Personality

Brilliant and yet humble, Philli is devoted to her students and to her position in the Order. Calm and a tad reserved, she makes for a wise, caring teacher. She is tough on her students, but only so that they can improve. Eloquent and empathetic, she knows what words to say to help a struggling person succeed.

However, like all, she has her flaws. Anxious at all of the changes that the Archon has wrought upon her beloved Order, Philli has become overly cautious in her teaching so that she is not discovered. As she is dependent on the Order, she is loyal to it, even when it causes harm. A touch paranoid at being discovered and kicked out of the teaching branch of the Order, she still tries her best to be encouraging and compassionate, and inspiring to her students, so that they may succeed.

(146)

History

Philli was born as Philomela Nanidis in a small town of Ivras, barely more than a farming village, with a healthy fear of mages that showed via violent persecution. Her mother, Charlotte, was a leatherworker, while her father, Akakios, was a hunter, gathering most of the pelts for Charlotte's work. After a year of marriage, Charlotte found out that she was expecting, and the pair rejoiced. It may have been another mouth to feed, but another set of hooves was always useful in a small community. The pregnancy was uneventful, all the way up to the birth.

Then Charlotte saw the fin, the tail. The sign of a mage- something detested by their community, and by her. She nearly sounded the alarm, which would have led, inevitably, to the child's death, but some power stayed her, made her wait. Yes, she hated mages, but this was her child, the blood of her and Akakios, something that she had formed and brought into this world. She hated its magic- not its body. 

The child could not stay- but she would not let it die. 

It took convincing for Akakios to not leave his child out in a field to die, so deep was his hatred for mages, but Charlotte convinced him. This was their blood, their former joy, and though they hated that she had been born a mage, they could not condemn her to death. 

They told the town that the child was born ill, that they would travel with her to a larger town in order to get help for her- that they could not wait, so grave was her illness. Of course, they would come back without the child, saying that the child could not be helped, and that they buried her in Charlotte's hometown, as was Charlotte's wish. In reality, they fled to Namarast, the child wrapped in blankets to disguise her form. They left her at the gate in the dead of night, with only a blanket, a small leather toy, crafted in the shape of a dog, and a note with her name and the wish that she be protected and trained by the Order- and that they, as parents, never be found, for the child's, and their, protection. 

So, Philli grew up in the Order, never knowing her parents, only that they had abandoned her, leaving her only a blanket and toy. She never knew them, but mourned the loss of caring parents nevertheless. But the Order- it cared for her. It gave her food, and clothing, and plenty of children to play with when she got older. It gave her an education, and training. She grew in power, but grew even more in discipline. And though it hurt, never knowing where she came from, she was kind, and considered all of the Order her family. 

As she grew, she fell in love. A young cervine, a mage of water and ice, caught her eye. She was beautiful, and powerful, a former playmate that had become something more throughout their years of friendship. Romance bloomed- but nothing more than that. Philli realized with the breakdown of her first relationship that she did not experience sexual attraction. She felt romantic attractions, yearned for connections of a romantic nature, but did not need more than that. She wanted a friend, someone to care for and have care for her as more than friendship, but nothing more. 

Unfortunately, society did not always understand her. Some called her broken, or in denial. After two more failed relationships, Philli stopped trying. She turned instead to her career- as a powerful mage, loyal to the Order, she could do many things, go many places- but she did not wish to go far. She had been raised by the Order, given joy and purpose from a place of abandonment and sadness. Rather than go somewhere else and advise kings or nobles or councils, she chose to stay in the Order, a move some would call foolish, as it brought her less wealth and less fame. 

However, she felt that she needed to be in Namarast, caring for those like her- giving them a friend, a mentor, a guide. So, she turned to teaching, helping those beneath her learn to control and strengthen their magical gifts, to welcome them as part of themselves. She taught them that the Order was caring, and kind- it would protect them, always, and give them freedoms. They could see many things, and learn so much, if they listened and tried.

And then came the Archon. 

Overnight, Philli became no longer necessary. Children did not need to learn to strengthen their gifts, only control them. Those abilities should be hated and feared. New mages were to be controlled, limited only to Namarast, and contained for their entire lives. They were monsters. They were evil. They were not safe for others to be around. 

All of a sudden, Philli was ordered to push what accounted to pro-Archon propaganda in her teaching. She had to teach these mage students to hate themselves and their magic, that the only good magic was a nonexistent magic, a weak magic. Her heart broke for her students- once they entered Namarast, it was very unlikely that they would ever get out again. All of the things that she promised them were gone. She wanted to leave, to put in her resignation as a teacher. She could not take it anymore.

But the Order was all she had. Everything she owned, the Order had given her. She owed her very life to them, for they had taken her in as an infant and cared for her. She could not turn her back on the organization that had made her into who she was. But at the same time, she could not work for the Archon, spouting lies to the children who now begged for a way for their magic to be erased, when before they had marvelled at their skills. 

So she fought back. In little ways, of course- she would let students sign up for tutoring with her outside of classes, and when there, she would preach control, as she was required- but she would also let them experiment, let them try new things with their magic in an attempt to let themselves discover their limits. She would tell them that magic was nothing to be feared- it was a tool, and tools can be good or bad, depending on who uses them. If they were smart, stayed within their limits and did not push for more, and used their magic only for the betterment of others, they would not become monsters. She let them know that they were still marvels of the world, for they were alive, living and breathing and learning. She let them know that they still had friends in the Order, even if the top members were bad. 

She can only hope that it is enough, that she can make a difference even under the tyrannical rule of the Order.

(1171)

Siren's Call