Mira Blade
From Changeling Venue
| Seeming | Elemental Manikin |
|---|---|
| Court | Autumn Court •• |
| Freehold | Pacific Northwest |
| Player | Kathy Bunt; millie.mayne@gmail.com |
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The picture to the right is the Two of Swords from the Hanson Roberts deck, illustrated by Mary Hanson-Roberts and published by US Games 1985
Overview
Alias(es): Mira Blade, The Soulsword, The Mirrorblade, The Sword of Mourning, The Two of Swords
Real Name: Amelia Grey
Location: Pacific Northwest
Age: Appears to be in her 30s
Seeming: Elemental
Kith: Manikin
Court: Autumn
Virtue: Charity
Vice: Wrath
Concept: Haunted by the memory of being wielded as a weapon – there is a part of her that wants to simply give in to the anger and become a living blade, letting those around her take up her hilt and use her however they want, just as the fae did. But she resists. She focuses on her fears – especially the fear of becoming wholly inhuman again and not finding her way back – and tries to hold on to activities that link her to her human life – stagecraft, choreography – and force her to be the director rather than the prop.
Physical description:
Mask: A woman in her thirties who wears metallic silver elbow length gloves, or a metallic silver long-sleeved blouse with cuffs that extend over her hands, depending on the formality of her outfit. She wears an unusual gold necklace. She wears glasses; sometimes the light catches them and the right lens takes on a very blue tint. She avoids touching anyone.
Mein: Her arms are steel. Her right eye is a sapphire. Her necklace is the hilt of a sword that seems to be permanently grafted to her chest, with an empty socket in the center where a stone appears to have been removed. Pieces of straw stick out from the corners of her sleeves at her wrists.
Mantle: Thick grey harvest vines curl up from the ground and encircle her legs, binding them together if she stands still in one place for more than a minute. Her silver arms flicker, as if in sputtering candlelight – sometimes visible, sometimes missing. When she moves, the vines around her legs unfurl without hampering her movement.
Character Livejournal: To be developed!
History
Basic Timeline: Born in 1955; Taken in ~1985; Escaped in ~2000, arriving in Seattle; Traveling with carnival in 2002; In Atlanta in 2006; In Gainesville, FL in early 2007; In Boston in mid 2007; Returned to Seattle in October 2007
Pre-Kidnapping:
A southern debutante obsessed with theatre, Amelia Grey wasn't quite quite good enough to make it as an actress and re-channelled her ambition into stagecraft and combat choreography. As her professional reputation grew, she focused on her work to the exclusion of all other ties.
Durance:
Many fairytales and myths include swords with souls, swords with intelligence. The True Fae covet them (why practice with a weapon – so tedious – when you can just make the weapon do the thinking?) and have for centuries stolen skilled swordsmen and women to forge into blades. Lately, it's been getting harder. Humans simply don't train with swords the way they used to. In the mid 1980s, one True Fae, The Marquis of Mourning and the Death of Dawn, had the idea to steal a combat choreographer from a theatre company.
The Marquis likes to duel his fellow True Fae, constantly challenging them to meet him in their lands or his as they prefer at dawn. He is skilled with many weapons. Most of all, the Marquis likes to win. In his effort to ensure victory over all those who he challenges (and especially his rival the Masked Lord), and for his slave duelists whom he pits against other Keepers' slaves, he created a forge in the mountain under his keep – the Fleshforge.
At the Fleshforge, wizened smiths and elemental lost are forced to torture other humans into metallic shapes – into weapons. Mira was given to Master Smith Valentine the Maker (Val the Grinder) for forging. First he chopped her arms off and mixed them into the jacket steel to increase its carbon content – its eventual hardness. Then he plucked her right eye out to set in the socket of the hilt. They forced her to look into a floor length steel mirror, and the rest of her merged into her own reflection. They melted the mirror for the core steel. She felt it as if it were her own flesh -- it was. She could watch everything from the perspective of the eye on the workshop table – slowly hardening into a sapphire. She was heated, hammered, folded. Over and over. The jacket steel – slightly red tinged from the blood of her arms – was wrapped around the core steel that was once the mirror. More heating and hammering. Grinding with a coarse stone.
