Althea Sexton
From Changeling Venue
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Name: Althea Sexton
Title: Lady of the Bitter Sea
Seeming: Elemental
Kith: Water
Court: Winter
Mantle: * * * * *
Freehold: Seven Hills in Seattle, Washington
Motley: TBD
For only a believer can walk on water,
and great men have drowned in these seas..."
Contents |
Beneath the Waves
Themes:
Land Down Under, Acoustic
Ride On
Fhear a Bhata (The Boatman's Lady)
Inspirations:
King Pelinore, of Arthurian Myth
The ghosts on widow's walks in New England
Undines and sea-spirits who sing to call shipwrecks
Gazing at the Sea
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"Do you come from a land down under?
Where women glow and men plunder?
Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder?
You better run, you better take cover..."
Mask:
Althea is a kind woman, gentle and regal, educated, well-spoken, and thoughtful. She does not stand out in a crowd by her appearance, but instead is notable by her actions. Small and slender, Althea moves with the regal grace of nobility, clearly born of high respect and well-educated. Her movements are reminiscent of the slow, even motion of waves against the shore, her long hair slightly damp, her smile sad and reserved.
Mein: The soft hiss of the ocean waves surrounds her, lifting her hair with cold movements. In her eyes, one can see the depths of an icy ocean, dark reaches of frigid northern sea, swallowed by icebergs and flowing from glaciers. The feeling in her presence is heavy, the stifling pressure of a thousand tons of water beneath the surface of the sea... or the memory of a long-held sorrow, ever crushing upon your heart. There is a faint smell of salt and the feeling of distance, as though the safety of shore is suddenly far... far away.
Notable Traits:
Her voice is deep and low, somewhere between a whisper and a purr. She moves slowly and deliberately. She rarely blinks, and being in her presence carries the intensity of sailing vast, deep waters.
Washed Ashore
"Please... you must tell me. Have you seen this man?...
Here... or there... in Arcadia or on this earth?...
Do you know anyone that might recognize his face?"
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The picture she carries close to her heart, of her lost love, is all that she will say of her past time on earth. If he is truly lost, then best he is forgotten, Althea says, her eyes clearly denying the words.
Although she returned only two years ago, Althea has put a great deal of effort into learning the ways of this new world, and assisting other refugees. She has, in some ways, retreated into things she knows - she runs an antique shop, and is director of a small Runaway Youth Program called Driftwood, which specializes in providing room and board as well as temporary jobs for troubled kids on the run. Those she helps are given room and board in exchange for their help refurbishing antiques, and whatever theraputic help they will accept.
Under the guise of the Driftwood program, Althea assists newly returned Changelings to integrate within the modern world, and also works to identify and protect children and young adults who are 'at risk' of being taken by the Fae, and to find and track Fetches living stolen lives. She helps wherever possible, her gentleness and almost motherly mien reaching many of those thought utterly mad and lost.
Frozen in Icy Waters
How often haunting the highest hilltops
I scan the ocean, a sail to see
Wil't come tonight, love, wil't come tomorrow
Wil't ever come, love, to comfort me?
Fhear a bhata no horo eil'e
Fhear a bhata no horo eil'e
Fhear a bhata no horo eil'e
Oh fare thee well, love, where e'er you be...
In 1871, thirty-two of the forty whalers comprising the Arctic fleet were lost, while another twelve ships were lost in 1876. The numbers of sailors lost to the seas were dramatic; no less so, the amount of sorrow and loss for those 'left behind' on New England shores. She refused to give up on him, walking the bannister atop her seaside home for any desperate glimpse of his ship, or strolling the seashore, no matter how late the night or how dark the storm; always watching. When, at last, in despair, she flung herself off the cliff into that icy sea, the neighbors held a quiet funeral, praying to God to spare her soul. The neighbors did not speak of the baby she had miscarried when she was given the news of her love's lost ship. They only spoke of her as a lost kinswoman, whose ghost would forever haunt the New England shores.
But God did not show mercy, even then.
Captured by a Fae of the wintery ocean known as the Dutchman, or to some, the Duke of Darkwater, Althea was dragged to the depths and made to serve. He told her he had saved her out of pity and for her beauty and her faithfulness to her lost sailor love, and Althea believed him. At first, her heart leapt at the hope that her love might also be among the courts of the Fae. Her Keeper encouraged this belief, telling her of sailors captured by his companions, held among their courts. They struck a deal. For every year that Althea worked at her captor's deep manor, he would allow her one week among the court of another Fae to look for traces of her love.
