Full Name: Gwenhwyfar Elaine Carey

Known As: Gwen

Birthday: April 17

Age: Fifteen

Branch Affiliation: Savannah Careys

School Affiliation: Sonora Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry

House Affiliation: Crotalus House

Appearance

A mix of recessive traits on both sides, the only immediately obvious physical characteristic Gwen shares with either of her parents is her mother's narrow-boned, long-limbed frame, though she can only be called tall when compared to her sister and a handful of cousins. To her growing distaste, she also inherited Lorena's "slimness" - better called "nonexistence" - of figure. Her hair is blonde, worn just below shoulder length, and on her good days it can either be combed into waves or coaxed straight. On bad days, it's untidily pinned up on the back of her head and ignored until time to wash it or until it falls apart altogether, whichever comes first. She has very fair skin and big, usually nervous, blue eyes. Though the majority of her facial features are a softer echo of her paternal grandmother's, her straight, slightly long nose is that of the Carey line.

Personality

Reserved and a little dreamy by nature, Gwen's personality was turned into one of sharply contrasting, nonharmonious viewpoints because of three circumstances: being born a Savannah Carey, being born the eldest child of the Savannah Carey patriarch, and being born a girl.

A second daughter of a patriarch or sister of his proper male heir would have been mostly ignored until time to marry her off, exceptions coming in the form of dressing her up for the occasional party and ensuring that she paid at least some attention to her tutors. An eldest daughter, heiress because of the lack of any surviving legitimate brother, was expected to be both an empty-headed, social daughter and an intelligent, ambitious son all at once. Introspection made this uncomfortable, and the discomfort was alleviated as best Gwen could manage by separating the viewpoints, convincing herself both were right within their own frame of reference, and learning to swap between them without thinking. The discomfort teen and preteen histrionics created about having no real sense of self was dealt with by becoming a collectivist, even moreso than most Savannah Careys; until recently, when the force of a reputation gained almost by accident made her name easily recognized, she would not introduce herself without using her family name and branch. At Sonora, the groups are the fourth-year Crotali, a knot of cousins and fellow Careys, and the Crotalus Quidditch team.

At only the higher end of average in intelligence and magical talent, stubbornness and a little paranoia are the push behind the rocks of learning and socializing. Though trained to lead, Gwen doesn't really like to do so and compromises by either taking a lead when it falls into her lap or by coming up with half-baked schemes about taking over without actually trying to go through with them. She tries not to lie too often, but can spin the truth or a promise around until even their own mothers wouldn't recognize them, and an implied promise gets even rougher treatment. A distantly maternal streak, convenient in light of her first career option still being that of "trophy wife", has lead to a tendency towards befriending or looking out for younger children, especially those she thinks she might be able to use somehow. Most of those plans, by-products of an exaggerated idea of her own intelligence and importance, go for nothing, too, but she still enjoys making them, almost as much as she enjoys making her former social equals nervous when they think her change in circumstances (See 'Family Life') means they can now look down their noses at her.

Family Life

The eldest of three children, Gwen grew up at Bellevue, the primary estate of the Savannah Careys. Her parents, Alasdair and Lorena, were an ill-matched couple at best, nineteen years apart in age, one the cold, calculating, and sometimes violent patriarch via coup of the Savannah Careys, the other a passionate, bitter, and increasingly out of touch with reality daughter of a North Georgia family of nobodies. Gwen readily embraced the role of "protector" over her younger sister Morgaine and, eventually, brother Edmond, a role she was left to in the hopes that it would prove good training for when she was married off and had children of her own. The practice was further encouraged by her frequent contact with a group of St. Martin stepcousins, all save one younger than herself. They two became the leaders of the almost communally-raised litter of children, and her stepcousin, "Little" Julian St. Martin V, still bosses his sister and a few younger cousins at Magnolia Grove around to this day.

As the first-ever "daughter heir" of a Carey patriarch, however temporary her position was meant to be, her pre-Sonoran education was fairly vigorous, though patterned along lines used by her father, a third child and second son much younger than either sibling, almost four decades previously. Apart from reading, writing, and some mathematics, she learned to dance, curtsy, participate in social events, and the bare bones of familial and general pureblood politics. An effort was made at teaching her family history, but as Morgaine did most of the work the tutor set for simple liking of the subject and pride in her abilities with forgery, Gwen has only an overview of the finer details and a vague idea of a handful of the secrets.

Halfway through her first year at Sonora, she was partially cut off from the family until the same point in time during her fourth year, a period later extended by a year owing to dissent in the Council and a recent move by the organization known as W.A.I.L. In the intermediate period, she began living with her father's political prisoner of a half-sister, Rosamund Carey, once the wife of disowned Raines heir Benjamin. The two identified as exiles and bonded fairly quickly, as did Gwen and her distant half-blood cousin, Amber Carey of the North Carolina Careys. An uneasy semblance of a relationship was also established with her half-cousin Anne Wright, daughter of Alasdair's late half-sister Mary St. Martin, and has almost reached the point of a fragile friendship. Despite many fights, a good few of them public, however, her first loyalty is to her sister, Morgaine. Not that she isn't angry with her, because she is, but she will forgive her once the family takes her back. Eventually.

Friends and Enemies

Outside the sphere of her family, Gwen's closest friend is probably also the unlikeliest, Muggleborn Pecari Connor Pierce, though they currently aren't speaking. She was once close to Asher Tallow, but a falling-out followed by Asher's year-long absense from Sonora has left the relationship's current status that of a delicate truce. She gets along well enough with Anne despite some early tensions, and has taken Amber and Muggleborn Crotalus Lila Gringe under her wing. Stephen Baxter, Jennifer Zucchero, and Elizabeth Lavine also hold places on her relatively short "good" list, as do most of the people she plays Quidditch with.

Though she once hated her unreservedly, Gwen is mostly amused by the hapless idiot of Crotalus, otherwise known as Catherine Raines, these days, not least because she's so much fun to make fun of. Jordanna Howard and Nicoletta Dupree are maddeningly annoying but inconsequential irritants at best, dangerous enemies at worst, though they're currently all playing nice. Though he's done little to her personally, she considers Earl Valentine a permanent enemy, and she can barely tolerate to be in a room with most of the second and third year Pecaris because of her belief that they've all somehow hurt/offended Morgaine. Caedence Redoak is particularly despised, three-quarters because she got Morgaine in trouble and one-quarter because she insulted Gwen personally.