Application

[just_edmund]

→ OOC
□ Name: Starbrow
□ Age: 26
□ Contact: starrybrow@gmail.com
□ Journal: http://starbrow.dreamwidth.org/
□ Do you play anyone in Ariel?: No

→ IC
□ Name: Edmund Pevensie
□ Journal: http://just-edmund.dreamwidth.org
□ Series: The Chronicles of Narnia
□ Canon point: Beginning of the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, around the Lone Islands
□ History: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Pevensie
□ Personality:
Edmund is someone whose life could have easily been defined by his failures, but who chose at a defining moment in his life to accept the grace given to him and become the man he was meant to be. Because of this, he will always be aware of his own imperfections and, conversely, of giving others second chances, just as he was given one.

At a young age, Edmund learned to be protective of himself during his first year of boarding school when he was bullied and isolated, and consequently began to act out and keep everyone at arm's length with sarcastic remarks and off-putting actions. His relationship with his older brother Peter was especially fraught, as he hated Peter trying to replace their father, who was at war, and boss the rest of them around. In turn, Peter would call him names like "idiot" and "poisonous little beast" which helped solidify Edmund's own poor self-esteem and push him further away from his family. When the four Pevensies were sent away to the countryside away from the bombs of London, exacerbating Edmund's feelings of abandonment and isolation, he followed his younger sister Lucy into a magic wardrobe and met entirely the wrong sort of person.

He was in the perfect place to be tempted by the things the White Witch promised: sweeties (a luxury the food shortages of WWII had made virtually nonexistent), power, and most of all, a kind word. Consequently, he betrayed first Lucy's trust by pretending she was lying about Narnia (knowing full well it was real), and then his own brother and sisters by going back to the White Witch in spite of his better judgment, for "he kept on thinking that the others were taking no notice of him and trying to give him the cold shoulder...'She was jolly nice to me, anyway, much nicer than they are.' " Because of his betrayal, the Pevensies had to run for their lives and Edmund's own life, as a traitor, was forfeit to the Witch by the laws of the Deep Magic of Narnia.

It was only by the sacrifice of Aslan the Great Lion, who traded his own life for Edmund's, that he was saved from death, and this knowledge, that someone was willing to die for him, transformed Edmund in a life-changing way. He became a grave and wise King, "great in council and judgement," and was instrumental in shaping Narnia's laws and international relations. In "The Horse and His Boy," Edmund displays great statesmanship and discretion in realizing his sister Susan was being courted by a duplicitous Prince Rabadash and in mobilizing a plan to get their delegation out of the prince's city, though he has no qualms at the plan's inherent deception as they are being held hostage there. At the end of the book, he shows his true mettle by sparing Rabadash's life and letting Aslan deal with him, for "even a traitor may mend." These events give us very important insight into the man Edmund has become: intelligent, thoughtful, level-headed, and compassionate. He has achieved the things he use to want from the White Witch - wealth, power, importance - but in a way that makes him a better, kinder man.

Like the other Pevensies, Edmund was suddenly sent back to England in his twenties and returned to his previous age. "Prince Caspian" (PC) is a good indication of the new younger Edmund: he still has more than a touch of snark ("I didn't exactly have a solid gold chess set in Finchley, did I?") but is very resourceful (puts his flashlight to good use in Narnia), capable (beating Trumpkin the Dwarf in a duel), and loyal (believing Lucy when no one else does). In the raid on Miraz's castle, he is a little clumsy (perhaps from nerves), dropping both sword and signalling flashlight, but it is clear that Peter and Susan both trust him with this critical role. And when both Peter and Caspian are seduced by the summoned spirit of the White Witch, it is Edmund who has the strength of will to defeat her, knowing that the dark magic she promises in assistance is nothing but an illusion and a lie.

However, this encounter leaves him shaken and reminded of Jadis’s hold over him, a fear exploited during “Voyage of the Dawn Treader” (VDT) in the island where one’s worst fears come true. The mist manifests as the White Witch, urging Edmund to become her King, that she’ll let him rule, and that he can never truly defeat her, for she’ll always be alive in his mind. This is indeed Edmund’s deepest fear, something that clearly has been weighing on him ever since their last meeting, and suggests that her spirit tempted him in “Prince Caspian” too, although we don’t see it on-screen.

By this point in film canon, Edmund’s character has become increasingly frustrated by the limitations of his age, trying unsuccessfully to enlist in England and trapped for half a year at his cousin’s house. Being powerless is not something Edmund the King is used to, and this sense of needing to be in control of his own destiny plays out in VDT with his conflicts of power with Caspian and in Deathwater Island. In this pivotal scene, Edmund shows what exactly tempts him now: freedom to do what he wants, resulting from the riches and power of being a ruling wealthy King again. (“Lucy, we’d be so rich. No one could tell us what to do or who to live with.”) Later he is faced with yet another pointed temptation when the White Witch taunts him about proving he’s a man, that all he needs to do is take her hand and he’ll be her King.

Though Edmund enters Ariel at the beginning of VDT, he will still have all of the conflicts and temptations from the film to contend with, and comes with a history of fateful hubris, addiction to magic, and a tendency to doubt his own worth. He believes he has learned from his past mistakes and can right the wrongs of his history, but he is not as immune to temptation as he thinks. Though intelligent and adaptive, Edmund can make fatal flaws thanks to these very traits and a tendency to overestimate his ability to handle a scenario successfully - for instance, his insistence in LWW that things will turn out all right with the White Witch, his slips during the siege in PC, and his susceptibility to the temptations of greed and power in VDT.

