Ruth Jones

=• Dark Isles •= Prior to being chosen by Gaia, Dr Ruth Jones, BA, MA, PhD was an almost entirely unremarkable university lecturer specialising in the transition between Iron Age and Roman Britain. After nearly a decade in academia, Dr Jones was dismissed from her tenure due to an alcohol-fuelled public disagreement with a local building magnate who found her open-mindedness towards lost cities and cultures, such as the Atlanteans, eminently risible. Heated words were exchanged, and faced with a choice between retaining Dr Jones' services, and a substantial donation towards a new lecture theatre, the faculty head opted for constructive dismissal.

Ruth left the university and travelled to the Orkney Isles to aid Dr Phillip Roker with a landscape survey he was conducting. On the way back from the site to the house Phil was renting on the island, a mysterious black object obscured the windscreen of the Transit van Phil was driving, which resulted in the van mounting the verge and flipping into the adjacent field. Phil was thrown through the windscreen, while Ruth was knocked unconscious. Coming round a few minutes later, Ruth freed herself from the wreckage and rushed to Phil’s side, to find him with a broken leg and bleeding out from a lacerated throat. In a state of intense emotional distress, Ruth accessed her powers for the first time, channelling healing energy into Phil’s body. Operating blindly on instinct, Ruth threw herself completely into the link she established between the two of them, to the extent of experiencing a total merge between her own consciousness and the essence/soul of her wounded companion, before blacking out.

Regaining consciousness in hospital, Ruth was surprised to find Phil at her bedside, without a scratch on him, despite the mortal wound he sustained. Phil is unable to rationalise his experiences and leaves the hospital, confused and afraid. On being discharged a few days later, Ruth visits his home, only to be stymied by Phil’s wife, Sarah. She believes that Ruth and Phil are having an affair, as Phil is withdrawn and calling Ruth’s name in his troubled sleep. Ruth beats a hasty retreat, and returns to her tent at the dig site.

Packing up her camping gear, Ruth ducks into the mess tent to change into her motorbike leathers, but is confronted with a horrific scene; the dig crew have been butchered and the tent is covered in blood and body parts. Standing in the centre of the tent is a dark, hooded figure with twin swords drawn. Fleeing, she slips on the sodden ground. The Revenant stands over her, but as it hefts a blade to end her life, Ruth’s gibbering terror fuels a wave of elemental fire, and in a gout of flames, the Revenant is hurled back into the tent, starting a roaring conflagration. Ruth jumps on her bike and heads for the ferry, desperate to escape.

=• Eyes Opened •= Arriving back at her apartment after an all-night ride back to the south coast, Ruth tries to make sense of what has happened to her. Assuming that she is suffering from mental illness, she is shocked to find the massacre of the dig crew is headline news on the BBC website while searching for information on sensory hallucinations. Further googling of terms related to healing magic offers no explanation, but her research is interrupted by a telephone call from her father, Gareth. He prompts Ruth to put the television on, where she finds herself identified as a 'person of interest' in the murder investigation back on Orkney.

Intending to head to her father's house, Ruth leaves her apartment to find the cul-de-sac full of armed police, with an orbiting chopper overhead. Complying with the order to kneel with her hands in the air, Ruth is startled when four ropes are thrown from the helicopter, and four black-clad assault team members rappel down and form up around her. A tense stand-off ensues, but the team leader forces the police to stand down. Attached to a line, Ruth is winched up into the helicopter, where Eliska Nephinski (HR Director) and Dr Ealisaid Moore (Quartermaster) of the 7th Legion await.

Flown into London, the three women are deposited at Legion HQ and Ruth is directed to meet with Enoch Price, Grandmaster of the 7th Legion, and Selden Crisis, of the Intel Division. Alerted to Ruth's new status as one of Gaia's champions by assets in Scotland, along with Selden's SP:IDR program (Software Protocol:Internet Data Recognition) which picked up on Ruth's web searches, Enoch explains to the stunned Dr Jones about the Secret World she is now part of. Agreeing with the ethos and mission of the Legion, and realising that she has a duty to learn to control her newfound abilities, Ruth accepts the offer to join the 7th.

