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name. Mizu Bearach. Or, Bearach Mizu in the correct form. Bearach is a traditional Irish name, meaning "pointed/sharp" and was the name of several saints. Mizu is the Japanese word for water.
age. Thirteen now.
personality. messy, disorganized, social, tough, outgoing, rarely worries, self revealing, open, risk taker, likes the unknown, likes large events, makes friends easily, likes to stand out, reckless, optimistic, positive, strong, does not like to be alone, ambivalent about chaos, abstract, impractical, not good at saving money, fearless, trusting, thrill seeker, not rule conscious, enjoys leadership, strange, loves food, abstract, rarely irritated, anti-authority, attracted to the counter culture, stubborn, enjoys telling stories, may tend to lie, tempermental, quick to defend, perceptive of emotions, jokester, laughs often, attention-seeking
family. Her father, Artur Bearach, was born and raised in Ireland, and had frequent and frightening encounters both with Vikings and also with the ocean, as he lived in a small port city. He became something of a sailor, or as much as he could have been during the time, and was often away on small boats or attempting to strike up a friendship with the famously brutal Vikings.
Even as a child, he was something close to fearless, and as social and friendly as one could have been. He was a devout Christian (it was practically inescapable at the time), but unlike his fellows, didn’t try to convert the few Vikings that weren’t threatening to kill him. This little bit of wisdom earned him invaluable knowledge, and in a rather shocking move, he decided to leave his family and home behind, assemble a crew, and set sail after years of learning and building.
‘Exploring’–especially the sort he planned on doing–was unheard of. He sailed for many, many months, stopping in Africa and Australia and wherever else he happened upon. He learned things he had never imagined, and met many people that simple blew his mind away. At long last, after several miracles and near-death experiences, he landed in Japan. After struggling for a while, he learned their customs and language, and fell in love with the country and its culture. While his crew moved on, Artur stayed in Japan.
At first, the Japanese people weren’t sure how to react to him. He looked so different! Eventually, they seemed to accept him as a Russian or an Indian or something along those lines, despite his bizarre language, and let him integrate into their society. Because of his experience with boats, he got a job with the overseas traders. He had not been there two months when the noblefamily of the port city he was working on was assassinated and scandalized.
Those who were not killed were forced to flee. The night after the assassination, Artur caught a young woman trying to board one of the ships, her money and jewels in a shabby bag with her. He knew she would not survive long on the sea, and offered her refuge in his own small house. Her name was Oka, the daughter of the leading nobleman, and they fell in love. Within a year, they were married and little Mizu was born, with her father’s hair, eyes, and impulsive personality. Even her eyes were shaped like his– it appeared she had inherited nothing but her country from her beautiful, timid mother.
history. Days after her birth, Mizu’s mother passed away. Artur was heavily distraught, for he felt it was his fault– the diseases that he was immune to in Ireland were new and terrible to the Japanese, and Oka could not fight them. Artur was never sure if it was him or the shiprats that had killed Oka, but he blamed himself incessantly. Though he was broken, he and Mizu survived together, and he moved up into the higher ranks of tradesmen and boatmakers.
When Mizu was twelve, he used the money both from his own wages and his wife’s jewels and runaway money to send Mizu to the palace to become a Shirabyoshi, for his wife had told him, when she found out she was pregnant, that it would make her so happy if her child were to become one of the honorable performers, or, if a boy, a samurai. Mizu was very reluctant at first, but after she watched a Shirabyoshi perform, men’s clothing and all, she threw herself into her practice. This is where the story begins, as Mizu–daughter of a red-haired foreigner and an ex-noblewoman–prepares to become a performer.
And, though she's definitely different, Mizu prefers it that way.
friends. She doesn't really know anyone yet, but you can be sure that she will.
aspirations. To be famous, and to be really, really good at dancing and all that stuff. She wants to go down in history! To be a great Shirabyoshi!
favorites. She loves food (any food, as long as it tastes good!), gymnastics, fighting-dancing, orange, fire, talking, people, watching the Shirabyoshi, laughing, animals, insects, nature, dirt... well, you get the idea.
fears. Though she doesn't act like it, being yelled at really upsets Mizu. She also worries for her Dad sometimes because he still hasn't quite been accepted into this culture, even after all of these years, and she's worried that what happened to Mom will happen to him. She also--again, though she doesn't act like it--has a fear that people won't like her.
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