Description
Eva is petite, standing just over five feet tall. The dark brown wavy hair falling framing her face offsets her green eyes. Eva used to always wear her hair down in an attempt to hide a hideous scar running down the left side of her face, from the corner of her eye to her jaw, however since being captured and then freed again, she has less concern about it. When speaking with people, she faces them only with her right side to keep the attention away from her scar, a habit she gained while on the run.
Typically shy, Eva's eyes are normally averted, but should one get the opportunity, they would find buried deep within an unbearable sadness out of proportion with her 25 years. Recently, they sparkle with a glimmer of hope.... or they had, but the hope had been smashed away.
Eva wears a simple silver amulet with a purplish blue stone. She is intensely protective of it and avoids answering any questions about it.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/46817147@N07/4412988688/ Her body is covered with scars, varying in size and severity. The majority of her clothing covers the majority of these scars - something Eva is deeply self conscious of.
Personality
After being on the run for a long time, taken into custody, thrown into slavery, released, and then taken into slavery again, Eva is very suspicious of strangers. She can seem very aloof and detached, but is actually spending a lot of time paying attention to others and eavesdropping. She has become very guarded and is constantly looking over her shoulder. Being covered in scars, she is extremely self conscious about them. Eva does not like to touch other people, with the exception of her beloved Alrion, and absolutely cannot stand to be touched by others.
After more than three months in the Underdark as a slave and pet to the drow Brizriia, Eva lost her mind. She believed her love, Alrion, to be dead, and gave up, resigned to her fate.
Eva is a Lazaro, which means she is inhabited by a powerful sorceress, Lazaria. Eva calls her "The Other" and will occasionally refer to her in conversation. Also, Lazaria will take over Eva's body occasionally, usually while performing some act of sorcery. Her powers are slowly being transferred to Eva so that Eva might continue her work.
She loves red wine and has a tendency to overindulge.
Equipment
Eva had lost all of her possessions upon her capture by the Guard. Since her release, she has started to accumulate items again... or had, until she was captured by the drow...
She carries a sharp knife in a holster on her belt.
She carries a worn leather pack that she stole from Thaddeus. In it she carries various items including a tattered journal, a few pens.
History
Daughter of a jewelcrafter and a sorceress, Eva grew up familiar with the finer things in life. Her father, Evan, had been commissioned to craft all of the royal jewelery and both of her parents were called in to work on special secret projects. As such, Eva was familiar to the royal family and to the elite police force known as The Guard. While her parents worked, Eva made herself a pain at the blacksmith's shop, eventually befriending the apprentice, Silas. He and Eva would sneak out into the forest and he would teach her to swordfight.
Seven years ago, however, when Eva was 18, she and Silas had been practicing out in the forest just as on any other day. The sounds of clanging metal and laughter drowned out the sounds of approaching footsteps just as it had drawn them to the teens. Without warning, Eva and Silas were surrounded by 14 members of The Guard led by Thaddeus, the king's brother. Silas, always noble, attempted to bravely extricate the two from their predicament, but Thaddeus and his friends had murder in their minds, and decided that Eva was a treat much too delicious looking to be passed by any longer. They had seen her around the village, and decided to take what they wanted before accomplishing their mission. Silas bravely fought to protect Eva's honor, and to his credit, managed to slay three of the guards, but was quickly subdued and killed as the rest of the group advanced on Eva. Without thinking, she picked up a sword and attempted to take out as many as she could before being overpowered. When it was over, Eva had killed five of the Guard. The remaining six spent hours torturing her, having their way with her, cutting into her flesh to watch her bleed, calling her by name and forcing her to beg for death. When all was said and done, Eva was inches from death, and she stared into the lifeless eyes of Silas as Thaddeus and his men left her to the wolves.
But despite all of her begging, she was not to die. Her brother, Rathos, had heard her screams. He managed to get her back to their home where her mother, Sonja, attempted to heal her wounds. Despite her gift, it took months to heal the extensive damage done to Eva. While she could have repaired the scars covering the majority of Eva’s body, she left them, telling Eva that they would give her courage. She was never the same. Her body was riddled with scars, her nights haunted by memories. Her nightmares, like her scars, never left her, however, and she would wake up screaming nightly for years. Sonja and her husband Evan conspired together to create special amulets for their children. Eva was told to promise that she would never remove the amulet, and she kept her promise.
