Dandelion

	Title: Sleepwalker Factotum Dandelion, Lorekeeeper of the Realizers, Talon of the Quiver of the Martyr's Tree of the Lesser Convocation of the Northeast, Apprentice to Master Balm
	Known as: Dandelion Dandy Auntie (and cultural equivalents like Whaea, Tante, Doda and Tia)
	Pronouns: she/her
	Faceclaim: Carrie Fisher
	Apparent Age: Early 60s
	Template: Sleepwalker
	Order: Adamantine Arrow
	Cadre: The Realizers
	Character Web Link: 1st Degree
	Player: Solstice
	Public Effects: Mentor (Balm) 2 Status (Consilium) 2 Status (Adamantine Arrow) 1 Unseen Sense (Mages)
	[link Soundtrack]
	"Boats and Birds", Gregory and the Hawk If you'll be my star I'll be your sky You can hide underneath me and come out at night When I turn jet black And you show off your light I live to let you shine I live to let you shine ; But you can skyrocket away from me And never come back if you find another galaxy Far from here with more room to fly Just leave me your stardust to remember you by

Dandelion "When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty, I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up."
-- C.S. Lewis

Overview

Appearance: While she's softened as she's aged, there's still a core of steel in Dandelion. Her eyes are sharp, her lips often pursed thoughtfully. She dresses professionally, despite being retired, and you can tell she's on the warpath when her hair is styled up.

Personality: Exuberance faded in the face of experience, but she has a ton of that and is willing to share. Dandelion prides herself on being a good listener and an adoptive auntie to the younger mages (and perhaps some other supernatural sorts) around her, ready to help counsel them to solve their own problems. When provoked, though, she is a fierce defender of those in need. While she's retired now, her career as a law clerk has left her with a preference for efficiency, tidiness and organization that carries over into her life today. However, if she can be said to have a flaw, it's that she's a little jaded; she has been there, done that, got the t-shirt, and is fiercely aware of two things:

She is past her prime, physically (and perhaps mentally).
She will likely never Awaken, herself.

Public History:

Discovered as a Sleepwalker in 1982, and chose to affiliate with the Adamantine Arrow
Recognized as a Talon in 1984
Daughter born in the mid-eighties, sometime after Dandelion was recognized as a Talon. Dandelion usually referred to her by the name "Sprout" for protection from sympathetic casting
Divorced in 1992, due to her husband being unhappy with all the secrets she was keeping from him
Spent time across the 1990s and 2000s with several Arrow-heavy cadres
Her last cadre dissolved in 2017, when two members moved across the country for grad school

Rumors:

After watching Dandelion and Decima debating during their Factotum Exams, Hierarch Penance upped her wager on the Convocation debates, due to how awesome their performance was.
Her health has become a matter of public speculation, with some mages saying that the Arrow has not done enough for her. Others point out she hasn't asked for that sort of help.
Used a strong abjuration against the Dread Power creating a ban in the Rat Hosts' prison.
Was a skilled warrior wielding one of Yoshitsune's katanas in the fight against the Rat Hosts during her and Calamity's escape.

RP Hooks

Last Year's Troubles - If your character is a mage who's been around Philadelphia for more than a couple months, you've at least heard of Dandelion. She's been here to see the rise and fall of several versions of the Council of the Wise, and served as a tutor to many newly-discovered Sleepwalkers and newly-Awakened mages. Beside that, she serves as one of the Adamantine Arrows' Factotums (though she merrily pluralizes it Factota for the heck of it), advising Yoshitsune and Esther on possible repercussions of their actions, and proofreading Constantine's opinions as they're added to the Lex. If you get into murky territory, as regards the Lex, she's one of the most approachable people to call.

Don't Uncork What You Can't Contain - While Dandelion is not a mage, she is blessed with some supernatural talents, and can be very handy for dealing with ephemeral beings in Twilight. As a medium, she hears the whispers of ghosts, and she's very experienced with exorcisms, abjurations and can even bless weapons held by others to temporarily damage Twilight entities. If you can't get yourself a Death-savvy Moros or a Spirit-trained Thyrsus, she's the next best thing.

Book of Dreams - In addition to the above, Dandelion is the rare Sleepwalker who can access the Astral without a place of power. She's apprenticed to Balm, Elder of the Children of the Tree, and is taking on what knowledge she can about the Astral and its ties to the Martyr's Tree, though some concepts are beyond her capacity to understand fully, due to her not being Awakened.

If I were a Weapon - Dandelion's growing older, and her body doesn't handle combat as well as it used to. She's still decent with a sword in hand, but she's lost some of the combat forms she used to be proficient in. Maybe running her around the training ring a little will help.

Contacts

Calamity: I hope they understand, when all this is done, that I intend to be there for them. It's only fair, after how they're being here for me.
- "Sweet child in time, you'll see the line. The line that's drawn between the good and the bad."
Heather Williams: None of us make it through life without being broken a little. But Heather's been through more than any one person should have to bear. I wish I could make it all better for her.That's what moms are for.
- "Make the time for all your possibilities. They live on every street."
Liezel Richardson: She's great to watch when she's doing something she's comfortable with. But I think she's even better to watch when you ask her to step just outside her comfort zone--that moment as she takes a deep breath, squares her shoulders and dives into the unknown is a thing of beauty.
- "You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice. If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice."
Nevermore Usher: Oh, to have limitless potential and so much of the world left to discover. Nevermore will be a force to reckon with, in the future.
- "And all my days are trances, and all my nightly dreams are where thy dark eye glances, and where thy footstep gleams"
Quinn Tolliver: My genius. Listening to him talk about the things he knows is always a treat. It's impossible to spend time with him, without being enriched.
- "WIP."
River Bright: Was I half as bright and sharp and feisty when I was young? I'm not sure, you'd have to ask Ecgbehrt. Here's what I do know--she's going to be a force to reckon with.
- "You take your time, young lion."
Simon Dubois: The man is often unpleasant, but that's just permission to skip many of the pleasantries and get to work. I don't think anyone takes the time to realize how much energy all the caring takes--for Simon, I don't have to care half as much, so twice as much gets done.
- "WIP"