Issabel Drake
“Love planted a rose, and the world turned sweet.”
A woman who smells of roses with a disposition just as sweet. As a prominent philanthropist and socialite in Ul'dah, Issabel has earned moderate recognition for her charitable endeavors. With her practiced grace and unwavering positivity, she appears to effortlessly navigate through various realms, whether it be perusing bookstores, gracing social galas, or enchanting dance halls. While her schedule may be bustling, Issabel always finds time to extend a helping hand.At the heart of her endeavors lies Drake Aesthetics, the fashion house she founded. With unwavering pride, Issabel nurtures her business and upholds its impeccable reputation. From the halls of her atelier, she weaves together exquisite designs that embody elegance and individuality. Each creation is a testament to her unwavering dedication to craftsmanship and style.
Mare: P8DS5D0WFM
Hooks
Fashionista
Fashion is Izzi's greatest passion, evident as she frequents fashion shows and mingles effortlessly with fellow designers. Unafraid to approach strangers and shower them with compliments on their style, she embraces the same attention bestowed upon her with open arms.
Bookworm
In her rare moments of leisure, one of Izzi's guilty pleasures lies in indulging in trashy romance novels. She finds solace in visiting bookstores, eagerly seeking out the latest releases to expand her collection and delve into captivating tales of love.
Dancing Queen
Dancing holds a special place in Izzi's heart, although she doesn't get to partake in it as often as she desires. Whenever the opportunity arises, she eagerly seeks out dance halls to surrender herself to the captivating rhythms, losing herself in the enchantment of the music.
Philanthropist
Izzi's challenging childhood has provided her with a profound understanding of the harsh realities that permeate the streets of Ul'dah. Driven by her firsthand experiences, she actively engages in initiatives aimed at improving the city, making a meaningful impact on both the broader community and individual lives within it.
Business Woman
For those seeking Izzi, the surest bet is finding her at the headquarters of her business, Drake Aesthetics. As a versatile seamstress and fashion designer, she caters to a diverse clientele, serving both everyday individuals and high-end patrons with equal dedication and craftsmanship.
Socialite
Izzi's aspirations to establish her reputation are an open secret, extending to both the realms of business and social circles. Consequently, she graces numerous significant events across the city, effortlessly navigating the social landscape. While regarded by some as new money, Izzi's graceful demeanor allows her to effortlessly shrug off any such comments.
Blue Backer
Are you a fan of the Masked Carnivale? So is Izzi! Having always had a keen interest and talent for magic she was very curious when the show opened in Ul'dah. She was so taken by it that she has since become a financial benefactor for it and has a handful of times gotten the chance to perform under the alias of "Indigo Bella".
OOC Info
I prefer for RP to be planned in advance so that I know to clear my schedule. I am in the CST time zone and am free most evenings, but can stay up much later on the weekends for longer or later sessions. I have a concise and quick style but can mirror longer posts if the situation is right. You can always reach out to me on Twitter or on Discord, where my username is Brohamut. With Izzi I prioritize social and business based RP, for characters with darker stories you can take a look at my alts.
About
Meet Issabel Rosa Drake, affectionately known as "Izzi," whose journey through life has been marked by hardships and remarkable triumphs. At the tender age of four, she tragically witnessed her father's murder, forcing her to endure a harsh existence surviving the streets of Ul'dah, relying on petty theft and scavenging for sustenance for over thirteen years. Fate brought her solace in the form of Kalas, her first love, who aided her in finding employment, only to be tragically taken away during The Calamity.For half a decade, Izzi drifted through life in a state of numbness until she received a poignant posthumous letter from Kalas, igniting a spark within her to embark on a life of adventure. During this period, she immersed herself in the study of various magical arts, established a free company, subsequently parted ways, discovered love anew, entered into marriage, and miraculously reunited with her long-lost mother.Having retired from her adventurous pursuits, Izzi embraced a fresh endeavor dedicated to honoring her father's legacy after uncovering the truth behind his demise. Armed with astute investments and her father's long-concealed inheritance, she has founded Drake Aesthetics, a fashion house that embodies elegance and compassion. With Drake Aesthetics, she forges ahead, crafting a legacy that intertwines fashion, resilience, and the pursuit of beauty.
Trivia
Izzi is left handed
Her glasses aren't necessary for her vision. She has enchanted the glass to allow for extra-sensory perception when activated.
Has struggled with hydrophobia most of her life. She knows how to swim now but must prepare herself to do so.
