Background

Pre-Specter Era (1980-2003)

Thaleia Antonette Perez lived her life on a chase. Born from a Narim and an Anatolian, which are sworn enemies, her life was already imprinted with their treason. They fled through different territories carrying different identities, but regardless of their efforts, the intel of Narims were more advanced. In every cave they pursue, the light in the end would also mean their surrender. Thus, they became resolute in staying in the dark, of staying under the shadows. They dug deeper and explored the endless tenebrosity to the point of exhaustion, with occasional temptations of looking back and experiencing the vibrant life they were accustomed to. However, the mere existence of Thaleia inside her mother’s womb already indicates that the light she will get exposed to will be different from theirs. Rather than the scintillating sun brimming with freedom and peace, she will instead be faced with the fires of Narim’s Hell. Therefore, they treaded on until they settled. They then associated themselves with the natives of the underground—prostitutes, drug lords, mules, prison escapees—and adjusted their system to poverty with the malnutrition and derangement it brought. On rare days, they would encounter runaway Anatolians who chose to throw away the yoke they were forced to bear. Among them was Pablo Perez, founder of the Black Market, one of the illegal groups who runs transactions for the corrupt politicians and their affiliates. With their drive for survival and the aid of their newfound companions, they made the underground a sanctuary and a faux paradise for their little girl. They carved off a small portion of the cave, enough for light to enter to compensate for the liberated life they hoped for, yet deprived of their daughter due to their selfish love. It was a harmless act intended to sprinkle hope amidst the dark, somewhat a supposition that the deadly clan finally gave up and left them be. 

 

The immense bliss they felt in a short span of time led them to forget a fundamental principle about the Narims: they are everywhere. They are vines with a vast tropism capable of ensnaring their prey and torture them in the worst way possible. The perpetrators’ silence disillusioned Thaleia’s parents, allowing them to have false hopes of safety, eventually leading them to unknowingly provide an opening and expose their weakness. Indeed, they are masters of psychological warfare toying with their prisoners’ lives however they please. The cave, in the end, is still under the Narims’ jurisdiction, and the sanctuary they built was nothing but a cage. They worried for Thaleia the most. Their sweet little pea, three years of age, with her round eyes gleaming with innocence and curiosity, hidden from the horrors of their past. Afraid of the foe’s potential to inflict misfortune upon her and guilty for involving their child in this political chaos, they begged Pablo to take Thaleia with the location of their stash of riches and escape. From then on, he became Thaleia’s foster father.

 

They traversed through numerous seas until the influence of those lethal witches were no longer felt. Eventually, they sought refuge in another cave, the slums of Madrid, where Pablo continued to flourish his territory, connection, and property. He may be Thaleia’s father in name yet his treatment of her was far from what she was used to. Pablo had an icy disposition and a strict character; the walls surrounding him were tall and expansive, leaving no door for his enemies to infiltrate. He considered Thaleia as a tool and trained her to be his right hand. At a young age, he sent her on dangerous dealings as a middleman and left her to fend for herself should the negotiations go sour. He killed Thaleia’s innocence and disabled her capacity to feel, yet never held himself accountable for the girl’s wreckage and even considered her existence a debt she should be willing to pay. 

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Thaleia grew up to be his puppet, the chapter with her biological parents by her side completely washed off by his tyranny and manipulation. She married the principles of his business, which prospered and in time became an organization overflowing with illegalities and enemies alongside their gold and fame. The crimes they once committed in secret eventually reached the attention of the general public, the organization became infamous for their pernicious deeds yet their connections to the higher-ups easily leads such cases to a close. Lady Justice is also a being whose desires are explicitly expressed underneath her thick blindfold; as long as the Black Market Organization (BMO)  gives her satisfaction, her scales will always be fair. Pablo Perez became a billionaire and it is through Thaleia’s wit and refined methodologies which made him stay that way for the succeeding years. They were confident that their basking glory would last a lifetime, that such pseudo-kingdom they established was near the level of potency the Narim’s had, whose power at that time was evidently declining due to the internal conflicts and uprisings caused by their old-fashioned code. 

