Evangeline Winfield

*"I didn't even hear the door open nor her footsteps approaching my desk. All of a sudden this beautiful, young woman was just there. Scared the living crap out of me. Asked me some questions about weird and supposedly supernatural activity going on out there in the Wasteland. As if Raiders and Super Mutants weren't enough..."*

- excerpts from Regulator Bowden's journal.

**Evangeline Winfield**, full name **Evangeline Prescott Winfield**, otherwise known to locals as **The Witch** or **The Witch of Salem**, is a professional assassin and a member of the Order of Salem. She is a stout follower in the belief of righteousness and justice, and hates those who prey upon others in order to survive. She is a skilled sniper, an intelligent thinker, and a loyal friend to those who earns her trust. Her primary weapons is the sniper rifle known as Malleus Maleficarum and a revolver by the name of Old Salem.

Her views on the world, and her actions against "evil-doers", such as Raiders, Talon Company mercenaries, Gunners and Super Mutants, has made her into a favored assassination target among the underground factions of the Wastelands. No successful attempt on her life has been made so far, as she has a tendency to seemingly vanish from the face of the Earth when least expected.

## History

Evangeline was born the 12th of January in 2263, in the ruins of Ipswich to Sonia Haft and Howard Winfield, two devout followers of the Order of Salem. Since it was against regulation for two members to become infatuated with each other, her birth was kept a secret at first. Unable to keep an infant hidden from the overseer of their order for long, Evangeline was soon presented as the result of Sonia's and Howard's violation against the rules of their faction.

The overseer at this time was however considerate and chose to overlook the mishap, declaring that the birth of the child was an omen. Never before had there been any offspring from two members of the order and believers in the righteous cause. Thus Evangeline's birth was praised and taken as a sign of good fortune and better days to come.

As Evangeline grew up she took sniper rifle lessons from her mother and revolver lessons from her father, quickly learning the ropes of how to handle herself in a gunfight. She also got to learn the art of stealth combat, how to remain hidden in the shadows and how to disappear in plain view. When she was 12 years old she was sent out into the Wasteland for her pilgrimage to prove her worth to the order. She returned four weeks later with the finger of the Raider leader Smiling Humphrey and was thus initiated into the order.

Having completed several other risky tasks and assignments ever since the assassination of the dreaded Raider leader, Evangeline retains a high status and holds much respect among the members of her order. At some point during an assignment in which she was sent to kill the high priest of the enigmatic and secretive Cult of Ug-Qualtoth, she was captured and tortured by its members. Whatever unholy ritual they performed on her it resulted in permanent blindness. In order to regain her sight, Evangeline reluctantly had to rely on Institute technology in order to be able to see once again, using lens implants based on synthetic technology to regain her eyesight.

In 2276 Evangeline was sent south to hunt down members of the cult that had been spotted in the vicinity of the World's Fair in the ruins of New York city. Though the trace grew cold, she met up with some people she would later consider her closest friends, together stopping the megalomaniac A.I. known as Clive.

In 2290 Evangeline was sent out by Minerva Ridgemont, the overseer of her order to represent their interests in stopping the assassin Shrike's plans. It is revealed that Minerva considers Evangeline to be destined to lead the Order of Salem after her demise, despite their dwindling numbers. During the mission she is re-united with many familiar faces, including that of Tanner, which rekindles her childhood affection for him. In a shoot-out with members of the Yakuza in a night club in San Francisco, she gets shot in her lower abdomen, slightly above her left hip, and receives a vicious scar as a result.

## Synthetic lenses

After Evangeline turned permanently blind, she had to undergo an advanced operation and surgery, in which she had a pair of adapters installed onto her optic nerves. These adapters emits a strong light through her retinas and establishes clear vision projected through her corneas and onto the synthetic lenses, allowing her to see again. Much to her chagrin they also make her eyes seem more artificial with a pair of two neon-blue, glowing pupils.

Based on advanced Institute synth-technology, the lenses and the adapters have more functions than just overriding her handicap. The adapters have a small panel installed just underneath the skin of her left temple which reacts upon touch. They come with a variety of different modes which allows Evangeline to adapt to a myriad of situations. The modes include among others a basic X-ray vision, night vision, infrared, and heat detection, zoom, and enhancements.

## Personality

*"I am sworn to eradicate evil, wherever it may hide. You prey on innocents for your own winning or pleasure, you are my enemy. An enemy to the Wasteland, and must thus fall. There can be no arguments... and no quarter shall be given."*

- Evangeline Winfield

Evangeline Winfield is intelligent, calm, soft-spoken and charismatic. She has a strong sense of justice and will often go out of her way to aid or comfort others. She is however also quick to judge and often mistrusts the intentions and personalities of strangers she meets, thus making it hard for her to make close friends. However, to those few she would consider friends, they will find an undying loyalty and support.

Though she is more of a loner, due to the secretive nature of her order, preferring solitude over bonds of relationship, she has also been shown to have an affectionate side.

As a result of the trauma she experienced as a girl, Evangeline suffers easily from anxiety and doesn't do well in pressured social situations. As a result of her blindness she also developed a fear of the dark.

As revealed during *The Legends of the Wastes*, Evangeline can't hold her alcohol well to the point where even a single mojito drink will throw her off balance. This could be due to an unspecified case of alcohol intolerance or whether Evangeline is simply just a tee-to-taller.

It's also implied that Evangeline has a fear of bugs, particularly Radroaches and the like.

## Appearances

* *Fallout: At World's Fair - Part I*
* *Fallout: At World's Fair - Part II*
* *Fallout: At World's Fair - Part III*
* *Fallout: At World's Fair - Part IV*
* *Fallout: At World's Fair - Part V*
* *Fallout: At World's Fair - Part VI*
* *Fallout: At World's Fair - Part VII*
* *Fallout: At World's Fair - Part VIII*
* *Fallout: At World's Fair - Part IX*
* *Fallout: At World's Fair - Part X*
* *Fallout: At World's Fair - Part XI*
* *Fallout: At World's Fair - Part XII*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 1*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 2*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 3*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 4*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 5*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 6*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 7*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 8*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 9*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 10*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 11*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 12*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 13*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 14*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 15*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 16*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 17*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 18*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 19*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 20*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 21*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 22*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 23*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 24*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 25*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 26*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 27*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 28*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 29*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 30*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 31*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 32*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 33*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 34*
* *The Legends of the Wastes - Part 35*
* *Eldritch Wastes* - TBA

## Trivia

* Her father and cousin are named Howard and Philip as a reference to horror fiction author Howard Philips Lovecraft, whereas her mother, Sonia Haft, was directly named after Lovecraft's wife Sonia Haft Green. The surname Winfield was the name of Lovecraft's father.
* Her grandmother was named Lavinia as a reference to Lavinia Whateley, the albino mother of the main character Wilbur Whateley in the Lovecraft story *The Dunwich Horror*.