Name: Callum Lestrae
Gender: Male
Age: 15
Appearance:
Given the poor conditions of the facility in which they are kept, it's not a surprise that most of the inmates are rather scrawny, given the likeliness of malnutrition. Callum is no exception in this regard, though the physical strain of his testing has given him some small amount of physical definition beyond what the others could expect. He stands at a height of 5'8, and sports messy and unkempt brown hair, along with green eyes. He is generally very wide in the shoulders, and possesses very well-defined facial features, though his nose is slightly crooked from a childhood injury.
The extensive tattoos that cover the larger part of his body constantly move and change, given their unique properties, and will often hide under his clothing in situations where discretion is necessary or he is not totally comfortable around the people he is speaking with. In addition to this, he possesses a large, puckered scar running vertically down the left side of his chest. In the way of personal mementos, he possesses a small golden ring in the shape of a snake looping around to bite back on its own tail, which he wears at almost all times on his left ring finger.
Personality:
During his brief time with his family, Callum was always an energetic, opportunistic and mischievous youngster. He was always the type of kid to rush into something headfirst and full of enthusiasm, while not spending a second to think about the consequences. Life as a test subject has discouraged such rash action and playfulness, though. After being punished for several failed escape attempts, he has become somewhat more quiet and subdued than he once was. It would not take much for him to regain his former energy, though, should some glimmer of hope present itself to him again.
Exclusion from the other kids his age has made him somewhat awkward in meeting new people, and he sometimes has trouble picking up on the smaller nuances of conversation, like body language or sarcasm. Once he does manage to get aquatinted with someone, though, Callum tends to become very attached quite easily, if he judges said person as a friend.
Background:
Sold to the mysterious organisation running Zeria's experiementa at the tender age of 8, Callum was amongst one of the first groups sent to the lawless city. Given his age at the time, he had a rough idea of what was happening, and is one of the very few children that can remember anything from his life before being sent away. He possesses scattered and fuzzy memories of growing up on a farm with both of his parents, a single older sibling, and a handful of farm animals. Any knowledge of where he once lived has long since been forgotten, but Callum still remembers his family name, and clings to the brief hope that one day it might lead him home.
As soon as he was delivered to the facility, it didn't take long for the magicians to begin their experiments. The larger part of Callum's days would be occupied by extensive and lengthy sessions of what felt like torture. The magicians assigned to his 'project' immediately began the process of tattooing his body extensively, imbuing the ink and every line drawn with a new and unique magic they had developed just for their purpose. They sung spells in low voices as they worked, and memories of such still haunt Callum's dreams. Every time they concocted a better ink, came up with a more-suited spell or made a mistake, the group would immediately begin over, leading to Callum receiving several different grafts all layered over the top of each other as years went by.
Their goal was to create a sort of inbuilt bodyguard. A sentient, magical being that would attach to the host, almost unnoticeable, that would burst forth into life whenever the bearer was threatened. Eventually, they succeeded. The following years were spent testing Callum's new companion, putting him in both extremely painful and stressful situations to call forth this magical guard, before testing its capabilities. Such proved to be incredibly nasty for the young child, who could not control his new partner for his lack of magic, and had to bear all the physical strain alone. Such testing has continued right up until the present day.
[M] Where gods fear to tread (OnlyDove and Naming)
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