 

However, their confidence was immediately shattered because of their negligence: they overlooked the existence of a traitor—Leonardo Castillo, Thaleia’s secretary and a man working for Black Market’s rival company, the Bandits. He staged a mission requiring the presence of Pablo, Thaleia, and BMO’s operatives only to be welcomed with an ambush. They killed Thaleia’s comrades and left her under the table, ravaging her while she pleaded before taking her life as a fabulous finish. As if that wasn’t enough, they still went on violating her corpse before tearing her body apart and burning it.

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Specter Era (2003): The First Host

Blessed with a new identity despite allowing her past life’s memories to retain, Ramona Elize’s nightmares were filled with Thaleia’s miserable life, especially her unresolved death. This egged her on to choose a host whose longing was in par with Thaleia’s motive: revenge. The first host was an abused teenager hidden by her fourth foster parents in their attic to die. Unattended, Ramona easily possessed her body and transported her to the Scottish Highlands, where they underwent the rituals necessary to bind themselves to each other, making Ramona a full-fledged Specter. As a conclusion to the ritual, the Family should provide the new member with the necessary protection—both to the environment and to herself—until the fusion of the soul and the host becomes stable. This is due to the innate lethality of the abilities and the thin line between its use and abuse. It should only be until then would they allow the newcomer to go outside the Chamber and be provided with brainwashing programs given by The Order to fulfill the goals and objectives of the Family. If they fail to do so, a major tragedy would occur and cause an imbalance in the territory they have the duty of protecting, which may cause banishment or the removal of the Family in the council for a generation or two. 

 

In Ramona’s case, the overwhelming power and hunger for revenge and murder drove her to insanity. Her consciousness was Thaleia and her host’s hostage, pushing her to the brink to quench their yearning for a beating heart to stop. She was at the edge of a cliff, that was becoming a rogue spirit. The extreme usage of her ability and energy was way more than her host could tolerate—the substances supplying her body were sent to overdrive, accelerating the aging process, eventually tearing her skin apart and causing her internal organs to malfunction. By the time she was found, the host had already decayed and her soul was rendered helpless, on the verge of being transported back to The Void. The Specters prepared a cover up story to justify their neglect and decided for Ramona to blur Thaleia’s memories with the promise of taming their youngest and guide her to be subservient. 

 

Present Existence:  The Second Host

True to their words, Ramona became The Order’s most compliant subordinate. Her reckless nature paired with her instinct to hunt pushed her to either dive headfirst on a mission she barely heard the details about or be on a battleground’s frontlines. Ramona remained a Specter without a host for years, to make up for the blunder she committed and to explore herself as well as the human realm in her own volition. She managed to control her ability by training religiously, she garnered knowledge by consistently staying in the library to read every resource she could find, she became a being with firm principles by frequently listening to human affairs--be it superficial, whatsoever, she conditioned her mind to never be swayed by any life she would eventually reside in for she is a Spectral being above all else. Her spirit is hers alone.  

 

When news of war induced by internal conflict arose in Russia, Ramona became intrigued. She invested a huge fraction of her time in the human realm, driven by curiosity about their matters. She sneaked inside the offices and laboratories owned by the parties involved, she passively listened to their tattletales to save their own asses, she watched them murder one another and escalate the situation further. It was, afterall, such an amusing sight to behold. Kin killing their kin in exchange for territory and power, Ramona’s favorite genre. Matthaios Inej Orlov, Sergei Rashkovan Orlov’s greedy bastard son who was denounced as heir apparent and kicked out Orlov Heavy Industries (OHI), made use of his illegal connections through his glib tongue to assist him in taking down Vladimir Bodgan Orlov, his brother, as well as his family; and the dissolution of the Sun Empire, the product of Vladimir’s union with Aglaia Eleutheros-Orlov.

 

She was about to laugh the whole situation off when she got wind of Harper Maverick Alinsky-Orlov and Esther Felicity Alinsky-Orlov, Matthaios’ daughters, who actively ran away from their familial obligations to lead a normal, peaceful life until they were sought after, forced to carry the burden, which is their father’s crimes. Harper settled in Finland, an Education major aspiring to free herself from the grasp of her origins. She refused to follow nor tolerate her father’s rebellious whims for she knows how limited they are compared to their cousins’ capabilities, and she was well aware of how grave the consequences will be. Nobody wants to taste the wrath of the pure-blooded Orlovs. Most importantly, Harper never wanted war in the first place. Her close relationship with Eos and Mavis—her paternal cousins whom she lost contact with after her escape—will be put into turmoil, and she had no sufficient evidence to prove her innocence should they wish to condemn her. She was stuck in the middle of a situation with no person to call, no lord to pray over; she was left in a defenseless circumstance, that when Vladimir’s people abducted her while she was walking to her next class, her arms were open, welcoming them in surrender. 

