Olivia was born on August 30th, 1837 on Ashland Plantation, the
first child of Hamilton and Elizabeth Landry. Barely a year later, Olivia was
joined by a beloved brother, Carter. These were the only healthy children born
to Elizabeth Landry. By the time Olivia was five years old her mother had
experienced several miscarriages and died giving birth to a stillborn child.
Olivia's newly widowed father was distraught with grief and threw himself into
the managing his plantation, leaving the raising of his two young children to
a collection of black servants who gave them the love and care that their
father could not.
Early on Olivia took responsibility for looking after brother and her family
home. The two were inseparable, much closer that many siblings were in that
time. They were left to their own devices until the summer that Olivia turned
sixteen. Hamilton remarried and Gisele, Olivia's new stepmother and only a
few years older than her step-daughter, was determined that there would only
be one mistress at Ashland. Her. Olivia wasn't pleased with the prospect of
being married, but she knew it was her duty to her family. So, in the spring of
1855, sixteen-year-old Olivia married Remy Ouellette, a widower fifteen
years her senior with a young son of his own. She did not love him, but his
plantation, Belle-Arrente, was adjacent to Ashland, so Olivia would not need to
leave her beloved brother behind.
Olivia's marriage was not without kindness. Remy was a good man who seemed
to understand that his wife did not love him. He didn't love her either, but
over the years a sort of affection grew between the two. Their union was
childless, but Remy did not seem to mind much as he already had a son, Lucien.
Olivia managed Remy's plantation without error and was a good mother to his
son. That was all he needed. Olivia was content with her life as mistress of
Belle-Arrente.
Then, in 1861, the coming of the Civil War destroyed whatever happiness
Olivia had satisfied herself with. The war claimed the life of her husband early
on, but it was the death of her beloved brother, Carter, that shattered
Olivia. Olivia returned to Ashland to look after her stepmother and younger
sisters as the same war that killed her brother and husband had also taken the life
of their father. The war ended in 1865, but that was not the end of troubles
for Olivia and her family. With the Union's victory came steep penalties for
the South. Without the slaves that had helped grow and harvest the sugar cane
that had been Ashland's livelihood, Olivia was left to manage on her own.
What produce she didn't need to feed her family, she tried to sell. But the
taxes on such goods were so steep that it almost wasn't worth the effort.
At the end of the war, the women at Ashland, though in deep mourning, did
the honorable thing and offered shelter and a share of their paltry food to the
soldiers that passed through on their way home. One evening, while her
stepmother and sisters were visiting neighbors, one of the soldiers that Olivia
had taken in thought to rob the women of what few jewels and treasures that
they had left. Olivia caught the man in the act, surprising him. The man shot
without thinking. After seeing what he had done, he ran without the jewels,
leaving Olivia to die. Yet, she didn't. Instead, Olivia awoke later with her
clothing soaked in blood, yet not a single mark on her body. The only witness
was Solange, the daughter of the slave that had helped raise Olivia and her
very best friend. They swore to never tell what had happened and went on with
their lives, each too terrified to share the secret.
Olivia's stepmother died the winter after the war ended, leaving her to not
only raise Remy's son, but the three little girls as well. Though it was
difficult, ten years later, she saw each of her sisters in a good marriage and
had trained Lucien to take over the plantations. Olivia knew it was time that
she left and discover what she was, for in the decade since her 'death', she
had not aged a day and every injury was quickly healed without leaving a mark.
Olivia went west to San Francisco, a young, bustling city that grew rich on
the gold mined from the hills of California. It was there, shortly after
arriving, that Olivia was discovered by another Immortal, Erik Neimann. Erik
took her in as his student and taught her that she was Immortal and could not
age, die, or be injured. Being a rather accomplished swordsman himself, he
taught Olivia everything he knew about fighting. For years, Olivia devoted
herself to learning and perfecting her sword skills and eventually could best her
teacher. Erik and Olivia were easy companions, exploring the West together.
Then another of Erik's students decided to visit his old teacher.
