Hestia

Hestia Nelson-Lockard

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Hestia’s physical manifestation is taller than Ellie was, standing almost six feet tall. She has a sturdy build, curvy through her hips with long legs and broad shoulders. It becomes clear after she starts to hunt with the family that she is powerful and fast, having acquired a physical strength similar to John’s. At initiation, her hair is almost waist-length and a very dark shade of brown; she cuts it into a short bob shortly thereafter and experiments with dyes and styles. Her hair is oddly resistant to the abuse of repeated dyes, so even a bleached permanent dye often reverts to her natural dark brown within 3-4 weeks. Her eyes are John’s dark hazel, but her smile is Ellie’s.

Identifying Characteristics

While most of Hestia’s physical features resemble John and Ellie, there are several odd things she seems to have picked up from other residents. Her nose is closer in shape to Sashi’s and her skin is a much darker tone than Ellie’s or John’s middle-to-northern European descent would allow for, making her look more Desi or Native American than Caucasian. She has Maddie’s low alto singing voice and is frequently mistaken for Maddie on the phone.

Physical quirks

Hestia has no known scars, though her body is covered with pale runic markings and magical symbols. Most of these almost look like scars, as the skin is lighter than her regular skin tone and slightly shiny, but she has full sensation in her skin and there does not appear to have been any injury in the making of the marks.

Because she has no childhood immunities or vaccination history, Hestia is very susceptible to outside illness. Her first cold is like a nightmare which requires active intervention. After the first few times she’s severely ill, the family negotiates to have her given routine vaccinations. Once her immune system is up to normal standards (and everyone else’s is, too, since the herd immunity had been compromised over the years) it becomes clear that her immune system is just as robust as anyone else’s.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

The consciousness that became Hestia became self-aware sometime around May, 2000. Her physical manifestation first becomes tangible shortly after John’s death in 2030, when she appears to be about thirty years old. At this time, she is only capable of manifesting within the compound, but after Ellie dies about a month after John, Hestia is capable of leaving the compound and appears to be fully human.

Gender Identity

Feminine, she/her

Education

Hestia has no formal education, but appears to have encyclopedic knowledge of the libraries within the compound. She can’t always recall the details, but always knows which books contain the required information. If a book is removed from the compound, she loses her ability to access it, though she still knows of its existence.
In addition to having this knowledge, Hestia has also been making her own observations based on the family's activities before her manifestation. She has recorded these technomagically in a file on the family servers called "Hestia" which no one noticed until after John's death.

Employment

Hestia is a physical manifestation of the magic Ellie and John wove to protect and militarize the family compound. As a result, she is inherently magical. She is highly sophisticated in the use of guarding, warding, shielding, and other variations of defensive spells as well as aggressive conjuration spells (like what John favored). She is not good at subtle attacks or subterfuge and tends to blow things up (often spectacularly) rather than erode or sabotage.

Relationships

Hestia

half-sister (Important)

Towards Charlie Lockard

4

Honest

---

Charlie Lockard

half-brother (Important)

Towards Hestia

1

Dishonest

---

History

Oldest half-brother. Charlie was extremely discomforted by Hestia’s appearance when she first manifested. He didn’t trust her, was very concerned about her and blamed her for Ellie’s death. It took extended contact before he started to trust her and he was one of the last members of the family to accept her.

Nicknames & Petnames

Charlie refers to Hestia as his sister, sometimes just as "little sister."

Hestia

daughter (Important)

Towards Ellie Nelson

5

Frank

---

Ellie Nelson

mother (Trivial)

Towards Hestia

5

Frank

---

History

Hestia managed to have several conversations with Ellie in her own capacity before Ellie’s death in 2030. Before that, Ellie often talked to Hestia without knowing she was actually being heard by the compound.

