shannon clued in that Aaron was more than he seemed.
Regardless, Dana found herself taken through the twilight mists and the veil between worlds to Annwn, one of the lands of the Sidhe. Her father, Aaron, was, in fact, Arawn, also called Gwyn, King of Annwn and Master of the Wild Hunt. And he proclaimed her quite publicly as his daughter and heir, much to the dismay of the Sidhe royal courts.
Generally, Dana discovered Annwn to be a paradise, as most Sidhe lands are, but perilous, nonetheless. She also discovered being a 'fairy princess' wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Between the dangers of the land itself, a land that took its own sweet time in accepting her (mainly because she refused to shed blood for it… at least at first), and the dangers of the Sidhe courts, Dana was entirely unprepared for what she faced there. Consequently Arawn pushed his daughter hard to prepare her.
She learned to fight. She learned to control her magic. She learned when to keep her mouth shut, and when to simply run like hell. And she learned that, half-blooded mongrel or not, she had a power the other Sidhe lacked: the power to be human and thus the power to set her own destiny among them. She was not bound to the roles they chose, but could create her own.
This made her dangerous.
Ultimately, she decided that, Heir to the Hunt or not, princess or not, she didn't belong among the capricious, cunning, conniving creatures that were the Sidhe. She wanted to go home, wanted to see her mother. More than anything else, though, she just wanted away from the politics and the pressure of being Arawn's daughter.
Thus, she returned to NYC and began rebuilding her life in the mortal world. Now, some years later, she's made a name for herself as a solid, up and coming photographer who will one day rival the best in the best in the world. The only real disappointment she has is that, even though she left the magic of the Sidhe behind, it didn't leave her behind. But, she's learned to deal with that, too. And they've learned to be very careful in how they deal with her.
So, right now, it's a detente. No telling how long it'll last.
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Character Details
Dana is a pragmatic sort. She's seen an awful lot of crap in her life and is coming to realize she's going to see an awful lot more before it's all over. Thus, while she's not quite jaded or cynical, she's not an unbridled optimist. Instead, she is eminently practical. She likes to hope for the best, but almost always prepare for the worst, usually finding a comfortable middle ground as a result. Her choices, however, reflect a certain amount of self-preservation. She doesn't take unnecessary risk, save at the prompting of the visions that plague her. Indeed, she prefers to keep a low profile, and gets quite irritated when she can't — which is more often than she'd like. Nevertheless, she's relatively even-keeled, if a little sarcastic, and well-able to land on her feet when all's said and done.
Witchcraft |
Spells, incantations, potions, powders, salves, talismans, artifacts, wands, rods, and enchantments. All these things should theoretically be within Dana's purview to cast and control, thanks to her mother's heritage. Leave it to her father to screw all that up. Human magic and Sidhe magic do not mix comfortably. At least, they don't without a lot of practice and experience.
At this point in her life, Dana is a middling witch at best. She has the potential to be an extremely powerful witch, given she's got centuries ahead of her to hone her craft. But, for now, she's a mid-weight, not a heavy-weight magic user. That said, the advantage of magic is its versatility.
For example, thanks to the natural instinct for healing in the Maddox bloodline, she can create healing potions that are at least strong enough to keep a person from dying if they're administered in time. They're limited, however, to one dose per day without Bad Things happening, and work somewhat like stepping stones. Dose 1 will bring someone at death's door from terminal to critical, but stable. Dose 2 will bring a critical patient to serious. Dose 3 will bring a seriously injured patient to moderate injuries. Dose 4 will bring a moderately injured patient to lightly injured. And dose 5 will heal a lightly injured patient entirely. In a pinch, and only once in a long while, two doses might be consumed together without ill-effect, but it's a gamble. Typically, rushing it like that will cause a relapse that can often be more serious than the original injury or illness
Any potion or artifact she creates is similarly limited — either in effect or duration. Often both. And, of course, talismans, artifacts, and other such constructs she makes always run the risk of overloading or "shorting out" when they're used. She's been practicing long enough that the risks of something going awry is low, providing the effects are narrow, the duration is short, and the power requirements are moderate. But, the bigger the effect or the more power it requires, the more likely it is something may go wrong. Not to mention the fact it takes time and resources to make any of these things. Some of the resources she needs are quite rare and difficult to obtain. (Not to mention expensive and sometimes illegal.) Other things take a goodly amount of time and can be completely ruined if rushed.
