THE SCIENTIST.
With the drums of rebellion echoing across the kingdom, JUNO CALIDUS is currently sworn to THE MAXIMUS CLAN. SHE currently bears the face of ANGELA SARAFYAN and is 40 YEARS OLD.
JUNO is the weapons master for the royal family and a former Technocrat. Their upbringing allowed them to develop an advanced knowledge of technology and weaponry design. This, combined with their cunning mind and endless resources supplied by the royal family, makes them a dangerously powerful individual.
ALEIA IACTA EST.
YOU WOULD LEARN FROM A YOUNG AGE THAT CRUELTY WOULD GET YOU JUST AS FAR AS BRILLIANCE. Precociousness was expected, if not encouraged for Technocrat children. It is probably why you got away with so much for as long as you did. You'd constantly take it upon yourself to disassemble your playmates' toys in search of what made them tick— whether relinquished voluntarily or not. Your parents knew that you would make a brilliant scientist, and did nothing more than hope you would outgrow your cruel tendencies. The free reign they allowed you are the very circumstances that you were able to fine-tune both your mind, and your macabre nature.
Rising through the Technocrat ranks was no issue with your talent and willingness to annihilate anyone who stood in your way. You would eventually become the head scientist over the armory division— unconventional in their creation of weapons, as the Technocrats only believed in weapons that served the purpose of self-defense. It is a way of thinking that you always despised, and one that would ultimately hold the Technocrats back from reaching their fullest potential. If only they would get outside of the mindset of isolation— and put their efforts into expanding their kingdom instead. The technology possessed within your society was technology unheard of across the kingdoms that surrounded you. You understood the potential gain from selling weapons to neighboring kingdoms— and why you decidedly began selling your creations in the criminal underworld, gathering a large sum in only the earliest days of selling. It allowed you to fund the project you’d been invested in from the earliest days of your studies— a weapon with the potential to harness the power of a mage— but a weapon that would gradually reduce their life force as a result. The potential outweighed the risks in your eyes, something you hoped your leader would understand when you decided to bring the idea to them.
It was shortly after word of the Maximus takeover gained traction that you knew the Technocrats would need to step up the ante if they wanted to survive potentially being caught in their crossfire. They would look upon you as if you’d been a monster— and immediately write off your creation as inhumane. Never mind the possibilities you’d opened up by its very invocation. It is then that you realize that brilliance meant little without a sense of brutality to fuel your ambitions. When an apprentice of yours would come across some evidence of your arms dealings, they would turn you in immediately— prompting your exile from the Technocrat land as a result. Complete and utter fools. It would lead to their demise— you’d been sure of such. It was not kindness nor grace that nurtured your intellect, but the singular desire to succeed, and an unwillingness to settle for anything but. It is why the Maximus king would welcome you into their ranks as if you’d always been one of their own. Now, you had the space to craft your creation, and with a living, breathing mage to test it on. Finally— the sum of your cleverness was receiving proper recognition. And one day, the very creation they so denied would be the very creation to disassemble them from the outside in— just as you’d done to your playmates’ toys all those years ago.
CONNECTIONS.
ALLEGRA MAXIMUS. Mutual recognition. She is one of the few people within the castle, and within the span of your life, really, that you’ve genuinely taken a liking to. In most instances, you’ve been too preoccupied with your work for companionship— and the few friends that you have come across were unsatisfactory. They never quite understood the forces that move you— not in the way that Allegra does. Within her, you’ve located an appetite that rivals your own— even if the specificities of your desires couldn’t be more different. She wants to be immortalized amongst the great kings and queens, while you desire to master the forces previously reserved for only the gods themselves. Still— there’s something fundamentally flawed about the way she goes about things. She simply doesn’t allow herself to want enough. It’s how she wound up in her present predicament in the first place— second in command to an heir apparent whose usefulness did not venture beyond his status as a figurehead. All you can hope is that she begins to see things your way— that to completely relinquish herself to her desires is the only true viable option.
CYBELE URIAS. Employee. Satisfaction was a state of being typically out of your reach, for at nearly every moment, you’ve hungered for something more than what you presently had. This was your present predicament with the mountain mage. You’d been fortunate enough to come across them when you did, but despite their immense power— they are flawed and mortal above all else. There are only so many tests you can do without putting their life force at risk— for what use would a dead mage be, one whose flame could no longer ignite? You’ve tasked Cybele with locating other potential fire mages for you, specifically those in possession of a blue flame. They have not found anyone for you quite yet, but this is supposedly their job, and you understand that locating this sort of mage would be far easier said than done. Still, there’s something about them you're weary about— something you find to be inherently untrustworthy. They would have to show up with some kind of results soon, if they want to continue their pursuits on your dime.
ARIADNE LAENAS. Means to greatness. How utterly ungrateful they’d been. To think you were ushering them into an era of greatness without them possessing a semblance of appreciation. You’d first come across them on your quest for the mysterious Blackspine mages, an idea you’d been working on for years, and one recently endorsed by the elder Maximus himself. Your intention was always to leave with a group of mages, and conduct several tests to determine who’d been the most powerful. Until Ariadne manages to capture your attention. They claimed to be the strongest of their people, and you’d been in no place to question such, considering they’d been the only mage you’d witnessed in your lifetime to possess a blue flame. You agreed to their terms to go in the place of their people— for efforts spent on a blue flame would be worth far more than any time spent on the alternative. You know that they despise you, but you don’t understand how a potential for notoriety does not surpass it. The two of you had the potential to make history. By your hands, the mountain mage would have the potential to become someone other than a nameless mage in the footnote of history.
EMILIANUS CAESO. Irritation. As your coworker, he is one of the few people you encounter on a daily basis. He’s skilled in his craft, that much you’re aware of, but you’ve accepted he’s far too tender-hearted to ever do anything of value with his abilities. It’s quite a shame, really. You’ve also taken notice of the way he looks at Ariadne, as if they’re a wounded bird in need of rescue— and you can only hope that those feelings won’t expand beyond mere pity. You have no patience for heroic types, especially not when they have the potential to get in the way of your desires. He continues to walk on eggshells around you, never going beyond polite formalities and harmless questions. You play up the intimidation— knowing that it was best he remains fearful of you, lest it ever comes across his mind to cross you. If something ever changed— and he recognized his skills could be used for something actually great, then perhaps you would begin looking at him as someone other than a nuisance and potential obstacle. Until then, you would continue regarding him in the same way you presently did— as a pest.
OTHER.
STATUS: Taken by Hailey.
ALTERNATIVE FCS: None.