Branwen Slytherin

Out of Character (tell us just just a bit about you outside RP)
Name: Sub

In Character

Name: Branwen Slytherin (nee Argall)
Age: 24
Gender: Female
Note:












Parents: Roderick and Aderyn Argall
Grandparents: Heddwyn and Delyth Argall; Carwyn and Llinos Maddox
Siblings: Trystan, Owain, Deryn, and Morgan
Aunts & Uncles: Several
Nieces & Nephews: Several
Cousins: Several
Children: Silas Slytherin (6)
Grandkids: None yet













Skin color: Fair
Hair Color: Dark
Hair length: Mid-back, with waves
Eye color: Green
Size: 5’ 5”
Build: Slender
Picture: http://i2.listal.com/image/1688684/936full-katie-mcgrath.jpg
Katie McGrath










Crushes: Lucius Mortimer
Mates/Spouse: Salazar Slytherin
Status: Unhappily wed










Personality

Around Family

In the good company of family and friends, Branwen is a kind and gracious soul. She would gladly give the cloak off her back to help those in need within her circle. It is with these people that she feels she can be her true self: happy, laughing, and for the most part untroubled by the state of magic-kind, and unfettered by the rules demanded of her by the noble status of her family. As much as Branwen enjoys the life of luxury, at the same time she also craves the simple desire to be oneself without having to stand on
ceremony.

The only person in this category that she seems to clash with is her “dear” husband, Salazar. There hasn’t been a single drop of love in that marriage since day one. Despite the intentions sown by their elders, the rose of love has twisted itself into a bitter iris. Between being ignored, several of his more irksome traits, and being called upon to fulfill wifely duties when she was much too tired to accommodate, Branwen almost cannot stand the man she calls husband. How Branwen wishes that her husband was a bit more cheerful
rather than sulking about in a corner reading or watching his precious serpents... She longs to be free of him, yet at the same time a fear for the welfare of her son and knowledge that a woman cannot easily survive on her own in the world keeps her bound in what she considers to be “un-holy” matrimony.


Around Enemies


Those unfortunate enough to earn Lady Slytherin’s ire and spur her into action are likely to be met with a fiery storm of ice shards, paradox though that might be. Her demeanor towards these people in a civil situation is cold at best... and ice at the worst. At the time of her childhood tantrums her nickname became “the tempest” and it was an apt description of the girl’s temper. It has not changed a bit during the course of time, except to become ever more powerful and last even longer.

Regardless of the tempestuous nature of her temper, Branwen isn’t the type to just go storming into a tirade (unless she is irate with her husband, of course). Instead she is more like a spider: spinning her web to catch or retaliate some other way against her unwary prey before they’re even aware of her cruel treachery.


Usual Mood around strangers:


Branwen is uncomfortable around most strangers due to her social standing’s prescribed ritual of putting up a mask in front of others. Poise, grace, neutrality, eloquence, and sometimes a degree of boredom are her tools. It mostly depends on who is presenting the stranger that dictates her reaction. At the most basic level she comes across as proud and reserved, a lady of dignity and intelligence, commanding respect from peer and lesser alike. She does best if the presented stranger is introduced via a friend or if it is a mostly-casual meeting rather than a formality. Without fail she can perform as expected, but most times she feels drained of energy after pulling off what she feels is an elaborate ruse. Hiding her true feelings has been a part of many aspects of her life across the board. Although the task becomes easier and easier with time it does little to ensure Branwen that this is the real her. Scandalous as the thought may be, Branwen has more than once entertained the notion that she should have been and would have a much better time as an actress instead.



Your Story Please?

Branwen and her siblings were born into the Argall pureblood family dynasty in Wales. The family was of an upper-middle class economic standing, and thus treated as befitted their stations amongst the nobility. When Branwen was a little girl, however, the Argall family needed to migrate into England due to a terrible feud with another wizarding family rising to power. They fled to the fenlands of England and rebuilt their magnificent estate and lifestyle in the new country. In due turn, they also befriended the local nobility, most
notable of which being the family of Slytherin. Her father and Abraxas Slytherin became best of friends, and in due time forged an alliance through what was to be the arranged marriage of Branwen to Salazar.