She avidly chronicles her life in a diary.
Has a stake in many businesses aside from her shop, but has entrusted her godfather to manage those from behind the scenes.
Has naturally white streaks in her hair that she meticulously dyes.
She is in her mid-thirties but would be hard pressed to admit it.
Biography
Issabel was the first born child to Ul'dahn merchant Isaiah Drake and Gridanian hearer Shelinda Moore. She came into this world on the second year of their marraige and she had a blissful early childhood living in the Shroud. The only exception being the time she fell off of the edge of her godfather's barge and nearly drowned, being pulled from the water by her father and resuscitated by her mother, this incident lead to a lifelong hydrophobia. Because of her father's trade he would often be on the road for stretches of time but always made it a priority to bring little Issabel a trinket or souvenir upon his return. These little gifts made her curious about the world outside of the forest and so one day when she was four years old she begged and pleaded to go with her father to see Ul'dah. After much hesitation her mother agreed to let her go and the father and daughter made their way to the jewel of the desert.
Unbeknownst to the pair, Isaiah had made enemies in the city due to his popularity among the smallfolk for preaching values that went against the principles of the monetarists. Wanting to nip any potential trouble in the bud, a hit was placed on Isaiah Drake, silencing him before his words could infect the minds of the populace any further. He was struck down by someone posing as a Brass Blade in front of his daughter and his last words were telling her to run.
But there was only so far the legs of a four year old could take her. And so in a matter of days she was plucked from the streets and placed in an orphanage, which is reality was more of a labor mill that used children. She stayed there for a few years before overhearing conversations of a child, possibly her, being arranged to be sold into slavery. That was the final straw, and she made a break for it that night. Anything would be better than slavery, and the next few years would test that statement.
She lived the next several years as a street urchin, stealing scraps and picking pockets to stay fed. She has no fond memories of this period of her life, in fact the only worthwhile thing about this time is that she would grow to admire the beautiful people of the gold court and their beautiful clothes, hoping and praying to one day become one of them.
In her seventeenth summer, after seven years on the streets, Issabel was going about her daily routine, skulking about the markets looking for a pocket to pick when she heard a familiar tune. An elezen bard was humming to herself as she strolled the stalls, the very same song that would play on the music box that Issabel's father brought back from one of his trips. The sudden memory caught her off guard, which caused her to get caught in the act. Terrified and stupefied, Issabel thought that this would be the day when she was turned in. Thankfully the woman saw the malnourished and desperate girl and decided to but her a meal and hear the story of how she came to find herself in this situation.
This was the day that Issabel met the woman who would become her fiancée, one Kalas Wandersong. Kalas was a former wood wailer who was rescued by a mysterious masked woman after being left for dead and upon her advice set out on a life of adventure.
After their lunch Kalas rented Issabel a room at the local inn and called in a favor to get the girl her first job at the weaver's guild. Once sure that Issabel was able to keep herself housed and fed, Kalas set back out on the road, but always found herself coming back to this small hyuran girl in the desert. The two grew closer and closer until they found themselves engaged to be wed.
Unfortunately for Issabel, what goes up must come down. And nothing came down harder than the fall of Dalamud. Apparently aware that Kalas had survived, she received a missive asking for her aid at the battle of Cartineau and finally having something to protect, she answered the call. Much to Issabel's protestations, but on her way out the door a promise was made. When she returned from the battlefield, Kalas would make Issabel Drake her wife.
But alas, the best laid plans of moogles and men often grow awry.
Five years later, Issabel had been living in a stupor. Taking back her job at the weaver's guild by day and spending her nights at the local tavern, more often than not ending up in the bed of a stranger to feel even a hollow echo of the love that she had lost.
On a morning like every other, Issabel made her way outside of her apartment to find a letter waiting for her, addressed from Kalas Wandersong. The letter had been meant to be delivered after a year of not being claimed, but the postmoogles lost track of it in all the chaos. But something in those long overdue words stirred something in Issabel, like she had finally woken up from a long and terrible dream. It wasn't a happy ending but at least it was some level of closure. From beyond the grave Kalas assured Issabel that it would be okay for her to find love again, that she deserved happiness, and that just because she was gone that didn't mean that the adventure was over.
