Andromache of Scythia

**Andromache of Scythia** is the main character of *The Old Guard* series. She is an immortal warrior and the oldest/founding member of the Old Guard. She has been protecting humanity for at least 6,000 years.

## Biography

### History

Andromache of Scythia was born circa 4,700 BCE somewhere in the Western Steppe, which extends from the Altai mountains to north of the Black sea. Her mother died when she was young, with Andy mentioning to Nile that she had sisters whose faces she couldn't even remember. After her mother's death, she was honed into the warrior she is today until one such elder became jealous of her and sent her off to battle. This resulted in Andy's first death, after which she came back to life again and found she was immortal. She eventually became the leader of her tribe after defeating the enemies who killed her for the first time.

After hundreds of years, she left her position in an attempt to forgo the loneliness she felt due to her immortality. It was after this time that she met Noriko (Quỳnh) and Lykon, and much later, Yusuf (Joe) and Nicolò (Nicky), all of whom were also immortal.

## Description

Andromache is a passionate, independent person who staves off loneliness all by herself. She is very tough on herself, blaming any mistakes made by the team on herself. When Noriko/Quynh was captured and held in an iron coffin at the bottom of the ocean, Andromache took this very personally. This is partly due to the implied nature of their relationship and because she feels she left someone behind, which is against her beliefs.

She is known to have flings throughout history, but she has never had many lasting relationships like Nicky and Joe have due to her immortality. She is implied to have been close with Noriko/Quynh, potentially in a relationship with her of the same nature as Nicky and Joe.

Andromache is a good shot and fearsome with most weapons she handles. She is brutally efficient with her beloved labrys (axe) but is more than sufficient with shooting and hand-to-hand combat. Booker has stated to Nile that Andy has forgotten more ways to kill a man than most people ever know.

She really likes baklava and knows the different types. It has gotten to the point that the rest of the Old Guard will bet on if she can guess ingredients in the baklava and where it's from. She is very, very good at this. Baklava is a snack she is often seen eating, even if it's not native to the area. One such occasion was when she was retrieving Nile from Afghanistan.

### Physical description

Andromache is 177 cm tall (5'10"). She is thin but strong and muscled, a by-product of her line of work. She has light icy blue eyes and dark brown hair. Throughout different periods in history, she has styled her hair differently. Currently, her hairstyle is an uneven pixie cut, with the right side being longer.

Jobs and time periods often restrict her clothing, but she is almost always seen wearing her necklace. Without any constraints, Andromache's style can be described as "anything black." She wears almost exclusively black, including her lace-up boots. She likes to wear leather vambraces or covers of a sort.

### Personality

Andromache is strong not just on the outside, but also on the inside. She is strong-willed, fiery, and passionate. She is extremely selfless and despises being a burden.

One such example of this would be at Merrick Pharmaceuticals. She ends up grabbing a fire axe and rushing several armed guards despite her newfound mortality because she is done with cowering and needing to be protected. Along these same lines, she is courageous and headstrong. She rushes into battle and insists on going in first, exactly what she tells Nile in Merrick's headquarters in London. She is extremely loyal to her friends and a cause. Despite the possibility of being a cruel oppressor thanks to her inability to be killed, she instead has chosen the morally correct path of trying to help humanity and do the right thing.

Despite being a member of the team for millennia and always feeling lonely, she is frequently separated from the other Old Guard members. She is known to take up to a year off for herself.

She takes such time off before being called to Marrakesh by Booker for a job. James Copley is offering money in exchanges for services to work with them again. When they need to track down Nile, Andy volunteers to go on her own and won't hear any argument to the contrary.

She doesn't easily ask for help, as evidenced by when she needs help dressing her first wound that won't heal (a stab into her right shoulder). The cashier at the local French pharmacy, Celeste, instead has to ask her if she needs assistance based on her purchases. To her credit, she doesn't deny the assistance.

Like the other Old Guard members, she fears capture as that could mean eternal pain, torture, and imprisonment. This has made her very driven to protect her secret immortality at any cost, such as when she immediately decides to track Copley with the rest of the Old Guard to protect her secret.

Though she presents a cool, cut-off façade around her friends, she is warm and affectionate. She doesn't have problems expressing these feelings.

## References

1. ↑ In the comic books Andromache claims to be 6,732 years old.
2. ↑ McNeill, W. H. (2020, November 12). The Steppe. Encyclopædia Britannica.