Musiette Coriandar

**Musiette Coriandar, "Musie", "Muse", "Cory"** is a wandering Elven bard and famed artist, though not many people are simultaneously familiar with her work and her identity. She has several pen names that she's gotten throughout her lifetime, the most common being: Taehl Wynne, Solaria Moonbow, Cherry, LOAD, and Dahlia Estrasi. Supposedly, one of these is her real name.

People familiar with her work conflate her with the 'Freelancing Freeloader' who's roamed Ashenland for centuries, possibly longer, and she even claims to have personally inherited the title somehow.

Her art pieces, particularly her paintings, have a unique quality that can't be easily replicated, even with magic. They are called Eratheses, named so for their inspirational nature using synesthetic properties to invoke an assortment of indescribable emotions and feelings in the observer. This makes her simultaneously one of the most influential, well-known, and appreciated artists in the modern art world. At the same time, her elusive wandering and unknown face also results in her being one of the poorest and least celebrated.

## Appearance

Musiette is a small woman standing at about 5'0" who exudes eternal youth and agelessness, as is expected of a High Elf. She has the requisite long pointed ears of her race as well as the stature--narrow shoulders, pronounced ankles, wrists, and collar bones, and a small face. She has little muscle mass to speak of and seems thin, but also squishy at the same time that forms her curves and ample bosom. She gives the overall appearance of a fragile ball of cotton, which seems to reflect her overall left of constitution, as she proudly claims that a strong enough wind can knock her over like parchment and a loud enough sound can give her bruises.

She likes to wear comfortable dresses that she's made herself using whatever materials are available to her. She's particularly fond of purples and cherry red and is very picky about how the colors come together on her, being the artist that she is. The dress styles she wears vary and tend to compliment her flattering curves when she has the right posture. The sleeves tend to be wide and billowing, but tie back easily for when she paints. The dresses also tend to slip off her shoulders easily when she loosens them, an obviously intentional design.

She wears a pair of sandals that are impractical for travel but she insists on wearing them anyways. She has her dark hair in a bobcut with lots of volume, practically maintaining its form all on its own. Her eyes are a deep black and mix with her honey colored skin tone, adding to the powerfully seductive Fey energy that seems to hang around her, making her more akin to an Eladrin.

## Personality

Musiette is notoriously whimsical and individualistic, but at least consistently so. Her one real desire in life is to have the freedom to do what she wants in life; everything else is simply an incidental consequence of this lifestyle. As is evidenced by her title, "The Freelancing Freeloader", she wanders from place to place as she pleases without being bogged down by responsibility. This philosophy is her main departure from her Elven heritage. Like most Elves, she takes a long view and doesn't fret too much about events that will always pass and repeat, but unlike her racial cousins, Musiette doesn't bother taking the past or future into account. To her, the present is all that matters; the past is behind her and irrelevant while the future is just theoretical and isn't her problem.

Since she was a child, she's been spoiled by the kindness of others who treated her as an adorable and sweet little thing. Her Elven blood blessed her with an eternity of maintaining her Fey beauty even after growing up and she takes full advantage of this. She smiles knowing most people find her irresistible and often expects to be the exception to the rule. Though she's physically weak and technically unlearned, she's good with people and is fully aware of how others perceive her, which can make her extremely dangerous in the right circumstances.

For this reason, she's nice to everyone. She doesn't see race, age, or even appearance as anything more than interesting spice to a person's character. She sees people as individuals and deigns to get along with everyone whenever she can. She hands out honest compliments and listens to people's problems without reservation and tries to help by giving them a reason to smile, getting them to take their mind off of their issues and simply enjoy the moment. To her, it's the least she can do whenever she comes across a new person.

She's an artist in every sense of the world, from her skills down to the way she thinks. She has an aesthetic that she sticks to as if it were her religion and refuses to betray it to the point of impracticality. This is where her seemingly erratic behavior comes from and why people have a hard time understanding her. She loves to paint her experiences, turning strange moments and whatever new feelings she comes across into an image she can share with others. She prefers to trade favors with people, as those are more personal and interesting, which is why she has little concept of money or valuables. She has her own sense of value, so unless she takes an interest in it, she's liable to lose expensive things like magical items or gold if left to her own devices.

## History

### Early life

Centuries ago, the Freelancing Freeloader traveled Ashenland once more. And this time, he wasn't alone. A few elderly folk passed down stories about how the wonderfully slovenly man traveled with a little Elf girl who won everyone's hearts with her smile and caring nature. Many even mistook her for a new Seladrine. She was considered untouchable, as the toughest men at whatever tavern or town the duo was hanging out in was expected to exactly unholy violence on anyone who messed with the child the wrong way.