And, no matter what, she can't raise people from the dead — not even given her psychopompic heritage — nor can she make people fall genuinely in love or otherwise produce more than a simulacrum of emotion using her magic. But, of course, sometimes, just a simulacrum is enough…
At the end of the day, when it comes to witchcraft, Dana is better at spells than she is at anything else, which is probably just as well. Her typical range of spells include such things as cloaking herself in invisibility — providing she doesn't move; lighting or extinguishing small fires with a word or freezing small patches of water the same way; levitating objects up to about her own body weight and size; summoning moderate gusts of wind for short durations; whispering 'long distance' over a distance of no more than a couple of miles; and other similarly-scoped effects. And most magical affects that effect a person directly can be countered with a strong enough force of will or sense of perception. |
Witch Shield |
The other advantage of Dana's Maddox heritage is her ability to create and manipulate a natural force field about herself and others out of eldritch energy. Shields created from this energy can stop most small arms ballistics and mid-range energy and physical attacks, though it can be overwhelmed by too many attacks all at once or strong attacks that go beyond her mid-range limit. The closer the energy is to her body, however, the greater its stopping power.
She can also use the eldritch energies to create weapons and other small constructs for herself. Typically, however, she needs to stay in contact with the energy for this to work. For instance, she can create hand-held weapons like swords or arm shields or staves out eldritch energy, which remain solid and usable as long as she's concentrating on holding them. She can also send out bolts of eldritch energy in the form of fletchets, energy balls, or, if she's really concentrating on aiming, arrows from an eldritch bow construct. (For some reason, gun constructs just don't work for her.) Her maximum range, however, is only a couple of hundred feet at best.
She can stretch her shield to cover a wide area, attenuating the energy and thus weakening its overall stopping power. She can also concentrate on shielding someone distant from herself with a close-fitting shield, thus increasing the stopping power, as long as they're within her 200' range and as long as there's some sort of solid surface between her and them she can use as a sort of transmission plane. Effectively, she uses the solid surface to channel a slender thread of her power towards what she wants to protect, and then wraps that object (or person or what-have-you) in the energy by making that energy flow up and over it. Without a solid surface between her and her target, she cannot erect a shield around anything distant without either making an overall projection that maintains herself at the center or without moving to the object and physically touching it. Thus, she cannot project a shield across empty space to protect anything. |
Glamour & Illusion |
The Sidhe have a natural affinity for illusion and, thus, so does Dana. Where most of her magic is middling at best, Dana's illusions are formidable. If she can concentrate enough to block out the distracting shadows around her, she can project illusions that are strong enough to fool all but the most alert and stubborn minds. Sight, sound, scent, even touch and taste, though the latter three increase the difficulty substantially. And, given the number of different worlds she has to draw on for inspiration, she's got quite the repertoire of illusions she can conjure.
She can also, though she rarely does, use her illusions as a sort of personal glamour, when need be, making herself appear to be someone she's not. That said, her illusions won't fool cameras or mechanical devices. |
True Sight |
Dana's not sure if this particular ability is a gift or a curse. Basically, she sees the true nature of just about everything she looks at. This is not the same as detecting deception, though it often helps her do that simply by alerting her to people with potentially deceptive natures. Rather, it is more like looking at the world with a sort of overlaid, augmented reality always turned on. For instance, a demon may disguise itself as a human and walk the streets. When Dana looks at him, she sees the human face with the demonic visage overlaid atop it — which can be disorienting, sometimes. She has sort of a tacit arrangement with such creatures, most of the time, however. It's a kind of live-and-let-live policy. As long as they don't get up in her face, she won't get up in theirs. Most of the time.
She sees auras around people as well, or, rather, she can, when she specifically concentrates on it. As one might expect, these auras typically give her an idea of the person's general nature. Some people, however, have naturally muted or hard-to-read auras, so it's hardly foolproof. Indeed, most of the time she ignores it as so much extra noise. Nevertheless, sometimes it's actually helpful.
