tlv app
User Name/Nick: Melanie
User LJ: Pfft whatever I never use it
AIM/IM: crimsongrace07
E-mail: dumb_blonde_142007@yahoo.com
Other Characters: Jim Kirk
Character Name: Ravenna
Series: DarkGlass Mountain Trilogy + Beyond the Hanging Threshold standalone
Age: 26
From When?: At the end of the The Infinity Gate, Ravenna gives birth to her son in the Land of Nightmares. The Nightmares (roughly equatable to demons) kill her so they can raise her son, the living Lord of Elcho Falling, in the manner they want to.
Inmate/Warden: Inmate--while she thinks she has good intentions, she has warped ideas on how to achieve them and is very manipulative in getting what she wants.
Item: n/a
Abilities/Powers: Ravenna is a marsh witch. She comes from a line of women that walk the paths of the dream world. She is particularly talented at seeing visions from the Land of Dreams. She has the ability to send nightmares to people, to create a mystic fog that can cause everyone in the area to fall asleep and remember nothing of it, to create glamors to hide herself and others, and an unnatural ability to blend into the darkness. On the Barge, the worst she can do to someone is gave them bad dreams for a few nights and if she tries really hard, she can stand still in a shadow and not be immediately seen. She will otherwise be cut off from the Land of Dreams, the source of all of her power.
Personality: At her best, Ravenna is cunning and at her worst, she is downright manipulative. She is very determined to get her way. If she has to lie, cheat, steal, and/or murder to do it, then she will. While she often claims what she does is for the better good, it's her own view of the better good that she's following and not any actual good. If it's not her way, then it's the highway. She will use any advantage she has against a person and won't apologize for it, since it's all in their best interest obviously.
For being so manipulative, Ravenna is easily led herself. She tends to believe things at their face value, never bothering to look deeper than what she sees in the Land of Dreams, which everyone knows that dreams and visions can be misinterpreted. It's easy to feed her false information and then use her as a tool. That is, if the things you tell her fall into line with her previous ideas. You can't, for instance, convince her that the sky is green when it's clearly blue but if you told her that someone she was jealous of was going to destroy the world, she would believe it and do everything in her power to destroy that person first. She amplifies mildly bad feelings about people in her head and makes herself out to be the victim. It's you that's wrong and attacking her for no reason, even if she just tried to kill you. You obviously had to die for the greater good of everyone, so just shut up and die already.
Perhaps it is obvious then, that she is very determined, to the point of being considered pushy and annoying. Once she latches on to a subject, she rarely lets it go. In fact, she doesn't ever really let anything go. She might drop it if you snap at her or if you tell her to shut up, but that doesn't mean she's forgotten about it or that she won't bring it up at a later time. In fact, snapping at her is more likely to make you an enemy than it is to show her the error of her ways. If you aren't going to help her, then you are in the way.
For a marsh witch, Ravenna is remarkably worldly. Marsh witches are known throughout Escator for keeping to themselves and having little to no interest in the workings of the world outside their marshes. They rarely leave their marshes and dreams. Ravenna however, has no problem with going out into the world and interfering. She risked a lot to rescue the lost prince Maximilian from the gloam mines. She would later leave the marshes to follow Maximilian as he went on a wild goose chase to find his wife. While most marsh witches only care about the dream world they tread, Ravenna is consumed with Elcho Falling, an ancient magical line. She has taken it upon herself to "save" it at all costs, even though she has no connection to it and the current Lord hates her. She doesn't care about going home anymore. All that matters is saving Elcho Falling.
Marsh witches typically do not wear shoes, because having something between their feet and the ground interrupts their connection with the Land of Dreams. Getting Ravenna to wear them is like pulling teeth and when she does, she looks as uncomfortable as she possibly can. They have a taste for simple things, handmade garments, their hair is hardly ever bound. Most marsh witches use their power to seduce travelers to father their daughters. Ravenna uses a song she learned in the Land of Dreams and a false, doe eyed innocence to seduce her lovers.
