Emerge: The Scholar: A Fully Illustrated Character Journal
Page 8
APPEARANCE:
EYE COLOR: Blue
HEIGHT: 5’3”
HAIR COLOR: Strawberry blond, very long, thick hair
ETHNICITY/CULTURAL INFLUENCES: Caucasian American
OCCUPATIONS: Freshman at Cleveland State University
HISTORICAL BIO: Kayla doesn’t remember her birth parents or how they died. She’s always struggled with an overwhelming feeling that she doesn’t quite fit in with her adoptive family, but I think all adopted children feel that way at some point in their lives. She loves them dearly, but she’s never fully connected with them. She’s had more in common with her best friend, Vince and his family. They grew up together and she spent most of her time at his house. She always had a bit of a crush on him, but never acted on it, not wanting to sacrifice their friendship if it didn’t work out.
CURRENT BIO: After a terrible accident left her scarred for life, Kayla was ready to leave high school behind her forever and move forward to the next phase of her life. She refused to let it get her down. Watching Vince fall head over heels for the new redhead was just a bit more than she could handle. She withdrew from their friendship and sought the comfort of her long-time friend, Aidan, who also had a thing for Allie. She couldn’t really blame them, even she couldn’t help but like the new girl. Aidan seemed to understand how she felt and the two started dating through most of her senior year. It was never anything serious or exclusive. It was kind of nice to spend her last year of school with a guy she really liked, knowing there was no future for them beyond high school and it would never damage their friendship when they each moved on to the next chapter of their lives.
TOP SECRET NOTES: Kayla and Lily Carmichael have a close bond that even Allie doesn’t know about. She’s never been able to understand why she’s struggled so much assimilating into her adoptive family when kids like Allie, who was also adopted at a young age, has had no trouble. Lily has been able to help Kayla deal with some of her issues involving her past, the death of her biological parents and her adoptive family.
~ ~ ~
The Enemy:
Livia
A frustrating enigma, Livia manages to escape my prying eyes. I watch, but I rarely understand her motives or her agenda. She is recently Proven––decades later than most. She is a powerful woman, so I cannot imagine how she came to her Proving so late in life. She is the enemy––or rather the face of the enemy. She cannot be trusted simply because she is so unpredictable. But she is not the true enemy that threatens our future. She is but a pawn in a dangerous game. A game I've been playing for eight thousand years. A game I am prepared to win.
AGE: 218
BIRTHDATE: August 17, 1798
BIRTH STATUS: Unknown Origin, she was adopted as a young child.
COMPLEMENT: Unknown
CURRENT LOCATION: Atlanta Georgia––Midtown
APPEARANCE:
EYE COLOR: Silver
HEIGHT: 5'10"
HAIR COLOR: Dark brown with auburn highlights
ETHNICITY/CULTURAL INFLUENCES: Roman and Mesopotamian heritages
OCCUPATIONS: Works for the Coalition in some capacity, but seemingly of her own volition. She leads a faction of the Coalition that the Margrave probably doesn't even know about. I believe she works directly for the Marches, Marius Von Essen IV (current leader of the Margrave and a Coalition legacy), but I have no evidence of this yet.
HISTORICAL BIO: Unknown––I can't find a damn thing on her.
CURRENT BIO: Absolutely nothing is known of Livia. She has never registered with the Senate and I'm not even certain who raised her. She is a mystery, even to me. I pride myself on knowing everything important as it happens, but this woman has come onto the scene in recent years, seemingly out of the blue. I watch her daily now, and it pains me to see her betray her own kind with little feeling and zero remorse. Something deeper is at play here and I must find out what it is.
ABILITIES: Livia possesses a myriad of gifts, not all of which are known to me yet. She guards her gifts carefully against prying eyes. However, I do know she uses her controlling gifts to manipulate those around her. She has a way of binding them to an oath they cannot break.
She can also bestow the illusion of youth upon mortals. It seems to work like really good Botox without the injections or harsh chemicals. She charges a fortune for the use of her gift, but the mortals who flock to her luxurious day spa think they are getting a magic mud bath.
WEAPONS: A pair of long daggers, but she also uses magnetized weapons. She is never without a lodestone collar and her beretta 9mm, altered to work with the most innovative magnetized ammunition.