Hestia

half-sister (Important)

Towards Gunnar Lockard

4

Frank

---

Gunnar Lockard

half-brother (Important)

Towards Hestia

3

Honest

---

History

Middle half-brother. Gunnar was distrustful of Hestia, but quickly impressed by her knowledge of the libraries and magical awareness. When she also proved herself to be able to wield the magic as well as research it, he accepted her. Emotionally, he didn’t fully accept her as his sister until after Jane is killed.

Nicknames & Petnames

Gunnar refers to Hestia as his sister, sometimes only as "little sister."

Hestia

half-sister (Important)

Towards Jenny Lockard

4

Frank

---

Jenny Lockard

half-sister (Important)

Towards Hestia

4

Frank

---

History

Youngest half-sister. Jenny took one look at Hestia and hugged her. She knew this strange woman was her sister. While she trusts Hestia implicitly, she doesn’t always like her sister very much: Jenny and Hestia often butt heads the way John and Gunnar used to.

Nicknames & Petnames

Jenny refers to Hestia as her sister and calls her "baby girl," a nickname their father used for Jenny when she was a baby.

Hestia

daughter (Important)

Towards John Lockard

5

Honest

---

John Lockard

father (Trivial)

Towards Hestia

0

Honest

---

History

Hestia didn’t manifest until after John’s death. While he never spoke with her directly, John sang to her especially when he was working on repairs to magical wards or physical construction issues. He always wondered why it felt like someone was singing harmony with him, but never quite figured it out.

Hestia

friend (Important)

Towards Maddie Brewer

4

Frank

---

Maddie Brewer

friend (Important)

Towards Hestia

3

Honest

---

History

Maddie is in a poly relationship with Charlie, Sashi, and Thalia, making her an unofficial “sister-in-law.” Like Charlie, Maddie was reluctant to believe that Hestia wasn’t something dangerous that had killed Ellie to take her place. After Jane’s death, this becomes less the case: one cuckoo in the nest is a tragedy. Two is unheard of. Once she accepts Hestia, Maddie is delighted to have a running partner.

Nicknames & Petnames

Maddie calls Hestia both "Esther" and "Hest," both playfully or affectionately.

Hestia

friend (Vital)

Towards Sashi Misra

4

Frank

---

Sashi Misra

friend (Vital)

Towards Hestia

5

Frank

---

History

Sashi is Hestia’s “brother-in-spirit.” He recognized her magic as a hybrid of John’s and Ellie’s before anyone else did and was more present for her manifestation’s conception than anyone is fully aware; Sashi was there when John died and Ellie threw herself into his soul, trying to bring him back. This mingling of their souls is what brought Hestia fully into consciousness. Sashi suspects this is the case, but has long since decided that it doesn’t matter how she came to be, only that she is their true daughter.

Nicknames & Petnames

Sashi calls Hestia "Esther" or "Hest" in playful terms and occasionally calls her "Jelly" but only if they are alone since it bothers the rest of the family (John/Ellie=Jelly).

Hestia

friend (Important)

Towards Thalia Faust

4

Frank

---

Thalia Faust

friend (Important)

Towards Hestia

3

Honest

---

History

Thalia is Hestia’s “sister-in-spirit.” She accepts Hestia almost as quickly as Sashi does, especially after several sessions of in-depth magical discussion. Thalia likes Hestia and enjoys her company, partially because she finds the tall, statuesque woman embarrassingly attractive.

Wealth & Financial state

Ellie had set up a trust to support the compound on her royalties from her books. This maintains the property, pays taxes and utilities, allows for renovation and furniture, etc. Beyond this, the family supports itself through grifts, cons, hustles, credit card scams, and the like. Hestia rather enjoys planning and executing hustles, particularly pool.

Tarot Card

Current Location

Lockard Family Compound

Year of Birth

2000 18 Years old

Birthplace

Sioux Falls, SD

Parents

John Lockard

Ellie Nelson

Spouses

Siblings

Charlie Lockard (half-brother)

Jenny Lockard (half-sister)

Related Historical Events

• 2001
  Ellie and John finalize the compound's spells

Character Prototype

Ishita Malaviya, Indian surfer.