Gerhild

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Gerhild is a Goblin Queen Practitioner-turned-Goblin and Maggie Holt's nemesis.

Personality

She sadistically preferred to kill whichever of Maggie's family would inflict the most loss on the survivor.<ref>“Which one?”

“No,” Maggie said.  “All of us.  Let all of us go.”

“If I were to let two of you go, which two?”

[...]

The bloody-haired woman approached, placing her hand on the cheek of Maggie’s father.  “You argue best.  I believe you, when you say you’d sacrifice yourself for them.  You love them that much.”

He shuddered, bowing his head, unable to maintain eye contact.

“You, I’ll let live, then.  You’ll feel the lost most.”

[...]

“No!”  Maggie shrieked.  “No!  All of us live!  All of us!”

“Her first.  So the adults can watch.” - excerpt from Histories 2 </ref>

Relationships

She destroyed Maggie Holt's hometown, and has a bargain with Maggie that helps keep her in the world (and dooms Maggie to face repeated disasters) in exchange for sparing her and her family.<ref name=":0">Maggie had to raise her voice to be heard over her fathers.  Her voice was so loud and high it was ragged.  “I’ll do anything!  Just let us go!”

“Anything?”

“Just- just let us go.”

“Agree…  Let me think.  You’ll experience what you experienced here, twice more.  The rule of three, to make this stronger.  Perhaps it will be me again.  Perhaps no.  But you will experience blood and darkness and fire, like you experienced it here.  If you agree, it will be so.”

[...]

“Fool,” he muttered, through the pain.  “Fool.  She was to rest.  She had to agree, or she had to finish here, and once she rested for three days, three nights, she would have to sleep centuries before acting again.  Now she can keep going, come back with your oath. [...] No.  Walk blindly, pay no attention to this, forget.  It’ll make things easier, when the blood and darkness come, next time.  Your power is the oath’s power.” </ref>

Appearance

Her hair is dripping red with blood, held back with a headband. Her face is obviously inhuman, with sharp teeth, a "too-pugnacious" nose; eyes, ears and general skeletal structure all obviously wrong. Her body is is buxom, long-fingered, with feet like a lizard.<ref>The woman’s teeth had been filed down to points.  She wore contact lenses that reflected funny in the light.  Her entire facial structure… implants?  The shape of her ears?  The too-pugnacious nose  Surgery?

Maggie couldn’t come up with excuses as fast as she noticed all the things that didn’t fit.  Too much, all together, that made the buxom woman look wrong in a way that simple makeup and cosmetics couldn’t manage.

Her feet were a big part of that.  More like a lizard’s.  The fingers

on her hands were too long.  But the most noticeable thing was her 

hair.  It was wet, soaked crimson, and only a blood-soaked headband kept

it out of her face.  - excerpt from [2.x|Histories 2]

</ref>

Abilities and Art

She has a Practitioner's ability to See Connections, which can border on mild telepathy.<ref>“You had a tie,” the woman said.  “To him.  You know the one I’m talking about.”

Maggie thought of the man.

“Yes.  Him,” the woman said.  “You met recently, he confided in you, you know what he looks like.  That is enough points of reference.” - excerpt from [2.x|Histories 2] </ref> She was able to strike an oath with the unAwakened Maggie that would fate her to endure "blood and darkness" three times over, drawing on whatever power Maggie acquired, and empower herself to help bring the prophecy about.<ref name=":0" />

Her redcap hair has been bathed in the blood of many Others and Practitioners, giving her a portion of their power and strength.<ref name=":0" />

She developed a way to cross the natural boundaries modern plumbing forms against goblins on bridges on bones, allowing her to lead her goblin army into Maggie Holt's hometown and destroy it.<ref>“He’s slippery one,” the woman said.  “He’s lurking, trying to spoil our fun.  Hunting me.  Because I found a way to cross through your cities.  Bridges of bones.”
“I don’t understand,” Maggie said.
A man’s voice cut in.  “Her kind can’t walk easily inside modern cities.  She found a way, and she’s been waiting for a chance to use it.” - excerpt from [2.x|Histories 2]</ref>

Weaknesses

If she had been forced into dormancy for three days and three nights by an oath, or fought against it, she would normally have been so weakened that she would have slept for centuries. However her bargain with Maggie will allow her to come back early.<ref>“I’ve tried.  And now I’m hoping you’ll let this family go, and promise to stop for three days and three nights.”

“You’re worth so little now.  Luckless, feckless, sad little wretch.”

“Blood is power, and I do have some power.  You’ll bathe in it, you’ll make some of that power yours, as you have with Faerie and Hags and all manner of other things, and you’ll be even more fearsome, when next you attack.”

- excerpt from Histories 2 </ref>

References

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