Post by Dia Hortensia on Jan 29, 2011 23:41:09 GMT -8
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★ AGE: 68 (although she appears to look much younger due to an "accident")
★ GENDER: Female
★ SEXUAL PREFERENCE: Heterosexual (though to be frank, Dia doesn't consider herself as much of a sexual being anymore, so...)
★ HEIGHT: 5'11
★ WEIGHT: 180 pounds
★ JOB: It's complicated, let's say: unemployed
★ RACE: Human; evoker
★ FACTION: Neutral (former Cult member)
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Your ★ Beauty,
Appearance,
She's of Brazilian and Grecian decent and it shows all over her tanned skinned. Her brown eyes are almost always sullen and it's rare to see her smile. And although most of her contemporaries believe in blending in, Dia is of the opposite persuasion. Her preferred colors are in strict contrast with her rather introspective (and sometimes dark) demeanor. She dresses only to impress herself, cares little for keeping a low-profile (though she's naturally inclined to do so anyway) and loves wearing wacky and bizarre outfits from yesteryear for no other reason than to do it.[/ul]
LIKES +
★ Solitude
★ Her freedom
★ Impulsively random thoughts
★ Respect
★ Cigarettes (old habits die hard)
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DISLIKES -
★ Groups in general
★ Happy people
★ Death
★ Immortality (well, it's complicated)
★ Vanilla anything
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POSITIVE TRAITS +
★ Quick-thinking
★ Intelligent
★ Leader
★ Charismatic (hard to believe)
★ Eloquent
★ Decisive
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NEGATIVE TRAITS -
★ Reclusive
★ Laconic
★ Intimidating
★ Defensive
★ Paranoid
★ Morally ambiguous
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OVERALL PERSONALITY
When it comes to "projects", Dia makes it her goal to try and be as knowledgeable as possible. She thinks things through several times before ever jumping into a situation, and if she has to resort to mind reading to get a job done, she will do so. In her mind, it is important to know all the facts, and she tries her best to make sure she knows all that she needs to know. Dia always feels responsible for everything and everyone. To her, it's her job to make sure everyone is well and taken care of, as well as plans succeeding the way they need to. She takes full responsibility when things don't go the right away, but has an even harder time trying to accept compliments.
Dia likes to work with the same individuals, for better or worse. She prefers building someones trust as oppose to paying them to do a job. She is loyal and faithful to the few that she might call friend, and there are many of her associates who show loyalty to her time and time again. She may have an unorthodox way of getting the job done, but she does look out for her own.
After living such a long and hard life, Dia's emotions very rarely show themselves publicly. She prefers to remain emotionless, and would rather not get too attached to anyone for fear of losing them to death or some other means. As such, she has a very cold, insensitive personality on the outside, which is the side many who do not know her well see. Dia has become paranoid, more importantly, she is fearful of death. She has spent the better part of twenty years being extremely cautious and isolating herself from much of the world because of it. She takes threats, jabs and insults seriously and always thinks there is a bigger plan out to get her. She's kept her paranoia under control for the time being, but it is something that may never truly go away.
This is something that has plagued Dia since she was a small girl. Her erratic behavior is hard to read. She can be fine and calm the next, playful the next, or angry and distant in the span of a couple of minutes. She has let personal failures get to her, and now it does affect her mood. She is constantly in thought, ignoring the world around her while in these trances. She was left to her own devices after Orion and her son's deaths. Her behavior, which was always present, only amplified after. It's hard to know which Dia one might come across.
Face it, Dia's not one to look on the bright side anymore. After losing everything and everyone she ever loved, she gave up on "hope". She always sees the glass as half-empty, and always looks on the bad side of things. If she thinks something bad might happen, she will voice it, and it may come off as more depressive than she intends. She just doesn't get her hopes up anymore. For the most part, Dia is very indifferent to most of the world's problems. She cares little about disease and poverty and hunger. She doesn't care about people's feelings and if they are hurt. She tries to just keep to herself, avoiding controversy as much as she can.
