Annalee Bonnedieux is a Dreamspeaker in the New Orleans area.
Overview[]
Annalee's mother was a self-initiated priestess of a small sect, based in New Orleans, that borrowed its beliefs from many traditions; voudon, Catholic, evangelical, Santería, and Wiccan practices gave the Church of the Open Soul an eclectic and ageless feel. Charismatic and hands-on healing sessions led to outbursts of the "spirit," sending participants into bouts of glossolalia, prophesying, and sometimes among particularly sensitive individuals, convulsions.
Hand-picked to succeed her mother as high priestess, Annalee seemed well on the way to fulfilling the church's expectations until one meeting, when she felt something break apart within her, as if some nascent creature were bursting through a shell. Wracked by convulsions, she fell writhing to the floor of the basement apartment used by the church. The episode passed, but the girl refused to open her eyes or do anything except breathe. Her mother refused to take her daughter to the hospital, insisting that the spirit was moving inside her daughter and that she belonged at home.
For three days, Annalee languished in a deep coma. During that time, she experienced a series of eerie dreams, in which wise men and women came to her in a timeless place and spoke to her of true magic.
When she awoke, she realized that something profound had happened to her. The next evening, a tall, thin woman with coal-dark skin and bright green eyes visited her. She introduced herself as Sister Moriah and informed Annalee that she had just found her way into the Tradition of mages who called themselves Dreamspeakers.
Since her Awakening, Annalee has left her mother's church to study with her mentor. The two women work with community service organizations to improve the conditions of the city's poor while at the same time attempting to heal the many rifts they see in the Umbra around New Orleans. Annalee has recently discovered the existence of a small community of changelings based in the Big Easy. Although their dark dreams disturb her, she is determined to bring the truth of the spirit world to these misled creatures. She hopes to wean the woman who calls herself Duchess Lisette away from contact with the city's Setite vampires, but Sister Moriah has warned her that doing so may prove costly.
Image[]
Annalee is a waif-like young woman of mixed blood. She has café-au-lait skin, honey-blond hair, and pale blue eyes. She dresses in wispy scraps of second-hand clothing and usually carries a shoulder bag filled with various items she finds useful in working her magic.
Personal[]
The Umbra around New Orleans is dark and frightening. Many things are out of balance, and it is her duty to try to restore harmony to the distressed ancestors and totem children who dwell beyond the Gauntlet. If she were a death mage, she might try to eradicate the perpetrators of the malevolence she senses; as a Dreamspeaker, though, her inclination is to heal and transform, rather than destroy. At least for now.
References[]
- CTD: Kingdom of Willows, p. 150-151
