Confiteor

''"It's very easy to be sarcastic about religion - it's much more difficult to take a stand." ''

=The Confiteor= ''I confess to Almighty God, ''and to you, my brothers and sisters, ''that I have sinned through my own fault, ''in my thoughts and in my words, ''in what I have done, and what I have failed to do; ''and I ask Blessed Mary, ever virgin, ''all the angels and saints, ''and you, my brothers and sisters, ''to pray for me to the Lord our God

=Brief History= Never destined for an average life, a great many things have molded J.D. into the person she is today.

Childhood
Michael Davies and Brenna McMahon had married young in his hometown of Cardiff, Wales, subsequently they scrambled to make ends meet when they discovered Brenna was pregnant. A gambling addict, Michael tried to get his green illegally, and made a few enemies. A loan shark, who also happened to have witchiness in her blood, was displeased at Michael's inability to pay her back. She cursed him in the traditional sense, laying all of his sins on his firstborn.

Sins of the father, you might say.

Michael and Brenna fought constantly up until the day Julia was born. Nothing seemed wrong with the baby in the beginning, but as she got older, too many strange things began happening. Michael abruptly left, and Brenna turned to her neighbors James and Mary Margaret for support. They believed her when Brenna finally broke down and told them what happened with her husband and baby, and took both mother and child in.

Julia's oddities proved too much for young Brenna to be able to deal with, and by the time she was four years old she was adopted by the Montgomery-Evanses. Her mother visited often in the early years, but she eventually remarried and started a new family, deliberately forgetting Julia and Michael and everything that had happened before.

When news of her father's death had gotten to James and Mary Margaret, the eight-year-old Julia had no real reaction. Having so few memories of her father, and none of them particularly good, she took the news in stride. The Montgomery-Evanses, and her mother's side of the family, who were Irish and would sooner abandon a helpless kitten than their kin, became her only family.

Education
J.D.'s training began young, as a necessity in helping her control precocious fires the curse unlocked. In the end, she proved apt at the skills James was teaching her, so he adjusted the curriculum to nudge her towards the Knighthood he served. Mary Margaret had had ovarian cancer young in her life, therefore leaving the Montgomery-Evanses without natural children; J.D. became heir to everything they stood for.

She attended parochial schools, doing moderately well in classes. She had several childhood friends, but due to the secrecy involved in her abilities and training, she never had the mythical 'best friend'. But she had duties and responsibilities, and she thrived under the loving attention of her adopted parents.

The strain began showing with the onset of puberty - rebellion blossomed, declared by J.D. in one of the few fights between foster parents and child. She wanted a normal life, and they tried to explain to her it would come in time. Frustrated at the age of seventeen, she ran away from home and encountered her first demon.

J.D.'s training finally kicked in, and eventually slew the demon and beat the ever-loving shit out of its human summoner. Unfortunately, the fire she'd caused had attracted police attention and she was caught and jailed. As she couldn't exactly explain why she'd assaulted the well-loved member of the community, and set fire to his ancestral home, she was tossed into Holloway for five years.

Her years in prison were marred in the beginning; overwhelmed by the various social henpeckings and the less-than-sympathetic correctional officers, a distraught J.D. attempted suicide by overdose of stolen pain pills. She survived the attempt via a vision of a young, French-speaking girl, and an apparent message from God himself. After her stint in the hospital ward, and the psych ward, J.D.'s mindset was fortified by the hallucinations that seemed far too real. She could get through this, and return to her life outside of bars and lock-downs.

She became a model prisoner, if aloof from most everyone else within the prison, and eventually made parole.

Ireland
After her parole, and still estranged from her foster parents, J.D. took up residence with her Aunt Terry in Ennis, Ireland. There, she was re-introduced to her young cousin, Shannon, and the rest of her Irish relations she had not seen since prior to her incarceration.

Shannon, a vibrant and cheerful girl several years J.D.'s junior, was in her last year of A-Levels when J.D. came to live with them. The girl took it to task to draw J.D. out of her shell, taking every rebuff with a smile and a promise to try again the next day. Eventually, due to her good nature and irrepressible spirit, she managed to bring J.D. back into the world.

