SHRILL
Real Name: Unrevealed
Identity/Class: Human magic user
Occupation: Sorceress
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Her four acolytes (names unrevealed)
Enemies: Darkoth, Katherine "Kitty" Pryde, Gravemoss
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: British isles, notably London, England
First Appearance: Excalibur I#83 (November, 1994)
Powers/Abilities: The extent of Shrill's sorcerous abilities is unknown, but she was able to fire mystic bolts and teleport. She was severely weakened and aged when the Soulsword was drawn due to having the Soulsteel Eye, made of the same element as the Soulsword. She possessed a brooch that contained a fleck of Soulsteel, acting as a compass to guide her to the sword's wielder.
History:
(Excalibur I#83 (fb) - BTS) - For unknown reasons, the sorceress Shrill accepted the Soulsteel Eye, but was bedridden with pain, even comatose, whenever the Soulsword was drawn and used.
(Excalibur I#84 (fb) - BTS) - In order to stop the Soulsword being drawn, Shrill attempted to take it from Darkoth, but failed, although she made sure he regretted having ever met her.
(Excalibur I#83) - Tended by her four male acolytes, Shrill recovered from the pain brought on by the Soulsword's brief draw elsewhere. She wanted to eliminate the sword-holder to stop it from ever being drawn again and intended to use her brooch, containing a speck of Soulsteel, as a compass to guide her to the sword's whereabouts.
(Excalibur I#84) - Revived from unconsciousness when the Soulsword was sheathed once more (by Kitty Pryde hundreds of miles away), Shrill used to the brooch to identify that the Soulsword lay in a Scottish isle far north and teleported there, despite her acolytes' concern. However, when Shrill arrived there, Pryde again drew the Soulsword from within her, causing Shrill intense pain and disfigurement. Shrill recognized that Pryde was not an evil person, but resolved to destroy its wielder as she could not destroy the sword itself. Nightcrawler then appeared and demanded the Soulsword.
(Excalibur I#85) - With her Soulsteel Eye, Shrill was able to see that Nightcrawler was in fact possessed by Gravemoss, an opposing sorcerer, and informed Pryde. The two magic users then dueled while Pryde disappeared to marshal her courage and returned to take Gravemoss (still in Nightcrawler's body) head on. Though in great pain, Shrill saw Gravemoss as the greater threat and mystically bound him, ordering Pryde to kill him before collapsing to the floor from the strain.
Comments: Created by Warren Ellis (writer), Terry Dodson (pencils) and W.C. Carani (inks).
So what happened to her? Dead? Passed out and collected by her acolytes?
One of her acolytes commented that
he thought that the Scots still painted themselves blue and hunted for food, suggesting
that Shrill and her acolytes may have been many
hundreds of years old.
I'm guessing that was just supposed to indicate that the acolyte was a racist/Scotophobe.
---Ronald Byrd
See the Darkoth profile for the changing ownership of the Soulsword.
Profile by Grendel Prime.
CLARIFICATIONS
:
Shrill has no known connections to:
The Soulsteel Eye was made of the same metal as the Soulsword with the two items apparently not intended to exist in the same dimension. Glittering when near the Soulsword, it appeared to replace the wearer's eye (or maybe bonded as a lens over it) and allowed the wearer to view another person's soul; using this, Shrill was able to see that Nightcrawler had been possessed by the ambitious magician Gravemoss.
--Excalibur I#83 (83-85
images:
(without ads)
Excalibur I#84, p9, pan3 (main image)
Appearances:
Excalibur I#83 (November, 1994) - Warren Ellis (writer), Terry Dodson
(pencils), W.C. Carani (inks), Suzanne Gaffney (editor)
Excalibur I#84 (December, 1994) - Warren Ellis (writer), Daerick Gross
(pencils), Bill Anderson (inks), Suzanne Gaffney (editor)
Excalibur I#85 (January, 1995) - Warren Ellis (writer), Ken Lashley
(pencils), Tom Wegrzyn (inks), Suzanne Gaffney (editor)
Last updated: 12/30/10
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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