Rachel Roth

Rachel Roth is a mage of the Order of Hermes and one of the most active and involved mentors living in the October Chantry. Though she is officially the mentor to Samantha Star, she makes her skills and her talents and her knowledge availabe to all the mages in the Chantry with no thought of fee or cost.

Rachel is the most apt of and the star pupil of Dame Samanha Wainbridge. She is an explorer and a recorder of events great and small. Her ranking as Adeptus Zealator within the Order of Hermes has made her a recognizable figure within the Tradition, though she is not really well-known to anyone outside of it.

To understand Rachel, one must traverse back to the begging and locate a one Lady Tempest bani Jannisary, known in the Sleeper community as Mary Walsh.

## History

The history of the woman christened Rachel Roth begins with Mary Walsh bani Janissary, whom came to the October Chantry in the year 1979. There she met her mentor in the Order of Hermes, Paul Roth, whom was also a Detective Second Grade with the October City police department. For the next nine years the pair were the perfect seeming and harmonious team. As such thi8ngs often do as student and teacher grew closer and closer still, they at long last admitted their love for each other. They were married by Dame Samantha in the year 1987. Their only daughter, Rachel, was brought into the family the following year.

Raised in the Chantry, Rachel's childhood was astonishingly different from any Sleepers, though quite traditional in the Order of Hermes. She was given a classical education heavy on the arts, languages, literature, and history. By age seven young Rachel was fluent in Greek and Latin. By age nine she could recite the names of British monarchs from first to current and had devoured the works of classic authors. At age 12 she Awakened, and with her Awakening came a sudden and unexpected thirst to explore the cosmos and learn everything about it that she could do.

Naturally adept in the use of the Spirit sphere, Rachel began exploring The Horizon at every opportunity, taking meticulous notes on every Realm she discovered, and was instrumental in the discovery of the horror realm known as The Nightward, Often times Rachel would go exploring without bothering to inform her parents, which naturally resulted in the adult Roths kept in a constant state of worry and agitation for their wayward daughter.

There are many within House Bonisage whom believe that Rachel was destined to discover the Nightward and bring it to the Order's attention. After several weeks of exploring the Nightward and taking meticulous notes about its inhabitants, Rachel was discovered and contacted by Lady Masha Anodai du Lioncourt. After a period of several months of frequent contacts and time spent together the two women became close. Lady Masha revealed to Rachel a shocking truth: The Roths were not her biological parents. Rachel was, in fact, born in The Nightward.

Rachel was surprised by the news but neither hurt nor angered by it. Returning home she made an inquiry with her parents. The elder Roths confirmed that she was adopted. On the night of their first year anniversary a stranger had presented herself at the Chantry, a woman bearing an eight week old baby girl. The woman turned the baby over, asked the Roths to care for her, and never returned.

Fueled by curiosity, Rachel made it her life's mission to reveal every secret the Nightward has and find answers to every question ever asked about it; including her own lineage. She has been partly successful, she is considered the foremost authority on the Nightward in the Order of Hermes but as yet she hasn't found any evidence to lead her to the knowledge of who her birth parents are or why they put her up for adoption.

## Personality & Magick

Solitaire fluxuates easily between moods, so determining how she will react to situations and stessors are difficult to predict, at best. Most people describe her as "moody"; she can be jocular and funny one moment and fuming angrily in the next. Regardlless of her temperament she takes her duties to the New Family Covenent very seriously. She sees herself as a teacher and instructr first, often going to great lengths to emulate her own mentor Dame Samantha. Sometimes she akes herself too seriously, failing to realize that the occasional joke or horseplay among the Chantry members as she is trying to teach as the individuals not taking their lessons seriously rather than just letting off steam and enjoying in cameraderie.

As Samantha Star's personal tutor and mentor she is doing all that she can to ensure that the younger Hermetic learns everything she is supposed to and keeps herself out of danger and harm's way. Sometimes her concern for Sam outweighs her common sense and she can become over-protective and smothering.

Solitaire sees something in Sam that few others can see, Solitaire is convinced that the universe has something special planned for the younger Hermetic. As a result, Rachel often acts as teacher, best friend, mentor, and bodyguard to Samantha Star; all at once.

Solitaire follows the general tenets of the Order of Hermes where magick is concerned; all of her magick is flavored with complex ritual and an assortment of outfits heavy on accessories. She uses and almost countless number of tools in her magick: The Grand Four of course ( Wand, chalice, athame, and pantacle), but also swords of various sizes, staves, crooks, whips, and any number of drawn and painted circles of power. She almost never performs a rote 'off the cuff', except in times of emergency. Those whom first meet her and learn her Tradition tend to assume that she--like many Hermetics--is Forces happy but the truth is she much prefers the sphere of Spirit over most other Spheres that she knows.