Charm

The hero Charm, publicly known as Ablewoman Charmer Araaina Talloth, is in fact Meleryniel of Houses Aranien and Argoleus, Princess of the Third of Undermoon and Marchioness of the First of Westmarch, the daughter of the half-human Princess Stephanie and the Duke Vanatherion of Westmarch, though this is known to few. She also has a third identity as the apparently human Melanie Page, Mel for short.

Description
As Charm: Charm stands a slender six foot tall. Her features are beautiful, yet in a way that clearly marks her as one of the fae: her features, are, like her body, long and delicate, her eyes a deep, dark blue, her ears tapering gently to a point. Her hair is black, yet so glossy that it seems almost silver where the light reflects of it; it falls straight to well below her waist, yet somehow seems always to stay behind her, not falling forward.

She wears no mask, and clothes suited to an ablewoman of Undermoon of an active profession: a short midnight blue dress over tight-fitting garments which cover her legs and her arms to the wrists. She wears no mask, but her dress has a fine silver tracery in abstract patterns, which set her attire apart as something special.

She has a bag, a sort of backpack that can be released to swing down to her side; in this she carries, if it is not in her hand, a silvery harp in the fae style.

As Melanie: Mel is a girl of 16, standing 5'4". She's not exactly beautiful by current standards, but her somewhat too round and chubby face, with its big brown eyes, cute little nose and naturally pouty lips, have a striking girl-next door look. Her hair is chestnut in colour and shoulder-length.

For her age she has some serious curves, which she typically hides, distinctly unsuccessfully, beneath loose clothing, as if embarrassed by them.

Origin
Charm's power is her birthright. Her father, Vanatherion of House Argoleus, Prince of Undermoon and Duke of Westmarch, is a warrior of legendary prowess and agility. Her mother, Princess Stephanie of the royal house of Aranien, is the half-fae hero Lorelei, and powerful magic has run in the veins of that bloodline back at least to Charm's great-grandmother Queen Iamethiel. Moreover, her maternal grandfather, Quentin Dallimore, is human, and this human heritage seems to add a certain hybrid vigour.

Beyond this, she has had a privileged upbringing in the noble courts of Undermoon.

Powers
Charm's main powers are purer fae magic than are her mother's: they are clearly (to those who know about such things) spells, although she casts them with a natural ease, and are disrupted my cold iron. So far her magic is limited to Charming, with which she has an extraordinary natural ability, Worldwalking, and shapeshifting into a small bird, a trick she learned from her great aunt, Princess Merilwen.

Charm casts her spells through artistic works, usually song, though any art form will work. She can even make objects of such beauty and emotive power that anyone who looks on them can be moved. She also has a strong natural talent with all artistic endeavours - it would seem that she, like her grandmother, is "good at making beautiful things".

From her mother she has great presence and beauty, though the latter is currently hidden by a powerful spell. From her father she has inherited great agility, and in particular that extraordinary knack at dodging attacks that made him a legend in battle.

Besides this, she has fae immunities and second sight. She heals quickly, though not as quickly has her mother - this seems to be related to their being hybrids.

Personality
Although her mother did her best to instil her own values in Charm, it was not possible to shield her from the peculiar environment of the courts of the fae, and Charm's attitudes are very much those of a high-born fae – part of the reason her mother wants her to experience a more "normal" life on Earth.

Having been raised in the height of luxury, she is very particular and fastidious, and generally – but not universally – finds Earth ugly, dirty and smelly. Her exposure to the politicking of the fae courts has made her very cynical for her age: she does not trust easily and is always keeping an eye out for hidden motives and manipulation. Nor is she above being manipulative herself.

On a more positive note, she adheres strongly to the fae virtues of honour, family and duty. The fae sense of honour includes, among other things, always giving an enemy a sporting chance (no one-sided fights, no deception without giving a chance of seeing through it), not (permanently) killing an honourable foe, nor maiming unnecessarily (fae can been known to concede duels for accidentally inflicting a blow that wasn't "clean"), and a sense of noblesse oblige: notably that anyone of higher rank is responsible for the well-being of those under them.

And, to top if all off, she's an adolescent.

Relations
Charm has many acquaintances but few friends: growing up amongst court intrigue, she learned not to trust easily. Her truest friends are Susan and Sally Markham-Lothven, with who she grew up. She came to be friends with Kalwara also in the years before she came to Earth. She has several "normal" friends as Mel, but the friendships feel strained, at least on her side, because she considers the role of Mel an act, and one, for that matter, not of her choosing. As "Charm" she is generally stand-offish, to discourage people getting too close and thus uncovering her identity as Mel or, worse, Meleryniel.

Her relationship with her parents has gradually deteriorated, partly because they couldn't be around as much as they would have liked once the political situation became more dangerous, and partly because of their decision to ensure send her to experience life as a human on Earth. While she has not found the consequences entirely bad, she identifies as fae and would rather be in the Twilit Worlds, despite the possible dangers. This has woken a streak of adolescent rebellion in her.

History
Though her parents intended to give their daughter a relatively "normal" childhood, political necessity and other circumstances made this impractical, and she spent much of her early life in one court or another of the Twilit Worlds, and learned much from observing those around her.

At about the age of eleven it was decided that she should go to school of Earth for a time, with her friends Susan and Sally Markham-Lothven, both to learn and Earth culture and to experience what a more ordinary life is like. However, even as these plans were being put into place, Duke Tuveril of Portpyre resigned as Marquess of the Armies, and a possible civil war in Undermoon suddenly appeared an imminent likelihood. The princess, with her family and companions, accordingly went to a dimension where time passes rapidly, and there she was taught magic, so she might better defend herself at need.

When Charm was about 16 – only a couple of weeks later by Earth time – they returned to Earth and put into action a modified plan. She was now to going to high school under a powerful glamour which made her appear human. She was set up with an identity as Mel Page, the niece of a friend and colleague of Quentin Dallimore whose mother had purportedly died in a traffic accident.

At the same time, she was given a second fae identity, in which she could serve in the Princesses' Guard while simultaneously being guarded by them – which allowed them to accompany her inconspicuously, while at the same time allowing her to be adventurous herself, which seemed inevitable if she was anything like her parents and grandparents!