Penny Dreadful

Pennelopie Marie Dreadful (born 20th October, 3011) was one of two Imperial princesses born to her father, Chaos Dreadful and her mother, Madelynn Dreadful. At the time of her birth, she was the second in the line of succession to the Imperial throne, behind her sister - Victoria Anne Dreadful. She rose to first after her sister's death at the hands of their former protector, Vedi Der Ritter. Despite being an enemy to the Empire, she still holds the right to the throne if her father, the Emperor, dies.

Penny was known for her brutal enforcement of her father's rule while she was in the Empire until she defected. Despite only being about 12 at the time, she was perhaps his most dangerous weapon. Penny carried out his orders to the letter with little hesitation, often leaving no witnesses if asked; even going so far as killing a notable Shadow Council member when it was suspected that he had betrayed the Empire. She also governed the Imperial capital city, Umbra Fani with her sister when their father was away on business. Penny was known to be more harsh compared to her sister, but also inspiring to the cause.

After leaving the Empire, Penny discarded of her old weapon (much like her older sister), and opted for something more defensive.

Early life
Penny was born to Madelynn Dreadful and Emperor Chaos Dreadful on the 20th of October 3011. Her birth was a beautiful moment for the two of them, but not long after this event, Penny's mother succumbed to the Shadow Plague; leaving her two daughters and her husband alone. This inspired Chaos to hurry and prepare the Empire for war, now realizing that failure to free the Imperial people from the Shadow Realm would lead to further deaths, and perhaps an extinction event. When she was old enough, Penny joined her sister in helping him achieve this goal. She trained personally under her father's knight, Vedi, and her father.

Victoria A. Dreadful
Penny's relationship with her older sister was rocky at best. The two got along well enough to complete tasks, but often had very different views. While Penny felt the Empire needed to win at any cost, and closely followed in her father's shadow, Victoria felt the two of them needed to take a different path. She felt the Empire needed to either change or be destroyed. Penny often called these thoughts traitorous. Penny's feelings toward her mother also put a wedge between them, but Victoria's love for her sister won through in the end.

At some point, Penny and Victoria left the Empire together and the Shadow Realm as a whole. This devastated their father, but the two of them kept running until they had been picked up by the Alliance - the sworn enemies of the Empire. Penny disagreed with the decision to stay with the Alliance at first, but still remained if only for her sister. After Victoria's death, Penny initially blamed herself, and to this day she never lets it go.

The Emperor
Initially, Penny felt her father was the savior of the Empire. She followed his every step and never questioned him. It took a lot for Victoria to get Penny to see how Chaos Dreadful was sending the Empire to its doom. Upon leaving, her relationship with her father became hostile on one end, but remained loving on the other. Chaos never wanted to fight either of his daughters, but he holds to his path to keep the promise he made to his wife. A promise that set them at odds.

Vedi Der Ritter
Vedi trained Penny and Victoria almost everyday. He acted as something of a guardian at all times, and if Penny ever ran into something that she could not handle, he was not far. To Penny, it is both strange and sickening to have to fight someone who was by in large considered family, but she also knows there is no going back. Vedi has no hesitation to kill Penny and certainly did not when murdering Victoria, but Penny feels this is only due to his affliction.

Ian Dreadful
Despite being adopted, both Penny and Victoria embraced him as their biological brother. When Ian joined the Knights Division of the Imperial military, Penny actually disagreed because she knew how dangerous it would be. However, one way or another both of the siblings ended up joining the Alliance and working closely together in the end.

Madelynn Dreadful
Penny does not know much about her mother as she died not long after her birth. While Victoria loves and misses her mother, Penny feels she was abandoned by her mother. This is because she does not want to accept the reality that her mother's death caused her father's madness. Regardless, Penny has stated many times that she will never forgive her mother for abandoning herself, her sister, and her father.

Meeting Chris
""You have five seconds to explain yourself!""

- -Penny just before she punched Chris unconscious over a misunderstanding Penny met Chris not long after Victoria had returned from Earth with him in tow. She was on her way back from speaking to Morgan. After storming out of the Headmaster's office and finding himself lost in a crowd, Chris called out to Penny. One could see this as happenstance, but often partners are drawn together. Penny had also felt a change upon meeting him, but did not thinking much of it. Instead, she was annoyed that he had decided to bother her. Most Wizards only wanted to mess with her because they knew who she was, but unbeknownst to her, Chris had no idea who she was. She was taken aback by his kindness and his extreme determination to talk to her; much like how she had reacted to Morgan when they had first met.

