HoneyDog, this is what I have so far. What do you think?
Name: Isadora Carmichael
Age: 34
Sex: Female
Occupation: Artist and visionary
Current residence: Boston, MA
Characteristics:
STR: 7
CON: 9
SIZ: 13
DEX: 13
APP: 9
INT: 14 (Idea - 70)
POW: 13 (Luck - 65)
EDU: 8 (Knowledge - 40)
SAN: 65
Phobias/Mental Disorders: ?
Maximum Sanity: 99
Hit Points: 11
Magic Points: 13
Damage Bonus: +0
Occupational skill points (EDU x 15): 120
Personal skill points (INT x 10): 140
Skills: (Occupational skills BOLD, Personal Skills ITALICS)
Appearance & Personality: Work in progress...
Background:
Isadora was born in India, in the family of an influential and wealthy Colonial Service officer. She had a sheltered childhood, with nannies and tutors watching her every step. She was a quiet, introverted daydreamer, deeply immersed in her own fantasies. The family decided to send her off to a private school in Switzerland, hoping that the company of peers would help her open up a little. Isadora did become a bit more sociable, although mostly by dragging her schoolmates into her elaborate fantasies. Her vivid descriptions of other worlds and weird proved to be infectious, especially in the environment of an all-girl establishment. Isadora and her friends also dabbled in the occult, in their naïve way, held small séances… They didn’t have much success (which is probably for the best!!), but from that time Isadora became interested in the occult, seeing it as a possible bridge between her fantasies and the "real" world.
It also became evident, that Isadora was a talented artist; although she was, once again, more interested in depicting the weird shapes from inside her mind, her dream-like visions, than painting still lives with flowers and realistic landscapes.
Upon finishing school, Isadora decided to pursue art and her father was ready to finance her career. She moved to Paris and began to study painting. But the bohemian social circle, the constant drama and anxiety, and also her forays into the occult turned out to be very bad for her health. Before this her inner dream world was a place full of light and hopes. But now strange, terrifying creatures began appearing in them… She had a serious nervous breakdown, disappeared, and was found three days later in a small village 50 miles from Paris, in a near catatonic state.
This forced her to interrupt her studies and go back to Switzerland – this time to a psychiatric clinic deep in the mountains, led by Dr. Jakob Klaesi. Here Isadora underwent many different experimental treatments, including deep sleep therapy. But not even hypnosis could recover any memories about her three day black-out and disappearance. After months of therapy, her superficial neurotic problems were "cured", but she was plunged back into her dream worlds, deeper than ever before.
After a short break, she returned to her art, now drawing and painting more than ever.
At the same time, a certain George Auden from Boston was staying at Dr. Klaesi's clinic as well. Auden, heir to a major American industrialist, was recovering after the trauma he received when the ship he was travelling on was torpedoed by a German U-Boat. He was a connoisseur of arts and member of a Theosophical Society, so no wonder he became infatuated at first with Isadora's paintings and then with her as well. Isadora didn't fall in love with George (she could never establish deep connections with other people), but enjoyed his profound fascination, and they also shared many interests, supernatural experimentation included. After the end of the war, they got married and moved to the States, to Boston.
Now she resides in Boston, attending the meetings of Auden's Theosophical Society, working on her paintings (sometimes she has small exhibitions), pursuing her interest in the supernatural.
Short version/timeline:
Secluded childhood -> Private school in Switzerland -> Studies in Paris -> Disappearance -> Psychiatric clinic in Switzerland -> Meeting with George Auden -> Move to Boston
