Tenūsa NPC iNPC Registry

On April 22, 2015, Latoya Driskell was born in Suva, Fiji. In Suva, the ocean meets lush topical forests, and Latoya has lived there her entire life. Latoya grew up in a small coastal village with her mother, father, older brother, and twin brother. Her mother, Mereoni Driskell, works as a high school art teacher. Her father, Semi Driskell, works as a marine conservation officer. Her older brother, Jone Driskell is three years older than Latoya and attends the school where her mother works. Her twin brother, Mika Driskell, acts as a bridge between Latoya and Jone. Latoya is the only daughter in her family but she doesn't mind that. By growing up in the village, Latoya grew a deep love for nature. She often explored the mangroves, coral reefs, and jungle trails with her friends and brothers. From a young age Latoya displayed a unique connection to animals. She'd often calm frightened birds or guided lost fish back to the streams. She also spent countless hours painting and crafting art inspired by her surroundings.

Latoya's magical potential became evident when she was seven even though no one in her family is a witch. Latoya comes from a long line of muggle's, or at least that's what she thinks. But, there's a family legend saying that once every 30 or so years a Driskell gains two secret gifts. During a visit to her grandmother's garden, she unconsciously caused flowers to bloom out of season which attracted the attention of a visiting dukun, this happened after her first instance of accidental magic. Her parents, however, caught on and had a feeling Latoya was a witch. Her twin brother thought it was unfair of how Latoya had all the magic and he didn't.

Latoya's curiosity and her brother's feelings of unfairness was nurtured by her parents until a representative from Tenūsa arrived to formally invite Latoya to the Isle of Divination and also explained that Latoya was a witch. The explanation seemed to make her brother's think that Latoya was cool and made them even more protective of her, especially Jone.

Latoya had her first instance of magic during summer after she'd turned seven. She was snorkeling near a reef and saw that a sea turtle had gotten stuck under a net. Latoya absolutely loved animals, and so when she saw this, her little heart shattered into a million tiny little pieces. Latoya needed to free the sea turtle but she didn't know how to. She tried to free the turtle from the net but she was too far away from the net and couldn't reach it. Latoya became increasingly distressed as she watched the poor turtle struggle. The turtle suddenly thrashed against the net which made Latoya panic. Before she knew what was happening the net suddenly unraveled itself. The turtle who was now free quickly swam free and disappeared into the water. Latoya was surprised and delighted. Her fear had immediately turned into relief when the turtle was safe. Latoya had no clue what'd happened and assumed that the net had come loose on it's own. It wasn't until later after another magical incident that Latoya's parents began to realize that what had happened with the turtle had in fact been her first instance of accidental magic.

The Part-Veela heritage in the Driskell family comes through Latoya's mother Mereoni which means it comes from her mother's side of the family. Several generations ago one of Mereoni's ancestors was a Veela who had travelled beyond her usual home to eventually settle amongst a community of witches wizards and muggles. There in that community she had met and fallen in love with a wizard who then became part of the family line. Their descendants carried both magical and Veela heritage however the Veela blood became increasingly diluted as the generations passed.

By the time Latoya's mother was born the family's Veela ancestry was no more than a quiet piece of family history. Mereoni had inherited the heritage from her own mother but had never considered it to be important. Mereoni had grown up knowing that there was something unusual about her family however the details had become blurred over the generations and she had never expected that her own daughter would inherit the same trait and none of her sons would.

Latoya's father Semi is a muggle. Mereoni is also a muggle but she'd inherited the family's distant Veela heritage from her own mother. Neither of Latoya's parents knew that witches and wizards existed and the family's knowledge of their Veela ancestry was only limited to the old family stories which had been passed down through the generations. They had no reason to expect any of their children to be magical especially since no one in the family had knowingly displayed magic before. Latoya was a cheerful little girl that loved spending her days exploring mangroves walking the beaches sketching wildlife and helping injured animals whenever she found them. From an early age people often remarked how easy she was to like. Whenever she greeted them Adults smiled warmly. Strangers found themselves speaking kindly to her without knowing why. Frightened animals would often settle surprisingly quickly in her presence. Her parents simply believed she had inherited an exceptionally gentle heart which is true.

When Latoya's first accidental magic manifested everything seemed to change. Not long afterwards while she visited her grandmother flowers unexpectedly bloomed out of season around her in her grandmother's garden. This simply attracted the attention of a traveling dukun from Tenusa and that dukun had already sensed unusual magic nearby. After explaining Latoya was a witch and after she was invited to the Isle of Divination the dukun revealed something else that surprised the family even more.

The family legend about the Driskells receiving two unusual gifts every few decades suddenly seemed to make more sense. The first gift was obviously Latoya being a witch while the second gift was the Part-Veela heritage which has been passed down through Mereoni's side of the family. The dukun explained that the extraordinary ease that others were drawn to Latoya and the quiet grace she naturally possessed and even the subtle and almost ethereal qualities that people seemed to notice without understanding were all signs of distant Veela ancestry awakening once more.

For Latoya the revelation answered questions she hadn't thought about asking. She had always believed making friends came naturally because everyone was simply kind to her but she never considered that the calm she inspired in others could be anything unusual. Rather than viewing the discovery as something to be proud of or something she should exploit Latoya simply accepted it with quiet curiosity. To her the second gift was simply another part of who she was and she was no different from her love of nature and passion for art.

Latoya carries both gifts with humility as she prepares to begin her apprenticeship at Tenusa. The first gift has opened the door to the magical world while the second gift serves as a living reminder that even stories dismissed as simple family folklore may carry a truth that waits for generations before being rediscovered.