Penny agreed to take Chris to his dorm, but upon noticing that the dorm number matched her own, decided to see how far it would go. She ignored his attempts to speak and refused to give her name. However, upon reaching the dorm and watching him unlock it, Penny attacked him. A misunderstanding occurs where Penny thinks he's lying and Chris has no idea what is going on. Penny knocks him unconscious only to be scolded by Victoria mere moments later. Victoria urged her to stay with him until he woke up and apologize, but Penny decided to take it a step further by setting him in her lap. She also felt obligated to take him to a show that was taking place at the Terminus Dome. Penny herself did not want to go, but figured that Chris might.

Either due to their unidentified partner link, or simple perception, Chris was able to realize that Penny was uncomfortable watching a show where Violet Fleur was denouncing Sorcerers and the Empire. He makes up an excuse about how he'd like to leave and the two of them go to a restaurant on the south side of the city. The Restaurant named Las Estrellas.

Las Estrellas
Penny takes Chris to Las Estrellas after leaving the dome. On the way there, they discuss the Wizards, the Alliance military, and how Penny feels obligated to join the fight. Chris tries to inquire more, but because they just met and she knows nothing about him, she shuts him down almost immediately. While they are eating, a panic starts out in another part of the restaurant, and Penny is quick to stand and move to investigate. Chris is reluctant, but Penny states that she will go with or without him, so he musters the courage to join her. Together, they defeat the enraged Terminus wolves alongside some of the city Guards. From there, the Life teacher and Hunter Spiritbringer arrive, take some of the wolves to figure out their strange behavior, and leave.

Penny expresses that she is impressed with Chris's bravery, and that she expected him to stay behind. She teaches him more about his magic like fast healing. The chapter ends with the two of them in the park just outside of their dorm, staring at the glowing lake, skipping rocks, and wondering about the other. Penny herself found Chris strange, but also took comfort in the fact that he knew nothing about her.

Training Chris
Penny thought that Hunter should train Chris and so he agreed. After giving him a 'light' warm up in the morning, Penny takes him to the training area and lets him spar with Hunter. She sits in the stands watching calmly. At first, she understood Hunter's more aggressive teaching style, this being the way she was taught. The moment she decided to intervene was when Hunter was beating Chris while he was downed, verbally taunting him, and injuring him so badly that he could not even speak properly. She stepped between the two of them, told Hunter it was probably best for him to leave, and from there decided to train him herself. Chris's rapid growth with both his magic and sword skills could be credited to Penny.

Receiving a partner
Despite Emily wishing that Chris not take place in the Partner Competition which took place the day after he met both her and Penny. Despite this, Penny left a note for him, asking that he run in the competition with her. This was not only because she herself wondered if they could be linked, but because both of their teachers and the Headmaster suspected it. So, the two of them went through the dangerous maze-like gauntlet, and found themselves together despite starting separately. They were drawn together by a necklace which emitted a different color to attract them. For Penny, this was the color blue. It only turned purple when they came together. The necklace broke apart into two when they pulled it down together, and from there they went on to win the competition despite multiple detours and setbacks.

The two ended the competition not only in first place, but also setting a new record of one day and eight hours. This exciting moment ends quickly when Imperial ships are reported to be near Terminus and Aurrera. The two are forced to take shelter in their dorm and only leave if absolutely necessary. Meanwhile, Penny's sister, Victoria Dreadful joined the Terminus school teachers and the other mages to defend the city.

