"All that is, is boundary. Existence is the fragile border between ravening opposites, and will fade should ever seize primacy. Is it right that the meaningful universe should hang on so fine a thread? No. That is why I am. That is why I shall become. That is why I must be."
Description[]
Slight and slender, thin even, Adamant Fern looks fragile enough to break with a fingernail. Her skin and hair are pale, nearly colorless, although she's not an actual albino: once she had chocolate-colored skin and black hair, but the Northern Wyld leached all color from her. Her build and features are boyish, androgynous, though the lines of her body have been altered quite a bit by the orichalcum constructs that replaced her left arm and both legs. Large swathes of her skin are shot through with the fine circuitry and orichalcum inlays of her various implants. Her face is triangular, fairly narrow, with pronounced eyebrows and flared nostrils. Her hands are delicate, with long sensitive fingers. Her eyes have vanished behind the rippled surface of a permanent red-amber blindfold, though the closed lids are still faintly visible if you look close enough. Her hair is shoulder-length but seems shorter thanks to the way it flows in soft waves around her face. It sweeps over her forehead in a smooth wing, half-hiding the amber blindfold: a bit of hair is no impediment to Essence sight. She wears a deep red silk robe with gold trim, a delicate golden coronet, and a Hand of Rainbows.
Fern hails originally from the Lap, but she no longer knows that. When she was nineteen, she was captured by the Raksha of the Jet Court and kept as their plaything for five years. During that time, she lost her memory, her name, her identity: nothing remains of the woman she was but three memories. She Exalted there, fought her way out, and began to build her own life from what little remained of the old. Before the ill-fated sail trip that brought her to Syrisie's court, she had met the Daughter of the Amber Melody.
She recently spent some time away from Creation, studying in Malfeas at Kimbery's invitation. See Letters from Malfeas for her written correspondence with the party.
In person, she's quite laconic, given to gazing contemplatively off into the distance or just watching people (perhaps a little too intensely). When she does speak, she's either incredibly practical or poetic; her philosophy often blurs the line between the two, especially when she's discussing the occult secrets and distant lore so essential to her ultimate goal. She loves Creation, but also to some extent the Wyld (and even the Void, though she'd never admit it): balance is the be-all and end-all of her philosophy, what gives life and meaning to all things. Nihilism, as such, is anathema to her, and one of the few things that actually makes her angry.
Thoughts on Party Members[]
Amber was Fern's friend before the current adventures began, and will probably always remain so. Fern likes the younger woman, though Amber's habit of using people unsettles her.
Largo she disapproved of initially, unable to understand why anyone could be so apathetic as to not know how to read (really!) but thankfully kept the thought to herself, and has since been impressed with his eagerness to rectify that. In fact, she approves pretty strongly of his broad tendency towards self-improvement.
Sweet Kai shouldn't have to bear the weight of the world the way she does. Kailani the Redeemed may just be the hope of the Exalted; she is also a dear friend, and may well end up being Fern's moral compass when (she worries) her hubris threatens to undo her.
Sejzha could definitely use a lesson in tact and impulse control, as far as Fern is concerned. The girl annoys her for various reasons, not least of which (not that she'll admit it) is the clash in their visions for Creation.
She looked on Riptide with indulgent amusement, and some measure of hope. He set a hopeful precedent -- that someone could clearly be both an Abyssal and a good man. She was sorry to hear of his death.
She never really met Trunk of Withering Blossoms, so she's reserving judgment.
She felt a certain kinship with Dax's quiet ways, and especially with his fight against amnesia. Now she honors his memory; he died honorably, though she wishes she could have helped him.
She didn't trust Raven, but was willing to work with him... now she feels only horror when she thinks of his fate, and occasionally finds herself praying that the First and Forsaken Lion allows him a merciful death.
All items (35)