TALENTS/SKILLS: There is a heart in there somewhere. I can sense it. She is not all bad, but she has a talent for shielding whatever goodness lurks within. She guards her emotions so well, she is impossible to read.
KNOWN ALIASES: Unknown
TOP SECRET NOTES: Livia is questioning her past. I've watched her digging, looking for answers about her own origin. She has no memory of her early life. I sense her family life wasn't always ideal, and her training has been brutal. During her recent Proving, Livia was faced with the ghosts of her past. Now she is looking for answers, questioning everything she knows about herself.
~ ~ ~
The Ancients:
Navid
I do not know much about Navid. He seems to know when I am watching and gives me very little insight into who he is. I have been known to be cocky and arrogant in the nature of my abilities, but I am humble enough to admit this man has duped me. He spoon feeds me what he wants me to know and tells me what he thinks I want to hear. I have to bring my A game with this guy, and I have to interpret his every move. But I have been able to glean enough information about him to know he is an ally. When he wants to come forward, he will. But until then, I must wait patiently for events to play out.
AGE: Navid is several thousand years old, but I cannot pinpoint the date of his birth.
BIRTHDATE: Sometime prior to the Bronze Age
BIRTH STATUS: Unknown origin
COMPLEMENT: Unknown
CURRENT LOCATION: Unknown
APPEARANCE:
EYE COLOR: Jade
HEIGHT: 6’0”
HAIR COLOR: Dark reddish brown
ETHNICITY/CULTURAL INFLUENCES: Sumerian
OCCUPATIONS: History Professor at various universities. He gives a series of lectures and moves on to his next location.
HISTORICAL BIO: Very little is known of Navid’s past. I suspect he is one of the last surviving Immortals of the Indriell nation, but he has maintained such a low profile, using a variety of different identities, I haven't been able to keep up with his timeline.
CURRENT BIO: I last saw Navid in Australia in July of last year and then he briefly visited Cleveland, Ohio several months later. I haven't seen him since. I believe he has withdrawn from the modern world, much as I have, and is now living somewhere remote. He will pop up again eventually and I may learn something new about his whereabouts.
ABILITIES: Navid perplexes me. He has a gift for covering his tracks, leaving little trace of himself behind. I'm not sure if this is a gift or a learned habit. He is undetectable, meaning other Immortals cannot sense his immortality unless he wants them to. With this gift, he is camouflaged as a mortal. I have no doubt he possesses other gifts, but they are not known to me yet.
WEAPONS: Long bow and spear
TALENTS/SKILLS: Unknown
KNOWN ALIASES: Too many to name and none I can confirm
TOP SECRET NOTES: Only I suspect who he really is.
~ ~ ~
Nadira El Sadawii (Hatshepsut)
AGE: 3,518
BIRTHDATE: Sometime in 1502 BCE
BIRTH STATUS: Unknown origin, adopted by the Pharaoh Thutmose I
COMPLEMENT: Sayid El Sadawii, bonded since 1301 BCE
APPEARANCE:
EYE COLOR: Malachite Green
HEIGHT: 5’0”
HAIR COLOR: Black
&nb
sp; ETHNICITY/CULTURAL INFLUENCES: Egyptian
CURRENT LOCATION: Napa Valley, California
OCCUPATIONS: Retired from her position as Governor of the European States in the last century.
HISTORICAL BIO: Nadira was adopted as the rightful daughter of the Immortal, Thutmose I, Pharaoh of Egypt in the 18th dynasty of the Middle Kingdom. After the fall of Indriell, many Immortals made their homes in the fertile Nile valley. The earliest Pharaohs were indeed, God-like Immortals, ruling over the inferior mortal race––a direct violation of Queen Alísun's last orders. Much like Alísun, the young, forward thinking Hatshepsut felt it was no longer right to reign supreme over our mortal brethren. It was time to yield Egypt to the Egyptians. Against a number of opposing forces—including her father-in-law, Nassar, a former slave—she led the Egyptian people into a time of prosperity. Her adopted daughter, the Immortal, Neferure, was intended to become her heir, but Hatshepsut was against it. She chose a young mortal boy she adopted as her stepson and named her successor as Thutmose III. He became one of the greatest rulers of Egypt under her tutelage and reigned for fifty-four years. Hatshepsut is known as one of the most remarkable women of the ancient world and was highly effective as ruler of Egypt for over twenty years. But her long life has not been defined by those two short decades. Nadira has been influential in world politics throughout her lifetime, but never in quite such a high profile way.
