Arden Finch

Arden on the cover of Ebon Rebellion

*“Wind just is. Others use it for power but never own it. And it can always turn its own way.”* -Zanna, *Eldritch Sparks*

**Arden Finch** is the protagonist of the Shadows of Otherside series. When introduced, Arden is living as a human and supporting herself as a private investigator.

## Biography

### Early Life

In *Elemental*, Arden knows little about her origin. She was told her parents drowned and she was found in her mother's arms, his father's arms wrapped around them both. Arden remained in foster care for seven years and was continually overlooked for adoption, which she believes was because humans subconsciously sensed her magic.

Arden was located by her djinn cousins Duke and Grimm. They would visit her in the liminal space before sleep: *“Their whispers from the ethereal plane had caused me physical pain that had me hiding under the blankets every night for months. 'Traumatic' was an understatement when describing living in a mundane foster home with the attention of the djinn.”* - Arden Finch, *Elemental*

Duke gave her over to Callista, a powerful being masquerading as a petite woman who commanded great influence over the Otherside inhabitants of the Triangle in North Carolina. Air was the first of Arden's elemental powers to manifest at puberty. Under Callista's tutelage, she learned to suppress it in fear of the local elves discovering her true nature and killing her. Arden was given the surname "Finch" after the bird and was raised to believe she was a sylph, the class of elementals who command power over Air.

Arden is first punished with brass at the age of 16, when she eavesdrops on a conversation between Callista and Dominique Bordeaux. Callista is severe and, as a result, Arden only remembers Dominique's voice and scent.

At age 18, Callista compels Ardent to become one of her Watchers, telling her, *"It's time to repay what you owe."* The djinn conjure money to buy Arden property backing up to Eno State Park and build her a house.

To avoid using her magic at Callista's demand, Arden becomes a private investigator focusing on mundane cases. It's not until taking on a case involving kids that she realizes how emotionally empty her upbringing was.

### *Elemental*

Arden's PI services are employed by the elf Leith Sequoyah, who assumes Arden is human. Taking on Leith's case, Arden began investigating the disappearance of Sybil Sequoyah, as well as the murders of other elven women in the Triangle.

As it turns out, Leith has hired her as a distraction from his murderous species-supremacist cult. She works with Troy in spite of their mutual distrust to foil the conspiracy. He drowns her to gain an in with the Redcaps, ultimately rescuing her over an allied elf.

She is appointed the head of a new factional alliance in the face of Callista's threat to force an Otherside Reveal.

### *Eldritch Sparks*

Arden investigates the disappearance of bodies from the morgue. In the process, she feels herself failing in her role to facilitate the new alliance, as well as in her relationships with Roman, Val, and Doc Mike. Furthermore, Callista views her as a threat.

### Parentage

Arden is a first-generation, trueborn primordial elemental whose power exceeds that of most elementals.

Arden was born to Ninlil and Prince Quinlan of House Solari. Her mother was a djinni who had a vision of the Wild Hunt, which she believed could only be thwarted if all of Otherside united. To this end, she approached House Solari - one of the most revered elven houses in North America - and convinced them of her vision, gaining their trust and conceiving a daughter with Quinlan.

### History with House Monteague

Keithia Monteague discovered Ninlil and Quinlan's forbidden union and ordered House Solari to execute Ninlil and her unborn child. They refused to do so, allowing Ninlil to give birth to her baby girl: a trueborn elemental due to her mixed elf-djinni heritage.

Keithia rallied House Monteague and House Luna to attack House Solari in a brutal massacre. Ninlil and Quinlan escaped with their daughter in a car, but only made it so far as the Cape Fear River before the Monteague House Guard caught up and destroyed their vehicle. The wreckage was thrown in the river, while Keithia delivered fatal blows to Ninlil and Quinlan, whose bodies she tossed in the river's currents. Ninlil was cradling her daughter as this occurred, leading the elves to believe that the Solari heir was killed as well. But Ninlil, Quinlan, and their daughter washed ashore, where humans found Ninlil in her dying moments still holding on to her child. The child was wearing the onyx pendant of House Solari and subsequently placed into the foster care system, where she was named Arden.

## Personality

Initially, Arden is a loner who prefers solitude. She's been taught to fear her world and acts as a people pleaser as a means of survival. She is stubborn, no-nonsense and speaks her mind, frequently swearing, much to the chagrin of more polite Othersiders.

She has sharp instincts that served her well as a private investigator and is practiced in the human skill of social engineering. As her power grows, her instincts fully grow into the Sight.

Arden has long struggled for a sense of belonging. She’s neither human nor Otherside; neither djinni nor elf. As her power and influence grow, she struggles with imposter syndrome. It’s in claiming a place for herself that she escapes these doubts and finds true belonging.

## Physical Characteristics

Arden presents as bi-racial to humans. She's described as having sienna-brown skin, tight curly hair, and deep amber eyes that turn gold when she uses her magic, which smells of ozone. She generally dresses casually in tank tops and shorts or jeans. As her influence grows outside of the Triangle, she begins to wear bespoke and designer pieces procured by her elven court.

In *Elemental*, she is shot with an arrow of lighting, which leaves her shoulder scarred with Lichtenberg figures.

She wears an onyx pendant, her one momento from her father, which he wore as prince of House Solari.

## Powers and Abilities

*“My little air plant bulbs swayed as I indulged myself in letting off steam in the form of a draft, sending it whistling through my small house just strongly enough to make the curtains flutter.”* - Arden Finch, *Elemental*

*“I had passive Air powers that would manifest if I didn’t work to control or shield them—vocal mimicry, seeing and sensing distortions in air flow, keeping the air around me at a comfortable temperature, and purifying the air in spaces I spent a lot of time in. Birds were more tolerant of or even drawn to me, like a real-life Disney princess.”* - Arden Finch, *Elemental*

* Born a Sylph
	+ Air allows her to control ambient temperature, notice changes in air patterns, mimic others' voices
* Develops into a Primordial Elemental, meaning she holds the primordial forces of creation
* Maenad
	+ *“Too much drink moves you to dance. But sometimes when you dance, Chaos rises. Maybe awkward things happen with people you mighta thought about or who mighta been thinking about you. Ya know…romantically?”* -Val, *Eldritch Sparks*
* Sharp hearing
* Resistant to the magic of others
* Limited control of Chaos
* No control of Aether, but she can recognize and unwork it via Chaos
* Capable of severing
* Quickly adjusts to changes in light, differentiating her from werewolves and vampires

### Weapons

#### Elf Killer

A lead knife commissioned by Arden from the tomtar blacksmith Nils in *Elemental*, after a conversation with Duke and Grimm, where Grimm advises Arden to arm herself with lead. It is charmed to retain a sharp blade.

*"The ornate wooden box held an eight-inch lead and steel knife, like a boning knife with the top half its edge smooth and the lower half serrated. It was accompanied by an ornately tooled leather sheath, the edge-side reinforced with blackened steel."* -**Arden Finch**, *Elemental*

#### Godblade/Neith's Gift

A gift from Neith that can possess Arden when she uses it to kill.

### Aetheric Bond with Troy Monteague

In an act of magical trespass, Troy spells Arden with a tracking spell, not knowing her species. The chaos in Arden twists the spell as her power grows, making it irreversible.

The bond allows them to track each other, read thoughts and emotions, and as they both become stronger, pull from each other's magic.

Eventually they are both dependent on the bond for survival.

## Notes

* Early in their relationship, when she and Troy touch, their magic sparks