//...So say hello to all the boys at the top of this table that you're under...//

Name: Blythe Goddart

Where he/she lives: A crowded and musty two-room shack on the floor above where her shop is located; it is approximately eleven blocks from the Divine Realms Inn.

Place of Birth: Corus

Age, Date of Birth: 36, March 15th

Occupation: Diviner (fake)

First, Blythe is very good at categorizing and analyzing people. She notices body language, style of dress, mannerisms, accents, etc. which help her scam the person just at first glance. Most people fit into some type of stereotype-- or at least part of one, so it's easier to tell them what they want to hear and what they think they don't. She uses typical "mystical" props such as a crystal ball that glows when she lights a candle that glows against a shiny but slightly rusty mirror, giving the ball a golden glow. She has brittle and beaten-up fortune-telling cards passed down to her by her father, and also has quite the talent at sleight of hand.

People rarely ever argue or disbelieve her "predictions," but when it does happen she panics. She outwardly remains calm and collected, and more often than not the argument winds up with the person only getting half their money back and stomping off angrily. However, when she is threatened with bodily harm after getting busted for her scam, she returns the money full-price (and if it's an interesting-looking man, maybe even a bit more for some fun and insurance).

Status (noble, rich commoner, peasant, priest, etc): poor commoner

Locale (Inn of the Rogue or Little Court): Inn of the Rogue

Magic: Blythe is a scammer. She lacks the Gift and this causes her occupation to be based on a huge lie opposing that-- she claims to have the Gift and ability to see into people's souls and hearts. She usually makes people believe what they want to hear lies in their future, and everything they expect with a couple imaginative twists thrown in. Claiming to rely on "traditional" methods, she's a Diviner those of the superstitious lower class can afford.

In relation to that, Blythe has bitter emotions towards those with the Gift. She is jealous of the consistencies and power that come with the Gift. This envy is primarily targeted at nobles and rich Healers, who act so superior to commoners. She generally regards Gifted people respectfully, while inwardly cursing them and ripping them off at every opportunity.

Family: Blythe's parents arranged a marriage of her and the son of a local cooper, Edgar Goddart, at the age of thirteen. The two get along exceptionally well for being forced to marry each other. Edgar took up his father's craft and was once one of the more respected common coopers. However, he's recently fell out of work, only having a couple jobs here and there, so the family has become very poor. It is a well-known fact to everyone but Edgar that Blythe has had affairs with numerous men behind his back. They have one child, born when Blythe was 28, Megan, age 8, that is suspected to be the result of one of these affairs, because Megan looks very little like Edgar. The small family has fallen on hard times, days ending more often than not with Edgar stumbling in drunk to scream at Megan while Blythe comes home at some unreasonable hour in the morning equally as intoxicated.

Appearance: Blythe is very short, barely 5', but of a malnourished and petite build. Her face is lightly freckled on the cheeks and nose, skin stretched over sharp, high cheekbones that would look pretty but look more sickly because of her hungry state. Her stomach would be padded with fat from the birth of her child, but instead is so thin you can see the traces of her rib cage. Her bosom is small, so it has been saved from sagging through the breast feeding she had to go through with Megan, looking disproportionate from her wide, jutting hips.

Her eyes are a rainy-sky gray tinted blueish, framed with short but dark lashes that could be described as her best feature. Her skin is pockmarked with scars of acne that crops up around her hairline, a washed-out peachy color. Above typically smirking lips is an awkward nose, broken and set at an awkward angle because of a childhood injury. Her chin is strong and stubborn, but doesn't quite jut out-- it's more the way that she holds herself that makes it look such a way. Blythe is missing two teeth, one on the left bottom and one far back on the left right induced by the incident that also broke her nose. Her hair is stringy and rarely clean, a dark brown mass that is so matted it resembles dreadlocks. Fingernails are chipped and a vague shade of yellow-brown.

