Template:Provost's Guard
- "She is good at what she does, but she does not know how to handle young folk."
- —Myaral Fane to Rebakah Cooper refering to Clara Goodwin[src]
Clara "Clary" Goodwin is Beka Cooper's female Dog partner and partner to Matthias Tunstall. She's more uptight than Tunstall, and is commanding. Also famous for her work in the Lower City, Goodwin could choose any position in Corus that she wanted, but chooses to remain in the Lower City.
Biography
Goodwin's family are respectable members of the Carpenter's Guild.[1]. That's why she is skilled at sewing and doing fine needlework, even embroidery. Her mother had wanted her to learn the craft because she thought she could still convince her daughter to become a proper wife instead of becoming a Dog. Goodwin still keeps her hands busy with it years later, even after the death of her mother, as a way to remember her and to honor the craft.[2]
When she was a Puppy one of her training partners was Nyler Jewel.[3] She has been working as a Dog since 229 HE[4]. Some time not long after she became a street Dog Goodwin went loose. She had been bribed to stand guard for the unloading of a shipment and asking no questions.[5] However, she eventually returned to active duty.
It's unknown when she married the master carpenter Tomlan Goodwin, who is quite a contrast to her as he is easygoing, but Goodwin once mentioned to Beka that she had been working in Port Caynn for a few months, when she and Tom had difficulties. That's when Goodwin became acquainted with the Finers, because Isanz Finer's son was taking her out.[6] Goodwin also mentions that she has already been married to Tom by that time.[7] Goodwin also discovered her liking for outlandish food like Yamani buckwheat noodles while living in Port Caynn.[8]
In 233 HE Matthias Tunstall became her partner[4]. By 246 HE, Goodwin holds the rank of a Corporal[9] and has refused promotion to Sergeant several times[10].
She and her husband live on Dun Lane in Flash District, a better part of Corus than the Lower City. Their house is "a pretty stone place with a well-thatched roof and orderly garden." Besides growing vegetables, the Goodwins also have chickens and goats. They have charms over their door.[11]
Since 246 HE, Goodwin is also the Goddess's Magistrate for the Lower City at the Mother of Starlight temple.[12] She and Myaral Fane attend the same temple; they have been friends since around 226 HE.[13]
Physical description
Goodwin has brown eyes and dark brown hair, which she wears cropped short. She is built strong and five feet six inches (5'6") tall. Goodwin has "a small beak of a nose" and full lips.[4]
There is a contradiction concerning her hair as it is described as dark brown in Terrier, but in Bloodhound it's suddenly black[14].
Personality and traits
Goodwin does have a diverse personality. She is quite strict, even cross when she is working and doesn't seem to have much patience. But Goodwin can also show a soft side when she is with her husband or concerning Pounce as, like Tunstall put it, "she likes cats"[15]. Although being mostly rough she can also show a more affectionate side, like she did when leaving Beka in Port Caynn and warning her not to be reckless and take care. When she is thinking Goodwin paces.[16]
Skills and abilities
Goodwin was very good at her work as a Dog, being considered one of the toughest Dogs of the Lower City, the roughest part of Corus. She also has good wits, as shown when she learned a new game, Gambler's Chance, quickly and was able to loose on purpose only the next evening, because this helped her and Beka on their hunt. Otherwise she could have won quite a bit of money.[17]
She also learned how to embroider when she was younger to please her mother, and still does in in 247 HE. Goodwin could see and communicate with water sprites, thus she seemed to have a similar gift as Beka with the dust spinners[18].
Relationships
Tomlan Goodwin
Tomlan is Clara's husband and both clearly love each other. She mostly only shows her affectionate side around him and he is clearly worried for her when she is working. Tom is the one cooking in their household and even provides his wife and Beka with some food for their voyage on the Green Mist.
Working relationships
Matthias Tunstall
Goodwin and Tunstall have been working together as a Dog pair for fourteen years. Accordingly they work very well together, understanding each other and often communicating without words, thus being one of the best pairs in the Lower City. When off duty they also tease each other sometimes, like when Goodwin has a broken jaw and Tunstall particularly enjoyed the food she couldn't eat at that moment. Goodwin answered his teasing by throwing porridge at him. Goodwin also voiced her concerns on Tunstall's private issues of courting Lady Sabine.
Rebakah Cooper
Beka was Goodwin and Tunstall's Puppy from April 246 HE to April the following year. At first Goodwin was against having a Puppy, because she thought they only brought trouble. However, she soon realized that Beka was a good addition to their team, who "earned her meals". Even after Beka became a full-fledged Dog she was sometimes paired up with Tunstall and Goodwin, because she was intermittently without a partner of her own. In September of 247 HE Beka and Goodwin were partnered for a Hunt of their own, searching the counterfeiters in Port Caynn. During this Hunt, especially when telling Beka to take care of herself because Goodwin had to go to Corus to report to Lord Gershom, Goodwin's attachment to Beka was clearly shown.
Notes and references
- ↑ Terrier, April 3, 246 (p. 174)
- ↑ Bloodhound, September 14, 247 (p. 173/174)
- ↑ Terrier, May 8, 246 (p. 446)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Terrier, April 1, 246 (p. 32)
- ↑ Bloodhound, September 12, 247 (p. 129)
- ↑ Bloodhound, September 15, 247 (p. 213)
- ↑ Bloodhound, September 15, 247 (p. 215)
- ↑ Bloodhound, September 15, 247 (p. 234)
- ↑ Terrier, April 1, 246 (p. 30)
- ↑ Bloodhound, September 7, 247 (p. 13)
- ↑ Terrier, May 10, 246 (p. 495/496)
- ↑ Terrier, April 2, 246 (p. 86)
- ↑ Terrier, April 7, 246 (p. 222)
- ↑ Bloodhound, September 14, 247 (p. 162)
- ↑ Terrier, April 2, 246 (p. 83)
- ↑ Bloodhound, September 17, 247 II (p. 345)
- ↑ Bloodhound, September 17, 247 I (p. 326)
- ↑ Bloodhound, September 17, 247 II (p. 343)