The two became fast friends. However, Shannon had a secret that an otherwise aware J.D. may have noticed. In a few months, the once-effervescent Shannon grew withdrawn, even depressed. J.D. attempted to ascertain the cause, but to no avail. The change came to a head when Shannon didn't return one evening.

The family searched, but it was a call from the police that settled the mystery -- Shannon had been found raped, and murdered. J.D. was the only family member not crippled with grief who could go to the station to properly identify the girl, and upon seeing the body noticed several marks that looked distinctly like fangs. Understanding what the marks truly meant, J.D. waited the requisite three nights after the girl was interred, then went to the cemetery to destroy the undead creature Shannon had become.

Searching through diaries, and reading news articles of similar circumstances through the county, J.D. tracked down the vampire, named Colin, who was responsible. She lured the creature into a false sense of security, then captured the thing and chained it up in an old mausoleum within the cemetery.

Over the course of a week of nights, J.D. mutilated the vampire and remained impassively silent to its questions, threats and pleas. She would only hold up the pictures of the four girls, her cousin included, whom the vampire had raped and killed. By the fourth night, she went so far as to cut out its tongue, so it could not scream as she pinioned it to the roof of the mausoleum for the morning sun. By the seventh night, the once-haughty creature was reduced to gibbering and kittenish wails, protesting like a caged beast for its final rooftop dawn greeting. J.D. watched the vampire burn, and vowed on its ashes that she would never let another innocent be taken by the darkness.

The Hospitallers
''A small sub-faction within the Templars, the Hospitallers are a group of crusaders who continue with God's holy work. More religiously-inclined than the majority of the Templars, they are nonetheless pledged to the same causes, regardless their personal beliefs and connections to the Vatican. Only very few people outside of the Templar know the Hospitallers, as modern-day crusaders, exist. The distinguished royal order of chivalry attached to the British Crown, The Venerable Order of St. John, serves as a mundane cover for some.''

The Hospitallers, unlike the Templars, survived the end of the Crusades and Renaissance with the blessings of its mother church. Having never been as truly influential and powerful as the Knights Templar, they were allowed to carry on and evolved with the times. While mostly a social club these days, there remain Hospitallers like James Montgomery-Evans who continue the traditional work of the Order, back within the graces of its source, the Templars. Humanity must be protected from the creatures who long to subjugate them.

J.D. progressed through her novice years speedily, and was finally knighted at the age of twenty-seven by the head of her Order. She and her mentor operated throughout the U.K., performing sting operations against singular or smaller knots of supernatural evil. J.D. trained with various experts in a several fields (martial arts, melee weapons, special tactics and basic ritual magic) to help broaden her abilities.

In time, newer Knights were christened and began taking over the work of J.D. and James; he was getting on in years, and J.D. wanted a change in her life. Making certain her home turf was well-defended, she turned her eyes outward towards the world.

Liaison
With the reemergence of a mysterious group named the Army of Cambyses, J.D. was assigned to watchdog the group. While the Templars believe and agree with the causes the Army stands for, it also understands that safeguards need to be in place. Every weapon has a killswitch; in return for their assistance, the Templars wanted J.D. implanted within to pull the trigger if the need arose.

=Abilities= The "gypsy curse" was, in reality, not much of a curse so much as it was a key that unlocked a door far too early; J.D. inherited a pyrokinetic ability from her father's side of the family (which had actually been dormant within Michael). Her "vision" during her drug overdose in prison "fixed" the abnormality - in essence, God took over the ability and made it His own tool. What had begun as, essentially, normal fire, turned into blessed flames. She is immune to the fire itself, however not to what it may ignite.

While capable of wielding the fire alone, she has trained to channel it into weapons and firearms, making them more effective against supernatural things.

Hand to Hand/Melee Weapons
Julia's had several trainers over the years, and in the course of her training has spent time in the basic training of at least two military organizations (friends in high places are beneficial that way). As such, she's been educated in the school of hard knocks -- fun fact, most of her teeth are replacements.


