Rhiannon s'éloigna nerveusement de l'homme âgé, maniant une étau et toute la fureur divine comme s'il était un prophète; il avait certainement l'air d'un seul. L'offre d'excuses l'a assouplie bien que son affirmation selon laquelle quelque chose différait à son sujet ait fait revenir l'anxiété et elle a regardé autour de lui pour voir si quelqu'un était assez proche pour entendre.
"S'il vous plaît, monsieur, je suis sur Pèlerinage. Le Père de mon village m'a donné ce pèlerinage, car il craint que je ne sois possédé par un mauvais esprit. Il donne à ma voix les pouvoirs d'une sirène si je le veux et je n'ai jamais fait de mal à personne, mais s'il dit que c'est mal, je dois l'exorciser. S'il vous plaît, ne le dites à personne, ils me brûleraient comme une sorcière." Parlant en latin couramment, enseignée par le Père qui désapprouvait l'enseignement du Bard, elle continua à regarder autour nerveusement, des perles de prière serrées entre ses mains secouant à nouveau. Elle avait remarqué l'empressement du grand homme à rester loin de l'homme semblable au prophète, mais n'y avait pas attiré l'attention, elle savait tout à fait la nécessité de garder un secret.
"Je prie aux pieds d'un saint différent tous les jours de Matins jusqu'à ce que None me purifie de l'esprit." Elle continua son explication, les yeux tournés autour d'eux ou pour ses parents; son père, en particulier, était fatigué de ce pèlerinage et elle sentit une animosité croissante de sa part, peut-être qu'il la lierait à un poteau lui-même si cela se poursuivait.
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.