Rowan Ford

**Edward Nicholas Ford**, though known to his friends as Rowan, is a **vampire** and **monster hunter**. He is friends with **Erica Bridges** and the former protegee of **Leon Bianchi**. Like Leon, Rowan has an innate sense of duty and belief that good will win and to find the best in those around him. Born in the late 1930's, Rowan tends to behave like a man his age; he is polite, respectful to the women around him and tends to hold many old-fashioned habits and beliefs.

He is the sire of **Dante Bianchi** and is currently continuing Leon's Cause of rehabilitating vampires in the wake of the **War against Clive**.

## Characteristics

Eddie Ford, known as Rowan to Erica and her friends, is a vampire and former monster hunter. Despite his age, he's still a bit of a hot-blooded teen; he can be impatient and impulsive, though experience and time have allowed his better thinking to win out (most of the time).

He spent most of his life as the protegee of older vampire Leonardo Bianchi, who did most of the heavy ethical lifting. But since his sudden death, Rowan was abruptly thrust into a position of leadership and seniority among Erica and her friends. Protecting the "children" in his care caused a significant development of Rowan's character from impulsive hot-head into a calm and able leader.

He's a kind man with a good sense of humor, though having been born in late, Depression-era Kansas, he's got many habits of an elderly man, including some sayings and habits. He's stingy with money and often chastises the current generation for their music, language or fashion. This is both something that amuses others and something that kinds of weirds them out.

His long life has made Rowan very well-read and intelligent. Throughout his time as a vampire, he has studied theology, philosophy, history, art, music and business; he's very cultured. He's a lover of music, as well, though anything most post-1980s is "just noise".

Due to Leon's influence and training over a period of years, Rowan has a strong moral compass and weened himself off of warm, human blood. He dislikes animal blood and finds it difficult to keep down unless in the direst of circumstances. As an alternative, Rowan sustains himself off of blood bags that he steals from local blood banks. He's also got a strict policy against killing humans. He'll injure them, but never to the point of death.

Another habit Rowan has that many other vampires share is the tendency to change their identities every few years and to never settle in one place. As such, Rowan has never really had that kind of stability in his life. He's more comfortable on the road and tends to get antsy if he's in one place for too long.

### Powers & Abilities

As a vampire, Rowan possesses all of the **standard abilities of his kind**.

### Weaknesses

As a vampire, Rowan also possesses all of the **standard weaknesses of his kind**.

## History

### Early Life

Edward Ford was born in 1938, to farmers Hiram and Beth Kansas, the third of five children in Lawrence, Kansas. His father was a World War II veteran and while he never told Rowan much of his exploits during the war, young Rowan was nevertheless proud of his hero father.

Growing up, he spent his time at either school or working the farm. He studied to become a business man; his dream was to open up a shop where folks could stuff they needed, like furniture and clothes. His father was very supportive of this dream. Really, Eddie's life was fairly average. He had a loving family, a stable home, good friends. But it wasn't going to last.

### Transformation

Three days after his seventeenth birthday in 1955, the vampire Dante Bianchi arrived at the family farm to settle a score with Hiram. He overpowered the war veteran and bound him to the rafters in the barn. There, Dante proceeded to slaughter and feed off of Eddie's family, all while forcing Hiram to watch. In a final act of evil, Dante turned Eddie into a vampire and forced him to feed off of Hiram to complete the transformation.

Leon arrived soon after and drove Dante off. Having lost everything, Eddie fled and started cutting a bloody swath through the midwest in a fit of rage and despair.

### Bloody Pilgrim

Eddie continued this for almost twenty years, hunting and feeding off skiers in the Rocky Mountains throughout northern Colorado. He became a sort of urban legend, a bloody sasquatch-like figure spoken of in whispers and schoolyard tall tales.

### Rehabilitation

Leon finally caught up to Eddie in 1972. They fought briefly, and Leon easily overpowered him. But instead of staking him, he offered him an alternative; a chance to redeem himself and reclaim his humanity. Leon continued, telling Eddie about how Hiram and Leon had served together in World War II. Leon had made Hiram a promise and he intended to fulfill it. Eddie ultimately accepted Leon's offer and spent the next few years weening himself off of human blood.

In 1976, Leon felt Eddie was ready and began to take him along on his travels across the country. He gate Eddie a **Daylight Ring**, one which used to belong to his brother **Alberto**. Eddie would proceed to travel and work alongside Leon, protecting humans from vampires and trying to rehabilitate the vampires they found, like Leon had done with him. They weren't always successful, but Leon never seemed deterred.

Over time, Eddie found himself again, though with this came the remorse and immense he felt for the death he had caused over the years, most notably the death of his father. Leon worked with him through the guilt, and while Eddie learned how to manage it, it's something that he'd never truly overcome.

### Mental - Season 1

In early 2014, Eddie, now going by the name Rowan Teague, heard whispers of a great evil operating around the country. The stories had been going around of a powerful new creature with abilities unheard of before operating somewhere or other, but nobody paid much attention to them until the creature started gathering monsters and vampires to his side. One of these monsters was Dante Bianchi, the vampire who has turned Eddie and was responsible for his parents' deaths.

One of their leads would being them to a Necromancer operating in a small town in Maine. Eddie would go on to help Erica find and stop the Necromancer, starting their long friendship.

Rowan would go on to play a major role in Season 1. For more information on Rowan's activities throughout Season 1, **see the episode guide**.

### The War Begins

After **Takeshi's** attack in the Edmonton Mall, Rowan was not among those transported back to 1881 (see **Mental Season 2** **episode guide** for more information). With no idea where Erica, Sam and Elijah had gone, Rowan left with **Jonathan** and **Troy** to meet up with **Arthur** and **Holly** to discuss their next move.

