Ned Tuttle

**Ned Tuttle** is an Enthusiast from Grey London and the current owner of the Five Points.

## Physical description

Ned is a tall and lanky young man with long limbs. He has a poorly drawn power rune tattooed on his wrist and often wears clothes that are slightly too small for him.

As the owner of the Five Points, Ned wears a black shirt with a high collar and onyx buttons as well as a necklace with a five-pointed star as its pendant.

## Biography

### Meeting Kell

In October 1819, Ned spots Kell Maresh in the Stone's Throw. After confirming that Kell brings people objects from other places, Ned asks him for a bit of earth. Kell is only willing to agree to the trade if Ned manages to move one of the elements in an element set though. Ned tries to make the drop of water move and fails. He speculates that the game must be rigged, and Kell moves all elements effortlessly to demonstrate that Ned simply does not possess any magic. Still, Kell tells Ned he will give him the requested Red London earth if Ned brings him something "that matters" in exchange. However, Kell does not give an exact date for the exchange, only says it will happen "within the month." Ned then leaves the tavern.

### Strangeness

Ned returns to the Stone's Throw every day after meeting Kell, in the hope of seeing him again. Only two days after their first encounter, the Stone's Throw strangely does not open though. Ned wonders what the reason could be, and just when he is about to leave and go somewhere else for a while, he hears a crash behind him. He approaches the carriage driver who believes he might have run someone over, but when they check under the cart, there is no body to be found, only a large stretch of black dust. Ned inspects the dust which seems to be ordinary soot, though it momentarily emitted a strange warmth.

Afterward, the driver continues his ride, and Ned wanders off.

### The Five Points

Following Barron's death, the Stone's Throw goes to sale. To prevent the tavern from potentially being demolished, Ned buys it; he renames it to the Five Points and redecorates it.

In February 1820, Ned finds Kell in front of the tavern and invites him inside. He tells him about the purchase and the changes and then shows him what he has practiced: Ned manages to slightly move the drop of water in an element set, stunning Kell. Ned asks Kell to teach him again and then goes to fetch a gift for him. While he is gone, Kell leaves, but not before he places a Red London lin on the counter.

## Skills and abilities

* **Magic:** Ned is able to slightly move water.

## Possessions

* **Element set:** A set Kell sold to a Collector in 1819. Ned found the Collector and bought the set from him.
* **Red London lin:** A coin Kell gives Ned.

## Appearances

* *A Darker Shade of Magic*
* *A Treatise on the Erasure of English Magic*
* *A Gathering of Shadows*
* *A Conjuring of Light*
* *The Fragile Threads of Power*

## Trivia

* General
* Etymology

* Ned cannot draw.

### Out of Universe

* Ned was originally only meant to appear in the first chapter of *A Darker Shade of Magic*. However, he grew on V. E. Schwab and eventually became an important character and one of her favorites. According to her, "Ned Tuttle just refuses to leave this story. He doesn't need to be a main character. He just wants to be included!"

- Ned's original name was "Zebediah" before Schwab's editor made her change it.

* The given name "Edward" means "rich guard." It derives from the Anglo-Saxon name "Éadweard" which is composed of the Old English elements *ead* ("wealth, fortune") and *weard* ("guardian, protector").

* "Archibald" is a Scottish-English name which derived from the Germanic elements *ercan* ("genuine") and *bald* ("bold").

* The surname "Tuttle" can either come from the Old English "tot-hyll" which means "dweller by the look-out hill" or from the Old Norse given name "Þorkell" or "Þórkætill," meaning "Thor's cauldron." The latter comprises of the words "Þórr" ("Thor") and "kætill" ("cauldron, helmet").

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 *A Darker Shade of Magic*, I: The Traveler, III
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 *A Gathering of Shadows*, III: Changing Tides, V
3. ↑ *A Darker Shade of Magic*, X: One White Rook, I
4. ↑ "Week1- Shades of Magic Readalong" — V. E. Schwab on YouTube
5. ↑ Ned's comeback — V. E. Schwab's comment on YouTube
6. ↑ "Were there any that you had to rename again and again?" — "Only Ned!!! My editor made me change his name from Zebediah :p"
(V. E. Schwab on Twitter)
7. ↑ Behind the Name — Edward
8. ↑  Edward on Wikipedia
9. ↑ Behind the Name — Archibald
10. ↑ House of Names — Tuttle
11. ↑ Name Doctor — Þorkell