Rosemary "Syl" Seward

Rosemary Slyph Seward (a.k.a. Syl)

"Miss Seward do you remember what you and your sister's attacker looked like?"

Syl thought vague figures lurking at the edge of waning vision and the fate they had narrowly escaped. She could tell everything, she could even leave out the deal she'd struck making out like the reaper had arrived and driven them off much sooner. But if anyone knew that they'd been attacked with that kind of spell... No one would trust them no matter how absurd the idea of them going crazy was.

"No Ma'am, All I remember is..." Her voice wavers. "Being attacked and tossing a spell back at them before it goes dark. I'm not even sure what I cast.

— select passage from police tapes xx/xx/xxxx

Rosemary is the character that Sand Castles predominantly follows. Her friends mostly call her Syl for her middle name Sylph, though adults still usually call her by her first name. She is very close with her younger sister Camilla and the rest of her immediate family but things have been strained after being attacked alongside her sister on the way home. Her family afterwards has insisted on staying close which she wouldn't mind, except for the fact that it means they are suddenly popping into her bedroom doorway at random now.

Look I want to be safe as much as you want me to be but I can't handle all this hovering! You are literally two rooms away you don't need to stand in the door all the time!

— Syl to her mother during an argument

While she understands her family’s worry and to a large extent even agrees with her parents’ new restrictions on roaming around alone. She is also getting stressed with suddenly having someone always peeking over her shoulder now. Her downtime has taken a substantial hit from schedule changes and where time hasn’t been cut it has still changed.
Syl has been dealing with these changes along with the emotional aftershocks of the attack. Her relationships are being strained by a split between her and Camilla’s responses. While Camilla has developed a phobia of bodies of water to the point where she can’t bring herself to take a bath. Syl’s love of it has grown to an almost obsessive fascination.The paths leading to this change were built with barely any of her own choices. But choices never solely affect the chooser and all to often when it comes to this -

Those who matter don’t care and those that care don’t matter.

— Nobodystormcrow

Schooling

After Syl and her sister were attacked their parents had to discuss what changes in routine were necessary. While all their children had done or were doing fine at their current schools the fact remained that conflicting schedules made getting a ride hard and the proximity to the pier where the attack occurred was also an issue.
After deliberation it was decided that Camilla and Syl would be transferred to a boarding school Brackelsburg Boarding Academy. While being away from home would be a hard change they had the summer to adjust and the security is next to none. Additionally it is much farther inland that should hopefully mitigate Syl’s obsessiveness and Camilla’s phobia.

Family

Syl has four siblings and a large extended family. She is used to at least one sizable gathering a year outside of holidays. She is closest with her immediate family followed by her fathers parents and her uncles family.
Her eldest sister Alyssum is 26, almost finished with university and hoping to get a job near to home soon. She likes crafts and clothing design.


Her eldest brother Angrec Jr. is 17 and in his last year of highschool. After some terse discussions with their parents he convinced them it would be alright for him to finish at their current school because he was almost an adult and could carpool with one of his friends.
Camilla is a year younger than Syl, They were walking home from an after school get together when they were attacked. She seems to remember almost nothing but that hasn’t prevented her from being affected mentally by it. She still loves gardening even though she can’t stand to be around the family's tiny ornamental pond for the time being.
Syl's youngest sibling is Cress, he is almost five so her parents simply pulled him out of school for the time being and are setting up homeschool for now until he is a bit older. Cress's favorite animals are geckos and cats and his favorite thing to do is sing anything, but especially about geckos and cats.
Their father Elm works tuning magi-tech sensors for the weather he loves gardening which he does with his wife frequently.His other hobbies include cooking and telling stories.
Their mother Vervain works as an editor for several established novelists with a quick eye for details. Her work has slowed somewhat as one of her clients is approaching retirement and she is taking advantage of this to pivot Cress’s education to home for now. The siblings know that she used to teach at Brakelsberg and that she apparently retired due to stress. But they don't know what her class was. Vervain enjoys puzzles and strategy as well as drying herbs and gardening with her family.
Elaeagnus, their grandfather and Elm's father, is happily retired. He is spending his time woodworking for the crafts fair booth that he runs with his wife Hepatica. Fishing and antiquing with his wife are some of his favorite pastimes, along with family dinners with his grandchildren and teaching them everything he knows. He does his best to take interest in his grandkids' hobbies even though he doesn't quite understand all of them. Though he is pretty sure trading card games are kinda like baseball cards.
Hepatica, their grandmother and Elm's mother, is happily retired painting and making various soaps and other scented crafts for her and her husband's booth. She also loves painting while her husband fishes and antiquing with him. She also loves family dinners and gardening. She knows exactly what a trading card game is and can semi-regularly trounce her grandchildren.

Occupation: Psychopomp

After losing track of time hanging out in town one day Syl and Camilla went home the usual way past the pier. This had never been an issue before and the sun hadn't even set yet. But this time they were attacked by several adult magicians that started casting an illegal and extremely violent transmutation spell. The object of this kind of spell is do partially kill your target and transform them into a monster that you can control. Their soul bound to their body just enough to keep their bodies pool of magic from deteriorating. As she started to pass she cast a magic disruption using the remainder of her mana hoping her sister would have enough time to escape which killed her, momentarily. As Syl passed out from the pain of both her and her attacker's spell she came face to face with Death of the waters who met her as she had disrupted her attackers spell enough her that soul wasn't bound to the mortal plain.

Death took her hand guiding her up to sit and the searing ice in her veins slowly started to drain away.

"Will my sister be ok?" Death paused in bringing her to her feet and said. "I do not know, I do not control fate neither do I kill. But, I watch over the dead and you sister will not be left for those wretches that attacked you. My reaper soon approaches and he is not known for allowing the living to die while he idles."

— Excerpt of Syl's first conversation with Death.

Somehow Syl managed to strike a deal with death and return to the living, she got there in time keep her sister from dying but it didn't come for free. In return for her life being extended she went under the employ of Death as a psychopomp, much like the reaper that chased of the attackers soon after she was revived. Her duties are light for now while she lives, learning to lead ghosts on to the afterlife as well as identify traces of necromancy and combat its dangerous effects. But it's a job where retirement is more distant than most countries lifespans let alone a human's.