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Background ★ Info,
History,
Dia was born, Melantha Valencia in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil on May 16, 1943. Her mother, Dores, was a member of the House of Braganza-Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the last royal family in Portugal. Whether or not she was of true noble blood hasn't been proven. All that is known is that Dores was born shortly before the monarchy fell. She wasn’t a very strong woman, and was content to do as she was told, which was in this case, be a wife and mother. Though this was what she was brought up to believe, it wasn’t something she took any real interest in. She had no real desire to be a mother, fearful of losing her figure and her looks. Dores was the envy of many, her dark hair, green eyes and tanned skin, the model of the perfect woman. She was the youngest out of the her own family and the best-behaved reportedly. Her father made it his life’s goal to marry all of his daughters off to wealthy, capable suitors, seeing as though they were now forced into exile.
Dores' father, León, was well known for living beyond his means and throwing lavish parties. It was at one of these parties that a young, Greek man was introduced to Lady Dores. Elias Valencia was part of aristocracy. The Valencia name was rather infamous. Elias’ grandfather had married into wealth and influence. The Valencia name seemed to be cursed from the beginning. Eleni Valencia, Elias’ paternal grandmother, was the daughter of shipping tycoon, Mathias Valencia. Mathias instilled in his only daughter a sense of power and ambition. It was because of Mathias that Eleni was able to succeed her father, and spread his wealth even further. This was the model that her grandson looked up to. Elias, from an early age, was spoon-fed the belief that power and ambition are all that matters, and stepping on toes is just another part of the process.
From an early age, he showed signs of destructiveness. His mother, Ismeme, was a neglectful mother. She had all but abandoned her son and showed no signs of any maternal love. She was verbally abusive to the boy, and she was also an alcoholic. His father, Solan, was also equally abusive, though it was physically. He did not tolerate weakness and showed a sign of contempt for his wife’s drinking, often abusing her in front of the children. Elias was the oldest of five boys, and also the strongest. Two of his brothers had died as children, and his other two could not compete for attention, leaving only Elias. He proved himself early to his family, engaging in the family business and making a name for himself. That was all done in order to make himself look better in the future. He was already showing signs of out-doing his grandmother and father.
It didn’t take Elias long to send a message to all of the doubters. He had quickly established himself as Eleni’s favorite, out surpassing her own son and Elias’ father, Solan. He had garnered her trust and learned the secrets of the business. After several years at her side, Eleni died suddenly, leaving her grandson with the tools he needed to succeed. The death was always a suspicious one, as Eleni appeared to be in tremendous health. The will was even more puzzling as her grandson was named sole heir of the Valencia fortune. Many talked behind closed doors about Eleni’s death, and since Elias was the last known person to see her alive, many had their doubts about him. Regardless, he seized control of the fortune; rid himself of his family and carried on, making a lot of money rather fast.
A friend had invited him to one of the many parties for the elite. He knew very few people personally, but they all seemed to know him, if not his last name. He took one look at Lady Dores, before declaring himself the only one she’d marry. Dores, at first, was not interested in the aggressive nature of the Greek shipping heir. She warded his advances off at all costs. It wasn’t until her father got wind of the situation, that he mandated a courtship between the two. He was looking for allies, and a marriage between his daughter and Greece’s wealthiest bachelor was exactly what he had in store. Dores was not eager to marry a man whose language she could not understand. He had claimed her as his own; something she was not happy about, but was now forced to accept. It hadn’t taken her long before she began an affair with the man she truly loved.
Dores and Elias were married, right after her sixteenth birthday, in 1925. It was a celebration across Europe, though no one knew how little in common the couple had. Dores, and the Spanish prince, Benito, had engaged in a torrid love-affair. The prince was recently wed himself, though just like Dores, it had been arranged and was something he cared little for. The relationship lasted several years, even after the births of her children, as well as her removal from Europe. Elias was using his wife’s stature as one of nobility (even if it was in name only) and exploiting it for his own personal gain. He wanted entry into the family, but León was not having it. He was beginning to grow weary of his new son-in-law, but kept his suspicions to himself, something he reportedly regretted for the rest of his life.
