Riza D'Ancanto (Bontou)

Name: Riza D’Ancanto

Age: 4000-ish

Personality: Riza is a gentle person at heart, although at times she doesn’t act that way. She tends to be refined, but beneath that polished veneer lies poisoned honey. Sadistic and dangerous, she has been betrayed and hurt too many times in her life, enough to twist and scar. Riza has over the years grown both cynical and philosophical, her one true joy being her “children”. She will do anything for their sake, although she also harbors her own dreams and ambitions.

Appearance: Riza exudes a sort of slender beauty. Her features together aren’t all that outstanding, but somehow she still manages to look almost painfully gorgeous. Her movements are smooth and gliding, with just a hint of the edge beneath the veneer. She has long brown hair which she wears up in a braided bun, leaving a few tendrils to frame her face. Her skin is a light olive color, smooth and unblemished. Her eyes are a guarded dark brown, somewhat reddish-garnet colored at times, painful wisdom and deep secrets seem to dance behind them.

Riza has a thin, delicate build although she is somewhat taller than the average. She doesn’t appear to have any actual muscle, although belying her appearance Riza has a wiry strength. She wears old fashion clothes, having never been able to make the leap from skirts or dresses to pants.

History: Riza was born in France during the late 1500’s. She was born to a noble family, a distant cousin of the King. She grew up in the French court, immersed in the political dances that went on at the time. A castle flower, she was well liked by most and affectionately viewed by her Royal family. Because of this fondness, when the strange phenomenon began wherein Riza stopped visibly aging around the age of twenty, the only result were whispers of witchcraft. No one wanted to proclaim the girl a witch outright, and besides, it was only jealous rumors that her appearance was frozen in time.

After a spell, even her families prestige could no longer protect Riza from the steadily growing whispers. Their well meaning response was to marry her off, to a German noble. Far enough away that the whispers couldn’t follow her. Riza was happy with her marriage. Lord Gaufried was a kind husband, and the two soon grew to love each other. Taking heart from her last home, Riza covered her body, hiding beneath clothes so that no one would notice the fact that she grew no older. Only her husband saw her true body, and before he could grow suspicious he was sent off to war, returning for small periods of time but never long enough to note the difference.

For several years Riza was content. She grew to love both her husband and his people. Her one failure was her inability to produce an offspring for her husband. Try as she might, she always ended up miscarrying. It was the one point of contention in her marriage. As her husband grew older, and Riza herself grew not at all, she began to feel troubled. It had been easy to ignore the rumors from her old life, as Riza could convince herself that she merely looked young for her age, however she finally realized that something was wrong when she remained too youthful while her peers began looking old. Scared and uneasy, she began covertly researching witchcraft on her own, determined to figure out if whatever ailed her really did have to do with such a thing. Because of this research Riza was able to learn of her people and her abilities.

Finding the answer to what had been a loathsome secret instilled within her a sense of peace. She came to terms with her difference, and was finally able to view it as a gift instead of a curse. Soon after she had yet another miscarriage, sparking more intense fights with Gaufried. Riza then turned her eyes on books once again, searching for anything that would cure her. It wasn’t just because of her husbands demands, Riza herself wanted a child to hold and cherish. To take care of and watch grow.

Again, time went on, she began to show signs of another pregnancy. Riza threw herself into her research, finally coming across what seemed a breakthrough around the time she was due. After gathering all of the items she needed, Riza waited until her husband was off on some important business before sending all of the servants from her chambers. That night, she prepared a ritual, intending to ensure that she would carry her child to term this time. Instead, that night Riza did something else. Something that forever set her apart from the humans she had thought her brethren. That night Riza brought to life her doll. Aelfgar.

Aelfgar manifested as a human child, a lovely boy. Again, whispers flew on the winds about the unorthodox “birth” but Gaufried was too happy to have an heir to pay them any heed, and Riza herself did all she could to stiffle the rumors. Aelfgar was her child, no matter the means that went into his conception. And so Riza raised Aelfgar, once again fully content with her life. Her life continued, and Aelfgar grew even as Gaufried grew more and more discontent with Riza. Eventually he bent knee to the rumors circulating Aelfgar’s birth, accusing Riza of deviltry. Locking her in the cellar he came back with the nearest priest. The priest agreed that she had been working with the devil, and sentenced her and Aelfgar to death. Riza had been scared, but as soon as she heard what they planned to do to her son, a boiling anger surfaced. That was the first time she used Aelfgar’s powers and all that remained of the priest, her husband, his home and all the servants inside was bloody rubble.

From that time on, Riza ran. Several times she and Aelfgar were used, taken advantage of. And each time Aelfgar’s wellbeing was threatened, everything ended the same. With nothing but destruction left behind.