Name: Izak Farkas
Age: 22
Nationality: Born within the borders of Illian to a mother from Amadicia. His father could be Tairen.
Height: 6’2”
Weight: ??

Overall appearance: Izak is long and slender; he moves with a posture and grace enough to rival that of a nobleman—or woman. He is rather vain and likes to keep his wavy, platinum blond hair brushed and tied in a low ponytail to keep it from his face. He can as easily be called a handsome woman as a handsome man, but it takes a lot of dressing up to complete the illusion. As a man, he is comely by normal standards, with naturally neat eyebrows, high cheekbones and a sharp nose. His lips are in a ready smile, and his black eyes show his every emotion.

Personality: Izak, having been born in a large, closely-knit family, values those close to him more than anything else. He will not hesitate to do what has to be done for a loved one, and he shows his affection openly, as he had always had with his family. He is playful, open, and very sure of himself, rarely showing shame or restraint when doing what he wants. He speaks with a cheerful flair and compliments this with flamboyant gestures: evidence that he craves for attention. Like the rest of his family, he has a strange sense of humor, often finding amusement in what people usually find offensive or horrid. He enjoys socializing and poking in other people’s business, listening to gossip, teasing, and when he feels more comfortable around someone, he will sometimes fondle. However, he is prone to mood swings and when he is sufficiently angry, the laidback attitude melts away to be replaced by ruthlessness and displaced rage, often displayed by muttered death threats and suppressed violence. He is not to be trifled with when he is like this—he means what he says. He is never to be underestimated, either. Izak has a sharp mind and perception and sometimes surprises people who usually see his silliness. He is, after all, a very good actor, and can hide his true self as easily as he can breathe.

One Power scores:
Current strength: 55
Base strength: 55
Age when started to channel: 22
Current Age: 22

Flow Affinity
Water: 7
Air: 7
Earth: 5
Fire: 9
Spirit: 10

Talents: Stretching Shields, Healing, Delving (Spirit)

Block: He can only channel when wearing a dress

History:

Izak never knew his father, nor did he even know the man’s name. His mother never mentioned it and gave the boy her own name, Farkas. It didn’t matter, though, that he never had a father. He had uncles and aunts, cousins and second-cousins. They were literally a big family in the traveling theatre, and they all stuck together. Izak’s favorites were, besides his mother, his uncle Aladar and cousin Eirini.

Uncle Aladar Farkas was the playwright of the family. He was a big, witty, bearded man who always made the boy laugh. That was what he wrote, mostly—comedies. When he was very young, Izak would love to watch the family’s plays. He would see his mother make faces and prance around, and he would think it fun. Sometimes, he would ask if he could join as well, but his mother often told him, “When you’re a little older.” Instead, his uncle taught him how to read and write, and then told him jokes after each lesson. Between the lessons, meals, and sleep, his aunts would often gather around him, admiring his blonde curls. He was the first blonde in the family, you see, as every Farkas bore children with black hair. His aunts would often go as far as dressing him in their costumes and speculating on what roles he could take in the future. Izak could not wait.

The boy got his first role as a messenger boy when he was six, and he played it with pride. However, he always did find his play-acting with his aunts more fun, when he wasn’t in a messenger’s clothes. He wasn’t in breeches, either. In one performance, one of his female cousins who played a scullery maid’s daughter got sick, and since Izak was closest to her in age, he volunteered immediately. Cross-dressing was not unheard of in the family, so they allowed him to take the part. Izak played the role like it was written for him; not once did the audience suspect that the ‘girl’ on stage was in fact a boy. His mother did not complain at all when he started taking on more female roles because he found them more ‘fun’ to do. The lad still played male roles, but it had always been the female ones that he found more worthwhile.

Cousin Eirini Farkas was closest to him in age among his relatives. For this reason, they were playmates even when they were little, and when they grew up they were so close that Uncle Aladar would sometimes comment—in jest—that they looked like lovers. They were not as such, of course; Izak loved his cousin like a sister. He would often make her laugh and tease her that he played a better woman than she did. It was a hobby of theirs to peek from backstage and point at random people in the audience, making fun of how they looked or teasing each other that this or that gentleman would be perfect for their cousin. Izak never imagined Eirini to actually fall in love.

It was during their stop at Tar Valon that Izak noticed his beloved cousin was being absent-minded. Soon enough, she confessed that she had fallen for someone. Izak, afraid that he might lose his ‘sister’, told her to not even think of it. However, nothing he said would convince her. He watched as she grew more engrossed in her affair, how she would smile for no reason and come home smiling. She was happy, he could tell, and soon he thought it would not be right to prevent her happiness. Perhaps her lover would make her happy after all, although it bothered him that he knew nothing of the man, and Eirini did not bring him into their camp. He convinced himself that he would meet his cousin’s beloved soon enough. He was mistaken. Eirini gave herself to the man and was left like a shed piece of clothing.