When Elias found out about his wife’s affair, he was more than furious. After a severe beating match, he threatened to move away from Europe. This decision came about after León rebutted Elias’ desire to gain influence within the political family. Prince Benito tried to intervene, but was powerless to stop Elias. The affair was made public, thanks to Elias, and he would make it his goal to see to it that his wife never stepped foot on European soil again. Elias and Dores set sail for Brazil, a former Portuguese colony, having recently gained its independence from Portugal. Dores was miserable, and held a quiet contempt for Elias. He had been planning a trip to the Americas for several years; her behavior only quickened the journey.
By the time the Valencia’s reached Brazil, they were greeted with nothing but weariness, most citizens having looked down upon anyone being from the former Empire. Elias, with enough money of his own, muscled his way into the political realm in Brazil. There, he built Valencia Manor, his mansion, and the couple soon took up residence. This was where the couple changed drastically. Unknown to Elias, Dores had kept up correspondence with Prince Benito, and the affair continued, though in paper. By the time Dores was eighteen, she had given birth to the couple’s first son, Enrico. The young boy took after his father, and Dores cared very little for the child. She didn’t want to be a mother, let alone having any of Elias’ children. She left the mothering to the servants.
Dores, though trained to be a mother and wife, failed miserably at both. She was fearful of Elias, but also defied him at times. He had refrained from being abusive towards her after that first episode, and took to mostly neglecting and ignoring her from then on out. Elias was a formidable boss. There was no kindness in his heart and he showed little mercy. Dores gave birth to the couple’s second son, Ernesto, at the age of twenty. Ernesto was nothing like his father and was severely sick and weak. Again, Dores took no pity on her son, leaving him in the care of the same servants. She grew even more distant from her children and husband, wishing to return to her native Portugal.
By the time Melantha was born, her mother had grown considerably much weaker and frail. She cared very little for any of her children, even though she finally had a daughter. She had named her daughter, Melantha, or dark beauty, based solely on her daughters’ dark looks. It had reminded her so much of what she once looked like. Emotionally detached, Dores withdrew, taking to gazing at her image in a mirror. She was terribly bitter, having lost her beauty and figure. She also detested her husband and blamed everything on him. It was his fault that she was no longer attractive in her own eyes, why she was in another country, and why she was distant and cold towards everyone. She hated her life and knew that it would never get any better.
Melantha was a quiet child, having no interest for companionship. Her brothers, Enrico and Ernesto, were nothing but bothersome towards her. They treated her with very little respect. They’d torture he any chance they got, even trying to drown her at one point. Their father did very little to stop their behavior, not seeing much interest in the child at first. Melantha could sense that she was not like her siblings, that she was different. She had taught herself how to control her ability (at least, that's what she saw it as), and never made any mention to a single soul that she was unique and special. She knew her father and brothers wouldn’t take her any more seriously than they already did, and she was already smart enough to know that to give them any ammunition was to agree to certain death.
By the age of ten, she had begun learning about what she could do to others, some servants, others her own family. Melantha kept as far away from her father and brothers as possible, and even further away from her mother. She had grown a habit of mocking the woman, making her life even more miserable than before. Dores had no influence over Melantha or any of her children. It was in one of the African servants, that Melantha found a motherly figure. Abeni was who Melantha answered and looked up to. She was the only person up until that point who knew of her special and unique ability. Abeni also had the same unique ability as Melantha, and together, they would spend hours communicating to each other. She was also the only person Melantha listened to. Her mother, as was stated before, held no power over her, and her father showed very little interest in his youngest child.
