Sturmzeit
| Level | 5 |
|---|---|
| Race | Loye (kindred) aka polecat, a human-giant hybrid people with a polecat's upper lip and philtrum, obligate vegetarians |
| Class and subclass | dancer |
| Played by | Meinhart |
Intro and characteristics
The first thing anyone notices about Storm is his elegant posture and graceful confidence. Both were hard-earned over his 28 years as a member of the famous Reinzinger Finnilash. In this loose family group, the polecats' natural inclination towards art as both an individual expression and a shared culture lead to a dynasty of supreme ballet performers (both female and male) and their entourage of supporting artists and artisans.
This particular Finnilash rose to prominence a few decades ago, when Storm's grandfather Reinzinger created a transcendental choreography, known as Swan Lake. Their performances have cemented them a steady place at the human Rosarian court, first in The Perch and currently in Royal Rosaria.
As a result of this disciplined artistic upbringing and intensive training for court performances, Storm's temperament is a peculiar blend of slightly sheltered naivety and courtly address, with all its diplomacy, lies and manipulations.
Storm combines a polecat's natural athleticism and long limbs with a ballet performer's rigorous training at the peak of his ability.
Life story
Early life
Storm was born as the product of the teenage love affair between Donnertanz, Reinzinger's daughter and his prima ballerina, and Farbernte, a set designer working closely with the Reinzinger Finnilash.
It was rather a scandal, throwing customs and career plans into disarray. Donnertanz made sure to work hard and become the consummate performer of our ancestral dances, including, of course, Swan Lake. As she's now reached the age of 47, her dancing days are mostly behind her. Currently, she's the matriarch of the Reinzinger Finnilash, as well as its primary art director.
After ten years as an only child, Storm was joined by
- his brother Konderflug (18 years old, an apprentice show runner)
- his sister Wasserwatschel (16 years old, a string musician and budding composer).
Career
Storm was trained strictly but lovingly by both his mother Donnertanz and his mentor Schmetterlingschild (a 52-year-old man, which is getting up there in age, since polecats typically only live till 65). Parts of his training regimen include:
- correct warm-ups and cool-downs
- training for flexibility and for ballet vocabulary (tendu, plié, rend-le-champ, fondu, retiré, gargouillade, pas de chat, pas de chat à l'italienne, demi-bras, seconde, en-croix, à la barrée, russian barrel, pirouette, etcetera)
- basic self-care, including massages (like the one Nathalie Portman gets in Black Swan)
Storm has long flourished in the strict regimen of a ballet focused family group. It appealed to his innate sense of structure and hierarchy. His body is a finely honed tool for his art... and for the adventures aboard the Young Kraken.
His crowning achievement so far is his starring role in Reinzinger's Swan Lake. This ballet piece features a swan, transforming from white to black and back again, as well as a hunter lost in the enchanted woods of the story. Audience members have raved about the transcendental nature of the lyrical narrative, citing the obvious parallels to the worship of Soliman and Lunaire, although Reinzinger never declared his position on the allegory before his death. This ambiguity holds personal meaning for Storm, both because it informs his expression of the Swan's transformations, and because of his private religious questions.
Züchtungsreise
The züchtungsreise, a tradition within this Finnilash, is closely linked to an artist's career path and the polecats' wanderlust. For ballet dancers like Storm, it generally marks the transition from athlete in peak condition, performing the codified choreographies under the tutelage of the previous generation(s), to a mentorship role, ranging from choreographer to art director or trainer.
The aim of the züchtungsreise is to find inspiration, in nature or in other cultures, in contemplation or in adventure. By some co-incidence, Storm fell in with the crew of the Young Kraken and has been travelling with them for almost 2 years now, following his instincts about the choreography he means to develop.
The fruit of the züchtungsreise is meant to be dedicated to the gods in a very personal ritual, after which it can be performed for the Finnilash and later premiered, probably at the royal court.
Personal life
- Gender: man
- Age: 28 years old, which for a Loye is the prime period just before middle age, since they only reach about 65 years on average. Storm is not entirely immune to the stirrings for a midlife crisis.
- Description: 2m10 with long, elegant limbs, well trained from over 25 years of ballet. Dancer's butt is no myth! He wears his dark hair short, unconcerned by the pepper-n-salt creeping in. Strong eyebrows rise over almond-shaped eyes with an attentive and oftentimes sensual glance. Storm doesn't mind a bit of stubble, accenting the permanent smile lines settling into his skin.
- Family life: Storm is single & either very discreet or he just doesn't date much. Though perhaps a little disappointed, his family has accepted it won't be Storm's offspring who carry on the Reinzinger legacy of Swan Lake's choreography.
Connections
- Patron: princess Lydia, the eldest daughter of the Rosarian king Balthazar who died recently, leading to her older brother Mordecai fomenting a war with Kharkhorin
- Family: Storm is close with his mother Donnertanz (also a prima ballerina and choreographer) and his father Farb-ernte (a celebrated set designer), as well as his 18 year-old brother Kondorflug (training to be a show-runner) and his 16 year-old sister Wasserwatschel (accomplished string musician and budding composer). Though there's no biological relation, he's also close with his mentor Schmetterlingschild.
- Friends and foes: Storm is very close with Nebelsegel, a polecat woman from the same Finnilash, who designs athleisure and underpinnings facilitating the endurance performance of hours of ballet, be it training, auditioning or performing. The closest thing Storm has to a rival, is Mondregen, another dancer. As kids Mondregen was one of the ring leaders teasing Storm for having teenaged parents. It intensified a little when they developed different styles: Storm following his family's adherence to acrobatic precision, while Mondregen became an adept of his family's more flamboyant style with complicated costumes.
Rumours
- When Storm was 16, he attended a wedding and got drunk. Storm tackled the bride on the dancefloor, at the end of their romantic first dance to the bride’s favourite song “every breath you take” (youtube) What an embarrassing scene, and for no good reason! Talk about not holding your liqueur!
- Every polecat knows how to prepare a proper vegan broth. Seaweed or mushrooms give it body and depth of flavour. Storm is a bit of a purist about the provenance of said mushrooms… some would even say snob – but I just like the umami flavour to be clean
- Storm can talk at length about swans & if you want to torment him, just pretend you don’t know there’s a difference between swans and geese!