THE BASICS

Name: Esme Laveau

Profession: Fortune teller, Ju-Ju merchant, Witch




PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Gender: Female

Age: 25

Hair: Black

Eyes: Burgundy

Distinguishing Marks: Esme’s most distinguishing marks are the smattering of faded sepia tattoos; on each cheek is an intricate cross pattern with a large dot in the center, and four more dots roosting in the angles of the cross. Between her eyes are four dots in a square, the highest of them larger and apparently smudged. Her left arm is covered in tribal patterns, from her knuckles to the back of her hand all the up to her shoulder. Her left nostril is pierced with a tiny turquoise stone.

Esme has the hint of a strange accent and a bizarre tempo of speech that belies her Mi’Kmac origins.

General Appearance: Though her natural looks are soft and unassuming, Esme projects an exotic mix of elegance and macabre. Her dresses are expertly tailored together in a wide range of vivid colors, complementary patterns and beckoning textures. She tends toward an excess of jewelry, all of which is meaningful, from the multiple flights of hooped earrings, the fine rings on her right hand, the long layers of beads around her neck, the shelled bangles on her wrists, to a beaten locket adorned with black polished stones that hangs between her breasts (her personal ju-ju).

When at market near the docks, she plays up her half-breed ancestry to amplify her air of forbidden mystery, all in an effort to draw in crowds of superstitious sailors. Her head is usually covered by a precisely folded scarf, her hands by fingerless gloves, and over her shoulders is a beaten shawl with a beautifully beaded fringe. When her wares cart (and semi-permanent living space) is parked near the Court of Miracles, the scarves and gloves come off, and she is much less formal, much more comfortable and relaxed.

There is a penetrating, beautiful sadness about Esme, coupled with a profound willfulness that borders on danger. When she’s in the midst of a con, she presents as a pliable blank slate, easily manipulated and molded to every whim, however those smart enough to look a bit deeper will see an intelligence and cruelty in her brandy-colored eyes that betrays any pretense of meekness or docility.



HISTORY

Personality: A woman of many hidden talents, Esme is soft spoken and observant when need-be, but holds strong opinions on the things she considers most dear. She has a sharp tongue, and when provoked, her fury knowns no bounds. She is a keen negotiator, and often gets more from her deals than her trading partner is aware of; deep down, she takes a sick, secret pleasure in stealing things from right before a victim’s eyes. Though efficient when focused or procuring something she herself wants, she has a tendency to be fickle and unpredictable, thus earning her the ire of many who have sought prolonged services from her in the past

Sexual Preference: Heterosexual.

House (Major or Minor House): Originally from the Mi’Kmac Bondye territory. A former priestess of Freda. Currently a valued voice among the Court of Miracles.

About Your character: A woman of strange and unknown power, Esme is all at once respected among her peers, but feared and abhorred and disgusted among those in polite society. Her past is largely unknown, though the stories circulating around her are colorful, to say the least. Some say she is an enchantress spit up by a violent storm over the ocean, others say she is an outcast pirate princess from a mystical, hidden island due south of the colony. Those who have spent significant time with her (the Twanky Brothers, for instance) can say with some degree of certainty that she is a Mi’Kmac half-breed who came to the colony several years ago for personal reasons.

She is said to speak with demons, to divine the future, to turn men into animals, to enchant objects, to have the power to destroy an enemy, even to raise the dead. She is also uncannily adept at curing severe illness, and creating potions for invoking or ending romance. For the most part, Esme lives in her wares cart, a wagon filled with oddities and horrors that only the bravest peruse; when not parked at the docks, it’s stationed in New Hope strikingly close to where the Court of Miracles is supposed to be hidden. As a matter of course, she attends mass with the Faithful once a week in order to preserve her standing within the community.