Ras
From Changeling Venue
Contents |
Overview
Alias(es): Râs, Iliana Roman(screen name)
Real Name: Ana Gabor
Location: Freehold of Azure Hills
Age: Appears mid 20s
Seeming: Beast
Kith: Hunterheart
Court: Autumn
Mantle: Autumn * *
Virtue: Fortitude
Vice: Pride
Concept:
- Pre-arcadia: Gypsy child
- Durance: Caged hunter. Her keeper's favored pet and hunting tool.
- Post-arcadia: B-horror star.
Mask: A tall, voluptuous woman of Eastern European (Romanian) descent, dark hair and dark eyes that seem to have a wild quality about them.
Mien: She looks even more feral and untamed. Her eyes take on a golden hue, and she resembles a great Lynx.
Relevant Mechanics: Striking looks 2, fame 1, wyrd 3
Character Livejournal: Are you afraid?
History
Basic Timeline:
- 1947: Born in Câlnic, in the Alba county of Romania.
- 1959: Taken by her Keeper while she was in the forest. Unknown to her, she'd wandered into the Hedge and was found by an old woman who charmed her into coming to her home "Just for a bit." But this was no ordinary old woman. This was Muma Pădurii, who delights in taking young children and putting them to work as slaves.
- Durance: Muma Pădurii kept Râs locked up for years, changing her shape on a regular basis. She would turn her into a lynx and set her off to find more servants. Râs did as she was told, if only to keep herself from ending up where all of Muma's less favorable servants went: the soup pot.
- Over the years, Râs began to grow into the form that Muma would transform her into, her nails growing longer and more claw-like, her eyes and hair transforming to that of the beast she'd become. Muma was delighted with this transformation, and would take "Mei puţin vânător (my little hunter)" with her to show to Others, on hunts and other sorts of "distractions" for the Gentry.
- Muma becomes angered at her when she returns from a hunt carrying Edria Meredith. She returns Edria to her own keeper, and prepares the pot for Râs. Not wanting to meet the same fate as many that she had caught herself, she ran. And ran. Back to the world she remembered running from.
- 1997: Breaks out of the hedge, into the forests she remembered from her childhood. She had aged a mere 5 years in the decades that she'd been gone, however. The small villiage she remembered had grown and changed. Not a city by any measure, but still baffling to her frail mind. She was soon found by 'Lord Shadow', a filmmaker from New York who had been on location filming at the Câlnic Castle. He took her in, and brought her back with him to America.
- 1997-Spring 1999: Studies the ways of the Autumn court and other various lessons under both Alexander Delapore and Lord Shadow.
- Mid Spring, 1999: Leaves New-New Amsterdam to strike out on her own.
- Early summer, 1999: Gives Figaro a ride north for some work he did on the RV.
- Early Fall, 1999: Meets Cerannen in the woods of New Hampshire.
- Fall, 1999: Settles into the Freehold of Azure Hills
- 2001: Meets Jimmy Quick. They have an intense relationship for all of two weeks, which ended in her beating him up for something, though she won't say what.
- Mid 2003: Meets Pyotr Koud Hart while going through Phoenix.
- Halloween 2005: Attended a party thrown by Nycto Feraz in the Sanitarium of Wayward Dreams
Current Activities: She's still mainly focusing on her movie career, which is in hand with furthering her work as a Scarecrow. She's currently settled in the Freehold of Azure Hills. She's also often patrolling the hedge in the area, both keeping mortals away from it and chasing new changeling arrivals to the freeholds. Chasing, of course, being the optimal term.
Merit Details: Striking Looks 2, Fame 1, Allies: cinema
Background: Râs has been out of the hedge for 10 years. She's a pretty 20- somethings actress who's latched on with Lord Shadow's film studio, bringing a fresh face and new series of movies to shock and horror. He found her wandering around in Romania while he was filming, and brought her back with him to the 'States. She's settled in the Freehold of Azure Hills, by no means an "old face" but still recognized. Since then, she's been learning everything she can about the business from him. Her movies tend to focus more towards the bestial monster out in the woods, with some of the later movies moving in to an urban predator motif. Think: pretty girl who turns out to be a horrible monster.
