Amanda Laike

Played by: DJ Malak

INFORMATION

Mortal, Female, 10

Aliases: None known
Nationality: British
Residence: Malak's shop
Employer: Unknown
Function: Unknown

• Early Life •

• Her Introduction •

• The Present •

• Known Associates/Affiliations •

• Special Notes •

• SECTION TITLE GOES HERE •

Describe your character's life before they became aware of The Secret World. Remember, this is just a suggestion! You can change the titles of these sections to anything you want.

Amanda was brought in officially in a story and has stuck around to be Myrios's conscience and voice of reason on several occasions. An excerpt from the story she was introduced in.

He was broken from his brooding by the bell above his door. The sound was soon replaced by a little girl of no more than 10. She was dressed in quite the Victorian style. A waifish, scraggly little thing though. Obviously grown up on the street. He leaned across the counter to look down at her. “So, what can we find for you among all these wonders young lady?” The girl looks up at him with impossibly large green eyes that have seen their share of dirt and sadness and doesn’t say a word to him for long moments. “I’ve got just the thing for you, young lady. Just sit right there and I’ll be right back.”

Her name was Amanda and she was everything that she appeared to be. The girl had grown up on the streets of Victorian London and may have been the subject of a Dickens novel or several. More importantly she was incredibly close to death. The supposition was that stores such as these gave you what you wanted in exchange for a price but with The Rift that simply wasn’t true. It gave you what you needed, which was often vastly different. While you may feel that you want wealth, adoration, and objects, you’ll find that more often than not what you need more than anything is something simple; sentimental. Amanda Laike needed a friend more than she wanted money, clothes, or fancy houses.

She found her way inside the store through the dusty door in the corner of the alley. She hadn’t noticed the storefront with the large copperplate lettering before but something in her mind told her that it had always been there. It had to have been. Stores don’t just spring up out of nowhere. So she had wandered in looking for a bit of warmth before the store owner inevitably kicked her back out to the cold London winter. She was amazed when she entered at the size of the place. The strangely dressed man leaned down over the counter with the dark glasses covering his eyes. He brought her cookies and a glass a milk and had set her up behind the counter. She kicked her feet while the man seemed to study her. He’d lean in close and tilt his head in a way that reminded her of a confused dog. He’d mumble something under his breath and look at her from a different angle, only to repeat the process again. “Would you like a job?”, he asked.

The agreement was unusual but so were the circumstances. She worked for Myrios, sweeping and doing the odd bit of dusting. He set her up a room in the back of the store. What went unsaid between the two of them was that she was dying. In several months more on the streets of London she would have died of illness. So long as she remained in the store she was locked in a sort of timeless stasis, never aging or growing any more ill. He had brought in the odd citizen of Darkside to provide medicines to help the illness. If she left the shop she could only enter back onto that cold London street at the moment she’d left. So she read, and learned, and helped however she could. She was grateful to the one adult that hadn’t yelled at her and kicked her back out to the streets.

Amanda got Her own short story. Being stuck inside of the shop without being able to go outside was hard on a little girl. Myrios had a present made for her to help. This is also the first appearance of Myrios's "sibling", Mnema

The girl fairly bounced through the shop, dragging a broom behind her. Amanda seemed to be in an amazing mood on this particular morning. She was worried earlier in the morning however as she spied Myrios passed out on the floor of his sitting room. He had almost made it to the couch but had decided to curl up, one boot in the doorway, one still on his foot, his hand so close. She’d shaken her head at him, covered him with a blanket and gone about the morning duties. The tiny blond girl had much to be thankful for since she’d wandered into this shop on that horrible winter’s night. This was the least that she could do to repay his kindness.

She set about sweeping the dust from the corners and from around the counter. How this place could stay perpetually dusty she didn’t know. She swept and dusted every morning but still every night it was as dusty as before. It gave her something to do when she wasn’t reading and learning all that she could. She’d been given an amazing opportunity, and sometimes to Myrios’ chagrine, she had absorbed everything that she’d come across. She watered the plant that Myrios had purchased a few weeks before, though the concept of time in this place left her often wondering if it had really been only that long, or had it been centuries. There was little to no way of telling. So she simply shrugged and carried about her day as always.

Myrios had taken in the tiny blond waif several years before and she’d fully appreciated every moment of her time here. She wasn’t as childish as Myrios seemed to assume and she picked up very quickly on several facts. After she’d arrived, she had a veritable train of people visit her from the surrounding area. The place was known as Darkside in her time as well, but it had been much different. "Well of course it was, that was several centuries ago.“ She’d thought to herself as she tidied up. Myrios hadn’t told her what all the fuss was about, but she’d figured it out before too long. She’d had the coughing, the blood, the fevers and seizures for a long time before she’d sought warmth in the store. The harsh winter would surely have been the end of her, in her condition.

