[hider=Professor Maeve Brigid Byrne]
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[color=#cc3300][b]Full Name:[/b][/color] Maeve Brigid Byrne 
[color=#cc3300][b]Nicknames/Aliases:[/b][/color]  Professor Byrne, Captain Byrne, Sir
[color=#cc3300][b]Age:[/b][/color] 37
[color=#cc3300][b]Gender:[/b][/color] Female
[color=#cc3300][b]Primary:[/b][/color] Aeromancy

[color=#cc3300][b] Professor of: [/b][/color] Aeromancy; Combat
[color=#cc3300][b] Secondaries:[/b][/color] Magical Weapons Infusement, Levitation 

[color=#cc3300][b] Description:[/b][/color] 
Maeve is a woman of medium height with an atheltic build. She has unkempt red hair, muddy hazel eyes, and freckled skin. The beginnings of crows’ feet and frown lines drag at the corners of her face: Some grew from years of windy battlefields, but most stem from her general distaste for two-thirds of the human race. Her clothing tends to be more functional than anything, and usually consists of gym shorts or leggings, some form of tank top or racerback, and sneakers. When forced to manquerade a civil adult (or perhaps at her own funeral,) she wears a suit. 

The words [color=#cc3300]“Storm II”[/color] are tattoed over a war banner on her right shoulder blade. Across her chest, there is a monchrome [color=#cc3300] kestrel with spread wings[/color] that reach up to her collarbones. On her left wrist, there is another tattoo of [color=#cc3300]an oval with several concentric rings[/color] inside of it, and the words “Sempre vigilans" inscribed on a banner below it. 

Across her left side abdomen, there is a wrinkled, misshapen [color=#cc3300]scar about the size of a large hand,[/color] caused by a hasty battlefield cauterization. There are multiple other [color=#cc3300]small, noticeably straight scars scattered across the rest of her exposed skin,[/color] particularly her outer arms. Down her back and over her left shoulder, there is a massive [color=#cc3300]tree-like Lichtenberg figure[/color] that stretches up to the left side of her neck, and all the way down to her thigh. 

[color=#cc3300][b]Skills:[/b][/color]
[color=#cc3300]Master of Aeromancy[/color], specifically as it pertains to winds and atmospheric phenomenon; 
[color=#cc3300]Agile flight[/color], from a dual use of Aeromancy and levitation;
[color=#cc3300]Talented melee fighter[/color], especially in hand-to-hand; 
[color=#cc3300]Accurate knife-thrower[/color], via the assistance of Aeromancy and MWI

 [color=#cc3300][b]Weaknesses:[/b][/color] 
Works best as [color=#cc3300]a team fighter[/color], and is bad at watching her own back;
Forms [color=#cc3300]deep bonds with teammates[/color], which make her easily manipulated;
Deathly [color=#cc3300]loyal[/color] to her own motives and cause; 
About as [color=#cc3300]tactless and unsubtle[/color] as the average anvil;
Prefers [color=#cc3300]to act on instinct and impulse[/color], choosing to fight before thinking

[color=#cc3300][b]Personality:[/b][/color]
Foul mouthed and abrasive on her best days, it’s hard to imagine how Professor Byrne came into teaching. Her demeanor comes off as harsh and brutish, and some students feel more like they’ve been dropped into a boot camp than a school while taking her classes. She teaches as if readying her students for a war outside the school doors; whether it be real or imagined. 

She is standoffish toward most people until given a clear reason to behave otherwise. Her sense of humor is dry and bitter, if not a bit crass. She has little pity for those who seek it or perceive themselves worthy of such: Whatever sense of sympathy she once had is kept locked away.  Her loyalty is hard won, but undying once it has been earned. Despite a gruff exterior, she leads with her heart more than her head. This makes her an excellent teammate to have on your side, and a devoted friend. 

She believes that pressure is the best motivator, and will not shy away from exploiting a student’s weakness to teach a lesson. Experience is a fine teacher: It was good enough for the war generation, and it will do well enough for her class. If tears are the cost for turning a coddled child into a hardened soldier, it is a tax she is willing to collect. 

[color=#cc3300][b]Brief History:[/b][/color] 
Maeve was born to the Byrne lineage— A relatively proud, if only middle-class, family of Aeromancers and fowlers. She had a bitter, though stable, relationship with her parents, and a rebellious childhood. She despised traditional mage gatherings and Council-hosted socialite events, but made the best of them by helping herself to the free drinks and occasionally engaging in the good-natured pestering of another teenage mage named Oren.

Maeve's carefree youth was interrupted at the age of twenty by the start of the War between Houses. She was completely unpracticed in battle, but a combination of pride and youthful stupidity drove her to enlist regardless. Whatever supposed glamour war may have held was quickly wiped away in real combat, as she paid the cost of watching many teammates her own age die bloody deaths.

