Physical Statistics
Hair: Black; it reaches only slightly past his hairline and is usually put in a severe left-hand part and slicked back
Eyes: Dark brown
Complexion: Fair; his skin is pale but not pinkish
Height: 6’ 0” (182 cm)
Build: Slim; he’s on the lanky side, though he does have some muscle tone to him

Mental Statistics
Strengths: Patient; firm; decisive; loyal; intelligent; takes initiative; empathetic
Weaknesses: Sarcastic; guarded; worries often; gets angry or feels guilty often; has difficulties speaking his mind; distances himself from others; can be seen as a snob
Favourites:  Food: Lasagna
    Colour: Red
    General: Playing the piano, his kitten, his father, teaching, opera (both watching and performing), theatre, intelligent women, music, mythology, 1930/40s ‘look’ and clothing
Least Favourites:   Food: Most kinds of fast food
    Colour: Purple
    General: His mother, a few select coworkers, most pop music, ditzy women, reality television, being in large crowds

Personality: Antonio is very good with teenagers, having worked with them for many years, and this has caused him to be quite patient. He is also very sarcastic, though he usually uses it to joke around, and to a lesser extent, to express his frustrations. However he is very guarded, reluctant to let anyone know too much about him. He is hesitant to let people get close to him, but the people who are close to him are deeply valued.

Family Statistics
Mother: Francesca Giovanna Rossini: Born February 11, 1935 in Verona, Italy. Francesca is an extremely strict mother who dominates the household. Now that her children have left home and she has several grandchildren, she has softened up considerably, but she still tries to exert some influence on her grown children. She didn’t like it when Antonio left for Canada as that meant he was farther away and therefore much harder to influence. She still calls him occasionally, asking whether or not he’s given her grandchildren yet.
Father: Giuseppe Michele Salucci [deceased]: Born March 3, 1929 in Venice, Italy; died December 3, 2004 in Venice, Italy. Giuseppe left the domestic matters to his wife, but he was the one who controlled everything else. That is not to say he didn’t care for his children – he did, but he was firm with them as he simply had their best interests at heart. Unlike his wife, he didn’t pressure his children to give him grandchildren. He also supported Antonio when he left Italy to live in Canada. He died of a heart attack in late 2004.
Sibling(s): Paolo Giuseppe Salucci: Born July 22, 1958 in Venice, Italy. Paolo was always very distant with Antonio, being nine years his senior, and even now he doesn’t talk with Antonio much. Despite the fact that he is married and lives on his own, he is still highly influenced by his mother’s views. He doesn’t have much of a backbone; he does what either his mother or his wife wishes. He still lives in Venice and works as an accountant.

Concetta Francesca Benedetti: Born April 17, 1961 in Venice, Italy. Concetta was both pretty and popular in school, leading her to not be in the house often. This led to much friction between her mother and her, however all that changed when she finally married and had a baby not long after. Concetta didn’t like the fact that Antonio went to Canada; she saw it as abandoning the family. She calls occasionally, usually when she feels the family can afford an overseas call on the phone bill. She currently lives in Rome with her husband.

Teresa Maria Maestri: Born January 5, 1965. Being closest in age to Antonio, they got along rather well growing up. Although they grew a little distant as they grew older, the two of them were still closer than any of their other siblings. Although she is married, she has no children, preferring to further her career instead. (Naturally her mother is continually asking her if she will ever give her any grandchildren). She is the only one of her siblings who went to see Antonio rather than waiting for Antonio to come to her like the rest of her family. She lives in Milan.

Francesco Giorgio Salucci: Born October 18, 1970. Francesco is a rather plump man, much like his mother. He is a teacher as well, and sometimes talks with Antonio about how bad their respective students can be. He gets along with Antonio, even though they don’t see eye-to-eye on certain things. He takes offence when Antonio doesn’t want to se his children when he visits his family. (Antonio thinks them all brats).

Elena Rachele Mantovani: Born September 20, 1973. Elena currently acts as a trophy wife to a considerably older, wealthy businessman, Giovanni Mantovani. She has two children with him, and both are quiet and ridiculously polite. She generally doesn’t talk with Antonio at all any more, being too preoccupied with her rich lifestyle to call him. She lives in Genoa.

Background
Antonio was the fourth child in his family, and by that point his mother wasn’t exactly lavishing attention on him. Still, he had a happy childhood; he played with his brothers and friends. When he turned seven, he asked if he could take piano lessons. Although his older sister had taken them at one point, she had dropped them and his mother, assuming he would do the same, refused. But he asked his father, who was an amateur musician himself, and he agreed.

It was when he was fourteen he began having strange, frustratingly incomplete dreams about an empire. They occurred frequently and Antonio wasn’t able to figure out why he was having them. Although they never actually prevented him from sleeping, he was always rather confused and frustrated when he awoke. He began recording them in a journal, and continued to do so over the next few years, occasionally rereading them to see what he could piece together. It was also in that year that he started private singing lessons.

Upon leaving high school, he was forced to spend a year within the military, which he did without question. He rather enjoyed his time there, to his own parents’ surprise, but decided not to pursue that particular line of work, choosing to study abroad, focusing on music. (His mother, who had thought he was going to be a doctor, was not happy). He was accepted to the University of Toronto, and found he quite liked it in Canada, deciding to stay. (In the back of his mind, he knew that this decision had something to do with his dreams).

After graduating, he shifted between things, including various language lessons (he studied French and English primarily), performing (mostly) small roles in opera, and working – lots of working to cover the lots of expenses he had. He enjoyed performing, but knew that he had to have a backup. Applying for permanent residency, he won a scholarship and underwent five more years of study. Not long after graduating, he was able to obtain citizenship at the age of 25, and from there went around trying to teach. His first job was at a private music school, where he taught until he was 28.

He left that job to teach at a high school further south, finding that housing was much cheaper there. It was during his time there that he met Serena Reine, a moderately talented girl. She was in his classes every year, despite the fact that she didn’t seem to really want to do music; it was around this time that the dreams returned in full force with more clarity than before. Antonio left that job when he was 33 to apply at another private music school; the dreams subsided. It was during that time that he decided to start giving private lessons on the side as an extra source of income. It was during this particular job that he met Christine Schumacher.

The girl seemed to genuinely enjoy singing, and despite seeming quiet at first, he found he got along well with her. Her family was also very involved and supportive, and he got to know them rather well, which was why he was just at upset when the father died; not only that, but it brought about a distinct change in Christine. He was more than uncomfortable with the fact that she now had some kind of schoolgirl crush on him, and he tried repeatedly to talk her out of it, with no success. Any other man might have simply referred her to another teacher in the area, but Antonio continued to teach her; the dreams returned a third time. He continued to write them down, trying to create a rough sequence of events to go by.

Perhaps it was the influence of the dreams, for they were becoming more and more vivid now and would cause him to lose sleep, but he gradually grew to like Christine. He had reminded himself that he would never get involved with her…but he still held fondness for her all the same.

Other:

• Has a seven month old, ginger-coloured kitten named Bella

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