"Outrageous Fortune"
PCs
Bartholomew is a nineteen-year-old Rebman, the son of Llewella and Barnabas, the Jesby Head in Exile. He was conceived in Rebma in a time shortly before the Patternfall War. Llewella expelled Barnabas before he learned of her pregnancy, not desiring from him the sort of long-term commitment which this knowledge would surely inspire in his Romantic soul. Evidence suggests that she was only interested in his physical resemblance to Julian anyway. She raised her son openly enough so far as Rebma was concerned, although of her Amberite relatives only Caine might possibly have been aware of Bartholomew; she kept him well hidden on those rare occasions when they would descend from the surface. Because of this isolation from it, Bartholomew has always been fascinated with his connection to the world above. So when his Aunt Moire, the Queen of Rebma, gave him the key to the Rebman Pattern to guard for her on his seventeenth birthday, well he just sort of found himself walking it, despite his mother's explicit wishes. This began his association with the arid world above, and he counts all time in reference to this event in two measurements: Rebman Standard Time Elapsed and Bartholomew Personal Time Elapsed. With the help of Ariel, his familiar, Bartholomew most wishes to attempt a study of the evolution of human consciousness in an effort to understand how things got to this current sorry state of affairs, and to perhaps work to correct what he sees as the intolerable paranoiac gang mentality of the surface dwellers. He is not without irrationalities himself, however, having inherited a lusty heart from his father (only encouraged and legitimized by the relaxed socio-sexual codes of Rebma), and an indomitable belief in the rightness of his own actions from his mother (not at all tempered by his Jesby tendency to consider an obstacle as encouragement). Another gift from his mother, or perhaps from the Amber family in general, is his fascination with relatives: in his case, Fiona's daughter Lavender, who closely resembles the 'physical perfection' expressed in the form of Ariel. This could go a long way toward explaining his tendency to quarrel with her, as well as his willingness to apologize to her even while believing that he had been utterly in the right.
Bartholomew's symbol is a Portuguese man-o-war. This reflects his belief that, although he would seem to be made of jelly, it would be unwise to tangle with him.
Bartholomew's colors are several: orange, green, and purple in both a light fluorescent and a dark matte. In full dress, he wears a bright orange tunic over a light purple blouse with dark purple trousers. A pair of bright green gloves to rival his hair, and dark green boots with dark orange flaps round out the suit. He knows it looks like hell; that's his point. He finds surface clothing ridiculous and confining and figures that they account for the majority of surfacer neuroses. This is his way of pointing out how stupid the clothes really are. Although technically his dress uniform, he wears much of it most of the time, usually only abandoning the tunic and gloves. When 'out in the field' or during other events which he is inclined to take seriously, he'll opt for a tamer blend of the darker elements of his clothing. He wears his hair in a simple tail when above water, in a complicated strap when below. In Rebma, he is much more concerned with his appearance and decks himself out elaborately in fine jewelry and accouterments. One part of his wardrobe remains constant: a belt braided of all his colors and clasped with a silvery shell. It is within this buckle that his familiar, a pearl, dwells.
Bartholomew does not believe in weapons and refuses to wear or hold one.
Bartholomew's strength lies in his usual ability to avoid conflict. He is a persuasive and charming speaker, and for the most part this and his quick smile prevent serious damage. This technique is nearly useless against his relatives, who regard him as smarmy and scheming, not to be trusted or sometimes even tolerated. His incomprehension at this reaction has led to his plan to study human behavior with an eye towards correctional programs.
Bartholomew's sting is his sorcerous ability, which defies even his comprehension in its stunning effectiveness. Trained by Gant, his mother's occasional lover, in the Rebman style of spell casting, Bartholomew quickly saw useful applications outside of maintaining the viability of the Underwater Realm. His tendency to wait until a problem occurs to find a magical solution, and his natural disinclination toward causing permanent harm, keep him from abusing his ability to cobble spells in innovative fashions, often unconsciously incorporating the Pattern into the mesh.
Bartholomew is 5'6" tall, and this does not often bother him. His hair is a luminescent green, and green predominates his skin tones. His eyes are a pale yellow, unused to the harshness of unrefracted light. Still, he usually maintains a good humor, which he occasionally displays inopportunely on his relatives. His entire body language, from his lop-sided grin, to the way his posture insinuates itself into personal space, is geared toward an open sexuality. It is perhaps this obvious and utterly reflexive behavior which is so objectionable to the surfacers, especially the men. The manner which is seen as friendly and courteous below is above considered with suspicion of insincerity and ulterior motive.
Done by Kris Fazzari.
Trump is the work of Wendi Strang-Frost and is © by her. Please contact her before reproducing it in any fashion. For more examples of her work, check out her web page or the "Wavedancers" story in Elfquest.
All text on this page is © by Sean Frost.
Last modified on March 24, 1998 by Kris Fazzari.