Myrios had given her food and a warm place to sleep and only asked for a bit of help around the shop. She’d noticed that her symptoms had subsided, but she still felt the prick of sickness in her lungs, and the faintness of her head when she exerted herself too much. She couldn’t understand why they couldn’t just fix her problems. She’d heard so many marvelous things about the wonders of the time but there was no cure. Fat George had looked so pitiable as his eyes looked at her sadly for the first few weeks. She shook off the cobwebs of the past and leaned the broom against the counter to check on Myrios.

Myrios had managed to stretch and squirm his way out of the blanket, it now twisted into knots around his legs. His head was now under the couch and he made quiet groaning noises. He would not be up in time to greet his first customer of the morning. She sighed and pulled at the blanket, trying with all of her tiny might to untangle it from him. The effort was ultimately pointless and she kicked his leg playfully before skipping off to the store room to put the day’s inventory out. "I told you. You’re getting too involved again. This doesn’t end well.” She talked to herself quietly as she grabbed the crate and dragged it towards the front of the store.

There weren’t a lot of items in the crate this morning, as if the store knew who would be handling things. Amanda made a mental checklist and began placing items where she felt they could go. To the front counter went a pair of golden rings on a bright chain. She grabbed weatherbeaten book and placed it onto the small table next to the overstuffed reading chair in the corner. It really was surprising how often that chair was used by customers. She’d just placed the beaten and well-loved teddy bear onto a shelf when she heard the bell ring and the young woman entered the store.

Amanda eyed the door to the back rooms and decided against doing anything but climbing the stool behind the counter and smiled brightly. "Welcome to the Rift! Let me know if there’s anything you’re looking for!“ she said so incredibly cheerfully but she appraised the young women as she spoke.

She was a tall girl, probably no older than seventeen. Tall and thin, built almost like a stork with fiery red, wild hair flowing in every direction. The type of hair that people would call "impossible to tame”. The girl had a sadness to her that Amanda could tell that she tried to hide, but was incredibly horrible at it. Her bright blue eyes were tired looking; tired and sad.

“You’re not who I was expecting.” The girl stated, glancing around the shop. She eyed Amanda, sizing her up much as Amanda had. She inspected the small Victorian waif and leaned on the counter. "I really need to speak to Myrios. We had an appointment this morning.“

"I’m sorry, but he’s unavailable.” Amanda stated matter of factly to the strange woman. There was something about her that put Amanda on edge. She made herself taller on the stool, thinking that the extra inch could possibly make her statement any more definite. The woman grinned at the girl’s bravado before breaking into a chuckle.

“Well, tell Myrios that Mnema is here and that I’ve finished that thing for him, if he wants to collect it, he’ll have to meet with me.” The woman sounded matter of fact, the sad tone to her voice and mannerisms replaced with a directness as she looked at the young girl again more closely. "I’m his sister, you could say.“ "I’m not lying!” Amanda blurted out, fully embracing her age for just a moment. She stared the woman down, not liking her one bit. The woman for her part looked amused at the outburst, a familiar sort of grin crossing her face.

“I didn’t think you were, little one. It’s just that I know my brother. Is he in the back?” Mnema glanced at the worn, dark oak of the door leading to the back and arches a fiery eyebrow. She takes several steps towards the door and turns the handle. Surprisingly the door opens for her and she glances back to Amanda. "You coming, little one?“

"HEY! You can’t just go back there! It’s against the rules! Says so on the door!” Amanda leapt off of the stool and tore away after her, catching up to her as she looked down at Myrios, his body now half hidden beneath the couch. He’d managed to kick one of his boots into the fire in the time that Amanda had been gone. She shook her head in resignation and cleaned up as best she could.

“What’ve you gotten yourself into this time, little brother?” Mnema asked to herself before grabbing his feet and pulling him out from under the couch. She looked to Amanda and glanced down at Myrios inquiringly. "What’s he gotten into now?“

Amanda glanced about the room and found the empty bottle that had rolled under one of the chairs. "Some’ve this stuff. He’s been bringing some with him a lot lately. I think ‘e’s experimenting with humanity again.” Amanda walked the bottle over to Mnema, who sniffed the opening of the bottle before nodding and setting it on an end table.

“I think you’re right. He’s been into the Soma so he’s trying to get drunk. It’s a nasty thing for our kind. His brain’ll be mush for a while.” She looked down to Amanda who, for her part, was still standing defiantly before the woman. "You can stand down little one. I’m not here to hurt anyone. I’m here to deliver something he’d asked me to make.“ Mnema looked down at the quietly snoring Myrios and shook her head. "I don’t know why he does this to himself. Get the blanket, I’ll put him on the couch.” True to her word she lifts Myrios easily and places him on the couch. Amanda covered him back up and they both looked at him, each from radically different heights.

