Upon Entering Helovia:

Quiet, submissive, gentle, pious, passionate, fearful, clingy, oversensitive.

Persephone is afraid. She is afraid of anything she hasn't yet encountered, including new horses and new places. She is frequently nervous, resorting to rather obsessive compulsive habits to keep herself calm. In any given situation, she is likely to be the last to speak and the first to comply - she is a follower, never a leader, and does not function well on her own. When she finds someone to follow, she becomes clingy and obsessive, seeking their companionship and approval above all else. Extremely oversensitive, she takes even the slightest imagined negativity to heart but is afraid to reveal her shame for fear of angering or disappointing someone. She is, therefore, very withdrawn and very cautious, constantly walking on eggshells. Her greatest fear is to be a disappointment and to end up alone.

With that being said, Persephone is passionate and kind, with a soul that truly wishes for only good and peace in the world. She is very pious and considers the gods above all else. She is gentle and has an interest in the healing arts, particularly in childbirth as a result of her passive magic. When befriended, she is a willing ear and a sweet smile; her laugh is infectious, if rarely given. Warmth resides within her and is willingly given when she is truly comfortable in her surroundings.

Persephone's sire is Jupiter, Duke of Estanzia. Her dam is Ceres, Duchess of Estanzia.

Extended Family:
Tatiana | cousin, from mother's sister

In the Rift:

Persephone was born in Estanzia, a land of the Rift, to a Duke and Duchess in direct service to the King and Queen. She was a lovely filly, full of light, the embodiment of life with a coat that pulsed white with the birth of each new soul into the world. Her mother and father were a political match more than a pairing of love, and so she grew up in a rather divided family. Her mother, aloof and disapproving, alienated the young Persephone by forcing her to study manners and propriety, pushing her to enter the royal court when she came of age. Shy and withdrawn even as a child, Persephone hated these lessons and the implications behind them, dreading the day that she would be presented to the court.

The one highlight to her daily lessons was her time spent in proximity to the royal family. During her time learning the proper way to address other nobility and the deplorable art of small talk, Persephone became fast friends with the Prince of Estanzia, Kratos. The two were very close, often inseparable while the filly was nearby; it was rumored vaguely that there might even be a betrothal to come of the pair's time spent together. Persephone adored the dark, brooding colt, often, ironically, the only bright spot in her dismal days at court.

Persephone's father was an intelligent, manipulative stallion. Noting the discord between Ceres and her daughter, he spent much of Persephone's first year acting as her confidante. She cared deeply for her father, never suspecting that he was interested only in using her. When Persephone was born, she possessed the magical ability to animate any organic object with a touch; the Duke was determined to use this power to gain favor from the King and Queen, whose rather unique views included supporting sacrificial rituals. From these sacrifices, she often raised the dead, calling the bodies whose souls had departed to act as a growing army for her father in preparation to deal with the unrest growing as a result of the King and Queen's sacrificial rites.

Kratos disappeared, "for his own safety," they claimed; this, paired with pressure from her mother and being taken advantage of by her father, drove the mare into a deep depression. Terrified and ashamed, she fled the kingdom one night to escape her parents and than the increasing turbulence of Estanzian society. She stumbled through the wilderness, alone and afraid, searching for a direction. Somewhere along the way, she managed to get rid of her ability to raise the dead, though she cannot seem to remember who took it or how it happened; at any rate, she was relieved beyond measure to have lost the dreaded ability and continued on her way, filled with regret that she could not have rid herself of it sooner.

And so she arrived in Helovia.

Helovia, Year Six:

Frostfall
Persephone arrived in Helovia after stumbling through the Rift, convinced that she had landed in some abominable underworld for her sins.

Birdsong
The God of the Sun had opened a portal to allow Riftians to access Helovia, and in Birdsong he called upon those that had entered the land to fight for Helovia against the monsters that had consumed their homelands. Persephone was not of much use, but she tried her best.

Tallsun
Lothíriel, a member of the Aurora Basin, invited Persephone to join her in the north. However, the sunset mare remained in the Halcyon Flats, the only place in Helovia that she knew.

Orangemoon
Agnodice, a member of the Hidden Falls, chanced upon Persephone one day at the Halcyon Flats. Agnodice invited the terrified mare to join her in the Falls, and Persephone decided that she would go with the healer. However, they ended up separated. Persephone tried to go to the Falls, but turned back after she found the Heart Caves and became afraid.

Helovia, Year Seven:

Frostfall
Still in the Halcyon Flats, Persephone tried to save an egg that was trapped by beings made of light. She was faced with the shadows of her past and decided that the Halcyon Flats were no longer safe. Shortly after, she was captured by Archibald, who used her captivity to invite her officially to join the Hidden Falls herd. Despite her fear of the Czar, she accepted, joining the ranks of the healers there. A few weeks later, having grown more comfortable with Helovia, the mare journeyed to the Heavenly Fields, a place that she was told was safe to explore.

Birdsong
Having grown more comfortable in the Hidden Falls, Persephone sought out Miykael, who she hoped would help her become a healer.

Habits and Behaviors:
- Has used the alias "Cora" to protect her identity since birth.
- Has a severe fear of dead bodies as a result of being forced to use her old magic to raise the undead.
- Must say a prayer for the departed soul of any dead body that she finds (albeit from a safe distance).
- Always offers the best part of her meal to the gods as a sacrifice before she eats (e.g. the juciest clump of grass, ripest apple).
- Always touches her food twice to make sure that it is not alive when she eats it.
- Hums an old Estanzian lullaby to a count of ten when particularly frightened; cannot stop before the count of ten, and cannot continue for longer than the count of ten.

October, 2016 :: Mini-SWP :: [Item: Dried flower | A dried flower on a string]