Conscious was raised in the Bronx. Her family was huge. Uncles, aunts, cousins, not to mention her annoying older brothers and baby sister. She loved her family life and was a very happy child. Her mother was a Puerto Rican witch and her father an Irish born druid. No one thought they’d ever work because of that, but they loved each other and fought past it. Conscious leaned to the druidic side of her gifts, but still drew from her mothers ancestral magic as well. From a very early age, she showed a gift for spells and some natural abilities. No matter what she was throwing, it hit its mark. Her father was sure it was a sign that she’d been touched by the gods. As she grew older, she learned to focus the power and got to where she could follow a moving target. When she turned eight her father began teaching her spells. Simple things, like protection spells to keep her safe walking to and from school. Spells to calm her stomach if it got upset. Things to make her life or others better. But he taught her above all, do no harm.

Conscious swore that she would always follow that rule until the day her life was torn in two. Her father worked for the church helping with exorcisms or banishing of demons. He had an extremely high success rate, until a member of the church betrayed him. On the night of her father’s thirty fifth birthday he was torn apart by a demon. Conscious had just turned nine when he died. She felt lost and alone. Her mother, distraught, forbid her to learn anymore magic or to do what she knew already. Conscious swore she would avenge her father and would slip into his office late into the night, reading any book she could reach and understand about her gifts.

By the time she was old enough to drive, she was proficient at most of the minor spells in her father’s collection. She swore she’d never work for the church. They had betrayed her father and would surely do the same to her. It was a typical Saturday mass when the leader of their church approached her. As soon as he mentioned that he knew about her gifts she turned away, but he grabbed her arm. The look in his eyes was one of fear when she turned and looked at him. He had a lead on the people who had killed her father. If she came to work for them, he would give her every opportunity to avenge him.

Normally, demon hunters or venator daemoniorum as the church called them, were paired with a priest from the church, but Conscious refused. The church couldn’t allow her or sanction her until she was of legal age. The moment she turned eighteen, she was at the churches door. The ceremony gave her access to weapons and spells she’d never seen. More than once she had to break her father’s cardinal rule about doing no harm to get the information she needed, but not unless it was the last choice. Her natural ability to hit a target, moving or not gave her an advantage over her prey. She could stun them with a weapon or a spell that needed to be applied to the target, from a distance. Once they were under control, she could call her circle and send them back to hell. Conscious had always suspected she was strong, but had no idea, she was the only witch the church knew of that could call a circle and banish a demon alone. Most demon banishing took two or more witches for even the weakest demon. As her confidence grew so did her powers.

When she turned twenty-one, she got her protection tattoos done by the high priestess of the local wiccan coven. They were no ordinary tattoos. The priestess worked a spell into the ink so that even if she didn’t have time to draw a protection circle she would be able to use the three tattoos to call a barrier around herself.The moment her mother saw them she threatened to put her out of the house, but when Conscious explained why she was doing this and how strong she was, her mother dropped it. Now the fact that she’s a hunter isn’t spoken of inside the house and her mother only discusses her day job with her. Her mother often teased her about getting married and giving her grandchildren, but Conscious was too busy fighting and enjoying her life to worry about that. She knew family was important to her mother, but she would cross that bridge when she came to it. First, she had to avenge her father.

Time. What was time? A commodity to manipulate and use. It had been that way since time was tracked. With man survived by tracking the sun and seasons, not looking at a watch or checking the internet. The woman known today as Elaina Zharkov was boring during these times. When time was young and people hungry for more of it.

When the sun rose on the girl child named Kalina's first day and the first minute ticked by, her blue eyes told her her dark eyed parents she'd been touched by the gods themselves. When she took the shamans and priests teachings like a duck to water, they knew she was blessed. When magic answered her call with the barest whisper from her lips or move of her fingers, they knew she was destined to greatness.

"Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

The world was free of the restrictions that modern religions put on it. The magical, the divine, the evil and the good, walked among the people. Kalina walked with them. Talked with them. She saw them fight. She saw them love. Yet they could never all come together to create something greater than themselves. A being of light and dark. A mortal and immortal, outside of time, overburdened with power. A creature with a foot on each side of every diving. A unifier. A leader. A new god. If they could not find their way to the ultimate solution, then Kalina would help them.

