Aethermancer Calliope
Not much is known of Cali’s life before the Brotherhood. She doesn’t speak of it beyond to say that in the Sanctuary she was reborn. She currently holds the title of Aethermancer.
Early Life
Callista grew up in Moscow, being a baby when her parents first relocated to the city. She has fond early memories of an aunt with a lilting, musical voice, who used to talk to her about the strangest of fancies as though they were real, and who lit in Cali a great wonderment for the realm of mystery. Unbeknownst to her father, Aunt Oleander left Cali a secret trove of books when she fled, which she treasured above all else in the years before she joined the Brotherhood. Cali has never understood the reasons for her aunt’s departure, or why her father refuses to even acknowledge her name. But the fascination always stuck. She has always felt a deep connection to spirituality.
The Haarts lived a life of privilege. As a very small girl, Cali’s cherubic face was splashed across fashion magazines and ad campaigns modelling her mother’s infant clothing line, and she was often cooed over as a beautiful child for her fair colouring and her father’s curls. But by the time younger brother Liam was born and her father’s company was becoming a success, the family became more private about their affairs, and both children were sheltered from the world around them.
Where Liam was a little bit of well-meaning chaos, Cali was always an easy child and later an easy student, floating through life without much disturbing anything around her, for she was nearly always looking inward and contemplating the longing sense inside her. She sang in the school choir, and took dance lessons, finding some comfort in physical expression. Even from a young age she explored the notion of religion, drawn to the idea of ritual. Her father came from Irish Catholic roots, but had never practised. Neither did he ever indulge her curiosity, having little time for either of his children. They have never been close.
Enlightenment
Cali wasn’t introverted, but she certainly lived in her own little world. She had no interest in either of her parents’ vocations, and instead attended Moscow University to study theology. It was while on campus that another student gave her a copy of the Celestial Codex. She devoured it hungrily, and found herself ignited by an essence of that same feeling she had first felt tucked at her aunt’s side – as though there was a real truth to be found here. Afterwards she discovered Quillon was not a student at all, but a member of the Brotherhood. Between lectures Cali began to attend the sermons, and was soon enthralled by the world she discovered. It called to her like nothing she had before encountered.
When she later shared her intention to drop out of university, her father was furious and forbade it, much to Cali’s surprise at the time. He had never shown interest, or indeed any real reaction to much of anything she had done in the past. When Cali decided to go anyway, she was disowned, and arrived at the Sanctuary with nothing but the clothes on her back, and the box with her aunt’s things under her arm. It was for this reason she took on a new name as a Novam: Calliope.
The Brotherhood of the Ascendancy
Cali took to the life with fervour and devotion. Though Quillon won the prestige for bringing her in, it was soon towards the only female Veilwarden that Cali gravitated, a woman called Seraphis Arden, whom Cali continues to quietly admire. Upon her induction, she spent many months in study, meditation, and ritual purification, learning the Codex until she could recite it from memory. There are marked similarities between the texts her aunt left, and the prophetic figure of The Conduit the book speaks of. The ideas of sacrifice and protection call to Cali, and she truly believes the Ascendancy is the embodiment of their saviour. Who can deny the miracle of healing? Her heart tells her she is in the right place.
No one she discretely approached within the Sanctuary recognised the name Oleander, so while she was initially hopeful, she soon realised her aunt was not a member of the Brotherhood. But upon recognising that the legacy left in her care might be of value, Cali took her aunt’s texts to Quillon so that they might be presented to the Luminar. She knows all the words by memory already, and while it was still difficult to give that part of her up, she did it selflessly.
Cali can often be found in the Celestial Gardens, drawn most by ceremonies performed in natural settings. She has always felt a connection to earthly things, a link she cannot quite put into words, but only deepens her belief in the Ascendancy’s protection, especially after he averted nuclear disaster. Her blessings almost always involve natural things. She believes that through her devotion, the earth will flourish in its bounty. Recently, she has attained the title of Aethermancer. Privately she prays that she might be granted Ascendant gifts, so that she may serve the Brotherhood fully.
About
She has her father’s angelic looks, with big eyes, blonde hair, and a button nose, but where his charisma is a clever and convincing artifice, hers is full of warmth and naive enthusiasm. Cali is ardently devotional and as obsessive as all the members of her family tend to be. She is keenly spiritual, finds it easy to bestow trust, and is always curious to learn or try new things on her journey. She has a pleasant singing voice and is often involved in chant ceremonies. When she speaks it is the voracity of her belief that makes others listen, and rituals are always completed with such fervour and sanctity it is difficult to look away from. She holds the Brotherhood’s tenets dear; the perfect poster child.
Cali is twenty-years old and has the capacity to channel, but not the natural spark. Her Singer ability is minor, and something she has only become more aware of since devoting herself to the Brotherhood. She believes it is a divine gift, and that it signifies the world will flourish and return to its wilder roots; a utopia ushered in by the Ascendancy.
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