Ivy is one of the playable characters in the fighting game series "Soul Calibur". She uses a segmented sword called "Ivy Blade" (later renamed "Valentine") which allows for long range attacks. She is 32 years old, 5'10" tall and weighs 128 lbs. She is typically considered one of the harder characters to master in the series; her attacks often take many steps to initiate, and can require a lot of forethought.
Ivy grew up with her adopted parents, Count and Countess Valentine, in London, England. The Count was an alchemist who sought the key to eternal life. He became convinced that the sword Soul Edge would be that key, and he squandered the family fortune trying to find it. Her father, driven mad by his quest, soon died. His wife then fell ill, and on her deathbed she revealed to Ivy that she had been adopted by the Valentines.
Ivy discovered the Count's research and took up the study of alchemy herself. During her research, she discovered that Soul Edge was evil. She then turned her attention to finding a way to destroy it. She created her weapon, the Ivy Blade, using ancient rituals and alchemy. However, no matter what rituals she performed, the sword would not come to life.
Her search led her to man called Nightmare, the azure knight. He was able to breathe life into her Ivy Blade. He then convinced her to aid him; Ivy agreed, not realizing that he was under the control of Soul Edge.
Eventually, she learned that Nightmare, the man who had given her sword life, was under the control of Soul Edge. Her blade contained the same dark power as the evil she sought to destroy. She also learned an even more horrifying truth - her birth father was Cervantes de Leon, the previous wielder of Soul Edge, and Ivy too had the sword's power running through her very veins.
Shaken by what she had learned, Ivy locked herself away from the world in her alchemy laboratory. She tried to destroy the Ivy Blade but she could not. She emerged more determined than ever to destroy Soul Edge, Cervantes, and, ultimately, herself. All traces of Soul Edge needed to be wiped from the world. She renamed her sword "Valentine" and set out on a journey to find the shards of Soul Edge.
In the course of her research, Ivy finds a book detailing the existance of a sword that can combat Soul Edge - the holy blade, Soul Calibur, which was able to contain the existance of the evil sword. As she read, she was interrupted by a large man wielding a scythe: Zasalamel. The man burned the book and set fire to Ivy's mansion. As he turned to leave, he told her that if she wished to know about the swords, she should seek out the knight she once knew.