And so once again Issabel left her post with the weavers and booked a ferry to Limsa to study arcanamia and begin her own adventure. In Limsa she met a miqote named E'to and a roegadyn named Ahtyn, the trio were all starting their respective journeys and banded together to form the Order of the Wild Rose. Her time with the Roses had been the happiest she felt since her days with Kalas, and she adored having a gaggle of misfits to surround herself with.
But the good times never last, and one by one the friends that she had founded the company with left the garden for greener pastures. And while she loved the new recruits it just wasn't the same without her founding crew. And so she made the tough decision to step down from her role as Rose Queen and find a new place to belong.
What followed were several weeks of aimless wandering and drunken nights, one of which lead to her being banned from the Gold Saucer. But once again, a letter would change her life. She received word from Ahtyn inviting her to another company, one fighting for the goal of liberating Ala Mhigo. And so she cleaned herself up and met with the head of this company, a woman named Riot, and found herself amongst their ranks.
In her time with this company she met many people, but the most important was a raucous and brash bard named Jaraku. She asked to study under him so that she could do justice to Kalas' songs. He accepted and the two grew close, eventually confiding in one another about the loss of their respective paramours, and together learning to love again. Jaraku brought amusement and laughter out of Issabel, and Issabel brought sincerity and dedication out of Jaraku. The two grew to fill each other's holes and were wed within a year.
It was a time of great joy and whirlwind romance, but once things had settled Issabel couldn't shake off this nagging feeling inside of her. She had thought that she had finally found happiness again, that her marriage would fill the emptiness in her soul, but out of nowhere, even though she thought her long forgotten, Issabel began having dreams of her mother.
She confided in Jaraku the sneaking suspicion that her mother was still alive and almost as soon as she finished the thought he made it his mission above all else to find the long lost Mother Drake.
Several months and countless dead ends later, Jaraku heard whispers of a mysterious masked woman who wandered the Shroud, caring for those deemed undesirable by the elementals. And the only spot she could be semi-reliably spotted was Buscarron's Druthers. And so he became a fixture at the tavern, fighting the urge to drink every day until a masked woman who he had not seen before made her way into the tavern.
Compelled by gods know what, he made a scene in the tavern that only a bard could, and among the boos and jeers he heard a familiar insult that became aterm of endearment, "Jackass", the very same thing that Issabel had called him when they first met. Approaching her and addressing her by name, he came bearing news that her daughter was alive and that he was her husband.
Not even the mask could hide her tears.
The fated reunion finally came, and Issabel expected herself to be furious. How could this woman have abandoned her? How could she have not looked for her daughter? Didn't she know how hard her life had been without her? But all those feelings left the instant Issabel saw her mother's face, scarred and missing an eye, bearing a lifetime of regret. The two tearfully spent the night catching up, mortified in what the other had been through in the past twenty some odd years. They fell asleep in each others arms and Lynn swore that she would what time she had left in this world making up to her daughter for the time they had lost.
Issabel had finally found her family, her honest to gods family. It was truly all she had ever wanted, and with her mother living with them she had began asking questions about what sort of man her father was, and the circumstances surrounding his demise.
Isaiah Drake was a saint of a man, a merchant not because he loved the pursuit of coin but because he loved to travel and build relationships with people the realm over. It was often that said that Isaiah Drake could not be trusted with his own coin but was a miracle worker when trusted with someone else's. He believed that the accumulation of wealth was pointless without someone to spend it on. And when he was fortunate enough to start his own family he did everything he could to give them the best life he could. And for better or worse, his outlook was infectious, he was a popular name around the city and sentiment against the monetarists began to sour. And the rest, as they say is history.
Issabel was mortified by the revelation, her father was killed to potentially protect the coinpurses of some fat sods in their manors? Upon hearing the truth something clicked in her, whether out of inspiration, spite, or a little bit of both, Issabel Drake decided to honor her father's legacy by building a business bearing his name and making it so beloved and recognizable that striking her down would not go unnoticed. Thus did her adventuring career formally end, and Drake Aesthetics was born.
While digging for more information on her father, Issabel was eventually able to track down her godfather, who had gone into hiding and taken a new name after Isaiah was slain, and he told her about the inheritance her father had left her. Half of a map was trusted to him and the other half to Lynn, and with the two pieces together she began the hunt for her father's inheritance, and upon finding it used the funds to purchase a house and invest in several up and coming businesses in order to build the Drake Consortium.
The past few years have been mostly peaceful, she's focused on growing her business, taken several girls under her wing, and traveled across the sea a handful of times to study the techniques used in various parts of the world to further her skill in her craft.