Twisty Jane

Twisty Twisty Jane is a vagabond living on the streets of the City of Gears. Twisty Jane was actually an advance scout from an 11-dimensional universe. 5 years ago, she was sent through a portal that had been opened from the City of Gears to Twisty Jane's universe. This portal is found deep in the mountain upon which the City is built. Twisty Jane does not remember where the portal is, that it exists, or that she's from another universe. In traversing the portal, Twisty Jane's 11-dimensional body was improperly translated into 4 dimensions. This resulted in Twisty Jane's body appearing contorted. Her body is human, but it's just not put together right Her features vary in size, shape and age from moment to moment, inconsistently with each other. She moves in ways no ordinary human should be able to, faster or slower than her perceived movements suggest. Twisty Jane's mind was also distorted by the transition from 11 dimensions to 4. She is unable to access her memories from before she stepped through the portal, except as half-forgotten dreams and instinctive survival skills. She also has difficulty with short term memory, as different parts of her mind move between past, present and future. Twisty Twisty Jane's speech is slurred (her tongue often changes mid-word) and cryptic. Her expressions often don't match her words. Twisty Twisty Jane is tall, but is usually stooped over because her limbs don't match. Her hair shifts between ginger and gray, and at any given time parts of her body range from age 25 (her age when she passed through the portal) to approximately age 60 (when she may have died). Her strength varies, but she tends to be clumsy because her hands, eyes, and other body parts don't stay in sync. Many of her individual features could be attractive, but their mismatched asymmetry combined with resultant grime from living on the streets repels most people. If Twisty Jane's form were to ever be properly embedded in the 4 dimensions of the City of Gears, she would appear as a tall 30-year-old woman with delicate features, emaciated but with a lingering wiry strength. However, for that to happen she would need to survive a return trip through the portal and then traverse it again with coordinated assistance on both sides. However, Twisty Jane doesn't even know the portal exists, or what ger true nature is. She believes she's just a woman from the City of Gears who can't seem to get herself together.

The story takes place in a steampunk fantasy setting known as the City of Gears. Electricity was never harnessed in this world; however, magic supplements the more primitive technology to result in a level of technological advancement similar to 20th century Earth. For example, instead of mobile phones, people in the City of Gears can communicate via portable scrying crystals. Most technology in the City of Gears is magically powered through either leylines or the Will of a sentient being. Most beings learn to imbue their will into objects in childhood, as part of their education.