Ruth Gallagher

Ruth Gallagher is a fictional character, appearing in Mark Chadbourn's trilogies The Age of Misrule, The Dark Age and The Kingdom of the Serpent.

Character History

Prior to the books

Ruth leads a much more normal, stable life than the other Brothers and Sisters of Dragons in the events leading up to the return of the Old Gods - whereas many of her companions come from broken homes, Ruth's life is fairly ordinary: she is raised in a fairly happy family, where her working-class father subtly pressures her into studying Law so that she can make a success of herself despite her background, a pressure that over time she begins to wonder if she should have given in to. Her comfortable life as a solicitor is shattered, however, when her Uncle Jim is murdered in a senseless attack on a building society, a murder which shocks the family so deeply that only a few days later her father dies of a heart attack, leaving Ruth struggling with several levels of grief.

The Age of Misrule: World's End

Two years later, having been abandoned by her boyfriend, Ruth is walking home alone when she hears a struggle from beneath Albert Bridge. Her investigation causes her to witness a terrible sight - a giant of a man with a face that runs like water murdering another man. Ruth's bravery is evident here@ despite the fact that she is physically much less imposing than the giant, she still stands her ground, ordering him to stop what he's doing with the threat of the law behind her. Even so, she is still knocked unconscious by the horror of what she sees.

In the days following the attack, Ruth's practicality comes to the fore; rather than become hysterical, she instead takes it upon herself to investigate what happened, using her contacts within the law to make enquiries about who the man who died was. Although she appears to be coping fine on her own, it is obvious that the assistance offered by fellow witness Jack Churchill is greatly appreciated: she is strong and independent but occasionally suffers from bouts of intense emotion, during which she needs company, to keep her mind off things.

Ruth's most harrowing ordeal at this early stage comes when she is attacked in a service station toilet by one of the creatures she and Church saw under Albert Bridge. She is taken and almost kidnapped, saved only by a sudden intervention by Church and new companion Tom, an aging hippie who appears to know more than he should. Although by necessity Ruth is forced to keep her emotions under wraps for the next stage of their journey, as they are hounded down the M4 by a Fabulous Beast, she displays a remarkable restraint in the face of such a terrible ordeal, seemingly able to push it to the back of her mind. Her experience at Stonehenge only serves to strengthen her, and just before falling asleep she expresses a silent wish to be able to manipulate the Blue Fire in the same way that Tom can, an important precursor to later events.

Upon their arrival in Salisbury, Ruth experiences a strange event: an otherworldy being, appearing first as an old lady, then as a woman Ruth's age, then as a teenage girl, follows her throughout Salisbury, before telling Ruth that 'he' is missing. She implores Ruth to find him, and then join with them both, but Ruth is terrified by this contact with the unknown and flees. At this stage, she is still too new to the supernatural world to be able to spend much time with it before losing control.

In Salisbury, they meet a young woman named Laura, who Ruth instantly dislikes through her sharp manner and brittle personality. This impression of her is not helped when Laura seemingly leads them into a trap that results in the destruction of a depot and Tom's disappearance, and although Church insists that Laura is a Sister of Dragons and must travel with them, Ruth is wary, informing Laura that she will be watching her. Intensely loyal to Church, she sees it as her job to keep an eye on his 'blind spot', as it were, and is furious when Church allows Laura to undertake the quest which will claim the Stone, concerned that Laura only wants it for herself.

After the Stone is won, Ruth has another encounter with the strange being: this time, she shows Ruth a vision of 'him' and once more begs her to find him and join them as their 'champion'. Ruth is still too frightened to stay for long, but before she flees, she is gifted an owl by the entity, which calls it her 'familiar'. Ruth is disturbed by the use of this word, as its usage in her world is most often accompanied by tales of witchcraft. Although Ruth herself doesn't notice it, in the following few days Church and Laura both begin to notice that she is subtly changing, becoming something new.

After leaving the area, they are attacked for the first time by the Wild Hunt, a terrifying ordeal which Ruth and Laura only survive through the intervention of Ruth's owl. They manage to evade the Hunt by spending a night locked in a service station kitchen, but the next night it catches up with them when they take refuge in an inn called The Green Man. Sharing Church's sense of responsibility, Ruth agrees that they cannot allow other people to die in their stead, and she and Laura race for the car whilst Church distracts the Hunt.

