Andrea Renolds

Born with no knowledge of Genesis or its struggles, Andrea's life took a violent turn when her brother died at the hands of the Reaper. Determined to get her revenge, she found that that self-same Reaper was actually her close friend Artemis Hunter; travelling alongside him until her body's inability to tolerate Genesis's magic forced them apart, she's dedicated her life to exploring and mapping the hidden world as best she can.

Personality

Cheerful, curious, and confident by nature, Andrea is the unifier of her friend group; she's determined to bring the people around her together, whether by kindness or by butting heads as needed, and will put on a smile and push right past even the prickliest response. She's confident in herself and her beliefs and will dig in her heels when challenged, but isn't above changing her outlook when presented with new information. As a general rule, she's a team player and is always ready to support others without reservation. During the darkest period in her life, Andrea found her natural enthusiasm and passion twisting into outright obsession with the mysterious figure who'd killed her older brother. She threw herself wholeheartedly into trying to learn as much as she could about the Reaper, as well as honing her ability to fight, and found herself rattled by her capacity for violence. Since then she's tried to step back from fighting as much as possible. She would rather learn about the fascinating world open to her, not shrinking back from combat when it's unavoidable but trying to find another way.

Abilities

Andrea is Old-World born and has no capacity for magic, but that doesn't mean she's defenseless. She's always been athletic, and what started as a childhood enjoyment of archery has turned into a well-practiced skill; when fighting alongside her friends she's often riding Cirrus, and is talented at maintaining her accuracy while on horseback. She's also got some ability to fight with a knife, though she's not nearly so proficient with it and considers that a last resort. Practice has made her an excellent rider, which has proven helpful when travelling in Genesis.

Backstory

Andrea spent the first sixteen years of her life without any knowledge of magic or Genesis. Her family was American and comfortably middle-class, and she grew up with most of her energy going to her schoolwork and extracurricular sports. She was well-liked and outgoing, spending plenty of time with friends and socializing. At the age of seventeen, her older brother Charlie was abruptly killed in a seemingly random break-and-enter. Andrea's pleasantly mundane life was turned upside-down, her family's stability shattered, and she became obsessed with finding out who had killed her brother; she pulled away from her social circle, started having trouble in school, and generally seemed to lose interest in all the things she'd thrown herself into before. Her search for Charlie's killer, however, proved more fruitful, and she slowly began to piece together that his death had been part of a series of killings carried out by a mysterious 'Reaper'. At the start of the next school year, Andrea's parents shifted her to a new school in hopes that it would provide a fresh start and help her return to some semblance of a normal life. Though she was still continuing her investigation of the Reaper on her own time, the change of scenery did help Andrea regain some sense of balance and make new friends, notably Artemis Hunter and Darius Seraph. The three grew fairly close, and she and Hunter quickly developed romantic feelings for one another. Despite this, Andrea continued her pursuit of the Reaper outside of school. She came face to face with the masked stranger more than once, with the man refusing to fight or answer her demands for the truth about her brother's death. All of this was upended within a year, when Andrea's strange connection to the Reaper was noticed by someone else. She was approached by a businessman named Andrew Cohen, who offered his support in luring the Reaper into a trap with her as the bait; she took his offer and succeeded in bringing her opponent down, only to find out that he was actually Hunter. With her desire for vengeance suddenly thrown into doubt, she was betrayed by Cohen in their deal and rescued by Darius, who had also been hiding the truth of what he was. Fighting their way back into the complex in order to free Hunter, the three killed Cohen and escaped... only to be left in an uncomfortable stalemate where none felt truly capable of trusting one another. Reeling from the shock of the Reaper's revealed identity, and from his explanation that he'd killed her brother due to Charlie's horrendous crimes and status as one of the fate-dead, Andrea didn't have the time to properly resolve her feelings before Hunter was forced to flee his former life and vanished. It took months to process the revelations about what her brother had done and the feeling of betrayal that Hunter had been keeping such an enormous secret from her right from the start, as well as realize that in spite of it all she very much loved him. When their paths crossed again, Andrea chose to abandon her former life and leave with her friend. Andrea's life alongside Hunter was a happy one; the two found a great deal of solace in one another, and came to form a tight friendship with Alysa Silverleaf, Elasion Silverleaf, and eventually Darius when he abandoned his former family after a series of betrayals. They lived together in a secluded valley in the Old World until the threat of the Seraphs forced them into Genesis, then travelled to Darkmere Shard and fought in the First Siege of Darkmere. Unfortunately for Andrea, it wasn't long before it became apparent that she suffered from a higher degree of magic intolerance than most. A life in Genesis would never be possible for her, and while Hunter was more than willing to relocate himself into the Old World alongside her she turned him down; he was needed there, for bigger things, and she recognized that he always would be in a way that she could never really be a part of. They parted ways on good terms, and Andrea returned to the world she knew. In spite of this, she doesn't want to forget about the vast hidden world she'd briefly gotten to be a part of. Andrea has turned to seeking out magic-blooded communities in the Old World, exploring them and their relationship with Genesis. When at all possible, she travels within the shards as much as her tolerance allows; mapping, meeting with the people who live there, and recording all she can about the hidden world from an Old Worlder's perspective. She's generally well-regarded by those she's met, and has started to build a name for herself as 'the Mapmaker'; she's also maintained a friendship with Hunter, and the two enjoy their time together whenever their paths cross.

Important Relationships

ARTEMIS HUNTER
Andrea's relationship with Hunter is always complicated, and as much as she loves him there's always the lingering memory that he's the one who killed her brother. Still, the two are fast friends and trust each other implicitly. Though they understand that their very different lives make a real committed relationship impossible, they still have a lot of romantic feelings and attraction for one another and occasionally indulge in that when the opportunity arises.
Though their worlds are separate most of the time, Hunter and Andrea still benefit from the friendship they share. Her known ties to the Reaper offer Andrea a measure of protection and respect when she travels in Genesis or magic-blooded communities, and she likewise helps act as Hunter's reliable source of knowledge when it comes to what's happening in the Old World. DARIUS SERAPH
Andrea initially became friends with Darius through their mutual friendship with Hunter, but the two quickly became friends in their own right; she's one of the few who can get through Darius's chilly demeanor, and he has a bit of a soft spot for her stubborn refusal to be shut out. Though they don't see one another as often after Andrea returns to the Old World, they still meet up on occasion when Darius is travelling outside of the Shards. ALYSA SILVERLEAF
Though they come from radically different backgrounds, Andrea and Alysa took a liking to one another almost instantly and the two are fast friends. Alysa was genuinely distraught at the realization that Andrea would have to leave Genesis and spent a great deal of time trying to find ways to enhance her magic tolerance; though she's eventually accepted that even her considerable talents as a Healer can't provide a solution, she and Andrea still correspond regularly. Alysa helps smooth Andrea's way within the Shards whenever she can, providing both information and her own not-inconsequential social support.