They would eventually follow leads and work against **Clive** across the United States. They met with both successes and failure, but by the autumn, things were beginning to look bleak.

### Mental - Season 3

Rowan was with the group when Erica and the others returned from their adventures in 1881. He was overjoyed to see Erica again and the two had a happy reunion. Rowan was an important part of the War against Clive throughout Season 3. He was present for the Final Battle, though he was not among the final four to face Clive head-on.

For more information, **see the episode guide**.

### Leon's Cause

In the wake of the Final Battle, Rowan hung around long enough for Sam's funeral. He was a pallbearer at the funeral and after a few days, bid Erica goodbye while he left to pursue Leon's cause.

## Major Relationships

### Erica Bridges

Erica is Rowan's best living friend. The two share a powerful friendship that has existed since shortly after they first met. The two implicitly trust each other and both would go to great lengths to protect each other. Through all of their adventures, they have developed a deep mutual respect. While he sees Erica as needlessly reckless, he recognizes how intelligent and powerful she is. Even if he doesn't understand Erica's impulsive plans, he's usually the first to back her. If she's doing something, even if it's something insane and stupid, there's almost always a good reason for it.

### Leon Bianchi

Rowan's relationship with Leon is complicated. They traveled and worked together for forty-two years and in that time, they have become something like family. Leon is, at once, Rowan's father, brother and closest friend. There are few people in the world Rowan loved and respected as much as his former mentor.

In the wake of Leon's death, Rowan has felt lost and alone. The struggle against Clive gave him purpose, but he always second-guessed himself, measuring himself and his own deeds against Leon. While he grew into a leader and a man in his own right, he still feels alone without his old friend. After Clive's death, he has set out to continue Leon's work, refusing to let Leon's sacrifice be in vain.

### Sam Hudson

Rowan's friendship with the goofy, brave young gunslinger started off rocky but over time, they came to trust and respect one another. Rowan could spot Sam's crush on Erica early on and encouraged him to keep it to himself; they were on the run and at war. There wasn't time for those kind of distractions or shenanigans.

After Sam and the others returned from 1881 after a brief absence of a few months, Rowan couldn't say he was surprised to see they were together. However, Rowan was pleasantly surprised to see his previous fears were unfounded; Sam and Erica found a powerful strength in each other that compelled them to fight even harder than before. Rowan came to respect Sam as a man and the two were real friends.

Rowan was heartbroken when Sam died during the Final Battle. Rowan was one of the pallbearers at Sam's funeral. He still finds that he misses Sam sometimes.

### Elijah Porter

Vampires and werewolves don't mix. It seemed like Rowan and **Elijah** would follow that pattern, but Rowan quickly discovered Elijah was brave, selfless and a genuinely good person. They don't always see eye to eye, but Rowan values Elijah as a friend and respects his sense or morality.

### Troy Whitman

Time on the run gave Rowan plenty of time to get to know Troy Whitman as more than just a high school jock. Troy was a brave and unflappable man who never backed down, no matter the challenge or the danger and he always did what he thought was right. Rowan is proud to have fought beside Troy for so long. Out of all of the members **Erica's Army**, Rowan would say Troy is his best friend next to Erica herself.

### Holly Corrigan

Rowan didn't know Holly very well and, to be honest, he never really took the time to get to know her. He always found Holly to be vain, selfish and petty, and he never liked the way she used to bully Erica and **Carrie**. But just because he found her unpleasant doesn't mean that he wasn't saddened by her death. Rowan mourned her just as he did the others who died trying to stop Clive.

### Carrie MacNamara

Carrie was Erica's best friend. Rowan was fond of Carrie from the day he met her and was always a little protective of her. He felt her death was particularly tragic, as he had started to get the feeling she was just starting to come into her own. He particularly mourned the death of Carrie.

### Arthur van Dyke

Rowan and Arthur, Erica's grandfather, share many of the same views and tastes. Both are also from rural, midwestern towns. They are fond of sharing a drink and watching the game together.

### Alberto Bianchi

Rowan hated Alberto at first. Leon had told Rowan horrible stories about Alberto and for the longest time saw him as the "Plague Upon the Earth" that Leon had always described him as. When Alberto first joined the group, Rowan was against him being there and the two nearly came to blows. Erica convinced Rowan to give Alberto a chance, as Leon had always said that everybody deserved a second chance. Rowan did so reluctantly and over time, came to understand that while Alberto was cunning and duplicitous, he could be trusted as long as they had a common enemy.

Despite Alberto's partial development from monster to anti-hero, Rowan has never fully trusted him. He offered Alberto to come with him to help fulfill Leon's cause but Alberto just laughed at him. While he would never say this, Rowan thinks the wrong brother survived.

### Dante Bianchi

There are few who Rowan hated and feared as much as Dante Bianchi, his sire. While a part of him wishes that it had been him who killed Dante, he's still relieved that Dante is destroyed in the first place. Good riddance.

## Equipment

* **Daylight Ring:** This simple daylight ring is several centuries old and once belonged to Alberto. It allows him to walk in the daylight.
* **Shotgun:** While he didn't often use it, Rowan's main ranged weapon was a shotgun he bought at a Cabella's in New Jersey.
* **Silver Knife:** Vampires like to be ready in the event a lycanthrope gets the jump on them.
* **Wooden Stakes:** Never hurts to be prepared.

## Trivia

* Favorite singer is Frank Sinatra.
* Favorite movie is the original *King Kong*. The ending still gives him the shivers, even today.
* While he doesn't like to advertise his taste for blood, his favorite blood type is O-.