Although Laura is convinced that Church is dead, Ruth refuses to accept this: she maintains a sense of hope, even when it seems impossible that Church could have lived. This is sumptomatic of Ruth's new acceptance of the world in which they have found themselves: she begins to act much more on instinct, leving behind (to some degree) the sharp practicality of Ruth the lawyer, and instead relying on her heart and feelings to tell her what to do. This serves her well, encouraging her to stop when she sees a broken-down van, resulting in their meeting with Shavi, an enigmatic Brother of Dragons who has been led to them by his dreams. Shavi aids in their escape from the Hunt, and once more Ruth's owl offers them assistance, guiding them to Glastonbury in the wake of their escape.

Within Glastonbury, Ruth finds a chance to rest and recuperate, but is determined to go back and look for Church, convinced that he is still alive. Only a communication between Shavi and the spirits implying that a talisman is located in Glastonbury is able to stop her from leaving; like Church, she is fully aware that there are some things that are more important. She and Shavi are able to work out several of the clues leading to Glastonbury Tor, where they find - to their astonishment - Church, Tom and newcomer Ryan Veitch, transported along the ley lines by Tom's magics, carrying the Sword.

With the Brothers and Sisters of Dragons now fully-formed, their next test is a personal one, offering a mirror image of themselves which speaks subtle truths that are intensely emotionally damaging. Although Ruth is partially successful in warding off the hurtful tirade, she cannot, however, ignore her mirror-self when it shows her a vision of the past: Veitch murdering her uncle, setting up the chain of events leading to her father's death. Filled with fury, Ruth attacks Veitch, but after a moment to calm down, assures Church that she isn't going to be stupid. She has accepted her responsibility: as a Sister of Dragons, she has an obligation to fulfil beyond personal vengeance, but she vows that when they have finished their work, she will make Veitch pay for what he did to her family.

Ruth's animosity towards Veitch creates a tension within the entire group throughout the rest of their journey. Although she mostly leaves him to his own devices, whenever they cross paths directly she makes it clear the level of hatred she feels for him, and this makes it difficult for the group to settle, especially since they all knew Ruth first, giving them a heightened sympathy for her situation. When retrieving the Spear from Caldey Island, one of the talking heads reminds her of Veitch's part in her own personal tragedy, but like Church, she is able to ignore it through her own personal resolve to do something about it.

When they finally unite the four talismans and decide to fight the Wild Hunt, Ruth claims the Spear as her weapon, once again following her instinct. Again it proves true: in the heat of battle she sacrifices herself to save the others by attacking the Erl-King with the Spear, but after they both fall away to the bottom of the hill it becomes clear that she has saved herself as well. The Erl-King is 'him', the being that the woman from Salisbury was looking for; by piercing him with the powerful Spear, she ahs broken the Fomorii's hold on him, allowing him to resume his true form. He marks her hand with a triquetra - commenting, enigmatically, that a 'face of the Green' lives within her, and that another lives within one of her companions - and tells her to summon him if she ever has need of his help.

When they are attacked by the Baobhan Sith whilst in chase of the talismans after Laura's mutilation at Callow's hands, Ruth is separated from the others and finds herself in the cottage of a middle-aged woman named Nina. Nina is a practising Witch who, although struggling for years, never had any success with spells until very recently: the return of the Old Gods has also allowed mortals to wield magic again. She reacts to the triquetra - telling Ruth that she is far greater than Nina, and offers her aid, using a certain hallucinogenic salve, applied to the vaginal walls, to allow Ruth to 'fly' - or more accurately, astral project - to discover where the others are being taken. She accepts Nina's gift of a concealment charm, returns to the van to collect Laura, and is able to rescue the others using the knowledge that she gleaned whilst 'flying', but seems reluctant to explore any further ideas of being involved with witchcraft.

The mark that Cernunnos laid upon her seems to offer her a certain respect amongst the Tuatha Dé Danaan - whilst in the Library of Ogma he comments upon it and has a conversation with ruth about the beliefs of the Gods. It is implied on several occasions that it is more than simply a 'mark', but Ruth, at this stage of her development, does not wish to explore it further.

In the final battle, Ruth, along with Laura and Tom, uses the talismans to recall the Tuatha Dé Danaan to our world - a move that, in retrospect, is a bad one, as the Tuatha Dé Danaan seem, at full power, to have little more respect for humanity than the Fomorii. Although they restore Church to life, they do not seem obliged to help the Brothers and Sisters, and Ruth, like the others, is left with little hope for the future.