She knew what was coming. Other fleshforged were being made, begun sooner. The next step – it shattered more than half of them, and they were truly lost. They wrapped her in an adhesive clay and heated her past all tolerance – over 13,000' F. It took a fireheart and airtouched together – furnace and bellows – to achieve such a temperature. It was grueling work. On the day she was to be finished, Bellows collapsed from exhaustion. The Smith had to bargain with another airtouched, Slick, one of the Marquis' slave duelists, to take up that role.
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Her steel flesh shone a bright autumn orange, and the smith plunged her into shockingly cold water. Impossible. Unbearable. But there was a rightness that the cold follow the heat, like the turning of the seasons. Her mind focused. She did not shatter. Her edges – lightly insulated by the clay – hardened to edge steel (martensite), while her core steel cooled more slowly (returning to ferrite). After that, the gentler hammering and polishing that followed felt like pampering. She left her mind drift, relax, be steel.
She become self-aware later – unsure how much time had passed, how much blood she had drunk, wielded by her Keeper, the Marquis. In her desire to serve perfectly, her sword-self, knowing it was going to miss the victim of a vicious slash, reached out and actually extended itself by several inches. Enough to slice the intended throat. But it had needed fuller sentience to change its form – even by such a tiny amount. She was awake within the steel. She had some ability to change her form. Could she stretch herself back into a woman? Could she free herself? Nights, months, possibly years, passed as she practiced stretching and shifting her form when her Keeper set her on her stand and turned his eye away from her. A new torture – but self inflicted.
One night, she was ready. She knew it was time because there was a voice that had been whispering to her that she was ready and it was time to strike back, and that this was the night to do it. The voice was like maple syrup tastes -- sweet and seductive, not overpowering anything, but with its own distinct confidence and conviction of flavor. It was a male voice, but not the Marquis. It was so strange, it shocked her into the confidence to try to fully recover her human shape for the first time, just to see if it were so.
The jacket steel parted, and she stepped out – the mirrored core turning to flesh as she re-shaped herself into the reflection she had been at that moment – armless, one eyed, but flesh and blood. The hilt was set into her collarbone. Parts of the jacket steel clung to her shoulders. She could shape arm-like blades from it, but nothing more. The jacket steel had never had her soul in it – only her flesh. Her vision was uneven, one eye in its usual place, the other in her chest on the hilt. She staggered about, and tried to find a way out of the castle. The commotion drew the guards, but her armblades were sharp and blood-hungry.
Other Lost in the castle took advantage of the commotion, having secretly encouraged her to try to escape on that particular night for just that reason, and fled. She followed them.
Connecting to the Past:
Mira emerged from the Hedge in the Seattle area in 2000. She could remember images of her human life -- or more specifically, her work -- but not even her human name. A chance encounter with a former combat choreography student led her to her name and a city where she had lived: Atlanta. She travelled to Atlanta and spent over a year there in 2006, re-connecting with her past in the form of an old friend who is now also Lost, and locating her parents. She found her fetch in Florida in 2007.
Current Activities:
She's become connected to The Scarecrow Ministry using her skill at fleshshifting (Mirrors) and dream weaving, and her human training in stagecraft and stage choreography to bring urban legends and other fears to life, in order to scare the humans away from behaviors and places that make them more vulnerable to the Fae. So long as she stays connected to her prior human craft, she can form usable hands for craft building, make-up, etc. If she actually pierces flesh with an arm-blade (i.e., not just stage choreography), she loses the ability to form hands for a two-week period.
Associations & Associates
Mira is often seen in the company of Tommy Blue and the other members of The_Family_Twist, a motley with members in Seattle and Atlanta. She also seems close to Harrison, a Lost lawyer in Seattle.
Harrison was wielding her the day she re-gained sentience in Arcadia. It was his extreme emotion -- stealing a sword from the gentry, executing an escape, frustrated that the Gentry could not be found to try to fight them, afraid of being caught, thrilled to be so close to freedom, needing the sword to be just a bit longer so he could cut down a guard and escape -- that woke her up within the metal. (Tommy and her brother Slick had the chance to wield her later, during another, unrelated escape attempt...)
