Full Name: Rowan Shaw
Occupation: Squad Leader, Special Investigations Divison
Alias(es): Aliases, if any
Species: Human, Cursed (Androgyne) (Mixed ancestry)
Allegiance: See Spoilers
Religion: See Spoilers
Social Status: text
Age: 48 as of 05/17/2000
Eyes: Hazel
Hair: Black, short, peppered with gray
Height: "Not especially tall"
Physical Notes: Slim, muscular build, light brown skin, androgynous
Behavioral Notes: Energetic, charismatic, confident, attentive. Readily makes physical contact with others.
Armament: If Applies
Personality and Appearance
Rowan Shaw is extremely intelligent, energetic, and charismatic. A natural leader, they inspire intense loyalty from the men and women under their command.
Unlike many androgynes, Shaw does not draw distinctions between male and female alter-egos; they are a unified, singular personality and consciousness. Their tendency to inhabit an androgynous body allows others to see them in whatever way they find most comfortable; Shaw never corrects people on their pronoun usage, whether they refer to Shaw as "he," "she," or "they." In fact, whatever mode of address someone uses with them ("sir" or "ma'am"), Shaw will slightly adjust their appearance in that direction in order to set the person more at ease.
Background
Shaw was born female, but took the Curse of Metamor in order to gain access to social circles that traditionally favored men. Educated on scholarship at Chisolm University, a prestigious private school where many of Metamor's elite come of age, Shaw made many connections to influential and powerful people, who have facilitated Shaw's rise to prominence within MCPD.
Current Activities
Shaw is currently leading the Special Investigations Division in pursuit of two major objectives: taking down Malcolm ard'Valos and the Syndicate, and understanding the threat posed by The White. SID also carries out its normal business of investigating unusual and high-profile criminal cases.
Organizational Membership
Shaw is the squad leader of MCPD's Special Investigations Division. As an alum of Chisolm University, Shaw also has membership in various social clubs associated with that institution, including (it is rumored) a secret society whose members include prominent members of government and the nobility.
Home
Shaw lives in Metamor City, but their home's exact location has not been established.
Known Allies
- list item (As Alias)
Known Enemies
- list item (As Alias)
Story Appearances
THE LOST AND THE LEAST
Sources
THE LOST AND THE LEAST
Author's Notes
The following section contains spoilers for THE LOST AND THE LEAST.
Spoilers
Shaw is a member of the Brotherhood of the Sepulcher, the apocalypse cult that worships Nasoj ("the Shackled God") and believes he will return and remake the world. Shaw is driven by the ardent belief that this is the only way the evils of the world will be set to right. Shaw is complicit in the deaths of the Street Rats in THE LOST AND THE LEAST because they believe that this sacrifice is necessary for the greater good of repairing the world, but Shaw does not lack compassion: they see the Street Rats as people whom the current, broken world has failed, who are at the end of their lives in any case, and strive to make their deaths as painless as possible. Shaw is more discomfited by the fate of the prospective Vessels who are taken by the Brotherhood, who are tortured before being killed; this is considered an unpleasant but necessary measure to bring them close enough to the Shackled God that he can see them and judge them.
Shaw might have been a good person, but their perspective has been warped by a twisted religious ideology, and their great intelligence only allows them to more easily defend their beliefs against outside criticism (c.f. Michael Shermer, "Why Smart People Believe Weird Things").
Shaw likes Kate quite a lot, and is deeply disappointed when they cannot sway Kate to their side. They probably won't give up trying to convert her in future books.