Abeni had a young son, Joao. Melantha and Joao grew very close, very fast. The two, like with Abeni, had a common bond in their ability. They had fallen in love. This was also around the time when her father started to pay more attention towards her, for all the wrong reasons. While her older brothers were able to attend school, or at least be educated, Melantha was forced indoors. As a young woman of wealth, she was expected to learn how to sew, be a mother, and be a wife. This wasn’t something that suited her well and she grew agitated. Instead of learning what she was suppose to learn, Melantha took to hanging around and helping her father’s servants, who she had always gotten on with. They knew how she was being mistreated and she felt as though she could relate to them better than she could her own family.
One day, while working out in the fields, Elias pulled Melantha away. It started out as a few touches, which eventually grew to kisses, and eventually, the molestation that would go on for the next two years. She was only twelve at the time. She blamed her mother, and the bitterness she had for her was apparent. How could she have let this happen? She had to have known that it was going on. Not even her brothers were any consolation, but then again, they hadn’t shown any signs of caring about her in the past.
She was powerless to stop him, and her cries for help went unnoticed. Her relationship with Joao was the only thing she had going for her at that point and little did she know that her father was about to take that away from her as well. When Elias had finally found out about Joao and Melantha, he grew furious. He had seen the young slave as a threat and sought to be rid of the young man. It happened rather quickly and without explanation. Melantha had been sleeping when her lover was taken from her. There were no words of goodbye and by the time she awoke to find him gone, she grew furious at her father.
It was a rage she had never shown before and she directed all her power onto him that day. He hadn’t been expecting it from her, always assuming one of his sons would have been the special one. He had underestimated her, and she was now going to go about proving him wrong. She had forcefully stopped his indecent behavior, her brothers were now too afraid of her to go near her and her mother, well; her mother was going deeper and deeper into herself. Melantha continued to live life as usual, however, relatively speaking of course.
She effectively alienated herself from her family after that point and made sure to let the public in on a few of the Valencia secrets, much to her father and brothers’ horrors and embarrassment. She was no longer the quiet little girl most people viewed her as, and she was determined to destroy her whole entire family for ruining her own life. Her father, in a letter, explained to her all that he could do. He knew what she could do now, and she knew that she was no match for him mentally. Whatever they were, she had inherited all of it and she only knew just a limited version of all that she could do; he had her beat.
At this point, she was nearing her twentieth birthday, and had no idea what she was up against. She decided to lay low and plan for her family’s demise. During this time, Melantha struck up friendships with more servants, some who had left Elias' services years ago, and they began planning a revolt. She was still in good contact with Abeni and, with her “mother’s” help, the planning begun. A lady of her wealth and stature should have been married with children, but she wasn’t going to be like her mother. She couldn’t settle for something she didn’t truly want, and her father didn’t have that sort of power over her to force her into marriage.
She returned to Valencia Manor on the eve of May 16, 1963. She stayed in one of the servant's house before making her move the next morning. Her eldest brother, Enrico was out in the field with Ernesto and Elias. Melantha wasted no time in striking. All she had to do was mumble a few words she had learned from her father and watch as her brothers turned into dust. It was a fairly easy process. It was her father that would prove more difficult.
Her mother was her next target, and also the easiest. The woman was already far gone, and Melantha only amplified the process by implanting thoughts into her mind. Dores was driven insane soon after. Melantha never saw her mother again, nor did she seem to desire it. Now came the hard part. Elias was understandably angry at his daughter’s doings and sought to control her behavior before it got any more out of hand. Wanted posters were sent up everywhere, but by this point, Melantha was already skilled as an evoker (though the term hadn't come into fashion yet). Anyone who she came across her didn’t seem to remember seeing or speaking to the young woman. It was a rather convenient skill to have, and she never took it for granted. The servants were already showing signs of rebelling and Elias was starting to loose his control among those who served him.
