Details...details...
Dana has always been devoted to her maker, the Lady Erin, and has always feared exposure of the vampires most especially her maker, through her own mistakes. Mistakes like trusting the wrong person, drawing attention to their household's penchant for sleeping away the days and living through the nights. This makes her somewhat of a homebody, and her relationships with humans are limited to those that live in their village and the humans and familiars that serve the household.
As a courtier this fear helped keep her on the sidelines, and played into her ability to blend into the walls. As a vampire, this tendency lent itself to the abilities she developed. She discovered the ability to lose her form into a soft mist when she found herself trapped in a room with the queen of Ui Neill and her sister as they began to plot the assassination of the king. She'd used the privy in the small guest room as it had been the closest, and was just fastening her laces when the two women entered. Plastering herself against the wall she wished fervently to simply disappear, prayed that she would become light as air and float away, and willing her body into vapor and mist so that she would not be accused of plotting against the king. Then suddenly she felt her body go light and airy and was floating just above the floor. Thrilled and more frightened than she'd ever been she flowed beneath the draperies covering the privy, slithered along the wall, and flowed under the door. She slipped down the hallway and found another empty room. She concentrated and found her body once more, then scampered back to the ballroom to find her lady.
This need to go out into the world wars with her fears, and she's spent a great deal of time trying to talk herself out of this move. Perhaps staying in Ireland would be better. Lady Erin has insisted that she go, and so her decision was made. However, she's afraid that leaving will provide too many opportunities to make these mistakes so the shyness she already feels will most likely be compounded when faced with strangers and Nachton is full of nothing but strangers.
This fear does not make her necessarily agoraphobic; it does however keep her home most of the time. This has lead to an enjoyment of learning. She reads everything she can get her hands on and it is often that she finds a subject in a book that will lead to study of some kind. She spent six years learning everything she could about Russian history, then followed that with Chinese history, she began to learn the language, but mastery of it evaded her before she moved on to learn about boat making. She concluded that year of study by building her own small skiff. While living in France she spent several years study art history and mastered the French language. In Spain she spent her years there learning the history of dance in the country and speaks mostly fluent Spanish as a result. Dana is also well versed in her own country's history, languages, and culture.
When computer technology came into their lives, Dana spent as much time as she could learning about them and keeps herself up to date on the changes that happen all too often in the computer world, she is however not an expert.
In order to prepare for her trip to America she has read as much as she has had time for on American history as well as the specific history of Nachton.
Her pursuits of historical knowledge have also lead to the learning of the specific stringed instruments of her countries of choice; her current endeavor is the acoustic guitar of American country music.
This wealth of knowledge gives her a small edge in certain discussions, and provides her maker with instant answers to any questions she may have. Her knowledge of music and instruments gives her a way to sit in the back of a crowd and play, encouraging conversation to flow around her.
Perfection is a constant and never ending goal for Dana, and often ends in failure. She compensates for this by requiring everything about her to be exactly where it is supposed to go, things, clothes, hair, make-up, jewelry...etc. She often spends more time than is needed in placing her hair were she wants it, and arranging the folds of her clothing. Her rooms are perfectly ordered, everything in its logical place. She does the cleaning of her chamber, as it was soon discovered that the misplacement of something could send her into a bit of a tantrum.
Packing for a trip can take several days of arranging things into her suitcase, disliking the arrangement and starting over, occasionally violently. When packing her entire room she separated everything into like piles then carefully packed each box exactly how she thought it should be, then precisely labeled what was inside. It took her six mornings to get everything exactly as she wanted it, in seven neat boxes.
This anal retentive behavior has scared off more than one potential lover and has taught her to not invite them back to her room. She has also learned that lingering after, makes her twitchy to put that person's space in the order she sees in her mind. She's not yet found someone that has made her forget this need...this imperfection in herself and so she finds herself lonely more often than not.
Dana - Anantya Vampire
Basic Information
Birth Name: Niamh ó Ceallaigh (pronounced NEEV Oh KAY-Lee-guh)
Aliases: Life, Siofra, Anastasie, Carmina, and Currently Dana (pronounced Dan- a; not Day-na)
Place of Birth: a small farm near Cork, in the Cenél Lóegaire territory of the Desmumu kingdom
Age: she appears late teens to early 20's depending on the era but was turned in 1105 at age sixteen so is actually 904
Male/Female: Female
Current /past Occupation: She's never had any real occupation, except for the small stint as a "chamber maid"Â? however, she has spent the majority of her life learning and trying many different things and is an accomplished horsewoman, hunter, and musician.
Appearance
Hair Color: Very pale strawberry blonde
Length and Style: her hair is cut into long layers around her shoulders and is thin and fine like a child's
Eye Color: Bright summer sky blue
Skin Color: a soft cream with a hint of rose
Height: 5'1"Â?
Weight: 45 Kilos
Nationality: Irish
Race: Vampire
Body Type: Small and waif-like she was often called a gift from the pixies as a child
Description and name of your creator: After being sold to and chased by the lord of a neighboring castle, Niamh was cast from the household after the lord's death. She was taken in by a strange widow woman Erin Mac Lochlainn from the northern coast. After serving several years in her house, being groomed to be a lady, Niamh was gifted with the dark knowledge of Erin's past. Erin wanted a child, and Niamh was the closest she would ever come. It was with great pride and some sadness that Erin brought her into the family that is "doomed to walk the night, but given power only kings could dream of."Â? Erin still lives in Ireland currently as Erin McLeod.
Personal Questions:
1. Describe your character's personality: Dana is shy around strangers, in a disarming kind of way. She is careful in choosing her words, instead of filling the silence with useless noises, this often makes her appear scatterbrained, or in one instance "quite daft."Â? She is however quite intelligent and has a quirky sense of humor that most people often mistake for sarcasm.
