OOC - Profile
[Character Name] Frederic Francois Chopin
[Canon] Eternal Sonata
[Age] 39 (I know, he doesn’t look it ^^.)
[Gender] Male
[Sexual Orientation] Heterosexual
[Eye Color] Blue
[Hair Color] Dark Blue
[Height] 5’7
[Other]
[Clothing]
[Background] Chopin was actually a real historical figure, and is most famously known for his amazing piano pieces. His beautiful music earned him recognition as “the poet of piano”.
He was born near Warsaw, Poland, in 1810. His parents were very serious about teaching all of their children about music, but Frederic caught on to it the most. By the age of 7 he was already giving recitals, and he was already composing his own music. Even at this time, he was being compared to Mozart and Beethoven. People commonly called him a musical genius, and even his teachers had to struggle to be able to teach him without constraining him.
He attended school at Warsaw Conservatory in his teens, and upon exiting, he already performed many concert with wonderful reviews. Chopin’s compositions were all highly inspired by the emotional events of his life, and the power of those emotions definitely showed in his playing.
Chopin has been described as “more polish then Poland.” He adored his country, and even when he left it, he always longed to return. When his fame grew, he was given a lot of opportunities in Western Europe. He left for Vienna on the second of November in 1830, not realizing that this would be the last time he would ever see his beloved homeland. As he was traveling, a rebellion broke out in Warsaw against the Russian rule. When Chopin learned of this while traveling from Vienna to Paris, he was deeply distraught by it. His love of Poland inspired many of his future works.
Despite the fact that it was his trade, Chopin hated to perform publicly. He preferred to play in his own apartment for small groups of personal friends, but of course he had to make a living, and worked in small salons and social gatherings for the aristocracy. Still, he really hated this. He found a respite from having to do concerts from the money he could make teaching instead.
Unfortunately, despite his great success and fame, Chopin suffered throughout his life as a result of tuberculosis, which is a disease that attacks the lungs. He had contracted it from his family members early in his life. Back in Chopin’s time, it was by no means curable, and it was greatly feared because of its contagious and fatal nature. He had many siblings, but his sister, Emilia, died of the same disease at age fourteen. This has a huge effect on him during the events of Eternal Sonata.
His disease not only limited his travel, but it also plagued the two great loves of his life. The first was with Maria Wodzińska, Chopin had proposed to her, but as a result of a particularly bad spell of his illness, the engagement was indefinitely postponed. The second, and much more famous of the two, was his ten year relationship with the famous feminist author George Sand (for those who don’t know, she is female.) At that point, his health had deteriorated so much that George essentially had to nurse him. This eventually caused the rift that made them separate.
By the winter of 1849, Chopin was at his worse. He was confined to a bed, and it was evident that his life was coming to an end. On the evening of Tuesday, October 16th, 1849, Frederic was in the middle of a particularly bad spell of his illness. As Frederic wandered in fever, it was evident that this was a crucial point in his illness…
And here’s where the truly remarkable story begins. He returned to consciousness within another world. This world was a visually stunning place, highly inspired by many themes of music, right down to the names of the cities being named after musical terms. In this world, one could use magic, but only if you were already condemned with an incurable disease. Frederic believed this world to be his dream. Initially, he took everything that came at him in the world in stride, as it wasn’t real anyway. He assumed he controlled it, and that he could use any kind of magic within it, because it was of his own making.
Shortly afterward, he meets a young fourteen-year-old girl named Polka, who can use magic. He is deeply struck by the fact that she is very reminiscent of his young sister, Emilia. Upon spending time with her, she is the first person to throw his ideas that the world is a dream into doubt. Polka is the one person in this world Frederic seems to connect with the most, and he tells her many things that he doesn’t reveal to anyone else until long into his journey. On a whim, and not truly caring yet about the world, he joined Polka and many others on a journey to the capital to appeal to the kingdom’s ruler, Count Waltz, about a mysterious healing agent called mineral powder.
Chopin slowly grows to care more and more about the world. Even he isn’t certain exactly why he is traveling with his party, and questions it often. The world is so real to him that he questions whether his own reality ever existed at all. He starts to believe that he’s being tested. The world begins to become more and more vivid as the journey progresses. Frederic sees this as a sign that he is becoming more disconnected from his own world.
Despite his growing caring for the world and for his companions, in the end Frederic believes that the only way he can defeat death and return to life is to cut off his connection with the dream. He attacks his comrades. However, they defeat him. He is actually very glad about this.
Even though he was aware that he was dying, Frederic forsakes returning to his own world in order to save Polka. In reality, it’s 2 AM on October the 17th, and Frederic is pronounced dead… But even so, he still exists in the world he thought was a dream!
[Personality]
Frederic is shown as a generally calm person of fewer words, probably because of his slight amount of disconnection from the world he was in. I’m certain that would show up a little in this new dream, since it is very similar to the experience he had in the first place. After a while, he grew more and more connected to the world, and opened himself up to people more. He is very in tune with other’s emotions, tending to think about how people around him feel a lot. His own emotions are a little harder to see, and he only really opens up to a few people. However, it’s much easier to see in his piano playing. It was said once that when he was frustrated by having to play in concerts, Frederic would often be at his piano for hours afterward, sorting through his feelings through the music.
He’s also highly contemplative, and thinks a lot about the nature of the world, and the meaning of various parts of it. This is especially evident when he is struggling to make sense of his dream. Since he was dying, one of the things he thought most about was the meaning of life and death.
It seems very common for him to be more of a quiet observer, and only when he finds it really necessary does he speak up in any given situation. He’s also shown himself to be very protective of things that he holds dear to him, especially when it’s Polka because she had such a deep meaning to him.
[Specialties/Abilities]
A bit obviously, Frederic has a great talent for playing the piano. Within his dream, he was forced to fight many different creatures. However, instead of using a sword or any other sort of weapon, Frederic found that he had a special conductor’s baton that he could use as a weapon. He uses it as if it were a sword, but as a result of his musical background, he usually attacks in 4/4 timing. Frederic would probably have this with him upon waking in the new dream.
In Frederic’s world, abilities are greatly determined by whether the user is surrounded by light, or shadows. The skills he can use changes depending on the setting.
For example, both of his healing spells can only be used in the light. Sacred Signature and Spirits Pathway only can heal one person at a time, and Tri Clementa heals multiple people at once.
Most of his skills are either magical skills using auras, or physical strikes with his baton that are enhanced by the auras. Since the game doesn’t limit the skills by giving the character’s magic points, I’m going to assume that there will be some sort of drain on Frederic when he uses them.
An example of one of the more physical skills would be Coup de Grace in the light, and Coup de Jarnac in the dark. They both are simple thrusts with his weapon with either a light or a dark aura behind it.
An example of a skill purely determined by auras is Orzel Bialy in the light, and Piu Grave in the dark. Both require Frederic to collect an aura, and shoot it upward.
[Affection]
Because of his age, Chopin’s had some experience with being in love before. He has a high focus on emotions, though I’m sure it wont be simple for him to fall in love. Also, I’m sure he’s used to being proper, so he will be a little flustered if he suddenly notices someone becoming more close to him.
[Fighting]
Because of the necessity for battle within his dream, Frederic knows how to fight. However, he will avoid doing so and will only fight if it is absolutely necessary. If he does fight, it’s more likely to be to protect others then for his own purposes.
[Other Facts]
Expect lots of piano playing!