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| “ | Allow me to demonstrate why you all can kiss my ******* ass. | ” |
–Chapter 36, House of Earth and Blood | ||
Bryce Adelaide Quinlan, is a half-Fae, half-human who is the Heir to the Starborn Fae. She is the bastard daughter of Ember Quinlan and Einar Danaan.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Bryce was born in the year 15,010 V.E. to Ember Quinlan, a 19-year-old human woman who had been seduced by Einar Danaan. Bryce was raised by Ember and her stepfather Randall Silago, who taught her self-defense and how to handle weapons, especially guns. Bryce's mother was very protective of her and did not want Bryce to move from her hometown, Nidaros, to Lunathion.
Growing up, Bryce was somewhat of an outcast amongst her peers. This was largely due to her Fae heritage, considering Nidaros is mostly populated by humans. At age five, she managed to collect Jelly Jubilee, a highly coveted toy from The Starlight Fancy franchise which were the number one toys on every girl's Winter Solstice wish list. Ember left Nidaros for the first time in years to buy Jelly Jubilee from one of the big towns two hours away. This served as a means for Bryce to finally connect with other kids, she showed them the toy at school and was instantly accepted. The toy is of significant emotional value to Bryce; Jelly Jubilee's half-pegasus, half-unicorn heritage served as a self-esteem boost to Bryce. Although the toy differed greatly from the other horses in the franchise, it was still the most valuable.
Twelve years ago, when Bryce was thirteen, Ember had a sudden change of heart about her meeting her father and got in contact with him. Documents showed up a few weeks later granting Bryce civitas status in exchange for her declaring allegiance to the House of Sky and Breath. Bryce was hesitant, but Ember encouraged her to do it.
Bryce soon visited her father for the first time at his villa in Five Roses. Einar insisted the visit be discreet. This was also the first time she met her half-brother Ruhn Danaan, and they quickly became close. Her visit to her father, however, was less successful and her hopes of having a relationship with him were dashed by his vindictive personality and behavior towards her. The Autumn King refused to acknowledge her until her traditional visit to the Oracle. When looking into Bryce's future, the Oracle began screaming and clawing at its eyes. The Oracle is said to have been blind for a week after. This unmitigated disaster left her in tears and ended with her father kicking her out of his villa to make her own way home.
Having just returned from a disastrous visit to the Oracle, Bryce was crying on a park bench outside the temple when a cat found her, who turned out to be Aidas, the Prince of the Chasm of Hel, having seemingly heard the screaming from inside the temple, was intrigued by Bryce and appeared next to her. Aidas told the young girl to stop crying, saying it would only satisfy those who wronged her. He then sat with her until she stopped crying and felt brave enough to return to her father, though he disappeared before she could thank him.
Ten years ago, Bryce had the blood test done that confirmed she'll have an immortal lifespan upon making the Drop, and her power rating was near-negligible.
The Autumn King later offered Bryce a monstrous amount of gold marks in exchange for Bryce to keep her eternal silence about him being her father. Bryce rejected the money, but still kept quiet about her parentage. Despite the falling out with the Autumn King, Bryce maintained a relationship with Ruhn until she was sixteen, at which point they had a fight after Ruhn insulted her. Bryce stopped speaking to Ruhn afterward, ignoring his various attempts to apologize.
When she was older Bryce attended Crescent City University, where she met Danika Fendyr. She was a classical literature major. The two quickly became close friends. They remained friends throughout college and after they graduated. During their senior year, Danika uncovered an illegal animal smuggling ring run by asp shifters; plagued by guilt at the thought of the animals in cages Danika and Bryce snuck into their hideout to free the animals and were caught, resulting in them being chased and injured by the shifters. Cornered and about to be killed, Bryce told Danika to close her eyes and killed some of the shifters, while the others were killed by police.
After college Bryce and Danika moved in together. Bryce got a job working at Griffin Antiquities for the feared Jesiba Roga while Danika went on to become Alpha of the Pack of Devils. On her fist day of work, Jesiba gifted Bryce an Archesian Amulet for her protection.[1]
House of Earth and Blood[]
Bryce Quinlan works as an assistant at Griffin Antiquities, and lives in an apartment together with her best friend Danika, granddaughter to the Werewolf Prime and alpha to the Pack of Devils. They recently got the news that Philip Briggs, who was caught by Danika’s pack planning to blow up a nightclub to spread the war between humans and Vanir, has been released from jail. Danika is going to meet up with Micah Domitus, the Governer of Lunathion and wider Valbara to complain about Briggs's release. Meanwhile, Jesiba has tasked Bryce with locating Luna's Horn, an ancient Fae relic that was stolen during a recent power outage from its temple.
