In-Character
Full Name: La Dama de TorrelavegaMaria de Mendoza nee de Lara
Painted In: 1490, painted at age 38
Location: The Magical Portrait Gallery of England
Hung In: 1891
Occupation: Courtier
Physical Description: La Dama sits alone on a horse in the courtyard of a Spanish villa. She is decked in expensive finery and wearing gold and sapphire jewelry. Two servants stand ready in the background of the portrait.
Play-by Nathalie Poza
History: Maria was born the child of her parents into the noble de Lara family in 1452. By the time she was born the family had lost quite a bit of wealth and power. Odd things happened around Maria (although no one at the time knew she was a muggle born witch) and so her family sought to have her married as soon as possible. She was married into the powerful house de la Vega, a powerful noble family of Castile, at only thirteen.
Her husband was a close companion of King Henry IV and as such they lived at court for the first years of their marriage. Maria loved the intrigue of court but do to frequent confinements as she bore her husband six children she soon found herself and her brood living in the family home in Torrelavega. There she ruled her family with a greater hand than she might have been allowed had she stayed with her husband at court.
It was also during this time that Maria began to embrace the occult and discovered she was a witch. After the Castllian civil war her husband retired to his home lands and his family until he felt he was safe from the new Queen Isabel. When he finally felt it safe he returned to court with his wife who was of an age with the new Queen. Maria enjoyed it but missed her children. Within a few years she was sent back to Torrelavega for her seventh confinement. She did not return to court but she did gain a matriarchal status with her children and power within the town.
For her birthday in 1490 her husband had a painting of her comissioned, however, Maria requested to pick the painter. The man she chose was a wizard of England, whom she learned English from and whom she invited into her bed during the cold winter nights of the early new year.
Mere months later she went out riding on her favorite horse, whom she had posed with in the painting, and was thrown from her back into a river. Maria did not survive and was dragged to the riverflood by her gowns. Her painting was completed that very same day.
Disquieted by the portrait they thought cursed (one son thought he had seen his mother move) the artist was banished from Torrelavega and chased from the Spain with the portrait. Unwilling to anger the Mendoza family further he named the portrait 'La Dama de Torrelavega'. He then sold the portrait to a wealthy noble wizarding family in England. La Dama ruled the portrait gallery with the best of them. She was then sold to a French wizarding family. During the French Revolution she was secreted out of the country to avoid destruction and then given to the Flint Family. Her most recent owner was the late Lady Lucille Lukeson and upon the lady's death she was sold to an art collector and then given to the Magical Portrait Gallery of England.
Personality: Proud, Nosey, Judgemental, Poised
Other: She loves intrigue and gossip, and speaks French, Portegese, Spanish, English, and Latin
Out-of-Character
Name: FallinAge: 30
Contact: Skype or Discord
Other Characters: Hah.
How did you hear about us?: -_-
![[Image: TrSGeWR.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/TrSGeWR.jpg)