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Sybil Ramkin
From Discworld & Pratchett Wiki
Motto: NON SVMET NVLLVS PRO RESPONSO
She won't take no for an answer
| Lady Sybil Ramkin | |
 | |
| Name | Sybil Deirdre Olgivanna Ramkin |
| Age | 42. |
| Race | Human |
| Occupation | aristocrat, caring for Swamp dragons |
| Looks | strong woman with a large build |
| Residence | Ramkin Residence, Scoone Avenue, Ankh |
| Death | |
| Parents | |
| Relatives | |
| Children | Sam Jr. |
| Marital Status | married to Sam Vimes |
| Books | Guards! Guards!, Men at Arms, Feet of Clay, Jingo, The Fifth Elephant, Night Watch, Thud! |
| Cameos | |
Full name Lady Sybil Deirdre Olgivanna Ramkin. Lady Sybil is the last scion of the old Ankh nobility the Ramkins (there are still a few old noble families around, but there are also many new nobility, civic figures given Lord titles by the Patricians down the ages). Like many other old noble families, the Ramkins are hard-headed, and never shirk a battle when Ankh-Morpork calls. Nor indeed in other circumstances: when Samuel Vimes is flung thirty years into the past in Night Watch, he only becomes fully aware of the reality of the situation when he returns to a "home" which in that place and time is not his. After punching the butler, he is forced to retreat by a determined twelve-year old Sybil who makes a very determined attempt to disembowel him with a broadsword. This is a character trait in Sybil: right from her first appearance, chronologically speaking, it is clear that she won't shirk from a fight in defence of things she loves. (It also means the ungallant can work out that at the time of Young Sam's birth, she is 42 years old).
In appearance Lady Sybil is a strong woman with a large build. She is over forty years in age and still very active both in lifestyle and in social activities. She is one of the notable breeders of swamp dragons. Her house includes a penhouse for the dragons. She is also founder of the Sunshine Sanctuary for Sick Dragons. To her, the murder of a swamp dragon is equivalent to the murder of a human or other accepted humanoid citizen. Due to the fire hazards associated with breeding swamp dragons, Lady Sybil does not keep her real hair. In social occasions, she likes to wear a big chestnut wig and a light blue dress. In private, she is often wearing a wig and a lot of leather armors, rubber boots, thick gloves, as she works on the dragons.
Lady Sybil is the richest woman in the city of Ankh-Morpork. It is possible that she is the richest person (regardless of gender) in Ankh-Morpork. She owns approximately a tenth of uptown Ankh, and extensive properties in Morpork. The Assassins' Guild, for example, pays rent to her for their grand Guild house. Lady Sybil is also one of the more sensible, more gracious, more accepting (of changing times and ethnic diversity and so on), less arrogant, and less snobby among the nobles of the Sto Plains.
Before meeting Samuel Vimes (then Captain of the Night Watch division of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch), Lady Sybil spent all her time on dragons and seldom attended social parties. Her mansion was very dilapidated, her gardens were a mess of ivies over statues of old Ramkins, there were few servants, and she cooked her own meals and lived in only a few rooms in the large mansion. After marrying Vimes, Lady Sybil became active in society again because she considers that Vimes is truly a gentle man (not a gentleman), a good man who deserves better things in life. Lady Sybil is not arrogant, so there are quite a few nobles that she considers very silly, but she still dines with them and writes to them.
Lady Sybil maintains an extensive correspondence list; her Hogswatch card list is in two volumes. She was at school with Angua's mother, Serafine von Überwald and regularly sent her letters. This is believed to have been discontinued following the attempt on Samuel Vimes's life by the Überwald werewolves. This wasn't so much the murder attempt as the fact that at the time, Lady Sybil was effectively kept prisoner by her old schoolfriend, who lied to her that she had no knowledge of what was going on. If there is something Lady Sybil cannot abide, it's this sort of dishonesty. (Let alone the fact that Serafine violated the sacred bonds of trust between the Ladies who Organise). It is also a safe bet that Serafine has been struck off the Hogswatch card list and blackballed by everyone who was with her in Form 3b.
While at at school she excelled at geometry under the tuition of her maths teacher Miss Turpitude.
After several promotions of Vimes by the Patrician Lord Havelock Vetinari, Lady Sybil is also the Duchess of Ankh. Vimes loves her very much, but it irks him when she is mentioned as the Duchess of Ankh, because that's due to him being the Duke of Ankh, and he doesn't like being a Duke.
Lady Sybil was the one who gave the building in Pseudopolis Yard to the Night Watch; the building is now the headquarters of the modern Ankh-Morpork City Watch.
After a rather difficult childbirth, Lady Sybil safely gave birth to a son (named Sam) thanks to the professional attentions of one Dr. J. "Mossy" Lawn. As thanks Vimes signed over to Dr. Lawn the freehold of a large corner site near Goose Gate, in addition to a large sum of money. The site is now developed into the Lady Sybil Free Hospital, with Dr. Lawn as the head physician.
