![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
info.
Sumina is of an average height and build, with long, pink hair and hazel eyes that usually have a very tired, sleep-deprived look to them, on account of her being very tired and sleep-deprived.
Her father is human, and from him she has inherited a mostly human frame and appearance, with the exception of the rosy tint of her hair, the pointed tips of her ears, and an otherworldly, starry gleam in her eyes if one looks closely enough, all of which she inherited from the astral elf lineage of the Heartleaf family.
She is normally dressed in clothing that befits a lady operating such a grand establishment, although she's usually very quick to don a simple apron in order to help out wherever she's needed (or short-staffed). At her hip hangs a magical Bag of Holding, out of which she produces a seemingly countless number of magical items to help her tasks, from Gloves of Mage Hand, to healing potions to have on-hand when a tavern brawl inevitably breaks out.
The young Heartleaf innkeeper is the very picture of well-mannered courtesy, with a lovely and pleasant voice that will never hesitate to ask a guest if there's anything she can provide, will always have stories about the Eldeflower to tell, and will always say "Good morning," and "Have a nice evening, valued guest."
However... this customer service facade is liable to crack at almost any given moment, come the first sign of stress. Of which there are very many. From enthusiastic adventurers causing chaos in the tavern to high-brow VIPs complaining about thread counts, there's no shortage of excitement at the Inn that often falls squarely on Sumina's shoulders to deal with. When this happens, her more candid, long-suffering and at times impatient side comes out.
Still, she is undoubtedly the hardest worker in her family, and she is constantly working herself to the bone in order to make her stint as Innkeeper as prosperous as memorable as it would be for a relative who would have hundreds of years to do what she does. Even given access to so many worlds, Sumina rarely ventures beyond the inn's entrance, preferring to stay in and catch up on work and occasionally indulge in needlecraft even on her days off.
She may not wish to experience the multiverse in the same way that her adventurous family does, but if there's something she'll venture out into another fantasy realm or a modern city for, it's good food. After all, the ingredients and dishes that a place can produce are defined very much by its world, its people, and its offerings. She'll come out to a Michelin (or equivalent) place any time.
Lastly, she's a terrifying drunk, which is why she tends to stay away from imbibing. Be warned!
✦ Acrobatics
✦ Arcana
✦ History
✦ Insight
✦ Medicine
✦ Performance
✦ Persuasion
INVENTORY
✦ Artificer lenses
✦ Gloves of Mage Hand
✦ Ring of Prestidigitation
✦ Barrier tattoo
Some ~1800 years ago, a sorcerer of the Heartleaf (then known as Cordifolia) family was possessed of an idea whilst milling about their home, the Astral Plane: what if, much like the transient nature of the astral sea, they built a transient place of respite, one that would connect planes and worlds like Sigil, the City of Doors?
Thus was the Elderflower Inn established. Using a powerful acrane crystal that they discovered in one of many jaunts across planes, starlight, and a mysterious pact with an astral being, the Heartleaf family built a magical inn that could reach other planes and worlds by detecting fluctuations in the veil that separates realms. At first it was rather a quaint little bed & breakfast, but over its centuries of existence, as it passed through a handful of generations of astral elves in the Heartleaf family and as it reached more and more places, continents, then realms, the inn truly became something a bit bigger with items, decorations, fixtures and furniture from across the vast multiverse and its endless, myriad offerings.
Nowadays, the Heartleaf family continues to develop and build on what its founder, Bemere Heartleaf originally envisioned. When a Heartleaf comes of age, they venture out of one of the inn's many doors to grow and harness the power their magically-inclined bloodline affords them, and return with a new arcane offerings to improve the magical structure of the inn. (And also, knick-knacks. So many knick-knacks. That may be a bit of the, hm, draconic bloodline shining through.)
Though born to this storied line of sorcerers, Sumina seems to lack any true trace of their arcane talent in her blood, a rarity in their lineage. This has never caused any ill feelings amongst her family, but it did still set Sumina apart at times, despite everyone's best intentions. Ultimately when it came time for parents, aunts, uncles, and siblings to embark on their grand magical adventures together, Sumina would be left at the Elderflower. Instead of going on her own adventures, she inherited the inn's operations when she came of age, and with great urgency. Unlike most of her fully elven relatives, Sumina has a shorter lifespan with which she can leave her mark on the Elderflower.
...Which is just as well, because while Sumina has no magic to herself, she'd long since discovered that she has a talent that most other members of her family do not: a sharp mind that is filled not with arcane musings (though it sometimes is filled with such) but one that knows how to solve problems and run a successful business. An eye for organization that sees the staggering collection of magical items they've collected and thinks to put it to use. As innkeeper, she has also made it her mission to organize the family's extensive library of journeys and adventurous findings - a monumental undertaking in itself, given its coverage of almost two thousand years of whacky hijinks.
No matter how exhausted or overworked she is, Sumina truly does love the Elderflower Inn and the role she plays in its upkeep. She may not have it for as long as most of her family, but to her, it's all the more reason to protect this mystical place and allow others to feel the its wonder just as she had when she was growing up running through its hallowed halls and gazing up at its brilliant stained glass windows and playing hide-and-seek in its many little nooks and crannies.
It's just that someone's got to make sure she won't run herself into the ground, and make sure she stops to breathe once in a while, if only to ask: who is Sumina Heartleaf, outside of the Elderflower Inn?
It turns out, however, that there may be more to Sumina than meets the eye.
The precise origins of the Elderflower Inn's magical workings have, over its two millenia of existence, only become more mystified and nebulous even to members of the family itself. It is universally acknowledged that starlight is the driving force for its power, but how did Bemere manage to secure such a constant source of it? And how does it manage to do what the City of Sigil does, even on a much smaller scale, ostensibly without the influence or ruling of a god?
These are the questions that Sumina seeks to answer, somewhat, by delving deep into her ancestors' journals, even if it's driven initially by a desire to simply catalogue them. While she tries to discover the truth from within, her cousin, Elenaril Heartleaf, seeks to find the truth from elsewhere, through her own adventures. Surely, there are clues about their home out in the multiverse, where the inn has left its mark.
Though unbenknownst to her, Sumina may not need to look much further than her own self. When a half-elf is born, it is said that their souls are either their own, much like a human soul, or that of an elf trapped in the mortal vessel of one mixed with a human. Sumina, it seems, may be an extremely rare case of both. And as luck would have it, it seems the other soul that dwells within her may just be Bemere herself.
None of them are aware of this... except, perhaps, the solar dragon with whom Bemere formed a pact thousands of years ago, the selfsame dragon whose blood runs through every Heartleaf's veins. You know. Sumina's Greatx4 Grandfather? Yeah. Anyway—