Editing Alyse Reilly

| age = 26

On the surface, Alyse appears pleasant, charismatic, and openly friendly. Do not let these first impressions deceive, though. Alyse is a shrewd negotiator, and has been known to be ruthless, shrewd, and downright manipulative. She has simply learned over the years that it is much easier to get her way with smiles and compliments than through threats. When push comes to shove, however, sheis more than capable of following through with her threats, and is not above blackmail. She does not undertake these actions lightly though, but when the cause is just, she will not let silly things like "no" stand in her way. Her hands may not be entirely clean, but she still thinks of herself as a good person.

Ma was the daughter of a Swedish immigrant who came over after the War. Da was a violent drunk and a rebel. This was the world that Alyse grew up in. Belfast in the nineties was a troubled city, plagued by decades of warfare and unrest. Even the ceasefire in ninety four did little to ease the tensions. While Alyse was too young to know why people were fighting before the ceasefire, she was aware that it was not a safe place to be. She lost her father when she was five, when the cease-fire was broken. She grew up seeing the soldiers manning the so-called "Peace Lines," hearing bombs and gunfire, and seeing the police in their armored vehicles blocking the roads. Worse yet, she grew up thinking this was all normal.

Though her family had never been particularly wealthy even when her father was alive, after he was gone, things got worse. The older children moved on. Some left for America. Some left for school. One even joined the army, leaving Alyse and her youngest sister alone with Ma. Money was always tight, and though they received some food and charity from the Church, Alyse did what she could to help provide for the family. Her and a few other kids from around her neighborhood formed a small street gang. This wasn’t like the kinds of gangs seen in America or other places, though. This was a group of kids doing what they needed to get by, mostly stealing food and clothing left unattended.

After the Good Friday Accords, her life assumed a sense of normalcy. At least, as normal as life could be in post-war Belfast. The walls remained, old hatreds simmered, but at least most of the fighting had stopped.  Ma remarried when Alyse was eleven, taking her and her youngest sister off to London to be with her new husband. Alyse never knew how her ma and stepfather met. She’d never asked, and the information had never been offered. There, Alyse thrived. Her step father was a wealthy man, with many connections. His money and connections got her into a good private school, where she received tutoring to get her caught up with her peers, and discovered a passion for learning. She had a knack for learning languages, and a passion for studying the history and culture of people around the world.

After graduating from secondary school, Alyse was admitted to Oxford University. She majored in History, and minored in Anthropology. At University, Alyse dedicated herself entirely to her studies. She had few friends, but received top marks in all of her classes. After her Bachelor's Degree, she pursued a Master's. Then another. She completed her degrees quickly by not taking summers off, by taking interim classes, and by taking heavy course loads. She was in the process of applying for admission to a PhD program when her mom got sick.