She's not all demanding, manipulative bitch all the time. When things are going her way she is rather pleasant and witty. Before her tenure in the Land of Dreams, she was a rather sweet girl, who loved her marshes and her mother. With the Manteceros, a legendary and ugly creature, she was kind and gentle with him, even though most people would flinch away in revulsion. She has a wry sense of humor that doesn't come out very often but it is well timed when it does. She likes to tease her friends but in a nice way. It's been a while since she's shown this side of herself but it's still there, buried deep down under her plots and plans. She's more consumed with a passion for her powers than she is with her previous passion for life.
Ravenna truly believes that her actions are for the better good. She has convinced herself that she is in love with Maximilian and has only ever acted for his benefit, even if it means ignoring his orders or actively trying to hurt people he cares about. It hurts her when she betrays him, even if she will never admit it out loud. She's so convinced of her own self importance that she feels like the victim in everything and when she's alone, she'll cry about it. Publically, she still has her dignity and refuses to be that weepy slighted lover. So if she comes off as cold and jealous, then so what. She doesn't care what you think of her.
She has a rather jealous heart. So while she may start off with good intentions, if her position feels threatened she tends to turn on people rather quickly. She makes snap judgments and rarely takes them back. She doesn't like feeling she's second best to anyone, and why should she have to? She's one of the most powerful marsh witches ever, she should be respected for that. She's only trying to save the world, she should be honored for her efforts.
While she a moment of regret for her actions, it wasn't truly a heartfelt conversion. She only regretted her actions because they had turned against her instead of working out in her favor. She played the part because she had no hope for turning things in her favor again, not in the face of Ishbel and Maximilian's rage and distrust. The curse Ishbel laid on her also added to her hopelessness and wailing. But the moment she saw an opportunity, she started to hope and to scheme to effect it in her favor. Suddenly, everything was worth it and necessary again. She's relieved with joy that she has a chance to seize Elcho Falling again and that she managed to outwit Ishbel is an added bonus.
Path to Redemption: The first thing someone would have to do is show and convince her of the fact that it isn't up to her to save the world. Her ambitions need to be reigned in and given a useful outlet instead of trying to manipulate and control the world. Her mother would be a good place to start, since Ravenna murdered her in an attempt to kill Ishbel. Ravenna is more concerned with her ambitions than human life and such, getting her to care about that again would be necessary. In the end, she's a girl that is caught up in something she doesn't understand and she needs to be freed from that vicious circle completely.
History: Ravenna was born to a marsh witch, Venetia. Venetia raised her daughter alone, schooling her in the arts of the dream world. Ravenna never questioned who or where her father was, because she didn't need to. Marsh women were just that, women. And they kept to themselves. She spent most of her childhood exploring the marshes and her powers. According to Venetia, Ravenna was the most powerful marsh witch born for several generations.
When Ravenna was sixteen, Garth Baxtor wandered into her mother's home. He was there on his father's business to deliver herbs that Venetia couldn't get in the marshes but needed for something or other. The women recognized that Garth was someone special, as he could see the marshes as they could, which most men (and normal women for that matter) couldn't. Garth had a fantastic story to share with the women, about how he had found the lost prince of Escator in one of the gloam mines. The man had been toiling there for seventeen years, kidnapped and imprisoned by his power hungry cousin, Cavor.
With Ravenna's help, Garth managed to free Maximilian from the gloam mines and set him on a path that helped him to reclaim his throne. Maximilian and Cavor had to be put to the test by the Manteceros, the only creature that could decide who the throne really belonged to. Maximilian passed the test, Cavor perished. At the end of the adventure, the Manteceros was revealed to be the Lord of Dreams, the ruler of the dream world that Ravenna transversed in the marshes. He asked her to join him permanently, and smitten with the man and the attention, she gladly accepted.
