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propheticwalnut.livejournal.com in dark_rpSerafina was born on the 22nd of November 1163 to an upper class family on the island of Malta. She grew up in luxury, although her parents left her and her two elder brothers to be raised mostly by nannies. From an young age her brothers would often tease Serafina, but it wasn't long before she was managing to get the better of them, and they soon stopped, or at least it greatly reduced in frequency as they always came out worst. Occasionally Serafina's parents would hold, or go out to, a dinner party, during which she had to stay out of the way. Eventually Serafina was old enough to be taken along and left in the childrens room with the children of many of the other nobles that were present. During that night Serafina noticed that there were two distinct groups formed in the room, the smaller group was formed from the children of the Arabs that had remained on Malta after the County of Sicily took the island from them. Some of the other children would sneer at the Arabs and mutter things about them under their breath but most just ignored their presence as they seemed a very insular group. It didn't take long before Serafina couldn't continue to ignore the Arab children and went to talk to them. Before long they were laughing and joking and soon afterwards the two groups came together. There were some of the children that weren't fond of the new state of affairs but everyone else was getting along so well nothing came of it. Over the following years Serafina found that she spent a lot of time associating with the Arab children, in the process learning their language and developing a knowledge of their religious texts.
When she became more mature Serafina was taken to learn proficiency with certain arms. Initially she was taken to learn archery, but this didn't lead to anything as Serafina didn't have sufficient strength to pull a bow properly. Afterwards she was taken to learn use of the sword, but again she was too weak to be able to wield it properly. This left two options for martial training; firstly she could learn to use a dagger, secondly she could learn to fight unarmed. With a great deal of effort Serafina convinced her father that it would be better for her to study unarmed combat as that way she would never be reliant upon having a dagger to hand to be capable of defending herself. The European styles of combat that were present were not particularly appropriate as they were largely reliant upon the fighters strength, so the father of one of Serafina's Arab friends was able to arrange for her to learn an Arabic style of combat. In time Serafina became quite proficient in it.
At the age of 14 Serafina was taken to meet her future husband as her parents had arranged a marriage with a 16 year old noble, called Roger, that was from a part of what had formerly been the Duchy of Apulia and Calabria a few decades earlier but was now a part of the Kingdom of Sicily. The pair instantly liked each other and frequently wrote to each other during the period prior to their marriage the following year. After marriage, the pair lived on a small holding in Apulia as Roger didn't stand to inherit much, the marriage had been an entirely political arrangement for the benefit of his and Serafina's elder siblings, so when Roger was offered a significantly larger piece of land and an associated title that his brother didn't want in the Holy Land it was gladly accepted. Whilst preparing for the trip Serafina studied French, and helped Roger learn Arabic so by the time they set out a couple of months later they were each capable of holding a conversation with anyone in the region.
Upon arriving in the Holy Land, Serafina and Roger found that their land was located in Oultrejordain, far South of Jerusalem, bordering Muslim territory. Upon arriving in their barony they discovered that it was in a terrible state of affairs, requiring a great deal of effort to get everything properly organised. Roger did a fantastic job of getting the finances in order and dealing with the Europeans on the land whilst Serafina dealt with the Arabs. After a couple of years it was running far smoother than any other holding in Oultrejordain, and was more prosperous than many of the larger Baronies. During this period of prosperity Serafina became pregnant twice, although the first pregnancy ended with a miscarriage. The second pregnancy resulted in the birth of a son on the 23rd of December 1184, he was called Tancred.
Late one midsummer night in 1185 Serafina recieved word informing her that there had been a skirmish with bandits and during the fighting Roger had taken a fatal blow to the head. Serafina was distraught as, although the marriage had been arranged for political gain, she deeply loved Roger. She did not, however, spend too much time grieving as she knew that doing so for would cause problems in the barony, and so chose to honour Roger's memory by seeing that his land and his people continued to prosper. This came to an end only months later when the land was lost in a border skirmish. Without Roger, Serafina was unable to sufficiently defend her territory, and it's prosperity made it an appealing target. Serafina managed to escape with Tancred, taking a reasonable amount of valuables also, to Segor, before soon moving on to Jerusalem.
During her time in Jerusalem, Serafina met a man called Tomasso De Brexianno and gradually fell in love with him. She wasn't fond of one of his friends, a strange man that reminded Serafina of someone that seemed to have been following her in Malta before she was married, but didn't think it could possibly be the same person, given that about a decade had passed and the man that had been following her would've looked much older now. Thankfully he was only around very infrequently and never stayed very long. After almost two years, Jerusalem fell to the forces of Salah ad Din. Serafina donated all her money to help pay the ransom for those that couldn't afford it and was left with little more than food and clothing. Following the surrender Serafina heard nothing from Tomasso and assumed that he had been killed during the fighting. During the subsequent journey to Tyre, Tancred fell ill and passed away.
