Lavinia De Chiel
: Lavinia De Chiel (pronounced "da-SHEEL) the memory of my own name remains a mystery, this was given to me by the gypsies that kidnapped me.
Name Given at Birth
Nicknames: "The Gray Lady", "The Hag," "Mistress of Loam", "The Summoner of Eshu"( note: Eshu is my favored trickster and deity I use to help me tell your fortune) and my favorite, "The Laughing Crow." perhaps that nickname is because I am always laughing at something you are never aware of!
Hometown or where you were born: Canterbury is where I have known all my life, but I tell you I am from Egypt! I was kidnapped by gypsies and traveled through Africa and was eventually dumped here, when that all occurred I only have fragments of memory.
Current Residence: Where I lay my head for the night
Age: undetermined
Class: street
What do you do, your main function in life/society: I may tell your fortune for a pence or two (this was something I learned in Africa while in the custody of gypsies), but this is not accepted by many within the town of Canterbury and I reserve this to the travelers and the eccentric. I am a peddler and vagabond; I can do various functions of daily life if you request me, and for a price.
Have you ever gone skinny-dipping / do you know how to swim: I fear the water we drink and loathe the bodies of water.
Do you make fun of people: Of course! Many an unfortunate soul that has poor luck may be because of my doing. I keep my jests to myself or blend them with my haggish mutterings, just so that those of Canterbury assume I am only insane.
Favorite Color: Glow in the dark
Have you ever committed or been convicted of a crime: only that of being the fairest of Canterbury! Of course, there have been accusations that I have turned several inhabitants into frogs or rodents for my "witch" stews, but keep in mind that these are accusations.
Closest friends/How did you meet: I keep no one close to me, I am mostly an outcast, but I find solace with the local gypsies, since their lives are similar to mine--or at least I understand them the most, although they are not the ones that kidnapped me, those have long disappeared..
One Pillow or two: Bah! Pillows, luxury!
Pets: I do not own any, but I can communicate with most animals and have befriended them.
Favorite Type of Music: The gypsy music is the only kind that I can familiarize myself with, it reminds me of my youth.
Hobbies/Pastimes: Calling upon the spirits of Eshu, and telling fortunes. This is something I found to be more a "hobby" or whatever you call it, since it is not looked upon lightly in Canterbury.
Personal Hygiene: What is hygiene?
Favorite Food: The fish I pull from the stream are nice on occasion, but I relish hare and gofer.
Are your parents alive, do you get along with them: I do not have a strong memory of my parents, but I know that they were Egyptian as is myself.
If your parents are dead, when and how did they die: I do not have a sense if they are alive or dead, however, since they never came to find me I assume they must have died when the gypsies took me, or perhaps they sold me to help with money and forgot me as I have them. Bah! I do not care--it is the past.
Favorite place to relax: The glade in the small forest away from Canterbury, there I can talk to the animals, or gaze upon my beautiful visage in a mirror. Yet lately I have found it to be disquieting--I see flickering lights and hear the laughter of tiny voices and they even bother me within Canterbury!
Favorite Holy Day / Why: I do not familiarize myself with the holy days with the people of Canterbury. Yes, I may partake in Christmas tidings to save face and spare me from total disillusionment by those here. I do celebrate the harvest season, there Eshu may bring fertility to those who come see me, (and of course a pretty shilling!) or good fortune granted to me by the nature spirits.
Favorite Drink: Millet Beer, or that of the Palm beer of my native Egypt. Alas, I take to drinking mostly the mead or wine that is tossed by the wealthy as a rare form of indulgence.
What's your bedtime: After all the stars have lit the sky, then I know it is late.
What, if anything, do you usually wear on your feet: a fine pair of leather shoes!
Are you married or single: Single, who would want to be bound by the constricts of marriage! Bah, my beauty can grant any man I wish to have!
Do you have a family / who are they: Bah! Such a trifle thing. I had the gypsies once and before that my parents, but even then the memory is almost gone of them.
Favorite Entertainment: The joust of course! Then there are the gypsy boy dances, a personal favorite of mine.
Favorite Subject in School or Chore growing up: Well, while with the gypsies, being the assistant to the old shaman of our group was always entertaining. I learned much of my skills from her!
Least Favorite Subject in School or Chore growing up: Bah, cleaning the waste from the beasts of our caravan, or cleaning the pelts we wore of infestations--I always wound up having them when I cleaned off the pelts.
Favorite Sport: The joust, and occasionally the football games. Something with a bit of grime and blood, it is always more fulfilling!
Most Humiliating Moment: when I thought I had obtained a power from Eshu, only to find that I could only summon chickens from my fingers, and then they would pop from my mouth if I hiccuped! Oy, I have never been truly able to conjure Eshu totally successfully I must admit.
Proudest Moment: When I had filled Canterbury with the sound of croaking frogs but no amphibian was present! HA, it drove the people mad! Even the blacksmith's wife made quite a ruckus and tore apart her husband's shop trying to find them!
Craziest Person or silliest you know: who else besides myself?
What do you look for in the opposite sex: A strong pair of legs and a wicked personality, perhaps one to jest with me or at least be an equal in beauty as I.
In our Hierarchical Society everybody has somebody "over" them, Who is your immediate "overlord"
I generally find myself at the mercy of almost everyone else, perhaps this is because I am an outcast. However, I respect the Guild Master, he pays me well for the tasks he assigns me.
Favorite Sport to watch: The joust by far, and with Henry and his bride to be Anne (Bah, why he choses such plain taffer is beyond me...I am far more beautiful and eccentric!) there should be quite a series of spectacles this year!
Do you remember your first kiss: I can only illustrate such an experience when you should come to ask me dear reader. Such wonderful memories as that should not be wasted on the poor scribe taking this down, he knows nothing! I can tell you however, that Henry is involved!
Do you keep in touch with your childhood friends: Luxury, only the long living and wealthy can acquire such commodities as "friends"!
Where is your favorite "Vacation" spot: If you can tell me where there is place or the resources to scrounge to get outside this gray city, please tell me!
Have you ever been overseas: Darling, I have come from the Valley of the Nile and have breathed the sand of the Ivory Coast, I come from overseas!
Do you have Dirt/Mud floors or Stone: If I had a home in which I stay I shall tell you, but I stay where I fall to sleep.
What is your bed made of: Whatever it is that I may fall upon that evening.
How many people sleep in your bed: none!
10 Things Everybody Should Know About Me:
1. I have the ability to grant King Henry the son he desires, but I have cursed him to only daughters since he broke my heart and he should only deal with the fickle nature of women.
2. My wart contains mystical powers
3. Beneath my rags I am really a beautiful enchantress
4. The pelts I wear are the eyes and ears that see and hear the gestures you wave the words you say you think are behind closed doors.
5. I eat the young men I seduce. I tell you that his is folly and the people of Canterbury have vivid imaginations or that they are idle beyond words.
6. I have the ability to summon glyphs--which are the keys to the places you want secret and give me the answers to questions you don't know how to ask.
7. I am obsessed with ladybugs, and often letting dozens of them gallop over my neck, arms, and long tapering fingers.
8. My currency are pine cones and twigs and food the black air of night
9. Despite the rumors of baby theft, evil eye giving, and other tricksterism, I am generally well mannered and enjoy a fair conversation and a game of checkers.
10. I have a strange habit of staring at lamps and misplacing my meals. And so perhaps this, along with everything I have provided for you above is the reason I was abandoned by the gypsies that had raised me.