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Name: Zo Lee Fan
Age:
Gender: Species: Human witch
Race: Chinese
Place of Origin: Born in Hong Kong--relocated to Jupiter, Florida
Occupation: Former witch; current escaped exotic pet
Talent(s): Divination and Potions; extensive magical and historical knowledge
Backstory: Fan Li (as she was once known) lived on a rock on the sea with her once-lover Chun Zhang. The two had given up all their former possessions to run away together and become wizened folk, but their time together only served to drive a wedge between them. Their studies made them anxious and unhappy. Fan grew too dependent upon Chun, and became paranoid--she feared Chun would leave her and that she would be left with nothing. The more Fan tried to hold Chun close, the further Chun wanted to be from Fan.
Chun, herself, was unhappy and felt trapped by her obligations to Fan. She had no one to return to, and Fan was not mindful of her needs. Fan was self centered--which Chun initially thought would pass--and she was needy--this only got worse and worse as time went on. Chun felt she was being taken advantage of, and decided their relationship was unhealthy. The two fought and fought, but always Chun would come back to Fan the second her lover apologized (however insincere it seemed). Fan always had a way of luring her back in and tightening her grip on her lover.
This changed when, many years later, a passing ship spotted Chun washing her hair while Fan slept. The Captain of the ship--a rich and handsome merchant--believed Chun to be a mermaid and was dazzled by her beauty. He took a dingy and made his way towards Chun's rock, then called out to her softly so as not to scare her. Chun, so unhappy with her unstable and unhealthy relationship, sprinkled a sleeping drought on Fan's pillow and swamp out to meet the Captain. They met whenever the moon rose full, and by their fifth meeting Chun was convinced there was more to her life than the life of isolation and guilt she had been living. She bid the Captain return to her the very next night, and she prepared what little she had so she could leave with him.
When Fan awoke that morning, Chun tried to reason with her, but Fan was so unstable at this point that it turned into another of their violent fights. They had never before laid a hand on each other, but when Chun revealed that she had been sneaking away to meet the Captain, Fan was devastated. All her paranoid delusions had come true--and without thinking, Fan struck the one she loved most.
The two were silent for a moment, then Chun... snapped. She touched her fingers to her now-bleeding nose and examined the sticky substance. She then reached into her robes and pulled forth a bottle of golden powdered scales. All this time, Fan was too shocked to move, speak, or even think. Chun, in her shock, acted all too quickly. She mixed the blood--her sacrifice--and the scales and she curse Fan. Fan was cursed, and her form changed into a shape that reflected her suffocating tendencies--a python. Chun declared that Fan would neither age nor die so long as she was in this form, but she would always retain the 'shred' of humanity she had as a human. She would be painfully aware of every living creature she had to strangle just to stay alive, and it would haunt her for the rest of her days. Fan would remain in this form until she finally learned what it was to be suffocated, held against her will, and made to feel guilty for wanting a better life.
When the deed was done, Chun did not let herself think too long on what she'd done. In her mind, it was justified. Their happiness before running away meant nothing to her now--she deserved better for herself, and dwelling on the good times would not make the bad times any less horrible. Fan had changed, and was no longer a 'good person'. Chun packed her things, and started to swim towards the mainland. Fan never saw her again.
Fan laid there on that rock, starving herself and praying for death. The sun boiled her blood and her belly ached, but her body never deteriorated. Sea creatures and merfolk would often bother her, but she responded to none of them no matter how kind or how cruel they were.
Even Fan was not sure how long she stayed on that rock, but at a point she could no longer bother to move her body. Even breathing or flicking her tongue across her nostrils was too much effort for a body (even a magically 'enhanced' one) that had not been nourished for so long. She had to wait until someone or something else pushed her into the sea, and hope the tide carried her somewhere. She slept for a great many years and dreamed always of begging forgiveness, drowning to assuage her guilt, and most of all Chun.
When she woke, it was to the sound of strange voices speaking with a lazy drawl. When she learned their native tongue, she would come to realize the men that found her were talking about how rare it was to see a Python in their part of China. They were deciding the best way to sneak her back to America, and how much they ought to charge for this 'incredibly exotic' pet. Too exhausted to remain conscious for the trip, Fan never did get to hear what price she went for. She only knew that when she did wake up, an unfamiliar hand was shoving a struggling mouse into her mouth. That hand belonged to Zooeah (pronounced 'Zoey')--an ignorant and negligent owner to many exotic pets, and native of Juniper, Florida. The first action Fan ever made as a snake was biting down on the woman's hand. Hard. The second was taking the woman's name for her own, though this was nothing more than a thought.
Extra Information: 
Fan was with her owner for many years, and learned much about the world from conversing with Zooeah's other pets and observing Zooeah herself. Having been born during a time of great technological advances in China, she was eager to learn about the progress that had been made during her 'blue summer'.
Fan, even when she learns the proper term for it, refers to her episodes of depression as blue dreams, and the hundreds (possibly thousands) of years after Chun left are her 'blue summer' since she always felt feverish.
Fan is a natural learner, and is incredibly frustrated that she cannot use most of the current technology due to a lack of hands. That doesn't stop her from learning all she can, however--starting with how to unlatch her cage door, roam around, and return without Zooeah ever even noticing.
Fan adopted an English name when she realized she was in an English country, and as she picked up the language a bit she realized just how much she hated the name. Still, as an act of defiance (or maybe a symbol of overcoming her depression) she will introduce herself as Zo Lee Fan, then insist on being called by her Chinese given name rather than her English name.
It is unknown how long Fan lived with her owner, nor how she escaped from her owner. She refuses to tell the tale--most likely she was in a state of panic the entire time and refuses to admit it. When the others meet her, Fan is a certified techie, and has likely been hiding out with a Technomancer.
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