ROLE

Human of the Autumn Court

NAME

Tola

meaning: worm, grub, scarlet

NICKNAMES

Her parents called her Isadora or Izzy

AGE

23

GENDER

Female

COURT

Autumn

SPECIES

Human

SEXUALITY

Demisexual

APPEARANCE

Carmen Lee Solomon

PERSONALITY

Spite and hatred hold a special place in her heart. It is what fed her when her lord became curious of what a starved human would look like, and it is what raised her when her parents were killed in her youth. Her hatred burns at a continuous smolder that risks burning her away from the inside. Sometimes it scares her how much it consumes her, how obsessed she is, but the daily life in the Fae courts leaves little time to deal with intrapersonal issues.

Tola is full of anger, but she is not hot-tempered- if she were, Tola wouldn't have lasted a day serving the Fae. She's too smart to let it spark up in a futile fight, and she's used to enduring punishment. Any move she makes is extremely premediated. When she's told to go somewhere or do something, she does so with a pretty little smile. She smiles only at the Fae- its something like catharsis, the only way she can bare her teeth at them.

With other humans, she can be described as intense and realistic. Tola will not shy away from difficult topics and can be quite blunt. In rare moments when the deep ache of loss and fury in her chest recedes, Tola can be mischievous and daring. She's fiercely protective to other humans, even strangers, and would put herself in harms way if there is a way she can defend them. She is very cunning in what she will stand up for and what she will endure- Tola has developed quite a skill for spotting a Fae's weaknesses, and secretly weaponizes them at any possible moment. She's a master at evading blame in any small risk she takes. Her best work is done when she sets the Fae against each other, and giddily watches them tear each other apart.

Her hatred blinds her to softer happiness's that she could find if she really tried. It also blinds her to any cruel-hearted humans or soft-hearted Fae- humans have faced so much, and any cruelty would just be the fault of the horrors they'd had to experience. Fae are duplicitous, and any kindness is a mask concealing cruel intent.

If given the choice to escape to freedom or kill a Fae and face the consequences, she would brandish the dagger every time. She hopes the darkness comes for them all- Tola wants to hear a Fae scream for once before she dies.

BACKGROUND

Tola was born a servant. Torn from her mother's arms at birth, she and her brother were appraised by her parent's Fae master before he named her and disposed of her weaker, crying twin. Her parents were called Lezabel and Addanc (the lower Fae that owned them delighted in naming his servants after unwanted characters of forgotten human lore that most often met tragic ends). Her earliest memory is that of a foxes hot breath and the inside of a log pressing around her, simultaneously trapping her and saving her from gnashing teeth, a baby playing bait during one of the lord's hunts. Her childhood was riddled with terror and humiliation as the assigned companion to her lord's child, whose favourite activity was throwing her into the ground's well to see if she could stay afloat until someone noticed her shouts for help.

Her parents were the only bright spot in her lives, wrapping the scratches on her arm, kissing the top of her head, holding her when she cried, and calling her Isodora, which meant blessed gift. She lived in fear, but she had also laughed and played in the colours of autumn, knowing that after a terrifying day, they would be there for her. But they were helpless to protect each other. Tola was helpless when she handed the visiting lord with terrible aim an arrow and watched it pierce her mother's heart. She was helpless when her father fell sick and was considered too old and too lame to be allowed to heal. Tola stopped feeling fear from that point, and rage and hatred took its place.

The best day of her life was three years ago, when news came that the lesser Fae and his son fell victim to a human rebellion while travelling and succumbed to their injuries. Perhaps it had something to do with the iron-rich diet she'd been feeding them in the weeks leading up to their trip, but regardless, Tola had laughed. She and all the other human servants at the household were reassigned to work for the autumn court.

SKILLS

Her old lord had wanted humans proficient in any art he required for entertainment, so Tola is skilled on the flute and harp. She also has a naturally beautiful and haunting singing voice, though she would easily trade it for a skill in assassination.

AESTHETIC

QUOTES

"Blood, leaves, and fire- a court ruled by red, a currency in pain."

"Enjoy your trip, my Lord."

"I have faced far worse than you."

TRIVIA

- she has burn scars on her left hand, shoulders, and down her back

- she's surprisingly good with kids (so long as they're not fae)

- she's illiterate

THEME SONG

Lighthouse by Halsey