Amalthea Skywatcher

*Created By: Garry Stahl 
*Full name: Almalthea Skywatcher AKA Susan Seagull 
*Birthplace: Unknown (Vista City) 
*Current Residence: South side of Mt. Shasta
*Birthdate: Susan Seagul was born Nov. 30, 1958, Almalthea does not look a day over 25.
*Sex: Female, no doubt about that. 
*Height: 5'8" 
*Weight: 140 pounds 
*Build: medium curvy 
*Description: A woman of immense presence. She has the curves of a mature woman. She usually wears loose caftans. with a shawl depending on the season. 
*Skin coloring: Dusky 
*Eyes: Green 
*Hair: The color of autumn oak leaves. 
*Routine Activities: Tending her cabin southwest of Mt. Shasta 
*Skills/Training/Professional Skills: Unknown. Susan Seagull was a liberal arts major in her second year. She never finished college. Almalthea has skills as a homemaker, practical nurse, and an unquantified ability as a white witch. 
*Financial Status: Unknown, the exact ownership of her land is unclear. NCTC will not press the issue, on the urgent insistence of the Shaman. She seems to have money when she needs it, but no known bank accounts or regular income. 
*Group Affiliations: None. She is known to the VCPD SIS, the NCTC Sheriff's Department, and her opinion has an unaccountable weight with the Tribal Elders. 
*Known Associates: Both Sonja Moody and Julie Richards are strongly drawn to Almalthea. She is well known among the "local magic peoples", Papa Joe, Elise Harconi and others.
*Personality: Soft spoken, firm. The kind of mom you wish you had. 
*Ambitions and Goals: Unknown. She seems content to live her life among the beasts of the wood. 
*Physical/mental Problems: She looks way too young if you look at her right, then again, she can look as old as the hills. Depends on how you catch her. 
*Enemies (And Why): None known. 
*Special Abilities: Almalthea has an unobserved and unconfirmed magical ability. Exactly what it can do and what the limits are is not known. The animals of the wood seem to think her cabin is just another part of the wood. Her big old tom cat has been seen to change into a panther, or did it? Once when an outsider invoked what she called "The Peaceable Kingdom" among the creatures of the wood that gathered at the fire was Almalthea, dressed in the glory of the wood itself. Almalthea has never been seen to invoke any magic, but you really have to wonder. 
*Weaknesses/Disadvantages: In conversation she has acknowledged an authority of some kind. It has some say over her and it is limiter on her actions. Exactly who it is, or what it can do is unknown. 
*History and Experiences Which have Affected Character Greatly: In the days before the white man came spirits moved on the Earth, across the sky, and over the face of the waters. They cherished and renewed all the Great Spirit watched over, for they were his daughters. Beautiful are they and they moved with grace. Beware you warrior, beware you hunter. Treat well the lone woman you find in the wood. She many not be a tribal maiden!<P>Then came the white man and his one God. With ax, gun, and plow they drove the spirits from the land. They felled the wood and turned the soil. They built the mill and poisoned the waters. The Daughters of the Great Spirit came no more over the land.</p><P>In 1968 as the white man measures time, Susan Seagull was a 20 year old student. The summer of love was over. The great champion of youth lay dead in LA. Exactly what demons drove her we cannot know, but she toked up, drove her VW bug into Black Lake, and drowned.</p><P>Or so it was thought. Over the site a daughter of the Great Spirit hovered. She was weak with the poisoning of the land and the deaths of the people that supported her. She watched in sadness as the young life was ending. She took a great gamble for existence, and acted.</p><P>As the last of the bubbles rose from the sunken car a figure emerged from the edge of the lake. Alike, but different from the one that had driven in. She melted into the forests of Mt. Shasta, and for many years was never heard from again.</p><P>In 2001 she came to the attention of the local police when she took in the badly wounded Galan. They had minor dealings with her after that.</p><P> In 2003 in an unrelated matter Susan Seagull's VW bug was located on the lake bottom and recovered. The car in spite of over 40 years submerged in fresh water was in perfect condition. Once a new battery was installed, fresh gas was put in the tank and the oil changed it started on the first turn of the key.</p><P>Captain Angelo Mancuso ordered a lookup on the car. The plates were intact and the owner, one Susan Seagull, missing since 1968, was discovered. Later Angelo made the connection between Susan Seagull and Amalthea. He did ask her about her past and was given a vague version of the above story. Angelo expiated the return of the Bug to her.</p><P>The SIS keeps her number on file. They don't bother her unless they consider it very important.
*Facts of the Matter: Almalthea Skywatcher, AKA Susan Seagull is an amalgamation of a native nature spirit and a Human woman. She is effectively ageless. She is a Manitou and dependent on the local tribe, and to a certain extent it is dependent on her. The Shamans of the NCTC are aware of this. Legally she is a squatter on the tribal land. The Shaman, Panther Walks With Him, knows that it is the other way around. Without the presence of Almalthea there would be no Northern California Tribal Association. She provided the medicine that made the NCTC possible.</p><P>Almalthea has a good deal of power. It is never expressed in open or obvious ways. Those she nurses heal quickly, those she cares for are comforted. Her needs are fulfilled without ever harming another. Those that try to harm her have their attacks turned on themselves. The animals of the wood rightly treat her cabin as a good resting spot. And yes, that big tom does turn into a panther.</p><P>As a result of her fusion with Susan Seagull she sacrificed a great deal of power in exchange to immunity to the "white man's magic". In taking the life force of Susan Seagull and assuming her body she absorbed the "white man's magic" as her own.</p><P>In the Healing Wave Almalthea regained a great deal of the strength she had lost both over the centuries and from the amalgamation. She is still a fusion, but a much healthier fusion.
*Bureau File: Almalthea Skywatcher is a Manitou a native spirit. She is on record as the most personable such spirit found, likely a result of her amalgamation. From all records she is a benevolent being. Do not bother her unless there is good reason, but rest assured she can be bothered the matter is important.</p><P>The extent of her abilities and/or powers is unknown. She has never been overtly seen doing anything remotely identifiable as magic. The local Native Americans regard her as one of their own decided Anglo looks aside. She does not attend the meetings of the Elders.</p><P>Several Bureau 13 agents have open contact with Almalthea. Steven Ashby (ret), Angelo Mancuso (ret.), Sonja Moody (semi-retired) Alejandro Moody, Tony McKenzie all have her phone number, yes, this one has a phone number. </P><P>The similar appearance with Molly Abba has been noted. Mrs Abba smiled and said: "Everyone has a doppelganger. We are not related." Almalthea herself was surprised at the similarity.
Category:Characters
Category:Supernatural
Category:NCTC
Category:Bureau 13