Annelise Wykes's page

Annelise's father was an Elven merchant named Variel. He stuck around in her life long enough to give her a younger sister and then went on his travels again, she has no idea where he is or if he’s alive. Her mother Liz fell ill a few years back and has never fully recovered – they moved from semi-prosperity in Merchant district, all the way to living in Shadowshore.

Annelise had always been the tough one and with few other skills she took to working with one of the local gangs, dealing in things she’d rather not know about. She knows people fear her, but she sees herself as an “honest” criminal. In her view, sticking to the truth means you don’t have to remember the lies you told, and while double-crossing people is an easy win now, having a rep for doing the job you’re paid for and being reliable is a win now *and* later. As for the job, she’s never been that fussed – in her view, if someone's paying her to rough you up then you did something wrong or stupid to the wrong people. Growing up without much means you’ve got fewer options. If you’re willing to take the money and not worry about the morals then life can be good.

That changed recently when she was sent to burn down an orphanage (long story, property development, she’s not big on details). Long story short: she went in to scope the place out and a different version of her walked out. She saw, amid the chaos and tumult of the kids whirling around, a sort of peace that she’d never known; and the nuns who run the place offered her soup. She went back and ‘handed in her notice’ by breaking the gang leader’s jaw in three places.

Since then she has tried to walk a different path. She spends a lot of time at the orphanage now, partly just to keep an eye out in case they send someone else to burn it down. But also she has questions. Like, a LOT of questions. She isn’t entirely sure what to do with the answers, because frankly all she really knows is scaring and hurting people.

The first thing most people notice about Annelise is the piercing green eyes – she sees a lot, and usually knows if someone is lying to her. Her half-elven ears are covered by the mop of blonde hair she never bothers to do much with (to her younger sister’s despair). The last thing a few people in this city have seen is the sight of Annelise striding towards them, her coat billowing out as she reaches for one of the blades she almost always carries.

Her conversational style tends to be laconic and very little fazes her, although her recent conversion experience (if that’s what it was) has left her a bit frayed at the edges. She’s still puzzling out the details but has a clear understanding that there is a difference between good and evil. She’s very aware that she is on the wrong side of that equation. Maybe if she does something worthy, she can move to the other side of the ledger. But it’s easier said than done: it’s all very well saying “trust in the gods” but you have to eat.

Liz Annelise’s mother is only in her forties but the lingering consumption she suffers from has taken its toll over the last decade or more. She still ostensibly runs the family home in Shadowshore, but Annelise and Rhian pay the bills and run the errands, when they aren’t bickering in that good-natured way that grown up sisters do.

Rhian Annelise is really *annoyed* by her younger sister. She’s incredibly talented – art, dance, music, drawing, painting, you name it, Rhian has mastered it – but where Rhian has the talent, Annelise has inherited all the drive. Rhian seems content to drift through the world at her own pace when if she just *applied* herself she could achieve almost anything, from leading lady of the opera house to an art studio of her own. Instead she works as an upmarket escort to anyone with the means to pay for her. It’s a good lifestyle, but Annelise grinds her teeth a little when she thinks about how *hard* she has had to apply herself to get where she is since their mother fell ill, and everything has just been handed to Rhian on a plate. Of course, Rhian’s version of the story is probably a bit different!