More than that, however, True Sight allows — actually forces — Dana to see the various ways the real world intersects with the rest of the multiverse. She sees what she calls "shadows" overlaid atop everything. These shadows represent everything from the astral plane that is contiguous with the material plane it mimics, to various parallel dimensions and alternate realities that intersect at various points with the real world. She often refers to the barriers between these worlds as "the veil". For most people, the veil is both invisible and impermeable. For, Dana, however, its the only thing that keeps her perceptions from being completely overwhelmed.
True Sight, however, also brings with it one more little quirk. It's possible this comes partly from her father's psychopompic nature, but Dana is occasionally prone to what she sarcastically refers to as "VOIDs": Visions of Impending Doom. These clairvoyant episodes usually cause her to experience the impending deaths or other misfortunes of people around her. They're not always bad and they're not always contemporary — she's been known to experience events long past, as much as in the present, though that's rare. But, that does imply a certain level of psychometry as much as clairvoyance at work. Regardless, VOIDs are always accurate, unless she purposely tries to change them. (And that gets dicey, too, since, sometimes, trying to change a vision is exactly what brings it to pass.)
The problem is they usually hit her with a sort of 3D total immersion experience, where she actually lives through the experience as if it were happening to her personally. And, seriously… that just sucks. On a good day, she'll just stand there, stunned, the experience playing out in her head while her eyes glaze over. Just as often, however, she ends up curled in a little ball on the ground, sobbing or shaking, or both. It's not fun. Fortunately, however, it's also not frequent. (In other words: It's a plot device.)
Finally, True Sight allows Dana to see the ebb and flow of magic in the world. She can trace ley lines and see nexus points where magic combines into powerful fonts that various magic users can tap into and use to fuel their own spells. This can be very advantageous when she needs to come up with a little extra push for her spells or abilities. However, tapping into a nexus point is extremely dangerous. And the bigger and more powerful the nexus point the more dangerous it is. Consequently, Dana tends to shy away from doing that unless she's had time to study the area and get an idea of the nuances she's dealing with. |
Piercing the Veil |
Very likely another aspect of her True Sight working in combination with her half-Sidhe nature, Dana can step through the barriers between worlds — but most especially between the material plane and the astral plane — and use them as a way to travel quickly from one place to another. This doesn't afford her instantaneous travel, but because of how the various shadow worlds line up, it's sometimes possible for her to hop from world to world to world and back again, winding up miles from where she started with only a few steps.
It's easiest for her to do this at natural transition points — e.g. the threshold of a door or where a street becomes a sidewalk or a meadow becomes a forest — but she can force her way through almost anywhere if she needs to. The risk of not using a threshold or transitional spot, however, is that she may leave a tear in the veil other creatures can use to break through. And that's not usually good.
Regardless, it is this ability that allows her to return to her father's home in Annwn when she needs, to leave the halls of the Queen of Air and Darkness when she chooses, and make her way to the Silveroak in time for dinner no matter where else she may be. |
Eldritch Slipstream |
Although Dana's spells can be combined to allow her a semblance of flight (e.g. levitation combined with a handy gust of wind), she can't really get a whole lot of speed out that method. She tops out somewhere around typical road speeds. For moving fast, however, she's discovered she can use the ley lines crisscrossing the globe as a sort of eldritch slipstream. True Sight allows her to see the ley lines. Her ability to pierce the veil allows her to hop into the stream. And her witch shield lets her ride them like a bobsledder on a luge run. She can even take passengers, providing she can maintain the shield around them and not capsize in the process.
Capsizing in a ley line is another one of those Very Bad Things that can happen if Dana gets overwhelmed. Basically, her witch shield collapses from whatever strain she's under and she and any passengers she may have along for the ride are forcibly ejected from the stream. This means they end up falling back into reality, moving at whatever speed the ley line was effectively moving at. If the ley line was meandering along like a little creek, no big deal. But, if the ley line was one of the major conduits, this may mean hitting real space at several hundred miles per hour, which means it could be quite fatal. At the very least, there's a risk of critical injury. Worse, because of her ability to pierce the veil between worlds, there's no guarantee that a) everyone will end up in the same reality, or b) anyone will end up in the original reality. So, it's a right mess waiting to happen.
