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Although storms may descend,
Mountain and valley may quake.
For the days that remain,
This is the promise I make:
No shadow fall across this land,
Before the wind and fire I stand,
And you my child will know no harm,
Enfolded in my arms...
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— "Lothlórien," Lord of the Rings Musical
Nessa Du Valle is known by Bay Area locals to be the wealthy owner and proprietor of
Rowanwood House, a safe haven for supernatural beings that resembles an old world manor house and seems to operate as a kind of posh bed and breakfast with mystic doorways to many different places. She may be a bit eccentric and old-fashioned, though she is also helpful and protective to those who come to her in need. She makes no secret that she is a witch with ties to the Grand Coven, but she has been away from society from so long that only those with very long memories might know much more about her.
Personality
A long life and countless experiences have instilled deep values and ideals in Rowanessa, though many of her ideas are quite progressive by modern standards. She believes in honesty, integrity, and just treatment, but even more so in personal responsibility, compassion, and loyalty. Her faith in the laws of man is flimsy at best, but she does acknowledge a higher standard which equates generally to treating others and their property with respect. She also expects such treatment in return and as such holds good manners in very high regard. Nessa does not hesitate to defend her ideals. While she will seldom raise a hand in violence unless absolutely forced to, she is all too willing to place herself between an innocent and danger, and she will do anything in per power to shield those in her care from harm. Day to day, Rowanessa is gentle, kind, compassionate, and has a good-natured if usually understated sense of humor. Of her personal traits, Rowanessa most values family and friendship, still holding to old world beliefs that the modern world sometimes seems to have forgotten.
Background
Born from Antiquity
So you want to hear the story. ("The" story, doesn't that sound a bit presumptuous? Well, nothing to worry over, I suppose.) It all begins with my father, back about ten thousand years ago or thereabouts. Don't gawk, dear; it's rude. And no comments on my age, if you please. Now, my father never had a name, but I've never heard it. He he may have had some connection to Alisanos, another ancient Gallic mountain god associated with the mountain ash or rowan tree. My birth came near the end of the Paleolithic era, as they call it now, in what has come to be known in the Magdalenian culture. My mother, who was a wise woman of their culture, consorted with a hill god of the rowan tree, and she later died birthing me. So it was that I came into the world with even more nothing than most.
The village chieftain raised me as his own, but I really never cared much for the man. I was stubborn even then, and he believed that a woman existed for the sole purpose of bearing children, except for her hobby, which was of course to cater to his every whim. It was a miserable life in some ways, but it taught me the value of hard work and a well-kept home. Eventually, though, everyone I knew grew old and died. There's no need to be dramatic about it, it's all part of the natural process. Most of them ended up in a better place, anyway, but after a generation or two of unaging, the people grew suspicious. They decided that I was a goddess and tried to worship me, and I wasn't having that. I'd make a horrible deity, and at the time the idea utterly terrified me. So I fled.
Off to See the World
I traveled. I saw the natural wonders of the world around me, and I met a lot of rather interesting people. Unsurprisingly, many of them were not humans. Oh, it's not that I don't like humans--I've just always hated being dirty, and humans back then had such a poor idea of hygiene. It was not until the rise of the great empires that I encountered anyone human of much great interest, and I never settled long in one place. It's not that I'm a snob, dear, really--I just much prefer civilization to grubbing about in the wilderness. Call it a personal weakness. Wandering, I met people and I learned about the world around me. In Egypt I first took a real interest in housekeeping, while in Greece I studied the budding humanities. In ancient Japan I learned much of courtesy and hospitality, and in China I studied the arts of herbal medicine. It was centuries before I returned to Europe, but I didn't feel I'd missed too much. I made it in time to visit the halls of the ancient Norse cultures, to learn to brew mead and ale, and to fight with a sword.
Of course, as time passed I saw many places more than once, the rise and fall of dynasties and empires. I never did get over watching them fall, you know. Sometimes it was a relief to see a line of tyrants fade away, but not all were such. Yes, I suppose some were a greater loss than others, but to see a way of life disappear, a world of lives be forgotten, always carries a certain sadness. Where was I? Ah, yes--music, art, language, and poetry always held my interest. Learning about gardening, housekeeping, history, culture--the basics of everyday life, curiously enough, fascinated me as much as the "higher" concerns. A good grasp on such "basics" made life more than merely existing. I took something from each place I saw, I was changed and I grew from it. I didn't realize it, then, but I was mastering magic by mastering the elements of life that it depends upon. That realization came when I returned home to what was, by then, called Gaul.