CURRENT BIO: Nadira and her Complement, Sayid (once known as Senmut) live a quiet life of travel. They maintain a home in Napa Valley, California where they own a small, but successful vineyard. They travel often to see their family and friends.
ABILITIES: Has a gift for healing those who suffer from certain illnesses. She heals through herbal remedies only she understands. Her grandson, Aidan has inherited a much more powerful version of this gift. She can also improve the fertility of infertile couples through her remedies and she draws her strength from the movement of the solar system.
WEAPONS: Favors the longbow or scimitar blade.
TALENTS/SKILLS: Nadira has a talent for leadership and politics. People, mortal and Immortal alike, have always looked to her as the voice of reason and fairness.
At one time, Nadira was also a master of chariot racing but sadly, the sport has fallen out of fashion. (I was once quite adept at the sport myself––after a few lessons from my good friend, Ben.)
KNOWN ALIASES: Hatshepsut of Egypt. Plondregi Begum, mother of the Mughal Empress, Mumtaz Mahal. Today she is known as Nadira El Sadawii.
TOP SECRET NOTES: She still owns some of the most treasured artifacts of ancient Egypt. Lily Carmichael would have the time of her life excavating and cataloguing Nadira's enormous basement storage room at her home in Napa Valley.
~ ~ ~
Sayid El Sadawii (Senmut)
AGE: 3,843
BIRTHDATE: Sometime in 1827 BCE
BIRTH STATUS: Unknown Origin, was adopted by former Minoan slaves when he was an infant.
COMPLEMENT: Nadira El Sadawii, bonded since 1301 BCE
APPEARANCE:
EYE COLOR: Khol
HEIGHT: 5’6”
HAIR COLOR: Black
ETHNICITY/CULTURAL INFLUENCES: Minoan and Egyptian
CURRENT LOCATION: Napa Valley, California
OCCUPATIONS: Retired architect and retired from his position as Governor of the European States in the last century.
HISTORICAL BIO: Born as Senmut, he was adopted by a family of former Minoan slaves. Immortal, but captives of war, Senmut’s mother and father worked hard to rise above their status as servants to the noble houses of Egyptians. By the time of his birth, his family were freed from the bondage of slavery and held a low ranking position among the nobles. Senmut pursued his education and upon return to his home in Egypt, he became a scholar and scribe to the pharaoh’s family. Eventually, he taught the young Princess, Hatshepsut, but it would be many long years before either of them were ready to truly see their bond that began as a deep abiding friendship.
CURRENT BIO: Sayid and his Complement, Nadira (once known as Hatshepsut) live a quiet life of travel. They maintain a home in Napa Valley, California where they own a small, but successful vineyard. They travel often to see their family and friends.
ABILITIES: Has a gift for swaying others to his opinions and agendas over time. Using the gift costs him a great deal of strength, so he rarely uses it unless he must. His daughter, Naeemah has inherited a much more powerful version of this gift.
WEAPONS: Spear and longbow
TALENTS/SKILLS: Has a talent for music and story telling.
KNOWN ALIASES: Senmut as well as Asaf Khan, father of the Mughal Empress, Mumtaz Mahal.
TOP SECRET NOTES: Sayid and I go way back to the Expedition of Punt. He is one of very few Immortals who actually remember me. We played golf last week. He beat me. Now I owe him a round of fancy umbrella drinks next time he's in town.
~ ~ ~
Kassandre
My sweet, tenacious child. How I miss her. Her death will break her mother's heart. I remember when she was just a girl, eager for adventure. Life was simple then. Indriell was long gone and we lived in a prehistoric time. Our humble home rested in a remote corner of the Niger Basin, south of the Sahara––which was a fertile land and not a desert yet. We lived in a small community of Immortals, far removed from other mortal villages. Kassandre grew up with other young Immortals in an idyllic childhood spent swimming and fishing and training daily. She never realized others of our kind would consider her the heir to a non-existent throne. To her, Indriell was just a story we told her at bedtime. If I could choose to relive the happiest moments of my life it would be Kassandre's childhood.