Musiette remembers those days fondly, as well as the days before. Despite her intentionally short attention span and wandering mind, she has a very long memory. And her first memory is of wandering the erratic and wondrous wilderness of the Feywild. She doesn't know how she got there or why she was there, but it didn't take her long to come across the strange Archefey known as Quentivia. Under the tutelage of the Feywild's most beloved and adored outcast, Musiette learned not how to sing, dance, or paint, but how to enjoy the world and everything it has to offer. The artistic talents simple came as a matter of course. In many ways, Quentivia made the best mentor for the little bundle of talent but also the worst parent for an actual child. This became apparent when Quentivia made another foray into the Ashenland and brought the child along with.

### In the Ashenland

The world's first encounter with Musiette was a hectic one. At the time, she went by the aliases Cherry or Dahlia and she stirred up a storm of adoration. Rumors of the little girl who could sing anyone's problems away and who's smile could make a cloudy day sunny spread across taverns and peers faster than any folktale and many people had a hard time believing it. The rich and fanciful tended to seek out the Freelancing Freeloader throughout the ages to monopolize his talents, but only seemed to find some slovenly guy not fit to set foot in a royal court. After a few years, excitement for the girl he was toting around stirred renewed interest, as nobles hoped this meant the rumored man had cleaned up his act and become more presentable. They were wrong, but brought back stories of the charming child who'd won over so many hearts.

These days were fun for Musiette. She went from town to town, city to city, being invited into people's homes and their lives. She lived a poor life, but as far she was concerned, she was rich. She loved being adored and she loved the people who adored her. People gave her food, lodging, and kindness, and in exchange she gave them everything she could; joy, love, feeling, and hope. All this was enough to make the impoverished content, the rich envious, and heal the sick. This was also when she learned that her favorite form of expression was with paint. She started with little caricatures that she would draw for people in taverns, but soon branched out in all directions, sculpting, drawing, painting, writing, and so much more. Her talent blossomed and he created many controversial works of art that exploded into the art scene during her first **Panigýri,** "Double Axis", an art festival in Ashenland that began a long time ago, shortly after the Great Event, when the two aspects of Quentivia touched down on the continent and competed ferociously to sell their art. Musiette never went to the festival, instead having some friends of hers sell her artwork while she slept, so she didn't even notice when she became an overnight sensation by the end of the week before she and her mentor left to go back to the Feywild.

### Return to Form

Quentivia and Musiette returned to the Feywild to speak of their travels for the past several decades, spinning a wild and fanciful tale to the Seelie Court in the most overzealous, artistic, and needlessly extra way they could manage, all for the fun of it. It was impossible for anyone to know for sure if they were telling the truth, but the story was as enjoyable and entertaining as the fairies had ever seen. For three weeks, the pair returned to the theater to stand before the creatures of their native plane, even attracting several shy creatures and a few Unseelie who were able to remain hidden thanks to the enthralling performance, and they improvised an elaborate storytelling method with their own music, song numbers, and dramatic tone. When they finished, the Archfey applauded for days and showered them with gifts as thanks for the show. Quentivia thanked them all with a big smile on his face, already having forgotten what they were praising him for. Musiette, on the other hand, was wistful for the days past. It didn't take her long to give into her nostalgia and return to the Material Plane on a whim, with no plans to return.

Now on her own in Ashenland, Musiette continued as the new 'Freelancing Freeloader', emboldened by the rumors that followed her around. She goes wherever her whims take her, hitchhiking on passing carts, spending time with young adventurers, and flirting with anyone who'll have her. At one point, she even seduced a noble into falling thoroughly in love with her and spent a year with him in his manor as he lavished her with gifts and worship in an attempt to win her hand in marriage while she whiled away the days painting and reading whatever stories and poetry her suitor could get his hands on. It was during this time that she developed an obsession with the ephemeral concept of love and similar concepts and her tastes became more sophisticated, adopting the ironic pen name 'LOAD'. Realizing that, though she loved the noble who would do anything for her, so did she love the oranges and reds of the sun as well as the pitch of chirping birds in the morning. She could not give him what he wanted, so she left him to pursue her passions once more.

And so she travels with adventurers, going wherever life takes her, as she continues to paint. She's slowly building her portfolio, called "The Spontaneity of Life: Chaos Without Context" where she illustrates the emotions and fun of her daily life at her whim, hoping to emulate its overall tone into her art. Though she doesn't know it, it may very well be the masterpiece that immortalizes her.

## Combat Capabilities

Musiette takes a largely supportive backliner role, keeping far out of danger and behind full cover if she can manage it. Being a Bard of the College of Enchantment, the vast majority of her spells are enchantment spells used for social situations, such as Suggestion and Unearthly Chorus, and other spells used for battle field control, such as Hypnotic Pattern (her specialty) and Hold Person. She has Dissonant Whispers as a spell that forces enemies that get within melee with her to flee and Healing Word as a way to pick fallen allies back up. With her feats Mantle of Inspiration and Mantle of Majesty, she can reshuffle and manipulate the battlefield to a great extent, but relies heavily on the competence of her allies to make use of the opportunities she provides. Physically weak, lacking melee capabilities, and sporting a squishy physique, she can't do much on her own beyond create opportunities for her to diffuse a fight entirely or flee.