The Thorn Wife

Lady of Thorns, The Bound Queen, She-Who-Blooms-in-Pain

Description:

Manifestation appears as a tall, pale woman clothed in a gown of briars that pierce her flesh yet draw no blood. Vines extend and retract with her movements. Hair resembles entwined honeysuckle and thorn-vine. Ambient air thick with pollen and a faint metallic scent.

Nature and Behaviour:

The Thorn-Wife rules over confinement, entrapment, and the quiet power of waiting. Once a fae queen of another domain, she was bound by rival lords into the Briar Reaches — condemned to rule but never to leave. Every attempt to cross the border causes her to splinter and regrow within the thorns.

Approaches mortals who seek refuge, secrecy, or revenge. Offers sanctuary within her thicket-palace, but all who accept become part of the living briars. Those who have glimpsed her domain report statues formed from vine and flesh — prisoners kept eternally alive.

Field Notes:

Subjects under her glamour display signs of botanical assimilation: vine patterning beneath the skin, lethargy, and an aversion to open sky. Her bargains are binding and almost always fatal.

Containment Protocols:

Avoid prolonged presence within hedge boundaries exceeding 20m depth. Do not accept offers of shelter “among the roses.” If encountered, retreat along an unbroken line of salt and ash.