Fiora Cardamus
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Fiora Cardamus
62
27th Arrival, 8233
166 cm | 5'5"
Female
Human
Wizard
Leader of the Arcanists
The Arcanists
Likes
Dislikes
Personality
Outspoken | Sharp | Analytical | Responsible | Self-assured | Dry-humoured | Meticulous | Brusque | Open-minded
Fiora's good-humoured appearance masks a soul that is sharp and steely as a knife. To new acquaintances, her demeanour can be disorientingly hot-and-cold - playful one moment, unforgiving the next - so she is often an intimidating person to approach. In truth, she simply knows herself well and is honest about this. She openly enjoys what she likes and openly rejects what she doesn't agree with. She has little patience for nonsense, excuses and wishy-washy half-truths, and has no problem calling someone out if they do something stupid. She has equally little problem supporting someone if she believes in them, no matter what others may think.
Fiora is firmly rational and therefore far from being an idealist. However, her mind is open enough that very little is ever ruled out as impossible. She can be quite accepting of ideas as long as they are given adequate reasoning and she is similarly willing to change her existing opinions or beliefs - no matter how stoic she seems about them at first - if she is presented with a good argument to do so. She can be reasoned with, basically, and is good at listening, though not necessarily agreeing.
Despite her brusque and sometimes overwhelming manner, Fiora is still, at heart, a warm person. She enjoys socialising and is lively, engaging and sincere in her interactions. In particular, she relishes intellectual discussions and insightful arguments, and enjoys rising to a good challenge. As long as something is supported by solid – or at least interesting – logic, there is very little anyone can say that will offend her, and in turn she favours blunt but thought-out honesty when speaking to others, expecting this approach to be taken just as sensibly. In the end, Fiora expects nothing from others that she does not expect from herself and respects those who are earnest in their efforts and willing to learn.
History
Given the name Fiorenzo at birth, Fiora grew up as the second son of a Nisalva oyster-fisher and Delvan theologist, on the south coast of Nisalvini. Together with her older brother, she spent most of her childhood helping her mother dive for shellfish and learning academics from her father, though her eagerness for knowledge quickly outstripped the narrow fields he could offer. Once she was old enough to run errands in town by herself, Fiora started to frequent the many libraries of Nisalvini and eventually enrolled herself in a public school despite the reservations of her father, who believed he could teach his children everything they needed to know. Between an offhand mother and a father who she increasingly could not see eye-to-eye with, Fiora ended up applying for a scholarship in Miras and succeeded in securing a position at the Academy of the Arcane.
Life in Miras was a wonderful time for Fiora. She immersed herself in both her studies and social life, finding a diverse range of friends with whom she would travel during the school breaks, instead of visiting home. After graduating as a Sorcerer with great skills in remote and runic arts, she returned home to Nisalvini, only to be promptly thrown out again by her father. He claimed that if she wasn't his son then she wasn't a child of his at all and, no longer willing to tolerate this kind of thing, Fiora left her family home for good. For a while, she stayed with her brother, who she had remained close with and who was by now living elsewhere in Nisalvini with a family of his own. Then, with the help of some friends, Fiora moved to Amedra, where she joined the military purely to gain educational opportunities. After switching from magical combat to scrying communications to research, she left military service and relocated back to Miras, where she undertook further studies, research and eventually teaching at the Academy of the Arcane. At the age of 45, she was nominated for Headmistress at the Academy and has overseen the position since.
Current Story
Though she may not have agreed entirely with their methods, Fiora firmly supported the students who rebelled against King Silvan's orders of censorship and academic suppression. In the wake of the clashes, she took everyone from the Academy who could not escape with her and created the underground group now known as The Arcanists. Using her extensive network of personal connections, Fiora has overseen their movements since then, keeping them one step ahead of the authorities who wish to crack down on them, and helping them uphold the freedom and preservation of knowledge.
Additional Info
Fiora specialises in telekinesis and levitation, and is well-known for both her finesse and strength in manipulating physical structure, gravity, acceleration and velocity.
She is very interested in the potential interactions of magic with space, mass and time, though much of this research is still heavily mired in theory and not plausible, let alone practicable. This doesn’t stop her from checking out the publications though, it's fascinating stuff.
As a child, Fiora was strongly faithful to Aurea due to her father's influence and teachings. Her views on religion have since grown very distant and no longer have any bearing on her life.
Fiddling with small objects telekinetically helps her think, so it’s not unusual to see spinning pencils and floating papers in her office. She’s tried to break the habit, but it keeps coming back.
In case it wasn't obvious already, she was designated male at birth.