Birth:
Darcy was born on the 15th Day of Zi’da, ironically a good reflection of the cold and aloof young woman she has become. There isn’t anything else special about this day except that it’s usually snowy and miserable. Her parents had herself and her younger sister, the infamous Pythera, in close succession but this did not make them friends in the end.
Early Childhood:
As a young girl, Darcy was the pretty little lady of her house, destiny seeing fit that she be the rose prepped and primed for future marriage for political gain. She was adoring of her brother and eventually her little sister, even if this latter adoration was only fleeting. Whilst older than Pythera by arc, the younger Venora was much stockier than the thin framed blonde, and it wasn’t uncommon for the girl to go wailing to their nanny when Pythera was much too rough.
School:
Like many of her family, Darcy was sent off to school at the tender age of seven arcs, all smiles and bright swirling eyes ready to learn and explore. Her first arc was one that that blonde can remember with fondness. She had made some friends and taken an interest in the piano, much to her parents delight.
Of course, then Pythera started the year after, and Darcy learned what it meant to be bullied. The younger, but bigger girl was not just nasty to others but she was also a terror to her sister, taking up with the worst of the worst and relentlessly tormenting Darcy. Whether it was verbally, emotionally or socially, Pythera went out of her way to hurt the smaller girl. When Darcy made to approach the teachers or her parents, that’s when Pythera became physically violent, threatening the young girl in ways that should have been a warning sign for the adults that knew her. As they progressed through school, Darcy found it impossible to leave the classroom lest she walk into a solid black eye from her sister. This lead to her spending more time playing the piano alone during breaks between classes, her friends eventually giving up and moving on.
Outside of school Darcy continued her piano lessons with a private tutor in the relative safety of her own home, thriving in the creative release the instrument provided from her silently tortured life. An older man who had been tutoring the Venoran family for years became her mentor and almost a second father figure. He also taught Darcy the essential subjects such as etiquette and politics, boring the young woman almost to death, but providing the blonde a much needed escape from her sister. As the daughter of a noble it was imperative for her to know the in’s and out’s of the high society of Andaris and how to conduct herself with those that were of a higher status.
It was during the first year of university that Pythera and Darcy had a violent altercation, resulting in multiple burns to her torso, shoulders and thighs and a broken arm on Darcy’s behalf after being held against her will and sadistically tortured by the psychotic woman. When questioned about it by her parents and caregivers, Darcy refused to admit her sisters involvement for fear of retribution, although everyone knew the truth. It was during this time that she discovered the medical wonders of apocrathy, how the drugs that helped her pain also numbed the emotional pain and tourment her sister inflicted, and often snuck dosages of various drugs and medicines from the nurses office.
University and Beyond:
Thankfully, whilst Darcy looked to the University of Rynmere to further her musicial studies, Pythera stepped into the military life with the Skyriders. This posed both a blessing and a curse, leaving Darcy with no excuses to visit the nurses office. Instead she turned to the seedy and secret nightlife of Rynmere, sneaking off campus to buy illicit materials and drown her nights in the numbing sensations of the drugs, until her studies expanded to pick up apocrathy. This gave the broken pianist an easy and legal way to purchase and test many various drugs and regents, and her popularity amongst the underground of the university increased. The noble began leading a double life, a picture of Venoran pride during the days whilst becoming a misguided socialite at night, sneaking out when it was dark and getting back before the light. Everyone wanted Darcy at their event, but not for her company. This led to a very busy, but also very lonely life.
These night time escapes also led Darcy into the Fighting Pits, then and now, both as a great place to participate in social highs and also for the fun of it. She never sponsors any fights, merely watches and looses herself in the haze of the drugs. It’s not just the Pits however, the blonde finds herself in many a doorlist for various lords and ladies, usually listed to play the piano but ending up out the back sharing Fairysnuff with the nobles who want a little more than just a bit of bubbly.
Occasionally she hears about her traitorous sister, the Valkyr, and wonders what Pythera would be like if they ran into each other now. The thought terrifies Darcy, for she knows her sister perhaps better than any other, and what the woman is capable of.
Just recently, she has also learned of her cousin Alistair’s excommunication. It was not an event she was privy to, but the pianist fears that the ruffle in the order of Venoran things may see her or her other cousins Andráska and Tristan pulled into politics much more deeply than any of them may like.