To avoid Bad Things happening, Dana tends to limit herself to short jaunts (sometimes combat shunts) and doesn't very often take passengers, preferring to keep to slower-moving lines when she does unless it's a real emergency. |
Combat Training |
Dana's father is considered to be one of the best warriors among the Sidhe. Consequently, when he collected her from her mother and brought her to live in Annwn for a time, he also made sure she learned to fight. Hand-to-hand, melee, and even ranged. She's learned to handle herself in most situations and had over a decade since she began that training to hone her skill. She excels with ranged weapons such as throwing knives, javelins, and bows, and is highly skilled with dual swords and staves. Nonetheless, there are very few archaic weapons her father didn'tdrill into her at least in passing. Consequently, there are very few weapons she can't pick up and use passably well quite quickly.
She's also remarkably good at using whatever's in her environment to her advantage and improvising weapons from whatever happens to be at hand when she needs to. Her father's goal was to make sure she could survive any assassination or capture attempt his enemies might make against her. Thus, he was relentless in his lessons. She had no choice but to learn them well.
That said, weapons and brawling are her fallback. If she's drawing a sword, something's gone very wrong. Magic and illusion are her first line of defense. That, and her witch shield. |
Animal Affinity |
It's a fae thing. Dana can speak with and understand animals as easily as if they were human beings. More than that, she can summon and control them, when necessary. Her greatest affinity, however, is for her father's hunting hounds, the Cwn Annwn. These mystical animals obey her almost as well as they do her father. Indeed, it is only to him that she would lose their loyalty.
Her father gave her a Cwn Annwn puppy when she was first brought to Annwn, which has grown up beside her and still acts as her own personal guardian and constant companion. (When he shouldn't be somewhere, he has a tendency to turn invisible and camp out anyway.) To most people, he looks like nothing more than an overgrown shepherd mix of some sort with shaggy white fur and a lopsided smile. But, those that know what to look for will recognize a fae hellhound when they see it. |
Photography |
Although not yet 30, Dana is gaining a reputation as a world-class photographer. She's been taking photographs almost all her life, but most particularly since her True Sight started manifesting in strength. The mechanical process of the lens and shutter allows her to see the world as it appears to everyone else… more or less. So, she's obsessed over photography for over 15 years. It's only in the last 5, though, that she's started to gain any sort of reknown.
Her photographs are notable for their striking use of light and shadow and the unusual nature of her subject matter. What looks like it should be simple, if effective, street photography is often framed in such a way as to lend an entirely new perspective. Of course, what's actually happening is that she's framing her photos based on the overlaid layers she sees, but even so. The overall effect just works for her.
Unsurprisingly, however, her most successful gallery show, to date, was an exhibit of multiply exposed images through which she sought to reproduce the overlays she sees as a regular part of life.
As popular as her work is, though, and as well as pieces she produces will sell, she is also noted as a sharp photojournalist, her work displayed in various local and national publications ranging, including most of the big news publications in the Tri-City Corridor. |
The Silveroak Inn & Tavern |
Akin to the Oblivion Bar, the Silveroak Inn & TAvern is highly receptive to magical sorts of people, often appearing just when they need it most. Most particularly, however, it is Dana's home base. The woman who runs it, Wassea, has never asked her for rent, never asked awkward questions, and never actively pried into her business — though she has been known to arch a brow in askance once in a while, when Dana is being particularly stubborn or wrongheaded. Regardless, since the place contains no iron or steel of any sort, Dana is safe there. Wassea provides her with food, shelter, and a measure of protection.
The best thing about it, though? On the grounds of the Silveroak, and inside its walls, Dana can see without having to concentrate on blocking out the shadow worlds, she can rest without being harassed by wandering spirits, and if visions do come, no one there bats an eye.
