[hider=The Night Hostess]

[center][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/ecec0d47-d83b-4a60-b671-3a792e35ae13.jpg[/img]
[colour=mediumpurple][h3]Kalleis Pannychis[/h3][/colour]
[i]Strange, the way a veil will at once disguise and display.[/i][/center]

[colour=mediumpurple][b]Origin[/b][/colour]

As much as the City of the Gods needs its heavenly lords, it also needs its monitors- and its covergirls. The Charites- graces- are a small clique of goddesses tasked with cultivating suitable behaviour among the many lesser deities and their children, those descended from the Olympians and their compliant crewmates, according to the will and vision of Father Zeus. Their duties are light, and their status is more of a reward for exemplary behaviour than a real function, a token of recognition for their dedication to the grand Hellenic role-play. Thus they typically have free reign to lead by example, setting the tone and timbre of Olympian life, which washes out to all of Hellas below, often garnering lavish mortal followings as they do. Among them are Aglaea (resplendent health),  Paidia (childlike play), Pasithea (spiritual respite), Pandaisia (feasting), Euthychia (cheer), Auxo (abundance), Phaenna and Cleta (light and glory). Their origins are many, some nymphs, some muses, some horae, some recruited from among the old crew and some born to their task. 

Kalleis Pannychis is among the latter few, and named for her predecessor, the original Pannychis still known by some as Matilda Hatherell. Pannychis- the [i]wild night,[/i] personified; the bold girl, the first to let loose, object of all eyes, the one to make you wish the night never ends. That the party [i]never[/i] dies.

Hatherell enjoyed her role, then appreciated it, and at last merely suffered it. Eternal youth wearies the mortal soul, and the brightest stars burn fast. Replacements were trialed and quickly discarded, hopeful volunteers greedy for glamour and status, ill-suited for the weary fate of seeing celebration become a chore. None respected the bodily demands of endless dance and drink, nor the quiet labour of mixing up the act, pacing out the show, keeping it all real, keeping it fresh.

Dionysos grew impatient. He had plenty of disposable partygirls- what he [i]needed[/i] was a hostess, an organiser, someone with Hatherell's idle genius waiting to spring free. The early glut of talent and discipline among the crew had been spent or worn out. If a replacement could not be found, she would have to be built. A commission was drafted and sent to the forge of Hephaestus, signed by Pannychis and Dionysos himself.

It didn't take long.

[colour=mediumpurple][b]Persona[/b][/colour]

Kalleis Pannychis is heavy-duty party machinery, [i]industrial[/i] strength. She cannot tire and she is [i]always[/i] planning something. She feeds on energy, she's addicted to it, it thrills her with a savage glee. It's an endless game, a dance of war, it's like juggling fire. She's a Muse and a musician, a talent scout, a bouncer and a broker and a driver and a diva. 

And she is sober. Kallie's role does not require her to lose herself. Her excitement is coupled with an effortless precision and regality. She manages stragglers, supplies and interruptions without flinching, and executes her projects from beginning to end without faltering, from the invitation to the cleaning-up. Panda handles everything her guests don't want to think about on their big night, thinks about the things they would prefer to forget. Hers is an eccentric disposition for a human mind, totally natural for an automaton like herself. 

She's a handmaiden to Dionysos, not a mistress, and certainly not the star of the show- by her will, [i]Pannychis[/i] has become a catchy honour, a title to which she treats her clients as she brings them into the spotlight, relegating herself gleefully to the role of a strange, gracious hostess, one that alights like a shining butterfly into the lives of mortals and departs as swiftly as she came. Kallie applies a lighter touch among mortals than she does on Olympus. She is often active, but reveals herself sparingly, whispering invitations and instructions, dropping gold into pockets, writing songs, fixing instruments, altering drinks, handling buzzkills. Her ability to scan for subtle emotional states allows her to flick effortlessly from modest to flirtatious, wild to ladylike, always as the circumstance requires, always with honest cheer.

On Hellas and Olympus alike, her dedication to festivity as a matter of function tends to win her friends from outside the dance rather than within, characters who relate to her as a lady of skill more than allure. Artists, rulers, and warriors entertain her between events more than youths, providing her with a rich bed of inspiration and connections for more fire. [i]Everything[/i] is an opportunity for more fire- even the business of the High Gods, scheming and quarrelling in their Olympian palaces...

[colour=mediumpurple][b]Artefacts[/b][/colour]

A generalist, Kallie is built with a variety of just-so functions to address any contingency. 

A light-show is always welcome on Olympus, and Panda has a multitude of artefacts for projecting intense colour and sound. These are generally well-disguised in whatever fits the mood of the night, especially their mortal equivalents, being instruments and lamps of various kinds. On Olympus she can get away with more, and is always tinkering on her own equipment, which she herself builds to purpose. A good hostess is an excellent repairman.

Managing brain chemistry is an equally important part of any good night out. Panda is capable of identifying all kinds of bodily cues at a glance, reading the emotional, hormonal and physical state of her guests with ease and responding with the appropriate words, touches, and drugs, of which an endless library is stored on her body.

Panda is strong. Erecting temporary structures, moving goods and guests at the last minute, evicting the unwanted, even dancing- all things she prefers to handle herself, and is capable of doing unassisted for many hours on end. Security is rarely lacking in Olympus, and mundane threats are easily foreseen, but the responsibility for safety ultimately comes down to her, and she can fight competently, if inelegantly, making use of her endurance and speed and high-energy optical equipment. For much the same reason, she can operate on bodies that have suffered all sorts of injuries, should the need arise.

Her personal pleasure barge is an airship.

[colour=mediumpurple][b]Bonds[/b][/colour]

Kallie's chief colleague is Dionysos, though he would probably like to think himself her master. As a High God he outranks the Charis, but Kalleis formally answers to Charis Hegemone (graceful leadership), to her mistress Aphrodite, and finally to Zeus himself- should he take an interest, which he seldom does in these latter years. The matter of authority is rarely relevant anyway. Kallie feeds Dionysos an endless list of opportunities to have fun, and requires neither assistance nor supervision.

##eros##

##hebe##

Kallie's closest [i]friend[/i] is Anemone Dryas, the garden nymph. The parks of Olympus can be lively places, and the two work together professionally to coordinate festivities, but something deeper attracts the two, such that they have become as close as sisters. Kallie's overflowing generosity, patience and cheer soothes Annie's bad moods and encourages her better ones, and her nights give Annie an opportunity to forget herself, all blessings which the Charis is eager to provide. Annie is always an honoured guest, and has even earned the crown of Pannychis for herself in seasons past.

Annie's shadow, Psilos, has endeared himself to Kalleis, though a party animal he is not. Fellow automata, they are birds of a feather, privy to the hidden machinations that make Olympus what it is. Psilos's human-like loyalty, like Annie's capriciousness, piques Kallie's curiousity and draws her to them.

Relations among the Charites are mixed, generally at least cordial. Kalleis is on especially good terms with Paidia, who shouldn't be left unsupervised at her parties, and Pasithea, who wouldn't be caught dead at one. Hegemone, ostensibly her superior, treats her as a necessary compromise following the retirement of Hatherell from the role, but still doesn't see her as the 'true' Pannychis, only an indefinite placeholder. 

Hatherell herself almost never speaks with Kalleis. There is nothing left to say.

[/hider]