Briar "Brash" Delaney

Bridge Queen of The Hops

Briar Delaney—better known by her chosen name, Brash—is the younger of Cleveland’s two self-declared Bridge Queens, ruling over The Hops Corby from the towers of the Hope Memorial Bridge. Just shy of adulthood, she’s a Wilder Redcap with a fierce reputation and a wicked gleam in her eye. Her mixed heritage (Latina and White) adds to the many layers of her identity, but it’s her sheer presence that tends to strike the loudest chord: a swaggering, untamed charisma that’s won her the loyalty of the Hops and the wary admiration of more than a few outsiders.

Brash is often described as fearless—especially in how she talks to older Kithain, to whom she clearly does not feel obliged to defer. She walks the bridge with the gait of a queen inspecting her realm, and despite the punk-leather armor and Redcap bravado, there's an unexpected wisdom in the way she doles out discipline. She's brutal when she needs to be—but rarely because she wants to be. Question her judgment or risk her corby's safety, and you’ll get the sharp edge of her bite (metaphorically or not).

What sets Brash apart, even from other Redcaps, is her oddball love for architecture. She's known to wax poetic about the Guardians of Transportation that line her bridge—so much so that she considers them honorary members of her corby. Visitors are tolerated on the Hops' turf, so long as they don’t spit metaphoric (or literal) venom at the bridge, the statues, or the Cleveland Guardians baseball team.

Those who don’t know better might think her nickname is about her attitude. Those who do know she earned it from her daredevil antics—chief among them, bungee jumping off the Hope Memorial Bridge so often that she barely reacts anymore. (Rumor has it she once did it upside-down in a prom dress, just because someone said she “couldn’t make a fashion statement midair.”)

Her command of the Art of Metamorphosis is formidable, and a number of tales have emerged about her growing taller, sharper, or stone-skinned mid-confrontation. Whether those stories are true—or exaggerated by Brash herself—is anyone’s guess. She’d grin either way.

Legacy

• Brash is quick to test the mettle of those who claim strength or wisdom, especially if they try to toss around titles they haven’t earned. But those who approach her bridge with humility, humor, or real passion for the City of Bridges may find a surprisingly thoughtful ear beneath the Redcap exterior.
• Should Kithain gain her respect—or perhaps even a laugh—they may find themselves welcomed where few are. But disrespect the bridge, the Guardians, or her corby, and there may be nowhere to run fast enough.
• The rivalry between the Hops and the Vets has been heating up since Brash stepped forward to lead one of the Bridgets' corbies. The Vets' Bridge Queen has taken some serious offense to something Brash has done or said, but it may actually be something as basic as a Seelie versus Unseelie grudge.