In return for this little slice of paradise, Dana often runs errands for Wassea and will fight like a dog to defend both the place itself and its landlady. |
Annwn |
Her father's realm in the "otherworld", Annwn is a paradise of forests, fields, and fair streams. Dana can, when she chooses step through the veil to Annwn's shores — a privilege much the same as the Asgardians returning to Asgard or Magik returning to Limbo.
She doesn't chose to avail herself of this privilege often, nor particularly intentionally, because she doesn't really like dealing with her father or any of the other Sidhe. But, it's her right by blood, and sometimes blood does call to blood and she just kinda ends up there. And, if she happens to be there while her father doesn't know? So much the better. |
Rune-Spelled Armour |
Dana possesses a suit of light leather armor — in appearance much like a hooded set of heavily padded, arcanely stylish motorcycle leathers or futuristic body armour — that was created by John Wayland Smith, an immortal half-blood like Dana whose creations are to magical artifacts what Forge's creations are to technological gadgets. It is covered in intricate and interconnected etchings and carvings, several of which she designed herself, but most of which were fashioned by the legendary smith to act as protective wards over the wearer.
When Dana wears the armour, the wards lessen the impact of the effects of steel and iron (save for hand-forged iron) on her and provide her with a general (i.e. mid-) level of protection against unfriendly magic. Some of the runes protect against elemental attacks — lightening, fire, ice, etc. (Again, to a mid-level.) The armour also increases her strength to low superhuman levels, allowing her to physically shift a weight equivalent to a mid-weight luxury sedan, and letting her survive the impact of a significant amount of blunt, kinetic force (like being tossed against a wall by a cave troll or being hit by that same mid-weight luxury sedan at speed). Of course, "survive" doesn't always mean unscathed, but at least she has a fighting chance. Without her armour activated, she is no stronger than any other physically fit woman of her height and build, and no more resilient, either, unless she can magic a witch shield about herself.
The armour is built around a slender silver and copper cuff inset with a richly coloured gemstone Dana always wears on her left wrist. The cuff allows her to recite a spell that will cause the armour and her related gear to manifest on her — effectively allowing her to transform from her civilian identity to super-human identity and back again with a simple word of power. Although the armour will not work on anyone but her, should the cuff be removed from her person, she will no longer have access to the armour until she can obtain the cuff and put it back on. Generally speaking, the cuff looks like an ornate Celtic bracelet with an inset stone. Its design is ornate enough and craftsmanship skillful enough that it does attract attention and would be highly valued by collectors, were she willing to part with it. (Which she's not.) |
Bag o' Tricks |
Dana has a tendency to carry a leather messenger bag with her almost everywhere she goes. It is ornate in its decoration, embellished all over with fanciful symbols and old runes that make it highly reminiscent of her armour. In fact, this bag is her magical bag of tricks, in which she keeps various things she think she may need, magically speaking. In her experience, not being prepared means getting yourself killed, and she has no intention of going down without a fight. So, she keeps her bag on hand, filled with its potions and powders and artifacts of various sorts — most particularly a channeling rod that can help her focus her eldritch energy and double her range when she really needs it — 'cause she just never knows when it might come in handy.
Oh, and it's pretty useful for keeping an extra camera or two in, too. Just in case. |
Heir to the Hunt |
At once a gift and a curse, Dana's status as her father's heir gives her a certain level of prestige in some circles. Mostly fae and magic-centric circles, to be sure, but still… perks are perks. She's considered royalty among the Sidhe and a demigoddess among those that would worship the Sidhe as gods. (She, herself, would never claim the title, however. Not only does she think it's pretentious, she thinks it's entirely inaccurate.)
It's this fact, and this fact alone, that kept her alive in the courts of the Queen of Air and Darkness and that make the rest of the Sidhe careful it in their dealings with her. Mongrel though she may be, her father has accepted her publicly as his own and claimed her right of blood. This means she's no illegitimate bastard, she's a Princess of the Blood. Killing her means a blood feud none but the most reckless or most powerful of her father's enemies would risk. (But that doesn't mean they can't harass her. There's an awful lot that can be done to a body without killing her, after all.)