Among the Lost from the Keeper's fortress with whom she escaped was Brink. He told her during the escape that he worked as a brewer for the Marquis. His voice. She's pretty sure he was the one that told her she was ready, that this was the night for the escape. But then they got separated in the hedge, so she never really had a chance to confirm. She thinks maybe Tommy Blue was in the escaping crowd too, but got lost in the hedge as well.
When she emerged from the hedge in 2000, she found herself on a beach in Seattle, near a lighthouse. The lighthouse guard took her to Driftwood, where Althea Sexton and other changelings in the city helped her to adjust to Lost life. She was somewhat restless and uncomfortable, and did not engage very much in freehold matters, other than by assisting with security for Driftwood. Being around Althea and helping defend the children in Driftwood was like being plunged into the cold water when she was so unbearably heated during the final forging – soothing and terrifying, changing what she was into something … better?
In 2002, she decided to strike out on her own with a traveling Lost carnival, assisting with stagecraft and props, and doing a creepy sword swallowing routine.
She returned to Seattle in 2003 and appeared more confident and centered. She befriended Tommy Blue. She met Harrison, who recognized her by her hilt. She used her skills with disguise to help him provide legal support and other aid to Lost who got in trouble with the mortal police and judicial system.
In late 2005, Mira ran into a Lost who had been her student in summer stock where she taught combat choreographry before being taken – Captain Adonis Von Catterwaul. He recognized her, connected her to her real name and a town she had lived in (Atlanta, Georgia). After years of fruitless searching in the Northwest where she had emerged from the hedge, she realized that her roots were on the opposite coast.
Her friend Tommy had been in Atlanta in the last year and contacted one of her allies, David "Gilded" Manning, to vouch for Mira and keep an eye on her while she was tracking down her past in Georgia.
David introduced her to Parthena who he thought might be able to help her track down her family through Thena's IRS connections. Thena and Mira were shocked to recognize each other. They had met years before in 1975 at a Shakespearean theatre program at Oxford, and become rivals/friends, and had stayed in touch over the next ten years until Mira was kidnapped.
With Parthena's help, Mira was able to locate her parents and search through the albums and letters in their home. As she researched, she realized that David "Gilded" Manning was actually a relative of hers who had disappeared mysteriously while on vacation in Europe in the 1950s shortly before she was born. Though they seem to be second cousins, in some ways they feel almost like twins -- steel and gold, Michelangelo's David and an armless Venus de Milo...
While in Atlanta, Mira also met Joss Whitney, Dane, and Mia Jenkins. These spring courtiers were just the company she needed, while remembering, and at times re-living, the antics of her younger days with Parthena. For several months, she was content to simply enjoy herself in the Ring of Roses.
She could not find her fetch-self in Atlanta, however; "Amelia" had apparently drifted south years ago and lost touch with her parents.
With the help of bounty hunter Marrow, Mira tracked down her fetch who had disappeared off the radar of the combat choreography / stage manager professional community. Marrow found the fetch working as a waitress in a small town in Florida, married to a bus driver. They were both very active in their local community theatre. The fetch was quite content except for a long-standing sorrow over her apparent inability to conceive.
Mira observed her fetch and felt sorry for her. She thought it would help to explain to the fetch that she couldn't have children because she wasn't real. She thought things were settled between them, but several months later was contacted by Aaron, a Lost living near her fetch who was investigating some missing infants from a hospital (thought to be a Fae taking) and realized that the increasingly deranged fetch had stolen the babies because she could not herself conceive. He tracked down Mira and offered her support in dealing with the trouble that she had caused.
After the problems with the fetch, Mira felt very guilty and wanted to do something constructive and positive -- something to make her feel more human and that did not involve causing any harm. Aaron and Mira recalled a particularly skilled Master Artisan, Rigger, who had visited Gainesville in the last few months and had mentioned a desire for an apprentice. Mira contacted Rigger, and travelled to Boston to study clockwork with him. She was delighted at this new skill, and all its potential applications to stagecraft. Rigger inducted her into The Exalted Guild of the Fae-Touched Artisans.
