Gertruda Stiegler

Source characterization: Dragnacarta’s reimagining (primary) + Bella Swann / Twilight (voice reference for specific dialogue and internal monologue work)

Personal Homebrew: Gertruda is the reincarnation of Jacob’s Gertruda. Gertruda lived one full life in Barovia trying to escape, but her soul is trapped in Barovia. She has reincarnated as Gertruda Stiegler.

Key characterization principles:

She engages in self-aware introspection — she notices her own reactions and questions them
She does not present as entirely victim or entirely complicit; she is a person making choices in difficult conditions
Her voice should feel grounded and modern-adjacent in interiority (per the Bella reference) — relatable selfhood inside an extraordinary situation

Voice notes for dialogue/letters:

First-person register is direct and observational, not florid
She notices specific sensory details — what things smell like, what silences feel like
Romantic tension (if applicable) is described from the inside — her own recognition of being pulled, not the pull itself

Current narrative status:

Session 2

Rescued by Von Richten

Planned development [IDEA — NONCANONICAL]:

Jacob’s connection to Gertruda is being put on hold as her primary motivating thread — she needs to work as a character independent of him.
Begins taking on the role of an early apprentice to Von Richten — not loyalty, but practical survival strategy. Her ultimate goal remains escaping Barovia entirely, since as a reincarnated soul she believes she doesn’t belong there.
Why Von Richten keeps her around: some mix of not-yet-proven usefulness, and that she cooks for him (he’s been living on rations/swill).
Writes her diary/notes in Common, not Giant (the only other language readily available) — she’s smart enough not to leave notes Von Richten himself could read. Aware she’s replaceable to him and plays the relationship carefully.
Characterization: not a combatant — assassin/bard-adjacent build, storyteller personality, street-smart, acts older than her apparent age (14) due to past-life memories. May perform naivety around Von Richten as a survival tactic while actually being quite calculating.
A bit floated and set aside as flavor, not canon: Gertruda secretly writing romance novels for the Vallaki book trade, with Von Richten as her unwitting muse.

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