Dr. Edith Barren
Nature: Suvivor Demeanor: Fanatic
A Victorian Lady and scientist of the highest caliber, Dr. Barren is a proud and driven woman out to prove the society she was raised in wrong. A devoted worshipper of the Dark Mother Lilith, Dr. Barren longs to see the world changed in Her image. To her pain is not only a teacher but necessary should a person wish to reach their full potential, life without pain is no life at all and she's happy to provide it to those that cross her.
Divine Domains
- Femininity
- Sexuality
Holy Books & Codes
- Revelations of the Dark Mother by Rachel Dolium
Divine Symbols & Sigils
Physical Description
Special abilities
Disciplines
- Animalism •••
- Auspex •••
- Vicissitude ••
Apparel & Accessories
- Dresses in stark white, generally functional clothing that marks her station as a doctor in some way.
- Always carries her doctor's bag with her
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Timeline
- 1845: April 15th, Edith born in Whitechapel
- 1852: The pressure too much, Edith’s mother contacts PT Barnum after hearing of the success of General Tom Thumb in his show, offering to sell her daughter to his show for a tidy sum.
- 1853: Edith arrives in America and is shown as “Girl Grotesque”
- 1860: One of the faster growing freakshows within the circus, she learns various skills throughout her years, primarily opera, granting her the new moniker of “The Shapeless Soprano”
- 1865: Sir William Gull visits Barnum’s show, views Edith and becomes fascinated by her, not only because of her affliction, but her longevity and a vague reminder of a past medical failure on his behalf. After a special dinner with Barnum himself, Gull convinces him to allow Edith to return to England with him to present to Queen Victoria, again, for a nominal fee and the promise of a continued partnership in regards to any medical curiosities Gull comes across.
- 1866: Edith is presented to the queen and performs well for her, earning her a regular place as entertainment for the courts for a time. She is taught many lessons in etiquette within the courts as well as some medical study material by Gull himself, finding her to be exceptionally astute.
- 1867: She is put officially into Gull’s care after Gull offers Barnum and more grotesque performer for his circus in trade (Tzimisce fleshcrafted experiment). With this official ‘adoption’ Sir Gull begins experimenting on Edith, taking pieces from her and resculpting her in his ‘surgeries’ many with no anesthetic. Showing his successes to the Freemasons and rising in the ranks eventually Edith is ‘perfected’ and is officially given the job of Gull’s trusted nurse (ghouling her). Though he believes in her abilities in medical knowledge he is unfeeling toward her, especially when presented to the Masons throughout the years.
- 1874: Edith is placed in the inaugural class of the London School of Medicine for Women
- 1876: Edith assists in getting the UK medical act of 1876 passed, allowing the medical authorities to license all qualified applicants irrespective of gender
- 1878: Edith graduates from the London School of Medicine for Women awarded the degree of Master of Surgery.
- 1885: After years of service Sir William Gull finally presents the truth to Edith, changing her and accepting her within the Clan.
- 1888: August 31st, Jack the Ripper murders Mary Ann Nichols, his first victim. Edith is unsure if Sir Gull is involved to this day, as being covered in blood and viscera is normal for Sir Gull.
- 1890: Gull ‘dies’ of a stroke, having sculpted a body to replace him, then leaving with Edith and a few trusted ghouls to America on Sabbat orders, renaming himself Dr. Victor Cross.
- 1890-present: Edith stays at Sir Gull’s side for longer than she finds tasteful, she keeps herself busy by continually attending various medical schools, staying at the forefront of medical knowledge as well as performing her own experiments with the tools and bodies the school provides. She proves to be as good as her many degrees in the meantime, losing very few patients in her time and serving the various clans well. She cements her alternate identity (Dr. Mina Pierce) throughout the years as a Sawbones for less than legitimate mortals and immortals, finding it to be a lucrative and fulfilling side business. One of her patients turns her to the Path of Lilith. A Brujah, of all things, laid low by fire with no one else to turn to in their need of healing laid on one of Edith’s sickbeds for weeks as her skin regrew. When asked why she seemed so placid in the midst of what must have been horrible pain and no anesthetic she was told of the Dark Mother, her rise and fall, her loves and betrayals and her comfort within the pain. Edith took to researching these claims in her downtime, when it could be found, and found a peace she had never known in her unlife. Hiding this new Path from Dr. Cross, she continued studying, hunting down everything to be found on Lilith. She spoke with scholars on the subject, mortal and otherwise, and eventually had gathered and respectable collection of text and other material in her library, all remaining hidden from the Sabbat and her sire.