 * She is trained in the use of Krav Maga, aikido and boxing.
 * Swordplay is another talent she has, although her skill in it is more slap-dash and haphazard. It's something she's currently working on.
 * Additionally, she is still a skilled gymnast, and religiously practices parkour.

Firearms
While she's no sniper or maverick, she's skilled in the use of several kinds of firearms. She vastly prefers shotguns, in going with her 'door-kicker' mentality.


 * She owns and operates with a pair of altered Desert Eagle running on .50 caliber, and an USAS 12 shotgun.
 * Yes, she's aware of the bad reputation her favored hand gun has. That's why she took them to a specialist to work on the hiccups.

Medical Training

 * She possesses basic first aid knowledge.

Rituals
TBD

=Personality= She's a caustic, acerbic, opinionated bastard of a woman. And she'd be the first to admit to it.

Faith
Although she's not an ordained member of the Church, and is still basically a novice when it comes to magics or rites, J.D. finds strength in her faith, and the credo of her Order. "Pro Fide, Pro Utilitate Hominum", which translates to "for the faith and in the service of humanity" is a mandate she follows to the letter. She has driven off lesser vampires and demons with a blessed cross and a recitation of prayer, and the more dangerous the situation she's in, the more often she seems "lucky". But J.D. knows that she can't rely on her faith alone, it's more back-up than anything.

The strength of her faith is tangible to those sensitive to such things.

Tattoos
To bolster her awareness of the supernatural, and of all things that can be labeled unholy, she has several saints tattooed on her body:


 * St. David - The patron saint of Wales, he and his related images adorn her right arm. Accompanying him is the Red Dragon of Wales.
 * St. Rita of Cascia - The patron saint of the impossible, she and her related symbols cover J.D.'s left arm. She is partnered with a stylized wreath of red and white roses, complete with thorned stems.
 * St. George - As one of the most popular saints of soldiers, his image compromises a large back piece, covering from nape to waist.

All three are done in the style of stained glass windows, with delineated outlines and vivid colors. There are scars here and there marring the conformity of the images. The inks used for each tattoo were blessed by a Roman Catholic bishop, and react appropriately in regards to the sort of being she's in the presence of. Reactions vary from a chill crawling up her spine, or arms, to severe itching. Based on the sensations, she can even determine proximity and direction of the creature causing the reaction. Like any other physical sense, too much exposure to things that trigger a response can make her hyper-sensitive to supernatural creatures, effecting her on a physical level. Imagine it as being like the temporary deafness after a very loud concert.

In addition to the saints, she has red and white roses down her left forearm (grants her limited immunity to common toxins and illnesses), and Wales' Red Dragon on her right (bolsters her strength and durability).

=Errata/Points of Interest=
 * Generally speaks with a Welsh accent, direct from Cardiff proper. Her words begin to blend with great inebriation or anger.
 * Speaks Welsh, Irish Gaelic, and Latin fluently; French less so.
 * Does not know how to drive, and likes it that way.
 * Has an unholy fondness for footwear, sporting such designers as Jimmy Choo and Manolo Blahnik.
 * The Rolling Stones are one of her favorite bands; she touts Mick Jagger, Freddie Mercury and David Bowie (in no particular order) as the best frontsmen ever in rock.
 * Works with the Diocese of Westminster in London as a self-defense trainer. She goes to the many churches in London and the surrounding area, primarily guiding young girls on the basics of avoiding victimization. It doesn't pay well, but she doesn't mind.
 * The only thing about her that "buzzes" is her cellular when she gets a message.

Musical Flavor

 * Regenerator - God Is On My Side
 * The Cure - Burn
 * The Rolling Stones - Start Me Up
 * Queen - Save Me
 * David Bowie - Cat People (Putting Out Fire)
 * KMFDM - Dogma
 * Nine Inch Nails - Not So Pretty Now
 * Five Finger Death Punch - Dying Breed

OOC Notes

 * Julia began life in City of Heroes, evolved a little in Champions Online, and got dragged kicking and screaming into TSW. Her wiki page for CoH can be found here.
 * Pro and con. Latin helps me make bad jokes.
 * The character knows the languages, not the player. All mistakes are at the fault of said player, who asks all apologies for her errors.