Aela the Tattooed Lady

'Now you see this one, George? I think you just the type to appreciate a lovely lady, no?
This is our beautiful Aela. Isn't she the most remarkable woman you have ever seen? Watch her as she moves, the lines and shapes on her body dance, just for you George! And at night... when she lights the torches and dances...it takes your breath away, especially when she blows flames from her lovely lips as high as the tree tops right above your head!'

Aela stands barely five and a half feet tall, with a rather curvy figure. Her long dark hair and bright green eyes are nearly the only thing one can see of her original self.

Dressing in nearly nothing at all, she flaunts her decorated body whenever possible, even in polite society. She has no shame, or conscience.

Aela is not like the others in the troupe, her appeal is self inflicted. Her love of travel and the Carnival led her to undertake a drastic transformation...having her body, from head to toe, covered in tattoos.
She suffered the pain knowing the Carnival would accept her into their ranks when they saw her, and her talent for fire breathing and dancing would be an asset as well.

She does take her role in the show seriously though, seducing many a man and angering many a wife along the way.

She moved slowly at first. Small light steps on the balls of her feet. She danced through the crowd of men, eyes almost closed as she allowed the music to penetrate her very soul. She was letting go...
Her hips began to sway, slowly at first in time with the music. Her steps became longer, her arms twisting through the air. Her hair fell across her shoulders lightly, covering her nearly exposed breasts.
She moved to a table and placed her foot on a chair between the legs of one of the men. She smiled and began to gyrate her hips harder, following the now rising beat.
He reached out to touch her thigh but she stepped over him and onto the table, knelling down in front of another patron and placing her hands on his shoulders.
Turning onto her back she mounted her hands on the edge of the table. In one delicate movement she rolled back, rising up into a handstand.
She spread her legs slowly to the sides and continued to curl herself downward until her feet were on either sides of her hands.
Pushing off with her legs she vaulted backwards onto the floor, ending the movement in several backwards cartwheels untill she reached a small stand in the center of thee room.
Still swaying to the music she lifted two small metal dishes suspended on chains from the stand.
The beat of the music began to increase as she twisted her torso, causing the dishes to spin around her. Without missing a beat she danced towards a candle on another stand a few feet away.
She began to twirl the chained dished vertically, passing them through the candle's flame.
Now the real show would begin...

Since she was a child Aela would wait every year for the Carnival to come to town. She loved the ballyhoo and people she saw perform. She wished with all her heart to be one of them, but sadly she was normal, if not exceptionally attractive.

She spent many days trying to think of ways to fit in with them, and many nights dreaming of a life on the road with a traveling show.

One day, while daydreaming on her walk to a nearby town, she stumbled into an old man walking the same road.
He was to her suprise covered, as far as she could see, entirely in strange markings. He held in his hand a small metal dish suspended on three long thin chains. In this dish was a low burning flame.

This man was to be the one to grant her greatest desire.
Over the next two seasons he taught her the ways of fire, and how to bend it to her will. She was a fast study and mastered the art quickly. Her final wish was granted when the old man produced several small blades and a pouch of ash from his pack.

She soon bore the marks of a 'fire tamer', proudly and without regret.

The next time the Carnival passed through town, it left with another member among it's ranks.

She is well trained in the use of the staff, crossbow, and bolas, although fire is her favorite weapon by far.

She is a talented singer, her voice sultry and soft. She plays only one instrument, the shield drum, which she is quite adept at.

She is very close to all of the troupe members, especially Arturo the Slight, which she has shown a romantic interest in.

GM notes: Aela is, for lack of a better definition, an insatiable flirt.
She laughs at just about anything she thinks might be funny and complements every person with a full purse she meets.

When she is performing, she is untouchable. She fall into a trance-like state while working, mostly to ignore the lecherous stares of the audience.

She takes a special interest in the well-being of Tulapon the 'Missing Link', him being gentle and vulnerable to the harshness of an unforgiving crowd. She defends him with a fury similar to a mother bear defending her cubs.