Difference between revisions of "Emily Roland"

Revision as of 18:25, 23 September 2008

Character Profile

Biography

Emily Roland was one of the few young girls being trained for Longwing service. She had not yet reached puberty when William Laurence first met her, and he mistook her for a boy. She had sandy blonde hair which she cut in a bowl fashion, similar to the male cadets. She also wore boy's clothes. Emily told Laurence she has been in the corps for three years. She was very eager and helpful, which made him chose her as one of his runners.

Emily's mother was the experienced captain Jane Roland, who had flown with Excidium for years. Emily was to be Excidium's next captain when Jane died. And though Jane loved Emily very much, she feared handing Excidium over based solely on inheritance and not merit (a veiled reference to Jeremy Rankin). Laurence assuaged these fears and assured Jane that Emily was a very promising cadet.

Jane did not reveal the identity of Emily's father to Laurence. She said that she has not seen him in "10 years" and had raised Emily without a male role model (excepting Excidium). They were not married and she doubted he knew Emily's name.

By the time Temeraire's crew left for China, Emily had turned eleven.

After the crew left Africa, Emily and Peter Dyer were promoted from Cadet to Ensign. However, when Laurence was convicted of treason she was reassigned to Artemisia. Emily was one of the few members of Temeraire's crew who returned after the treason conviction. She did not have to worry that it would hurt her career, as her future with Excidium was already established. After Napoleon's invasion she was sent along with Laurence and Temeraire to Australia by her mother.