Solphin Acaran

From Crossroads Wiki


Cut and Dry
Full Name:	Solphin Fenton Acaran II
Titles/Et Cet:	Chamberlain, Apprentice Healer, Herbalist, Gypsy Sister/Brother
	Phinn, SolFish, Snailphin, Lady Scamp, Lady of Whiskey and Raucous Intoxicated Recitations, Husband, Tin Kitten, SFA
Gender:	Androgyne/Female
DoB:	November 1 481 (481-11-01) (age 27)
Height/Weight:	5'5" (1.65m) / 120 lbs.
Eyes/Hair:	Brown / Brown (Curly if it ever grows out)
Place of Birth:	Moria, Destine, Draught
Marital Status:	Widowed

Birth of Trouble

There isn't any information on Solphin "Phinn" Acaran's background that seems out of the ordinary for a child on Destine, albeit a peculiar child.

Born out of Covenant to Master Astronomer Fenton Acaran and Master Alchemist and Hobby Tinkerer Solphin Desre it was set in her contract that she would be sent to live with her father, who she still refers to by his first name. Her mother, on the other hand, was deemed a less 'responsible' sort, prone to long bouts of seclusion and drug use that resulted in more than two or three separate instances of hospitalization.

The two were never romantically involved, nor did they ever share a period of handfasting, the Contract was one written simply out of the woman's prestige as an Alchemist and hopes to foster on that brilliance somehow. Phinn has seen her mother once that she remembers, though recalls her scent more readily. Much like her father, she simply refers to her as 'Solphin', to confuse those who don't know about her parent's lack of originality in naming their daughter.

The Gypsies

Fenton took very little interest in actually raising his daughter, and while he is indeed a brilliant astronomer, he wasn't much for child rearing. It was known that Fenton had a sister who had 'wed' into a troupe of gypsies, and upon one of their visits, the six month old babe Solphin vanished into the caravans with them. She claims she can account for a whole six years of her life that she was /not/ with her Family until her move to Gateway.

Adopted in--though some might call it a case of baby snatching after all is said and done-- Solphin was granted at least some level of camaraderie and recognition with the Troupes. How much is not actually known, she, after all, very rarely has anything to say on her childhood. Though, thanks to the blood tie between the Gypsies and Nons, she does stay in contact with Fenton and hold his name.

Learning the traveler's lifestyle, Solphin was never afraid of work. She proved to be eager to please, loud and was found to possess an unwavering loyalty to those she loved--making her perfect for the rather questionable (and rumored less than legal or morally sound) lifestyle a gypsy leads. Even for the gypsies, she was a handful.

The girl grew to be a tomboy. An insistent tomboy. Taking the name "Phinn" and shearing her hair shorter than most boys did, with her lean and streamlined figure she passed quite well for a lad through most of puberty. Going as far as insisting at times that she was boy and demanding equal rights in their ceremony, as well as opting for a male dancer's costume at her Year of the Dance celebration.

Though she grew up and puberty took hold, she is far from the 'ideal' picture of a woman and is quite aware and even proud of that fact, still retaining the look of an effeminately featured young man and making no attempt to correct it upon arrival to Gateway. She has her own rather bizarre theories on her androgynous sort of being, but those are mostly kept to herself.

While she lived with the nomads of Destine, some of that bookish brilliance she was bred to inherit shines through. Proving at a young age to have a keen mind, she developed an easy grasp of not only the common tongue but the gypsy language as well, and tends to be a bit of a dreamer in the most philosophical of senses. Solphin has been known to speak boldly against things she ought not to, being accused of blasphemy more than once and has found herself in a scrap of trouble with local authorities when it comes to high-borns, her silver tongue and dry wit.

To Be A Healer

Taking a quick hand to the study and lore in herbalism and striving to be a minor healer, she took to studying from a gypsy she will only refer to as 'Q'. Proving once again to be a quick learner and striving to please, she was apprenticed to it for some time.