=• Educating Ruth •= Sent to see Dr Ealisaid Moore for a preliminary check up and physical assessment, Ruth realises with some horror that she will be expected to use a treadmill. Coming from a sedentary academic background, she is both overweight and unfit. The usually genial Dr Moore takes no prisoners however, and Ruth is soon sweating away. Dr Moore questions Ruth about the van accident and the healing that she performed. Ruth blames herself for Phil's withdrawal and descent into mental illness, as a direct result of the well-meaning but unintentional bonding between her and Phil, and is unwilling to answer Moore. As the 7th Legion's quartermaster pushes harder for information, Ruth's anger and remembered fear boil over with unexpected pyrotechnical results; after ensuring no further damage will occur, Moore sends her to meet with Dr John Reilly.

Reilly, a senior intelligence analyst with MI-6 and a fellow academic (Assistant Professor of History at the University of London), takes an interest in all new recruits who show an aptitude for elemental magic. Having heard about Ruth's run in with the Revenant, the Irishman takes her to the secured bunker area used for anima practice. Protected behind several blast doors and enchanted wards, he directs Ruth to display her fire-calling skills on one of the test dummies. Unable to consciously direct her powers, she only manages to outline herself in a halo of amethyst flames. Encouraged to try again, she thinks back to the confrontation with the Revenant, and the way she invaded and destroyed Phil's mind. Rage, grief and sorrow surge wildly, and with a torrent of elemental fire, Ruth destroys the dummy.

Reilly extinguishes the flames and offers to help Ruth with her control issue. Giving her some textbooks to begin reading, he offers to redeem her academic career, and with a call to his contacts in the Firm, has the warrant for her arrest quietly dropped and a retraction printed in the media to absolve her of any connection to the 'Slaughter at Stromness'. Ruth is heartened by the Irishman's obvious interest in her and the swift way he despatches some of her worries, but all is not plain sailing, at least, not yet.

=• Burning Bridges •= Suffering from stress-related insomnia, Ruth is walking on Waterloo Bridge at 4am when she receives a call from Sarah, Phil's wife. She has dark news; Phil has killed himself, leaving a note with only one word: 'Ruth'. Sarah accuses Ruth of causing his death, hammering her with vile, heartfelt epithets delivered in monotone. Hurling her phone into the Thames, Ruth breaks down, a montage of memories playing in her mind; she and Phil have known each other since being undergraduates together at the Institue of Archaeology, UCL. The emotional whirlwind inside her opens the link to her abilities, and on feeling the power race into her, she boils over into white-hot rage at how these 'gifts' have disrupted one life... and cost another.

With actinic-blue lightning crackling up her arms, Ruth throws her head back and keens her grief into an uncaring city, drawing as much energy into herself as she can, welcoming the scourging power as a counterpoint to the searing loss and sorrow she feels. Pulling more and more power into herself, she channels an electrical explosion, lightning racing out like the gust front of a nuclear bomb. Until she blacks out from overload, Ruth acts as a living conduit for an immense torrent of elemental energy, with obvious repercussions for the bridge.

Alerted to the incident on the bridge by Legion surveillance assets, Dr Reilly scrambles a clean-up team and heads to Waterloo. Ruth is taken back to HQ, to the hospital wing, while Reilly surveys the damage. Furious at the public display of power, he notes the slagged transformers and blackened stonework, before making a call to make the carnage 'go away'. Reilly's fixer is understandably less than impressed, and this coupled with the constant rain only serves to blacken the Irishman's mood further. Returning to HQ, Reilly sends word down to the hospital wing that Ruth should report directly to him upon being discharged.

Apprehensively, Ruth complies and finds herself on the receiving end of an almighty bollocking. Reilly's rage is as impressive as it is unexpected; he is usually very softly spoken both in manner and volume, and it is not long before Ruth's anger is stoked further. Accused by Reilly of being selfish and directed to get herself out of his sight, she struggles to fight down the fury, conscious that a lack of control here would be disastrous. Upset at what she perceives as the injustice of being blamed for an outburst she couldn't help, given the news she'd only received moments before, Ruth stalks from the office.

=• Trigger Happy •= Seeking solace in the Mess Hall, Ruth encounters one of the Knights Historian, Erik Kross. Lifted out of vagrancy by Gaia and the subsequent induction into the 7th Legion, Erik is one of the few other members of the Legion who doesn't come from a spec-ops, military or government background. Introducing herself, Ruth learns about the mental interface that Erik uses to access his abilities; interested in how others have mastered the control of their powers, Ruth agrees to an experiment. Returning to the bunker, Erik uses his blood magic on Ruth, to see if perhaps the healing energy could act as a trigger and help her work out how to control her gifts.

