Name: Alice Rydel
Player: Shawn Hagen
E-mail Address: hagen@netroute.net
Chronicle: Santa Cruz/Mage
Essence: Dynamic
Nature: Visionary
Demeanor: Deviant
Tradition: Marauder
Cabal: None

ATTRIBUTES:
Physical: Strength-2, Dexterity-2, Stamina-2
Social: Charisma-3, Manipulation-2, Appearance-5
Mental: Perception-3, Intelligence-2, Wits-3

ABILITIES:
Talents: Alertness-1, Athletics-1, Awareness-1, Dodge-1, Intuition-1,
Firearms-2, Meditation-2, Stealth-1
Skills: Acrobatics-1, Demolition-3, Ride-1, Singing-3
Knowledge: Culture-1, Garou Lore-3, Mage Lore-1, Nephandi Lore-2, Wyrm Lore-2.

SPHERES:
Entropy-1, Mind-1, Prime-1, Spirit-2, Time-1

Background: Arcane-1, Avatar-5, Destiny-5
Flaws: Amnesia and 5 points of Unknowns.

Arete-2
Willpower-9
Quintessence-5
Paradox-0

Background: At this point Alice really doesn't have a background, or more to the point, she does not remember it. There are a number of possibilities, and in time she might learn of her past. She might have been part of a Marauder group, fighting the Technocracy, or the Nephandi, or anyone that got in their way. It is possible her group was destroyed and she was captured. Or maybe the group themselves took her memory and put her in the stasis capsule. Perhaps she is a recently awoken Mage and Marauder, also
recently captured. Or maybe she was captured a long, long time ago. Such is the nature of stasis. In time she may discover her past, or it may remain a mystery for all her days.

Quiet: Base of 4. To Alice, the world is Wonderland. It is a huge world filled with many wondrous creatures and places. Of course some of these people don't realize what they are, obviously suffering from some sort of derangement, the poor things. Alice can interact with the real world well enough. After all, a building is still a building, no matter what she perceives it to look like, and a it does not matter if it is a sports car or a magical wagon, it is still a fast moving thing that one best not step in front of. Wonderland is a such a huge and magical place that anything can be worked into it. (She can sort of glimpse the plainer reality of things, if only to make things clearer when writing about her).
While she can interact with the material objects of the world well enough, the people are another matter. When you see a police officer as a talking playing card, and the owner of a shop as a giant rabbit (unless said person happened to be a Pooka Rabbit) people have a hard time understanding you. (In time, as Alice begins to realize how sad people are in general, she will decide she can best help them by helping them to see Wonderland as it truly is. Then they will be happy as she is.)
As her quiet gets higher, Alice has a harder and harder time interacting with the real world as Wonderland masks the world more and more completely.
If Alice ever reads Alice in Wonderland or Through the Looking Glass, she will probably be quite surprised.
Her Avatar constantly changes forms when it appears to her, but is almost always female.

Notes: Alice is not quite the same Alice from the books, though they share a few similarities, such as a curiosity that would send them chasing after rabbits. Alice Rydel is a fairly easy going person, nice in fact. She is willing to trust people, though she is not really naïve. She likes people, but in time she will begin to feel sorry for them because they do not realize what a beautiful place the world is. People who try to deny that world will quickly get on her bad side. If necessary she is quite willing to be ruthless and do what is needed. She will either see it as just part of Wonderland or will be completely shielded from it by her insanity.

Appearance: Alice is a beautiful young woman looking to be in her mid to late teens. Her red hair is long, worn to the small of her back, often pulled up in a pony tail, or is she has had the time, braided, and pulled over her left shoulder. She has a few freckles across the bridge of her nose, set of by her pale skin. Her green eyes often seem to almost glow when her emotions run high. She smiles easily. She wears whatever there is, she either accepts the clothing as being proper, or she thinks they are. Given a choice, she would tend to go with long skirts, silk blouses and velvet jackets, if it were cold enough. She's 166 cm tall, 62 kgs.

