Justine de Leronge

### Relatives

Father : Robert Artois de LerongeMother : Alexandrine de St. CyrSister : Helene Adelyn de Leronge

## Physical description

### Height

1.73 m

Justine de Leronge, often styled Justine du Bois, is one of the protagonists from the 'junior' (B party) series. Although unknown to herself, she has been elected by Mab as her servant (and consequently, 13th witch), governing the Franco-Avalonian region of the Wyld.

## Early Life & Education

As the second daughter of the Count de Leronge, Justine received a sheltered upbringing at the Chateau, but was largely ignored by her parents, as long as she kept quiet and to herself. From childhood on, Justine felt a special connection to nature and animals, and wandered the Chateau gardens at every opportunity. Here she was approached by her 'Fairy Godmother' who slowly bestowed the gifts of nature upon her. From this moment onwards, the Wyld became available to her, and soon the young child found her way into the Deep forest. Here she encountered the local Gnome village, and -through her uncanny ability to blend in with the ways of the Wyld- garnered the sympathy of the Gnomes, who took her into their fold. Here she was especially guided by a well-respected couple, mr. and mrs. Bonifaas, who bonded with her and taught her all the basic skills of gnomehood, from gathering plants to knitting and embroidery. As seasons went by, the Gnome village elders even proclaimed her to be '*from here*', an unprecedent act toward a human, allowing her to partake in local customs and rituals as a local (as opposed to a visitor). Whenever she could elude the cold and aristocratic Chateau, Justine spent her time at the Gnome village with the Bonifaases, to whom she felt more kinship than her own family, who were occupied with an entirely different style of life. This period has left its mark, as Justine's Wyld languages are always tilted toward (North Francian) Gnomish and her small everyday habbits betray subtle traces of 'gnomehood'. The psychological consequence of this, is that Justine tends to be biased in favor of gnomes (as they shaped much of her thinking). Acting against Gnomes is a sure way to gain the enmity of Justine, and acting against the Gnomes 'from her own village' will engender homicidal rage. (a sentiment unknown to gnomes, but not to Justine).

Being of noble birth, Justine was commanded to undergo the same education as all noble ladies should. At the behest of her father, she was enrolled in the prestigious Angelite-run boarding school "Lycée de .." from age twelve onwards. Though she protested heavily, this was non optional, and Justine was forced to leave the Chateau, and especially, its surrounding gardens to associate with noble society instead. She considered it her only fortune that, at least the school was located in the North of France, allowing her to enter into her beloved forest from time to time, providing the highly restrictive school timetables so allowed. Being raised by Gnomes and Fairies, however, Justine had difficulties understanding the other noble girls and often found herself in a position of social isolation, associating almost only with Amélie de Rovaigne, a socially strong girl who struggled with academics and with whom she created a complementary friendship. Academically, however, due to her high intelligence and unique 'fairy godmother' advantages, Justine proved a model student, excelling in particular in the Natural Sciences, Magical Theory and Spell-weaving, holding the Lycée's '*Optima*' award for those disciplines to this day, as no student since has been able to surpass her scores in these fields of study.

## Grand tour

Upon graduation Justine forewent the Valedictorian position, as she was unwilling to make the graduation speech, and equally eshewed the series of debutante balls that young graduates are expected to undergo. Only through her academic record of excellence could she convince her father to allow her a special privilege, to pursue a higher education in the sciences. She was allowed to travel across Europe to find a suited academic position, provided this was done under strict Church guidance. Such was her academic excellence that the order of Angelites not only consented to this, but allowed one of her teachers, abbé Agathon, to act as a chaperon and guidesman as she traveled from university to university. Departing from the North of France, Justine was joined by her only school-friend Amélie who, despite her lack of academic prowess managed her father, the Duke of Bretagne, to also let her start upon this 'Academic Journey'. Much to her pleasure, and against all expectations, mr. Bonifaas joined her upon her journey, leaving home and hearth behind, a very un-gnome-like thing to do. Unbeknown to Justine, the gnome was motivated (intimidated) by Queen Mab to stand guard over her naive and vulnerable protegée during her early years. As the journey continues, very few academics actually get done, as the fellowship finds themselves increasingly embroiled in Wyld phenomena, of which they have very little knowledge as the story begins. These phenomena become particularily troublesome when the fellowship travels outside the borders of the Anglo-Francian domain, almost being murdered several times over in the Graecian territories.

