Miss Lavinia Cardham

Name: Miss Lavinia Cardham
Age: 25
Race: Human
Occupation: Student

Appearance: Her hair is long and deep brown, but always kept pinned up when she is in company. Her eyes are hazel. She is about 5'5" tall, and of a medium build. Some might say she is vaguely pretty, but not a great beauty.

Practicality is paramount in Miss Cardham's mode of dress. While she does indeed keep herself generally in fashion, she eschews ostentatious colors, accessories, or cuts to her clothing. It is not unusual for her skirts and sleeves to collect a bit of dust from looking over undusted tomes in the library, but it doesn't bother her much. She wears glasses because she is nearsighted, and is not the least bit self-conscious about them.

Personality: Generally calm and assured in even the most daunting situations, Miss Cardham can hold her own in an argument over intellectual subjects, or in the street. While she generally keeps herself quiet in the library with her books, she is not remotely meek. When someone intrudes on her, she is very quick to tell them off or help them with what they need if she is in the mood.

History: Miss Cardham was born the eldest child of Viscount Morenne. The viscount is a member in good standing with the Order of the Rook, and so he saw to it his eldest was well-trained for her future induction to the Order. She was a gifted student who showed great ability for wizardry, first at the Sairavo school for girls, then at the Women's Academy of Shelby. Under the direction of the professors, she made great strides in her use of the Shelby method and telekinesis, as well as in her abilities as a researcher and scholar. Under the shadow direction of professors associated with the Order, she also learned how to hone her aura-masking skills and practice a few of the darker methods employed by the Order.

When she was 21, she was formally inducted into the Order, to her and her father's great pride. She vowed to promote the will of the Order and to help push the field of magic into a new era of discovery. So it was that she has continued her studies, receiving permission to conduct her research for her thesis at the Shelby University Library itself. It was there that she ran into Syme while both were conducting research into auras. It was there too she received her first assignment for the order: perform reconnaissance on Lord Syme, learn more about what he has discovered in his research, and keep them apprised of his movements. If he could be recruited, all well and good, if not, she is to keep track of him and provide the needed intelligence the Order will need to capture him.

Abilities: She has a fantastic memory and a drive for knowledge that makes her one of the better researchers to be found in the whole Shelby University System. She knows a lot about aura-reading in particular and magic in general.

She employs the Shelby method of magic (and read auras with some bit of accuracy), but with one unique addition that makes her invaluable to the Order: she can mask auras. To mask or change the appearance of her own aura takes only a little energy which is provided by the vial of white mercury she keeps on herself at all times. In addition, she can manipulate the residual auras left on objects to make them appear different than they are, or non-existent. With much more difficulty, she can mask the auras of others, but this power expends a lot of energy and can only be used for a limited time in limited range or she will pass out from magical exhaustion.

She also has the power to lift up to 260 pounds of anything reasonably solid (not water or air, though she can lift a bucket of water) by employing telekinesis.

She carries a small, ladies' derringer with her at all times just in case she needs it. It only has two shots, and a short range, but it's just the edge she might need in a violent confrontation if her telekinesis can't do the trick.