User Profile

Character Name: Phèdre nó Delaunay
Character Series: Kushiel's Legacy
Age: 22-ish
Hair: Dark brown/black
Eyes: "Bistre</b>
Extras: Mote of red in left eye
Taken From: End of Kushiel's Chosen, the second book in the series

Background: (MUCH SPOILERS~)

Phedre comes from Terre d'Ange, a kingdom where prostitution is a rather elegant affair, generally only for the rich. She herself was born to a member of Jasmine House (there are 13 Great Houses of prostitutes, each with its own characteristics), but was born... flawed -- there was a speck of red in her eye -- which made her unfit to be used. She herself was sold to Cereus House, the head of the 13 Houses, to be raised as a trainee, though they had no idea, really, what they would do with her afterwards.

From a young age, Phedre discovered that she enjoyed pain. Extremely. To a scary degree. She heard whispers that she may be sent to Valerian House, the one that specializes in... er, masochists. But that was not to be her fate after all...

One day, Phedre was to be brought to a poet named Anafiel Delaunay. She ran away, however, for the thrill of it, and met up with a street kid named Hyacinthe, who became her first and dearest friend. She was later found, brought back, and punished, which she... didn't exactly dislike. XD;

Anyway, the next time Delaunay went, they made darn sure Phedre didn't escape. Delaunay at first professed that he had a student already and didn't need another, but, seeing the red spot in her eye, changed his mind. He called it "Kushiel's Dart", reciting lines that Kushiel, one of their gods, sometimes marks a mortal for his own; said mortal is called an "anguisette". He then bought Phedre on the spot, though she was to remain at Cereus House until she was 10.

From then until Phedre left for Delaunay's place, she had quite a few more escapades, and became better friends with Hyacinth, sometimes going to his house and visiting his mother. Hyacinth is of the Tsingani people, who are... basically... Gypsies. Hyacinthe claims that his mother is a princess of the Tsingani, and that she can see the future. They made a pact that Hyacinth would become Prince of Travelers, whereas Phedre would become Queen of Courtesans.

Aaaaaanyway! Phedre become 10, and went to Delaunay's household. There, she met Alcuin, a boy her age and Delaunay's other pupil. She discovered that Delaunay was training them not just to be prostitutes, but to be spies of a sort (or, in his words, "to look, to see, and to think"; Delaunay's other decree to them, by the way, is that "all knowledge is worth having"), and... Alcuin was a heck lot better at it than she was. XD; Well, partially because he started earlier, but partially because he was gifted at it.

Things happened, etc, etc... Phedre also met Melisande Shahrizai, Delaunay's friend and the only one he shows what he's doing to (rather, the game that he's playing).

Phedre grew up, skilled in espionage and prostitution, and she and Alcuin gathered information for Delaunay, though he never told them to what end.

She also still kept sneaking out to hang out with Hyacinthe. XD; Delaunay got annoyed, however, and told her that, yes, she may go out, but she had to take Guy, their bodyguard, with her. Guy used to belong to the Cassiline brotherhood, an order of monks (the fighting kind), though he was evicted when he was 14, and is skilled in fighting.

Anyway, on one of the outings with Hyacinthe, she was told by his mother in a prediction that she would rue the day she learned Delaunay's secrets. She put it out of her mind, however.

One day, Alcuin took on a dangerous assignment, and was attacked on his way home. (He had asked for "whatever Delaunay wanted to know" as his price, and the man who bought him gave him the info... and asked for him to be killed.) As a result, Guy died.

After that, Delaunay hired a new bodyguard -- Joscelin, a Cassiline monk. An actual one, not one who quit near the beginning of his training. Joscelin was... in... deep disapproval of Phedre's... er, "activities". But he didn't really have a choice; after all, this was his assignment.

And remember that prophecy from Hyacinthe's mother? Well. It soon came true, though Phedre didn't know at the time.

Melisande Shahrizai came to buy Phedre for one night. And Melisande Shahrizai was... from the scion of Kushiel, pretty much the perfect counterpart for Phedre. She deals pain and shame as exquisitely as Phedre receives them, and on that night, she took Phedre to a party dressed in a sheer gown covered in tiny, sharp diamonds. And when I say sheer? I mean sheer. (Quote from the book: "What does that go over? O_o" "...You.") Erm, anyway. The next morning, Melisande took Phedre a secret -- Delaunay used to lover to Prince Roland (who, by the way, is dead by now; his father rules, and his daughter, Ysandre, is the next in line for the throne). GASP! Erm. XD; The prince was originally supposed to marry a friend of Delaunay's, but another woman possibly sabotaged her and got her killed; Delaunay wrote a song about it and was almost banished (in fact, would have been banished had the prince not stepped in for him).