## The Khilkov Papers

Father's privilege, however, would have its limits. If Justine did not produce academic results soon, the Count de Leronge would soon withdraw his consent to this operation, something Abbé Agathon well realized. In order to advance her academic carreer, the abbé motivated his young student to write several academic papers and submit them to several of the more prestigious academic institutions of Francia. Sadly, this would mean that Amélie de Rovaigne's privilege would soon be revoked as it was already clear long ago that academia were not part of her talents and skillset. Justine hitherto avoided a similar fate by submitting various papers, one of which would soon upset the academic world. Justine's unique perspective on the Wyld (engendered ofcourse by her 'witchhood' and the teachings of Mab) would open up a unique perspective on the laws of nature, including several formulae out of reach of Arkhane Styl academic paradigms. Though most established professor ignored such strange papers, Justine's paper "*The Arcanology of Seasons*" was picked up by the excentric academic and world-traveler Alexander Khilkov, who found in Justine's paper exactly those formula's he needed to support his own suspicions and theories, which he never managed to calculate before. In return for the promise of future academic enrolment and sponsorship, Justine bequeathed her papers to professor Khilkov, knowing that her own lack of 'name' and academic status would make them unpublishable anyways. As the professor published his work, which would be known as *'the Khilkov papers'* it unleashed a storm in the academic world. International academic dignitaries took sides in the debate, with some supporting the new thesis and others sharply turning against it. Currently, the thesis is in a very bad position as professor Khilkov's rushed journey to the Wyld of Africa failed to produce the empirical evidence he had hoped for , and the professor refused to debate his theory with Francia's leading academic, leaving the country instead and moving into hiding. As such, Justine's academic future has become uncertain once again as it seems that the professor will not be able to deliver on previous promises of sponsorship and assistant-hood. Furthermore, those specialists who have read all of Khilkov's footnotes may well link her name to the Khilkov papers, now in disrepute. This will not work to her advantage in current day academia. Consequentally, time is ticking for Justine to find an academic position, and the Khilkov affaire has not made this easier.

## Fairytale Publishing

Though currently barred from serious academic work and publication, Justine is already quite a prolific writer and publisher under the pseudonym 'Justine du Bois'. As, even in her academic theories she remains convinced of the value of local folk culture and fairytales, she has taken it upon herself to conserve and even disseminate these stories across Francia, in an effort to teach the people '*the stories that are theirs but that have been forgotten'*. In order to achieve this goal she is known to subcontract both story collectors, as storytelling bards (to reach the illiterate parts of the population).

## Game Mechanics

Justine is a 'witch' , a full caster. (currently lvl 12)

### Strengths

***Anarcho-Princess*** : She may not realize it, but that is irrelevant. While in her own 'zone' Nature will spontaneously yield to her, allowing her to draw upon a vast and highly diverse set of Wyld abilities. These abilities offer some protection and offense (damage), but are at their best in a support, battlefield control, or (especially) de-buffing capacity, reaching high DC's.

***Morgana's legacy*** : Mab is the patron of Magic itself. Consequently, Justine's spell-weaving and technical Spellcraft rating is second to none, easily exceeding those of much higher level academics. Her 'coven' ability allows her to enhance this superiority even further.

### Weaknesses

***Physically vulnerable*** : low hitpoints, low ac, allergic to cold iron.

***Sheltered upbringing*** : Justine is quite 'naive' and may well be at the risk of manipulation

***Emotionally unstable*** : Though usually friendly, calm, constructive and optimistic, in times of distress Justine is known to 'flip' into a destructive Unseelie rage which can be highly damaging to friend and foe alike.