Because of Briggs's release, Danika and the pack spent the evening at Danika and Bryce's apartment. Bryce leaves for a date with Reid Redner. On her way, Connor Holstrom, a member of the pack, interrupts her and begs her to let him take her on a date. However, Bryce refuses and makes her way to the date. Because Reid is late, and barely pays attention, always being on his phone, Bryce dumps him and texts Connor that she'd go out with him. After leaving the place where she was with Reid, Bryce meets Fury Axtar and Juniper Andromeda so that they can go clubbing, taking drugs, and drinking heavily as she texts Danika.
However, once she comes home, Bryce finds her door smashed and Danika and the pack dead, cut into pieces. Seeing a demon escaping, she chases after it to understand what has happened and finds out that it was feasting on an angel. Bryce hits the demon, however, it gouges her leg and runs away. Bryce later stays to keep the angel alive. Bryce is taken to a holding cell, watched by over two angels, Isaiah Tiberian and Hunt Athalar. Both of them took part in a rebellion, that later resulted in them being proclaimed Fallen. Ruhn, Bryce's half-brother, arrives and demands that they let Bryce go and Isaiah has no choice but to release her.
House of Sky and Breath[]
TBA
House of Flame and Shadow[]
TBA
Personality[]
Bryce is a very headstrong, sarcastic girl. She does a lot of things with different intentions, and can secretly do a lot while putting on the facade of a "stupid party girl." She doesn't care about rules and is willing to break the law to get things done. However, she is hated by many people, leading to a hidden depressive side. She is also deadlier than she lets on, being raised by a legendary sharpshooter. Bryce doesn't like to be coddled. Rhysand describes her as "softhearted yet ruthless, scheming yet impulsive, determined and stubborn, and with a dangerous tendency toward recklessness." Ember confirms she has been like that since she was a baby.[2] Bryce is resourceful, wild, and willful. She has always prided herself on resenting any and all Fae. The outside world sees Bryce as reckless and unchecked, but she’s been the master of her fate for most of her life. Once she’s set her sights on what she wants, she doesn’t let anything get in her way. According to Ruhn, Bryce gets a thrill not from the sheer force of her power, but in the control over herself and her impulses. She lets everyone think the worst of her after Danika’s murder. She refused to go to therapy or do anything else to help herself heal from the trauma of Danika’s murder. She knew it would help, but she doesn’t feel she deserves to be helped or to feel better. She is plagued with survivor’s guilt.
Physical Description[]
Bryce has golden-dusted and freckled skin, long wine-red hair, amber-colored eyes, full lips, high cheekbones, and slightly arched ears, thanks to her Fae heritage. She has a curvy figure and is said to be busty and attractive. She has a tattoo down her back, written in an unknown alphabet, saying Through love, all is possible, which she got together with Danika. She furthermore has a white scar in the shape of an eight-pointed star between her breasts, which she got when she used her Starborn gifts to close the Gates in Lunathion. This scar illuminates with her Starlight.
Powers & Abilities[]
Powers[]
While initially having negligible power levels, Bryce performs the Drop with Danika's spirit as an Anchor while they are connected to the Old Square Gate and the Dead Gate respectfully. Bryce then receives power from the seven Gates of Lunathion which held droplets of power from every creature who ever used them and is revealed to have more power than her father, the King of the Valbaran Fae. She is also the strongest Starborn Fae anyone has seen in centuries.
It is later revealed that Bryce can absorb "certain kinds of magic, forms of pure energy." So far she has only done this with Hunt's lightning and Hypaxia Enador's healing magic. Declan Emmet states that Bryce is "literally a Gate," she can take in power and offer it. However unlike the Gates which can store power indefinitely hers "clearly peters out after a while."
- Fae Physiology: As a Half-Fae, Bryce has enhanced senses and physical abilities, including a sense of smell much stronger than that of humans which she frequently uses to identify the types of Vanir she encounters in Lunathion. Her Fae attributes are not as strong as that of a full-blooded Fae, however.
- Starlight: Bryce is revealed to be a Starborn and to have the ability to wield starlight. A light of a pure star - it has no other power other than the light itself and to blind people. Bryce used it to shield Old Square Gate and stop demons from entering the city. She removed a star wholly from within and blasted its light into the Gate's clear stones and with the Horn repaired she channeled her light and sealed the Heart Gate portal. According to Prince Aidas Bryce has the same starlight as the Starborn Queen Theia.
- Starfire: Laser wielding
- Teleportation: Bryce is able to teleport from place to place when charged up with some kind of energy - usually Hunt's lightning. Since she is still learning to work with that power, her teleportation is limited and not as strong as that of Cormac Donnall.
- Immortality: Having made the Drop, Bryce is immortal which not only grants her a slowed and expanded lifespan but allows her to survive injuries that not even her accelerated healing would be able to regenerate from.
Abilities[]
- Combat: Bryce has been trained in various forms of combat and self-defense by her stepfather Randall, to keep her safe in Lunathion.
- Sharpshooting: Bryce is an expert marksman, having been trained by her step-father Randall.