Bargin's made. Useless things promised and given. The sun stopped setting for the blue eyed, dark haired, powerful young witch.

The Gathering Begins

Slipping from the bounds of society, Kalina began to gather. A dark entity. A light being. Fae. Shifter. Undead. Tempted with flesh and sweet words. Tempted with power and gold. Tempted with promises. Brought low so she could take the very essence of what made them who they were. All to bring the ultimate power to bear.

Kalina's name changed as the centuries passed. Morphing to fit into the idea of the world at a given moment. Though she's kept to names that are true to her ancestry. To the neolithic rising of her sun.

In the darkest, deepest part of the oceans an entire world moves. Mer folk are no stranger to the sea at any depth, but the ones who live in the blackest black are unlike the mer that the sailors of old wrote stories about.

Life that deep is dangerous and Bernie was orphaned early on after a larger predator killed her parents. They had gone out to fight off a creature that wanted to destroy their coral home and devour the entire family. Hidden away in a coral tube, a baby Bernie listened to the sounds of fighting and screams. She was young enough that all she remembered was staring out of the coral tube, seeing flashes of phosphorous and hearing the sounds.

After the events of that day, Bernie was taken in by underwater priests of a god named Strider. Strider was a Xod of Water, Justice, and Madness. Often called the god of lost things, he had a habit of taking in those who were lost, alone, or desperate. The young mer was very happy living in the temple and becoming a priestess of the xod. She often brought him trinkets she found in the ocean, but Bernie's most prized possession is a sand dollar necklace Strider gifted her. She's never without it. 

As the young mer grew older, she became restless. Strider allowed her to venture from the depths and learn about the rest of the world. Many of the missing sailors lost during storms filled her stomach. The ocean provided and she had no problem eating what was given to her. Though, she became a victim to the sea and was caught in a typhoon before being washed up on shore. Learning that her body would naturally shift to two legs after she'd been on land long enough shocked her. Bernie had never been one to fear much and didn't hesitate to move inland once she was steady on her feet and begin to explore the world. She's been exploring every since, though she prefers to stay near the coast and the water. 

Destiny was always one of the boys, but she was still daddies little girl. It was a big deal to her that he was ranked so high. He was important and that made their family important. Her older brother and all his friends played army when she was small, but no matter how she wanted to join in, they wouldn’t let her. When her father was home from deployment or being in Washington, DC, he’d make her brother let her play. It was just as important for her to learn to fight as it was her brother. Once she got to her teenage years and could start to really hold her own, her brother never told her no again. 

The fights between them got serious sometimes. More than once, one of them was left with a black eye or a broken bone. Their mother forbade anymore fighting so Destiny had insisted on karate lessons, to which her mother begrudgingly agreed. David was five years older than her, so when she was starting high school he was entering boot camp. That was Destiny’s plan too. She’d be as good as he was if not better. Everything was a competition with them. It always would be. 

The army was slower going than she liked. When she first joined the clause that excluded women from front line combat was still in affect. It was two years after she joined that it was removed. With her skills, her family history, and training, it took no time for her to find a squad and move up the ranks to 2nd Lieutenant by the time she'd been four years. By the time her tour was over, she'd reached First Lieutenant.  She was proud of herself and her accomplishments, though a situation had caused her to be medically discharged. Sadly, her bother had out shined her in his little navy boat, getting a command position rather quickly and had made it to Captain by the time she'd left. Once her tour was over, she immediately set about trying to get into the FBI. Several of the officers she worked with were doing the same. It was a good career and their skill sets were valuable in that line of work. They were all too skilled to start out as street cops. 

It took her a few months to study for the exams, pass and be approved, but she did it. Her father, while proud was worried about her being more in the line of fire now than in the military. That, for her was part of the appeal. Much to her dismay she’s started out as an Probationary Agent, learning all of the laws, rules and expected performances of an Agent. From there over the next few years, after tests, qualifying hours and case loads that were insane, she finally made it to Special Agent. Now she was trying to advance again.

