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Archived Applications / Re: Vera Cohen
« on: 05/04/2013 at 21:53 »
Whoops! I've amended the biography to address that. Hope that sorts things out. :]
Biography:
Vera Cohen was born to lush and fertile fields of Napa Valley, where her muggle father, Alan Cohen, held the esteemed position of foreman in one of the premier vineyards of the area. Her mother, Valerie, also worked in the vineyards in a lesser capacity, but her contributions -- mainly in the form of spellwork ensuring that the grapes were untouched by frost or pests come harvest time -- were invaluable. Of course, Alan knew that his wife was a witch, and he was exceedingly proud of the fact their infant had undoubtedly inherited her mother’s talents.
Unfortunately, that happy and sedate life came to an abrupt end shortly after Vera’s birth, when the prohibition forced the vineyard to shut down its production for good. Left without work, the Cohens were forced to seek employ elsewhere, and they took themselves south to the bustling city of San Francisco, with its rolling hills, its rumbling trolleys and rich cultural diversity.
It wasn’t long before Alan found work in construction. Though it had been almost decade since the earthquake and fire that had devastated the city, there was still much repair and rebuilding to be done, and in the months that followed, Alan Cohen’s diligence and work ethic was rewarded with a more permanent position with better wages, enabling him and his finally to settle, at long last, in a modest tenement home within the heart of the city itself.
Having been too young to retain any memory of the verdant landscape of Napa Valley, Vera grew up instead to the strange, uneven landscape of San Francisco, with its sparkling ocean backdrop and its streets crowded with motorcars and trolleys as her home. Her mother, a housewife and witch of modest power, devoted her time to keeping house and teaching Vera as much as she could about the particulars of being a good witch.
By the time Vera was of age to formalize her magical education, the Cohens had the means to send her to the best school of magic the country had to offer, and nothing would do but to ship her off to the Salem Institute of Magic. Though it took some adjusting, she was soon happy in her knew surroundings. She grew to love the changing seasons, the quieter landscape, though she could never claim to have a great love bookwork. There was frequent correspondence with her friends and family in San Francisco, thanks to pigeon post, and it seemed that life would always be like this -- a pleasant, comfortable routine.
And then her father disappeared.
There was no word, no warning. He was simply -- gone. Worst of all, her father wasn't the only one. There were others, schoolmates who were muggleborn, suddenly without parents. Aunts, uncles, fathers, brothers, sisters and mothers -- simply gone, as if they had been plucked from the world by some inexplicable form of magic.
It was a devastating loss. Vera had never cried so hard in her life. As the weeks passed and their savings dwindled, it was finally decided that Valerie would return to live with her mother and sister -- witches themselves -- up in Napa in order to preserve the money that remained for Vera's education. Though her grandmother and aunt were kind, nothing could quite mend the gap left by her father's disappearance.
The year the followed was one of the most difficult, rife with unanswered questions and looming fears, but eventually things settled into some semblance of normal, as normal as things could get, after everything that's happened. Vera, who's always some small talent of foresight, no longer tries to discern if her father will return, and as the new term starts, she feels that she can, perhaps, make an effort to smile again.
However, Vera keeps her eyes and ears fixed on the times and feels, with some apprehension, that there is change afoot. A great upheaval looms just around the bend, and whether it bodes good or ill, she is only certain of one thing: that the world will never be the same once it comes.
Biography:
Vera Cohen was born to lush and fertile fields of Napa Valley, where her muggle father, Alan Cohen, held the esteemed position of foreman in one of the premier vineyards of the area. Her mother, Valerie, also worked in the vineyards in a lesser capacity, but her contributions -- mainly in the form of spellwork ensuring that the grapes were untouched by frost or pests come harvest time -- were invaluable. Of course, Alan knew that his wife was a witch, and he was exceedingly proud of the fact their infant had undoubtedly inherited her mother’s talents.
Unfortunately, that happy and sedate life came to an abrupt end shortly after Vera’s birth, when the prohibition forced the vineyard to shut down its production for good. Left without work, the Cohens were forced to seek employ elsewhere, and they took themselves south to the bustling city of San Francisco, with its rolling hills, its rumbling trolleys and rich cultural diversity.
It wasn’t long before Alan found work in construction. Though it had been almost decade since the earthquake and fire that had devastated the city, there was still much repair and rebuilding to be done, and in the months that followed, Alan Cohen’s diligence and work ethic was rewarded with a more permanent position with better wages, enabling him and his finally to settle, at long last, in a modest tenement home within the heart of the city itself.
Having been too young to retain any memory of the verdant landscape of Napa Valley, Vera grew up instead to the strange, uneven landscape of San Francisco, with its sparkling ocean backdrop and its streets crowded with motorcars and trolleys as her home. Her mother, a housewife and witch of modest power, devoted her time to keeping house and teaching Vera as much as she could about the particulars of being a good witch.
By the time Vera was of age to formalize her magical education, the Cohens had the means to send her to the best school of magic the country had to offer, and nothing would do but to ship her off to the Salem Institute of Magic. Though it took some adjusting, she was soon happy in her knew surroundings. She grew to love the changing seasons, the quieter landscape, though she could never claim to have a great love bookwork. There was frequent correspondence with her friends and family in San Francisco, thanks to pigeon post, and it seemed that life would always be like this -- a pleasant, comfortable routine.
And then her father disappeared.
There was no word, no warning. He was simply -- gone. Worst of all, her father wasn't the only one. There were others, schoolmates who were muggleborn, suddenly without parents. Aunts, uncles, fathers, brothers, sisters and mothers -- simply gone, as if they had been plucked from the world by some inexplicable form of magic.
It was a devastating loss. Vera had never cried so hard in her life. As the weeks passed and their savings dwindled, it was finally decided that Valerie would return to live with her mother and sister -- witches themselves -- up in Napa in order to preserve the money that remained for Vera's education. Though her grandmother and aunt were kind, nothing could quite mend the gap left by her father's disappearance.
The year the followed was one of the most difficult, rife with unanswered questions and looming fears, but eventually things settled into some semblance of normal, as normal as things could get, after everything that's happened. Vera, who's always some small talent of foresight, no longer tries to discern if her father will return, and as the new term starts, she feels that she can, perhaps, make an effort to smile again.
However, Vera keeps her eyes and ears fixed on the times and feels, with some apprehension, that there is change afoot. A great upheaval looms just around the bend, and whether it bodes good or ill, she is only certain of one thing: that the world will never be the same once it comes.
