Zella Von Musel

Growing up under the same roof of an abusive man known as Manfred Von Musel was young Zella. Though her father stayed for only a handful of years in her youth, his visage and cruel practices were forever branded into her subconscious. The day he left however, burns the brightest of her early memories. That day, Manfred had uncovered a truth about his wife, the fact that she was indeed a changeling. Prejudiced against the nonhuman races, Manfred was enraged that the woman he married was quite literally not what she seemed. This anger blazed outward causing him to beat his wife, though unlike before he acted more viciously than any time in the past. Not willing to stand by and watch, the long since rising embers of Zella’s anger erupted into a flame. She scrambled for a firearm of her father’s she knew he kept in the other room and shot the deranged man in the shoulder. Taken aback, Manfred turned his attention to Zella seemingly smiling. Acting proud of his daughter’s achievement, but claiming that a punishment must be met, he broke her arm and later that day left, leaving behind only a note for the young girl. Years passed before she could ever stand to even gaze at the letter left by her father. By then she lived with her mother as well as her younger brother, Owain Von Musel. Her curious brother had come into the world with boons from their mother’s Changeling blood. By the time Owain had reached the young age of 11 he became determined to train his martial skills to protect his mother and sister. As for Zella, she became narrowly obsessed with engineering the very same weapons her father created. In the attempt to teese his sister and tear her away from her work, Owain dug up the cursed letter of his father’s hand. The letter detailed how proud he was of his sister, insisting that she come find him once she’s grown. Though left little clue as to his whereabouts, instead it came attached with a pouch of coin and a letter of recommendation into the Byrgenwerth workshop. Needless to say Zella was quite unhappy to have found her room ransacked by her younger brother upon her return, though nothing compared to the shock she felt upon reading that letter. At first, Zella locked herself away, only emerging for food, then one day she announced that she’d be applying to Byrgenwerth’s college program. Through sleepless nights and creeping dread, she built her first gun, using one left by her father as a template. In her early 20s Zella Von Musel was accepted into Byrgenwerth, where she refined her skills as a gunsmith. During this time however, she was consumed by her goals. As skilled as she was, Zella maintained a consistent attitude that irked the staff in her school. Her sharp tongue and sarcastic disposition led her to butt heads with many of her teachers until the day she found that the principal, Percival --- shared many abusive practices like her father’s. Zella fell into vices such as intoxicants to numb her days in the academy. One day however she was found out, resulting in her supplies to be taken from her. With nothing to mitigate her fiery spirit she began to lash out as she once did against her school. This resulted in her breaking equipment and yelling at teachers until Percival and her got rolled up in quite the argument. Once it was over, she was to leave the academy. Devastated about her years at Byrgenwerth, she returned to her family in her hometown of Bristol. Noticeably downtrodden, she shut herself away in her old room once again. Owain having gone off to the Kingsmill Military academy it gave Zella a few years to recover with the aid of her mother. Many conversations were had between the two in those lonely years. Until one day, Owain returned for a brief interval for a holiday break in his first year. Owain and Zella seemed to have taken diverging paths, but despite their differences they got along well enough. That is until the raiding party came. Cultists of the nine trickster gods came rolling through Bristol, killing and stealing people. Zella ran out, gun in hand in the attempt to protect the locals of Bristol alongside her brother. Things began to deteriorate however, as Zella and owain were overwhelmed, and as result Zella was stolen away.   The Cultists found an interest in Zella’s knowledge of weaponry, and as such they kept her so that she might craft such destructive firearms for them. After a few months, Zella found a balance in this life, keeping to herself and occasionally granting these cultists a new invention of hers. In fact she even found kinship with some within their order. Though that safety barely lasted, as a nobleman known as Ripley De’rosso paid good money for their craftsman and so Zella was sent off to work for the Lord. Angry, Zella refused to create little more than a simple clock for the Lord. Expecting him to treat her as a slave, Zella was prepared to die for her ideals, that is until she found that Ripley refused to force her to work. He acted cold and distant, locking her away in the underground basement of his manor but never once did he strike her. She was aware of the man’s twisted nature, his saddened heart, and somber soul, but two managed to strike a deal of sorts. She worked as that engineer he paid good money for, and in return, she’s treated as a guest of the house. Her room in her cell was maintained, but slowly did it expand, until the day even her cell connected to the house. This slowly building relationship did not stop Zella from carrying a deep hatred against Ripley, but she played her role, that is until the arrival of Elizabeth Yharnam. The return of the lady of blood was a predicament for many, but the fact that she wormed her way into Ripley’s mind presented a problem. Soon Zella began to be pushed away once more as a result of Elizabeth’s tyrannical advice. Frustrated that her plans would crumble, she dedicated herself to her work once more. Building a new firearm for herself, she moved to hatch an escape plan. But before this plan can come to fruition, the manor one day crumbled, shattering beneath some unknown power, locked in her cell she feared her own death. Though her life was not claimed, as Ripley burst forth, covered in cuts and bruises, he came to her and the two transported themselves away leaving the manor to rot.   At first Zella was glad to be rid of her captor, but she saw him lying wounded, weakened. She ignored her feelings and prepared to push forward, but when Ripley began to limp after her, something overcame her. She helped treat his wounds, and together they hobbled off to wander the land in search of a purpose.

Zella Von Musel identifies as she/her and perceives herself as a woman.

Zella Von Musel is bisexual.

Zella attended the Byrgenwerth workshop for her University degree but ended up dropping out after two years.

Zella is has always been unemployed, though she now travels, accepting work as a traveling adventurer or mercenary.

She's often casual, speaking with a frank and vulgar vocabulary. She carries the equivalent to a Cockney accent, often using colloquialisms and insults of the same accent. Her voice is feminine in tone, though still deeper than most. She fails to enunciate at times, stumbling over her words when she's thinking aloud, as her mind processes much faster than her words can catch up.