Associations & Associates
- Shadow Play Studios
- Lord Shadow - Producer, director, and mentor
- Tiny Tim - "We all work through our struggles in different ways. He shows the horrors he saw on page."
- Cerannen - "The hunter has returned to us in body and mind... I just hope that his spirit is quick to follow."
- Savant Absinthium - "He understands the need to roam. Our paths crossed once on the dusty road, and I do hope that they shall do so again."
- Solstice - "There isn't a lot of good I remember from that time. But I remember kind eyes and a sweet voice. Solstice reminds me of that goodness."
- Edria Meredith - "Lastly, I remember her face. But... why?"
- Revenant - Tilts her head to the side to mirror his
- Pyotr Koud Hart - "Looks like I made the right choice."
- Nycto Feraz -Fan, fellow Film Maker
- Capricious - "Always in riddles with this one! I don't much look forward to her next visit, for certain."
- Jimmy Quick - "Second chances do not come cheaply or easily."
- Alexander Delapore - "I am sorry, but your ways are not my own, my teacher."
- Apothecary - "Family can come from the most unexpected places..."
Development Questions
Pre-Kidnapping
• How old are you? What year were you born?
I was born in 1947.
• Who were you before you were taken?
I was just a normal child. I loved my mother and father, I was homeschooled... I pulled tricks and cons on the călător. My name? Why do you need to know my name? No... I told Joe my name and that made HER appear. Evil old woman... That's not my name anymore. I'm not that little girl anymore.
• Who did you want to be?
I always wanted to be like my mother. She was so pretty... her voice would make the most cold hearted weep in sorrow or shout for joy.
• Describe your kidnapping.
I'd gotten into a fight in the village. One of the butcher's sons was making fun of me and my family. I made him sorry for what he said, but he and his brothers chased me into the forest, and I got lost. I wandered for what seemed hours, unable to find my way back home. These weren't the woods I knew... these were dark, înrăit. Wicked. Sharp, evil thorns surrounded me. I was found by an old woman who asked me to come to her home "Just for a bit." But this was no ordinary old woman. This was Muma Pădurii, who delights in taking young children and putting them to work as slaves. My mother and father had told me about her, but I always thought they were just trying to scare me. She didn't look like the Muma Pădurii I'd heard of. Muma was supposed to be ugly and mean. To me she appeared to just be a lonely old woman.
Across the Hedge
• How many days/month/years were you in Faerie in Earth time?
From everything I can gather together? About 38 years
• How long were you in Faerie in Arcadia time?
Time means absolutely nothing in the place where Muma kept me. When I came back, though, I was grown. I was a woman.
• Tell me about your Keeper. Who was s/he? Did he or she (or it?) treat you kindly? Cruelly? Capriciously? How did your Keeper interact with the other Fae?
Muma mea... She was cruel to all those I brought to her. Was cruel to most she brought in herself. But she was kind to me for some reason. And by god, I hated her for it. I was her favorite, because I brought her what she needed. She said it started with the boys who'd chased me in. They were my first contribution to her pot. So long as I kept her happy and hunted for her, brought her other servants and made her look good to the Others, I stayed out of the pot myself. So I did what she said, and put up with her kindness, all the while hating the cage of behavior she put me in.
• Is your seeming similar to your Keeper’s, or does it reflect your environment? Were you shaped for a specific purpose?
I was made to be the best possible hunter for Muma's needs. She was tired and children don't often wander out as far as I did. And she brought me to competitions, massive hunts led by parties of the Others.
• How did you escape? Did you have help?
I... I don't remember. All I know is running. Muma was angry. Something was wrong. I had to run, had to get back. Through the den of thorns, back to the woods.
• Tell me about your Fetch. Are they alive? Dead? If they are alive, do they appear younger or older than you do? Are they happy? Does it matter?
I don't know that I ever had a fetch. Maybe Muma just didn't care to leave one behind. Maybe she did. Maybe it became a Muma Pădurii like her. Pulărie! Ugh... What should I care anyway?
• Do you want your old life back? Why? Why not?