□ Age: physically, 16 in Ariel and approximately the same in VDT (film). Mentally, because of his extra years in Narnia, about 30.
□ Gender: Male
□ Appearance: 5'8 1/2" (he's proud of the half inch, thank you very much), slim, wiry, very pale skin, dark brown hair that tends to be unruly, dark brown eyes. His clothes from England are practical and ordinary 1940s men's garments, while his Narnian attire is more along the lines of working class Medieval/Renaissance-type garments (loose-fitting pants and shirt, laced vest and doublet).
□ Abilities/Powers: Though he has no supernatural abilities, Edmund is an accomplished swordsman, archer, and hand-to-hand fighter. He has been in combat with both human and supernatural beings and can hold his own with both. As a King of Narnia, Edmund was known for his wisdom and fairness, earning him the title Just, and gained valuable experience in diplomacy, negotiation, and business. He also has a keen wit and a sarcastic edge, though he knows when and where to use it.
□ Personal Items:
-Electric torch
-Caspian's second-best sword
-Picture of the four Pevensies
-Clothes from England: shirt, trousers, shoes
-(Folded in his pocket) Application to join the RAF
-Map of Narnia, drawn from memory
-Clothes he was wearing on the Dawn Treader: long-sleeved shirt, laced vest, duster, trousers, boots, and belt
-Satchel
-Spyglass
-Gold chesspiece (bishop)

[The so-called "video" format is foreign and unwieldy, the thought of people seeing what he sees distracting and slightly alarming, and after a couple attempts to get a successful "take" as Lucy put it, he curses and shakes his head. Hang it all, he's switching to audio. He supposes he could use the text feature, which is much like typing without a typewriter, but he's trying to push himself to master the technology here, and the audio aspect of this chip in his brain almost makes sense. He's listened to Churchill broadcast to the entire world over the wireless, speaking in a microphone to an audience he cannot see, and Edmund thinks this might not be so bad after all.]

Hullo. My name's Edmund Pevensie. I've just got in to this place, not quite sure how - in fact, no one I've talked to so far seems to know how. I understand about the chip and the city itself; it's extraordinary that you can base an entire population and culture on radio wave signal, though I have some serious concerns about the ethics of this practice given that most of the people here seem coerced, to put it mildly. But what I'd really like to know is why I and my sisters and brother and everyone else who isn't from here, got here. Is there some kind of magic in Ariel? That's how I got from one world to another last time. I know what magic feels like, and I have to say, there's something strange about this place. It doesn't feel quite like magic, but it does feel like something's pulling at me the way magic did.

If anyone has a reasonable explanation of what makes this city's selection of outsiders possible, or even an unreasonable one, that would be brilliant. I'm entertaining all theories at this point. I'd give you my number, but I don't think that's how it works here. So however it works, find me and let's talk.

[He's fairly pleased with how that went, all in all, given that it's his first time talking in his head to an entire city.]

Get used to it, Ed.

[And to his horror, he thinks send and now Ariel is going to think he's nuts. Talking to himself. Edmund's pretty sure he's going to end up in the loony bin one way or the other.]

□ Third Person Sample:

Edmund's no stranger to new worlds; he's done this kind of thing before. But this time has the sickening kind of feeling that Narnia did the first time after eating the Witch's food, his stomach turning at the idea of someone putting something inside his head and telling him what to do and when to do it. He knows what it's like to feel compelled by an insidious impulse; it's not something he's looking forward to repeating.

Time enough to think about that later - the first order of business was getting out of the hideously sterile processing center. He pokes around a bit and manages to extract the address of his new flat along with a map (electronic and in his head, to his annoyance) and sets out for the first time onto the streets of Ariel.

His mind whirls with questions, especially about what exactly is going on in his head that is not solely Edmund anymore. When he tentatively reaches out into his thoughts and tries to access the "network" they'd mentioned, he's immediately bombarded by a barrage of messages from all over the city. (It's hard enough keeping up with his own thoughts, nevermind those of an entire population!)

Well, if he was forced to use this thing, might as well get something out of it. They said all you had to do was think something, and choose which medium you'd like to use, and it would go out to the network.

Edmund concentrates with all his might and manages to send out a text to the network asking for trolley timetables.

When he arrives at his flat mere minutes later, thanks to the multiple timetables sent immediately to his head, Edmund is inclined to be a little more open-minded (he grins to himself) about all of this. He'd been hoping for something more by way of explanation once inside, but instead there's just a motley assortment of items that simply taunt him with where he'd just come from - Caspian's second-best sword, a spyglass, his torch - and worst of all, the picture of him and the others. Not much chance of seeing any of them again, eh?

Plan, Edmund. Plan. He needs an ally here, someone to tell him something, anything, so that he can start the process of getting out. Already the idea of being trapped inside this city, the desert wastelands outside and the watchful eyes within, was beginning to remind him viscerally of Tashbaan and the confining walls of the Scrubbs' house back in England. Right then. Explanations.

Out of instinct, he begins to sling the sword around his waist, then remembers the caution from the instructional message. No weapons. Bugger. With no wish to blow his cover this soon into the game, he slips the torch into his pocket, figuring it had worked before and could work again in a pinch, and heads out again to the corner block.

Encouraged by his first attempt at using the network, he jots down another text in his head, this time longer: Edmund Pevensie, just arrived, lots of questions and need some answers posthaste. Anyone who'd be up for a chat will find me at...

He squints up at the sign above the door of what looks like a coffee shop.

Well Twisted in Level 2. I don't suppose a chap can find a place to get just tea in this city?

With a deep breath, he thinks, send, and heads into the shop.