Graelyn Scythes

Graelyn Scythes was a notable inhabitant of the 10,000 Dawns who was good friends with Archimedes Von Ahnerabe and, like him, a one-time companion of Lady Aesculapius as well as an agent of Dawn.

Early life and adventures
Scythes grew up in an abusive household, living with her mother in the late 25th century Moscow of her universe, in which, by that time, the entire solar system was under the control of a giant corporation called Centro Systems. She had a cat named Mr Sprinkles. In 2471, she discovered the book Head of State, only reading it after she was assured by reliable sources that the protagonist, Rachel Edwards, with whom she strongly identified, survived the story despite all the hardships she endured. (PROSE: Rachel Survived)

After leaving Moscow, Graelyn lived "underwater" for a time. After meeting Archimedes Von Ahnerabe, (RPOSE: White Canvas) she shared a "few misadventures" with him and then was recruited by the benevolent interdimensional paramilitary group Dawn. (PROSE: Rachel Survived) She and Archimedes once went on a mission to a moon chasing something and Archimedes was taken, leading Graelyn to rescue him from the past by infiltrating a World War II special operations mission. (PROSE: White Canvas)

Travels with Lady Aesculapius
Graelyn and Arch also travelled with Lady Aesculapius for a time (PROSE: White Canvas, Life After Death) in her Factory of Crystal. During this period, they once visited Rogeria City on the planet Mercury, where Graelyn bought a cheap Sherlock Holmes Halloween costume. When she eventually parted ways with Aesc, she left the costume behind in the Factory. (PROSE: Life After Death)

Involvement with the Totality
On behalf of Dawn, Graelyn and Archimedes Von Ahnerabe were sent to follow the Arbiter of Knives to the Totality to prevent her from starting a war between the Firmament and the rulers of that universe. The Arbiter was trying to get the Book of Books, which was being held at the New York Public Library alongside a cache of books about the War from the 10,000 Dawns. By coincidence, the actual Rachel Edwards, who was a real being in this world instead of a fictional character, was one of the journalists doing a story about the Books, which were believed to be a rare find from the 18th century by the human authoritie. Thus, to disguise her presence, the Arbiter had bribed a member of the local cosmic authorities to overlook any strange events surrounding Rachel for the next few days.

Graelyn thus got the opportunity to meet her heroes as she and Archimedes prevented Rachel from being abducted first by the Arbiter, then by the Strid, an alien species native to the war's universe who were trying to take advantage of the situation. Eventually, events came to a head in the room in the Library where the books were being kept, with the Strid having taken the book before anyone and trying to auction it off between the three Dawns powers represented. Graelyn and Arch refused to negotiate with the Strid, merely demanding that they release the stash unilaterally. In the end, the action became moot when Rachel, inspired by Graelyn telling her how much she'd meant to her as a fictional character, managed to turn the situation to her advantage and peacefully recover the book. After sharing fond goodbyes with Rachel, the two visitors left the Totality again by throwing dust on a wall to create a glowing, temporary portal. (PROSE: Rachel Survived)

Graelyn later became a central figure in the masterplan of Auteur. (PROSE: White Canvas)

The funeral of Lady Aesculapius
After one of her incarnations was murdered by an unknown party using a booby-trapped parcel, Lady Aesculapius, reborn in a new body, chose to keep her survival a secret in order to find out who had sent the parcel, and organised a lavish funeral for herself in the Factory, inviting everyone she knew. Graelyn and Archimedes Von Ahnerabe were among the first names she scribbled down on her list. At the reception, Graelyn immediately recognised Aesc in her new body and casually greeted her as such, in part because she recognised her own Sherlock Holmes costume which Aesc had put on as a "disguise". Forced to improvise, Aesc unconvincingly claimed to be her own, imaginary cousin "Lady Raesculapius".

Later, after Aesculapius made her deductions about her murder public, Graelyn and Arch stopped the killer, Meistras, from slipping away quietly. She heard the subsequent interaction between Meistras and Aesc, and was perturbed to hear about the Utopia Dimension's universe-destroying weapon, which seemed to be the heart of the matter. She asked Aesc about it at greater length after Meistras escaped, "sombre for the first time since arriving at this funeral". (PROSE: Life After Death)

Physical appearance
By the time she met Rachel Edwards, Graelyn appeared as a young woman wearing a red blazer and matching skirt with a white blouse and black tie,. In Why We Need This Book, a holographic play generated by Archimedes Von Ahnerabe to quickly explain the situation surrounding the Book of Books to Rachel Edwards, which used famous 21st century actors' appearances for the various "characters", Graelyn was "played" by Idina Menzel. (PROSE: Rachel Survived)

Behind the scenes
Graelyn Scythes is a main character of the 10,000 Dawns series.