Stephanie Edgely (Valkyrie Cain)
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Stephanie Edgely is a fictional character in the fantasy novel Skulduggery Pleasant and its sequel Skulduggery Pleasant 2: Playing With Fire. Although Skulduggery is the titular character Stephanie is arguably the main protagonist as most of the story is told from her point of view.
[edit] Role in story
Stephanie is introduced at the start of the book when her wealthy uncle, Gordon Edgely, a writer of horror fiction, dies under mysterious circumstances Skulduggery Pleasent, page 1]. He leaves Stephanie (whom he was especially fond of) his mansion and his fortune in his will. A highly independent girl, Stephanie spends the night at Gordon's house alone when her parents get stuck in traffic however she is attacked in the middle of the night by a mysterious burglar who demands that she give him "the key." Stephanie is rescued from the madman by the enigmatic Skulduggery Pleasant, a charismatic man from Gordon's funeral who exhibits the ability fire energy projectiles and manages to drive the burglar away however in the ensuing struggle his disguise falls off and Stephanie is shocked to discover that he is in fact a living skeleton. After she recovers from the shock the very gentlemanly Skulduggery explains to her that magic is in fact real and magical people and creatures live among human beings with their own society and governments. He explains that he himself is a magician who fought in a secret war many years ago during which he was killed but for an unknown reason he came back to life as a skeleton.
Stephanie who appears to be a very adventurous and intelligent girl demands that Skulduggery take her with him to help investiate her uncle's murder on account of the fact that she is incredibly bored of her dull and uneventful life. Skulduggery agrees and together they discover that the burglar was working for an evil sorcerer named Nefarian Serpine. Serpine was one [[Melovent's during the secret war and who wishes to procure the mythic Sceptre of the Ancients, a powerful device which was used to banish the demonic Faceless Ones from the world many centuries ago. Serpine being a worshipper of the Faceless Ones wants to find the Sceptre so he can use it to release his evil gods.
During the story Stephanie, upon discovering that knowing someone's name gives you power over them, invents a new name for herself : Valkyrie Cain. Valkyrie from the name of the bird women who carry the dead off the battle field and Cain from the term "raising Cain" meaning, causing trouble, something which Skulduggery affectionately refers to her as doing.
Skulduggery later realises that the key to the Sceptre which Serpine sent his minion to procure is in fact a brooch given to Stephanie's aunt and uncle by Gordon in his will. Stephanie manages to obtain the broach and together she and Skulduggery find the Sceptre in a maze of catacombs hidden beneath Gordon's estate. Serpine however finds it as well and defeats Skulduggery and Stephanie before leaving with the Sceptre.
With the help of a master swordswoman named Tanith Low and an incredibly strong taylor named Ghastly Bespoke, Skulduggery and Stephanie realise that Serpine wants to use the Sceptre to obtain the Great Book of Names which which he will be able to rule the world and find the Ritual to release the Faceless Ones.
After a battle with Serpine at the home of the Magician's Guild, Skulduggery and Stephanie destroy the Book and Serpine is defeated. Skulduggery disarms him and destroys him with the Sceptre after he attempts to kill Stephanie who has sustained a broken leg. Skulduggery takes Stephanie home where she recuperates however Skulduggery comes to visit her a month later. He discovers to his delight that Stephanie is as sharp-tongued and wilfull as ever and that she has discovered that she has magical powers of her own.
[edit] Personality and traits
Stephanie is depicted as an exceptionally mature and independent girl who possesses great confidence and self-esteem. Skulduggery says that she is very much like her uncle whom he describes as "strong-willed, intelligent, sharp-tongued, doesn't suffer fools gladly." Stephanie proves herself to possess all these qualities in spades and she and Skulduggery frequently exchange witty banter. Although the two annoy each-other considerably they do have a great respect and affection for one-another. It is Stephanie's tenacious personality that catches the attention of the evil Nefarian Serpine who takes an interest in Stephanie and makes an attempt to convince her to join him. Stephanie is extremely brave to the point of being fearless and possesses a great desire for adventure and discovering the unknown. She does not have many friends her age and laments the boredom of her dull ordinary life in the village in which she lives. Stephanie appears to possess considerable physical strength for a twelve year-old girl and exhibits aptitude in swimming, running and fighting. At the end of the book she also displays magical powers. On an interesting side-note both Stephanie and Serpine have green eyes, possibly to draw similarities between the characters.