By coincidence, she ended up fighting back to back with her childhood acquaintance Oren Kovalenko. Byrne and Kovalenko made it through the war by what some would call skill and others luck, and eventually rose through the ranks to serve as a two-woman special ops team known simply as "Storm II," specializing in massive destructive endeavors. The two were also members of an elite strike team, Alpha-Omega, with a reputation for finishing what they started. Maeve gained two to three other close comrades through this team, but generally tried to keep the others at arms' length after watching so many fall. 

In the years after the war, Maeve served the Council and others doing piecemeal missions that required some extra muscle. She drank, attempted a relationship here or there, but mostly just kept her head above water where she could. 

When Marchand was founded, Byrne had her reservations about signing onto the faculty. She was eventually persuaded by the mission of the school, and put aside her personal doubts to serve the greater cause.

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[hider=Larke Sterling]
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   [color=#336699] [b]Full Name:[/b] [/color] Larke Charles Sterling
 [color=#336699] [b]Age:[/b] [/color] 17
   [color=#336699] [b]Gender:[/b] [/color] Male
      [color=#336699] [b]Primary:[/b] [/color] Aquamancy
[color=#336699] [b] Student [/b] [/color] 
[color=#336699] [b]Secondaries of interest:[/b] [/color] Healing, Levitation

   [color=#336699] [b] Description:[/b] [/color] Like all of the men the Sterling family has come to be known for, Larke is handsome by nature, and confident by upbringing. Larke has a strong, fine jaw and a charming self-assured smile. He keeps his face clean-shaven, though his sandy brown hair tends to fall in whatever casually tousled way it decides to. He stands at a strapping 6’1”, with a lean, muscled build

His posture is relaxed but proper, giving off a certain air of aristocracy. He typically wears khaki slacks or jeans with a button down shirt, sleeves rolled to his elbows. 

   [color=#336699] [b]Personality:[/b] [/color] 
Larke is aware of both his looks and social status, though which one has left him more out of touch with reality is debatable. 

In typical interactions, he is warm and charming, with all of the manners and conversational prowess of someone stuffed into a tiny tux and forced to mingle since pre-Kindergarten. He can strike up conversation with near anyone about anything, but scratching below the surface or venturing into deep topics leaves him smiling politely while trying to paddle back into the comfortable shallows. 

Though proud of his family, he has an affinity for misdemeanor rebellion, especially when there are peers around to be impressed by his bravery. *

*Also known as “questionable decision making skills.” 

   
   [color=#336699] [b]Skills:[/b] [/color] 
He has the “Sterling Silver Tongue:” As heir to what is easily the most dominant family in the business of magical trade, Larke is an impeccable salesperson. Whether he’s selling a lie about his feelings toward the business, or his affections to the girl in third period, it’s difficult for many not to buy. If a situation can be talked out of, Larke can probably manage it. 

The Sterling line has a virtual monopoly on most trade in the magical community, controlling the transactions of everything from ancient artifacts to corpses. As a result, they have a good amount of influence on the Council, which grants Larke near immunity from many serious repercussions. 

He’s also not God awful at the whole Aquamancy thing. 

   [color=#336699] [b]Weaknesses:[/b] [/color]
Larke has been raised with a silver spoon and a personal tutor, and tends to goof off. It’s difficult to coerce him into applying himself to things he doesn’t find exciting or intriguing. 

He can be out of touch with reality, and is unable to relate or empathize with the stuggles of others. That isn’t to say that he doesn’t care, but rather that he simply “doesn’t get it.” 

Also not bad at pissing off Norrevinter. 

[color=#336699] [b]Brief History:[/b] [/color] 
It is difficult to make sense of Larke’s childhood without first taking into account the family he was born to. 

The family reputation is one of cleverness, charm, and (mostly discussed in low voices by others with a scowl,) promiscuous sexual appetites amongst its young men. 

With this in mind, it is safe to say that Larke is very much a Sterling. He and his younger brother were raised by their nanny, as his parents were away for long periods of time managing the business. His childhood days were consumed by private lessons in the various arts of magic, poetry, music, society, and sport, as well as organized social events held by other wealthy families in the community. 

He was a social child who took well to these things, but rebelled a reasonable amount for attention. His freedoms were supposedly limited, but it was easy to get away with a good bit with no firm parental figures around to curb his exploits. 

As far as he’s concerned, being sent off to Marchand may as well be military school. 

[color=#336699] [b]Other:[/b] [/color] 
The Sterling family boasts a long line of seafaring Aquamancers, citing their ancestry back to the Minoan traders of Crete. Much of this record has been lost, however, and the earliest “proven” ancestry dates back to their participation in the German Hanseatic League of trade in the 12th Century. The Sterlings eventually split off from the league in the 15th Century, having gained enough influence in magical trade to stand without the support of the organization. 

