Genevieve Tolleson

Appearance For a young woman so talented in the kitchen, Genny is a stick of a girl. Not particularly well endowed and soaring above other women, she stands equally as tall as most average men. Her hair is somewhat long and somewhere between a fiery red and strawberry blonde, and almost always pulled back in some way or another. Despite her height she is fairly young looking, eighteen or nineteen, probably an accurate estimate though she only ever says she’s the twin of the fourth, of five brothers. Her complexion is fair and smooth, dusted with freckles. However, rough scars appear on her hands and wrists from an encounter with the blood conjurer Sumakta. Her eyes are a vibrant green and thanks to such terrifying encounters; they are almost always alert either simply to be of help or in anticipation of defending herself. The clothes she wears are well made, of very sturdy construction, and utilize fine materials with beautiful dyes, but clearly with some wear. Her priorities are for ease of use rather than fashion, though the cuts are flattering if not a few years out of style and perhaps a foot too short for her height. Always on her is an easily and usually concealed dagger, a gift from Glenn Burnie, it is ornately engraved but otherwise unremarkable. In recent times the local population are often surprised as she has become far more plucky, confident, and outspoken – though her clumsiness, it seems, will never go away. Background Born to a well-to-do, respected doctor and his wife from Thessilane, Genevieve Tolleson, “Genny” has a twin brother, Tennant and five other brothers. The only younger one is Markus. From youngest to eldest her other brothers include Kaden, Bradford, Jeryl, and Garrett. In the spring of 207 Genny’s father became ill with an unknown disease. Confined to his bed he was forced to close his practice until Garrett, the eldest son could return from his training and take over the family business. Since, the Tolleson siblings have ventured out to go to school, find work and support their father with the hopes that there is a cure. Of late, it is important to note that Markus has taken up with a band of thieves and is assumed missing or dead. Originally trained as an assistant to her father, Genny worked with healing herbs, creating medicines and salves for her father’s patients. Cooking came naturally with her knowledge of herbs and from her mother’s instruction before she passed away. In Myrken & At the Dagger Genny arrived at Myrken Wood after a fruitless quest for a job as an herbalist. But with little official training, no references, and the fact that she was a girl, the search was nearly doomed from the start. This experience would contribute greatly to some of her later decisions. It was late summer several years ago when she accidentally happened upon her job as the cook at the Broken Dagger, when the cook then on staff simply walked out on the job and a barmaid Genny had been talking to begged her to stand in for the evening. On numerous occasions the clumsy cook has had to stand in for absent, generally lethargic and / or disappeared barmaids (as is standard fare in seedy joints such as the Dagger). However, the attempt is usually followed by tripping and soup ending up in someone’s lap or in starting a brawl between half the occupants. In almost every instance, her friend Dulcie, the best barmaid in her opinion, has saved her from jeers, taunts, and even weapons. However, it was on one particular occasion that her clumsiness and fear caught the attentions of the necromancer Sumakta who attempted to use his magic to drain the blood out of her. The sensation was unlike any other feeling, the pull of blood away from its core - the heart thumping wildly to keep it, to bring it back and unable to do so. It was like a horse at full gallop had been restrained in so much that despite all of its muscles throbbing wildly, grasping forward, no ground could be made. Her head was light and the vision darkening at the edges as if slowly the picture were disappearing entirely, "...stop..." Her voice was raspy, choking, ... gurgling. Thankfully and unfortunately many of Myrken’s most colorful people can be found at the Dagger at one point or another and she has made good friends with Aloisius Treadwell, probably because she makes some of his favorite pies, or just because she provides food at all. Glenn Burnie though they usually end up arguing, this frequent patron has on occasion offered helpful advice and the gift of a fine dagger to ensure that Genny has the means to protect herself, a treasured gift which she still carries. Recently, upon her return to Myrken she repaid his kindness by offering a very fine manuscript entitled, Tales of the North: Folklore and Stories from Hexal and Beyond. The volume included many maps, diagrams, and surveys of lands that have been little explored. She is also friends of Rhaena, Lessa Harpwind, Raid, and most of the Dagger regulars who don’t try to kill her. Ongoing Story After her recent return to Myrken there is some speculation that she did more than visit her family in Thessilane during her absence. Genny has returned with a little more fire in her stomach and outspoken tendencies which were not at all present before. And it has been disclosed to Treadwell that she “has nowhere else to go".