- Dancing: Before Danika's death, Bryce was an avid dancer, despite discouragement from local studios, saying she had the "wrong body type." After her saving of Lunathion, Bryce picked up dancing classes again.
Relationships[]
Connor Holstrom[]
Bryce and Connor met at university, through Danika. Connor had feelings for Bryce for years, but Danika told him he wasn’t allowed to make a move in until Bryce was ready. After five years, Connor let her know how serious he was for her. Bryce broke up with her boyfriend, Reid Redner, and decided to give him a chance. However, he was murdered before they got the chance to go on the pizza date they had planned.
Hunt Athalar[]
During Bryce's investigation into Danika's death on behalf of Micah, Hunt grew close to Bryce and began a relationship with her. They have a classic enemies-to-lovers relationship: at first, they only tolerated each other due to direct orders from the Archangel Micah, but as the investigation matures, they start to form a tight friendship. They are engaged in a battle of wills. At first, Bryce finds Hunts to be "full of demeaning, condescending swagger."[3] She repeatedly refers to him as an "alphahole." She thinks he "has a stick up his ass." Hunt, for his part, wants to chuck her into the Istros River and thinks she's a brat and shallow party girl. Bryce stated that she knew Hunt was her friend ever since he pulled out Jelly Jubilee. Their romantic relationship develops, and when Hunt was on his deathbed, Bryce whispered "I love you" to him before making the Drop. Hunt feels an unconditional and unending love for Bryce. Bryce feels that Hunt's strength "compliments her own, bolstering it and helping it thrive, not overpowering hers."[4]
Ruhn Danaan[]
When Ruhn learned of Bryce's existence, he was intrigued at the idea of having a half-sister after more than sixty years of being an only child. Ruhn is fifty years older than Bryce. Their father's treatment toward thirteen-year-old Bryce opened Ruhn's eyes to the Autumn King's true nature. Over the next three years Bryce and Ruhn had been best friends, united in their hatred of their father. Ruhn would frequently visit Bryce at her parents' home. She'd been the brightest spot in his life. But that ended when Bryce was sixteen. They had a big argument where Ruhn insulted her. Bryce stopped speaking to Ruhn afterward, ignoring his various attempts to apologize. Their relationship became a bitter one, with Bryce and Ruhn blaming him for their falling out. Ruhn thought she always did whatever she wanted without considering others, while Bryce found him to be a "domineering dick" whenever she ran into him. She avoided him whenever possible. However, Ruhn still watched over Bryce and made sure she was safe. They later fixed their relationship, with Bryce forgiving him. Bryce tells Ruhn at his wedding that he "deserves to be happy more than anyone she knows."[5]
Tristan Flynn[]
Though Bryce never hooked up with Tristan, she had a crush on him when she was younger. When she used to visit Ruhn as a teenager, she was barely able to function in both Flynn’s and Declan’s presence. For a while, Bryce had a fanatic conviction that Flynn would be her husband one day. She wrote Lady Bryce Flynn on all her school notebooks for two years straight. Years later, when she was already in college, she ran into Flynn again—this time, Danika went home with him because Bryce hadn’t wanted to mess up anything between him and Ruhn.
Gallery[]
See more here.
Trivia[]
- The name Bryce is a version of the Latinized version of the Gaulish name "Bricius," which means "speckled."[6]
- When Bryce was a child, she had an unreciprocated crush on Tristan Flynn.[7]
- Bryce's job was inspired by the summer Sarah spent working at an antiquities gallery: "Her job is a lot more exciting than mine ever was, I mostly sat at the reception desk in the gallery waiting for people to come in and if someone did I’d say, here’s the 2000-year-old bust from Crete. I would give little tours of it. Bryce has magical artifacts in her gallery that could come alive and kill her so it’s a lot more exciting.[8]
- Bryce stated that her worst hookup was when she dated a vampyr for about three weeks. She also stated it was her first and only hook up with anyone in Flame and Shadow.[7]
- After Danika was killed, Bryce kept her leather jacket with the quote Through love, all is possible written on the back and continued to wear it.
- Bryce smells of lilac, nutmeg and starlight.[9]
- Bryce has her period every three months.[10]
References[]
- ↑ House of Earth and Blood, Chapter 2
- ↑ House of Flame and Shadow (Ember & Randall Exclusive Bonus Scene)
- ↑ House of Earth and Blood, Chapter 15
- ↑ House of Flame and Shadow (Bryce & Hunt Exclusive Bonus Scene)
- ↑ House of Flame and Shadow (Ruhn & Lidia Exclusive Bonus Scene)
- ↑ Campbell, M. (2017). Brice. Behind the Name.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 House of Earth and Blood, Chapter 37
- ↑ 'Sarah J. Maas Talks About Her Adult Debut' — Tor
- ↑ House of Earth and Blood, Chapter 10
- ↑ House of Earth and Blood, Chapter 60