The Battle of Terminus
Before the start of the Battle of Terminus, Dreadful left the dorm to retrieve food for herself and her partner from the magic school grounds where meals were given throughout the night. However, on her way back from this task, she found herself caught up in a surprise attack. Separated from her partner and with very little hope of making her way back before the attack got worse, Penny made the decision to hold her ground at the Terminus schools along with a handful of Wizards and Terminus guards. Together with the Terminus forces, Penny fended off the initial surprise attack at the schools and the surrounding areas. Wasting no more time and seeing no better chance, Dreadful made her way back towards her dorm to retrieve her partner Chris from where he should have been waiting. Time and time again she would find herself unable to proceed or assisting the struggling Terminus guards, but she would eventually make it back. Chris had gone and most likely gone looking for her out of concern, there was no way to know where he went, and the attack was still worsening with bombing runs and further Imperial landings. After allied forces arrived from the planet Aurrera and Nu'centa to assist with the battle, a majority of Imperial forces withdrew to reduce their losses, seemingly admitting defeat. From there, the Imperial fleet attempted to flee the system as they were now being pursued by two Alliance warships. The Imperials that remained were either captured or killed. With very little fighting still ongoing, Dreadful was able to proceed mostly unhindered through the war-torn streets of Terminus. She eventually was able to find out just where her partner had gone, and was put at ease when she was informed by Emily that Victoria had gone to assist him. Upon arriving, she found her sister killed, her partner injured, and a street littered with Imperials. Shocked and refusing to believe the truth that had been presented to her, Penny questioned multiple times if this was truly Victoria. From this point, Penny became withdrawn and grim, refusing to say a word to anyone for any reason.

The Loss of Her Sister
After the death of her sister, Penny closed herself off to the people around her including her own partner. She rarely left the dorm, refused to eat, and did not interact with anyone unless necessary. Perhaps a nod here or a head shake there, but she did not speak. Any attempt to mention Victoria around her would result in Penny snapping like she did with Chris. Penny had just begun to grow closer to her sister after years of being at odds during the events of origins, so losing her at this moment broke her more than anything else. She felt no anger toward her sister's killer, Vedi, but also threw most of the blame on herself for not being there and not listening to her more. Eventually though, her partner Chris was able to pull her out of this poor state at least temporarily. This put her on the road to acceptance and caused her to draw closer to him in many ways.

Suspecting Hunter
Though her partner frequently mentioned his disdain for Hunter, Penny had no reason to suspect him. However, during the Battle of Terminus, she noted that he had not been sighted by herself or Chris. This pushed her on the path of assuming he could be some sort of double agent. She brought this up to Autumn who told her that Emily had also gone missing just after the attack. Autumn did not think Emily was in any danger, but found it strange that the two of them were missing together. She proceeded to give Penny and Chris access to the Mage Room set inside of the Terminus embassy, and pushed them to consult his main partner, Morgan Nightgem. Given that Penny had a close relationship with Morgan, she agreed and left with Chris in tow.

Asking Morgan for help
Speaking to Morgan proved fruitful to Penny in a variety of ways, but even his partner was not sure where he could have gone. She did note that he was acting different lately, voicing concerns over his self-isolation, but still had full faith that he had done nothing wrong. To Morgan, Hunter was incapable of taking down the early warning system or assisting the Empire due to his hate for them. Penny pressed on anyway and managed to get even more out of her best friend. Morgan told her that she had not been able to sense his thoughts for some time now and that the last time she had seen him, he was speaking to Emily. Penny took this as enough for now, fully trusting Morgan's word, and left her and her Mages to plan for the defense of the planet Penrose.

The Battle Over the Terminus Plains
An Imperial attack came shortly after speaking to Morgan. Penny explains briefly how this attack could not have been the full force of the fleet as it was a meager air raid. Still, she desired to get up in the air to minimize the damage on the city. Together with her partner, she reached the airfield just outside of Terminus and procured a plane. Unbenounced to either of them, the plane was a prototype in the final stages of development. Penny was able to start the plane, get it rolling, and prepare for launch. Her partner Spellcrafter was nervous about the prospect of entering a dogfight, but Penny was able to mostly relax him by explaining that she had piloted many times before. However, Dreadful was not able to do the same for the plane's onboard AI, Cornellius. She put this on full display by taking down the most planes out of everyone who had launched to intercept the attackers. Using the Spark's weapon and engine capabilities, Penny flew circles around the outclassed Imperial fighters, only being matched by Violet Fleur. The defenders also managed to destroy a transport either meant to deploy a squad or pick up an individual for extraction which Violet destroyed.

When landing, Penny expressed joy to have been back in the air after not being given clearance to fly. The last time she had flown an actual plane was with the Empire, so she found the experience refreshing. Penny was congratulated for her performance by her partner, Megan, Ian, and even the General of the Alliance. Nickolas Delore was a high ranking general within the Alliance who had the knowledge of both ground and space warfare, making him well known in the Alliance military, and often a target for the Imperials. The general wanted Penny in his ranks along with her partner simply for her exemplary flying, seemingly not caring at all about the fact that she was a Sorcerer. The General knew who she was and even had a run in with her at one point, so recruiting her was something at the top of his agenda. He also agreed to appear at Penny's hearing on Aurrera to expedite the process, and demand that she fight alongside his fleet.