Unfortunately, one year in the darkness of the sunless sea is difficult to judge. Sometimes he would send her out after five years, sometimes ten, always telling her that only one year had passed. Into the courts of other Fae she would go, armed only with the faded photograph of her love. None had seen him. False leads faded away like the tide, leaving her to return for another year's service with diminished hope. But Althea would not relent. Better to stay, and keep searching, than to admit that he may be dead - or worse, returned to the mortal world without her.
Until the Keeper brought her daughter. The little girl, so bright and full of life, reminding Althea what she had lost. And her eyes, so bright, so sparkling... just like his. Convinced that this was either the baby she'd lost, reborn or stolen and kept alive by the Fae, or another child of her lost love, conceived somewhere in the dream of Arcadia, Althea took the little girl to her heart and became mother to her. It was then that Althea realized she must escape - if not for her own sake, then for the child.
She made one last journey to a court where a sailor had been taken in - only to discover, again, that it was a trick, treachery of the Fae, her heart used once more for entertainment and amusement. In this strange land, however, she made a friend - a woman named Eden who would be her memory of the Hedge and the land beyond, lead her to freedom... with all the regret that came with it.
Now, Althea lives in the modern world, in a place that looks very like the New England of her birth - Seattle. She has hidden her child away far from her side, lest the Fae from whom they escaped comes searching for Althea, so he can not claim them both. She still travels, showing his photograph to every Changeling she meets - partly out of habit, partly from a last obsessive hope. If he is out there, she believes, he will come for her.
He could be dead. He could have lived a life among the humans, taking a wife and living his life while she wasted her time looking for him among the Fae.
Or worse.. he could be still in Arcadia, remaining ever young while she grows older and older... a last laugh played by the Fae who kept her for so long.
The Tide and the Undertow
Contacts, acquaintances.
- Althea's beloved daughter, Elizabeth Ann Sexton.
- Her dear friend, and sister of her heart, Ae Lament.
- Her business associate, the whisper at her ear, and clever filcher, Francis Hudson.
- Her strong friend and stalwart white knight, Gryphon.
- Respected tutor and chaperone to Elizabeth, Merlin, who whispers an icy breeze.
- Although many find Hannibal cold and terrifying, Althea manages a faint smile when he approaches.
- A kind face, and dear friend, even in hard times, Niemand Keiner.
- Althea always keeps a watchful eye out for the Rattenkonigin, and helps her where she can.
- A friend who knows what it is to lose love; also Driftwood's housekeeper and cook, Cinder.
- The stray at Driftwood's doorstep and prophet of changing times, Touchstone Madwise.
- Listening to the Lady's stories calms the wild in Nujalik.
- The young orphan hiding in corners and behind doors at Driftwood, Tommy Blue.
- The Wild One that hunts her, who may have some hope of freeing her lost heart, Cerannen.
- A soldier and the current protector of her child, Captain Adonis Von Catterwaul.
- The first of many friends on this side of the dream, Elvis O'Connor.
- Quinn Denton, who escaped from the Duke, but was lost in an insane asylum until Althea found him and got him out.
- Althea's faithful hound dog lying by the fire, dear Coal.
- From the same template Laurel Thorn was created.
- He pulled us from the water and helped us see through the dream; a fellow prisoner of the Duke, Nemo.
- A gentle friend, and a trusted protector, Horace "Race" Ardent.
- Someone who helped ease many dark days for Althea and Elizabeth, Clockwork the Toymaker.
- More than a tailor; a friend, a confidante and an information connection, Ozwald Savile. It is said that the Wedding Dress he made for the Lady is a work of beauty that even the Fae themselves could not match.
- On a table by a window that looks out to the sea, there is a blue rose in a glass dome. This rose is known to have come from the rose bower in Maleperduys and given to Althea as a token of esteem. What kindness Althea provided Lord Valentine is unknown, but it was said to have moved his icy heart while still a member of the Duchy.
- Dear, faithful Tombstone is known to do any deed she requires.