Clothing: Ragged skirts and dresses in faded grays and greens. She has knotted yarn bracelets in unremarkable colors up her right and left forearms, some even just twisted and ripped pieces of scrap cloth. Her blouses are all dirty and soiled, rarely ever washed, and in equally boring colors or lack thereof. Her feet lack socks and are clad in either falling-apart sandals (if it's hot out) or holey, worn boots if it's cold.

Personality: Blythe is a socialite. She thrives on interaction with different people, whether it be positive or negative, so she's frequently seen gossiping around town, in this or that Inn flirting with this or that man. In Corus, she's one of the most well-informed gossips, because she easily manipulates people into telling her what she wants to hear. This talent in manipulation comes in handy with her job, because to trick someone into thinking you're describing their future, you have to be able to tell a lot about them just from looks and pieces of background information. While she's empathetic, Blythe is harsh and brusque, choosing to ignore the feelings people have for her own. She's selfish but not greedy, preferring to have what she wants but being mercilessly realistic (and a bit pessimistic) with her goals.

Blythe is a mother, and fiercely protective of anyone she could classify as a child. She loves her daughter, regardless of the what she says and does when she is drunk and shouting. Megan is the first priority in her life, the motive for everything Blythe does. Lately, Blythe has been contemplating prostitution and other crimes just to feed her daughter and try and give her a better life, as right now the Goddart family can barely afford food. She is quick to frustration but does not have much of a temper, except for when she's been drinking. Blythe is definitely partial to the frequent round of ale (as Edgar also is), which also might have a say in why they're lacking in money for food. But even for Megan, Blythe is too addicted to spirits to let them go, which goes also for Edgar.

When she's drunk, Blythe reveals things better left under wraps. More than once while drunk she's hinted at her unfaithfulness to Edgar right to his equally drunken face, but they get so intoxicated they can barely remember what they did and said in the morning. Blythe has never laid a hand on Megan, but often shouts abuse at her about vague, untruthful things. This frightens Megan and she more than not winds up bursting into tears. However, she loves her mother when she is sober.

Ulterior motives are always present in her actions with other people. She makes friends easily, able to read body language well and interpret what kind of person the stranger would warm up to, but almost always burns her bridges in the pursuit of furthering her business and collecting gossip (which includes revealing very personal secrets to the world). Blythe has no problem betraying trust and loyalty, because she can't fathom the idea of other people's emotions being impactual, real things.

Definitely a compulsive liar, Blythe lies up and down, left and right, but for the most part can hold her stories together and only occasionally get caught. She's impulsive and does things on a whim, never pausing to consider the consequences. Her personality changes in response to ever person she meets or is around. She has a level sense of humor, laughing at things that are blatantly funny or witty, but sarcasm is her humor of choice. She hates nobles and their superior attitudes, particularly Gifted ones, as mentioned above. She's racist and homophobic, stolidly against anyone not-Tortallan or at least part-way in the mold. Her general reaction to non-Tortallan people is snobbery, acting superior with as minimal respect as she can get away with. She's never met any homosexuals in her lifetime, but if she were to meet or see one she is abusive (verbally) and possibly even violent if the situation escalates enough. She frequently seen talking down about people she dislikes.

Blythe is afraid of loss, anything unfortunate involving the unhappiness of her daughter, and unpredictability. She is confident of herself and occasionally cocky if anyone is stupid enough to stroke her ego. She believes in Mithros and the Goddess as much as the next person, but religion does not play an active role in her life.

Strengths: The main strength of Blythe's would have to be her ability to read and use people. She's adept at fitting to any other person's expectations like a jigsaw puzzle. She's learned how to interpret body language, tell for the most part when people are lying, and how to use information she's caught for her own purposes. Another strength of her is her ability to keep up multiple lies and stories.

Weaknesses: The love and affection towards her daughter is something Blythe considers a weakness. She'd very much like to be totally self-centered, but can't because of her want to protect her daughter. Blythe is also terrified at the sight of blood, having even fainted once. She's frightened of it mostly because she finds it gross, but also because it reminds her of how mortal everyone is-- having been close with death on multiple occasions(as in the death of close family members), she's afraid of it.

