Aria Callista
| Aria Callista | |
|---|---|
| ((Art someday)) | |
| OOC Information | |
| Full Name: | Aria |
| Gender: | Female |
| Age: | 20s or 30s? |
| Hometown: | Uncertain |
| Hair Colour: | Black |
| Class: | Cleric, Oracle |
| Role: | Pope of the Church of Granas |
| OOC Information | |
| Theme: | Original |
| Player: | User:Hats |
Pope Aria Callista is the current spiritual leader of the Church of Granas. She was elected to the Papacy to succeed the deceased Zera Innocentius after spearheading an anti-corruption campaign that culminated in the exposure of Solarian sponsorship of the Ethos Society. Her papacy has focused on preparing Filgaia for what she sees as an imminent Day of Darkness exemplified by the subversion of the Church itself.
Background
What information exists suggests that Aria's ecclesiastical career began at a young age. Stricken with blindness from youth, she entered a convent in her teenage years and devoted herself to prayer.
Only in later years did she appear to manifest prophetic visions and develop stronger political opinions. She began to express criticisms of the Church's conduct in writing, eventually culminating by posting a manifesto on the door of the largest church in Guild Galad, signed "Your Impetuous Friend." The manifesto detailed the perceived ethical and moral failings of Zera Innocentius's papacy and predicted the imminent return of Valmar within the lifetimes of the document's readers, laying blame for the decline of Filgaia on corruption within the Church.
Over the ensuing months, the so-called Impetuous Friend's call for reform gathered an increasing number of followers, but remained a distinct minority within ecclesiastical circles, even following an incident in Guild Galad in which the sky turned red and a murder of crows announced that the Day of Darkness was nigh. However, the issue came to a head when Aria would later approach a group of Drifters with word of the apparent subversion of the Ethos Society by an outside group, urging them to help her investigate. This information led to the discovery of Solarian agents operating at the highest levels of the Church hierarchy, the splintering and decimation of the Ethos Society, and the death of Pope Zera during a massive purge of non-Solarian Etones at St. Heim and other sites around Filgaia.
In the wake of the chaos, the much-weakened College of Cardinals - minus several members - nominated Aria to replace Zera, recognizing that she saw the corruption at the heart of the Church most clearly when no one else did. She took the regnal name Callista.
Powers and Abilities
- Prophecy: While Aria is blind, she appears to experience prophetic visions, usually of an apocalyptic nature.
Aria seems to have no combat abilities at all. She relies on Church high priestess Selene and other Church guards to safeguard her person.