Immersion in the World of Magic
So yes, I eventually stumbled across my true nature. That is to say, it nearly got me killed. That was how I met Rauni, a devotee of the goddess Rönn. She claimed she could sense my power, and it was she who taught me to first use magic. In fact, she originally wanted to steal it from me because she thought I represented some kind of opposing force. It took a lot of fast thinking and even faster talking, but I eventually calmed her down, and we became friends in spite of our bad first encounter. I suppose we really only knew each other for a millennium or so, but it seems somehow I spent more time there than in all my travels of the ancient world. She taught me the awakening of my power, which had been growing as long as I had lived. Obviously, that made it considerable in strength--and the real problem was learning not to use too /much/ power, rather than too little. Once I got the hang of that, we set about organizing our knowledge and exploring the boundaries of magic together. It was quite enlightening, often exciting, but apart from knowing every possible detail about her daily habits I don't feel ever really "knew" her. She was that sort, forever enigmatic.
After a thousand years together, when I had convinced myself that we were lifelong friends, she transformed herself into a rowan tree. I wasn't there at the time, and there was never any explanation. I was upset at first, really quite devastated, but I've always had a practical nature. Before long, I picked up and moved on. Around the time that history marks the dawn of the "Common Era," which by the way has always struck me as terribly arbitrary unless one happened to be a Christian, I took to wandering again. For a few centuries, I visited again all those lands I had known in my youth, and I found that while some remained havens of peace and beauty, others had descended into obscurity. I happened into the kingdom of Logres on the British Isles during the height of Arthur's reign--yes, yes, /that/ Arthur--though I never became a court fixture the way so many insisted on doing. Camelot was lovely, a realm halfway on Earth and halfway in the Otherworld, not unlike Avalon, but I've just never done well in a society where there is no way to avoid men who think their physical endowments justify their existence.
The Queen of Benoic
So, once again, I ended up back in Gaul. Benoic was a quiet little kingdom, wonderful in its own way, and I had quite a life there--until, of course, I fell in love with a king's nephew. That's where all the trouble started. Oh, I'd had lovers before--quite a few, actually, and no, dear, I don't feel that's really any of your business--but he was the first who persuaded me into a real marriage. And we were happy. Until the fool went and got himself killed in battle. I had disliked fighting before, but after that, well. Violence is a senseless thing, and I long for the day when man grows out of it. No, I'm not going to hold my breath, either. Thus I was left with his daughter to raise; he'd had another wife before me. I'm getting ahead of myself, though. The king died, and his sons ran off to play knight, and so my husband became heir to the throne. When he died I was left a widowed queen, which was rather against my preferences, but I feel I was able to do a lot with Benoic during my time.
The daughter, though, was the problem. She had serious designs on the crown and, rather than get married and take her turn, she wanted to take me out of the picture. (In a sense I admired her dedication, but plotting, violence, treachery--those are hard to overlook.) It was all very sordid and very silly. She found some brave, empty-headed prince and made up stories about me, loosely based on truth. Soon enough everyone saw me as a "wicked witch" of a horrible stepmother, and the scandal got well out of hand. Rather than have a nasty confrontation, I left them to it. I let them believe they'd burnt me at the stake, and I retreated into the realm of my father's power. By now I had inherited, and it came to be the Vale--and it was the first time I chose to live there rather than the ordinary world. I spawned a few stories, I'll wager. With the "middle ages" now firmly upon us, I returned in a fairly acceptable state of wealth and comfort, often holding v
SIGNATURE ABILITY
Before the Wind and Fire I Stand
The Vale is the seat of Nessa's power, and it is very well defended against any power that might dare invade it. Within the realm, Nessa's divine nature is fully awakened, and she can command its powers as needed. However, if some force is able to break past the wards and threaten her home, Nessa can join her powers with its own to confront whatever threatens it. When her home is directly threatened in this way, Nessa can face down whatever threat may have arrived, and she can hold it back, willing it to pass no farther. Any force, no matter how terrible, can at least mostly be held at bay in this fashion.
Minions or smaller forces may slip past, if the attack is overwhelming enough, but Nessa will be able to hold back the tide of darkness. In most cases, so long as she devotes herself fully to this task, the ability will last indefinitely, but she can do virtually nothing else so long as she makes her stand. In the case of a foe that extends beyond her own strength to the point that it should be able to crush her, for all her power, then she will have the strength to hold it back, but only long enough for anyone else in the Vale to flee to safety. Once she has no one left to protect but herself, then her defense will be powerful... but imperfect, and she will be left to confront whatever threat is left.
