| Aurora 'Rory' Deveaux | |
|---|---|
| Student at Wexford (Expelled)
Police Officer | |
| Species: | Human |
| Gender: | Female |
| Age: | 17 years old |
| Family: | Mr. Deveaux (Father)
Mrs. Deveaux (Mother)
|
| Hair color: | Dark Brown |
| Eye color: | Dark Brown |
| Aliases: | Rory |
| Significant Other: | Jerome (formerly) |
| Status: | Alive |
| Appearances: | The Name of the Star |
Aurora 'Rory' Deveaux is the protagonist of the Shades of London series. The series charts her journey as she adapts to her new life in England, comes face to face with the copycat killer of the most notorious murderer in British history, and stumbles upon a decades-old Eleusinian cult.
She has pale skin, dark brown hair, dark eyes, a round face, and a large, pink scar across her torso thanks to the Ripper.
Biography[]
Background[]
Rory is from Bénouville, Louisiana, a town she describes as lovely but likely to drive you crazy if you don't leave. Her parents were the only ones in the Deveaux family to leave the town, as they studied law at the University of Tulane in New Orleans. The family had long since decided that it would be wise to leave the town for a while, and so four years to the setting of The Name of the Star, Rory and her parents made the decision to come to London for her sabbatical. Rory's parents would teach law at the University of Bristol, whilst Rory would attend Wexford Sixth Form in London.
Life at Wexford[]
Rory finds the transition between the English and American life hard, especially with the difference between the lessons. French was the subject she was strongest in in Bénouville but she struggles with the French in England. She absolutely detests hockey and finds it difficult to stick to the Wexford timetable, which begins far too early for her taste. In The Madness Underneath, Rory is expelled from Wexford due to her dropping grades- a side effect of her constant involvement and excursions with the Shades team.
Gaining the Sight[]
After choking on a piece of beef when telling a story to her friends, Rory unknowingly develops the Sight. Though it remains a latent and unknown talent to her for some time, the first time the Sight is of use to her is when she is at the Flowers and Archers pub, where the police examine the murder scene of Fiona Chapman. Her ability to see ghosts occasionally makes her come across as a little eccentric to her fellow classmates. Rory has often accidentally spoken aloud to Alistair while in Jerome's presence, and she once confused her roommate Jazza when she pointed out the presence of Alexander Newman.
The Shades[]
Rory draws the attention of the Shades, a secret sector of the police who suspect from her testimony that she may possess the Sight. Rory soon meets Boo, a young woman who poses as a student at Wexford to keep an eye on Rory. When Rory tails Boo while out on an excursion, she sees her talking to a young and familiar police officer (Stephen) and a woman in oddly old-fashioned attire (Jo). As Rory looks on, someone walks right through Jo and Rory thinks that she is hallucinating. Boo and Stephen attempt to calm her down and take her back to the flat to explain the Sight phenomenon. While there, Rory also meets Callum and learns about the Shades' work. She later works with the Shades to bring down Alexander Newman.
Character[]
Her full name, Aurora, is one that she loathes to be called by, and was only 'forced' upon her due to a Deveaux family tradition; even her parents don't call her by that name, choosing instead to call her Rory. She is a kind, energetic, quirky, odd teenager who is proud of the free flow of her speech - namely, she has the gift of talking for a long time about nothing in particular. She says it's a Southern trait to try to talk annoying people to death instead of trying to fight them directly. Rory unsuccessfully tries this tactic on Charlotte as they're walking to dinner together during Rory's first night at Wexford, and with better luck when she has to evade her first therapist's questions during the beginning of The Madness Underneath.
Rory has an odd gift to remember small, strange details of her surroundings, unusual character traits, and weird family stories at convenient times in the series. She's also a fairly good liar when she has to bluff her way out of sticky situations.
At first she has trouble adjusting to her new life in England, and to her ghostly abilities, but she adapts to her new life in England, and later wants to join the Shades.
Rory loves to eat. Some of her favorite foods are anything spicy, sausages, and above all else, Cheez Wiz. She likes to drink coffee and iced tea with lots of sugar.
Terminus Abilities[]
Rory holds the ability to vaporize ghosts on contact, a power she gained in The Name of the Star after her confrontation with Alexander Newman (The Ripper). This proves an issue when she tries to talk to ghosts, as they may accidentally (or intentionally) touch her. And POOF.
According to Rory, the smell of a terminated ghost resembles burnt flowers.
At the end of The Name of the Star Rory vaporizes a ghost without any physical repercussions. As the series has continued, however, she seems to get increasingly ill after each time. The last time, in The Shadow Cabinet, she experienced nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and fainting. She has wondered if her terminus abilities affect her lifespan.
Relationships[]
Family[]
Rory has a loving relationship with both of her parents. They are a bit overprotective, but are willing to step back and let Rory manage herself. She is an only child.
Stephen[]
Stephen and Rory have a complicated relationship. The two did not care for each other at first, but got along in order to solve the Ripper case. He is known to be tightly wound and snappy- possibly a result of his upbringing and a need to prove himself as leader. Stephen is upfront, no-nonsense, and a very analytical thinker.
Through his time spent with the cheerfully talkative Rory, he slowly opens up. In The Madness Underneath he and Rory grow close, going on various trips and solving a murder in the Flowers and Archers pub. It is shown he cares for her safety: as seen when he trailed her while she stayed in Bristol, and crashed his car to rescue her from kidnapping. The two kiss later in that book. Rory then realizes her feelings for him, which he cannot reciprocate due to the fact the he enters a death-like coma (due to an unknown head injury) the next morning.
He is resurrected in the end of The Shadow Cabinet. Though they have no more romantic rendezvous (besides one kiss- though even Rory is sure that that one "doesn't count") Rory seems convinced he returns her feelings. As of the end of the book, their relationship status is confusing at best.
Jerome[]
Rory and Jerome both attended Wexford, where they met and formed a relationship. He's a bit dorky with macabre interests, which helped escalate Rory's involvement with the Ripper case in The Name of the Star. Their relationship was ongoing until The Madness Underneath. The two split because Rory felt bad for hiding things from him, but remain friends.
Boo[]
As they're the only girls on the Shades squad, Boo and Rory have stuck together. Though Rory is not as close with Boo as she is Jazza, she appreciates her bold personality and compassion.
Jazza[]
Jazza was Rory's closest friend at Wexford. They're both a bit awkward in social situations and have gotten along since day one. Jazza is often described by Rory as a smart, introverted girl with a love of Jane Austen.
Callum[]
Callum and Rory have had a rocky relationship from the start, only to have been made worse when she tried to use her terminus powers to turn dying Stephen into a ghost- the thing Callum most despises. The two made nice in The Shadow Cabinet, but Rory is unsure he'll ever fully forgive her for trying to turn Stephen.
Etymology[]
Aurora is a given name for women, originating from the Latin word for dawn. Aurora was the ancient Roman equivalent of Eos, the ancient Greek goddess of the dawn.
Gallery[]
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image taken from site and edited with Photoshop