Dinah Evershore

Dinah Evershore is a passenger of The Midnight Valiant. She ran away from home to find her missing sister.

Bio
Dinah is the second daughter of a wealthy merchant couple (her mother earned the riches, then married Dinah's father and brought him into the business). All her life she's been sheltered, kept inside her family's estate with only books to connect her to the outside world. Her sister, Anya was being groomed to be the heir of her father's riches, while Dinah was kept as the spare.

A year prior to the Midnight Valiant storyline, her mother, investigating reports of pirates preying on her goods, went missing in an airship crash. Not long after, Anya had a falling out with her father and ran away, leaving Dinah to deal with business, and the claims that the missing goods wasn't pirates at all (rumour has it Dinah's father was trying to muscle her mother out of her own business; when his threats didn't work he decided to kill her.

For awhile, Anya sent letters every week; now, Dinah hasn't heard from her in months. When her father sent men to go find her, all that was left was Anya's pocket watch, an heirloom passed down from her mothers side. That was the last straw for Dinah; she gathered what she could, and, for the very first time, snuck out into the real world. Now on the run and on the hunt with absolutely no idea what she's doing, Dinah is going to need some experienced adventurers to help her bring her sister home safe.

Early Life and Family
Dinah was born and raised in the floating city of New Avaddon, a wealthy community with a small port, known for its rare and luxury goods trade. Her mother, Henrietta Evershore was a business mogul, the daughter of the famous (and rather eccentric) inventor Delilah Evershore, who was instrumental in the creation of the modern-day airship. Her vital contribution to the insulation system allowed the heavy ships to remain both habitable (warm!) and buoyant in the cold post-flood air. Henrietta turned her mother’s invention into a massive business, bringing fame and fortune to the Evershore name. When Henrietta was in her early twenties, a handsome stranger swept her off her feet at a charity gala. After a fairytale romance, she married Augustus Winthrop (now Evershore-Winthrop) and they took joint control of the family business and had two beautiful daughters; Anya, the heir, groomed to take over the business and make it bigger and better than ever before, and Dinah, the spare, destined to live a sheltered, proper life fitting of one of her status.

Though three years apart, the sisters grew up thick as thieves. They were being set up for very different paths; Anya’s life focused on math, economics, and business strategy, whereas Dinah could study whatever she chose (as long as she stayed quiet and out of the way, no one much cared what she did). As such, Dinah immersed herself in the arts. Theatre, literature, music, dance, she absorbed all of it like a sponge. When things got to be too much in the household, she would go hide in the library, pick out a stack of books and just read until everything got quiet again. Over her 25 years in the house, she read the entire library 12 times. If even the library wasn’t a safe space, she would find a courtyard or abandoned room, shove the furniture to walls and practice her ballroom forms for hours, starting with the choreography, and then just making it up as she went...

Teenhood and Tragedy
For her early teen years, she spent more time in the library than any other room in the house. The thick bookshelves at least drowned out the constant fighting of her parents. Her mother was an incredible businesswoman and had built an incredible company; however, shipments were going missing, funds turning up missing from certain accounts. Rumor has it pirates were attacking their ships, but that didn’t explain how private accounts were being tampered with. Her father tried to assuage her mother, but it always turned into him criticizing her decisions, which never ended well. Her mother rarely put a foot wrong, yet Augustus was always trying to poke holes in her reasoning, claiming that he knew better, that he should have more of a say in the matter. Dinah used the library as a quiet place, or she’d go to Anya’s room and they would make up little songs and dances together. More often than not, Dinah would turn up at Anya’s door late at night, when the sounds of fighting crept through the wall, hoping her sister’s kindness would give her some protection from the dischord. Anya, of course, was happy to oblige, and Dinah felt safer than she ever had (or has, really) underneath her sister’s fuzzy blankets.

But all that changed one fateful day when she was 15. Her mothers, finally done with whatever rumors her father was trying to tell her about pirate attacks, decided to follow a shipment herself and finally get to the bottom of all of this. She was only supposed to be gone a month, but on her final flight home, the ship went down under mysterious circumstances. It was rumored to be at the hands of pirates, but nothing was ever proven, or explained. All they were able to pull out of the wreck was a pocket watch, an heirloom passed down through the evermore family for generations. The watch was given to Anya, as the next Evershore, and she began to take charge of the family business at just 18, much to the chagrin of her father.