During her time with Q, her mother died in a rather unfortunate accident when she was 15 years old. A miscalculation in her potion of mental acuity while working left her incapacitated. She was found a few days later, having fallen most literally into a coma from which she never recovered. It was unfortunate, but Phinn feels a sort of separation towards her estranged mother.

While it did not effect her very much, Fenton took it as a sign of some sort to take an interest in his daughter's life. Noting that she had taken a keen liking to plants and herbalism he took advantage of the Age of Majority and sent her to the College of Healing at Amphorae, hoping to give her a proper education.

Staying at the College for around three years, she soon began missing the freedom she had before; to learn at her leisure, to be with Family, and above all the college walls made her uneasy. While she wasn't treated unkindly, the free-spirited tomboy in her didn't feel at home, leaving for months at a time to be with her gypsy kin.

Though, she did finish out her training years and graduate to that of a full fledged Healer Apprentice, immediately disliking her Master, her official apprenticeship ended after almost two years in a rather explosive manner that reportedly left her Master plying his trade to himself. It was then that Fenton suggested traveling to Gateway and looking into the university there.

Ecstatic, Phinn didn't take long to throw together her belongings and find the next ship heading to Gateway, seeking out a new life of discovery...and perhaps a bit at the University...to please the paternal parental unit.

Scampish Happenings on Gateway

Job Progression

March 5, 503 A.G. Solphin Arrives on Gateway and procures a job first working at the Dockside Tavern, then at the more reputable Isle of Ale tavern as a barwench.
April 17, 503, Solphin takes on the role of Chamberlain to Baroness Destine, Isolde Lieberman.
April 16, 504, seemingly to even her own confusion, Solphin is named Lady Moria of Destine, Draught by Baroness Destine, in place of the heinously murdered Lady Jessaphine Peirce *.
January 14, 507, A fortnight after her surprise marriage, Solphin is declared by Imperial Proclamation to no longer be Lady Moria.
December 16, 507, For reasons left unstated, Solphin resigns as Baroness Destine's Chamberlain, after four and a half years of faithful service.
June 23, 508, Six months after her resignation, Solphin agrees to return as Chamberlain of Destine under Baron Regent, Chase Stevens.

Nobility of Draught
Preceded by Jessaphine Peirce *	Lady Moria 16 April 504 – 14 January 507	Vacant Regent Lady Jordan (NPC)

For Detailed History of the Current Year, Et. Cetera, Allow Me to Direct Your Attention to Scampish History

Prime Examples

503-04-12 Cousins on the Beach: Solphin takes her gypsy cousin, Gitana, down to the beach where Gigi ends up giving out fortunes to Lord Memnoch and Princess Anna. And fend off some Smooth Talk from the rogue, Leo.
503-10-02 Remembrance Night: Isolde throws a Remembrance Night at the Isle of Ale on the anniversary of Prince Vincente's death. A night of Jokes, Poems, Songs and Stories. Solphin accidentally ruins the mood with a story she finds uplifting that just doesn't seem to cross the gypsy-citizen threshold well.
505-07-12 Skeleton Showdown: Solphin wanders into the Isle of Ale to celebrate the tail end of 100th day. Only to find a demonstration in why you shouldn't screw with a necromancer. Especially after he's been socked in the face by a Mad Hatter.
505-11-01 Proof that Solphin Dodged Andre: PROOF! PROOF, I SAY! Solphin and Andre's infamous meeting on the evening after her birthday. And so it begins...
506-04-28 Spring Tourny, Round I: Solphin defeats Baroness Linette in a fight that ends in grappling in the dirt of the coliseum as the stands undergo their own kind of assault.
506-05-14 Rumor: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Solphin rushes young Chandler to the infirmary after an ugly and unfortunate run in with a Knight.
506-05-20 Spring Tourny, Semi-Final: Solphin defeats Adventurer and Novelist, Niamh in a fight that ends in a pause, a drunken collapse and forfeit.
506-05-23 Spring Tourny, Finals: Solphin defeats Merc Cain Sothen regardless of some disturbance up in the stands. She chooses the Ring of Sustenance as her prize.
506-08-04 Prayer For A Lady: After her vanishing act for a month, Solphin is laid up in the infirmary near to death. Her friend, Joshua, comes to her bedside and offers a prayer for her recovery.
506-10-23 The Body Shop Grand Re-Opening Party: Her pal Mya invites her down to her Grand Re-Opening with a somewhat rag-tag group of folks.