The woman looked down to Amanda and seemed to have an idea come to her, a sort of startling realization. "You know, there may be something you can do for me. Come with me.“ Mnema took a package from her pocket and motioned for Amanda to follow her. "He asked me to make this for him for someone. You see, Myrios is good, but I’m much better at a lot of things. I don’t distract myself with silly things like bubble wrap and..” The woman shudders before she utters the next words. “..corndogs. But I supposed he doesn’t have to, does he? He has me, and I’m going to guess that he has you. And I’ll guess you’re who this is for. Let’s get it set up.”

Amanda seemed confused. He had promised that he had something for her, but not where it was coming from, or what it was. She’d assumed it was some new, silly thing or perhaps one of the things she’d found on the internet that she had been fixated on. The woman walked down the halls of the shop like she’d known them for Ages, which she may well have. Amanda followed her through the library, her little shoes clicking on the marble tile of the massive room, needing to take almost fives steps to Mnema’s one long stride.

Mnema stopped and pivoted. She seemed to be looking for something. A sly smile crosses her face as she seemed to have found it. Amanda looked puzzled as she finds the object of Mnema’s interest. She’d never seen that door there. When did Myrios make that room? She hoped it hadn’t been last night. Who knows what that room would look like. Mnema crossed the massive room and opened the door, stepping in and glancing about. Amanda followed as quickly as she could and was both surprised and relieved that it was simply an empty, dimly lit room.

“Now, watch this, little one.” Mnema unwrapped the package and placed the item in the middle of the room. The item was the size of a decently sized book, cast in what looked like silver and some sort of golden metal that subtly glowed. There were green, glossy shafts of metal knotted and wound through the entire item. The woman turned and walked to the door, placing her hand on Amanda’s back to usher her out. She quietly closed the door and touched her hand to the new oak. Her hand started to glow, energy flowed into the door in soft golden waves. She smiled and knocked on the door, shaking the energy from her hand before she looked down to Amanda. "I think you should do the honors.“

Amanda was still unsure about the woman, but hadn’t heard Myrios mention her name, so she was either a stranger or one of the ones he didn’t mind so much. Myrios had talked from time to time about the other shopkeepers but her name hadn’t come up. Hesitantly she opens the door and squinted in the suddenly blinding light. She rubbed at her eyes and slowly they adjusted. She took the whole scene in and gasped, her face lighting up immensely and she looked up at Mnema as if she was asking permission. The tall woman simply nodded and Amanda burst into the room.

Only it was no longer a room, per se. Brilliantly warm and bright, the sunlight filtered through the thick glass of the greenhouse that the room had become. There was a garden in the middle, complete with small green sprouts and flowers. She could smell the scent of the flowers that had bloomed and felt the warmth of the sun on her skin for the first time in years. She nearly cried as she ran around, smelling everything and lifting her face up to soak in the sun as if she were a hungry flower herself.

Mnema simply smiled and left Amanda to her own devices. The girl would probably be in there for hours. The sad smile turned warmer as she walked back to the sitting room where she looked at Myrios, still slumbering on the couch. She crossed the room, looking around with a sort of amusement. Even through the rooms that separated the two she could hear the squeals of delight from Amanda and the distinct splashing sounds that must mean that she’d found the small pond that she’d included.

She stood, looking down at Myrios and smiled before bending down and placing a kiss on his forehead, golden light flowing from her lips for the briefest of moments. "I get it little brother. But, I don’t know why you do it. They only live so long. Why get attached?”, she mused quietly to herself before she stood again. She smiled for just a moment longer before she turned to leave. She looked around as she leaves as if she’s critiquing the store. "Take care of him" She seemed to the store. The sound of the bell indicated that she’d left, the store stood silent except for the sounds of Amanda in her new garden.

Myrios awoke moments after Mnema had left, putting his hand to his forehead and feeling around it gingerly. A weary smile crossed his face and he moved to stand stiffly from the couch. He frowned as he noticed the charred remains of his boot in the fireplace. He glances about, hearing the sounds of Amanda from far away. He wandered in the direction of childhood wonder with a weak smile on his face. He stopped only in the kitchen for a cup of tea to help sort his head out. He touched his forehead gingerly as he walked, tea cup in hand, into the library. He could see the sunlight streaming out from the open door and he smiles warmly to himself.

His steps were the uneasy shuffles of a person who is far too hungover to be awake at such a beastly hour, but he makes the trip and leaned on the door frame. He watched Amanda play in the sunlight and he smiled to himself, taking a sip of his tea. He’d promised her a garden. He could give her that much at least, even if he couldn’t give her an adulthood at least something could grow in this place.

Everyone knows someone. What groups, people, friends, and relatives does your character have ties to? Would other characters know them from a favorite hangout or a particular organization?

Are they demon-possessed? A skilled Elementalist? Want to describe their awesome powers or trademark equipment they always carry? This is the place to do it.

If you want to add more sections, just copy this block and change the title/text to whatever you want! But please don't edit below this line!