2. Describe how your character would appear to a stranger (I.E. typical dress, way they carry themselves etc.) She's small and often thought of as frail, she usually wears a dress of some type, generally long and flowing.
3. What does your character like? Music, learning new things, watching storms come in over the ocean
4. Dislike? Men who think they have a right to touch her simply because she is small and in need of "protection"Â? ,bad smells, and French poetry
5. (For humans) Describe what abilities you see your character having if they were turned.
6. What are your fears? Exposure through her own mistakes, very large crowds and flying.
7. What is your character's strengths and weaknesses? Dana finds learning easy and fun, and spends a great deal of her time in the pursuit of knowledge; this makes her a good resource for a great deal of information on a lot of different topics. She is quiet and blends easily into the scenery making her a rather good spy, when it was necessary to have one is certain courts. She's also painfully shy, making it difficult for her to make friends and has a need for things to be...perfect.
Vampire -
Abilities (Listed here)
Ethereal
Perception
Blending
Flaws (Listed here)
Anal Retentive
Very sensitive to light
Hobbies & Skills (for more information, read here) Plays many different instruments, some of which are no longer in existence.
Cosmetic Traits(Distinct, character defining physical attributes. These should be minor and offer no real power other than to make your character appear more interesting.) She has a small birth mark on her left thigh in the shape of a strawberry.
Quirks and Habits worthy of mention - She hums to herself most of the time when it is not necessary for her to be absolutely silent.
Personal History:
Niamh was the ninth child of a farming family living on a small parcel of land gifted her great-grandfather by the king. She grew up tending the house and seven younger children with her mother and two older sisters. At thirteen she was sent to serve in the king's household, as it was her only prospect of finding a husband. She became enamored with the fifth son of the king, known for his womanizing and rabblerousing. She schemed her way into his retinue, and traveled with him to a neighboring kingdom for summer hunting and found herself the object of desire of the lord of the castle. She was sold to his household; her family paid a handsome sum for her, and found herself in what some would call a romantic affair full of secret evenings and clandestine rendezvous, mixed in with death defying escapes through windows and a near drowning in the pond behind the castle.
For Niamh, it was more nightmare than romance, being chased by an ugly old man, with rough hands and bad breath. When he died of a hunting accident the following spring she was not saddened in the least, and the son that inherited from his father, did not find her sprite's body to his liking in the least and set her out of his house. Shamed and deflowered she could not return home to her family and with the small bag of money given her she set out on the northern road, hoping to find work somewhere.
She had walked for three full days without coming across anyone or anything, not even a farmstead where she could beg shelter for a night. Discouraged she set out on the fourth day, around noon she heard the distinct sound of hoof beats, and moved to the side of the road so as not to get run over.
It was a sleek black carriage that passed her at a generous speed, only to stop just ahead of her. Niamh was not a stupid girl and knew here might be an opportunity for safe travel, but it might also lead to a situation exactly like what she'd left. With great caution she approached the carriage and jumped when the door opened just as she lifted her head to peer inside.
"Get in the carriage child."Â? A sultry voice demanded from within. It was then she saw that all of the windows were covered in black cloth and she wondered how the owner of the voice had even seen her.
"I've no plan to harm you, but I will leave you here on this road. Make your choice."Â?
With a hard swallow, Niamh climbed into the dark interior of the carriage, "Wise choice."Â?
The voice belonged to a woman that looked as though she'd stepped out of the faerie stories her mother had told her as a small child, stories of the great faerie queens with their flowing blonde hair and gray eyes, and their tall willowy bodies and slender hands. She found herself instantly enthralled with the woman and found it no hardship to be scrutinized and criticized.
Her final declaration was "You could be taller, but you'll do."Â?
She was invited to sit and asked why she was on the north road alone. Niamh shared her story and her name, discovered the lady's name was Erin Mac Lochlainn, sister of the great king of Ui Neill, and widowed almost three years. The stories of the Mac Lochlainns filled her head and made Niamh fearful of the woman before her.
As the ride wore on her fear abated and she was glad to have been found by such a person. Over the next two and a half years, she was groomed as a lady, given a new name and passed introduced to court as a distant cousin. On the eve of her sixteenth year, Erin gifted her with a knowledge she could have done without at the time. She was given one full day to think over the information and asked once more to make the choice of getting in the carriage or being left on the road.
She got in the carriage.
Her turning did not seem to change much about her life for a very long time, they moved about and names were changed, but she still served the Lady Erin, and continued to learn about being of the gentry until the Normans invaded Ireland. They left their beautiful homeland and were given refuge with members of the Clan in southern France. It was there they stayed until Hitler invaded Europe. They fled south into Spain, staying with a man Erin had become intimate with. Niamh stayed with her maker, knowing only the life she'd been given, and fearing exposure during the war.
They returned to Ireland after the Second World War, reclaiming lands that had always belonged to Erin. There they lived in relative quiet, leaving and coming back as their own children/grand children. Niamh is now called Dana, and has become restless in her role as well...whatever she was. She wanted to set out on her own, try new things...go to America. She asked permission of her maker to go off on her own and was granted such permission. She was given a letter of introduction and instructed to go to Nachton, to the house of Anantya.
OOC Checklist
Player name (online is fine) - Sarah
Other Characters you play - Formally Ginnie, Meegan, Wren, et al
How you came to SA (Other board, friend, etc) - I've missed it terribly
Have you read all the Rules? Yes
Do you understand that this is an adult board with adult content (sometimes graphic and violent in nature)? Yes
This board is adult only. Are you over the age of 18? Yes
Dana
15 years ago