Personal Life/Relationships
Dinah herself was never too keen on commitment. She never has many long-lasting friendships. Outside of school, she was expected to be on the grounds at all times, and the company was rarely invited. The local school was set aside for those of the wealthier class; as such, most of the students traveled constantly, accompanying their family on business trips, moving properties for the seasons, or simply exploring the civilized world. With the faces constantly changing, Dinah never had anyone she could really get to know, to trust, other than Anya of course. Though she had a number of suitors throughout all of her school-age years, swooning at her left and right, none of her flings ever got very far. Some hand-holding, an exchange of pet names, then they were off again on some important family trip. Though she becomes rather adept at maintaining a few sweethearts at once, no one ever truly got to know her heart.


 * Anton: But that all changed the day she met Anton Gadea (he/they). They were the tall, dark, and handsome son of her father’s favorite repairman and would often be at the house to help their father with his job. After a few brief introductions and far too many wandering eyes and pining glances, Anton stumbled upon Dinah dancing in a courtyard while trying to find another part of the house. She was embarrassed; she rarely shared her dancing with anyone, it was her own piece of her life that brought her joy. But Anton was a dancer himself, albeit nightclub styles, not traditional ballroom like Dinah knew. Nevertheless, each caught on quickly to the other’s style. Dinah was fascinated by the improvisation, the carefree energy, and the wordless connection that went into social dancing. She begged Anton to teach her more, the next time they were at the house, in secret of course (her father would never approve). This went on for a few weeks. Dinah was improving tremendously, and enjoying every second of it; still, it was time for the final test: a real nightclub. For the first time in her life (all 16 years of it) Dinah snuck out of the house, wearing simple clothes, met Anton outside the gate, and they took her into town.They danced until the wee hours of the morning. After a long night of swing, and Dinah’s first glass of whiskey, they shared a tender kiss on the dance floor (Dinah’s first, despite her many sweethearts). However, then she didn’t see them for weeks. No letters, not a word. Nothing. Dinah was distraught... but then after a month, he was back. Only a vague excuse of ‘oh my father got very busy so I had to travel a lot,’ but their attention seemed to be back on Dinah, and that was just how she liked it. A few more weeks and they danced in secret every chance they got; in courtyards, storage rooms, even on the roof! A few more times, Anton took her out dancing. But then, once again, Anton disappeared. For two months this time, not a word from him or his father on where he was or what he was doing. (tw: gaslighting) She agonized for months over what she had done wrong ( a bunch of little comments like ‘oh you do this step funny’ or ‘you’re pretty enough’ or ‘Don’t be so paranoid!’ were all starting to add up), since clearly, it was her fault he’d left her. Then, once again, he was back, like nothing had ever happened. Dinah was starting to get attached, to live for the moments they had together, the world that he had opened to her. She was sure that this is what love felt like, and she told them so. Things started to move a bit more quickly after that. A few weeks later, after Dinah had a bit more to drink than she usually did on a night out, Anton mentioned they might be leaving again, but a certain dancer might convince him to stay if... Long story short, they spent the night together (Dinah’s first time, though she didn’t tell Anton that). Things continued in that way for a while; he’d mention leaving, she’d ‘convince’ him to stay. Sometimes it felt like a fairytale romance, the thrill of seduction ongoing, keeping a spark alive. Other times it felt like she had no choice but to give them what they wanted, however, she felt about it. And still, every so often they’d disappear into the wind for weeks at a time, leaving Dinah only with whispers of how she wasn’t good enough, how she couldn’t expect anyone else to love her if even Anton couldn’t love her enough to stay. This went on for two years until Anton vanished for good. It’s been seven years, and she hasn’t seen or heard from them since.
 * Piper: A year after Anton left, Dinah began to fall for someone new; Piper Smith (she/her), the seamstress who made and altered all of Dinah and Anya’s clothing. Dinah herself had always found women attractive, but hadn’t realized that she could actually pursue a relationship with one. She’d never seen anyone do it, and before she’d been with Anton, she hadn’t really planned on pursuing relationships with anyone (she hadn’t realized what romantic love and attraction actually felt like), then while she’d been with Anton, she hadn’t had the chance. But Piper snuck into her heart; a few glances here and there, a soft comment there. She was a lovely, sweet, soft-spoken girl; careful and delicate to Dinah’s often headstrong fire. Dinah fell for her slowly; it was only once she admitted her feelings that she found Piper had felt the same since she’d first laid eyes on Dinah. Their relationship was a summer full of teenage shenanigans and mischief; they’d sneak around the mansion, finding quiet places to enjoy each other's company, sneaking into broom closets to steal kisses and whisper sweet nothings in her ear. It was sweet, innocent, everything Dinah thought love could be. And so, a month or so in, she let it slip that maybe, she might love Piper. She never got to hear it back. They continued after that, for a bit, but Piper scared herself. She left Dinah with a hurried goodbye, an ‘I can’t do this’ and a slammed door in her face.
 * Daniella: Rumors travelled fast in New Avaddon. Even as hard as Dinah and Piper to keep their relationship secret, word got out that Dinah was willing to romance more than just men. This caught the attention of certain wealthy neighbors of Dinah’s by the name of Daniella Amydana (she/her). She came from old money, and had to live with all of the tradition and scrutiny that came with it. But she was having thoughts, urges that were... unnatural for a lady of her stature. When a still heartbroken Dinah was confronted by a gorgeous woman offering what seemed like the perfect distraction, she couldn’t see a reason to say no. So their fling began, all hushed tones, a false friendship, secret codes to indicate when and where to meet. Neither of them expected to fall, certainly not to fall hard for the other. And yet, a year later, Dinah was making plans to run away from home, to start a new life on the ground where the two of them could be together, no judgement or expectations. She would have gone through with it too, had Daniella, the next day, not broken it off with a wave of her newly diamond-ring adorned hand. She was slated to marry some nobleman’s son, to bring connections, riches, and honor to family. She had to maintain her family's status, and really, they’d both known this was how it was going to end... right? All Dinah could do was nod, hold back tears, and watch her board a festive airship, white gown trailing on the gangplank behind her.
 * Lex and Damon: After a few months of sleeping around and flirting with anything that moved, Dinah caught the attention of some local merchants, Lex (he/they) and Damon (he/him). Damon was a bit uptight, a businessman, but truly soft at his core. And Lex, a bookseller, full of light and mischief, always trying to make everyone laugh. They were the ones that showed her it was okay to love more than one person, to love fully, completely with your whole heart. Dinah had always thought about it, never really understanding why everyone she knew confined themselves to a single partner all the time, why anyone would want to, but until now she’d never known she was allowed to try something else. Still, this relationship wasn’t without its tensions. Damon and Dinah’s father didn't get along, due to competing business and an ongoing investigation by the chamber of commerce into her Father's business practices. Dinah never paid much attention, content with love that Damon and Lex gave her. But it all came crashing down after a month, on Heartsfire day. She and Lex had planned a surprise. They snuck around the back of my estate to this lovely private outcropping. There were flowers, and sweets, a beautiful view, and just the three of them. I’m sure anyone can guess what went on. But Dinah woke up before either of them, and decided to explore a bit, along the edge. It would have been fine. But then she heard a shout; the guards, looking for her. She got distracted, and slipped. Lex heard her scream, but so did the guards. Lex manages to catch her as the guards tore into the clearing. They clearly misinterpreted the situation. A bungled rescue attempt left Dinah covered in rope burns, Damon in handcuffs, and Lex sliding over the edge, just out of Dinah’s reach.  A distraught Dinah was dragged home, an almost deranged Damon to jail for two weeks. A few days after he was released, he broke into her room, knife in hand. He threatened to kill her. Dinah didn't try to stop him. Instead he only slit her throat barely deep enough for her to bleed. He left her with a kiss, and a promise: that letting her go was a worse punishment than anything he could do. To this day, she thinks he’s right.

