Personality

Rowan is generally quiet compared to the rest of her family. Whereas the dancers, actors, and some of the other crafters are outgoing and exuberant, Rowan is shy and introspective. She does have quite the knack for creativity, although most don't consider her talented enough to match the highest levels of the Troupe, but even with that negativity she is caring and enthusiastic about her work. 

Rowan does, however, have her flaws. She can be a bit absent minded and freewheeling, distractible and careless, but deep down she is passionate about her art and steadfast and loyal in her friendships. 

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History

Rowan d'Anastidae's birth was celebrated among the Troupe d'Arcadia, as was every birth for the traveling artists. A new Troupe member meant stability, for those that helped support the Troupe with their talents brought in more gold, more fame, and more prosperity. But even if she was one of the rare few without a talent, her birth would have been celebrated anyway. She was a gift, a precious child. 

Her parents, a sculptor from the d'Anastidae line, and a chef from the d'Elissavet line, were overjoyed to welcome her into their little family. She was the younger of the pair's two children, and her youngest years were spent playing among the other children, being raised by the Troupe as a collective whole. Those years were full of light and laughter, watching with wide eyes as the actors and dancers and singers and painters and many, many more wowed crowds, sold their wares, and perfected their crafts. She saw them, and knew that she wanted to be like them one day.

When she turned five, her apprenticeships began, hopping from line to line in an attempt to find which of the crafts she would be able to master. She began with the "lowest" of the crafts, only called the lowest because of its relatively low profit for the group- the d'Elissavet talent, cooking. After an explosive reaction in an oven, Rowan was quickly shuffled on to the next-highest talent, the d'Ilias' composing. Rowan could carry a tune just fine, but she was a horrid composer, and she was then moved onto the next apprenticeship. 

On and on it went, moving up the chain in terms of highly-valued (and highly profitable) skills: d'Anastidae's sculpting, di Vassia's instruments, di Stamides' acting, di Koralia's painting, di Loukas' singing. She was passable at each of them, but never great. She could carry a tune when singing, but her timbre wasn't quite right to blend with others and she didn't have the vocal quality to be a solo act, her acting was wooden and stiff, her paintings were fine but weren't incredible. Finally, she got to try the most coveted talent, the d'Arcadia's dancing, and she loved it. The feeling of blending with the music, of forgetting her troubles-

But to the troupe, her dancing was too much. She was not the picture of grace that d'Arcadia dancers were supposed to be, couldn't stay in time with the music or move with perfect coordination with other dancers, and she didn't have the natural beauty or build to be a solo act- not that they needed any more of them. They let her down easily, and began to speak to her of moving into administrative work; they always needed barkers and marketers, accountants and planners, but they saw how badly Rowan wanted to be a part of the creative side of the Troupe. They saw how they could break the young child's heart, and so they caved. Her parent, a d'Anastidae sculptor, said that they would train the youngster in the art of sculpting. Perhaps Rowan's skills weren't wondrous, but she could earn her keep. She was better at sculpting than cooking, and the worst that could happen to her was the waste of a few bits of wood, rather than a fire or an injury. 

So Rowan trained, willing to do anything to avoid the fate of those in the troupe who weren't talented enough to train under one of the foretroupe's crafts, who went into administrative work, or those talented in areas outside of the troupe's accepted crafts, who left the troupe and made their own way in life. She never got to the point of training with marble, for the material was expensive and couldn't be used with those who weren't well on their way to being masters of the d'Anastidae craft, but her wooden carvings were passable. They brought in needed funds for the troupe, gave her a place among them, and allowed her to express herself in her own way.

But whenever she gets the chance, she dances. She stays behind the scenes as the dancers perform, moving as she wishes, with her own type of grace and speed and talent. Behind the stage, she can be what she once longed to be, a dancer of the highest caliber, and for her, it is enough. 

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