The King's Star rests in the breast of the burning lion. Vesper Castille, born beneath its bright roar, was never destined for anything but the blazes of old glory. Seven days of trouble left the moment Vesper arrived. Desert winds stopped their roaming walls; the shores of Rabat stopped their raging waves; buildings settled into the land again, people freed from walking in terror or bent like the old Juniper trees.
It was, as far as Castille witches can read in stardust and palms, a sign of true power.
But then there was Vesper, who was more like a lottery ticket than a sure thing. The Oris of the family was a violet flame of authority: the cosmic fire bird, burning all that could be away so only itself would remain. Once, a fire bird had nearly destroyed the Asian continent. Rumors dated further back, how they had been worse than dragons, turning temples into rubbles and kingdoms into ash.
And Vesper, instead, was babbling as any other newborn, magic blooming unicorn toys to life and sending bubbles of bright colors through the air. Hardly threatening. Milena loved him, her one and only son, her prince, but she kept him a secret. She traveled still, business upkept with her husband through the world, and sheltered Vesper as often as she could. Tutoring at home. Classes at all hours of the day until the child was exhausted, never once left with enough energy to do more than run through their home and back to bed. It wasn't until the sixth summer of his life that things began to change.
Risk was in the air and blood would soon stain the water, but Vesper hadn't any notion of Didac's arrival until he was feeling the might of a fist to the temple and falling into the water. Milena, busy on the shore, noticed far too late; the boys were not playing but in battle, and Vesper turned all the fairytales of his gift into might, raw and real. Though Didac's magic had always lent him an invincible body, from the very start, he found his flesh no match for the storm that brewed out of Vesper. With one swipe of forbidden claws, Didac's chest was torn open and the sky ripped apart.
Lightning struck all across the coast of Italy. The party on the sand broke apart, rushing to them both. Milena took to her son, rushing through the water to grab and calm him from his temperment. But inside, she was proud. Vesper was strange and wild in bold hues. He was power. He was worth pride.
After that, things changed in Vesper's life. Fighting. Spell work. And, of course, the attempts at arranged marriages. Great power comes with great burdens. But, with time, things eased, as Milena watched the need for a new generation to cultivate their strength in Seoul and to take the tasks of the Coven. For now, marriages and the Castille line are in wait, leaving Vesper a taste of freedom he indulges.
Even if Poe annoys him with her last minute calls for meals she knows he has to cook himself.
Castille Astrologians function in a variety of three viewpoints towards magic. First, they believe in the ability to harvest the land, which allows them the ability to learn a natural control of Earth magic, influencing nature, elements, animals and themselves. Land Harvests are the most innate magical gifts a Castille Astrologian has in their arsenal, usually colored in learning by the nature of their tri-star (as each tri-star creature is aligned with styles and essence of magic). Second, they believe in the ability to steal fruits from the sky which is their method of learning spells from grimoires, potions from recipes, brews from other witches. This, in essence, is the magic that permeates the universe, knowledge that can be learned and taught rather than intrinsically understood. Finally, they believe in the ability to reclaim the seeds of the stars which is the apex of the Castille magic: the ability to conjure, create and utilize cosmic and celestial force. This is the lessons they learn among themselves, unique to their bloodlines, allowing them to manipulate cosmic force with magical expertise.
in the last six decades, every Castille witch is under more severe threat of becoming their tri-star more absolutely, however, thanks to a marriage to a blood witch. this new threat provides the Castille witch with the ability to conjure a unique weapon made from their very soul essence, adjusted to their form and figure. this weapon (called a Forbidden) is not considered valuable and often manifests under distress, not by will of the witch at hand; each usage is believed to take away some of the witch's life itself.
vesper's folding fire bird (something caught between a fenghuang, a phoenix and spiritual flame) is a manifestation of the metaphors of life, magic and time itself. this manifests his weapons like sharp talons, conjuring blades over his fists in the forms of katar, patta and emeici depending on the stress at hand. it also gives him his unique brilliance — an ability that manifests like synesthesia and turns his harvest into a bag of metaphors.
δυναμικό (potential)
the new crown
illogical might
everything is possible
rewritten stars
magic ascendant
vesper also has a crescent moon birth mark on the bottom of his right ankle, one that all the castille witches have. it is the mark of their bloodline.
but, as the son of the most powerful current castille, vesper also has the five stars of cancer as a birth mark on his right hip. these are the stars he was born beneath and became part of his flesh.
although not an elemental witch, vesper is aligned with the notion of fire as well, making it easier for him to learn from grimoires dealing with flames, fire, light, sun, purifying, destructive, sexual, strength, storm, time and, of course, stellar spells easier than with other alignments.
relatively decent cook, excellent latin cuisine and some spanish specialties. more often than not he runs deliveries for coreanos kitchen, his part time work to cover excuses on exploration for hunting missions.
vesper speaks with fluency: english, spanish, korean and latin. he speaks conversational or academic: aramaic, ancient greek, italian, cantonese, french (traditional & creole), gàidhlig, gaeilic, cymraeg, faroese and norsk.
katar / daggers
severe nights
new discoveries
assimilated stars
emeici / claws
shrewd slices
shackle stars
onslaught blades
patta / blades
gouge fall
transfixed sky
the lancer fall