Eight years later, Ravenna left the Land of Dreams and her lover because of a vision she'd seen there. She believed that Maximilian was in need of her help. Maximilian was on his way to Isambaard to rescue his wife, a plan that Ravenna didn't fully approve of and at the time, was just merely jealous of the woman. She felt that Maximilian should still besotted with her as he was when she freed him from the Veins, even after eight years and despite the fact that she'd run off with another man. During the journey, Ravenna tried to make her feelings known and seduce Maximilian into her bed. He resisted until they caught up with Ishbel and discovered that she had more or less abandoned her marriage to another man. Drunk and hurting, Maximilian finally gave in to her seductions.
Seizing the opportunity, Ravenna quickly allowed herself to become pregnant with his heir. She used the baby to force Maximilian to stay with her, playing on his guilt and sense of honor as he felt responsible for her and the child, despite not loving her as he loved Ishbel. At first, Ravenna was jealous of the affection he had for the other woman, but after seeing a vision that showed Ishbel betraying Elcho Falling and its Lord, Maximilian, the jealousy quickly turned into hate. But because of her jealousy before the vision, no one heeded her warnings about Ishbel, something that frustrated Ravenna to no end. Not even her mother took her side in the conflict.
Her insistence that Ishbel was dangerous drove a wedge between her and Maximilian that he could no longer pretend to care about her. He moved into another tent, leaving her to trail behind the army with her mother, nursing her grudge and plotting how to take down Ishbel. Ravenna seized the chance when Ishbel attempted to unwind the Weaper, a bronze deity that held the soul of someone who could help Maximilian. Ravenna followed Ishbel along the magical paths and as Ishbel had to focus all of her concentration on the Weeper or else her soul would be trapped inside the statue as well, it was very easy for Ravenna to corner her and attempt to choke her to death. However, Venetia also followed the girls into the Weeper and pulled her daughter off of Ishbel. Knowing that her mother had fully turned against her and furious about being thwarted from easily killing Ishbel, Ravenna tore Venetia's throat out.
Maximilian confronted Ravenna after the ordeal, and incensed with her careless attitude about trying to murder his wife and actually succeeding in murdering her mother, he banished her from his camp. Angered with him, Ravenna turned her back on him too, riding out with Lister (the god of light taken a human form, who also until recently had supported Maximilian) to join forces with an Isembaardian general that aimed to take Elcho Falling for himself. She had given up hope on saving Maximilian from Ishbel's curse, so she focused her attentions on doing everything in her power to ensuring her son ended up as the Lord of Elcho Falling. Because she carried the heir to Maximilian, the citadel allowed her and whomever she brought with her, entry to it. She used this fact to force Maximilian to meet her in the Land of Dreams, where Armat, the rogue general, lay in wait to murder the Lord. For a moment, it seemed as though Ravenna had a feeling of regret about betraying Maximilian, but despite having all of her powers, she did nothing to stop his death.
The night backfired on Ravenna, as she deeply underestimated Ishbel's powers. Probably because she didn't think that Ishbel could assume the power of Elcho Falling but being a Persimius herself, Ishbel could and did. She used the power to curse Armat into living out his life as a puppet. She killed Lister. She cursed Ravenna triple fold, in cutting her off from her precious marshes and Land of Dreams, in disinheriting her son, and in cursing her to be cast out from and hated by all society for the rest of her life. Ishbel would have killed her, if not for the other woman's pregnancy.
Cursed and defenseless, Ravenna was happened upon by Eleanon, the leader of the Lealfast, a race of people bent on obtaining Elcho Falling for themselves. Sensing the curses about her, Eleanon manipulated them somewhat so that while Ravenna would be tolerated in society, she would also be forced to do whatever he wanted her to do. He forced her to sneak into Elcho Falling and lay dormant traps around its outer walls, to be used whenever he felt the time was right to strike. Only she could do it because all of the Lealfast were banned from the citadel and wouldn't be able to sneak in, no matter what sorcery enveloped them. For months, Ravenna laid the traps and wallowed in the bad decisions that she made that brought her to such a terrible place in life. She even came to regret the actions because she had no hope for things to ever get better for her, and she worried for the safety of her child.
