Charlotte Marina Verlaine (previously Brant)

Basic Information.

• Gender: Female
• Race: Human
• Height: 5'6"
• Age: Deceased (38 at time of death)
• Hair: Dark
• Eyes: Hazel
• Profession: Housewife / Mother 
• Title: Lady Charlotte Verlaine
• Birthday: February 2nd
• Word: Loving.
• Heterosexual.

Characteristics.

• Though she and her daughter, Sylvie, are reckoned to be very similar, Charlotte was a bit rounder and shorter, though not as gaunt due to doting affection by all around her -- both during adult life and early life. She was always looking her best, in spotless clothes, and preferred to wear white and black. Additionally, she adored pearl earrings and necklaces, and loved anything to do with the sea. Her dark brown hair was always worn to her waist.
• Unlike her husband's family, for the most part, Charlotte was entirely sane and tried to make sense of a husband (though she loved him) who may have been too far gone by the time they married.
• Her ley gifts were healing others and being able to grow plants out of nothing.

Family.

• Andrexa Brant (sister)
• Vera Brant (previously Teva) (mother)
• Tomas Brant (father)
• Gregoire Verlaine (husband)
• Sylvie Marina Verlaine (daughter)
• Thierry Verlaine (son)

History.

Born as the second daughter to Tomas and Vera Brant, three years younger than her sister Andrexa, Charlotte grew up differently than the rest of her family because she was sent to study at an academy for girls that was full of Normals. At that point, her family was convinced that she hadn't inherited any ley power, and though they doted on her and adored her for the beautiful and generous girl she was -- she was still treated differently than her sister, who had begun creating firestorms at the age of nine. However, at twelve, and while at home on summer break, Charlotte picked up an apple, planted it, and it grew into an enormous apple tree right in front of her eyes; she had inherited her mother's nature ley line. Though her mother was thrilled, the rest of the Brant family looked with arrogance upon ley lines of other types (except Shadow, warily respected by all), and Charlotte was never praised quite as heavily as Andrexa. She was mostly left to her own devices after she finished at her academy, and started writing novels to pass the time.

A gifted writer, she soon caught the attention of studious, serious Gregoire Verlaine. The two passed many hours through the summer just talking and theorizing and enjoying each other's company, when they were both twenty-four. In the winter, when Gregoire was to inherit the title of his House (his father had committed suicide), he asked Charlotte to be his wife. Though she deliberated for an entire two months over her decision, he never got impatient, trusting her to come to an agreeable conclusion for the both of them. To his delight, she accepted, on her twenty-fifth birthday. She also, by way of accepting, learned of his various quirks -- in some ways, he was a mirror image of his father, though his father had been more social. Charlotte's mother, Vera, warned her that the Verlaine family had the tendency to die prematurely and painfully, but she paid little mind to her mother's warning. She gave birth to Thierry Verlaine, a son, and then five years later Sylvie Marina Verlaine, a daughter. She and Sylvie had a special relationship, in particular; though her daughter hated her own name, her mother was allowed to call her by it, thus emphasizing the depths of love that Sylvie had for her. No one else was, or has been, given the honor of calling "Verlaine" by her first name -- not even her father or brother.

Unfortunately, by the time Sylvie was eight, after thirteen years of marriage, Gregoire Verlaine started acting even stranger. He would cancel his duties at the Council to experiment on portal magic, creating machines that were powered by serathyst crystals. At the dinner table, if provoked into speaking, he would rant about his experiments and how well they were going; he all but disappeared from the social world. Charlotte raised the children by herself at this point, inwardly praying that her husband would come 'round, but on one afternoon there was a disaster. Sylvie was helping her father, desperate for his attention, when he opened up a portal to some nightmarish dimension and three creatures came out -- they fatally maimed Gregoire and scratched up Sylvie before Charlotte appeared on the scene, creating a barrier between her family and the monsters, who escaped the house and fled into the woods. Their wounds inflicted on Gregoire were too different from this world's reality that Charlotte couldn't use her nature ley gift, as she usually did, to heal his wounds. He died in Charlotte's arms -- in front of Sylvie, whose own scars would never heal.

Some time after this, the Marwan family planted rumors in the villages surrounding Verlaine Manor that she was a suspicious character who performed dark ceremonies and was planning to sacrifice her children to a "heathen god." Spurred by their rude interractions with other dark-doers, the Brants, the villagers cornered Charlotte and Sylvie while they were out shopping. She was able to shield her daughter enough for the girl to get to a safe building, but the villagers, seeing her ley power manifest, proceeded to fearfully beat her to death.

Personality.

Loving, warm, kind. She was rarely not generous or complimenting to everyone around her at all times, doting on her children with almost smothering affection. Charlotte had been determined that her children would not grow up attention-starved, as she had. She was bookish, immersing herself in science and philosophy from a young age, and enjoyed writing, publishing six novels before her death under the pen name "Charlotte Hawkins." Two were published posthumously by her daughter. Her main genre was romance, but her two posthumous novels were fantasy and featured talking animals -- young adult books, in terms of an age group.

Likes/dislikes.

Did not like loud noises such as shouting or "metal" music, discord between family members, being in pain, and cleaning. Enjoyed reading, writing, being with her children and/or husband, discussions and friendly arguments, and being out in the wilderness.

Fears.

Was particularily phobic of rodents.

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