Hollene the Spherier
Anhvall's Skipper
"Though all my followers are dear to me, there are only a few that I can count as my friends. Among them, one is the being I had the chance and honour to be closest to. More than a friend, he is someone I can tell all my worries to, who knows to be sensible when I am firm, and who puts me in place when I step out of my role. He was with me from the beginning and even before, forsake a life of riches only a few can even dream of to join me in my folly. And I am not ashamed to say that without his support, my righteous journey, our group... None of this would have existed. Come hither and heed the story of the Hollene who freed himself from his lineage's shackles.
Rogue offspring of the prestigious Hollene lineage, the one who was titled the Spherier is a founder member of the criminal organization known as the Seekers, navigator of the dreaded Anhvall and closest friend to The Revealer, the maddened leader of their seditious band. A peerless skipper, he is renowned for his mastery over the psyche and regarded as one of the highest minds of the current age.
Hollene is an Oblogg, the octopus subspecies which originates from Oblogga. He is said to be short and handsome, with a skin naturally tainted with blues and reds. Though it hinders his light speech, it is considered attractive for many of his kind. However, this is all memories of what he might have looked like, since he has exiled himself in Anhvall's skipper room for cycles, without ever coming out and barely receiving any visit save for The ones who found.
Hatchling of the Hollene
To be born a Hollene is not as much of a blessing as most think it is. The lineage possesses a myriad of branches, with only twelve acknowledged as leading the rest. The skipper did not hatch from one of them, but from an insignificant part of the lineage, barely deserving the name of Hollene. Despite being given a higher mind, their direct line had never achieved anything great and was mostly composed of a few scholars and merchant or army skippers.
Privilege of his lineage, the early life of Hollene was spent leisurely, following his relatives in their skipper work and meeting the hatchlings of other lineages, mostly merchants. This might be at this time that he encountered the one who would become the Revealer for the first time, as hatchhood friends. Like most of his siblings, he was destined to become a skipper. His parents considered making him integrate the fleet if he was able to prove his skills.
The opportunity of a lifetime
Every cycle, the Hollene lineage select a few of its offsprings to be trained as Spheriers. The selection process is a trade secret of the lineage's Spheriers, who chose one hatchling with great potential from each of the twelve branches and two dozen from the rest of the lineage. To his utter surprise, Hollene was chosen at a young age. Nobody from this bloodline had been selected for as long as they could remember, so they wholeheartedly supported him, even though they knew the training would be tremendously difficult.
Celebrated and prouder than ever, he set to the training grounds along with fellow trainees he had never seen before. Each of them had an outstanding mind and the ability to reach the very top of Oblogga's social hierarchy. Having received close to no mental training before, the apprentice could barely fathom the gap that separated him and the others, especially the twelve from the main branches. Nonetheless, he was not one to give up that easily and devoted himself to overcoming this massive chasm.
Dreadful apprenticeship
The lineage has only a few Spheriers, yet they are viewed as the most talented individuals of the whole Expanse after the Spheriers of Vnloohvk. This is mainly due to their hellish and merciless training. Where most lineages cherish and protect their spheriers to be at all costs, the Hollene had no such weakness. After the initial learning phase, a fully-fledged Spherier would mentally strain them and push them to their limit until their mental barrier collapse. Then, having seized control of the thoughts and body of the unfortunate student, the professor would force them to throw themselves into the Expanse, only to be crushed by the density of the deep waters or frozen to death in the sky.
Despite a rough start, Hollene quickly realized that he had an innate talent. Never once did he fail to repel his teacher's assault, but he was also a prodigy at invading the minds of others. In fact, he was more familiar with mind games than anyone would have guessed then. Penetrating the psyche of a skip or a Sphere is an entirely different exercise as the one of an individual. The latter presents less risks but requires more finesse or it might jeopardize the mind of the victim and lead to its destruction. Thus, a skilled Spherier is rarely equally talented at controlling the thoughts of other people.
Hollene was both and then some. During his learning time, he got close to a handful of other students, who would not make fun of him for his unusual skin colour or being from a lower branch. In return, he helped them unlock their potential by altering their mind structure, a feat even the oldest Spheriers have a hard time pulling off. He remained silent about that even to his friends, out of modesty or fear of being shunned. While the trainee was happy to help, he came to hate the feeling of piercing through the minds of other people and always did so with disgust.
The five of them soon became Spheriers in two-thirds of the time that would normally be required. They also happened to be the only survivors of their school. The new generation ventured into the depths of Oblogga to tackle their duties as Spheriers. Among them, Hollene was quickly noticed for his hard work and zeal. Still considered young for his trade, he was approached and invited to the Great Game.
Entering the Great Game
The Great Game is the political scene of Oblogga, where Spheriers, Reef Seat-holders, wealthy merchants and religious representatives confront the Council about various matters. Reserved only to the highest minds with the greatest mental fortitude, it is a dangerous game where Spheriers continuously attempt to influence the balance towards their partners' objectives or for their own agendas.
Hollene became an invaluable asset for his lineage, as he not only was able to defend the lineage's spokespersons from outside invasions, but he proved himself to be the most discrete mind controller of the Game. Whenever a scale needed to be shifted in the Hollene lineage's favour, he would step in and make sure everyone was on the same note. The Spherier even managed once to make the incorruptible Tkktskr Consortium falter and change its mind on a critical decision.