Luck came her way, when she was sent to murder StarDancer, an unusually powerful Enchanter child within the citadel. The order caused Ravenna a lot of distress because of the danger that her own son was in. But as StarDancer was so powerful, he was able to remove Eleanon's curse from her, though he didn't remove Ishbel's out of respect for the woman. But relieved to be freed from Eleanon and the power the One, Ravenna couldn't go through with the proposed murder. StarDancer's parents and the citadel's guard caught her soon after and put her under close watch, though no one knew what to do with her, and they waited until Maximilian made a decision. Licking her wounds, Ravenna was the picture of a repentant woman who learned her lesson, though in her heart of hearts, she hoped and planned for a chance to restore everything that she'd lost.
The chance came from StarDancer. He suggested that to rid Elcho Falling of the threat of the One, Ishbel strip Maximilian of his title and powers, which would then automatically pass to his heir, and then Ravenna, if her powers as marsh witch were restored, could lead and trap the One in the Land of Nightmares, a place beyond the Land of Dreams that rarely anyone had the ability to reach. The only catch was that Ravenna would have to stay in the Land of Nightmares forever, for if she left, it would leave a trail for the One, or her son to follow. As the boy would be raised among the Nightmares, there was a fear of what kind of person he would turn into. Reluctantly, Ishbel and Maximilian agreed to the plan, after putting Ravenna through every test of betrayal they could think of. But she passed them all, because the betrayal hadn't been enacted yet. Yes, she would lead the One to the Land of Nightmares and trap him there, but she didn't see the necessity in staying there forever. The Nightmares would surely take care of the One and it would be her son's right in returning to claim his citadel.
Ravenna did exactly as she was told to, and led the One to the Land of Nightmares with no trouble after Ishbel removed her curses. She gave birth soon after her arrival and delighted in her beginnings of her schemes falling into place. But the Nightmares, with ideas of their own for the baby boy and Elcho Falling, kill Ravenna to ensure that her son is turned to them completely. She then ends up on the Barge.
Sample Journal Entry: [Ravenna's managed to figure out the video thing. She has also been studying this thing for about ten hours and she looks peeved at having to put up with it at all.]
Hello.
These... [what's the word, what's the word. Ah forget it, it's not important.] ..things remind me of home a little. A dear friend of mine used to have something like them.
Would someone care to do me the courtesy of telling me where I am? [She looks even more peeved at having to ask at all] And how I got here?
Sample RP: For a moment, it was like nothing happened. None of it. Maxel, Ishbel, Elcho Falling, the One.. none of them existed here. Not in the comforting one roomed hut of her mother's in the marshes, where a fire crackled in the hearth and her precious marshes were just but a few steps outside the front door.
But. But something was wrong.
She couldn't touch the Land of Dreams here and that. That was something she had never experienced in this room before. She'd always been able to feel them since she could remember. But now she couldn't.
Seething, Ravenna crossed the room and forced the door open, only to be confronted with... a hallway. With a scowl, she peered up and down it, trying to sense anything about it, but she couldn't, and she knew that had more to do with her own lack of power than there being no magical quality to this place. Wherever that was. She could practically smell the magic, even if she couldn't tell a thing about it.
Someone had cut her off from her powers again, and someone had taken her from the Land of Nightmares. And she was going to kill them for it. First for cursing her so yet again and then because she had a son to raise. He would be safe enough for the time being, she figured, with the Nightmares. They would love her child as though it was their own, but she was not going to waste her time here.
Special Notes: If you have any other questions about the world she's from, I can answer them. It's kind of confusing if you haven't read the books, sometimes.
