Anna Ashcroft

Occultist and Mage Anna Ashcroft is a mainstay and Special Agent of Darklight. Classified under codename "Deadgirl". Due to strange circumstances, Anna has seen much of the darkness that Darklight deals with on a daily basis and has become an instrumental part of the organization as a whole.

Background
Anna Ashcroft was born to a small shipping company owner and a homemaker in London in the year 1895. Her life was slightly privileged though normal. She attended school, she helped her mother out, but she had a streak of independence and curiosity that fueled an expansion of the mind. While other girls were being pushed to marry off or study to be a better homemaker Anna studied the books and trinkets her father brought her from all over the world. She explored the wilderness around their home and loved to explore often dreaming of one day attending one of her father's trade expeditions to see the lands the items he had brought had come from.

Anna's life, unfortunately, changed the day she was kidnapped. On her way home from her father's company, having dropped off a parcel that had arrived for him at the house she was ambushed and drugged being knocked out. When she awoke she was underground with several people chanting and her body painted with odd and strange symbols. While she struggled and tried to escape it was all in vain. The ritual proceeded with Anna watching their strange movements and chanting before the leader of the group produced a glinting knife and plunged it into her chest. There was a feeling of warmth then cold before there was nothing at all.

Anna awoke later in pain and wrapped in bandages. Her vision was blurry but she could see a tall mountain of a man attending to her, all around the chamber that she had been in was destroyed. Things were burning, and the people who had been doing the ritual had been viscerated and were stacked to the side like a makeshift charnal house.

Later she would learn that the Cult of the Southern Rose had kidnapped her has part of their prophecy. They needed a daughter of the clan Ashcroft to become a vessel for their god to re-enter the realm of reality. Anna was a victim of circumstance and had just happened to fit what they needed. They had sacrificed her and were almost done with the ritual when the Bandaged Man entered and stopped the ritual. Through secretive means, he managed to bring her back to life though that life was changed forever. She could no longer go home, she could no longer be normal.

Darklight came in, scrubbed the site clean, made up a story for the local papers about vandals and faked her death. They took her in as a study subject for a long while. The Ashcrofts were a well-known family of mages, witches, and sorcerers with ties to various organizations including the Cult of the Southern Rose. They had to make sure the methods the bandaged man used were going to hold and not unleash whatever hell Anna was to be used for onto the Earth.

After some time the Bandaged Man managed to convince the Luminary of London at the time to allow her to train under him and study to become an agent. After some push and pull it was allowed. When offered the chance the apprehensive Anna agreed. She wanted to know what had happen to her in better detail, why, and how she could help prevent it from ever happening again.

Over 100 years later and Anna has become a key asset to Darklight, with a mind hungry for study and a natural talent for Magick as well as her ability to resurrect after dying she stands at the forefront of the group ready to aid in any endeavor.

Skills, Abilities, & Talents
Anna's natural love for study and her lack of travel from the Darklight facilities beyond missions has lead her to study a great deal of the Black Archives research and notes. Even though after 100 years Anna has barely scratched the surface of the volume of information available she has a decent grip over the information being able to discern a boggart from a ghast in a flash.

After the ritual, Anna was given an odd and strange power. She can no longer die... at least not permanently. No matter the wound, no matter the damage Anna will always regenerate. This isn't the same as some cosmics where they simply absorb the bullets and the wounds disappear, no Anna's body slowly brings itself back together and brings her back to life. She still feels the pain and experience of death and injuries and has done so many times. A seemingly odd bonus to this is that her body re-knitting itself so many times has lead to her having a sort of hyperflexibility which could put a few yoga moms to shame.

Anna's lineage has both cursed her and blessed her in a way. Coming from the infamous Ashcrofts Anna has an inborn talent for magick. Though researchers at Darklight contest that the ritual may have done this instead. Anna can understand and follow Ceremonial magic as well as simple spell cantrips, and the use of artifacts well. Though she and Darklight hold a fear that overuse of magick or magical items may activate the spell held in suspension on her body and have an adverse effect on herself or those around her. So she is usually restricted in the use.

To supplement the use of magick and abate her fears the Bandaged Man has helped Anna in learning to use the special bandages on her body to bind and weaken certain creatures and members of the Dread. She can loosen them from herself and wrap them around an enemy to hold them still and even use this as a method of keeping them still to be properly bound with a spell or enchantment.

Appearance & Personality
Anna appears to be a mostly normal girl of sixteen or so. She's mildly petite with a slightly athletic build. What might come off as striking though is her pure white hair or very fair skin, either that or the fact that most of her body below her neck is covered in bandages though this is usually covered by clothing.

Anna tends to have almost two different personalities. A "work" Anna and a "lazy" Anna. When researching, training, practicing or on a mission Anna's sight is clear, she's determined and seems to be very focused on doing what job needs to be done. When on downtime her personality flips and she comes off as lazy, overly relaxed and a bit of a layabout.

Her clothing and workspaces tend to reflect this as well. While on a mission Anna tends to wear clothes that fit an aesthetic that can allow her to best investigate whatever situation needs to be investigated. She'll dye her hair, take on a personality, and even do some studying of the area or her character to better blend in. Her workstation is also meticulously laid out, usually setting up a few "always" tools for use such as a blessed knife, a bag of salt, and a field hand guide.

When she's on downtime at Darklight her clothing changes to a mix of pajamas, hoodies, and other relaxware. Her studies move from demons and rituals to anime and cartoons, and she raids the commisary for loads of sugary and salty snacks, all while insulating herself in her bedroom, a messy mixup of an area covered in plush, posters, books, figures, and a nice large TV and laptop for entertainment.

Lurking Darkness
Due to her association with the Cult of the Southern Rose Anna is in a precarious situation. When they tried to revive the One Who Whispers Beyond the Petals they used her body, when that failed they got angry. Since the ritual is in suspension within Anna they can't simply find a new vessel, no they need her. While the Bandaged Man and Darklight as a whole have worked towards getting rid of the cult and most of the Ashcroft family who hse not reformed themselves they still thrive.

They want Anna, they know she's out there, and after 100 years of working with Darklight, they know someone out there is hiding her and they're actively trying to track her down. When they do find them, it will be a confrontation nobody wants to be involved in, and Anna might come out of it with something worse than needing a resurrection or attending a family funeral.

Quotes
"I'll distract it and hold it still, when it's trying to finish me, you guys go in and seal it away. Don't worry about me, I do this all the time. "

Notation
Despite her apparent young age, Agent Deadgirl shows a remarkable ability to think on her feet and not give in to her emotions. She is exceptionally skilled with working in cover identities and immerses herself in the identity she adopts. Although she has a tendency to reveal how much she knows about occult lore, she by no means should be underestimated or dismissed out of hand. It is my opinion that she is an invaluable and irreplaceable asset to not only the Paradigm City cabal but to the Darklight Society as a whole. We must be ever vigilant to ensure that Lord Terence-Smith Ashcroft never becomes aware of her existence.

Maggie Urquidez Templar Paradigm City Cabal