Kelly grew up on the beach. When she was small nothing made her happier than to be in the water. Life was so simple for her then. As she grew that all changed. Being an only child her parents expected her to excel at everything she tried. In elementary school, she had to be on the honor roll and be captain of her soccer team. Kelly wanted nothing more than to please her parents. It just seemed like what she did was never enough. In the summer, she got to visit her grandmother. It was a completely different world. When she was at her grandmothers’ farm, she could be a kid. It made it hard on her when she went back though. In high school, she was the top of her class and was valedictorian in their graduation. Her parents while pleased couldn’t talk about anything but the fact that she hadn’t gotten any scholarships to the schools they wanted her to attend. They wanted her to be a doctor or a lawyer, but Kelly wanted to be a scientist.

The scholarship she’d gotten was to one of the best genetic engineering schools in the country. This was the one time she went against what they wanted, knowing that in the end they’d be proud of her. She dreamed of the day that she would find something in the human genome or created something to make life better. Then her parents would understand why she made the decision she did. She’d never had time for friends or a boyfriend since making her parents happy was her first priority. If she wasn’t studying then she was at soccer practice. Her parents made sure that she made time for some extracurricular groups so that her college resume was complete, but she never really made friends in any of those groups. Planning the prom would have been more fun if she’d gotten to go and the fundraiser groups were alright, but rarely did she get to go to the group functions. Now, she was in NYC and her life was her own, but she had no clue on how to live it and she was terrified. 

The Change

Kelly's life changed with the simplest thing in the world. A night out with work friends. Well, associates. She didn't really have friends. At the club she had been dragged to a woman took an interest at her and the company she worked at. A drugged drink later and Kelly was on her way to the woman's place where she plied her with more drink and asked her question after question about her work. The company she worked for was doing human trials on genetic editing and not all of it was above board, but Kelly didn't know anything about it. She was too new at the company. Her pass card and fingerprint could get the woman where she wanted and info she needed from the company. 

Kelly was taken hostage by the woman and the group she worked with and forced to let them into a sealed facility in Arizona. The young woman was kept drugged most of the trip. When they reached the facility and Kelly got them in, she found out the reason for the groups interest. The company had been kidnapping people with genetic abnormalities, aka mutants, and trying to 'cure' them. Or learn how to control or edit the genes that triggered the mutations. Most of the people experimented on against their will died. 

By the time they had the information and had returned to NYC, Kelly was addicted to the drugs they'd used on her and to the people who had been holding her. When she was sent away, she became lost and spiraled into a world of drugs and fetish, looking for any kind of fix to forget the world she'd discovered or deny the person she'd become. Someone in the scene took her in, helped her get cleaned up, and in healthy situations. It didn't last long as the next chapter in her life opened up.

The job they had done in Arizona came back to bite Kelly in the ass hard. The company she had worked kidnapped her and took her to one of their facilities. Not the jails for mutants, no the scientist section where they experimented on humans to see if they could create/figure out what caused mutants. Not many humans lived through it. Kelly went through hell, being raped, being tortured, genetically altered, and then tortured. It turned out mutations were in her family genetics, but her father had hidden the information from her. It was the only thing that helped her survive what they did to her. The group she'd worked with managed to rescue her, but not before the changes were done. Now Kelly was one of those mutants and working to stop the company from hurting anyone else again.

Unofficially Rel was born the third son of Minkacha Matron Mother of House Kilvi’ir in the Middle Dark and a fitting sacrifice for Lolth. Officially, he was the eldest son in the house. When he was born, his eldest brother had already been cast out from Drow society and considered dead to them. For this Relonithra was glad. He would much rather serve his Matron Mother and the goddess then be a sacrifice. It was a thought he didn’t share because he felt it was wrong, that he should have been honored to be a sacrifice, but enjoying live was his one dirty vice. His other brother left the underdark before he was born as well, his sisters said the drow had been too soft and left in fear of his life. 

Again, he was glad for the position it gave him. In all other ways, he grew up an almost perfect drow.  As perfect as a male could be in the matriarchal society. He learned his lessons quickly. So quickly that his sister Ril'xyria made up excuses to beat him almost daily. He came to hate her and her scourge. He always did what was proper though and thanked her for the lesson, which he suspected made her angrier than if he’d begged for her for mercy.

