Name: Taotope Age: 30 Residence:Black Rock Hold - Healer Hall
Rank: Former Journeywoman Harper/Laundry Maid
Brief Description of Persona:
A hefty-looking 5'4", Taotope was often told that she was beautiful as a harper. She is not. She has a profuse amount of black hair growing in all sorts of places (including her head, of course), a nose that's too big
and ears that are too small, and heavy-lidded dark eyes. Her speaking voice has just recently become low and husky.
To put it simply, Taotope is currently trying to find out who
she is. Her whole life people have been treating her as "rich, famous
singer" and now that she is no longer rich nor famous nor a singer, her
self-identity has become all muddled. She's much quieter and introverted than she once
was, though sometimes she forgets herself and has the occasional diva moment. She
has lost her confidence and has a harder time communicating with others than she
once did. She's constantly on a borderline between pessimism and optimisim,
depending on her mood. A good side of Taotope's personality is that she is very broad-minded, open to change, and willing to work hard to do so. She does not do a very good
job with the laundry at the Hall - having never done menial work before - but is trying to improve. She lives in fear that someone will find out who she was before she became Taotope.
Brief History of Persona: Born under the name of Izalella, Taotope is the daughter of two Masterharpers, one famous for her amazing song-writing and the other famous for his handsome bass voice. She grew up in her element at Harper Hall, and was
spoiled by the constant attention and flattery by people who admired her
parents. Fortunately she truely loves music, and apprenticed at an early age. When
her voice matured, it was clear that she equalled if not surpassed her parent's
musical talent. People said her voice rivaled that of the legendary
Lunhilde, and she often performed as a soloist in the most upscale Gathers and
celebrations.
Izalella lived a very glamourous lifestyle, and found herself quite rich for
a Harper. She was praised by all, ate fine rich foods, dressed in the finest
clothes, had many friends, and found that many men flirted with her. Until
one day, everything changed dramatically.
Izallela had sung all her life, and since she became a journeywoman,
intensively. Hardly a night went by when she didn't perform for at least two
hours, and often longer when she was open to requests. One night, she was in the
middle of a long ballad when the unthinkable happen. Instead of her usual
mezzo-soprano, out came a croak. And when she tried again, another croak.
She rushed to the healers in the middle of the night, hoping that they could
fix her voice in a few sevendays. But the prognosis was bad: she had
overstrained her voice muscles, and torn them beyond repair. Suddenly her
life had changed. She could no longer afford her luxerious lifestyle and had to sell
almost everything she owned to get out of debt. She could find no way to support
herself. But far worse than this was the way her former friends treated her.
Those who were once friendly spurned her, and those who had slept in her bed
insulted her or ignored her.
A few sevendays after her voice broke, Izallela suffered a nervous breakdown
and fell into a long depression. At the end of her depression and
self-isolation, she ran away incognito to a random Southern Hall and changed
her name to Taotope. She is currently working as laundry maid at Healer Hall. Her
greatest fear is that someone will recognize her and draw her out of hiding.
E-mail Mikki if you'd like, I'm sure she'd love to hear from you!