Since then, the family has only strengthened it’s hold on magical trade, using both their magic and influence to ensure themselves as the most reliable source for most transactions.

That is to say, they are more than “wealthy.” 

They also have a centuries old feud with the Norrevinter family, resulting in high tensions almost all the time. 

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[hider=Mitch Ingram][center][img]http://67.media.tumblr.com/1532930b2bd673ce92c4f7a60985159b/tumblr_inline_mgj9rbl0lt1rsar57.gif[/img] 

[b]Full Name:[/b] Leila Michelle Ingram 
[b]Nicknames/Aliases:[/b] Mitch
[b]Age:[/b] 16
[b]Gender:[/b] Female
[b]Primary:[/b]] Runic Casting
[b] Student [/b] 
[b]Secondary of interest:[/b] Magical Weapons Infusement 
[b]Secondary:[/b] Familiar Conjuring (learned via home tutor)

[b] Description:[/b] Mitch is not remarkable in the least, and her actual appearance is often overlooked as most eyes are more drawn to watch her guide companion, Apple, than Mitch herself.

When people do manage to look at Mitch, most find her quite average: She has shoulder-length mousey brown hair and medium skin. She is on the shorter and thinner side, but not so much as to be the “most” anything: The curves of her body are slight, when not obstructed by poor posture and loose outfits. Her features are generally soft, and she has a girlish, round face; the kind of face that “could be pretty,” as one of her old schoolmates once said, if she took the time to maintain her looks. 

Her dark brown eyes typically appear out of focus, as she is legally blind beyond the point of prescription correction. She wears glasses to work at her computer, along with a magnified font. Outside of this, she uses no vision aids, "because it's just different kind of blurry after six inches." 

[b]Personality:[/b] Mitch is a young woman of intense cleverness, determination, and social awkwardness. 

In terms of living with her blindness, Mitch is well aware of her limits, but refuses to accept that they somehow make her less capable. She has a great deal of ingenuity, and uses it to pioneer new ways of doing things and securing independence. 

Despite this, she is hyper-aware of the opinions of others, and often assumes the worst from what those around her say and do. She claims otherwise, but any indication that someone dislikes her is taken to heart. 

To compensate, most of Mitch’s life, from friends to hobbies, exists online. She’s an avid and skilled member of the “Hactivist” community, fueled on by an innate sense of justice as well as her father’s career in information technology. Her sense of humor reflects the digital world she lives in, and is mostly made up of biting sarcasm, Internet absurdism, and self-deprecation. 

   
[b]Skills:[/b]
 Has a stable familiar- See below
 Comprised the entire runic alphabet into keyboard format with the intent of using it for rune-infused infiltration
 Excellent computer skills; can hack basically anything with an internet connection.


[b]Weaknesses:[/b]
Legally blind: Mitch can only see about eight inches in front of her face when using maximum correction and a reader’s glass.

She is also is not very good at the words and human-type things all the time. 


[b]Brief History:[/b] Leila was born to a mother and father, though public record shows otherwise:  Outside of the magical community and a few intelligence agency servers, she was never born at all. Allegedly, he father was a Computer Science Professor at Oxford University, and her mother was a government accountant. Less on the record, Mitch is pretty sure her dad works in cyber warfare, and may have killed somebody. Her mom definitely killed someone, and also probably works for some agency related to hiding monstrous summons. But her mom travels a lot. So, you know. *shrugs.* 

Aside from the discovery of her disability, she had a relatively stable early childhood, filled with love and doting, if not an unreasonable amount of in-home security measures. 

By the time Leila was seven, her eyesight had grown weak enough that she needed to use a cane or a guide to navigate. Hoping to give her daughter a sense of independence, as well as a companion, Mrs. Ingram tutored her in the art of Familiar Conjuraton. Over the next year, Leila became proficient enough to open a small portal, through which a small creature fumbled. 

Only, instead of a fluffy or comforting guide, Leila managed to summon a dragon-like abomination with six legs, purple fur, a beetle carapace, insect wings, and two mouths, one inside the other. 

It bonded on sight, and she named it Apple. 

In her preteen years, she followed her father to his lessons and sat in the back of his lectures, learning what she could and occasionally picking up a few dollars in exchange for helping someone with her homework. It was during this time that she took up the alias of Mitch Ingram, finding that the small software packets and apps she had been working on were more likely to gain consideration under a masculine name. Her father took to the new title, and before long, both he and his students had taken to calling her by her chosen name.

 Up until Marchand, Mitch’s schedule remained relatively the same: She kept to herself (and Apple) during her free time, used her cane to go to class with her father, and developed most of her social connections through the Internet. 

