Mederei is one of the main characters in the world of the Forty Isles. Her series and story is the primary one that I'm working one. She is a younger character (and the youngest of the four main characters). She also comes from a very wealthy and influential family.
Mederei's family - the Gwion - are weaver mages. For the Gwion, they have to weave in order to activate their magic. To that end, their magic is rarely used outside the creation of beautiful fabrics. The daughters have an added magic which is similar to acquired (wizard and witch magic). More of its relationship will be explained later.
When the two forms of magic combine, the daughters of the Gwion have a magic that the inhabitants call Storyteller Magic because the women are able to make their stories come to life. They are some of the most respected and feared members of the society.
Family:
Mederei's family is quite extensive. She is the seventh of ten children; her eldest brother is twelve years her senior, while her youngest sister is ten years her junior. Mederei is the only one of the children who has left the capital city where they were born.
Her father is Cynwal Gwion, the current head of the Gwion Family and Tapestry Guild. Her third eldest brother, Brys is the current heir to the Guild. Their elder sister, Ceinwen is active in the community and tends to be the ambassador of the Gwion. Both of her siblings are extremely influential in Mederei's life, and their stories are tightly woven into Mederei's.
As the second eldest daughter, Mederei often has found herself in the shadow of her elder sister who is well-known and fashionable. Even her younger sister, who is four years her junior, is considered to be one of the best dressed and beautiful members of the kingdom. Both of Mederei's sisters are considered the epitome of Caergwlân femininity.
Guild
At the age of seventeen, Mederei left her family home and joined the Fire Shadow Guild, a mage guild in the northwest corner of the Kingdom of Caergwlân. Here, she believes that she can train herself in peace while being able to work on her own. It is also the home of close family friends.
The guild is one of the oldest guilds in the kingdom, and while not the most well-known, it is respected. As a new member of the guild, Mederei is required to accept jobs only within the kingdom. She does find that her growing skills will challenge that limitation.
Personality
Mederei is generally a quiet girl. She is capable of defending herself, but she is not one to draw attention to herself. She is humorous and intelligent. She can be found reading as often as she can be found weaving. She is thoughtful, but also quite blunt and tends to expect things to simply happen. She can be very brash due to her ability to depend on her family name.
Magic
All Gwion have weaver's magic, and to that end, Mederei has two looms at her apartment. She has a tapestry loom which she keeps warped at all times. The tapestries that she finishes are often exchanged for gifts for others. The second loom is what she uses to weave the material for her clothing. Gwion magic protects Gwion, and her clothing is used as armor.
Her second magic is word magic and Mederei uses this magic primarily. This is the magic that she uses to finish most of her jobs. She also uses this magic to masquerade as a witch. The third magic is the combination of the previous two. It isn't as well-known as the others are, and much about storyteller is unknown.
Where the Inspiration comes from:
Mederei was a character that I've had for awhile, but no story to put her into. I had worked around several stories for her, but none of them were perfect, and I felt that they needed to be changed. I had attempted her story as a fantasy, historical novel, modern fantasy and historical fantasy before finally settling on the current form.
As a weaver and writer, I find magic in my two arts, and I wondered how they would work in a fantasy world. The Gwion were born, and Mederei carried the main combination.
The other element with Mederei is the relationship between women and art. Throughout history, women were actively pushed out of, or purposefully forgotten in many art forms. I wanted Mederei - whose magic many fear - to be someone who could explore the relationship women have with art.