Associates

Quirks of the Quirky

Though she did not seem to advertise the fact, when others came to the city, Solphin's gypsy heritage became more obvious. While she is without a doubt the most assimilated of the remaining four gypsies and technically was only an 'adopted' member of the troupes, when the proclamation went out declaring the gypsies treasonous, she chose to become branded with the rest. Now marred with a 'G' on her cheek.

While vanishing without a trace might be cause for alarm in most people, Solphin has been known to disappear for weeks to months on end with little to no alert or reasoning. More than once these 'vacations' have ended with a trip to the infirmary.

The two guards Solphin was given by Duchess Asha to protect against cultists were named Biggs and Wedge, but were replaced quickly by a pair of Destine guards. While their uniforms were changed to the Moria navy and silver, the dubious duo followed her until her stripping from Moria in 507; Zorn and Thorn.

Always found on her person is a leather strap with a number of stones wrapped into it with copper wire. These days, it's wound around her wrist, and curiously, seems to be missing a stone. She's accumulated a couple other random trinkets from friends over the years. A shell necklace that was given to her by Lord Joshua Dhaval is always on her person. An interesting hair trinket that is quiet useless in her short locks from someone typically left unnamed. Similarly, a gold ring with a sapphire set into it is constantly hooked around her left thumb, also from someone she doesn't name.

Solphin has been noted for random acts of charity, likely to be credited to her community-based upbringing. Including but not limited to keeping two rooms in Brownstone; one that she previously inhabited with various friends and family, and the other for her jokingly 'unwards', Gregory and Ellie Clapton. She supposedly charged the latter pictures as rent so they don't feel like it's charity. After the death of her friend Mathis Cardiff, she moved from the room in Brownstone and into his Fairview apartment with Andre Calypse, Roxana Arcos, Zora Calypse and Aishe and Oriana. The Brownstone room still kept for visitors or given out to people who need a place to crash for a while.

Solphin /technically/ owns a shop. Technically only because she bought the deed to her cousin's shop after it was burned to the ground and Sage vanished after her father's death. Sinking enough money into the chandlery to rebuild it, Solphin promptly handed the management back over to Sage when she resurfaced, including the Guildly duties, though she still holds the deed.

Wearing many hats, some of Solphin's known skills happen to be:
- Apprentice Healer/Herbalist -- College of Healing Trained and Gypsy Herbalism.
- Bilingual (Common, Forbidden Gypsy Language, Spots of bad Leuvian)
- Astronomy/Navigation -- Gypsy Travel and Apprenticeship with Master Astronomer, Fenton Acaran.
- Combat with a Staff -- As discovered when she won the Spring Tournament
- Bookkeeping/Scheduling/Researching -- Baptized by fire, her years as a chamberlain/Lady Moria
- Networking -- If she can't help you with something, she probably knows someone, or knows someone who knows someone who can.
- Debate AKA Bitching You Out -- As some people can attest to, Solphin is not bashful with people she's comfortable with. Or even those she's not, depending on the subject.
- Practical Jokes/Mischief/Games -- Not much of a 'skill', but considering she worked for the former Mistress of Revels, this may not come as a surprise.

Gypsy Lemon

Solphin also appears in the commercial for Gypsy Lemon, the new Draughtian cleaning agent. The jingle itself almost won Micheal's Award for Excellence, but was sadly outdone by a hair by the MTMW song.

G-g-g-g-gypsy Lemon! Cleaning power like you've never seen before. Bloodstains on your shirt? Bit of lipstick on your collar? Don't worry, your solution is here! With Gypsy Lemon, all those problems will be gone like they were cursed away. Warning, may cause melodic speaking styles, affinity for bright colors or kleptomania. (But it won't dry out your hands)

Other OOC Fun