{SA} Evangeline | Aodh | Merchant

Herd} Aodh   

Rank} Tea/Herb Merchant

Patron God(s)} Ignacio; Kaia; Cascade 

> Compassionate <
Anyone who meets Eva would agree that she is a compassionate mare. She always strives to make others feel comfortable and supported no matter the day. Despite social norms, this makes her inclined to random acts of generosity.

> Dedicated <
You'll never catch her starting a project and not complete it. She works hard and does her job very well whatever it may be at the time. Not only is she dedicated to business matters but also in personal relationships, she is not one to be disloyal.

> Inventive <
 While she is not known for her craftiness, she is always trying to come up with new ways to make life easier or simply to create something beautiful. Other merchants and artisans inspire her greatly--especially her mother who has shown her so many of her own inventions.

> No nonsense <
At first glance, Eva is a soft mare without much of a backbone. In reality, she's tough as nails and despises beating around the bush. As a merchant, she has learned to be firm in her wishes and boundaries. Business to her is business, honeyed words and frivolous talk mean nothing. 

> Soft Spoken <
Eva is a very gentle and polite in her speech most of the time, even in stressful situations. This can lead her to be quite persuasive and even manipulative given the chance, but also makes her seem weak and deceiving.

> Orderly <
Teacups stacked where they should be? Perfect. 
If she can help it, everything would be in its precise order or place. She values keeping records and time, saying it gives her peace of mind.

> Explosive Temper <
Regardless of her more humble traits, Evangeline has an incredibly thin line between tolerance and blood boiling anger. Luckily, it only comes out once she is pushed very far. Those who cross her will be sure to know where that line is. After it's been crossed, it takes a moment for her to come back down.

> Strong Willed <
Ever since she was a foal, Eva has been stubborn as a mule with the relentlessness to back it up. If she wants something, by the gods she will try and get it. She is strong in her opinions and ways of life. Some love her for it, other hate her because of it. She is resolute in her morals and actions. In moments where she falters, it is rare and worrisome. 

> Fearful <
Growing up, she may have been told too many scary stories. She can be quite flighty and nervous in dark settings and sketchy places. Unfortunately when she is scared, Evangeline tends to fight first rather than flight, causing much pain the the unlucky equid who decides to pull a prank on her. Of course, afterwards she feels bad, but that doesn't mean everyone will take kindly to it.
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History

[] Foalhood []

Evangeline's young life was quite a simple one. Her mother Charlotte, who was a traveling merchant in her younger years herself conceived Eva later in life during a short-lived fling with a rather handsome War-Forged stallion. Finding out she was with foal, her mother vanished from War-Forged and permanently headed back to her home in Sonder. There Evangeline was born in a small, yet welcoming, room in the wee hours of dawn. Despite the circumstances, her mother and grandparents felt blessed that she was born to them, and wouldn't have had it any other way.

Sonder began as a small herb farm on the very edge of Drakefire, between Valore and Bloom, in which Evangeline's forefathers had lived in and passed down their land for generations. After a while, cousins and very close family friends had moved into the area as well to help farm the fertile land and even to set up a few small dwellings in the forest and fields. Some even doubled as shops and became highly successful as the years went on. 
Evangeline's mother eventually inherited the original farm as her grandparents passed. Their deaths, so close in time wore heavily on Eva as she was twelve at the time and grew up mostly in the care of her grandparents while her mother was away running her coffee shop. Until then, she'd spent her years playing with the other local foals, her older cousins and those who came and went. She was quite the inquisitive little thing, always asking questions about the history of Aodh and how things worked, this led her to learn to read and write at quite a young age. After her grandparents died things changed too quickly for her liking. Her mother sold the land to a friend who owned many slaves and was ripped from the life she'd known.