- Dr. Fouyr assists with all medical matters at Driftwood, and is a confidante of the Lady of the Bitter Sea.
- Althea does not ask Hush his nature, nor prod him to tell her of his past. She only watches the way he smiles at her daughter; gentle, quiet, and kind, and she knows there is something still beating beneath the gears and the wires of his heart.
- The Lord of the Firn, guardian of Driftwood, and a cherished friend, Cody.
- A recently-arrived curmudgeon with a bitter tongue, Jayde's apparent disdain for Driftwood doesn't appear to prevent him from regularly warming himself at Althea's hearth.
- Gilded has been known to spread the Althea's tale about on his travels to certain ears, hoping to find word to carry back. It seems that story caught something in him the thorns failed to tear out.
- Althea has struck an unlikely, but certain friendship with Jack Starlight. Something about the bright young man caught the Lady's eye.
- The Lost Legion, also known as the Screaming Eagles of the 101st, would fight for Althea to a man.
- Althea works with Doctor Emil Zahne to help those at Driftwood who still wake up... screaming...
- It is known that she pays Gaius Arctorus a great deal of respect.
- The young Jonathan Brooks delights her, and teaches her much about the modern age.
- While in Miami, the Lady of the Bitter Seas met Gwendolyn, and the girl's bright smile reminded Althea of herself... a very long time ago.
- The strongest steel must be tempered by cold water. So, too, Mira Blade and Althea.
If you'd like to tie in with me, leave me a note here, or send an email to Ree at Althea Sexton.
Echo of the Shore
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What would your character say about Althea? Feel free to add your quotes here.
"What you don't understand is that Althea is the sea: beautiful, comforting, and overwhelming. And all the really scary stuff is beneath the surface." - Doctor Emil Zahne
"I am the best and the worst of my Vermin children. And both halves of me have the deepest respect for Lady Sexton." - Die Rattenkönigin
"When I look upon her, the voice of my heart speaks words I do not understand." - Cerannen
"My Muse." - Jack Starlight
"Do I adore or despise her? Both, I think. She is water -- fluid, deep, mercurial. While she has come as close to Winter as I, she has not yet let its touch harden her heart. When the worst comes, when she faces inevitability, I want to be there to watch." - Jayde
"She is like a being from another world to me, her thoughts and her methods so far removed from mine that I can hardly fathom them. I have found her more tolerable than most of the cowards that share her court, but her affinity with water tends to disturb me." - Field Marshall Desert Wind
"Nice Lady. Still, I miss Mama Bella."- Herald N.O.S.M.
"They say the sea is as cruel as it is comforting. Well, I've never seen Althea's cruel side, but I can say that her ability to comfort those in need matches that of any ocean on this earth. I'll keep doing my part to help that comfort spread, and if I ever see the cruel side, I'll do my best to help it strike true where it's deserved." - Elias Briarshear
"I have spent my life searching for beauty. I still seek. She has found beauty and, in an odd way, is beauty. I can think of nothing more beautiful then hope." - Laurel Thorn
"She gotta lotta my folk givin' her a lotta trust an' credit. Ask me, she too pow'ful an' too pretty by half. So I guess I gotta play 'long f' now... but I ain' trus' nothin' that pretty." - Clyde
"She's no rube. That's all I'm gonna let myself say." - Slimshift
Written on the Sand
IC Rumors
- When the Three Gentry captured the Hunt in October of 2007, it was Althea who stepped forward with a plan to trick them and allow everyone to escape. "They want a toy," said the Lady. "Well, then. We shall give them one." But to make the plan work, there had to be a sacrifice of emotion, something ingrained enough to capture the Gentry's interest - and Althea gave her own engagement ring, one of the last tokens she possessed of her lost love. If it had not been for the Lady, Jayde, and Jack Starlight... we might all be slaves again.
- Three times, the Crown of Seattle's Winter has settled upon her brow. Even after the cold rain and snow melt away, she carries something of that regal quality within her eyes - enough that many call her 'Queen' regardless of the season.
- Those who know of the Order of The Isle recognize Althea's title of Penderwyd for the north west. Within that order, her titles are 'Magus of Drowned Waters, Scholar of the Seven Seas, Keeper of the Undertow.'
- Cerannen has sworn to return the Lady's ring to her, no matter the cost.
Feel free to add things here as the chronicle continues!