SKILLS
Academics - Competent Level
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When it comes to some areas, Nessa's knowledge is unsurpassed. However, she is very ignorant of recent history and the developments of the modern era. She is working her way through the classic literature of the last few centuries, but she has little to no knowledge of modern learning or science. Older history, culture, and classical learning, though, are all subjects she has mastered well beyond anyone who has only studied them.
One special case for Nessa is languages, where she qualifies as an Expert. Nessa speaks, reads, and understands a vast array of languages, ranging from ancient dead languages to modern English. There are few, if any, Earth languages that Nessa does not understand, though she has some trouble with more modern dialects and slang. Her knowledge of Otherworldly languages, runes, and sigils is likewise extensive, allowing her to serve as an expert translator in nearly any capacity.
Through the use of potions and other alchemical preparations, Nessa can accomplish far, far greater feats of magic than she can do using only spellcasting or other foci. The obvious limitation is that she must prepare these draughts and other contrivances in advance, rather than producing them at will, but having committed over an hundred centuries to perfecting her craft, she is a grandmaster alchemist of the highest order.
Animal Handling - Expert Level
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Having owned and trained many animals in her time, Nessa knows well how to train domestic animals and handle wild ones. She is an expert rider, and has a natural affinity for birds and predatory mammals, such as canines and felines.
Athletics - Competent Level
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Modern sports hold no particular interest for Nessa, but she remains in excellent physical shape and is capable of any basic athletic feat at a competent level: She can swim, climb, jump, and so on quite well, though not at expert level.
The ability to appropriately impose her personality on others makes it simple for Nessa to be anything from charming to intimidating to simply mysterious with very little effort. She is highly adept at hiding her emotions or displaying whatever feeling she chooses, and could serve easily as a highly successful actress or diplomat. She can be in one moment warmly maternal and cold-iron intimidating the next.
Rowanessa dislikes violence, but her long life has forced her to take up arms many times. She is an expert swordswoman, also qualifying as a competent level archer and unarmed fighter. However, when it comes to any modern weapons, particularly firearms, she qualifies as completely untrained.
Expression - Competent Level
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Nessa is a fairly talented artist, though she is better at sculpting, pottery, and other hands-on mediums than painting or drawing. She has a fair talent for music and is a good judge of quality, and has seen many of the world's great classical works of art in person. She has a strong voice, whether speaking or singing, though it is more suited to fireside folk songs than grand performance halls.
Rowanessa's knowledge of herbs is quite extensive, including a variety from around the world and even many only native to the Otherworld. In addition, she knows a wide variety of methods for healing ailments, both physical and spiritual, with treatments ranging from the magical to the mundane. There are few things she cannot cure, given time and resources.
Housekeeping - Expert Level
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Millennia of keeping houses have made Nessa one of the very best at it, well, ever. She can pull a royal gala out of her hat in a day's time without even using magic, and if she's "cheating" she can do it in minutes. There is no aspect of keeping a traditional home which she has not mastered to effective perfection, including cooking, brewing--teas, ales, and so forth--and, of course, baking. Cooking is perhaps her greatest hobby, and she has a natural talent for it. While she has trouble with some more modern dishes -- hamburgers and pizza, for example, confound her -- she is flawless when it comes to the classics. Notably, she has near total ignorance of modern appliances and such. She has to do everything the old-fashioned way.
While Rowanessa does not have access to every possible spell or recipe known to man, she has a great many in her grasp. Once she does have the proper instructions and the required ingredients, there is no potion she cannot brew nor spell she cannot cast. She could easily be called one of the foremost experts on the occult in the world, in a class of very few others. Her knowledge of ritual magic is just as advanced, and she is very well informed about various other mystic phenomena, how to recognize magical creatures when she sees them, and many far more arcane secrets.
Subterfuge - Competent Level
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While Nessa dislikes outright lies, she is a true master of avoiding the need to utter actual falsehood. Whether by telling part of the truth or by letting someone draw their own conclusions by saying something not related to the immediate topic, she is quite good at deception. With the life she's led, especially in patriarchal societies, she has had to be.
Survivalism - Competent Level
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Nessa knows absolutely nothing about modern survival techniques, but she is well-versed in older methods, having come from a time before any modern conveniences had really even been imagined. She can exist for indefinite periods in even fairly harsh wilderness conditions and get by well enough, living off the land.
ABILITIES
Power: Divination - Enhanced Level
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Rowanessa's awareness comes from a sensitivity to the ebb and flow of mystic energies around her, and also from focusing those energies to perceive what others cannot. If she is actively "listening" for it and has the proper foci, she is able to sense even miniscule magical effects from great distances. Identifying spells or magical creatures is quite easy unless the object in question is very well shielded. She can also read auras, determine the physical condition or nature of persons or objects, and can scry across global distances.
