John Tercel

From Changeling Venue

Seeming	Beast Cleareyes
Court	No Court
Freehold	New-New Amsterdam
Player	Christophe Maso

1 Postcards from the Hedge
2 John's History
3 Associates of John
4 Character Inspirations
5 Art Credits

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Postcards from the Hedge

Keepers: Shalis and Golareth, Lords of the Mark and Keepers of the Waterfall City

Alias(es): John Hedgerunner

Real Name: John Tercel

Age: 30

Concept: Martyr/Sentinel

John's Description: Strong features. Kind, gentle, greenish eyes, the sort that rarely blink and don't miss a thing. Long, feathery black hair. Square jaw. He looked kind of like a rock star...you know, in that retro kinda of way.

John is a relative newcomer to the freehold, having been around only a couple of years. He's remained on the periphery of changeling society. Before the murderous Battle in the Bronx that destroyed most of NYC's lost, only a few called him friend. Now there are hardly any.

But those acquainted with him know him to be quietly strong, soft-spoken but sure-spoken, warm, quick to laughter, slow to anger, absolutely fearless, and a changeling of his word. He spends He doesn't remember much of his time in Arcadia, just fleeting moments...the ecstasy of flight, hunting, waterfalls.

John's strengths are his speed, perceptiveness, and courage. He's spent much of his time the past two years traversing the Hedge, and so far has always returned.

John hates the sound of crying children, and he dislikes zoos.

MEIN: When the Mask slips away, John has a slender body, with a plume of feathers cascading from his head and a pair of falcon wings extending from his shoulder blades. Warm green eyes turn to glassy black orbs, and his fingers stretch into long, deadly talons.

Character LJ: Hedgerunner

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John's History

Basic Timeline:

Pre-Arcadia:
1948 - Born in Norfolk, Virgina.
1966 - Accepted to University of Virginia on Naval ROTC scholarship.
October 1969 - Meets Jennifer Conway, his future wife, and drops out of NROTC program.
March 1970 - Marries Jennifer, has falling out with father, a naval F-4 pilot.
May 1970 - Graduates. Goes north to avoid the draft.
July 1970 - Settles with Jennifer in central Alaska, becomes a bush pilot. Shortage of bush pilots is such that no questions are asked.
October 1970 - John and his Cessna 180 disappear over a pass in the Alaska Range, 250 miles southwest of his destination. No body or wreckage will ever be recovered.
1972 - John is officially pronounced missing, presumed dead.

Post-Arcadia:
May 2005 - Emerges from the Hedge in Denver, Colorado. Tracks Jennifer to Manhattan. Learns parents are dead.
June 2005 - Finds Jennifer married to a new husband, with 3 adult children. Nearly killed in a fight with hobgoblins in the Hedge, found and nursed back to health by Alexander Delapore, Monarch of the Autumn Court. Is introduced to changeling society and the Freehold of New-New Amsterdam.
January 2007 - Takes part in defending the Freehold against the Horror that emerged from a rupture in the Hedge in the Bronx. One of few survivors.

Current Activities: John currently works as a taxi driver, which helps him keep on top of the city's happenings. He spends a good bit of time at the library, getting caught up with the Internet Age. He spends the rest of his time in the Hedge, hunting - for food, for those in need of help, and for things hidden, for whatever horrors may be out there, stalking the Freehold. Rumor has it that he's thwarted at least one abduction attempt, which has no doubt aroused the ire of certain True Fae, assuming the rumor is true.

Of the True Fae, John's feelings are thus: Many hate them, but they don't deserve our hatred. They only act according to their nature, as we act according to ours. For my part, I choose to see what I have and what I have the power to do, rather than what I've lost and what I am powerless to do.

Only recently has John been able to accept that he can never be reunited with his wife. There's no reason for him to stay in New York any longer. He plans to return to Alaska next spring, if not earlier.

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Associates of John

Alexander Delapore. More than any other among the Lost, Alexander Delapore has stood as a trusted friend, mentor, and a bastion of sanity within John's experience as a newly-returned changeling. The former monarch of the Autumn Court saved John's life when he was badly wounded in the Hedge, returned him to health, and gave him his first real introduction to the Freehold of New-New Amsterdam. Through him, John has taken his first steps as a dream-walker, understanding the powerful connection between the Dreaming and the Hedge. But most of all, Alexander taught him that no changeling need face his lot alone, and that even as a bastard child of the Others, one may yet find the best of oneself within. Humanity has no monopoly on humanity.

John's demons are indeed legion. But due in large part to the Fachan's influence he will face the future without fear, whatever it may hold.

Ella. John's permanent departure from New York City back to his home in the Alaskan Interior was interrupted recently by a chance encounter with "Ella", a homeless changeling living on the street in Union Square. Despite the very tenuous state of the shattered Freehold, John judged that she might fare better among other changelings, especially with the coming winter, with food to eat and a warm place to sleep. So he offered to show her the Reverie - a place where she could find refuge, if she wanted it. Ella accepted. John would have left New York already, but he feels he has taken on a certain responsibility, by willingly involving himself in the fates of others. Is this innocent truly better off in the maelstrom of the Freehold and its current power-grab politics? And, is she truly what she appears to be? For it is not lost on John that hers would be the perfect cover for an agent of the Others. In either case, he is not about to let his good intentions pave the road to Hell. So, John will remain for a little while longer, and he will watch vigilantly.

Despite these serious concerns, he finds Ella a refreshing presence. "Don't you people have any clues? Haven't you made any progress???" she enigmatically asks the befuddled changelings of the Freehold. Good question, darling. Very good question.

Looking for all kinds of ties. Friends, enemies, changelings he might have helped find their way out of the Hedge, changelings who might have known him from Arcadia (especially since he doesn't remember his Keepers or much of Arcadia).

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Character Inspirations

John Snow, from George R. R. Martin's noval series Song of Ice and Fire
Saburo Naotora Ichimonji, from Akira Kurosawa's film Ran
Angel, from Jos Whedon's television series Angel and Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Lucius Hunt, from M. Night Shyamalan's The Village

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Soundtrack

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Quotes

Our life and death are the same thing. When we realize this fact, we have no fear of death anymore, nor actual difficulty in life. - Zen Master Shunryu Suzuki

The mantis is watching the butterfly. The shrike is watching the mantis. - Botswanan Proverb

Screw the roses, send me the thorns. - Book Title

Home is a moving target. - Anonymous

Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it? That's what it is to be a slave. - Roy, Blade Runner

The quality of decision is like the well-timed swoop of a falcon which enables it to strike and destroy its victim. - Sun Tzu

"Freedom from" has little value without "freedom to". - Erich Fromm (paraphrased)

Glory is like a circle in the water, which never ceaseth to enlarge itself, till by broad spreading it disperses to naught. - William Shakespeare, King Henry VI pt. 1

Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori. - Wilfred Owen

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