As he grew older, he showed an aptitude for some magic and more highly for weapons. His father was the Master of Arms for a time as he grew up, having taken his elder brothers place when he ‘died.’ Rel learned a valuable lesson about a males place by watching his father. Another Matron in a rival house wanted him for herself, but Rel’s mother wasn’t having it. Instead of letting him go to another house to make strong offspring, she killed him, right in front of his only son the day before he went into the weapons school. Rel knew right then and there only son in the house or not, his life was forfeit at his mother’s hands and at Lolth’s. He would do nothing to anger either if he could prevent it. 

When he became an adult, he was sent to Melee School for warriors.  He spent ten years there at the head of his class. He loved the attention.  He was arrogant in his abilities and took down every opponent without mercy. The last six months of the ten years he was at the Arcania, the school where the wizards train. He had always shown a slight aptitude for magic. He showed enough that when he graduated at the head of his class from Melee, that he was put into training at the Arcania. He spent five years there learning to control his powers. He mastered a few spells in addition to the natural born talents that most drow have.

When he left the school, he came home to discover that his family was beginning to fall in prestige. The Matron Mother had a plan and her ‘favorite’ son was going to help her carry it out. His elder brother had long fled from the house and that had kept Rel from being sacrificed upon birth. His mother thought this was the reason for their downfall. No sacrifice had been given, so his mother decided that Rel would go to the surface that he despised so much and bring the wandering brother back. He would be a fitting sacrifice to Lolth. If he failed, then Rel didn’t want to think about the punishment. He left that same night going to the surface to try to find his exiled brother. 

Alvis Whitlock, as he's known today, had always loved power. There is nothing he won't do, no one he won't hurt, and no law he won't break to get it. The one time King of Kent, England never wanted to give up his throne. The short lives and constant wars of ancient Brittan made survival hard no matter where you fell in the hierarchy of power. While his rule was fairly peaceful, he left an impression, his words and laws forever enshrined in the Textus Roffensis.

His hunger for power had him seeking out a way to ensure he would have it for all eternity. Even once he had obtained immortality it wasn't enough. In over a thousand years of living it had never been enough. Every decision, calculation, and move he has made was to get more power. Choosing his vampiric children was to grow his power and make him stronger.

The need to control makes him a hard master and he cares little for others suffering if it furthers his power or benefits him. Even his mercy is carefully calculated to benefit him if possible. The nickname of Mephistopheles was his for a reason. There is very little that he had come to fear over the centuries as his power and abilities have grown. Only his own maker gives him pause, and even there he has plans. While he treats those he controls terribly, he is the only one allowed to hurt them. It was his sick version of love and he never saw it as toxic or wrong. Love was love, wasn't it?

Moving in the modern world was hard, and when his children slipped their leash in a show of rebellion, it was harder to drag them back home. He managed though and now his seethe (or coven) work in guns, drugs, sex trafficking, and assassinations.

Lorelei is Fade. Fade is Lorelei. They're both Spot. Lorelei ended up in the States in an odd way. As a house cat to a family of Rat shifters. It was a long time before the Fenton's realized that she wasn't a normal cat, but a Cat Sith (Sidhe). That was many decades ago. Hanging around a house full of doctors made Lorelei want to learn medicine herself and she went to school to be a nurse. She also volunteered in the reserves to help those hurt in war. She was sent to the German front during World War II. The makeshift hospital she was working in, got hit with a chemical attack that badly hurt Lorelei. As a result, she has severe PTSD. 

To deal with it and the flashbacks, her mind created Fade. As a Fae, she didn't simply develop a split personality like many humans. Instead Fade is what Lore call's a fracture. It's like a crack in her mind where she can go hide and feel safe from the horrible memories of what happened to her. As a result of her trauma, Fade makes things that explode. Different bombs, grenades. All go boom, but some are more lethal than others. She makes them normal sized then shrinks them to fit on her favorite bracelet so she's always ready to protect herself at a moments notice.

As for personality, it depends on which person you're talking to. Lorelei is loving, sweet, loyal, kind, and caring. While Fade will blow you up for looking at her sideways. And god forbid you hurt her family, she'll pull every inch of your skin off with a pair of tweezers. Lorelei doesn't care for guns or violence, but Fade adores anything that goes boom. And she'll be happy to shoot someone if she feels they deserve it.