Prelude

Date: Unknown

The few dim light strips on the wall were hardly visible, they did not cast their meek illumination very far.
The only sound was a low hum, barely perceptible.
Nothing happened. Nothing had happened.
The light strips grew dimmer with the passage of time. Soft green bars of light, fading away into nothingness.
The sound remained steady for the longest time, but even it began to grow less and less, sometimes stopping for short periods.
Nothing happened.
The light strips were almost gone. The light was so faint, one would only be able to see it out of the corner of their eye. If anyone was there to see it.
The sound, which had been stopping and starting again, often sounding like the hum of a bee's wing as it bounced against a screen, stopped for the final time.
Something happened.
Several red lights lit up. They were like small suns, casting away the darkness that had been about to completely claim the room they were in. It was a simple room, two doors, a console of sorts, and a long, coffin like box that stood on a forty five degree angle in the center of the room.
There was a loud click, then the sound of rushing air. After the near silence of the hum the sounds were like thunder. More lights lit up on the console, casting more light in the first few moments then the light strips had ever cast in their entire existence. And then a soft, white light came in on the ceiling, flickering a few times before steadying. The darkness was finally banished.
There were more clicks, more sounds, then, with a slight screech, the box's top began to raise. The L shaped cover was composed of soft curves, and hinged at the top of the box. It lifted up until the end touched the ceiling. There it stopped. Many of the sounds faded, but for the low sound of moving air.
The lights on the consoles began to wink out, until the ceiling light was the only source of illumination left, but it was more than enough. Inside the box was a young woman. Her long, red hair was fanned out underneath her so it appeared as if she lay in a puddle of blood. She was beautiful, her body perfect. Her pale skin was unblemished, but for a few freckles across the bridge of her nose. She was naked, but one arm was across her small breasts, and a hand rested between her legs. The position of modesty some how appeared forced. A line of lights, set into the soft, flesh coloured lining of the box came on above her head. A moment later her body jerked and one of the lights went out. Her arms fell to her side. She jerked again, and another light went out. A third time she jerked, and as the light went out she took in a deep breath.
Her eyes opened, revealing irises that were the colour of jade. When the lights above her head all winked out at once she tilted her head back, but there was nothing to see. She dropped her head back and then looked around.
She wondered where she was. She did not remember the room. The last thing she remembered was...
The last thing she remembered was...
There was nothing.
"Where am I?" she asked softly, her voice was a pleasant contralto. The question raised another. "Who am I?"
She waited for a short time before realizing that no one was going to answer her. She was alone. She pushed herself forward slightly, then lifted one of her feet out of the box and directed it towards the floor.
As soon as her toe touched the floor she jerked it back. It was so cold. She steeled herself, then pushed herself from the box, almost jumping. A shiver ran through her body once both feet were on the floor and she wished she could just climb back into the stasis capsule.
Stasis capsule? She looked over her shoulder at the box, knowing what it was, but not knowing how she had gotten into it.
The console received her attention next. She did not really understand any of it, though she assumed that it had something to do with the capsule. She tapped a few of the keys, but nothing happened. It all seemed dead to her. Her curiosity still unsatisfied, she went to one of the doors, looking it over. It was set into the wall with no obvious handles. On the wall was a small touch pad. She pressed the green field and the door slid open. Simple enough, she thought. As soon as the door open a light in the room flickered on, revealing a spartan, small bathroom.