Beginning with a simple medical scan, Erik's eyes unfocus as he works his way through the tabs and menus in his mind's eye. However, the scan is agony to Ruth; what should be a gentle sensation if anything is felt at all, feels like torture; cold metal knives on skin, a crushing band of pressure across her chest. Unable to breathe, Ruth panics and channels wildly, unwittingly lashing out at Erik with elemental fire. Caught up in his menus, Erik barely has time to register the change in Ruth's icon from patient to target and the terrifying build up of elemental energy in time to trigger a magical barrier. The shield absorbs the brunt of Ruth's outburst, but not without cost; in the rush to deploy something to save himself, Erik has no time to explore exactly what this particular barrier does - and when the shield dissipates, he collapses with intense internal damage.

Horrified at what she has done, Ruth rushes to Erik's side, fearful that she has killed a fellow Legionnaire. Ascertaining that he is alive, albeit in serious trouble, she hesitates for a second, then flings herself open to the raging torrent of power, drawing it in and channelling it into the stricken Knight. Hoping that this time, she won't cause as much mental damage as she heals physically, Ruth is relieved to see him recover. Erik dismisses her heartfelt apologies as being unnecessary, more interested in the intellectual puzzle posed by Ruth's obvious discomfort at the gentle scan he performed. Describing how the tsunami of energy directed into him by Ruth was somewhat 'overkill', Erik agrees that she should mention it to Dr Reilly; assuming that he is still willing to teach her, of course.

=• Redirection •= Meanwhile, John Reilly is thinking over his uncharacteristic outburst towards the wild Dr Jones. Reading through a volume on uncontrolled magic, he realises that Ruth's emotional distress was operating as an empathic 'broadcast' signal, and her anger had been fuelling his own far past the normal limits he set on his temper. Reading further, he begins to formulate a theory on how Ruth's power is unlocked and fed by her emotions. Guiltily aware that he has been over-harsh on his latest student, he calls up to her room and invites Ruth out for a pint at the Horned God.

Over a beer, Reilly explains his theory to Ruth. While she can channel extraordinary amounts of power, she is unable to modulate her ability - everything is 'turned up to 11'. The link between emotional outbursts and a corresponding display of power is not unusual amongst the newly gifted, he explains, but Ruth must learn to dial it down. He coaxes the story of the van accident out of her, and points out the link between the black shape that obscured Phil's view of the road with the Revenant; he believes that Phil commited suicide because he couldn't cope with the realities he experienced that night, but that that was fated to happen regardless of Ruth's healing and mental bonding. Phil's inability to rationalise seeing into the Secret World, in the form of experiencing the Revenant and its aura of terror at first hand were what unbalanced him mentally - not Ruth's actions inside his mind. Initially, Ruth hesitates to believe him, but Reilly's quiet, logical sense slowly impresses upon her that Phil's death was not her fault.

And so Ruth is now facing the challenge of exploring her abilities, learning to harness these gifts, while attempting to pick up the weapons skills she is sorely lacking. The 7th Legion offer her hope, guidance, and a purpose worth fighting for, but these things are not a gift, and she must earn her place in the Legion Hall.

=• Memorable Ruthisms •= (With reference to the faculty head that fired her) 'He’s an odious, weaselly individual, desperately trying to avoid defeat on the hairline front. I haven’t seen a combover like that since Charlton retired. '

(The lament of the unemployed) 'Flick the telly on. Jesus, Bargain Hunt, Cash in the Attic, Flog It, Antiques Roadshow... daytime TV, save yourself the time and initiate brain stem death now. '

(Re Phil's enthusiastic driving style) 'Phil, I hate to suggest that there's anything wrong with your driving,' -I clutch the Jesus handle above the window as he steps the back end of the van out while turning a corner- 'But I believe the Highway Code recommends against navigating roundabouts sideways,' -massive pothole induced bump- 'and I'm fairly sure that vans have four wheels as a conscious design choice rather than as an optional feature.'

(In hospital after the van crash) 'I'm doing my best mummy impression. I've got more cloth wrapped around my head than Lawrence of Arabia, a huge bulky dressing strapped across my forehead.'