When Serafina arrived at Tyre she turned to the Church for support spiritually, and in return assisted caring for the temples. As time passed Serafina came to realise that the Catholic faith no longer represented her beliefs and found a Coptic priest to convert. Soon afterwards Serafina heard some news that was the best she had had for a while, Tomasso had been seen with Guy's forces heading to Acre, and so set out to look for him. When she caught up with them Serafina begin trying to find Tomasso but couldn't find him, by the time she realised he wasn't there it was too late, Salah ad-Din had them surrounded. The following two years were not pleasant as the conditions were terrible, with disease rampant. Eventually reinforcements came and Serafina spotted Tomasso on one of the ships that had brought them. With some effort she managed to get onto the ship and spent the whole night talking to Tomasso, who went to bed a short time before the sunrise. Just before he did retire he suggested that Serafina stayed up long enough to watch the sunrise, she got the impression that it was important to him, that it was something to be remembered so she did although didn't realise the significance until the following night.
The following day Serafina arose very late with the sun low in the sky, giving the sky a beautiful red hue, as if a counterpoint to the sunrise that she had witnessed earlier. When Tomasso arose they started talking again and he asked about the sunrise that morning, which Serafina described in detail, before moved on to describing the sunset that had followed. Tomasso sat listening, clearly taking in every detail, appearing almost refreshed by it. Afterwards he said that he had something to ask Serafina. As she had thought that he was leading up to a marriage proposal Serafina was shocked by what Tomasso actually asked. After offering her the embrace, Tomasso went on to inform Serafina that it was a tradition of his clan that potential childe be offered the embrace rather than have it forced upon them, and that she would have that night to decide. He went on to tell her that it was also a tradition of his clan to test potential childe prior to the embrace, adding that he had been watching her since before she was married and that he had arranged the death of Roger. Upon hearing this Serafina ran to the cabin she had been allocated and locked herself in. Several hours passed before she emerged, and sent a message for Tomasso, requesting that he joined her. When he arrived Serafina told him her answer; yes.
During the following month the mortal Europeans were preparing to end the siege of Acre and Serafina, aboard ship, was learning what she needed to know for her new existence. Once the siege was over some of the Europeans returned to their own lands, Tomasso and Serafina went some of the way with them, to the Kingdom of Sicily. The purpose of this journey was twofold, Serafina was being taken to be presented to the elders of Clan Lasombra and, following Tomasso's advice she was taking a new identity. After a stop in Malta Serafina was no more, she was now Demiana, a Maltese Coptic Christian of Arabic descent. In Sicily Demiana learnt a great deal, but eventually she returned to the Holy Lands alongside Tomasso.
Although she loved Tomasso, Demiana joined a group of neonates in Outremer in order to avoid being totally dependant upon him.
Demiana appears to be in her mid twenties 5' 2" tall with a very slim build, raven hair, olive skin and brown eyes. Her style of dress is like a less extravagant version of Sibylla from Kingdom of Heaven (see picture), only with a more layered effect and more flared sleeves, creating plenty of shadows within the clothing and making her build not appear quite as slim as it really is.
When she became more mature Serafina was taken to learn proficiency with certain arms. Initially she was taken to learn archery, but this didn't lead to anything as Serafina didn't have sufficient strength to pull a bow properly. Afterwards she was taken to learn use of the sword, but again she was too weak to be able to wield it properly. This left two options for martial training; firstly she could learn to use a dagger, secondly she could learn to fight unarmed. With a great deal of effort Serafina convinced her father that it would be better for her to study unarmed combat as that way she would never be reliant upon having a dagger to hand to be capable of defending herself. The European styles of combat that were present were not particularly appropriate as they were largely reliant upon the fighters strength, so the father of one of Serafina's Arab friends was able to arrange for her to learn an Arabic style of combat. In time Serafina became quite proficient in it.
At the age of 14 Serafina was taken to meet her future husband as her parents had arranged a marriage with a 16 year old noble, called Roger, that was from a part of what had formerly been the Duchy of Apulia and Calabria a few decades earlier but was now a part of the Kingdom of Sicily. The pair instantly liked each other and frequently wrote to each other during the period prior to their marriage the following year. After marriage, the pair lived on a small holding in Apulia as Roger didn't stand to inherit much, the marriage had been an entirely political arrangement for the benefit of his and Serafina's elder siblings, so when Roger was offered a significantly larger piece of land and an associated title that his brother didn't want in the Holy Land it was gladly accepted. Whilst preparing for the trip Serafina studied French, and helped Roger learn Arabic so by the time they set out a couple of months later they were each capable of holding a conversation with anyone in the region.