Four years ago, Eva ventured into town on an errand. Despite her care at covering herself, she was seen and recognized by a member of the Guard - one who had been part of the group left alive. He ran to tell Thaddeus who decided that Eva was to disappear. Eva returned home, unaware of the men following her. She was captured, but somehow managed to slaughter the men who held her, before watching helplessly as her family was murdered in retaliation - her mother, father, sister Anna, and baby brother Jocham. As the Guard was about to kill Rathos, he screamed for Eva to run and kept the villains busy while she disappeared into the woods. She stayed there for three days, hidden, until she could take it no longer. She returned home and buried her family. She was unable to locate the amulets worn by her siblings – identical to hers except only for the stones. She packed a few necessities and a few valuables into a pack and ran, attempting to outrun the Guard while simultaneously attempting to locate her siblings’ amulets.
Despite her determination to never stay in one place for long, she eventually found her way to Gambit’s. For the first time since Silas was murdered, she was able to call another person ‘friend.’ But Thaddeus found her, and his men captured her. While fighting to escape capture and the subsequent incarceration, she killed a few more men, but was overpowered. Taken back to the kingdom, she was brought up for sentencing for her crimes. The King, at Thaddeus’ assistance, sentenced Eva to life as a pleasure slave to the Guard. She was fitted with irremovable slave bands, and bound to Thaddeus. Thanks to a collaborative effort, Thaddeus had been captured and power over Eva had been transferred to Drakus Flavaar, brother of Alrion. Eva admitted her love to Alrion, partially prompted by Drakus. She developed a wavering friendship with Drakus.
Attempting to assist Alrion in seeking god-hood, Eva fought against her inner fear of losing him while trying to help him acquire the objects needed to ascend. Upon his ascension, the goddess made him a demi-god. Eva was overjoyed to have him stay with her. She felt a pull to go back to her family's home, to find her parents' notes on their enchanted jewelry, in an attempt to find a way to remove the slave bands. Instead, she dug up the truth about the Lazaria. This disturbed her greatly.
The slave bands were eventually removed by the LDA at the prompting of Special Agent Marlene Angel. The procedure involved Eva being heavily drugged while the bands were removed so she wouldn't feel the pain. Unfortunately, she could still feel it, but couldn't say anything about it. She retreated into her mind and The Other gained more ability to control her.
After having found the other amulets, Eva was taken as a pet and slave to the drow Brizriia. Forced into the Underdark for a minimum of two and a half months, Eva originally contacted Alrion through the amulet around his neck... but she closed the connection one day and hadn't heard anything since. Assuming him to be dead, she became resigned to her fate, slowly sinking deep into insanity. The only light in her world were the dreams she had about Alrion, about a house with endless green fields, dotted with horses, two children running around... arm in arm with her Love... a reality that she thought would never happen.
In the Underdark, Eva and Lazaria came to rely on each other, forming a bond. Eva would have given up completely in the Underdark if she hadn't discovered she was pregnant with Alrion's child. Given a new reason to live, she prayed to one day be able to escape, which she eventually did. As soon as she climbed into the light, however, her body miscarried the child. She was, however reunited with Alrion, and slowly began to come out of the psychosis brought about by the events, even moving in with Alrion.
... and then she found out about the other women.
It broke her. She gave Alrion an ultimatum, but he refused to choose, so she chose for him, deciding that happiness for her would simply always be only a myth... Deciding that she could not spend the rest of her life feeling inadequate... knowing that the one she loved would never give himself fully to her. She met a new friend who offered to wipe her memories. Eva agreed, wanting to forget everything that had happened since she entered Gambits for the first time.
So begins...
“
laughed softly, a bitter sound, and turns to Seth. "You silly man. The "warrior" IS my brother." Her hand lifts to fondle something on a chain around her neck, hidden beneath the folds of her cloak.
”
“
stood and began pacing, one arm wrapped around her stomach as if fighting nausea. "He was born Rathos, but to me, he was always Rath." She turned to Seth, her eyes wild. "Its my fault that your village was destroyed. You should exact your revenge upon me."
