Belladulce

Belladulce Tohvak is an Elven Bard residing in The Crossing bonded to Baeleth Tohvak.

Belladulce
Status
Race	Elf
Gender	Female
Guild	Bard
Instance	Prime

Look

You have pointed ears and mismatched eyes, one crystal green and the other crystal blue. Your dark brown hair is very long and wavy, and is worn pulled back in two braids. You have fair skin.

Background Story

Early Life: Belladulce was born in the Dragon Spine Mountains to her father Felix and mother Contessa, members of the Mountain Elf clan. While she held the traditional features of dark hair and pale skin of Mountain Elves, her clan was both intrigued and repulsed by her light colored mismatched eyes. Her parents were hard-working traders that ventured into Shard with their wares, bringing along Bella and her younger brother. Unlike the rest of her clan, Bella was enchanted by the sights and sounds of the city and begged her family to return to the city many times. She often was scolded by Contessa for wandering away from the trading tables and having conversations with the townspeople. On one of these occasions, Bella wandered into a shop and found a merchant named Malik who specialized in selling instruments. Malik showed Bella many instruments and told her a few stories of the Bardic culture. Her eyes shining bright, Bella asked if she could buy some bones. Malik laughed at her and told her that if she could bring him a few gold Dokoras, he would set her up with a case filled with starter instruments. Bella excitedly returned to her parents and asked them for the gold coin. Felix was angered by her request and reminded her that singing and playing instruments was a silly skill only used by those who didn’t understand the true purpose of life. Dejected, Bella returned to the mountains with her parents, but she never forgot Malik and his lore.

Fleeing Her Wedding: When Bella became of age to get married, Felix and Contessa began preparations for her wedding, but found that very few families in the mountains wished to make ties to such a peculiar elven bride. They were taken aback by her fondness for singing and whistling while she did chores, and saw her flashy attire as quite unbecoming for a young elven woman. Unlike many of her female peers, Bella chose to dress in bright colors and frequently collected and wore unsold odds and ends from her parents’ trading tables. The few friends she had kept at a distance for fear of being looked upon with the same disdain. Also, her perky demeanor and extravagant way of speaking was foreign to the Mountain Elves.

That is why it came to be no surprise that Bella was not found when her friends returned on the dawn of her wedding day, finding only a mirror and an untouched goblet of wine by the Pond of Tears. Her fiancé breathed a sigh of relief at news of her departure, happy to be free to marry an elf more suitable to his culture. Felix and Contessa hung their heads at the loss of their daughter, fearing that she had faded into the forest. They sent her brother into the lands to search for Bella, hoping both of their children would someday return to their home in the mountains.

Becoming a Bard: In truth, Bella had no intentions of returning to the mountains or taking up the life of a traders’ wife. After leaving the pond, she walked for a long time filled with shame and indecision. As she came upon the city of Shard, she remembered her encounter with Malik as a child. She sat outside his shop until daybreak, when he unlocked his door and peeked outside. Startled at the sight of those unusual eyes against fair skin he had seen so many years ago, he invited Bella inside for a drink. Bella began to tell Malik her story, beginning with how she never fit in to the Mountain Elves and ending with her desire to make a life for herself far away from the mountains. In a moment of desperation, Bella placed her silver shears and black pearl necklace on the table before Malik, asking to trade her only possessions for a single instrument. Malik took pity on Bella and brought her into his backroom, giving her an instrument case filled with bones. Then, he sent her onward with a silver Dokora and directions to The Crossing, telling her to seek out the help of Silvyrfrost.

Once arriving in The Crossing, Bella asked around until she was pointed in the direction of the Bard’s Guild. Here, she expressed her interest in becoming a Bard to Silvyrfrost and trained with a group of her peers. She also met more experienced Bards in the performance hall who provided her with more instruments, clothing and support, ultimately helping her to make The Crossing her new home.

