Cynis Calliope

Basic Information

Name: Cynis Calliope
Player: NPC
Type: Heroic Mortal
Age: 41
Concept: Merchant for House Cynis in the Imperial Captiol
Political Affiliation: The Realm, House Cynis
Likes: Reading, Riddles, Parties, Wine, Exotic Food
Dislikes: Bland Food, Strong Liquor, Snakes, Thunder Storms

Cynis Calliope is the second child of her respected parents, her mother is a Dragon-Blooded captain in The Realm's merchant fleet and her father a Dragon-Blooded member of The All Seeing Eye, his exact roll is unknown. Calliope has three siblings, one older and two younger. Her older brother is an exalt and works in House Cynis' trade enterprise, as does one of her younger sisters who is also a mortal. Her youngest sister, Aimi, is an exalt and recent graduate of The Spiral Academy who is likely to pursue a career in the Ministries that govern the Realm.

Like most dynast children Calliope was raised in an estate owned by her great house, here see was primarily raised by servants of the house and mortal aunts and uncles who were not attending other house business, her relationship with her parents was almost nonexistent. This was not uncommon and didn't bother Calliope at all, she never cared overly for her caretakers and preferred the company of her peers which kept her early life quite exciting in the Cynis household. She matured quickly and often hung out with the older kids in primary school, this only caused her further distress in the end as many of her friends exalted and went away while she was left in primary school anxiously awaiting her exaltation. It never came and Calliope was gravely depressed as more and more of her friends went away and lost touch, she was overwhelmed with loneliness and slipped through the cracks for a full year where she essentially lived as a vagrant eventually finding her way into the Imperial Capital as a homeless street urchin.

While she had made a livable life for herself traveling the country sides of the Blessed Isle, she found the cold, dark streets of the Imperial Capital a much harsher reality. Several weeks in she was starving, she was begging for money on the street or looking for an opportunity to steal something valuable when she was mistaken for a prostitute by a slimy but powerful dynast. She went along with his kindness at first, but soon found things turning sour and against her wishes in the man's carriage, by the time she tried to resist it was too late. She attempted to fight back but the young girl was no match for the seasoned exalted man, he had his way with her inside his horse drawn carriage, her screams drowned out by the pouring rain and pounding thunder. When he was done with her he discarded her in a dark ally and tossed a few talents of jade on the mud covered street and rode off. She was mentally and physically destroyed, she did nothing but lay in the cold rain in the ally and wait for death to take her. Someone else found her instead.

A vaguely familiar man, wrapped in a heavy gray cloak with a thick layer of graying stubble masking handsome features approached, he held an umbrella over her to block the cold rain as he examined her. At first she thought it was death, than she thought it was the man from the night before coming back to finish her off. It was neither and she slipped out of consciousness as he lifted her from the street and carried her off. She awoke in a warm, comfortable bed of a small apartment with a few rays of sunlight hitting her face from the window in the small room. The man who had picked her up in the street came into the room shortly after, bringing her food and sitting at a chair at her bedside. The two talked for a long time, she found it mysteriously easy to talk to the man even though she was fairly sure she did not know him, though they talked for hours she felt like he hardly said anything about himself, allowing her to confess her life's story. The next day the process was repeated, but this time he told her about himself. He was her father, they had not seen each other for nearly a decade and he didn't ever really explain how he found her. She didn't care, she was just glad that he did, his mere presence was comforting to her. She stayed in his apartment for almost a month, reading in bed and enjoying being totally free of any responsibility, her father came and went and they often talked late into the night. Eventually her father confessed that he would soon be leaving the city, and that she needed to do something with her life. He had found a woman who could mentor her, teach her the ways of business and the city and would help her as long as she wished to stay and not live off her birthright and house.

She took up an assistants job a The Garden of Crimson Pleasures, at first she hated having to report to work on a daily basis, but her caretaker that her father had set up for her was exactly the type of woman she needed. She nurtured Calliope without making her feel like a child, something she hated. Soon enough Calliope was working full time at The Garden of Crimson Pleasures, House Cynis eventually rediscovered her, she suspected from a tip from her father was partially at fault; but they didn't interfere with the life she had made for herself as they deemed it a perfectly suitable life for a mortal of their house. Calliope was happy and grew into a responsible and successful young adult, during her young adult hood she met Tepet Marek Dato.

Dato was grieving his deceased wife and Calliope developed a young girl's crush on the elder exalt, they fell into bed together and Dato stayed in her bed while he grieved for some time. Eventually he had to return to his duties as a solider, but soon enough Calliope discovered she was pregnant. Dato insisted they be wed, Calliope was hardly about to argue though she did say it was not necessary when she picked up on the disdain his house had for her. Dato didn't care and they soon wed at a small ceremony and had a son, Tepet Marek Udo. Dato and Calliope lived together in Dato's private residence in the Imperial City for about four years, shortly after the birth of their second child, Thalia, Dato returned to the north. Calliope and the two children remained in the residence within the Imperial City, which Dato had entrusted to her. Here Calliope raised both Udo and Thalia, Tepet wanted very little to do with the children, Cynis was welcoming enough but neither of the children ever fully took with the house. Calliope raised them primarily on her own, with the help of a small staff of servants, while maintaining her position at The Garden of Crimson Pleasures.

Calliope always tried to do what was best for both of her children, though Udo was always the more difficult for her to figure out, Thalia was similar enough to her. Calliope was thrilled when Udo exalted, though she was slightly less enthused about Tepet's new found interest in him, she knew The House of Bells was not the best for him, but Tepet had laid claim to his future and there wasn't much she could do now but support him. She was a surprised as anyone when he ended up at The Cloister of Wisdom, it was oddly fitting and though he rarely returned home from school he always stayed close with his mother and sister back at the Imperial City. When he came to her for advice at his graduation she was unsure what to do, and she did not want to impart her own views into his life. She did not think that the Order was the best place for him, but she was equally unsure about the legions. She began to realize that perhaps she did not know her son as well as she thought, and could only advise him to think it over. She was thrilled when he decided to accompany Aden on his journey to the south and delay his own decision. She currently mentors her daughter, Thalia at The Garden of Crimson Pleasures, but she doesn't think Thalia will be there for long into adulthood.