Jonathan Harrison lived life to the fullest. He had little care for his own
safety or for other people's morals and concerns. His main pursuit in life
was pleasure. Olivia saw in the Jonathan the same reckless and charming traits
that her dead brother had possessed. They struck up a near instant friendship
that deepened over time to a sibling relationship. After a few years
together, Erik decided to travel north into the Canadian wilderness and
Jonathan had convinced Olivia to allow him to show her Europe. The three parted ways
amicably.
Together, Olivia and Jonathan explored Europe. When they grew tired of that
place, they went East into China and India. Jonathan didn't like to stay in
any one place too long and Olivia was an eager travel companion, anxious to
see the world that she never knew existed beyond her family plantation. For
thirty years, they explored the world and Olivia was content again. But there
was disaster looming on the horizon.
Their travels took them into the Middle East. In Cairo, Jonathan struck up a
fast friendship with a young sheik and got them invited into his lands to
the west of Egypt. Olivia and Jonathan, posing as brother and sister, were
accepted into the sheik's lavish world as honored guests. The sheik strove to
learn about western culture from his guests and showered them with every
luxury. They remained there for many years. Olivia even found herself in love with one of the sheik's most trusted body guards, a quiet, serious man named
Ghalib. Jonathan was the sheikh's best friend, for both shared a love of sport,
horses, and beautiful women.
It was a beautiful woman that would shatter Olivia's happiness yet again.
The sheikh's newest wife was a lovely girl and Jonathan was instantly smitten
with her. Olivia tried to warn him, but headstrong Jonathan wouldn't listen.
He conducted what he thought was a discreet affair with the sheikh's wife, but
there were spies everywhere and he was soon found out. The sheikh did not
share well. In the end, Jonathan was to be executed by beheading. Olivia tried
to convince the sheikh to conduct a more lenient punishment, but he would not
hear her argument. Before her eyes, Olivia watched helplessly as the Sheikh
had Jonathan's head cut off.
Jonathan's quickening slammed into her and knocked her out. When she awoke,
she was the sheikh's prisoner, arrested for being a witch. Before she could
be executed as well, Ghalib helped Olivia escape the sheikh. After thirty-five
years abroad, Olivia finally returned to America. She went back to Louisiana
to find a very different world. Her stepson had sold the plantation years
before and her sisters were nowhere to be found. Olivia didn't stay for long.
Instead, she moved to Chicago. There she became a recluse for the next the
twenty years, mired in a deep depression.
Then, in 1958, an eight-year-old boy named Harry knocked on her door. Olivia
was at first annoyed with the child, the son of a widow whose husband had
been killed in a car accident. But, despite her efforts to scare him away,
Harry kept returning. Eventually, he broke through the defenses Olivia had
built up and she became actively involved in the neglected little boy's life. When
he graduated high school, Olivia paid for his college education and decided
to go back to school herself.
She got a degree is business and returned to San Francisco to open a shop
that displayed and sold many of the items she had collected throughout her
travels. Though slow to take off, the shop soon became a hit with the local
hippies and Olivia made a great deal of money selling incense and candles to
those who thought that such material things could bring them spiritual
enlightenment. Olivia invested her money into real estate and the stock market
and by the late 1970's was a very wealthy woman.
She used her new money to help set Harry up with a vineyard in Napa Valley
and completed several projects of her own. But, by the early 90's, Olivia was
bored with making money. Harry, who had learned as a child of his friend's
Immortality, invited Olivia to come to his vineyard and learn how to make wine.
After much convincing, she accepted and threw herself into learning about
wine-making with single-minded determination. Life at the vineyard reminded
Olivia of her long ago life on her family's plantation. In a few years, Olivia
was an active partner in the business and had found a measure of peace and
happiness living with Harry.
But, yet again, happiness was not to last. The Super Flu came and destroyed
everything. Olivia nursed Harry to his death, which only came after she
promised to look for his children and make sure they were okay. Never able to
break a promise, Olivia ignored the dreams that called her to Boulder and Las
Vegas and searched for Harry's three children, only to find each of them and
their families dead. She buried each of their bodies and now has turned her
attention towards the east and the dreams that lure her there.
