Rebecca

Rebecca is a young girl who the crew of the Rozenmaiden found in the Feywild. She is afflicted by a mysterious disease called Wonderland Syndrome which causes her to experience vivid hallucinations about giant cats, card soldiers, and a wondrous kingdom called Wonderland.

Rebecca became involved in the Malthrek phase of the Vengeful affair after traveling with children and allies who had been displaced through the Feywild. Though young, she was already a spellcaster and displayed unusual linguistic knowledge. She was repeatedly treated with royal forms of address because Wonderland Syndrome led her to understand herself as the Queen, or sometimes princess, of Wonderland.

Background

Rebecca was introduced to the Rozenmaiden circle as a red-haired Seneran child around nine or ten years old, though later records give her age as twelve. She arrived with a formal manner, a tendency to bow, and a teddy bear knight with a ruby nose. Liana introduced her as the Red Queen or Princess Rebecca, and resisted separating from her while the group was deciding who should enter danger near the Malthreks.

Rebecca said that she came from the Kingdom of Senera, but her exact origin remained difficult to place. Later accounts suggest that her time in the Feywild may have displaced her from her proper period, possibly even from the future. She also appeared to know Hick, a detail that deepened the uncertainty around her education, origin, and relationship to ordinary Seneran chronology.

Wonderland Syndrome

Rebecca’s Wonderland Syndrome shaped how others interacted with her. She experienced the world through an elaborate royal frame involving Wonderland, strange creatures, card soldiers, and courtly roles. Allies accommodated this when doing so helped keep her calm or cooperative, addressing her as “Your Majesty” and allowing her to interpret protection, supervision, and orders through the logic of her imagined court.

The condition did not prevent Rebecca from acting with judgment. During the search of Castle Malthrek, she sometimes behaved more sensibly than the adults around her expected. She understood that allowing the party to wander unsupervised was dangerous, and at one point decided that supervising them herself was preferable to leaving them alone.

Byzantine

Byzantine is Rebecca’s teddy bear and one of the most persistent features of accounts about her magic. The bear is described as a teddy bear knight with a ruby nose, and was important enough that John Malthrek carried or protected Byzantine while also protecting Rebecca during the approach to Castle Malthrek.

Byzantine appears to be connected to Rebecca’s spellcasting. During kitchen work inside Castle Malthrek, Rebecca used Mage HandMage HandCantrip · Conjuration1 action · 30 ft. · 1 minuteV, SA spectral, floating hand appears at a point you choose within range. The hand lasts for the duration or until you dismiss it as an action. The hand vanishes if it is ever more than 30 feet away from you or if you cast this spell again. You can use your action to control the hand. You can use the hand to manipulate an object, open an unlocked door or container, stow or retrieve an item from an open container, or pour the contents out of a vial. You can move the hand up to 30 feet each time you use it. The hand can't attack, activate magic items, or carry more than 10 pounds., and witnesses described Byzantine’s paw as though it were controlling or using the magical hand. The exact nature of the connection is unclear: Byzantine may be a beloved companion, a focus, an animated object, a projected advisor persona, or some combination of these. Later experimentation by Emily Hazeldine also involved Byzantine or a similar doll, suggesting that the object became part of broader attempts to understand Rebecca’s magic.

Malthrek Affair

Rebecca accompanied the allied investigators during parts of the Malthrek operation. Because she was too young and too vulnerable to be exposed to obvious danger, the party initially resisted bringing her into the most hazardous areas. She nevertheless wanted to remain near John Malthrek and treated him much like an older brother.

On the approach to Castle Malthrek, John supported Rebecca, later tethered her, and carried her in a controlled military fashion when the route required it. Inside the castle, Rebecca operated under kitchen-worker cover with Lime, Justin, and others. She tried to behave well enough to be allowed to attend a later tea party, assisted in the kitchens, and became useful enough that the kitchen staff began treating her as an asset rather than merely a child to be managed.

Rebecca later accompanied John during searches of rooms connected to the Malthrek investigation, including Matthew Malthrek’s room. Her presence, Byzantine’s role, and her uncertain chronology made her one of the stranger witnesses to the later stages of the affair.

Abilities

Rebecca was known to possess warlock-like magic and an unusually wide range of languages for a child, including Common, Elvish, Halfling, and Sylvan. Her known magic included Mage HandMage HandCantrip · Conjuration1 action · 30 ft. · 1 minuteV, SA spectral, floating hand appears at a point you choose within range. The hand lasts for the duration or until you dismiss it as an action. The hand vanishes if it is ever more than 30 feet away from you or if you cast this spell again. You can use your action to control the hand. You can use the hand to manipulate an object, open an unlocked door or container, stow or retrieve an item from an open container, or pour the contents out of a vial. You can move the hand up to 30 feet each time you use it. The hand can't attack, activate magic items, or carry more than 10 pounds., though the visible source or control of the spell was often entangled with Byzantine.