There was still that duel she faced with her father. With his life in ruins and his fortune slipping away, Elias was desperate. Melantha had set up the meeting, with plans to do to him what she had done to her brothers and mother before. Elias was a formidable foe, to put it lightly. Melantha, for all her planning and scheming, was no match for her father. He easily defeated her and proceeded to beat her. He left her for dead, not taking the time to see what would become of her. She lay there for several hours, on the verge of death. Abeni came and found her, taking care of her. It was a gesture that wasn’t lost on Melantha, and by the time she was restored to full health, several months later, she in turn took care of Abeni.
Abeni was her mother in Melantha’s eyes. The woman took care of her from when she was a child until now. She was older now, and couldn’t move as quickly as before. By the time of her death, Melantha knew that her time in Brazil was coming to an end. After the funeral for Abeni, Melantha met a vivacious redhead who was calling herself, Zendra. They traveled Brazil, causing havoc everywhere they went.
Zendra was like the sister Melantha never had, and became her best friend and only companion. The two took up prostitution for money and fun, though for Melantha men never truly interested her as much as they did her friend and she slowly grew bored with the “profession”. It was Zendra who suggested a name change, and thus, Melantha Valencia became “Dia”. From that point on, she never looked back in regards to her upbringing and her parents and siblings. The Valencia name was forever gone and she was the last surviving member as far as she knew or cared.
After a few more years, the duo decided it was time to leave Brazil for good. After saving up their earnings, they made the journey to the United States. Around 1965, they traveled up north, until they reached New York City. They met a young man, Jacques, who gave them everything they wanted...for a price. The women asked no questions and took to living with him for several years. He was good looking, charming and seemed to have an almost dangerous power. Although Zendra and Jacques were in something of a relationship, Jacques was secretly in love with Dia. However, Dia spurned him when he tried to seduce her. Humilated, he set upon a curse. One that took her years to discover.
Jacques kicked both women out soon after and Zendra took to prostitution once more. The friendship by this time was strained to say the least, with Zendra accusing Dia of "ruining a good thing" with Jacques. Dia, for her part, used her power in order to survive. She’d bribe people or take money from them without their knowing. She didn’t have to say a word. It was a rather easy life, and it was also how she met the love of her life, Orion Hortensia. Dia was in love for the second time in her life. She found her soul mate in Orion, who was also an evoker. He was everything she wasn't: smart, wise, brave. She was just the opposite. It was safe to say, however, that he brought out the best in her. They married rather quickly, much to Zendra's dismay. The redhead was finding herself on the back burner once Orion came into the picture, and it put the two (Dia and Zendra) at odds with each other.
It wasn't until Zendra met a mysterious man, that their friendship officially ended. They were slowly drifting apart. Dia wanted Zendra to settle down and find love on her own, but the redhead was not content and was growing restless. They slowly stopped talking to each other, and by the time Zendra had left with this man to form what she called, "The Threat", Dia welcomed her first child into the world. It just showed what kind of paths that once inseparable pair were now on. Dia found the loss of her friend devastating, and never trusted Zendra's new influence. In her eyes, he was only using Zendra. No matter how hard she tried to bring her friend back to her, Dia was powerless and finally accepted that her friend was gone.
Several years passed with Dia content to just play mother. Two more children followed before Dia and Orion settled in St. Calais. They had an honest living, a first for Dia. She was a co-owner in a small pub that saw its fair share of interesting characters. It was during this time that she would meet many of her lifelong friends and form a bond with them. The Hortensia's tried to live a normal and quiet life but their abilties were known to others and they were coveted. Jacques, the man from her passed tracked Dia down and tried to get Dia and Orion to join his group, one that he refused to name. When the duo refused as they often did, he vowed revenge.
It wasn’t until one of her own children was attacked, that she began growing uneasy. Orion found Jacques and his message rather interesting, yet it had been Dia that had stopped him initially. She couldn't bare to tell him the truth about her past with this man. Their children all developed unique abilities and Dia no longer saw any reason to hold her family back because of her own misgivings. Of course, wherever Dia went, tragedy seemed to follow. She should have known that all good things would eventually come to end, especially if Jacques was involved.