That said, she also holds a certain level of respect among the Wild Hunt, itself. This is hereditary respect, however, accorded her because of who her father is and not because she's proven herself among the Riders. Indeed, if she ever had to lead or otherwise control the Hunt, whether or not she stayed true to its wild and unbiased nature would greatly determine whether the Hunt will truly accept or reject her. It would be a very, very fine line to walk. And she honestly doesn't know that she's up to the challenge.
Despite that, Dana has taken care to distance herself from the politics of the Sidhe courts, under the (partially mistaken) belief that if she ignores them, they'll ignore her. She's returned to the mortal world and, aside from taking refuge in the Silveroak, is concentrating on building a life there with the hope the courts will see her as less of a threat. For the moment, it's working. But, the Sidhe are capricious, so that won't last. |
Trust Fund |
There's not a lot Dana's father can do to help her outside of Annwn. But, one of the few things he can do is ensure she doesn't need to worry about paying bills in the real world. Of course, given she lives at the Silveroak and doesn't have a car, there aren't a lot of expenses she has to worry about. Nevertheless, she has a small trust fund from which she can withdraw what money she needs when she needs it. Given she's not inclined to extravagance, however, most of it sits untouched in an offshore account. |
Immortal |
Dana is, effectively, immortal, thanks to her Sidhe blood. As such, she has centuries to learn those things she doesn't know now and those things about which she wants to know more. Regardless, she hasn't been around that long in the grand scheme of things. So, she has a lot to learn. More than that, however, her mother is still alive, and represents a close family tie, for whom she cares deeply, that can be exploited by those that are aware of it. |
Hunted |
It's ironic, really, that the daughter of the Huntsman should find herself hunted. But, it's true. There are those among her father's people who see her personally as a threat or, more often, as a way to threaten him. She's seen as a mongrel and a half-breed my most of the Sidhe, tolerated, but not protected, by the Queen of Air and Darkness, who rules them. Consequently, she can at any point find herself facing down any of her father's foes, or their minions, simply because they feel like harassing her. And, due to the Queen's decree, not to mention Dana's own choices, her father is largely powerless to intervene. |
Sidhe Nobility |
A lot of girls wish they were fairy princesses. Dana thinks they're all nuts. She knows the reality of it, after all, and the reality isn't pretty.
Her father is King of Annwn, the fae underworld (which, actually, is a paradise… go figure). But even he is expected to pay fealty to the Queen of Air and Darkness, who rules over all the Sidhe. As his daughter, and heir to Annwn's throne, the same is expected of Dana, and that complicates matters entirely. Being half-human gives Dana a certain measure of independence and self-determination (something for which the rest of the Sidhe envy and despise her). The fact remains, however, that the Queen can, at her pleasure (or, sometimes, displeasure) yank Dana out of the real world and pull her into the realms of the Sidhe whenever she feels like it. Usually, she issues her summons through a messenger, rather than magicking her there, but not always. And when the Queen issues a command, Dana needs to be very, very careful about exercising her human-born ability to refuse it, lest she find herself facing down the full might of the Queen's legendary wrath. |
Psychopomp & Circumstance |
Dana's father is traditionally seen as a psychopomp. This gives him a certain measure of power over the souls of the dead, in order to be able to escort them into the afterlife. Because of that heritage, Dana is particularly sensitive to death — and not always in a good way. Wandering spirits (i.e. ghosts) are likely to latch on to her, trying to get her to listen to them or help them resolve their unfinished business. She can be struck with searing visions of death and destruction right before something bad is about to happen, but have no idea when, where, or how those deaths are going to occur, and thus be powerless to stop it. And she's prone to receiving "death redes" when she shakes hands with strangers, which can tell her the moment and manner of that person's death. The closer to death they are, the more likely she is to receive a rede.
This tends to make her wary about getting too close to other people, and particularly careful about prolonged physical contact. And she avoids hospitals, churches, and graveyards like the plague. Further, since the visions are unpredictable both in terms of timing and strength, she never knows when they may hit. She can sometimes block the worst of it out, if she can keep her head long enough to erect a mental shield, but that's a rare thing. Consequently, often, whenever these visions hit or wandering spirits start talking to her so much she's forced to respond, she can end up looking entirely crazy to those around her who can't make sense of what's happening to her.
