Old Nettle
Old Nettle is an elder figure who tests people before she trusts them.
She is proud, suspicious, wounded, and lonely without ever feeling weak. She does not yield to charm alone, and she does not make conversations easy just because someone wants something from her.
In Bellharrow, the sisters found her keeping F14's cottage clean while F14 was gone. Old Nettle called this keeping the dust from winning, not waiting.
Known So Far
- Old Nettle has known F14 for a long time.
- She was keeping F14's cottage tidy during F14's absence.
- She confirmed F14 had been gone for about two months.
- She moved the sisters toward Susul's concert before they could linger too long.
- She allowed that the sisters could stay at F14's cottage.
- She flies on a broom.
- She has stopped Tessel from throwing too many trinkets into the Bell Well.
Unclear
- How much Old Nettle knows about where F14 went.
- What she thinks the sisters are ready to hear.
- Why she is so careful about turning worry into chores.
Session Zero
In one of F14's lessons, Old Nettle had won F14's golden apple token in a game of chance.
The sisters were sent to retrieve it. Old Nettle asked for a cat in trade and gave them one hour to return. Elara and Briar refused to give up East or West, so they found a tabby cat at a nearby farm.
When Briar realized Old Nettle intended to eat the cat, she made a minor illusion of the cat and slipped the real one safely into her pocket. Old Nettle received the false cat, and the sisters recovered F14's token.
What She Teaches
Old Nettle's scene taught the sisters that some problems cannot be solved through force or simple politeness.
She made them bargain, listen, read the situation, protect what mattered, and choose a clever answer when the obvious answer was cruel.