Orion had contacted Jacques. Jacques, unbeknown to Dia, had Orion do all sorts of illegal tasks. Eventually, their eldest son got involved as well. Dia never asked questions and always assumed that Orion knew what he was getting himself into. However, he had been in over his head and gotten into some trouble with the law. Jacques, was never anywhere near to be found, naturally. Orion had angered some very weathly people and he was murdered as a result. Dia and Orion's eldest son vowed revenge, only to end up with the same fate.
When Dia found out the heartbreaking news, she nearly went insane. She knew it was Jacques' fault, yet she was powerless to stop him. Her two other children, with their mother's reluctant blessing, went off on their own, not wanting to get involved. She would spend the next few years in limited contact with them, in a sort of melancholy. Finding Jacques was always on her mind, however.
Around 1978, Dia began to associate herself with criminals and many in the underground. She had made a name for herself, working with some of the toughest people in the city. They built up an operation, with her at the helm, smuggling illegal artifacts into the country, or exporting them out for a profit. She found this to be much more exhilarating than her stint as a prostitute years earlier. Many of her associates would come to grow loyal to her, something she would never forget. She made a considerable fortune in the process.
She took to living in poverty, as a way to erase her past for good, and took up residence in a run-down apartment complex in St. Calais. The apartment was more than just a home; it would become her place of business and operation, and where she would plan all of her devious acts. She was above murdering, so she’d instead hire others to do the job for her. Dia was part of an untouchable clique, and the law enforcement was too spread out to try and stop her smuggling operation on the harbor.
Dia’s good luck would finally come back to haunt her as the government had caught wind of her operation. They effectively shut her down and many of her associates went into hiding, were killed, or went to prison. She herself, decided to keep a low profile during this time. However, those that were left, Dia included, were "saved" by none other than Jacques. His only request? They join his group. Dia and the others, consisting of: Jerome Willis, Andromeda Mars, Clyde Delfino, Torrence Pele, Lawrence Sin, Elodie Juno and Vivienne Benoît.
Jacques "group" only went by the name of the Cult. No one was allowed to ask any questions and were instructed on what was expected of them. They went from being at the top of their own illegal empire to being at the bottom of another illegal empire. Dia was less than thrilled to be doing what she saw as nothing more than menial work, however, she truly had little say in the manner. Together, she and her friends stayed with the Cult for five years, the thought of escape always on their minds.
Eventually, it was Clyde, her wild and erractic friend who orchestrated the entire thing. Just like that, they were free, yet always on the run. Unsure of where to go, Dia and Jerome returned to St. Calais, keeping an extremely low profile. However, things were different now. The city had changed a lot since they left. It was time for her to change as well. Her demeanor also changed. She was much more interested in what was happening in the world, and wanted to make sure that she was doing all she could to stay aware, especially of the Cult. Being a hero didn’t really seem like such a bad idea.
Dia and her friends remained on the lam for nearly 30 years. They started up another illegal smuggling operation, Jerome opened a legitimate business in the front of a small pub and Dia bartended. In all that time, she never aged. At first, she thought very little of it, but by the time she was in her sixties, she knew something was very wrong. Eventually, she and her friends figured it had something to do with the Cult, as they all appeared to be roughly the same age as when they entered. Dia wasn't entirely sure though never questioned it either, to do so would be a guaranteed death.
Somehow, they've eluded the Cult, though Dia is certain that it's not because of how clever they've hidden. If the Cult wanted to find them, they would have already. No one has gotten complacent, though they've all grown rather fond of this little city that is hiding some big secrets.
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The ★ Puppeteer,
★ WHAT SHOULD WE CALL YOU? Jasmine
★ HOW TO CONTACT YOU? MSN (not really much help)
★ HOW DID YOU FIND US? Was a member, then Kai persuaded me to rejoin[/ul]
FACE CLAIM
[color=e10e3f]★[/color] [b]RENN, CRYSTAL[/b], [s] dia hortensia[/s]
The ★ Copyright,
Rosen Nocturne Kai & Kiare.♥
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