History: Both of Blythe's parents are deceased, her father having gone when she was 30 and her mother followed two years afterward. Their deaths were a bit hard for her, as the death of any parent would be, because both her father and mother worked hard to support their three children and were loving parents. Blythe has two twin brothers: Josef, 43, and Michael. As was common in that time, there wasn't a midwife around for the birth of the twins, and Michael was born with a horrible birth defect-- his left arm and leg were twisted and lame, totally useless. There also seemed to be another defect, something to do with his lungs that is still unidentified, because he only lived until the birth of his little sister. This defect kept Blythe's parents hesitant to have another child and were very cautious about Blythe's mum getting pregnant in that space of time. Blythe wasn't planned-- she was an accident because at the time her parents were so worried about Michael they didn't want any other children. Blythe is unaware of this, and has never thought to question the age difference. Josef is close to Blythe, a Beekeeper on the outskirts of Port Caynn and married to a sour, leech-like woman that his sister often expresses open distaste for. Josef and his wife, Elisabeth, are unable to have children. Blythe learned how to scam and cheat people from the formerly dishonest and mischievous Josef since the age of twelve, so the two were often in cahoots as children regardless of the gaping age difference.

Overall, Blythe's life has been a relative balance of good and bad, and while it wasn't altogether desirable, she's occasionally happy. Her parents and brother were kind and she was/is close to them, having been too young during the death of her brother to really remember it. The loss of her parents to old age and sickness was inevitable. Her family life right now is dangerously unstable, and Blythe fears Edgar finding out about her being unfaithful to him.

The marriage of Edgar and Blythe started out relatively smooth. It was an efficient relationship-- roles were understood and played out in the way that they both worked and Blythe kept up house. They were far from love, but friendship and affection were present. However, a person like Blythe cannot last long in any relationship without passion or love, and gradually lost all interest in Edgar as she deemed him "mundane" and "boring." Edgar's flat but solid personality couldn't satisfy her needs for socializing and love, so naturally she looked elsewhere. Her affairs with other men started off spotty, one-night-standish, and far between; over time they grew more frequent and intense. Blythe couldn't remain with one other man for long, though, because she easily tires of people if they do not constantly change and keep her interested. The deterioration of their marriage was complete when Blythe became pregnant-- she had no doubt the baby wasn't Edgar's, because they hadn't had sex in a long time. However, Edgar (typical male) was so distracted and generally oblivious to this fact that he believes Megan is his child.

Recently the space between Blythe and Edgar has widened to a gaping hole-- they rarely speak at home, going around in a silent and businesslike fashion. They're not angry with each other, but rather worn down and tired from life and sick of each other. Much of Blythe's attention revolves around Megan, who is unable to go to school and is instead going to learn her mother's trade or be sent of into indentured servitude; Blythe is terrified at sending her daughter unattended out into the world alone, and so has been trying to earn extra money to get her a good apprenticeship or teach her herself.

Both Blythe and Edgar are severe alcoholics-- this contributes to a variety of their problems; they lack money for food and their dirnking problem has played a huge part in the breakdown of their marriage. Edgar has been physically violent with Blythe and Megan while drunk, but only on rare occasions. Megan is friendly with both her parents, with more love leaning towards her mother because she's around more often than her dad.

What is your character most ashamed of? Blythe is most ashamed of her addiction to alcohol, and while she's also ashamed of considering and possibly acting on becoming a prostitute, she recognizes it as a necessary step to help support her daughter.

What makes your character unique? Her lop-sided nose and funny way of speaking (she uses lots of slang and often omits huge chunks of words).

Why is your character coming to the Inn or to the Little Court? To meet new people, collect new gossip, and check out the crime scene; she's coming to see how she could use this busy Inn and the people in it to her advantage.