(On discharge from hospital) 'Phil won't return my calls. I can't track him down on the digsite. I don't know what he told the rest of the crew, but when I went over after being discharged, I felt about as welcome as a hedgehog in a condom factory. '

(Back at home) 'There's nothing quite like waking up in your own bed, apart from waking up in a gorgeous, gentle, romantic guy's bed, but as we all know those don't exist, my bed will have to do'

(Researching hallucinations) 'I open up a new tab and google for 'head injuries'. The usual medical websites come up, I ponder using NHS Direct's self diagnosis tool... 'How many corpses am I holding up in front of you? Any unexplained hooded murderers?' '

(Being told to kneel by armed police) 'That irreverent bit of my brain kicks in again. Can’t remember the last time a man with a big weapon told me to kneel. Christ’s sake Ruth, stop pissing about.'

(Being readied for the trip in the helicopter) 'As I get to my feet, I see that only one rope is still hanging from the chopper. Uh oh. I can see where this is going. Statue unclips a spare harness hanging from his utility belt and before I can protest, he’s whipped his hands around places that… Shut up Ruth. And stop blushing.'

(On being told she'll need a checkup) 'Well.. thanks, I guess, but that's not why I'm confused... you haven't told me what I need a check up for. Don't get me wrong, I'm overdue one, but something tells me my health isn't such a priority that the NHS scrambled men with guns and a helicopter just to get me to see the GP... '

(In Dr Moore's office for a physical) 'Oh bollocks.

I spy the dreaded horrors.... a treadmill.... exercise bike.... other arcane implements of torture and horror. Don’t get me wrong, I love exercise - I could watch it all day. But... sigh. '

(Told to get on the treadmill) 'Now, I don’t have anything against the concept of running per se. I just believe it should be reserved for, oh I don’t know, outrunning a ravening dinosaur, or possibly when last orders has just been called. Running for pleasure is like smearing your eyeballs with jam and sticking your head in a wasps nest - pointless, painful, and about as rewarding.'

(On Waterloo Bridge, having just been informed of Phil's death) 'Say one thing for Ruth Jones, say she has a good arm. It's surprising how far you can throw an iPhone when you're really pissed off. I'm not tracking well, but even sleep deprived and listless, I don't make a habit of slinging Apple products into the Thames.'

(Waking up in the hospital wing) 'A doctor drifts into the room, consults the chart at the foot of the bed, and asks how I am. I tell him that apart from having a mouth like a badger’s arse, that I’m fine.'

(On seeing Erik Kross for the first time) 'It’s pretty warm in here, but he’s wearing a heavy afghan coat, hunched over slightly, as if chilled. How he’s not sweating like a glassblower’s arse is beyond me.'

(Introducing herself to Erik) 'Well, that’s a personal best; usually I at least get past ‘hello’ before potential conversational companions do a runner.'

(Discussing what might trigger her powers, with Erik)

Erik: “Curious, perhaps you ought to keep a needle about your person. Want fire, stick it in your finger, lo and behold, fire.”

Ruth: ‘Hehe, “I say Mr Revenant, squire - would you mind awfully holding on a moment while I whip out my sewing kit?”’

Erik: “Yes! Or paper cuts. I hate paper cuts … even if I can heal them in an instant. Get a lot of them in the archives”.

Ruth: ‘I have it... I’ll carry around a sheet of paper and a bag of salt and vinegar crisps. If that doesn’t provoke instant fury, then, God knows what will.’

Erik: “And then, ‘I say, Dr Jones, is that enough fire? Shall I heal your finger now?’ “

Ruth:‘What a team we’d make,’ I laugh for what feels like the first time in ages. ‘Maybe I can get the quartermaster to make me a nice quick release holster for my crisps!’

(Reilly offers his arm to Ruth as they walk) 'I hesitate for a moment - I’m certainly no lady, the only time people ever call me madam, it’s in conjunction with ‘You’re causing a scene, we’d like you to leave now’ - but I take his arm and we set off. We must look a right pair; I’m a couple of inches taller than him, and several square meals heavier.'

(Asked what she'd like to drink by Reilly) 'I’ll leave off the beer until after tea, or you’ll be carrying me back to HQ... and you don’t strike me as a man who’d appreciate a hernia, somehow.'