This puts a serious crimp in her social life. And it means she's gotten very good at escaping psych wards. |
Through the Looking Glass Darkly |
Dana sees the world as multiple layers. There's the real world, the contiguous astral plane that overlays the real world and speaks to the nature of the place in which she finds herself, the twilight realms of the Sidhe, and the myriad alternate and parallel realities that intersect with the regular world sometime congruently, but often entirely randomly. All of these realities overlap in her sight to such an extent that she has to physically concentrate to block enough of them out that she can focus enough on the real world around her to function properly. Most of the time, she differentiates between the real world and the others by the degree of shadows there appear to be. And, of course, by what logically makes sense, given the environment she's in. (Chances are pretty good, after all, an elevator doesn't actually have a tree growing in the middle of it.)
The consequence of this, however, is that she can't drive or operate heavy machinery for fear of mistaking a shadow for something real or, worse, something real for a shadow. She can also be distracted at inopportune moments by something happening in a shadow world — much like someone else might get distracted by something on tv or the radio.
Generally, such distractions only happen when she's tired or hurt and thus unable to concentrate as fully as she usually does, but they're still a very real danger — especially if she's in a fight at the time. It is possible for her to block out everything but the real world if she really, really concentrates, but it's not easy. So, if she had absolutely no other choice, she probably could drive short distances relatively safely. However, she chooses not to, and doesn't have a license, in any case. Nevertheless, the closer she is to something, the less likely she is to see it obscured by shadows and the clearer it will be… which basically means she's got a bad case of arcane myopia. |
Iron Poisoning |
Thanks to her father's heritage, Dana gets sick around too much iron. Food cooked in iron skillets or on iron grills can make her violently ill for days. Cuts or scrapes made by pure iron or cast iron take forever to heal and are resistant to any healing magic she may otherwise employ. Indeed, certain iron implements can physically burn her, even when they're cold. In some cases, especially when they're cold (typically a direct manifestation of the conscious intention of the person wielding them, because of her magical nature).
Steel doesn't affect her to quite the same degree, despite the fact it's between 97% and 99% pure iron. There's just something in it's making that lessens the potency of it. But food cooked on or in steel will always "taste funny" and she finds steel utensils equally problematic for much the same reason. However, it means she can actually live in the city, despite the occasional adverse reaction. She was born and raised in the city, after all. Typically, she'll be okay if the iron and steel used within the buildings or structures around her is clad in other materials. When it's bare, however, she is made palpably uncomfortable.
Old fashioned, hand-forged iron, however, is effectively her version of kryptonite. While it's presence alone won't kill her, it will weaken her and make it significantly harder for her to work her magic. Touch her with it, and her skin will blister and burn painfully, scarring obviously, should it ever heal. Pierce her with it and she may very well die — particularly if the weapon remains embedded in her body for too long. |
Relationships
Image |
Name |
Relation |
Notes |
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Wassea |
Fairy Godmother |
Rune doesn't know it, but Wassea is, in fact, her fairy godmother. It's her task to watch over her and make sure she doesn't come to undue harm. Hence, she gives Rune shelter within the Silveroak and asks little in return for her generosity. |
Notes
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Character Gallery
Logs
Book Shopping and Moontree Manor
December 28, 2014: Pepper and Dana go shopping and end up in Rains Basement with Zee, Fenris and Lucky
(log: 20141228-bookshopping | tags: fenris lucky pepper_potts rain rune zatanna | posted: 29 Dec 2014 20:22)
Bumbles Bounce
December 14 2014: Pepper Potts and Dana Hunt are suddenly caught in a blizzard
(log: 20141214-bumbles-bounce | tags: aquaman fenris pepper_potts rune | posted: 25 Dec 2014 00:45)
Stark Thanksgiving
November 29 2014 Pepper organizes Thanksgiving dinner
(log: 20141129-stark-thanksgiving | tags: crickt fenris lucky pepper_potts rune | posted: 24 Dec 2014 23:22)
Something Wicked
October 13 2014: Fenris checks in on Pepper and Rune
(log: 20141013-something-wicked | tags: fenris pepper_potts rune | posted: 01 Nov 2014 02:35)
On the End of Things
August 18 2014: A meeting in Pepper Potts' Office discusses the end of things.