Izak’s mother, Alyona, was one of the family who sought to comfort her. After all, she had experienced the same thing. A lot of the women in the family were the same, in fact. But it had been their attitude to cry together for a while, throw insults at the anonymous offender and then laugh it all off. Eirini couldn’t laugh. Instead, she jumped into the River Erinin and drowned. Izak was furious. The young man scoured the city for signs of his cousin’s ‘lover’, the man who Erini had said promised to marry her. Izak did not find him, however, because his mother moved the troupe out of Tar Valon. The city carried an ugly memory for them all.

The family continued traveling, performing where they could and tried to forget. Izak, however, would never forget, though after a few months his rage subsided. It still remained, however, to fester. Despite his hatred Izak continued to act and entertain and from the continuous traveling learned of other nations and cultures, and strove to perfect his art of concealing his true self when acting. He learned to change his voice into a woman’s, a child’s, and an old man’s. Izak even started imitating the accents of people he came across during his travels. In Andor, they came upon a group of travelers like themselves, the Tuatha’an.

The Tinkers were mostly wonderful company. The Farkas family found their love for music and dance akin to their love for entertainment, and would perform to the Tuatha’an’s music just for the fun of it. After performances Izak would go and ‘flirt’ with the male Tinkers, much to their horror. And then in the morning, he would go do the same with the females. It nearly drove them mad. Izak’s mother, though, simply gave him a scolding on being ungracious towards their hosts, while the rest of his family either giggled at his behavior or were passive about it. Izak will be Izak, they explained. They didn’t add that he was doing it all just to amuse himself. The Tuatha’an left them after a week. Izak and his family then went on their own way, which led to Tear.

During their stay in Tear Izak found himself staring at every middle-aged blonde, wondering if any of them could be his father. He had never entertained the thought of a father before, nor had he harbored any bad thoughts towards the unknown man, but after Einiri’s death he wondered if his father had been the same towards Alyona. All that Izak knew of his father was that he had met his mother in Tear. But what the family remembered most about the journey through Tear was their performance in the capital. High Lord Edain had never seen an act before, and he was so amused by the Farkases that he invited them in his home to perform in a social gathering. The family did a favorite act of Izak’s where he was to play the role of a former queen of Andor. Unfortunately, Lord Edain did not realize who he really was and offered, directly to the cross-dressed Izak, to accept them as permanent court entertainers if they stayed within the Lord’s estate. It would have been customary to speak with his mother or his uncle Aladar, who were the oldest in the family, so it didn’t take too long for Izak to realize what the nobleman was trying to do. He thought it best to not use his real voice when speaking to the High Lord and politely referred him to his uncle, who graciously refused. They weren’t meant to stay in one place, Aladar explained, else the acts’ appeal would diminish over time. When Izak recalled the story to his family a little later, the entire camp couldn’t stop laughing. His uncles have since then never let him forget what was later called the ‘Tairen Lord incident.’

On their third visit to Caemlyn, Alyona was already very old. However, because of her love for acting, she was included in performances. In one performance with her son, she collapsed on stage. Izak quickly delivered a few lines he made up and carried her backstage, which was the inside of a wagon, where the others fussed over her. Alyona had been moaning in pain on stage, but when she was set on a bed, she fell silent. Izak was in hysterics. He had been shaking his mother awake before his uncles pulled him away so they could tend to his mother. No one noticed the man who had entered unceremoniously and pushed his way towards the bed. While everyone was still in shock, he held Alyona’s head. The shock of the man’s rudeness prevented anyone from shoving him away before he himself let go of the woman. He quickly announced that he was an Asha’man, and that he would help Alyona only if the ‘lad in the dress’ would come with him to Tar Valon. There was an outroar of protests and curses for him coming inside in the first place before Izak silenced them all with a shout. The stranger then said that Izak had just saved his mother’s life, although she was far from healed. The young man did not hesitate to accept the Asha’man’s deal, despite further protests from his other relatives in the wagon. If it would save his mother’s life, then he was prepared to go anywhere. Perhaps he might even find Eirini’s murderer.




((There weren’t any moving theatres in the books, but traveling actors were existent at some point in Europe. It just sounded like a good idea, and I apologize if I supposed too much and put them in the same time period as minstrels (gleemen?) and bards, whereas they probably weren’t. Would it be acceptable if the Farkas family were the first actors in Randland?))

I love your bio, I can't wait to see how Izak turns out. :) I don't think it's a problem at all to have his family be traveling actors, it's very original. :) Approved.

Its like in book 10 and 11 when Matt was traveling with a group of performers. I thought it was awesome. I was like, "oooooo, thats so cool"

I like it alot. Approved.