Hunter Crushes Chris
After a successful flight mission that neither Chris or Penny were authorized to do, Penny was extremely surprised and almost taken aback by the constant praise from Chris, her friends, nearby pilots, and even the General. It was one of the few moments she truly felt proud of herself and felt appreciated among other members of the Alliance despite being a Sorcerer. However, the celebration didn't last but a few moments as while Penny was in the middle of a deep conversation with the General, Megan informed her that her partner ran off with Hunter, got crushed by a building, and needed help. Penny could sense he was in pain but couldn't pinpoint where he was in the pile of bricks. She was in a state of panic trying to find him and get him out. Once Ian and the others managed to dig him out of the rubble, Penny held him close, begging him to stay alive. She didn't know what else to do and urged Megan to heal his wounds as other wizards were coming to his aid. The fear of Chris dying left Penny in tears, and while he was healing, Penny made certain to stay by his side and wait until he woke up.

The Aurrera Hearing
Since Chris had woken up from his coma, Penny had been practicing and preparing for her trial. She would pace, rehearse in the mirror, and beg for Chris to listen to her speech. Penny didn't want anything to go wrong or to lose her partner, so she did everything she could to make sure she didn't ruin her chance. Once they arrived at the hearing, Penny tried to avoid speaking unless she was spoken to, but as Senator Quinn was defending her case, several members of the court countered his defense by comparing her partner situation to that of Headmaster Brood and Chaos Dreadful's in the past. They claimed that their failure to come together as partners and the result that came of it led to the very war they're fighting. This made Penny speak up, as she couldn't let them continue to taint her sister's memories and what she died fighting for: the Alliance. At the end of the hearing, the votes were in and Penny won the case. With the knowledge that she could continue to be Chris's partner, Penny was thrilled.

The Clock Tower Incident & Aftermath
After successfully completing their task near the Terminus village to purge the rogue wolves which were tampered with by the Empire, Penny and Chris were paired into a squad with Megan and Ian. This squad was not yet named and instead went by just 'Chris's squad'. Penny had gone to get food for herself and Christopher when she suddenly received a call on her watch. After answering and discovering that Chris now knew where Hunter was hiding with the help of the Shadow of Victoria, Penny rushed over to assist her partner. Knowing that he would not wait for her, Penny took the shortest route possible and informed the mage known as Miyato on her way. Miyato goes to inform the other mages while she hurries to confront Hunter with her partner.

When Penny arrived, Chris had already engaged Hunter by himself. He'd also already freed Emily so upon entering, Penny blocked Hunter's ongoing blast of fire and worked together with Chris to push him up the tower. They chased him to the very top where the gears and clock faces resided. The battle was in their favor and Hunter was running out of options, but still remained mostly calm and did his best to separate the two partners as it was his only chance. Eventually, he was able to take Chris out of the fight temporarily which Penny had not accounted for. She had no time to recover from the shock to her body from her partner being injured and also the need to fight alone once again. Hunter got into her defenses, relieved her of her short sword, and dispatched her - or so he believed so. Penny went unconscious for a short time due to the heavy blow which was inflicted on her spine and hip. She thought that something important had been struck but still managed to heal herself up to the point where she could move.

After Hunter escaped in his plane and disabled Chris, the two sat together in the burning clock tower both debating their options and accepting that they may die. Chris decided to tell Penny that he had developed feelings of love for her and needed her. Unsure how to respond, Penny reasonably questioned this. She was not sure how to feel or what to say, but Penny was not able to push him further for answers or give a reply as he fainted against her. She continued to think on it and wonder what she should be feeling. Megan arrived to save them a minute or two later and the three of them leapt out of the clock tower with Chris more so falling. Summoning her flower spell, Megan flew them away from the crumbling tower as the mages and the headmaster caught the falling debris. Ian had rescued Emily from the doomed structure and Megan had saved the two Deltas from the summit of the tower. The two were informed by Shadow Victoria that Chris and Penny would be going after Hunter and arrived sometime just after the battle with Hunter concluded.

Trivia

 * Penny is considered to be the deuteragonist of the Spellcrafter color arc.
 * When reading from her point of view, Penny can hear Chris's thoughts. This also applies to him.