 

The enraged underlings tortured Harper endlessly in every aspect possible: they would beat her to death most of the time, and when it’s time for them to rest, they would show her a video of Esther’s persecution on repeat. Ramona felt the need to intervene, but her ability as a Specter wouldn’t be of much use unless she possessed a host, and a host needed to be in a near-death situation. She had no choice but to wait for Harper to be in coma, yet the latter proved herself capable of surviving. The torment lasted for almost a week, which was a relatively long time given her frail physique. The strength of her mind overpowered her feeble frame, but at the end of the day, the human body is designed to perish when the damage is severe and the basic needs are not met. Harper was in a septic and malnourished state when Ramona finally got ahold of her soul, transporting it with utmost care to the Void, before taking over her shell. 

 

Upon assumption of Harper’s being, Ramona gave herself an ample amount of time to unify with her host, determined to evade the path to being rogue even though her sisters were nowhere near to assist her. She communicated with Harper’s soul, asked for her trust, and provided her assurance. She promised her things: that she will save Esther, that she will aid her cousins in usurping her father, that she will be a teacher loved by her pupils, and that she won’t sacrifice Harper’s identity in exchange for a lavish life; Ramona is known for keeping her promises. As soon as she stabilized—which was another week based on her estimation, Ramona executed Harper's kidnappers, sought for her dear sister, and teleported to her cousins’ abode in Russia, only to find out that they were already possessed by Calliope and Kaia, her fellow Spectral quasi-siblings. The war was immediately put to an end; they purged the traitors with their own might, and rebuilt the Sun Empire. 

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Personality

As "Ramona Specter"

Despite her strong sense of self, Ramona remains a zealot for The Order’s demands. She is dauntless and independent, particularly during their missions. She considers herself sophisticated, simply because of the books she spent memorizing the contents of due to boredom, although this was immediately disproved when she possessed Harper, who actually is. Her protective instincts sprouted from her fear of abandonment made her a reliable shield of the family. She is honest and outspoken, perceptive and thorough.

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As "Harper Sun"

Harper’s firm hold of her principles and her willingness to survive despite the extreme liability she was in captivated Ramona to intervene, although her soul needed to be replaced in the process. Even though Ramona blocked off Harper’s memories—as a compensation and to show respect—and solely relied on their post-mortem conversation, there would be moments when Harper’s mind would show fragments of her memory, sometimes to keep Ramona in check, sometimes triggered by an intense emotion. 

 

She is affable and diligent, enabling Ramona to easily socialize upon her return to Finland. She has a vast interest in worldly affairs, although she focuses mostly on the sciences. Even though she hated her father, she inherited his natural charisma and eloquence, effortlessly expanding her connections. Regardless of the number of her peers, she remains an excellent judge of character, allowing only a selected few whom she felt comfortable to expose her authenticity with, which is mainly her goofy and talkative side. She is clumsy and awkward, she usually gets stuck in situations she never wanted to be in. For example, she once stayed in the university’s bathroom for hours and waited for the couple by the next stall to release their carnal tension. She likes to exaggerate whenever she tells a story.

 

She prefers to be plain, both in character and in style. She would wear a simple blouse and a skirt or a simple dress, her ensemble finished with minimal make-up. She doesn't like to be the center of attention because she is cautious that one of the audiences may be a spy brought by her father or his enemies. She is envious of people who are privileged with liberation with no genetic chains to tie them down. She is overtly conscious to the point that she was once accused of as a people-pleaser, though her tolerance for hatred and pettiness is usually high, so she tends to dismiss such accusations immediately and pays them no mind. She is, with no doubt, kind, but she knows her limits. Whenever a stranger crosses the line and abuses her courtesy, she would notify them through words that hurt like daggers with a dainty smile. 

 

She envisions herself as a teacher with a strong conviction who won’t fall for her students’ mischiefs, who will earnestly study the lesson and provide them with high-yield visual aids, and who will impart them with knowledge which can help better their future.

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