Seeing it made her suddenly aware that she had to make use of the toilet. She entered the room and closed the door behind her. After she had relived herself she washed her hands. Above the stainless steel sink was a small mirror. She looked at herself, wondering who she was again. She reached up and pressed the flesh below her eyes, then slid her fingers down to the corner of her mouth. She brushed her fingers across her nose then pulled at her earlobes. It was definitely her. She wondered if she had always looked like that.
The mirror provided no answers so she left the washroom, stepping back out into the stasis room. There was only one more way to go. She walked to the other door and pressed the green field. That door slid open, another light coming on at the same time.
There was a short corridor, at the end of which was another door. She entered the corridor, the door closed behind her. She turned and tried to open it again, more curious then alarmed, but it stayed close. It appeared she could only go forward now.
The walls of the corridor were covered in what looked like the front section of drawers. To the right side of each was a control panel, a little brother of the ones that controlled the doors. She reached out and touched the green field next to one. Nothing happened. As she walked towards the door she pressed the green field of each, nodding as nothing happened. She was nearing the door when a touch elicited a beep instead of nothing. Then the panel opened, swinging down, like a drawbridge. Opened, she could see what was behind it. A cubical space. She reached inside of it and brought out some tan clothing.
How fortuitous, she thought, separating the clothing out. She pulled one the panties, then put on the bra. The clothing felt unfamiliar to her in some odd way, yet she knew what it was and how to put it on. Strange, she thought. The pants were loose, with a drawstring at the top. She put them on the pulled the string tight, tying it off. The top was loose, and hung loose. Still, it was clothing.
As she pulled on the black slippers she noticed one more thing. It looked like a wallet. She pulled it out, deciding it was indeed a wallet. On opening it she was presented with two cards and some cash. She took out one of the cards, a driver's license. Her picture was on it. Alice Rydel, the card told her her name was. Now she had a name, but she did not know if it was her real name.
"Alice," she said, immediately liking the sound of it. Alice. A good name she decided. Simple, and yet beautiful for it. "Alice Rydel," she said, nodding. It would do.
The other card was simply a plate of white plastic with a magnetic strip on one side. She looked at it, then at the other door. She noticed that the opening control was slightly different from the others. There was some sort of rail beside it. Two parallel rails, a thin space between them. She looked at it, then the card, then back at the lock.
Nodding, Alice swiped the card through it. The door slip open, revealing a larger space, dimly lit. Unlike the other times, lights did not come on. She stepped out, not surprised by the sound of the door closing behind her.
She was in a long, wide corridor. The ceiling stretched up above her, lost in the darkness. Lining the corridor on either side were long rows of glass cylinders. Many were dark, though she had the impression that they were full of a thick liquid. Some were broken, on the floor in front of those were dry things that crunched under foot.
It was a little like walking along a forest path, the trees on either side of her, small branches cracking under foot. In her mind the cylinders became the trunks of mighty trees, the corridor cloaked in shadow by the leafy crowns above her. Already she was beginning to loose herself, things that were actually there unimportant to what she thought was. Occasionally a tree would be a glass cylinder again, or the twigs underfoot the skeletons of things long dead, but if so, it was only for a moment.
She reached the door at the end of the corridor, unlocking it with her key. The door slid back to reveal the interior of an elevator. She stepped in and the door closed behind her. The car jerked once when it started, and shook during its descent.
When it stopped and the door's opened, Alice was greeted by bright light, Sunlight. A fresh, warm breeze was blowing in her face, carrying the rich scent of earth, and plants, with a sharp tang of water. Alice smiled and stepped out, onto the soft ground. That the door closed behind her did not bother her. That it disappeared once closed hardly registered. The place she had been felt like it was millions of kilometers away. The world around her was live and beautiful.
And so did Alice Rydel enter once again into the world. So did she come to Santa Cruz.

