MAIA HAMBLETON | TWENTY | MEDIUM | “IMPROVE”
DATE & PLACE OF BIRTH: October 20, 1996 / Port Ashborne, USA SEXUALITY: Up to Player OCCUPATION: Unemployed FC: Victoria Moroles OPEN
BACKGROUND *TW: child abuse*
Maia was born to a family where she never quite fit in. Both her parents - highly religious people who refused to open their minds to the view of anyone but themselves - were neither kind nor loving. There was something about their daughter that never rested well with them, something that always left them with distaste, even if she was their own flesh and blood. Perhaps it was how reluctantly she followed along with them to church, how often she refused to listen to them no matter how they punished her, or just that look behind her eyes that left them off kilter. Whatever it was, Maia grew up in a far from loving home, often forced to go to school with limbs coloured black and blue, from the punishments her parents forced on her. Things only worsened when Maia discovered her mediumship - a gift she could not hide from her parents, who at the mere age of eight discovered her talking to a ghost in her bedroom in the dead of night.
Claiming the skill was a gift from the devil, her parents beat their daughter bloody, refusing to allow her to sleep under their roof any longer. They kicked their desperately wounded child out into the streets, where Maia had collapsed and accepted her fate - though death was not meant for her that day. A woman, who she learned to be called Sophia Hambleton, found her lying there, and thus began her journey into a life she had never expected. Upon helping her, Sophia had made the transformation to a tuner - a powerful being, entrusted with the guarding of The Flow. Sophia took young Maia in, adopting her as her daughter, and for the first time Maia found out what it was like to be loved and cared for. With the help of Sophia, Maia began her training in what it meant to be a medium, alongside the two sisters who were adopted as time went on - mastering magic and the whispers of the dead, in the hope these skills may be used to help with Sophia’s tasks as a tuner.
Yet, as she grew older, something began to change in Maia. She’d never been a particularly happy girl, but she found herself holding onto an anger that was growing with every day. It was triggered by the appearance of Effie, the last of her sisters to be ‘recruited’, a girl who seemed to have a mastery on everything they learnt without effort. This created a rage she had never known she was capable of, caused a new surge of commitment into her training than ever before. Every moment Maia has is now put to training - from beating at a punching bag, to memorising the runes that are available to her. However, sometimes, she finds herself getting too caught up in what she’s doing; she’s desperate to prove to Sophia that she is the best, so desperate that she throws herself into the hands of danger when it isn’t needed. It’s only a matter of time before that danger finally gets its grip upon her, or her jealousy causes her to go too far in her attempts to be the best.
FAMILY: Rachel Garcia (mother/estranged) Samuel Garcia (father/estranged) Sophia Hambleton (adoptive mother) Effie Hambleton (adoptive sister) Lola Hambleton (adoptive sister)
CONNECTIONS:
Sophia Hambleton (adoptive mother): The woman who took her in and saved her from misery, Maia loves Sophia more than she’s ever loved anyone before, and will do anything she asks to help with her tuner tasks. However, this love leads to a deep need to be approved of and favoured, which can sometimes cause her to go to desperate measures.
Oliver Lowe (teacher): Oliver helps to teach the sisters all he can about magic and ghosts.. Maia has never particularly liked him, especially with how close he is to Effie, and has often taken to snooping around in his store, with the hopes to find items that may train her in some darker spells than she’s allowed.
Stephanie “Effie” Hambleton (adoptive sister): There’s a rivalry between the pair, which is mainly fueled by Maia’s need to be the best. And, if Maia can’t be the best, she’s determined to finally knock Effie down the pegs to throw her into the gutter, no matter what it might take.
Lola Hambleton (adoptive sister): The only person Maia has never lost her temper with, and the only one who can get through to her when in one of her rages. Maia sees Lola as a rare spirit of innocence, and will protect her with her life.
The Guild (faction): When one wishes to be the best at anything related to the arcane, they rarely go it alone, thus Maia is a member of the guild. In joining she gained access to their massive amount of information and spells. However, due to her reluctance to leave Sophia and seek out their main headquarters, she still receives the majority of her information and resources on magic from Oliver.
PERSONALITY
Maia is all fire and passion, and will never do anything by halves. She throws herself into everything she does wholeheartedly, and can often tackle a task with an enthusiasm that causes her to get too carried away. She is obsessed with being the best, and lives her life with a constant sense of competitiveness that refuses to ever die down. The quickest way to light up her fiery temper is to point out her flaws or losses. She is still haunted by her abusive past, and can become startled quite easily when touched or shouted at. Perhaps it’s because of this loveless upbringing that she’s so desperate to cling onto the love that’s been granted to her by Sophia, and why she’s so determined to maintain her status at the top of the pile out of her sisters. Danger is something Maia rarely registers, and she’ll fling herself into any trouble, if it means she may meet her own goals.
SKILLS:
Maia is a medium, meaning she can talk to the spirits of the dead. Her exceptional capacity of life-force draws attention of spirits.
After many years of study, she is well-versed in magic and rituals, particularly when it comes to spells of Astrology. She can recite many spells, though sometimes she can lack the “instinct” of how to perform them outside of the academics. However, Maia has an exceptionally large store of life-force compared to other mediums, meaning she can cast spells of high power. This, though, does have its downside. When too focused, her spells can often be exceptionally destructive and drain her life-force completely, causing her to pass out and putting herself at risk.
Her favorite basis for Astrology is various constellations, using their symbols and positions as runes and arcane circles. Though she is versed in spells for scrying and discovery, Maia prefers things with tangible effects, spells that alter the world and help her achieve her ends such as luck spells or spells that enhance her physical and mental attributes.
Maia is well trained in hand to hand combat, and knows how to aim and use a firearm exceptionally well. She trains daily, keeping herself at high physical performance.