User LJ: Pfft whatever I never use it
AIM/IM: crimsongrace07
E-mail: dumb_blonde_142007@yahoo.com
Other Characters: Jim Kirk
Character Name: Ravenna
Series: DarkGlass Mountain Trilogy + Beyond the Hanging Threshold standalone
Age: 26
From When?: At the end of the The Infinity Gate, Ravenna gives birth to her son in the Land of Nightmares. The Nightmares (roughly equatable to demons) kill her so they can raise her son, the living Lord of Elcho Falling, in the manner they want to.
Inmate/Warden: Inmate--while she thinks she has good intentions, she has warped ideas on how to achieve them and is very manipulative in getting what she wants.
Item: n/a
Abilities/Powers: Ravenna is a marsh witch. She comes from a line of women that walk the paths of the dream world. She is particularly talented at seeing visions from the Land of Dreams. She has the ability to send nightmares to people, to create a mystic fog that can cause everyone in the area to fall asleep and remember nothing of it, to create glamors to hide herself and others, and an unnatural ability to blend into the darkness. On the Barge, the worst she can do to someone is gave them bad dreams for a few nights and if she tries really hard, she can stand still in a shadow and not be immediately seen. She will otherwise be cut off from the Land of Dreams, the source of all of her power.
Personality: At her best, Ravenna is cunning and at her worst, she is downright manipulative. She is very determined to get her way. If she has to lie, cheat, steal, and/or murder to do it, then she will. While she often claims what she does is for the better good, it's her own view of the better good that she's following and not any actual good. If it's not her way, then it's the highway. She will use any advantage she has against a person and won't apologize for it, since it's all in their best interest obviously.
For being so manipulative, Ravenna is easily led herself. She tends to believe things at their face value, never bothering to look deeper than what she sees in the Land of Dreams, which everyone knows that dreams and visions can be misinterpreted. It's easy to feed her false information and then use her as a tool. That is, if the things you tell her fall into line with her previous ideas. You can't, for instance, convince her that the sky is green when it's clearly blue but if you told her that someone she was jealous of was going to destroy the world, she would believe it and do everything in her power to destroy that person first. She amplifies mildly bad feelings about people in her head and makes herself out to be the victim. It's you that's wrong and attacking her for no reason, even if she just tried to kill you. You obviously had to die for the greater good of everyone, so just shut up and die already.
Perhaps it is obvious then, that she is very determined, to the point of being considered pushy and annoying. Once she latches on to a subject, she rarely lets it go. In fact, she doesn't ever really let anything go. She might drop it if you snap at her or if you tell her to shut up, but that doesn't mean she's forgotten about it or that she won't bring it up at a later time. In fact, snapping at her is more likely to make you an enemy than it is to show her the error of her ways. If you aren't going to help her, then you are in the way.
For a marsh witch, Ravenna is remarkably worldly. Marsh witches are known throughout Escator for keeping to themselves and having little to no interest in the workings of the world outside their marshes. They rarely leave their marshes and dreams. Ravenna however, has no problem with going out into the world and interfering. She risked a lot to rescue the lost prince Maximilian from the gloam mines. She would later leave the marshes to follow Maximilian as he went on a wild goose chase to find his wife. While most marsh witches only care about the dream world they tread, Ravenna is consumed with Elcho Falling, an ancient magical line. She has taken it upon herself to "save" it at all costs, even though she has no connection to it and the current Lord hates her. She doesn't care about going home anymore. All that matters is saving Elcho Falling.
Marsh witches typically do not wear shoes, because having something between their feet and the ground interrupts their connection with the Land of Dreams. Getting Ravenna to wear them is like pulling teeth and when she does, she looks as uncomfortable as she possibly can. They have a taste for simple things, handmade garments, their hair is hardly ever bound. Most marsh witches use their power to seduce travelers to father their daughters. Ravenna uses a song she learned in the Land of Dreams and a false, doe eyed innocence to seduce her lovers.
