Emily
VT:L Storyteller 
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Post by Emily on Sept 11, 2015 3:59:53 GMT -8
ELEMENT: water The Donovans of Lancashire have legendary Irishman Ivor O'Donovan to thank for their surname, among other things. The well-known trader and wizard blessed his bloodline with a curiously lengthy natural lifespan, but is also responsible for the Serpent Wife's Curse that has plagued it since the late 15th century. Old lore suggests that in trying to rid a lake of a serpent that terrorized his lands by snatching up livestock and person alike who dared near the water's edge, Ivor angered a dark witch who used the serpent to hunt human flesh, which she had developed a taste for. She twice cursed the O'Donovans, who later dropped the O' upon immigrating to England in the 16th century. Through the modern generation, the bite of any venomous creature is a swift, sure and gruesome death for them. The second curse, a prophecy, warns that some day another great serpent will rise out of Donovan waters and end Ivor's bloodline once and for all. Currently, Elder Charles Donovan oversees the family's book store in London: Argosy Books, established 1792 CE.
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JR
VT:L Adventure Guide 
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Post by JR on Sept 20, 2015 17:09:50 GMT -8
{ Detailed description of the Donovan family }
The history of the Donovan family can be traced to the late 13th century off the coast of the Irish County Cork. Ivor O’Donovan was a man made for the legends he created. A petty king, navigator, trader and necromancer, he is the catalyst of the four great septs of the O’Donovan clan of which the modern Donovan witches of Lancashire, England sprung.
Ivor was well known for the magic he cast – from ensuring his direct line would trace themselves easily back to him with the gift of prolonged natural life to his descendants, or the psychopomp enchanted ship that arrives along the closest water source to signal when one of those extended lives is at its end. His line has gone on to become warriors, pirates, merchants. Daughters consorted with kings, and sons have traveled between the Veil to explore the worlds beyond this one. A strong and proud clan – who was also hated for that very pride in who they were.
In the late 15th century, a large serpent was causing terror in a lake on the O’Donovan’s lands, grabbing and taking anything and anyone that came close to the waters. A young man on the run came to be a prisoner of the clan, and a sly chap he struck a bargain. If he could slay the beast, they’d let him free. The O’Donovan agreed, and within three days the deed was done. But unbeknownst to Ivor, the serpent was under the control of a dark witch who used the beast to hunt for the flesh she had a fond taste for. The witch twice cursed the clan before her death at Ivor’s fourth son’s hand. An unbreakable spell, that any bite from a venomous creature would cause a horrible deathly reaction and a prophecy that one day, another beast will rise from the waters and wipe out any with Ivor’s blood.
Not much else is said of the family, until the year 1560 in the time off the same fourth son’s rule as chieftain. War came from a neighboring clan over land disputes, one who was crafty in attacking their enemies under the dark of night. All were slain on one fateful night. All but one.
The fourth son of the fourth son came from a voyage to find his home gone, his family destroyed. Daniel O’Donovan steered his ship form the shores of Cork and headed east. A master sailor, he had control of the water he sailed upon. Navigating his way through storms and heavy currents, and calling on creatures of the deep to help guide his way until land was sighted.
Landing in the area that would become modern day Blackpool, he soon made a life for himself. He found a woman to wife with abilities so like his own, made a living with the bounty of the sea, and created a line of life of his own. It wasn’t until 1620 that their life was disrupted. The fear and misunderstanding of his kind spread its way across England, and even so far as the western coast they weren’t safe from it. Sending his family into hiding, Daniel met with others like him in London. He became the first Elder of the now Donovan family with the creation of the Council, helping to form the ways they would live. The ways the witches and others from beyond the Veil would survive.
As the centuries continued on, the family continued to make their way as adventures – on the sea, over foreign lands, and as modern times brought opportunity, in the air. In 1792, a fourth son made his way to settle permanently in London, becoming a bookseller specializing in rich texts of the occult and purveyor of items of the strange and eerie. Albright Donovan became the Elder in 1861, and from there his shop was transformed into so much more. A meeting place for the families, a clandestine library of their supernatural history, a vault for the safety of families grimoires. His fourth son became his apprentice, and as age came upon him took over the operations of Argosy in 1920.
Charles took the shop into modern times, mixing in literature and other subjects of books within the esoteric and mystical editions on the shelves. With the death of his father in 1962, he became the current Donovan elder; maintaining special care of the protection of the precious items housed in his shop, including the pair of granddaughters that tragic fate brought into his custody.
Extended family names – Finch, Spencer
Physical Traits -- Typically dark blonde hair, and striking blue eyes
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