Now, one thing I haven't really talked about... There are things called "marques". They're basically huge tattoos on the backs of prostitutes. Every time they take an assignment, the pay goes to their master -- but they get kinda "tipped" (called a patron-gift), basically, and that money goes into making their marque. The full marque costs the same price that they were sold for, so, when they complete the marque, they're free.

Anyway! Melisande's patron-gift to Phedre was enough to finish her marque, and she went to the marquist with Joscelin. However... a soldier ran to her with a message for the princess: "When the black boar rules in Alba, Big Brother will cede". (A little bit of geography: Alba is a nearby country, divided by a fairly narrow straight; however, the "Master of the Straits", usually called "Big Brother" by the sailors, lets no one across.) Phedre went back home, marque still incomplete, with this message, and found Delaunay dead and Alcuin dying. As Alcuin died in her arms, she ran to the palace to see the princess, who, of course, wouldn't see her since she was a stranger. She then went to see Thelesis de Moray, the court minstrel and Delaunay's dear friend, and was told that she was also busy. At that moment, she saw Melisande Shahrizai, and, not knowing where to turn, went to her. Melisande told her the rest of Delaunay's history... and drugged both her and Joscelin.

Phedre woke up in the back of a wagon, tied up, and with some rather interesting (and drugged) memories. Joscelin was the only one with her, and when they were brought out of the wagon, they were in Skaldia, which was a cold, barbaric land. She understood their language, though Joscelin did not; it was one of the few things that Delaunay made her learn. She learned there that D'Aiglemort, the head of their army, worked together with Melisande to betray them and that was how Delaunay was killed and she was captured. She also learned that she and Joscelin were to be given as a gift to Walemar Selig, the leader of the Skaldic people. Skaldia was always strong but divided; this was the first time it had a smart, tactical leader. Terre d'Ange was on the verge of danger.

Phedre became Waldemar Selig's mistress, of a sort, and forced Joscelin to listen to and obey the Skaldics. He hated her for it, but he survived because of it. And one day, Phedre found a letter from Melisande to Waldemar; Melisande proposed that they both betray D'Aiglemort and take over Terre d'Ange. After showing the letter to Joscelin and getting him to believe her, the two made a plan to escape and warn their people.

In the grueling journey home, Phedre and Joscelin faced many trials -- including Joscelin's first murder (he had killed his guard in ambush, not in duel), and Phedre's first kill (though accidental). The hardships brought them closer together, and one day, they found a cave marked with the sigil of Elua, their main God. And there, they made love.

Eventually, they arrived home, and, of course, no one really believed them. They were dirty, stinky, and had nothing for proof except a bunch of rags; Phedre put the letter back to gain some time so that Waldemar Selig wouldn't know she saw it. And, on top of that, they were convicted for Delaunay and Alcuin's murders. =D; There were, however, people Phedre trusted, and who trusted her -- her friend Hyacinthe, and Thelesis de Mornay, the court minstrel. Thelesis took her to see Ysandre, the princess, and Hyacinthe gave a prediction that Ysandre's grandfather would die in three days. And... he did.

Anyway, Phedre somehow got Ysandre to trust her, and she, Joscelin, and Hyacinthe went with a bunch of sailors to try to go to Alba to fullfill Big Brother's promise, because... Ysandre was engaged to the prince of Alba, who was the leader of the Black Boar clan, and they would need Alba's help if they were to defeat Skaldia. And, erm, with Delaunay and Alcuin dead, Phedre was one of the very few people who knew how to speak the Alban language. (Yep, another thing Delaunay forced her to learn. XD)

Traveling as Tsingani horse traders, they went to the horse fair, where they met Hyacinthe's grandfather, who was, indeed, the leader of the Tsingani people. Well, whaddya know, he was telling the truth. *coughs* However, Hyacinthe saw a vision of a lonely isle, and saw his future -- it was not with these people. He told Phedre his vision, and was cast out by his people, since it was forbidden for the males of their people to learn it.

They went across the straights, Phedre paying the price of songs -- songs that she learned in Skaldia, not of war but of the women who stayed and tended the hearth.