She's not all demanding, manipulative bitch all the time. When things are going her way she is rather pleasant and witty. Before her tenure in the Land of Dreams, she was a rather sweet girl, who loved her marshes and her mother. With the Manteceros, a legendary and ugly creature, she was kind and gentle with him, even though most people would flinch away in revulsion. She has a wry sense of humor that doesn't come out very often but it is well timed when it does. She likes to tease her friends but in a nice way. It's been a while since she's shown this side of herself but it's still there, buried deep down under her plots and plans. She's more consumed with a passion for her powers than she is with her previous passion for life.
Ravenna truly believes that her actions are for the better good. She has convinced herself that she is in love with Maximilian and has only ever acted for his benefit, even if it means ignoring his orders or actively trying to hurt people he cares about. It hurts her when she betrays him, even if she will never admit it out loud. She's so convinced of her own self importance that she feels like the victim in everything and when she's alone, she'll cry about it. Publically, she still has her dignity and refuses to be that weepy slighted lover. So if she comes off as cold and jealous, then so what. She doesn't care what you think of her.
She has a rather jealous heart. So while she may start off with good intentions, if her position feels threatened she tends to turn on people rather quickly. She makes snap judgments and rarely takes them back. She doesn't like feeling she's second best to anyone, and why should she have to? She's one of the most powerful marsh witches ever, she should be respected for that. She's only trying to save the world, she should be honored for her efforts.
While she a moment of regret for her actions, it wasn't truly a heartfelt conversion. She only regretted her actions because they had turned against her instead of working out in her favor. She played the part because she had no hope for turning things in her favor again, not in the face of Ishbel and Maximilian's rage and distrust. The curse Ishbel laid on her also added to her hopelessness and wailing. But the moment she saw an opportunity, she started to hope and to scheme to effect it in her favor. Suddenly, everything was worth it and necessary again. She's relieved with joy that she has a chance to seize Elcho Falling again and that she managed to outwit Ishbel is an added bonus.
Path to Redemption: The first thing someone would have to do is show and convince her of the fact that it isn't up to her to save the world. Her ambitions need to be reigned in and given a useful outlet instead of trying to manipulate and control the world. Her mother would be a good place to start, since Ravenna murdered her in an attempt to kill Ishbel. Ravenna is more concerned with her ambitions than human life and such, getting her to care about that again would be necessary. In the end, she's a girl that is caught up in something she doesn't understand and she needs to be freed from that vicious circle completely.
History: Ravenna was born to a marsh witch, Venetia. Venetia raised her daughter alone, schooling her in the arts of the dream world. Ravenna never questioned who or where her father was, because she didn't need to. Marsh women were just that, women. And they kept to themselves. She spent most of her childhood exploring the marshes and her powers. According to Venetia, Ravenna was the most powerful marsh witch born for several generations.
When Ravenna was sixteen, Garth Baxtor wandered into her mother's home. He was there on his father's business to deliver herbs that Venetia couldn't get in the marshes but needed for something or other. The women recognized that Garth was someone special, as he could see the marshes as they could, which most men (and normal women for that matter) couldn't. Garth had a fantastic story to share with the women, about how he had found the lost prince of Escator in one of the gloam mines. The man had been toiling there for seventeen years, kidnapped and imprisoned by his power hungry cousin, Cavor.
With Ravenna's help, Garth managed to free Maximilian from the gloam mines and set him on a path that helped him to reclaim his throne. Maximilian and Cavor had to be put to the test by the Manteceros, the only creature that could decide who the throne really belonged to. Maximilian passed the test, Cavor perished. At the end of the adventure, the Manteceros was revealed to be the Lord of Dreams, the ruler of the dream world that Ravenna transversed in the marshes. He asked her to join him permanently, and smitten with the man and the attention, she gladly accepted.