Power: Divinity - Supreme Level
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Rowanessa inherited the spark of divinity from her father, who was a local hill god near what is now Tursac in Dordogne, France, associated with a particular ancient rowan tree. As a result, she is physically quite strong (normally only Basic level) and resilient (Enhanced level), able to resist even deadly powers (Supreme level) effectively. She has an indomitable will (Supreme level defense against mental or spiritual invasion or influence), along with a keen mind and unfailing memory, her perfectly sharp (Enhanced-level) senses never dulled by the passage of time.
Power: Elementalism - Enhanced Level
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Rowanessa can summon and manipulate elements (such as to light or douse a large fire, cast a fireball, whip up or redirect a gale force, split open the earth, shift large metal masses, or bring forth and direct a large water source); create elemental conditions (summon lightning from a clear sky, call forth a storm); command living elements (cause trees to move, cause saplings to leap to maturity, spread flowers across a barren valley), and similar. This can be accomplished on the fly with charms or incantations, though it is most safely and effectively done via careful ritual preparation.
Power: Healing - Supreme Level
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Given time and effort, there is virtually no wound or malady that Nessa cannot cure. Whatever methods she uses, be they herbal teas, simples, or other basic remedies or more complex medical treatments. Exotic methods of healing such as crystals or reiki are also effective. In her hands, anything she does with sincere intent to help with healing others will actually work as prescribed. She could even resort to medieval methods of healing, such as applying leeches or attempting to modify the body's humors, and it would still be an effective remedy. However, her own medical knowledge is such that she generally uses actually effective treatments, which are then enhanced significantly by her inherent healing power. Even binding someone with a clean bandage is sufficient to help them begin healing at a vastly increased rate. She can restore extensive damage, such as missing limbs, over a few days' time and can even restore those who have just died to life if their souls have not departed. She can expunge toxins or similar agents instantly with only a light therapeutic touch.
Power: Immortality - Supreme Level
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As one of divine nature, Nessa remains in perfect health and physical condition, untouched by illness or infirmity. Perhaps most notably, her soul is bound to the realm imparted to her by her father, which has become the mystic Vale, located in the Otherworld, so that even if her body is destroyed, her soul will return to the Vale and, in time, allow her to recover--so long as the Vale exists, so will she. To destroy her soul, one would first have to obliterate the Vale.
Power: Mentalism - Basic Level
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Nessa can sense the feelings of others, as well as pick up on surface thoughts that are particularly focused or prominent. She can "read minds," such as memories, and can engage in telepathy, but she has never learned to be particularly invasive or "force" her way into the mind of another.
Power: Telekinesis - Basic Level
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Rowanessa can exert up to several hundred pounds of force in the form of telekinetic manipulation. This is limited by her range of perception and concentration and cannot operate in any shape more complicated than a pair of hands or basic geometric object.
Power: Transportation - Enhanced Level
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Essentially, Nessa can instantly travel up to hundreds of miles in seconds. By parting the veil and entering the Ways, she can of course travel much, much farther. She is very skilled at navigating the Ways via magic, as well as by more mundane methods. With the proper spells and foci, she is capable of proficiently opening and controlling interdimensional rifts and portals.
Power: Warding - Supreme Level
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Without great effort, Rowanessa can create wards of Supreme strength level that will keep out beings or effects of significant power. With time, ritual, and focus, she can create wards of much greater potency (such as sealing a dimensional barrier). With enough preparation and the proper tools and ingredients, her wardings can reach the Supreme level.
Magic: Witchcraft - Enhanced Level
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Born with a talent for magic, Rowanessa can accomplish quite a variety of effects through witchcraft. These range from conjuring, enchantment, transformation, or illusion to the summoning or banishment of spirits or creatures, to a variety of other effects. For thematic, role-play, and plot purposes Rowanessa's abilities are really nearly endless. For practical purposes, her sorceries all operate at the Enhanced level in most instances. With ritual preparation or by drawing on the power of the Vale this may all be expanded, but any exceptional use would have to be approved by staff. Additionally, Nessa is bound by her various Oaths, which constrain her role in the world.
ADVANTAGES
The love of a spirit is a powerful thing. Nessa's consort, Rhün, is an ancient spirit of Fate--as in, meeting one's Fate, not as in good luck or happy destiny. Sometimes taking the form of a darkly handsome man, sometimes of a massive black wolf, he cannot manifest in the physical world. However, he guards her realm of the Vale unfailingly, making it that much harder for any outside power to safely breach it. This comes at a cost, however: At times, Nessa is forbidden from acting freely, for Fate demands that events must play out as they are intended.
