Jasmina Apsara

[Jasmina Apsara]

Name: Jasmina Apsara

Age: 19

Race: Human

Height: 5'6"

Weight: 130

Physical description: Jasmina has long, thick, slightly wavy black hair, skin the colour of coffee with milk, and eyes so dark they too appear almost black. She has the flexible and athletic body of a dancer, and while she is slender, she is also quite curvy. Her walk and stance are graceful, even when she isn't actually dancing.

Jasmina usually wears a long black skirt over black pantaloons. While performing she wears a midriff-bearing top of red or green, but when she isn't dancing she generally covers the smaller shirt with a loose linen blouse. She adorns the ensemble with gold earrings, bracelets, and anklets-- but this jewelery is for the sake of appearance and has no significant monetary value. Jasmina will usually be seen with a smile on her face, on stage or off, regardless of the circumstances.

Possessions: Basic traveling gear, so she is able to set up a simple camp site without needing to purchase additional supplies. A red coin skirt (the coins are decorative and make noise when she dances; again this is not something expensive.) Two veils for dancing, one red and one green. A set of zills (finger cymbals) and a small hand drum. A short sword, which is mainly for performance purposes in the occasional dance that requires it, but which could be used to defend herself if necessary. Additionally, whatever money she's made from her recent performances, though it is rarely more than enough for basic living.

Powers or Strengths: Jasmina is a talented belly dancer, having begun learning at a very young age. She is also a very confident stage performer.These abilities are not at all magical in nature, but are simply the skills acquired as the result of many years of practice.

Not exactly having led a sheltered existence, Jasmina has learned the basics of defending herself, using her fists and the sword she keeps for performing. She would not seek out a fight and would be easily outclassed by a trained opponent, but she would at least stand a chance if she was attacked by a garden-variety thug.

Weaknesses: Jasmina has no formal education, and can read and write at only a basic level. She has a fair amount of practical knowledge of geography from extensive travel, but does not have a local's level of familiarity with any specific place, never having stayed in one location for long.

She is in the early stages of pregnancy, and while it does not yet show and doesn't impede her movement, it makes her additionally cautious. She would tend to be extra careful in situations where other characters would not need to be. Jasmina is also faced with the worry of whether her income will be sufficient for the upcoming baby, as well as what motherhood will be like, and those worries can at times be very distracting.

History: Jasmina was born to a clan of Travelers, and learned belly dancing from her mother. Along with her four sisters, she practiced every day, and began performing for coins at a very young age to help support her family. Her childhood was generally peaceful, happy, and serene.

All that began to change as she approached adulthood. The Travelers had chosen an area to camp for the rough winter ahead, but the locals were not pleased, considering them trespassers and poachers. This was not entirely without basis in reality. Though the Travelers did not deliberately steal from homes, gardens, livestock pens, or other areas that clearly belonged to someone, they were completely unable to grasp the concept that some people felt the woods and wild game didn't belong to everyone.

The conflict intensified, with skirmishes back and forth and the Travelers' wagons unable to move on because of weather conditions. One night there was a raid by the local population that left several wagons burned, and in the resulting fighting most of the adult male Travelers in the clan were killed.

Famine and disease took the rest of the clan over the course of the winter, leaving Jasmina as the sole survivor. She watched her mother and sisters waste away along with everyone else, and then made sure they all had proper burials, before her own fever-wracked and malnourished body demanded sleep.

She awoke three days later, her fever having broken, leaving her with a new determination to survive. With no family left, Jasmina set off on her own, stopping in various towns and villages for a few weeks or months at a time to earn coin with her dancing.

Few places she stopped affected her on a personal level; she was like a moth, alighting briefly and moving on. One place was different. It was a village called Farline, with little more to speak of than a few workshops and dwellings, and a large manor house owned by the single wealthy family in town. Jasmina fell in love with a hired man from the manor farm, Mikkel, and for the first time in her life she gave serious thought to settling down for good.

It wasn't to be. After a few months with her first love-- blissful months spent walking in the woods, talking for hours by the stream, and sleeping under the stars-- Jasmina realized she was expecting a child. For the first time, she approached the manor to seek out her beloved, wanting to surprise Mikkel with her news.

It was Jasmina herself who was surprised. The man to whom she had given her heart was not a farm hand, as he had told her. He was the owner of the manor, and a married man with three young children. His wife, meeting Jasmina at the door, radiating suspicion, asked if there was any message for her husband. All but speechless, she replied, "Tell him Jasmina was here, and said goodbye." The wife's cold, angry eyes followed Jasmina as she ran down the path, tears streaming from her eyes and her hand unconsciously pressed against her still-flat belly.

Jasmina is doing her best to forget her love, forget her dead family, and move on with her life. Whatever happens, she will face it with a smile, and refuse to accept defeat. The places she visits in the meantime are mere stops on the journey.