[b]Other[/b]: Mitch is legally blind, and can only see about six inches in front of her face with maximum correction and a reader's glass. Due to this, she navigates using a guide companion abomination. Her guide is a stable, permanent familiar who goes by Apple. ("Because he's a bit useless, and not all that impressive.")

Apple is the size of a small dog, with a dragon-like body shape. He has six legs, and is covered in a thick layer of purple fur. His underbelly features a carapace not dissimilar to that of a cockroach, and he has wings on his back to match. His tail is prehensile and features a barb that can occasionally drip acid when he is excited, and he has two mouths, one inside of the other. 

He likes to sleep on top of Mitch's feet, and wears a harness that reads "Working animal! Do not pet," while working as a guide. 

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[hider=Nurse Mariana Guerra] [center][img]http://www.bellezavenezolana.net/2014/Octubre/21/Patricia-Velasquez-pantera-fina_NACIMA20140920_0048_6.jpg[/img][/center]
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[b]Full Name:[/b] Mariana Paola Carmena Guerra (Formerly Guerra-Barnett)

  [b]Nicknames/Aliases:[/b] Mari; But also answers to: Mom; Mommy; MOOOM; We're Out of Milk; Have You Seen My Left Boot; etc

  [b]Age:[/b] 49

  [b]Gender:[/b] Female

 [b]Primary:[/b] Defense

[b]School Nurse[/b]

[b]Secondaries:[/b] Toxins and Healing


 [b] Description:[/b] Mariana is a medium-tall woman with a soft, slightly curvy build. Her facial features are gentle and pretty, if not showing some signs of age, with very expressive brows. She has kind brown eyes, medium olive-toned skin, and wavy black hair that falls to her mid-back when not tied up.

   [b]Personality:[/b] Mariana is a mother, with the patience and wit to match. She is quick to mentor and take those in distress under her wing, and is always willing to lend and ear or a hug to someone in need. While her kindness is bountiful, her trust is hard-earned. She is cautious of strangers, and while not mean, will keep them at a healthy distance until she can gauge their intentions. 

When it comes to protecting those she cares about, she has a fierce streak parallel to none. No means is too extreme to protect her loved ones, and her morality can become clouded in do-or-die scenarios. She
    
  [b]Skills:[/b] Very strong defender, specializing in shield work; ARNP (Advanced Registered Nurse Practicioner); Well-controlled toxin user and healer; basic combat and marksmanship ability; good judge of character; strong willed; expert cleaner of both spilled milk and tears.

   [b]Weaknesses:[/b] Quick to make impulsive decisions when someone is in danger; easily swayed by the well-being of her children; not typically a hand-to-hand or melee fighter

  
  [b]Brief History:[/b] Mariana was born to the Guerra family, a modest Defender line living in Cuba and Miami, known for inconsistent descendants. Some were decent shielders, about a quarter were very strong, and a quarter were born with no magical ability at all. Mari was one of lucky ones. 

In her late teens, she was courted by Erich Barnett, a young idealist from a considerably more prominent Defensive line than her own. At twenty, she was married and gave birth to her first son, Luis. 

Shortly thereafeter, Barnett pressured her into joining an "elite organization" fighting for the future of the magical community. They spoke of a better world for magical children, and Mariana was more than happy to oblige her husband's wishes. By the time it became clear that this utopia was to be achieved by the mass genocide of anyone in opposition, it was too late. Mariana was afraid for her life and the life of her son if she chose to flee.

Barnett grew more fanatical in his fascism as time went on, becoming first verbally and then physically abusive toward Mariana. She dealt with it, keeping up the front of the loyal wife to protect Luis. 

When her son turned ten, however, there was still no sign of magic in his blood. Barnett dragged him before several other members of the cult and forced him to undergo a ritual beating in the hopes of forcing his Defensive primary to manifest, to no avail. 

Mariana was told by Roderic Montana, a man who had come to be a close confidant among the increasingly unfriendly crowd. 

Erich Barnett was murdered in his sleep that night, and Mariana and her son left the cult along with Montana, who made a very timely appearance in aiding their escape. 

Mariana subsequently left her child in the care of her parents in Miami, and went off to aid in the war effort, providing vital intel based on her insider experience. She served alongside Montana on and off for the remainder of the Civil War, though she was bounced between bases whenever another shielder was needed elsewhere. Her friendship with Montana grew both during and after the war, though the two were frequently pulled in different directions over time. 

 She completed a master's degree in nursing, and took up a modest life away from anyone and anything having to do with the war.

Mariana was offered a nursing post at Marchand as an emergency replacement, and took it so that her youngest son, now thirteen, could attend the school within the next year without having to be far away from her.
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