It would be impossible to document everything Nessa has seen and done. Through all the years she has encountered virtually innumerable things and thus has copious of knowledge and experience to draw on in any given situation. This often gives her an advantage against those who may match her in raw power or even great skill, as she has simply seen and done so much, refined her craft and abilities for so long. She has also seen much of history and met many people in her time, and while she has not been personally present for most famous events, the odds are she may have met someone who was there or known someone within two or three degrees of separation from a particular figure.
Rowanessa's spellbook isn't quite as old as she is, but it still has a vast collection of spells in it. One part recipe book, one part alchemist's reference manual, one part diary, and one part encyclopedia, it contains thousands of years worth of occult knowledge and information. She can use it to enact a wide variety of rituals to almost any effect. It has no powers on its own other than a series of protective spells, designed to enhance its durability to Supernatural levels, and it can only be opened by Nessa herself or someone bearing a "key" charm created by her. It automatically repels any spell or magical effect cast upon it at the same level as its durability, so it cannot be transported via magic, enchanted further, or otherwise affected by magic. This makes transporting the rather heavy book a bit of chore.
Witches are well known for the "Power of Three." That is, they are especially adept at combining their individual strengths in order to cast much more powerful, impactful magics. Some of the most powerful spells a witch can cast require a circle of others to cast, and a circle is usually formed out of triads of witches, each wielding the Power of Three. Power of Three spells can be done by any three witches, but they have to have the same focus on their goal and ideally be on the same page. Witches who are at odds with each other may even have the spell fail or go wrong. For even greater effect, various groups of three can assemble into larger circles of nine or twelve, and a circle of thirteen is particularly potent.
Over the millennia Rowanessa has built up a large personal fortune. Her net worth and assets virtually defy calculation. One of her more prominent properties is a mansion, run as bed and breakfast inn run out of San Francisco, California, which is also her current place of residence. She cannot, of course, access all of her wealth at once. Just freeing up and liquidating all those assets would take years, but she still has effectively unlimited financial resources.
Nessa's home is Rowanwood House, a manor that can coexist in both The Vale and on Earth at the same time. In addition to being a luxurious and comfortable home, it is also itself a magical place. Some of the power of the Vale extends into Rowanwood: it has Supernatural level wards and defenses against magical attacks, and it can perform acts of spontaneous sorcery at the Basic level in order to make guests there more comfortable (such as a bath filling automatically, a bed making itself, or a cup of tea appearing just at the moment it's most needed).
The vast majority of Nessa's power is tied up in The Vale, a realm accessible through the Ways of the Otherworld. Within her small realm, Nessa is the supreme power. The realm reflects her desires, even the laws of physics and the magics within the Vale all bending freely to her will. It contains a variety of enchanted objects she has collected over the centuries, as well as her expansive occult library. The realm is also somewhat self-aware, and it will act primarily to preserve the safety of Nessa and anyone she has granted sanctuary there. There, only the most dire of threats could pose any danger.
WEAKNESSES
Nessa cannot use openly offensive sorcery on "holy ground," meaning any site that has been consecrated by a benevolent spiritual force or deity. When in such an area she can still use her powers for anything she wishes except to attack or harm others. She can empower herself or others, bolster or support them, but if this is used to attack or hurt anyone then the effect will vanish. This stems from the ancient power that grants Nessa her powers, and a show of good faith her father once made to other "gods of light."
Typical of the heroic breed, Nessa will not betray a loyalty. However, beyond that, she will go to any lengths to aid or rescue a friend in need, even if it means marching into "Certain Doom" to do so. The term "unfaltering" could easily be applied to her, and she can seldom, if ever, deny a friend who is truly in need. Anyone who she is close to could be used against her by anyone ruthless enough to do so, as villains so often tend to be.
Rowanessa is bound by any Oath she swears. She physically cannot willingly break an Oath once it is sworn, and if she swears an Oath that she somehow cannot uphold, she will be banished to the Vale and bound up in her own power, potentially for centuries or longer, until she is somehow able to find a way to redress the failure to keep her word. The most binding Oath she has ever undertaken was to her consort, the wolf-like spirit of Fate called Rhün: When her purposes are at odds with those of Fate, she must stay her hand and allow events to transpire as Fate has decreed they must. (This is a Plot Device flaw that basically means she only gets involved when the GM/story want her to.) The only limitation to this Oath pertains to her own realm: She may always act, within the Vale, to do anything she must to defend it and anyone in it.