Thursday, August 3rd, 1995 11:33 a.m.

Alice looked around, wondering where she was, and also wondering if it really mattered. She used the sleeve of the loose top she wore to wipe at her forehead. It was too hot. She grasped the bottom of the top and fanned it in and out from herself, trying to battle the heat. It seemed to be a lost cause.
Sighing loudly, she released the material, trying to remember where she had seen the road. Not so long ago she had been certain that she was near it, but now she felt she was even deeper in the wilderness. Running her hands behind her neck, she lifted her hair up so the air could get at the back of her neck.
"I wish I had something to drink," she said to herself, letting her hair drop. "It's been...," she stopped and tried to remember when the last time she had had a drink was. Too long, she decided.
She licked the tip of her pointer finger, then lifted her hand up into the air, trying to gauge the wind direction. While she was not entirely sure why she was doing it, it seemed better than doing nothing. After a moment she nodded, then began to walk.
As she went she realized that her slippers, while perfectly functional in the complex, were not quite the foot gear she could have wished for while walking through the woods. The thin soles did little to protect her feet from the jabs of small stones and branches, nor did they offer much support to her ankle.
Finally she sat down on a small boulder so she could massage her left ankle which had twisted slightly when she had miss-stepped. She looked around, noticing a clump of wildflowers nearby. They were beautiful, with perfect little faces. Faces? She looked again. Yes, they certainly had faces. It seemed that they were talking. They were talking. A soft murmuring.
"Excuse me," Alice said. "Perhaps you might help me."
"What?" one of the flowers said.
"I was wondering if you could help me."
"Help you? How?" another of the flowers asked.
"Well, I'm not sure where I am."
"You are here."
"Well, yes, I know."
"Then why did you ask?"
"You see, it's that I don't know where this place is, in relation to a place where I want to be."
"Where do you want to be?"
"I'm not really sure."
"Then how can you expect us to help you?"
"I guess you have a point," Alice nodded. "Maybe you can tell me if there is a road, or something like that nearby?"
"We cannot tell you that," one of the flowers said in a cross tone. "We only know this area."
"If you wish to know what is near here," another flower said. "you should ask an animal, something that moves."
"Or a tree."
"Yes, a tree might know, but I doubt it would tell her anything. Trees are like that."
"That is true," several flowers said, nodding to one another.
"I'm sorry," Alice said. "I wasn't thinking."
"Yes, you were not thinking. Your kind does not often think. It explains the sorry state of things."
"I'm sorry."
"Well, an apology is all well and good, but it is of little value unless you do something. You should know that. It is unfortunate, you're such a pretty girl, but a little dull I fear."
"She is very pretty," another said. "She could almost be a flower."
"I'm not a flower," Alice said.
"Do you think I do not know that?" the flower said crossly. "I know you are not a flower, but you are pretty like one. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
"Dull, but pretty. Look at her eyes. They are green, like a leaf."
"A very good eye colour. Very natural."
"And her hair is like fire."
"How would you know," another snapped. "You have never seen fire. I suspect if you did you would die of fright."
"Well, then her hair is like the colour of the sun, right before it sets!"
"Yes, it is like that. See how is glows."
"I think it is more like blood," the first flower to talk said.
"Remember when we saw that wounded rabbit crawl by. Her hair is much like its blood."
"I think I would prefer to have hair like the setting sun than like blood," Alice said.
"You would," one of the flowers said.
"What?"
"If you do not understand, we cannot help you."
"Yes, we cannot help you."
"I think I will leave now," Alice got to her feet. "I am sorry if I have bothered you."
"Being sorry is fine, but does it accomplish anything?"
"I don't know."
"Well, perhaps there is hope for you."
"Good bye flowers," Alice said, then walked away, not looking back.
She picked her steps with more care, being sure not to step on anything that might hurt her feet, or on any flowers. She looked up at the trees a few times, wondering if she might ask them for help. They towered so high above her, she was sure they could see for a great distance, and the roots must go so deep and far, entwining with all the other roots, through that knowing so much. The flowers had thought that the trees would not help her though. She did not try to ask them.
So much care was she taking, she did not notice the track until she was upon it. She looked up, a little surprised. She looked up and down the mountain track, happy to have found something. The dirt was well packed, and nothing grew on it. Obviously it was well traveled. She spun around a few times, trying to decide which way to go. One way or another. Which way was good? Would that mean one way was bad? Alice thought about that for a time. She was not sure it really mattered.