AGE: 6,503
BIRTHDATE: Summer of 4,500 BCE
DIED: Summer of 2,003 CE
BIRTH STATUS: Natural born daughter of The Scholar and The Last First Princess of Indriell.
COMPLEMENT: Ashar, bonded since 475 CE
APPEARANCE:
EYE COLOR: Silver
HEIGHT: 5’4”
HAIR COLOR: Deep auburn with golden highlights
ETHNICITY/CULTURAL INFLUENCES: Indriell, Greek and Sumerian
CURRENT LOCATION: Upon her death, her ashes were scattered to the four corners of the world. She is everywhere.
OCCUPATIONS: She was a Seer and Chief Justice of the International Senate.
HISTORICAL BIO: Kassandre lived a long, full life. She was one of those people with the confidence to succeed at anything she tried. When her mother was taken captive, it changed her. She was no longer the carefree adventurous girl she was before. She withdrew into herself, grew more serious and vowed she would not rest until she saw her mother freed. My greatest sorrow is that she was unable to see her vow realized.
CURRENT BIO: Deceased. She and Ashar were murdered by the Coalition along with several other key members of the Senate.
ABILITIES: Kassandre had the gift of Clairvoyance. She was the most powerful Seer ever born, but her gift held limitations. Kassandre was never able to determine if what she saw could be altered. She always tried, but her attempts rarely worked. Until she bonded with her Complement, Ashar. Together their gifts merged into one powerful gift unlike anything the Immortal world had ever seen before. Few people knew they had this power. Kassandre dreamed of the future and Ashar saw how to change it for the better.
WEAPONS: Kassandre could fight with nearly anything, but she favored the two handed broadsword Gregg made for her long ago.
TALENTS/SKILLS: Kassandre had an affinity for poisons and potions that could affect Immortals. She was always concocting and inventing something, but she was also immune to the effects of her potions.
KNOWN ALIASES: None. She was always Kassandre or a variant of her given name.
TOP SECRET NOTES: Once she and Ashar began to see the future together, Kass grew distant and preoccupied. I knew she was seeing the darkness that lies ahead, but she refused to speak of it, even with me. She and Ashar disappeared for over a c
entury. When they resurfaced, they seemed to have aged more in that time than in all the years since their Provings. I believe they were planning and plotting all of that time. I can only hope her secrets will be revealed to me in time.
~ ~ ~
Ashar
Ashar was born the same year as Alísun. The two grew up together during the final years of The Great War. I was far away, fighting alongside the King and Queen. Alísun and Ashar were raised together in a remote corner of the kingdom, untouched by war and death. Their parents visited when they could, but they were raised by some of Eiselynn's closest friends. When the King and Queen were killed along with Ashar's whole family, Alísun and Ashar ran away from their idylic childhood home to join the war and lead their people into a new era of peace. Only fourteen years old, the two managed to succeed where others had failed, bringing a swift end to the destruction.
AGE: 7,703
BIRTHDATE: 5,700 BCE
DIED: Summer of 2,003
BIRTH STATUS: Natural Born son of Queen Eiselynn's advisor
COMPLEMENT: Kassandre, bonded since 475 CE
APPEARANCE:
EYE COLOR: Jade
HEIGHT: 6'0"
HAIR COLOR: Dark brown, threaded with silver
ETHNICITY/CULTURAL INFLUENCES: Indriell and Mesopotamian cultures
CURRENT LOCATION: His ashes were scattered with my daughter's to the four corners of the world. They are forever together, as it should be.
OCCUPATIONS: Lawyer and Chief Justice of the International Senate
HISTORICAL BIO: Ashar was always close with Alísun, and he eventually became her chief advisor. Many suspected the two were more than friends, but they always maintained the relationship of siblings––almost like twins, they were so close. I think it shocked everyone when the old Scholar and the young Queen bonded as Complements when she was just a few hundred years old. I wasn't amused when my wife's oldest friend suddenly became my son-in law.