Gender Identity
Female, cisgender
Sexuality
Asexual/Aromantic
Education
- Master of Surgery via London School of Medicine
- Doctorates: General surgery, Plastic surgery, Neurological surgery, Surgical Intensivists, Anatomical Pathology, Forensic pathology, Pathophysiology, Internal medicine, pain medicine
Accomplishments & Achievements
- Graduate of the inaugural class of the London School of Medicine for Women
Personality Characteristics
Savvies & Ineptitudes
Savvies
- Intelligence (Specialization: Medical)
- Etiquette (Specialization: Manners)
- Medicine (Specialization: Surgery)
- Science (Specialization: Anatomical)
- Emotional intelligence
- Humility
- Physical combat
Likes & Dislikes
Likes
- Gardening/Plants
- Reading
- The Patriarchy
Hygiene
Impeccable
Social
Religious Views
Path of Lilith •••••••
The Path of Lilith is an ancient Path of Enlightenment that has its roots in various Bahari cults. It suppresses the Beast by pursuing the secrets of Lilith and by rejoicing in pain and ecstasy.
The Path originated in the far older Road of Lilith. The Path of Awakening and the Path of Flesh are side-branches of the original Path.
Adherents are called Lilins or Bahari.
Central to the Path is the mythical figure of Lilith. The legends among the Bahari tell how she was betrayed by men, first by God, then by Adam, by Lucifer and Caine, and of the strange monsters she birthed to plague the world. They tell of mighty kingdoms her children erected to rival those made by the children of Seth and how they warred with the inhabitants of Enoch. It is said that three of Lilith's descendants entered the First City to receive the Embrace and that they eventually led the rebellion against the Second Generation. When the Deluge destroyed the first mortal civilizations, these Lilins further spread their teachings to convert the childer of Caine into the service of the Dark Mother.
No two versions of a holy text among the Lilins are the same. The only thing all agree upon is that Lilith is the Dark Mother of Wisdom and Power and that her knowledge comes at a price paid in pain. Suffering and pain are seen as the gateway to enlightenment, just as Lilith first suffered in order to understand and to grow beyond her limits. Like a parent disciplining an errant child, Lilith passes on a legacy of pain that teaches, and so the Lilins seek to overcome the weaknesses of their blind, helpless births, ascending to understanding and power. By walking in fire, impaling themselves on thorns and blades, suffering deprivation, and plunging into icy water, the Lilins excite their bodies and minds to true sensation, and open their consciousness to the entirety of the world. From the dizzying heights of comprehension, at the needlepoint of pain, they learn the true measure of creation, that they may take the formless stuff of the world and cast it in a new image. Enlightenment must burn and tear away illusions and flaws.
Among the Sabbat, this path is regarded as heretical (as they disregard the supremacy of Caine and the Book of Nod) and its followers are hunted by the Sabbat Inquisition.
Ethics - Classical
- Only through pain are we elevated
- Be a teacher, torturer and lover to any who seek enlightenment
- Practice what you learn. Wisdom is meaningless unless it accompanies action
- Cultivate a garden, that you may show the power of your own creation
- Seek out those on the border of awareness and initiate them Gather with your fellow students to share your learning and anguish.
Hobbies & Pets
- Artemis: Ghoul, white cat with heterochromia
Speech
Posh, British accent
Merits & Flaws
Merits
- Coldly Logical
- Common Sense
- Calm Heart
- Glowing Eyes
- Prey Exclusion (the sick/injured/hospitalized)
- Touch of Frost
- Eerie Presence
Current Location
Species
Ethnicity
Church/Cult
Age
Apparent age: 45 Actual Age: 197
Date of Birth
April 15
Life
1845
1885
Circumstances of Birth
Born with a birth defect that twisted her body as she aged, her family was desperately poor, so much so that they sold her off to PT Barnum and his Freak Show
Birthplace
London, England (Whitechapel)
Place of Death
London, England
Children
Pronouns
She/Her
Gender
Female
Presentation
Androgynous
Eyes
White
Hair
White, long and straight, always up when there is company.
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Pale, exsanguinated corpse white
Height
6'0
Weight
140
Belief/Deity
Lilith (Dark Mother)
Aligned Organization