Truth be told, it was a favourable turn of events that allowed me to achieve this feat. The Consortium was suffering internal struggles and it had lost two of its master spheriers. The crabs were in a more vulnerable state than they ever were and they learned their lessons, so I don't think I could do it again, even now.
A tenacious rumour says that it is in the Great Game that Hollene met the Revealer. Obviously gifted with a higher mind, he might have entered the fray as a merchant's herald. They have the greatest turnover out of all the factions as the influence of the mercantile lineages comes and goes with their financial success. Tasked with probing the thoughts of the newcomer in the Game, he would have been fascinated with the ideals of truth anchored deep within the mind of his future friend, and decided to turn his back on his family and join the Revealer's quest.
Stealing Anhvall
The main reason why someone who entered the Great Game is never allowed to leave is because the most dreadful secrets are traded there. This applies even more to Spheriers who regularly get access to secrets that are not meant to be revealed. One such untold truth that Hollene discovered was the existence of Anhvall, the offspring of the legendary Sphere of Krkklia. From the thoughts of the lineage head, he learnt the unique features of the skip as well as its location.
That alone was not enough to make a devout like him turn against his lineage. However, when delving deeper into the knowledge of his lineage, he learnt through a hidden Memory that his branch was once one of the leaders of the Hollene, and possessed a better connection to the minds than anyone else. They were the ones who thought to tame Anhvall. Frightened by the innate power of their kin and furious about their banishment from the Sphere of Oppollln, the other branches allied together and annihilated most of his direct ancestors before wiping out the minds of the rest to reduce its influence to shreds.
Seeking the Truth
Disgusted by this story, Hollene turned against his lineage and stole Anhvall from its secret lair along with the Revealer and some who had joined their cause. Aligned with the ideals of his friend, he has already unveiled the story of the lineage's internal struggles, though he was called out as a liar. He now travels the Expanse to uncover more secrets, using reluctantly his amazing skills to extract the deepest and darker secrets of anyone who wishes to hide their sins.
The Obloggian Perspective
Ah, a tough question you have here. Don't ever ask it to a Hollene if you value your life... As for me, well, story says he's the greatest Spherier that ever lived, so that's something to be proud of, right? On the other side, he's a traitor who disclosed vital secrets of his own lineage and mingles with a flesh that isn't from here. And if it was only the secret of his lineage, it might not have been such a big deal, but he went on and unveiled many secrets from the very depths of our Sphere! Now that's not something to forgive lightly. He's been banned from Oblogga and I wouldn't want him back! Not that I'd be able to recognize him, of course, but the other Hollene would, so I tell you he's better secluded in his dark lair or whatever Sphere he fled to.
I remember them all, although they are certainly dead by now. We worked together at first - Spheriers often work in teams, you know. But I soon outgrew them, and the coordination worsened. Spherier's classes must be on similar talent to be efficient, and my own skill became a hindrance. I often wondered what could have been, had I restrained myself from staying with them.
A surprising title
Why would someone who chose to forsake his duty as a Spherier to embrace a skipper's life take on such a title? And a short one at that. It strikes as odd, especially since he was already nicknamed Anhvall's skipper long before he got his title. Perhaps the reason lies in his spite towards his lineage. With such a title, no other Hollene can ever receive the same, or even one which begins with "the Spherier" without clashing with their legendary brethren. He might have been rejected by the lineage's heads, titled signatures have power, and to go against them is foolishness incarnate.
While this is the most common theory, some scholars object, arguing that it is too out of character for the Seeker. As hateful as he might be towards his origins, he was only depicted as a kind and benevolent person who seldom let personal grudge interfere with important matters. To this minority, Hollene's title holds a much deeper significance, the key to enlightenment he received at the same time as his own title.
Etete
In his journey, Hollene found more than the truth. He found love. Now, interspecies love is rare for many reasons: it may be hard to communicate, mating is out of the question, and physical expectations vary widely, as far as finding any other species repulsive. Some say such love is against our very nature, while others that being able to look beyond the limitations of our worldly bodies is the purest form of love. In any case, the mutual love between Hollene and the ray Etete is undeniable.
She is the communicator of Anhvall and as such worked in tandem with Hollene for a long time, and the two of them grew closer and closer during their adventures. Caring and affectionate yet firm and deadly when need be, he also finds a respite in the impenetrable mind of rays. It is sometimes easier not to be able to read one's thoughts, to merely listen to their words and trust them as they are.
This was fascinating as always! I've wondered before why the amazing mental power of spherier are not put to other use and I see here that they are indeed :p That's really an interesting way to do politics XD I love how you describe Hollene and is unusual coloring and his childhood and training. Just a question, by "title", do you mean that he's simply called "Hollene" like his lineage rather than a more personal name?
Well, one of the advantages of WAWA is that I get to stumble upon comments I somehow completely missed. I'm glad you liked it! That article about signatures and title is way overdue, but as individuality doesn't really exist for most lineages, the signature, or name, of their members is simply that of the whole lineage. When one affirms their individuality, usually through some spectacular feat, they are granted with a title. Titles are sometimes given, but most of the time chosen, then appended to the signature of the now individual. So Hollene full signature is now "Hollene the Spherier", and he is the sole holder of this name, as far as Memories can recall. He is still called Hollene for the sake of convenience, unless he needs to be distinguished from his lineage as a whole, or to highlight the fact that he's a truly remarkable being.