(log: 20140818-on-the-end-of-things | tags: corvinus fenris lucky pepper_potts rune | posted: 20 Aug 2014 10:25)
Wizard, Witch, Wolf and Lady
July 27 2014: Once again Pepper's office becomes the focal point of a number of curious beings, not all of whom are strictly speaking 'people.'
(log: 20140727-wizard-witch-wolf-and-lady | tags: fenris iron_man pepper_potts rune | posted: 31 Jul 2014 10:17)
House of Stark
July 27 2014: Dana stops by to see Pepper, and gets introduced to her house guests.
(log: 20140727-house-of-stark | tags: crocuta-npc fenris pepper_potts rune whisperer | posted: 29 Jul 2014 07:35)
Lunch Interrupted
June 26 2014: Pepper Potts and Dana Hunt are having lunch when Jericho interrupts with some awkward news.
(log: 20140626-lunch-interrupted | tags: aspect pepper_potts rune | posted: 27 Jun 2014 23:35)
DoYouBelieveInMagic
June 15, 2014: Klarion the Witch Boy wants Wiccan to learn magic from him. Nobody else does.
(log: 20140615-doyoubelieveinmagic | tags: etrigan fenris rune seraph wiccan | posted: 17 Jun 2014 05:10)
Following the Scent
June 3rd, 2014: Gambit leads Rune and Mimic to the last place he lost contact with the Darkhold page he'd stolen.
(log: 20140603-following-the-scent | tags: darkhold gambit mimic rune | posted: 09 Jul 2014 14:28)
The Silver Oak
April 24, 2014: Pepper Potts meets with Dana Maddox at a pub known as The Silver Oak, and learns still more about the world of the Fae. Frightening how much of it parallels myth and fiction.
(log: 20140424-the-silver-oak | tags: pepper_potts rune | posted: 20 Oct 2014 06:18)
Atlas Gem
April 12, 2014: An unusual artifact of great power (actually the Huse Gem but that wasn't as catchy for a log title) is sought by its former owner.
(log: 20140412-atlas-gem | tags: domino rune superman | posted: 28 Apr 2014 15:35)
Ghouls in Central Park
March 6, 2014: Logan and Illyana take a walk through the park and stumble across Dana. And so does TJ.
(log: 20140306-ghouls-in-central-park | tags: central-park magik nocturne rune wolverine | posted: 07 Mar 2014 04:19)
Fae Mead and Mjolnir
March 3, 2014: Some people gather at the Silveroak for fae mead and light discussion.
(log: 20140303-fae-mead-and-mjolnir | tags: emma_frost nocturne rune silveroak thor wassea wolverine | posted: 05 Mar 2014 17:55)
Underneath the Canopy
March 1, 2013: After chatting with Dana for a bit in the Silveroak, she and Logan wander out into Faerie itself to continue the discussion.
(log: 20140301-underneath-the-canopy | tags: rune silveroak wolverine | posted: 03 Mar 2014 07:34)
Sidhe Said What
March 1, 2013: Stuck in NYC dealing with various matters, Logan drops by the Silveroak again, and gets around to asking Dana about some of the things Thor had brought up on his previous visit.
(log: 20140301-sidhe-said-what | tags: rune silveroak wolverine | posted: 01 Mar 2014 16:13)
Two Asgardians and a Canadian walk into a bar...
February 27, 2014: Thor, Sif, Logan, and Rune all wind up chatting in the Silveroak tavern.
(log: 20140227-two-asgardians-and-a-canadian-walk-into-a-bar | tags: rune sif silveroak thor wolverine | posted: 28 Feb 2014 07:02)
A Robot, A Witch, and a Sorceress...
February 26, 2014: A robot, a witch, and a sorceress walk into a parking garage… and Charlie has a horrible, terrible, no good, very bad day.
(log: 20140226-a-robot-a-witch-and-a-sorcess | tags: eight magik rune | posted: 27 Feb 2014 16:42)
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