”
“
shakes her head slightly. "No. It is my fault. Cause and effect. Your village was destroyed because..." She cried out in pain and bent over, her hand flying to her neck. "Let me, Rath," she whispered almost completely silently. Taking a deep breath, she stood again, her face flushed, sweat beading on her temples. "You've heard of Thaldos, no doubt? The king's brother?"
”
“
enters quietly, fingering the last of her coins in her pocket. She approaches the bar and quietly orders a drink, sliding the final coin across the bartop, watching it reluctantly. Taking her drink, she retreats to a quiet booth to contemplate her next move.
”
“
enters the bar quietly, fingering the last of her money in her pocket. She approaches the bar and orders a drink, sliding her last coin across the scratched wood. She retreats with her drink to a quiet table where she begins to ponder her next move.
”
EvaLazaro looks sidelong at Alrion, startled. "Um... hello." She forced a smile as she moved her fingers over the hair covering the left side of her face, almost as if to reassure herself that it is in place.
EvaLazaro stares at the hand offered to her for a moment before taking it in her own. "I am new here as well, although it looks as if I'll be sticking around for a bit." She gestures to the chair across from herself in an invitation for him to sit. "My name is..." she hesitates for a moment. "You can call me Anna."
EvaLazaro is careful to keep the left side of her face turned away from him. "Often, I find people change their stories to either make themselves look good or to hid something. Which lie would you prefer?" She smiled charmingly at him, taking a sip from her glass.
EvaLazaro smiles back. "Yes, please. Tell me about you?" She wraps her hands around the cup, her tattered sleeves falling over her fingertips.
EvaLazaro bit her lip. "I'm very sorry to hear about that.. but godhood is a fairly good consolation, I'd say." She smiles sadly. "Is life ever really kind to any of us?" She thinks for a moment as she drinks. "Don't you feel, sometimes, that it would have been better to just have let death be final? That sometimes continuing to exist is so much harder?"
“
watches from her seat, fascinated, magic being new to her. She toys with the amulet around her neck and corrects her thinking. Most magic.
”
EvaLazaro nods, seeing his point. "But if an extended life grants no special abilities? Just memories of pain, the loss of everything familiar, and constant fear and running, would you see it the same way?"
“
looks around nervously, but decides that she is far enough from home that any potential eavesdroppers would be malicious. "I run from... well..." As she nervously toys with the amulet around her neck, her sleeves slip down slightly showing an arm covered in scars. "I run from those who thought they had killed me. I run from those that killed my family. I run from those who, should they realize I am alive, will stop at nothing to finish the job."
”
EvaLazaro looks to Belesandra and smiles. "Join us, please?" She gestures to an empty chair at her right.
EvaLazaro looks questioningly at Alrion. "Clothes?" She looks down at her dress and frowns, seeing it for the first time as another may see her. "I... This is fine." She smiles at him convincingly. "I am not unhappy, for the most part. Not when I'm moving. Its hard to think when you're moving."
EvaLazaro laughs softly, meeting Alrion's eyes for the first time. "I appreciate your offers, Sir, however I assure you, I am quite alright. Conversation is plenty to cheer me up. Tell me, this deal with the goddess... how did you come by such a wonderful opportunity?" She laces her fingers together underneath her chin, looking up at him with a slight smile and an inquisitive look.
“
froze at the word 'friend.' Turning slightly pale, she took a long drink from the cup, draining it. She cleared her throat, composing herself. "I wish you much luck with your quest for the artifacts, but I advise against considering me a friend, dear Sir. Nothing but ill luck has ever befallen those who have. I am merely an acquaintance, sharing a moment at this place." She smiled encouragingly. "Have you had any luck with your search for said artifacts?"
”
EvaLazaro gasps as she looks at the jewel. "Impressive!" she says, breathlessly. "I'm not sure I would keep that out too much longer. I've noticed some roving eyes around this place, potentially thinking about stealing..." She bites her lip as she thinks to herself that the jewel would fetch quite a bit at market... perhaps enough to see her far far from her homeland. She shakes her head slightly as if to clear it. "It's rather beautiful. Any idea where the other pieces may be?"
EvaLazaro glances at her empty cup. "I... I would love some more wine, but I have nothing left with which to purchase it." She blushes furiously, her eyes scrutinizing the tabletop.