Leaving the Nest
Everything was fine, for the most part. But then Anya decided that she had to leave. The problems with the company were getting worse; her father was trying to shut her out of it entirely, and some sketchy deals were happening in the background. Dinah tried to stay strong as she was once again left alone, holding onto the fact that she could still write her letters at least. But then the letters stopped coming. Then her father’s men brought back Anya’s watch, her most prized possession. That was the last straw. She needed answers; she was sick of everyone leaving her behind. Maybe she deserved the others, but Anya? There had to be something more going on. So she stole her mother’s old travelling jacket hidden in the back of her father’s closet, along with a significant purse,  dusted off her favorite gloves and snuck out of the house one final time. Or she tried to sneak out; her father, awake for a late night meeting, caught her on the way out the door. After a brief confrontation (and a verbal low blow) Dinah made it out the door and stole away into the night. She talked her way onto a small vessel leaving for Alaska port, then set off into the great unknown to find someone just crazy enough that they’d be willing to help her.

She stumbled upon Erikk after a long day searching in the Alaska port. He was her last hope, the only person who still had a spark in his eye, but had nothing left to lose on her crazy quest. Then she met the crew, the other passengers, all looking for something, just like she was. She’d found a family, even if she didn’t know it yet, and their adventure was just getting started.

Dark AU
But what if things had gone... differently? What if Anton hadn’t stayed away? Instead of staying missing, Anton comes back and (work in progress).