Upon arriving in the Holy Land, Serafina and Roger found that their land was located in Oultrejordain, far South of Jerusalem, bordering Muslim territory. Upon arriving in their barony they discovered that it was in a terrible state of affairs, requiring a great deal of effort to get everything properly organised. Roger did a fantastic job of getting the finances in order and dealing with the Europeans on the land whilst Serafina dealt with the Arabs. After a couple of years it was running far smoother than any other holding in Oultrejordain, and was more prosperous than many of the larger Baronies. During this period of prosperity Serafina became pregnant twice, although the first pregnancy ended with a miscarriage. The second pregnancy resulted in the birth of a son on the 23rd of December 1184, he was called Tancred.
Late one midsummer night in 1185 Serafina recieved word informing her that there had been a skirmish with bandits and during the fighting Roger had taken a fatal blow to the head. Serafina was distraught as, although the marriage had been arranged for political gain, she deeply loved Roger. She did not, however, spend too much time grieving as she knew that doing so for would cause problems in the barony, and so chose to honour Roger's memory by seeing that his land and his people continued to prosper. This came to an end only months later when the land was lost in a border skirmish. Without Roger, Serafina was unable to sufficiently defend her territory, and it's prosperity made it an appealing target. Serafina managed to escape with Tancred, taking a reasonable amount of valuables also, to Segor, before soon moving on to Jerusalem.
During her time in Jerusalem, Serafina met a man called Tomasso De Brexianno and gradually fell in love with him. She wasn't fond of one of his friends, a strange man that reminded Serafina of someone that seemed to have been following her in Malta before she was married, but didn't think it could possibly be the same person, given that about a decade had passed and the man that had been following her would've looked much older now. Thankfully he was only around very infrequently and never stayed very long. After almost two years, Jerusalem fell to the forces of Salah ad Din. Serafina donated all her money to help pay the ransom for those that couldn't afford it and was left with little more than food and clothing. Following the surrender Serafina heard nothing from Tomasso and assumed that he had been killed during the fighting. During the subsequent journey to Tyre, Tancred fell ill and passed away.
When Serafina arrived at Tyre she turned to the Church for support spiritually, and in return assisted caring for the temples. As time passed Serafina came to realise that the Catholic faith no longer represented her beliefs and found a Coptic priest to convert. Soon afterwards Serafina heard some news that was the best she had had for a while, Tomasso had been seen with Guy's forces heading to Acre, and so set out to look for him. When she caught up with them Serafina begin trying to find Tomasso but couldn't find him, by the time she realised he wasn't there it was too late, Salah ad-Din had them surrounded. The following two years were not pleasant as the conditions were terrible, with disease rampant. Eventually reinforcements came and Serafina spotted Tomasso on one of the ships that had brought them. With some effort she managed to get onto the ship and spent the whole night talking to Tomasso, who went to bed a short time before the sunrise. Just before he did retire he suggested that Serafina stayed up long enough to watch the sunrise, she got the impression that it was important to him, that it was something to be remembered so she did although didn't realise the significance until the following night.
The following day Serafina arose very late with the sun low in the sky, giving the sky a beautiful red hue, as if a counterpoint to the sunrise that she had witnessed earlier. When Tomasso arose they started talking again and he asked about the sunrise that morning, which Serafina described in detail, before moved on to describing the sunset that had followed. Tomasso sat listening, clearly taking in every detail, appearing almost refreshed by it. Afterwards he said that he had something to ask Serafina. As she had thought that he was leading up to a marriage proposal Serafina was shocked by what Tomasso actually asked. After offering her the embrace, Tomasso went on to inform Serafina that it was a tradition of his clan that potential childe be offered the embrace rather than have it forced upon them, and that she would have that night to decide. He went on to tell her that it was also a tradition of his clan to test potential childe prior to the embrace, adding that he had been watching her since before she was married and that he had arranged the death of Roger. Upon hearing this Serafina ran to the cabin she had been allocated and locked herself in. Several hours passed before she emerged, and sent a message for Tomasso, requesting that he joined her. When he arrived Serafina told him her answer; yes.
During the following month the mortal Europeans were preparing to end the siege of Acre and Serafina, aboard ship, was learning what she needed to know for her new existence. Once the siege was over some of the Europeans returned to their own lands, Tomasso and Serafina went some of the way with them, to the Kingdom of Sicily. The purpose of this journey was twofold, Serafina was being taken to be presented to the elders of Clan Lasombra and, following Tomasso's advice she was taking a new identity. After a stop in Malta Serafina was no more, she was now Demiana, a Maltese Coptic Christian of Arabic descent. In Sicily Demiana learnt a great deal, but eventually she returned to the Holy Lands alongside Tomasso.
Although she loved Tomasso, Demiana joined a group of neonates in Outremer in order to avoid being totally dependant upon him.
Demiana appears to be in her mid twenties 5' 2" tall with a very slim build, raven hair, olive skin and brown eyes. Her style of dress is like a less extravagant version of Sibylla from Kingdom of Heaven (see picture), only with a more layered effect and more flared sleeves, creating plenty of shadows within the clothing and making her build not appear quite as slim as it really is.