I would have killed to get my life back. I think, I did... when I was still with Muma. But that's not possible. That little girl's life ended in those woods. Any creature left behind wasn't truly her, and I'm not that person anymore.
• How old do you appear to be? Younger or older than you should be?
People say I look like I'm too young for my years. I look like a young woman still.
• What do you look like? What color is your hair? How do you dress? Do you have distinguishing marks? What does your seeming look like?
...You can see me now? Oh, right... well. I look a bit like my mother. My true mother. I'm at least blessed in that sense. Muma didn't make me ugly like her. I'm fairly tall and curvy. Bigger than those women I see in magazines, but since the latest trends are women with arms like twigs that I could break in two with one hand, that's not all too hard. My producer likes my looks, anyway. Both as the girl AND as the beast. My beast side is something to fear, believe me. Perfect for his movies, he says. A great lynx-woman, with deathly claws and ferocious teeth. Eyes of amber shining out of the darkness.
• How do you react to changeling society? Are you looking to create a new life as a changeling? Do you wish to be “cured?” What are your current goals in life? Do you have a motley? A position in the local Freehold?
Me? I've got a new life already. I'm in a new country, have work. I'm helping people. The world needs to know to be afraid. They need to know that the old legends are more than just stories. If I'd known that better... if I'd been a bit more afraid, then I wouldn't have gone into those woods. Wouldn't have listened to Muma.
I will tell you the rest another time, I think.
Character Inspirations
-Books-
- Kitty Norville- Kitty and the Midnight Hour (so it's a werewolf book... so what?)
- Vivian - Blood and Chocolate (another werewolf book/movie... surprise surprise)
-Folklore-
- Fata Padurii - Fata Padurii is the daughter of Muma Padurii ("the Mother of the Woods") and Paduroiul. An inspiration for some of Ras' movies. more info
-Music-
- Ain't your Fairytale - Sonata Arctica
Soundtrack
Links go to videos
Gogol Bordello - 'Wanderlust King'
White Stripes - 'You Don't Know What Love Is'
Sonata Arctica - 'Wolf and Raven'
Iron Maiden - 'Fear of the Dark'
Jill Tracy - 'Evil Night Together'
What's been said about her
Feel free to put something your character has said about Râs.
- "Timing. Grace. Beauty. Ferocity. What’s not to love? I own all of her films." ~ Nycto Feraz
- "A huntress of the darkness within the heart and souls of men. Fear is her muse. It is the one thing she seeks to inspires in all others. Yet, I sense a deeper yearning inside. For something grand. For something simple. For an artist bares their souls in their medium. If you wish to understand hers; watch her work and look beyond the obvious and see the glimmering inspirations and creativity behind it."
- "She has a fierce beauty and a dominating presence. To know her is to love her. To scorn her is to invite death." -==- Joseph Collins
- "We settled on the fact that I ain't sushi. An' reckon she don't eat Changeling-sorts anyway. But Vermin weren't exactly happy to have her sneak up on him when he was sleepin' in Elizabeth's pocket. Offered to wrestle an' settle the question of "predator" an' "prey" once an' for all... an' then I just got that hungry look. Reckon I don't understand cats..." - Nemo
- "As the way of the hunt burns reckless within me, so does it ripen and grow wise within her." - Cerannen
- "I guess I am a cat person after all." - Alex Drake
Rumors
- There always seems to be a string of attacks in the woods wherever Râs goes...
- Once every four months, no matter where she is, Râs takes a candle to a railroad crossing at midnight to repeat a rhyme three times. Nothing ever appears, and no one knows for sure why she continues to do it.
- Once Râs has tasted your blood, she can track you anywhere
Wanted Ties
- Former lovers
- Changelings I've chased back to the safety of a freehold. (had some unseen thing chasing you?)
- Victims of a hunt who got away (want an antagonist?)
- People local to the NE Region from '97ish on
- Spring Court (I'm looking for some goodwill!)
- Autumn Court
- Other beasts/hunters
- More Scarecrows!
- People who've seen her movies (fans/critics/detractors?)
OOC Info
Name: Julie Peloquin
Region: North East
Domain: MA-003-D: Shattered Antiquities