With that thought in her head, she started up the path. She stretched her pace out, glad to be talking long strides after the underbrush and rough ground had constrained her.
Ahead of her she could see that the trail branched. She could also see two figures, involved in a strange sort of discussion. She stepped off the path, moving silently, and moved closer, using the trees and bush as cover.
There were two men there. One was a strange, dumpy little man with gray whiskers that stuck out in little tufts, looking so much like a cat's whiskers. He was wearing pin striped suit that looked to be made of a heavy material. On his head he wore a pointed cap. Alice thought he must be very uncomfortable with the heat. He did not look as if he was bothered by it though. He could not have been more than three feet tall, perhaps a little shorter.
His companion, more a boy than the man Alice first thought, was a strange, wispy sort of boy. He was very pale, his flesh nearly white, she almost thought she could see through it. It, his skin, hung loosely on thin bones, he looked like a person who had been starved and mistreated yet had survived. He was taller than his companion, around five feet.
They were talking, she was sure of that, but she could hear nothing from the pale one. The shorter man's voice held a consoling tone to it.
"Well, what did you think you'd get?" the shorter man asked. "He's an Autumn Man! By Luna lad, what could you possibly want with such a person?"
The pale one seemed to say something, Alice thought she could see his lips move, but she heard nothing.
"No, I don't think so lad. I'm sorry..." he stopped, as if he were interrupted. "Well, no, I can't be sure, but I'm not about to go up that road," he said, pointing up the right fork, "and find out."
The pale one seemed to speak again.
"There are things even a sluagh wasn't meant to know, as you've found out. We knockers, we have more sense you know."
Again, the pale one said something that was lost to Alice.
"Never mind that. Look, I know a kind old troll who'll set you those heart reavings of yours to right. You'll never truly heal them, but in time, give it a century or two, you'll forget her," he said, his tone sounding lighter.
The pale one answered.
"All right! All right!"
Again, the pale one spoke.
"No, I don't know of any heroes. Not any live ones anyway."
Alice tried to hear what the pale boy as saying, but try as she might, there was nothing but the wind.
"I understand all that," the short man said, "but understand this too me lad. There are dark things in this world of ours. I don't mean redcaps; I don't mean spirits; and I don't mean the mountain witches who'd sooner pluck your bones for one of their potions as talk to you. I mean there are things that are truly Evil, in every sense of that word.
"That's what you've had a taste of. You only go playing at evil - and at best you come across as a nuisance. But now, now you've met the real thing, and it's cost you. Be glad she was only human..."
The pale one interrupted.
"All right! All right! Now, look, I liked her too..."
Once more, the pale one broke in.
"I understand," he said sharply, "but she'd want you to go on..."
The pale one raised a hand, his lips moving.
"What do you mean we're being watched?! Who? Where?"
The little man looked directly at the place where Alice was hiding, his eyes seeming to bore into the trunk.
Alice took a deep breath, then stepped out from behind the tree and back onto the trail. "I'm sorry. I didn't really mean to eavesdrop, well, not completely," Alice said. "I'm just a little lost you see. Perhaps you can help me?"
The two looked at each other.
Finally, the knocker took off his cap, making a bowing motion. But in the sweep of his hand, the cap flew out of his hand, landing near Alice's feet.
There was a blinding white flash while the little man yelled out, "RUN!" at the top of his voice.
Choking and gasping, Alice recovered after several moments of teary agony, only to see that the two had disappeared.
Alice wiped at her eyes with the sleve of her top, blinking them, trying to clear them. "That was rude," she coughed, wondering what exactly had happened.
After a while she felt a little better, her eyes had stopped stinging and she was no longer coughing. She wiped at her face again, removing tears and the mucous.
As she looked around she wondered where the two had gone. She was not at all sure she wanted to meet them again, not after what they had done. She looked at the point where the trail branched. From what the little man had said, she doubted he would have gone up the right path.
"A good a choice as any," she said, wiping at her eyes once more before setting up the path, taking the right fork.

Return to Mage Page

Return to World of Darkness Page

Return to Main Page