Je ne suis pas un enfant, monsieur. Un éclair momentané d'irritation tiré à travers Rhiannon mais elle l'a éteint immédiatement; maintenant n'était pas le temps de discuter avec les autres et elle était encore jeune après tout, il fallait s'attendre. En se couchant la tête pour cacher son visage, elle s'est excusée tout comme les alarmes ont commencé à sonner dans toute la ville.
"Ce... Pèlerinage armé est un mensonge. Ils prétendent que les pèlerins étaient attaqués par les dirigeants de Jérusalem, mais ma famille est entrée facilement dans la ville. » Rhiannon a déclaré, un peu plus fort qu'elle ne l'avait voulu. La violence dans l'intérêt de l'agression l'avait toujours bouleversée, sentiment renforcé par les années de raids des Normands sur les terres ancestrales de son peuple. En tout cas, leurs conversations ont été interrompues par les alarmes qui ont commencé à sonner dans toute la ville, annonçant le début d'une attaque. Il est vite devenu clair qui avait la main haute comme les croisés a passé sur les murs et a gagné un pied de clé.
Rhiannon commença à regarder autour de lui nerveusement, s'attendant à un essaim de citoyens en colère et meurtriers pour tomber sur le groupe et les massacrer pour leur foi à tout moment. Elle savait tout trop bien des raids sur son village que c'était les femmes qui souffraient le plus et qu'elle n'ignorait pas sa propre beauté; quel que soit le camp a gagné, elle serait en danger. Refuge suggéré par le dragon a pincé son intérêt; c'était loin de ses parents qu'elle craignait de l'abandonner en échange de leur propre sécurité et cela la garderait hors de la voie du mal.
"Et s'il vient avec nous?" Elle a suggéré, les autres se tournant pour la regarder. "Les dragons sont favorisés par mon peuple, nous les symbolisons beaucoup sur nos drapeaux et nos crêtes familiales afin de pouvoir prétendre que je l'ai adopté pour l'instant? Une fois la violence initiale passée, il devrait être en sécurité, je pense... » Elle s'enfuit, consciente de son jeune âge par rapport aux autres et à quel point son idée leur semblait insensée.
Name: Rhiannon Jones
Age: 15
Sex: Female
Race: Human (Ellyllon)
Personality: Whimsical and a lover of festive occasions, Rhiannon revels in the joyous moments of life and is otherwise a subdued girl, forced into modesty and muteness by her label as a possessed woman.
Rhiannon is a young woman standing at five foot and four inches tall. Emerging into womanhood she has already started to become a beautiful woman with fiery red hair that curls naturally into neat ringlets at the tips and clear blue eyes. Her pale skin has tanned very slightly under the hot Outremer Sun but it is still clear that she is from the Northern fastnesses of the world. Lightly freckled but otherwise clear-skinned, she is healthy and has a ready smile able to melt the heart of even the hardest of warriors.
Dressed in penitential clothes, symbolizing the purpose of her Pilgrimage to Jerusalem, her hair is largely hidden underneath a simple white cowl and she wears a dusty black habit with a wooden cross hanging from a ring of beads around her neck. Simple sandals have replaced the poor leather shoes that wore out early on her journey.
Skills: Rhiannon studied (informally) under a Welsh bard at her father's lord's court and has a talent for singing and poetry, only enhanced by her lyrical voice. Like any of her people from the lands of Gwynedd (modern day Caernarfonshire/Anglesey) Rhiannon is hardy and used to a hard, rural life constantly under threat by newly arrived Norman raiders carving out their Marcher Lordships from her people's land; she has rudimentary skills in the art of healing using herbs and is more than capable of thrusting her hunting knife through a weak point in a man's mail shirt.
Her skills as a Ellyllon are slowly coming to light, now that she has discovered her identity, but are mostly limited to manipulating humans through singing or poetry, uncontrollable prophetic visions and instances of immediate understanding when she makes contact with someone.
Equipment: A small hunting knife constructed of simple iron with a crafted bone handle. A wooden crucifix.
Background & History: Rhiannon was born a serf in the northern mountains of Gwynedd just as the Normans arrived. To begin with her people rejoiced at the defeat of their ancient enemies but then the military might of the new conquerors turned against the Welsh and began to carve out lordships from their land. Her entire life has been spent with a wary eye on the misty horizon for a band of raiding, mailed Normans sweeping down to take what little her family had.
As she grew older she was given work at the uchelwyr's (local gentleman) manor as a maid and there she learned from the Bard who had obtained patronage from the uchelwyr. It became apparent that she had a talent for singing, and to some degree dancing, and poetry and more attention was paid her by local men as her beauty became accentuated by her advancing years.
At the age of 13 some of the interest waned after a rumour spread that she had sung an older man who had shown her undue attention to his death under the powerful flow of the swollen river; it was whispered that she was a siren but the man was known as a drunkard and such rumour faded quickly. However a year later she calmed a stampeding herd of cattle with a tragic ballad. The farmer rather than being grateful accused her of witchcraft and the young girl was taken before the village priest. Claiming his inability to exorcise the evil spirit within her, but convinced Rhiannon could be saved, the priest ordered that she and her family, in case they too had been afflicted by whatever malignant spirit possessed her, should go on Pilgrimage to the Holy City.
News had not yet reached the family of Pope Urban II's speech at Clermont, any such information taking much longer to penetrate the remote and isolated communities in Wales' mountainous territory. It came as a shock, therefore, when they heard of the tragic end of the People's Crusade and it was only on a merchant vessel heading for Acre that they received news of the Armed Pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Nearing the end of their journey the family decided that it was merely another test and made their way to Jerusalem where they were allowed entry; the wealth Pilgrims brought was still enough to overpower much religious hatred.
The family have now taken refuge in the Patriarch of Jerusalem's residence despite the friction between Latin and Orthodox teachings.