Mira is a relatively low cog in the Scarecrow Ministry – one of the "on-the-ground" field agents, staging personal scenes of horror for humans who wander into dark places and need to be reminded to run back to the fold. She was recruited in 2003. She has some contacts in the film side of the ministry, like Chainsaw Joe, who work on a much larger scale, to acquire props, costume pieces, etc. that are particularly evocative of horror film characters created by the ministry. She is also known to other Scarecrows who work on the local level, like Old Hob in Chicago.
Soon she will realize to her horror (and a host of other complex emotions) that Valentine the Maker (or Val the Grinder as she remembers him) – her maker – has escaped from Arcadia as well, and has taken up residence in a nearby freehold.
Slick is nearby as well. She knew he escaped several years before her because he was wielding her at the time in a duel set up by the Marquis to see how his duelist performed against another Keeper's, when Slick and his opponent both made a break for it, cutting their way through the guards. Slick never knew the sword had a soul in it, and gave it to his opponent (and real life sister!) Tommy Blue. Unluckily for Tommy, the Marquis was particularly interested in recovering his prized sword and re-captured both she and Mira, though Slick was, as a result, able to escape.
Lately, Mira has been lending her stagecraft skills to playwright/director Marlowe who runs a theatre in Seattle. She arrives at the theatre in the middle of the night and works long hours crafting by hand the things he needs (which he then claims to have acquired from other companies, etc.), talking quietly with him, trying to stay sane.
She also spends a fair amount of time in Morgan Bouvier's safehouse in Tacoma. There's something energizing about Morgan's cafe between the coffee, conversation, and Morgan's fierce summer temperament.
Lilium was known to have passed through the keeper that Mira had. Some say Mira used Lilium as a model when she was trying to re-find her human shape.
Character Inspirations
Folklore: The Armless Maiden; Asian beliefs about the possibility of storing souls in mirrors and swords
Comics: Lady Deathstrike
Film: The villain from Terminator (the metal shapeshifting guy "T-1000"); Monsters Inc. (we scare because we care)
Book/Musical: Wicked - Galinda (Glinda)
Tarot: The Two of Swords. Swords are the autumn-aspected arcana. The two of swords usually depicts a blindfolded woman with two swords crossed over her heart. It suggests stalemate, a fork in the road, a choice that must be made between opposed but currently balanced forces. For Mira, I see the choice between being a weapon (a tool, magic, violence) or being a human being (reason, loss of magic, creativity/crafting). It can also suggest some literal or figurative problem with sight, which has a special meaning for Mira.
Soundtrack
Sunny Came Home (Shawn Colvin)
Quotes
Thematic
“I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.” -- JRR Tolkien
“A good many dramatic situations begin with screaming.” -- Jane Fonda
“To suffering there is a limit; to fearing, none.” -- Sir Francis Bacon
“A weapon is an enemy even to its owner.” -- Turkish proverb
What Everyone Else Says
(Here's where you can put quotes. Quotes are love!)
"She's sharp, that Mira. She once nearly lopped my head off with her little finger. Teehee." - Tommy Blue
"I don't like weapons none, but she can fight for herself. I wish more weapons could fight for themselves. I love a good fight." - Old Hob
"She is what I am not: Strong and Precise. I treasure her for that." ~ Joss Whitney
In some ways, Mira is my strength. I am her tears. Perhaps the sword was tempered by the water... or perhaps it was the other way around. - Althea Sexton
"She was my best friend and greatest rival once. I treasure her. Though I also have to keep an eye on her because you can never really teach an old dog new tricks. Keep your hands to yourself, dearie." ~ Parthena
'"Some of us have troube recognizing that we are weapons against the Gentry. Mira is reminded each time she looks into a mirror." - Field Marshall Desert Wind
Rumors
??
Additional Character Ties
Additional character ties are most welcome. Here are some possible ways to connect:
During the time that she is being wielded by her Keeper or one of his duelist/pit-fighting slaves, there could be numerous ties related to loved ones slain by the sword, duels and combats involving the sword, prophecies related to a magic sword, etc. Fellow Scarecrow Ministry contacts would be great. Folks with human backgrounds in theatre could also make pre- or possibly post-thorns ties. Anyway, there are probably other ideas to think about! Would love to hear from you!
