Born in a sacred monastery in a remote area of Faerie to straightlaced parents, Absinthe was rebelling against order and authority from a young age. She learned the ways of botany, medicine and alchemy there, and had access to vast knowledge thanks to the monastery's extensive library. Willful though she was, Acheliah was a very curious and sharp child, ever asking questions (especially about the outside world). A phenomenon of Faerie known as a Pariah, she is as the Fae claim, "touched with humanity." Therefore she inherited a human's ambition, wit and adaptability but sadly also humanity's flaws, especially vices. The serene, calm unicorn half of her personality could not compete with her ever-growing curiosity and thirst for wanting to experience everything.

Upon reaching puberty, she promptly ran away from the monastery, never to look back. Her parents were both caring beings but thought their wayward daughter was a lost cause and did not expend much effort in retrieving her, saying she'd either perish for her foolishness or flourish in the wider world before her. She wandered the forests of Fae for many years, learning various magical techniques and refining things she already knew, mainly under the tutelage of several teachers, such as an elder satyr, a hamadryad, a changeling witch and even a nightmare. With this plethora of arcane and practical knowledge in hand, she ended up becoming somewhat of a hermit for over 50 years.

Over the half century of reclusive living, she again gleaned more knowledge from passing gypsies, planar tourists and other transients both savory and unsavory. A rather lugubrious gentleman of unknown origins came to her one day for an herbal remedy for his "gout," as he called it. They ended up hitting it off, so he returned for several more visits. They conversed about many things, mostly of an academic or arcane nature, but he eventually dropped off a prized book of his for her to look over at her leisure that detailed the finer points of spirit summoning, as well as a taboo subschool of magic that would give the caster power over life and death, otherwise known as necromancy.

In only a few short years her quaint little cottage in the forest transformed itself and the surrounding landscape into something stranger and far more macabre than was normal in Faerie. Absinthe had made a habit of using the once-regular transients and gypsies into her "test subjects" for necromancy and other arcane and scientific experiments. The negative energy and dark power that was created as a byproduct of this dire research did not go unnoticed by her neighbors of the forest and nearby hamlets. The angry fae eventually had to drive her out of her home on pain of death, setting fire to her property and almost burning her alive. She was able to flee though, albeit with nothing more than the clothes on her back and a handful of magical journals.

After wandering for three days straight she came upon a larger town than what she was normally used to; it was called Roanbranch, and it was the picture of a lively, bustling mixed population settlement in Faerie. Unfortunately Acheliah did not have much in the way of pocket change, and she was forced to living day to day in abandoned buildings, hostels and anywhere else she was able to beg entry into. She ended up having to sell even her field journals, but thankfully this caught the attention of a few individuals, including a canny underworld merchant named Tythane. This set off a series of events that had her running errands for his unscrupulous black market deals. Working with him long enough gave herself an earned reputation in the Unseelie underworld as a cruel, smart and very dangerous being, which only moved her up the social ladder. After several more years under the service of immoral Unseelie bigwigs, she turned the tables on all of them with clever maneuvering, double-dealing and backstabbing and overthrew their cushy seats at the top of the pecking order. Absinthe (as she was known exclusively by this time) found she loved the Byzantine politics of urban Faerie and the thrill of danger that this brought her, so she didn't stop at Roanbranch. The holdings there secure, she handed the rest over to a barghest underling of hers named Whitby and moved to the even larger and more prosperous city of Tuanadaan. She already had a large network from Roanbranch that extended to this new metropolis, so she bided her time, eventually owning many successful "businesses" such as a few gambling halls, black market pipelines, clubs and apothecaries.

It took her a little over four and a half centuries, but she eventually secured the most stable (for her anyway), luxurious lifestyle a criminal in Fae could ever hope for, and her many rivals have not yet succeeded in dethroning and killing her (permanently, at least).

~Personality~

As smart as she is ruthless, Lady Absinthe was (and still is) motivated by power and knowledge. She also has a keen taste in the finer things in life, anything from clothes to furnishings to alcohol. Absinthe almost never hesitates to indulge in her favorite vices, although she's not much for drugs anymore and when she eventually marries does not go through lovers like she used to. She is also highly analytical and a bit of a perfectionist; when she is on to something she throws every effort into her research and projects. She is also highly narcissistic, proud, and arrogant, thinking that anyone is under her until they prove her otherwise. For her amorality and flaws though, she very caring and devoted to her family (when she gets one) and the close friends she has made, risking herself on their behalf (this is extremely rare for her otherwise). She is happiest when splicing alchemical ingredients, in her spacious garden or beating up some uppity pixie.

~~~Origins and Inspiration~~~

I don't quite remember the exact impetus for creating Absinthe, but I do know she came about because I absolutely adore unicorns; I've loved them since I was a little girl. I wanted to deliberately move away from the innocent and altruistic image of the classic unicorn though and fuze it with my love of the Victorian and modern Gothic aesthetic. She has a lot of strong similarities with me as a person as well, so I guess she could be considered one of my alter egos in that respect.

Inspiration: Many, namely the Cyberpunk, traditional Goth and Victorian genres/aesthetic, as well as a healthy dose of mythology and the "Mad Scientist" archetype (Dr. Frankenstein anyone?). Urban fantasy as a whole was what inspired me to create her setting in which the story Uncanny Hosts takes place.

Miscellaneous Other Character Info:

• Setting: "Uncanny Hosts"
• Known Relatives and Relations: Oidhche-Yorath (Husband), Lily-Aisling (Daughter), Zemourebourg (Favored Minion), Seraca and Fennia (Adoptive "Flower Children" creations), Oroun (Father), Daphnea (Mother).