Ooooooh, boy, I'm getting tired of writing this. Basically, at Alba, they helped the dude to gain his rightful throne, and headed back with Alban forces.

However, they were waylaid by the Master of Straits, who brought the main ship to his island -- the ship containing Phedre and the other important people. They were asked to solve a riddle -- from where did the Master of Straits gain his powers? Phedre figured it out, but Hyacinthe used his powers to look backwards in time and gave a more complete answer. He then became the Master of Straits' apprentice, for there was only one way for the Master of Straits to be free -- for Alba and Terre d'Ange to join in marriage, and for someone to take his place.

They went back, sans Hyacinthe, just in time to fight the Skaldic forces. However, the fort containing the queen was under seige, and it would be very difficult to break it.

They found, also, D'Aiglemort's forces, and Phedre convinced him to fight for them. He was already known as a traitor and was facing execution, and he would rather die a hero -- plus, he didn't want Melisande to get the best of him. Phedre went to deliver the message, because there was no way the people in the castle would believe it otherwise, and she was the only one who could, the only one who would not spill the plan under the pain of torture.

She was, indeed, captured, and, ironically, ended up being saved by Ysandre's uncle (mother's brother; the mother who hated Delaunay). They didn't really believe Phedre, but had no choice but to chance it. At dawn, D'Aiglemort's forces attacked, and D'Aiglemort himself killed Waldemar Selig and died. Without a leader, the Skaldic forces became easy pickings and Terre d'Ange won.

Melisande was also found, tried, and found guilty.

...And before her execution, she disappeared.

Phedre was made the master of Montrève, thereafter referred to without the accent because I'm lazy, which used to be Delaunay's estate. Aaaaaaaaand... she moved there with Joscelin. A few months later, she received a package -- a cloak that Delaunay had given her that she had thought she lost when Melisande betrayed them. It's in a shade of red that only anguisettes are allowed to wear. In other words, it was most definitely hers, and it was a challenge from Melisande. Phedre then set out on another journey to find Melisande.

Anyway, gonna go in less details now! She chased Melisande to a different country, only to find her married to Ysandre's great uncle (the one on her father's side, not her mother's; I believe he was her grandfather's brother) and planning to kill Ysandre and overtake the throne. Phedre then got thrown in prison, escaped, went around with a pirate, went all over the place, and eventually came back to find Joscelin and saved the day. Yey!

Except Melisande begged sanctuary and stayed in the temple of a sea goddess. And there she was sentenced to remain. However, she had a son -- but he disappeared; no one could find him.

Phedre and co. returned, and Phedre was awarded with the Companion's Star from Ysandre, which marked Phedre as her equal, and gave her one boon to ask, anything she wanted. She didn't ask for anything at that time.

At the end, she declared Joscelin her official consort, and the two returned to Montreve.

Personality:
Phedre is a... erm... smart, masochistic prostitute spy. That would be the most fitting description. XD; The "smart" comes from Delaunay making Alcuin and her study lots and lots. She is trained in espionage and can thus remember and analyze details well. She is also somewhat of a lanugage genius and learns them quickly and easily. She's actually a little worse than Alcuin in all of this, but she is still rather impressive. Now we come to the "masochistic" part. This is... the defining quality of Kushiel's Dart. And when I say masochistic? I mean masochistic. She had her skin cut open and bits flayed off and she found it arousing. (Oh, also, not so much personality, but doesn't really fit in background -- she heals quickly and cleanly. Kinda necessary, considering what she is and what she does.) Prostitute. That's... easy enough to explain. XD; She's the child of a prostitute. She grew up in a fancy brothel. She worked as a prostitute. Yeah. XD; And spy! Spy's self-explanatory too. She was trained to be one, and she's a darn good one.

Other aspects of her personality... She's very loyal to her friends, and kind-hearted and caring. She does hold a grudge against Ysandre's uncle (on her mother's side) and he against her, but they've still found each other to be faultless each time and have helped each other, though reluctantly.

She is polite and well-mannered, for the most part. At the same time, however, she is also rather rebellious and defiant. One would think her compliant because of the masochistic nature, but... nope. She's always been curious, and liked sneaking out and whatnot, and she liked being punished. XD;

And... Phedre is not a fighter. She can't use weapons. The one time she killed someone, it was an accident. However, she's strong in a different way -- she can endure any pain.

Item Lost: The Companion's Star

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