The girl was fifteen at the time of her wedding, full of passion and ideas on what marriage to a fine wizard of status would be like. When Branwen spotted her intended she was not overly impressed... until she met him and discovered his witty charm with wordcraft. Salazar’s hesitance at the altar on their wedding day became her own. Branwen had been initially reluctant to consummate their marriage, but once more Salazar had seduced her via his way with words.

Life as a wife wasn’t at all like Branwen had imagined it to be. Most of the time she was bored to near-tears, left to her own devices while Salazar maintained his other hobbies of reading, traveling and breeding the serpents he kept. The creatures bred several times more than their master had attempted to breed an heir for his family line. It was not unusual for Salazar to leave Branwen alone for days on end while he worked. Many of her blatant attempts to entice him to their bed were brushed off, and came to call on her for wifely duties when she was far too exhausted to accommodate him. Was it any wonder, therefore, that she oft became agitated by his advances?


Dissatisfied with her present arrangement, Branwen sought to acquire the attention and affection she deserved. She bedded other nobles after a day’s worth of errands, sending word with a servant to Salazar that she was in good company and would return soon. He always fell asleep at his desk, seemingly oblivious to her misdeeds. During one of her outings she ran into a traveling performer named Lucius Mortimer, and became utterly entranced by his skill at his craft. A patron of the performing arts, Branwen could not resist speaking with him, and one thing led to another...

Branwen became shocked a few weeks following her repeated infidelity, when Salazar blatantly paraded a mistress around. Sometimes he went so far as to deliberately get himself caught entangled with his mistress in an attempt to hurt Branwen. In spite of their mutually loveless marriage, the attempt worked: it proved to her that in Salazar’s mind she was little more than a whore to himrather than a proper wife. No matter if she managed to give him a child or not, she would still be a whore... desired only on Salazar’s few-and-far-between basis.

A total of three years since the wedding, Branwen discovered that she was pregnant. What was supposed to be happy news for the couple turned into an endless torrent of spats regarding the child’s sire. On the nastiest of these episodes, Salazar simply left and gave no word of ever returning. She tried to send him letters via the family owl, but he never answered them. Caught between a rock and a hard place, Branwen had little choice but to wait out the pregnancy and have the child. The witch delivered the baby on a stormy evening, and named the boy Silas. A week later Salazar returned. Branwen made sure to give him the tongue-lashing he deserved, made worse by Salazar’s remark that the baby looked nothing like him. He accused Branwen of rigging the paternity potions he tried.


Noticing Salazar’s demeanor turn ever like ice towards their son, Branwen couldn’t trust him to not harm the boy out of spite. She needed to keep her place as Lady Slytherin both to protect Silas and keep her family’s honor as intact as possible. It was almost a relief when Salazar engrossed himself with the idea of a magical school. Branwen wasn’t too thrilled about the fact that the founding four included two other women, but supported her husband in the notion of magical education after he got her thinking about their son’s future, and the future of Magic-kind.



Magic Side: Branwen stays firmly within the gray area between
light and dark, weaving into one or the other as necessary
Favorite Spell: Procella maxima – produces either a storm or a
strong, tempestuous gust of wind



Weakness:

- wants attention/to be loved, rather than ignored
- explosive, long-lasting and easily-sparked temper
- enjoys a luxurious lifestyle
- men


Skills:

- Literate
- Embroidery
- Painting
- Medical magic
- Singing
- Arithmancy
- Enchanting
- The Dark Arts and their defense
- Backgammon (cannot stand chess)

Items:

- Arithmancy, Enchanting, and Dark Arts/Dark Arts Defense books
- Embroidery equipment (needles, embroidery thread)
- Journal (kept very well-hidden)
- A lock of Silas’s hair from when he was a baby
- Various gowns
- A jewelry box bursting with adornments (earrings, hairpins necklaces,
rings, bracelets, circlets, etc)
- Paints, brushes, and canvas
- An ornate backgammon board and game pieces
- Wand: yew and unicorn hair; 11 1/4 inches



Favorite Color: Lavender
Voice: varies depending on her mood, can be as soft and smooth
as silk or as abrasive as a banshee’s scream
Theme song:
The Storm by Blackmore’s Night / Stand My Ground by Within Temptation