HedgehawkLana Arlene Ryder
"I wouldn't change who I am or what I can do for anything."
Name: Lana Arlene Ryder
Gender: Female
Age: 21
Alignment: Dark Shadow
Rank within Organisation: Former Captain, promoted to Second in Command.
Birthmark Shape:
Location of Birthmark: Her birthmark sits at the back of her neck just below her hairline, and is approximately 57mm long, and 44.5mm in diameter through the widest part.
Magical Abilities: Telekinesis - The ability to move/manipulate/control objects and matter, and create physical constructs of telekinetic energy, to an advanced degree.
Place of Birth: Forks, Washington
Currently Residing: New York City
Personality: Lana has always been a lose cannon when it comes to her emotions, even as a child, but it became notably worse after the loss of her twin bother. She is prone to unpredictable mood swings, the worst of which being her anger. While her mood swings are usually unprovoked, she is known to be exceptionally sensitive to any mention of her "condition" or her brother, either of which will often have her temper flaring. Otherwise, Lana is a reasonably laid back person, with a somewhat cynical outlook on life and a sarcastic sense of humor.
History/Bio: Lana was born in Forks, Washington as the youngest of a set of twins, to two loving parents. Her family didn't live in the lap of luxury, but her and her brother had everything they could possibly need. Unlike her, her brother Liam wasn't born with a birthmark, and as such he possessed no magical powers. It wasn't until she turned twelve that her powers would manifest themselves, though.
Her parents had always worried about her ability to handle being around other people, especially in a school environment, due to her unstable emotional condition, but she seemed to cope quite well as long as her brother was around. So when she turned eight they finally allowed her to attend public school. For the first few years, everything had been going well. Lana had been known to get into a few fights, and cause a bit of trouble, but it wasn't anything serious. Then, along came Bryan Mathers. Day after day Bryan would harass and torment Lana for the unsightly birthmark she had on her neck. Her brother did his best to stand up for her, but he was no match for the other boy.
Having to watch her brother get beaten just for trying to defend her, as well as trying to keep a lid on her explosive temper, would soon prove to be too much for the young girl. One day, not long after her twelfth birthday, Lana was sitting down to lunch with her brother and only friend. The two of them had opted for sitting out in the field, under a tree near the back of the school, to eat their lunch and avoid the other kids. It had worked for awhile, until Bryan -who seemed to be obsessed with the two of them- tracked them down one day. As usual he began to torment Lana, until her brother got up to defend her. He was no match for him though, and soon Bryan had her brother on the ground and was wailing into him. It didn't take long before the poor girl finally lost it and sent him flying across the field and into another tree that was nearby. She hadn't meant for it to happen, she just wanted him to stop hurting her brother.
Bryan hit the tree with a loud thud. The impact was enough to kill him instantly with blunt force trauma to the back of the head, as well as a broken spine. Although everyone assumed the boy had died from falling out of the tree, Lana, her brother, and her parents knew the real story. Her parents decided it would be best if they moved out of state, and decided to settle down in New York. After that incident, both Lana and Liam were forbidden from being out in public alone, and were both home schooled, so as to avoid another incident like that happening again. Their parents also managed to track down an experienced magic user to help Lana develop control over her powers.
When she turned eighteen, it was suggested from her tutor that she be allowed to socialize again. The woman claimed that learning to control her powers would only solve half of the problem. It took a lot of convincing, but her parents eventually gave in. She wouldn't be attending school, or working, but she would be allowed to go out every now and then, but only when she was accompanied by her brother. As fate would have it, this only opened them up for more tragedy. One night when the twins were out at their local convenience store, a group of young thugs were looking for some fun and decided to make some money. They took the store by gunpoint and robbed it for all the money it had. The guns were only meant to be for show, to make sure no one tried anything stupid, but when one man tried to be a hero, chaos soon ensued, and Liam -as well as the man who tried to play hero- ended up getting shot and killed.
By the time the cops had arrived, the only two left at the scene were a dead Liam, and a distraught Lana, holding her brother in her arms. The case was investigated for a few months, but no leads were found and it was soon dropped. Lana wouldn't accept that though, and started an investigation of her own. It took the remaining half of that year before she found the men responsible for her brother's death, but when she did, she made sure they suffered a long and painful death. Much like the investigation on the robbery, no lead into the five mysterious murders were found. Thanks to her powers, Lana was able to deal with those men without leaving a single trace behind. Just in case, she still went into hiding, though. Eventually she would stumble across the organization known as "Dark Shadow". After three years of being in their service, Lana would eventually work her way up to be a Captain, and then later be promoted to Second in Command.
Relationships