Eight years later, Ravenna left the Land of Dreams and her lover because of a vision she'd seen there. She believed that Maximilian was in need of her help. Maximilian was on his way to Isambaard to rescue his wife, a plan that Ravenna didn't fully approve of and at the time, was just merely jealous of the woman. She felt that Maximilian should still besotted with her as he was when she freed him from the Veins, even after eight years and despite the fact that she'd run off with another man. During the journey, Ravenna tried to make her feelings known and seduce Maximilian into her bed. He resisted until they caught up with Ishbel and discovered that she had more or less abandoned her marriage to another man. Drunk and hurting, Maximilian finally gave in to her seductions.
Seizing the opportunity, Ravenna quickly allowed herself to become pregnant with his heir. She used the baby to force Maximilian to stay with her, playing on his guilt and sense of honor as he felt responsible for her and the child, despite not loving her as he loved Ishbel. At first, Ravenna was jealous of the affection he had for the other woman, but after seeing a vision that showed Ishbel betraying Elcho Falling and its Lord, Maximilian, the jealousy quickly turned into hate. But because of her jealousy before the vision, no one heeded her warnings about Ishbel, something that frustrated Ravenna to no end. Not even her mother took her side in the conflict.
Her insistence that Ishbel was dangerous drove a wedge between her and Maximilian that he could no longer pretend to care about her. He moved into another tent, leaving her to trail behind the army with her mother, nursing her grudge and plotting how to take down Ishbel. Ravenna seized the chance when Ishbel attempted to unwind the Weaper, a bronze deity that held the soul of someone who could help Maximilian. Ravenna followed Ishbel along the magical paths and as Ishbel had to focus all of her concentration on the Weeper or else her soul would be trapped inside the statue as well, it was very easy for Ravenna to corner her and attempt to choke her to death. However, Venetia also followed the girls into the Weeper and pulled her daughter off of Ishbel. Knowing that her mother had fully turned against her and furious about being thwarted from easily killing Ishbel, Ravenna tore Venetia's throat out.
Maximilian confronted Ravenna after the ordeal, and incensed with her careless attitude about trying to murder his wife and actually succeeding in murdering her mother, he banished her from his camp. Angered with him, Ravenna turned her back on him too, riding out with Lister (the god of light taken a human form, who also until recently had supported Maximilian) to join forces with an Isembaardian general that aimed to take Elcho Falling for himself. She had given up hope on saving Maximilian from Ishbel's curse, so she focused her attentions on doing everything in her power to ensuring her son ended up as the Lord of Elcho Falling. Because she carried the heir to Maximilian, the citadel allowed her and whomever she brought with her, entry to it. She used this fact to force Maximilian to meet her in the Land of Dreams, where Armat, the rogue general, lay in wait to murder the Lord. For a moment, it seemed as though Ravenna had a feeling of regret about betraying Maximilian, but despite having all of her powers, she did nothing to stop his death.
The night backfired on Ravenna, as she deeply underestimated Ishbel's powers. Probably because she didn't think that Ishbel could assume the power of Elcho Falling but being a Persimius herself, Ishbel could and did. She used the power to curse Armat into living out his life as a puppet. She killed Lister. She cursed Ravenna triple fold, in cutting her off from her precious marshes and Land of Dreams, in disinheriting her son, and in cursing her to be cast out from and hated by all society for the rest of her life. Ishbel would have killed her, if not for the other woman's pregnancy.
Cursed and defenseless, Ravenna was happened upon by Eleanon, the leader of the Lealfast, a race of people bent on obtaining Elcho Falling for themselves. Sensing the curses about her, Eleanon manipulated them somewhat so that while Ravenna would be tolerated in society, she would also be forced to do whatever he wanted her to do. He forced her to sneak into Elcho Falling and lay dormant traps around its outer walls, to be used whenever he felt the time was right to strike. Only she could do it because all of the Lealfast were banned from the citadel and wouldn't be able to sneak in, no matter what sorcery enveloped them. For months, Ravenna laid the traps and wallowed in the bad decisions that she made that brought her to such a terrible place in life. She even came to regret the actions because she had no hope for things to ever get better for her, and she worried for the safety of her child.
