Persephone Blume
Persephone began her life in Germany as a gardener by the name of Helga Blume. Blessed with an indomitable amount of good cheer regardless of circumstance, she turned even the lowliest chores in the herbiary into a pleasure. It became quite clear at an early age that she had both a green thumb & a remarkable curiosity about life—so much so that her forays into the wild to gather plants for her garden grew in frequency and length, until one day she simply wandered off, enchanted by the wonders of the Black Forest. There she came across a traveling metalworker and her two children who took her on as an apprentice in the art of hammering, gilding, and carving wooden toys, marking the beginning of her fascination with cutlery. Helga grew very attached to the metalworker's two young children, Natalie & Lexy, and felt a new responsibility to them as an adopted “older sister.” Together they learned the art of making cryspes, strudel, and one of her favorites, doughnuts, to sell during their travels! After traveling for years across Germany, the metalworker’s family decided to settle in the Bavarian Alps, but Helga felt her time to explore the world was not over! She bid her traveling family adieu and headed west towards Belgium to collect the red poppy (known for its herbal medicinal abilities), and, of course, the Belgian waffles!
Helga’s love of sweets and pastries continued to grow, and she came across monks at the Orval Abbey in Belgium, who made “liquid bread” to sustain them during their fasting periods. Helga offered her expertise to tend to the monastery’s gardens in exchange for their insight into making this delicious Trappist beer! During her time at the Abbey, Helga observed a wonderful new language that the monks used during their vows of silence: specific hand signs that allowed them to communicate! Helga became fascinated with sign language and dedicated hours to learning as much as she could.
After her time at the Orval Abbey, Helga wished to travel and explore other abbeys to continue educating herself on sign language and beer, which led her to the Bath Abbey in Bath, England. This quickly became her new favorite place, as Sally Lunn's buns were quite irresistible, and who can say no to clotted cream (IYKWIM)! There her path crossed with Calypso Bordeaux, the fearless leader of the Vixens En Garde, who was fascinated by Helga’s excitement for sweets (and pointy things!). Calypso introduced her to the Vixens, who took an immediate liking to her playful nature, her optimistic outlook, and her deadly accuracy with knives. Choosing to rename herself Persephone in honor of her favorite season, Spring, she loves flowers, sweets, & kicking your (bleep)!