Finding Love: One day while standing in the street pondering whether or not she wanted to buy a new instrument, Belladulce felt a hand slip into her pockets. Turning around angrily, she grabbed the arm of Baeleth, a S’Kra Mur. Baeleth hissed at her and pulled away, dropping a few coins on the ground. Since Bella had not encountered many S’Kra Mur growing up, she peered at him curiously, chuckling at his less than menacing hiss. She bent down to pick up her coins and Baeleth sped away, a dagger slipping out of his sheath. Bella picked up the dagger and ran after Baeleth. She found him slipping into the bathhouse, looking around anxiously. Grinning, she followed him inside. “Missing this?” she asked, showing him the dagger.

“Yesss,” Baeleth hissed, grabbing the dagger angrily out of her hand. “What do you want?”

Bella considered the situation for a moment before speaking. She had always heard that S’Kra Mur were sneaky and not to be trusted, but the way this S’Kra Mur was acting made her think that he was not evil, just ill-mannered. “Can you teach me to hunt?”

Baeleth sighed. “I guessssss I have to if I don’t want you to go to a guard about me.” He grabbed Bella’s hand and whisked her down to the shipyard, supervising her use of a scimitar. He found himself uncharacteristically taken by Bella’s fumbling and laughter as she danced with the rats, shrieking as they attacked. When the hunting session was over, Bella asked him if he would teach her again. Baeleth reluctantly agreed, and the two of them met again and again, hunting together.

Despite his hard demeanor, he found himself falling in love with the perky little elf. Likewise, Bella had become fond of him. Although they were both very different people, they had fun together and appreciated learning from one another: lore from her, survival from him. After about a year of spending time together in this way, Bella approached Baeleth about the idea of getting bonded. Baeleth held out for several more months, worried about pulling Bella into the danger of his world. Finally, he succumbed to his heart. They were bonded in a secret ceremony with no one present but themselves and a Saemaus' kiss rose.

Family Ties: Many moons after beginning her training as a Bard, Bella's brother located her at the Northeast Gate in The Crossing. Scared about his intentions for her, she fled to Ratha with Baeleth, spending more time than ever committed to learning the ways of combat and survival. The community was not for her, and she longed for her friends and acquaintances in The Crossing. After her return, Baeleth accompanied her to see her brother, who had established himself as a Trader. Much discussion occurred late into the night while Bella begged her brother to keep her location unknown to her parents. In return for his silence, her brother requested that she only use his services for trading, as her parents' ties to other traders in the area were strong. He warned her that someday their parents may still discover her, and if that time came, she would be nothing more than a disappointment.

"We searched for you for days. The community mourned as if you had faded. Your selfish behavior caused pain in both of our parents, and our mother rarely smiled after your departure. They sent me to find you and drag you home so you would be safe. If they saw you now, the wife of a thief and a snake, playing instruments and laughing in taverns, they would hide their faces and say they did not have a daughter."

Baeleth narrowed his eyes at the Elven man, but kept his silence as Bella spoke.

"Dear brother, this life is the life that I chose. I will come to you for the sale of my bundles and gems, but I do not expect to be treated as your sister. You can accept what I have chosen, as I have accepted that it is not in line with our family's values, or you will not. I have always been different, but now...I am happy. Please let me have my happiness in peace."

With those words spoken, Belladulce embraced her younger brother in a hug, the understanding being that the only similarities they shared were birth parents and the mountains. They walked away in separate directions, symbolically marking the different paths they had chosen for their lives.

Sometimes Bella comes across her brother in The Crossing, and they are on good terms, but they do not spend much time fraternizing. As much as Bella is concerned with socializing and meeting new people, he is concerned with isolating himself and making money.

Profile

Belladulce is a friendly personality to all guilds and races except other Elves, to whom she is warm, and Dwarves, to whom she is reserved. This reserved nature is because of her history as a Mountain Elf. Bella is open to fighting if necessary, but does not seek conflict.

OOC

AIM: BelladulceDR