Luck came her way, when she was sent to murder StarDancer, an unusually powerful Enchanter child within the citadel. The order caused Ravenna a lot of distress because of the danger that her own son was in. But as StarDancer was so powerful, he was able to remove Eleanon's curse from her, though he didn't remove Ishbel's out of respect for the woman. But relieved to be freed from Eleanon and the power the One, Ravenna couldn't go through with the proposed murder. StarDancer's parents and the citadel's guard caught her soon after and put her under close watch, though no one knew what to do with her, and they waited until Maximilian made a decision. Licking her wounds, Ravenna was the picture of a repentant woman who learned her lesson, though in her heart of hearts, she hoped and planned for a chance to restore everything that she'd lost.
The chance came from StarDancer. He suggested that to rid Elcho Falling of the threat of the One, Ishbel strip Maximilian of his title and powers, which would then automatically pass to his heir, and then Ravenna, if her powers as marsh witch were restored, could lead and trap the One in the Land of Nightmares, a place beyond the Land of Dreams that rarely anyone had the ability to reach. The only catch was that Ravenna would have to stay in the Land of Nightmares forever, for if she left, it would leave a trail for the One, or her son to follow. As the boy would be raised among the Nightmares, there was a fear of what kind of person he would turn into. Reluctantly, Ishbel and Maximilian agreed to the plan, after putting Ravenna through every test of betrayal they could think of. But she passed them all, because the betrayal hadn't been enacted yet. Yes, she would lead the One to the Land of Nightmares and trap him there, but she didn't see the necessity in staying there forever. The Nightmares would surely take care of the One and it would be her son's right in returning to claim his citadel.
Ravenna did exactly as she was told to, and led the One to the Land of Nightmares with no trouble after Ishbel removed her curses. She gave birth soon after her arrival and delighted in her beginnings of her schemes falling into place. But the Nightmares, with ideas of their own for the baby boy and Elcho Falling, kill Ravenna to ensure that her son is turned to them completely. She then ends up on the Barge.
Sample Journal Entry: [Ravenna's managed to figure out the video thing. She has also been studying this thing for about ten hours and she looks peeved at having to put up with it at all.]
Hello.
These... [what's the word, what's the word. Ah forget it, it's not important.] ..things remind me of home a little. A dear friend of mine used to have something like them.
Would someone care to do me the courtesy of telling me where I am? [She looks even more peeved at having to ask at all] And how I got here?
Sample RP: For a moment, it was like nothing happened. None of it. Maxel, Ishbel, Elcho Falling, the One.. none of them existed here. Not in the comforting one roomed hut of her mother's in the marshes, where a fire crackled in the hearth and her precious marshes were just but a few steps outside the front door.
But. But something was wrong.
She couldn't touch the Land of Dreams here and that. That was something she had never experienced in this room before. She'd always been able to feel them since she could remember. But now she couldn't.
Seething, Ravenna crossed the room and forced the door open, only to be confronted with... a hallway. With a scowl, she peered up and down it, trying to sense anything about it, but she couldn't, and she knew that had more to do with her own lack of power than there being no magical quality to this place. Wherever that was. She could practically smell the magic, even if she couldn't tell a thing about it.
Someone had cut her off from her powers again, and someone had taken her from the Land of Nightmares. And she was going to kill them for it. First for cursing her so yet again and then because she had a son to raise. He would be safe enough for the time being, she figured, with the Nightmares. They would love her child as though it was their own, but she was not going to waste her time here.
Special Notes: If you have any other questions about the world she's from, I can answer them. It's kind of confusing if you haven't read the books, sometimes.