[] Adolescents []

With time, the hurt went away as all pain does. In her early adolescence, Evangeline helped her mother in her shop, learning the trade and even accompanying her mother on trips to the great capital city Valore and others to sell spices, coffee and a few sparse herbs she had started to grow herself about the property. Evangeline did have a few short-term jobs around Sonder, purely to learn about running different businesses and to find where she fits in. It was inevitable that she would one day take up the family trade as a merchant, and Eva wasn't going to allow herself to be the weak link in the chain. So she threw herself wholeheartedly into learning everything she could. But something was missing. Evangeline grew bored of her life. While she loved her home in Sonder, the settlements throughout Aodh, especially Bloom and Valore seemed so exciting in contrast! And thus, an inherent wanderlust-filled ambition within her lit like a flame. She just had to see more, had to do more with her life. Her mother, ever so proud of her, but ignorant of the sudden change in her personality, let Eva do as she pleased.

Being so focused on herself and her future, the young mare drifted away from the people she once held so closely and became selfish and vain over her accomplishments. Though she still had a few of the same friends, it was obvious her interests in life had changed. She was growing up--maybe a bit too fast. Towards the end of her adolescence, Evangeline felt the weight of this, albeit rather suddenly, as one of her closest friends suddenly lashed out at Eva for neglecting the people around her and becoming the monster she was. The reality of it hit the young mare like a stone, but her ego wouldn't allow her to accept it. So she left to Bloom out of guilt and anger with only a mere goodbye to her mother and a satchel over her withers.

It was raining when she arrived in that small town. Her heart aching and hating herself for who she had become. Spurred on by a boom of thunder, the crack of lightning, and a sweet aroma, she found refuge in a small teashop. The owner, a small statured stallion, took Evangeline in for the night. They had a long talk and in the morning, Eva left Bloom with a new perspective. Returning home, she was met with many tears of her extended family--as well as a good scolding--but they were glad she came back. The days following she spent apologizing to all those she had wronged, even if not all of them would forgive her actions.

Now at peace with herself and others with her, life went on as normal.

[] Adulthood []

Reaching adulthood was simply another year gone by. At this point in her life, she had taken over much of the business--at least the traveling portion of it--and was sharing profits with her mother to afford her own tea house in Bloom when the time came. All was well for the first five years of traveling around Aodh, even occasionally trading and bartering with a merchant of War-Forged. Though as every high point in life must come to an end it seems, disaster struck.

It had rain all the night previous, Evangeline was away in Bloom to visit an old friend, her mother who had been gardening after a long day slipped on the on the wooden steps leading up to the deck while looking over the edge of the unrailed side and slipped off of them. Her back right hoof had been caught between two of the stairs, causing her fetlock to break. At least, that's what Charlotte had told Evangeline after she had come home to her passed out off the side of the steps and halfway into the small pond! Evangeline always knew her mother had been clumsy, but she sometimes wonders if something else happened that afternoon... Charlotte never did heal correctly, which hindered her mobility and in keeping up with things at home. And so, Eva's traveling days were behind her. 

Nowadays, the shop has been converted to an imported coffee and tea house to accommodate both of their passions. Because of this, it has attracted much more patrons to their glee. Evangeline takes care of the exterior and property, making it very presentable and welcoming to customers or the weary traveler, while Charlotte tends to the interior. This symbiosis remains stable to this day, but for how long?

- Eva often dreams of traveling all of Hireath, just to see what's out there, but she knows Aodh will always be the place for her.

- Through the years she has stopped pleading for answers from her mother as to who her father is. She greatly wishes she could meet him but has no idea where he is or any slight clue that would allow her to seek him out.

- Eva has an open heart but is romantically tentative. She's had a few flings in the past but she doesn't quite know what she's looking for and after the last one, she wants the next to be final...

- Her hairstyle varies daily, though she prefers to keep her mane and tail long! (To others drawing her, you have the full artistic liberty to draw her hairstyle however you see fit at the time ;v; ) 

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Art (c) Ringalou 

Edited Template (c) Queerly