Charmion Ligeia
First Vates of Ilyrium
Charmion Ligeia was the first Vates of Ilyrium.
Because of Charmion's obvious success, the Immortalium (through the Magisterium, of course) granted Charmion the first-ever Vates title, a title that exists to the present. A Vates in ancient Rome was thought to be able to predict events, and although most people assume that the Immortalium meant it as a tongue-in-cheek reference, the name was very much meant to reflect Charmion's magical talents in music. Although the gift of titles was usually meant to honor, in Charmion's case, it was meant to control her; once she accepted the title, she unknowingly relinquished all ability to perform anywhere or at any event that wasn't connected to the Magisterium or Council. Additionally, all of her music had to now be approved by the government for content control. This made Charmion deeply unhappy, but the money and prestige that came with the title was a small amount of comfort at the loss of her artistic freedom. Presently, the Vates title is still used by the Magisterium and Council and is bestowed every five years to a worthy musician who performs at all government-sanctioned celebrations. There is considerable wealth and prestige that comes with the title, as it is a hugely competitive position. The position is currently held by Celestina Tyne, a descendant of Charmion through her brother. A descendant of Charmion has held the title once a generation for many centuries, despite a wavering amount of talent in the family. Many assume this is simply to honor Charmion, although the Immortalium has other reasons for the Tynes being Vates.
Like her ancient Roman human counterparts, Charmion played a variety of wind instruments, including the cithara (her favorite), the lute, and the lyre. A cithara supposedly belonging to Charmion is on display at the museum in the Turrim Maleficis. Unfortunately, only fragments of Charmion's masterpieces remain and are housed in the Great Library.
Although no full fragments of her music exist, her most famous songs include "Geminos Ode," which tells the story of the twins she supposedly met who founded Ilyrium, "Condita Ilyrium," about the building of the great city, and "Hymnum Veneri", a hymn to her favorite Roman goddess, Venus.
History
Childhood
Charmion Ligeia was born Charmion Tyne to a family of middling wealth in what would be Ilyrium on March 5, 48 CE. Her father, Evander Tyne, was a bard of average repute; although he was never able to fully support his family with his music, the Tynes had historically had great success as musicians and so between some side jobs and family reputation, the Tynes enjoyed a happy life just as Ilyrium was being built. Charmion often accompanied her father to various taverns and other entertainment centers that were popping up in the burgeoning Ilyrium. From an early age, Charmion would sing along to her father's tunes, and her father was thrilled when his tips increased when she would join him. Charmion and her father enjoyed a fruitful professional and personal relationship until Charmion was 16. Wanting to set off on her own, she told her family of her plans. Angry about losing his extra income and prestige, Evander gave Charmion an ultimatum between leaving her family forever or continuing their partnership. Charmion was saddened, but not surprised, that when she declined to continue their partnership, Evander banished her from the Tyne estate forever.Adulthood
After the fight with her family, Charmion left the Tyne household and moved to her own cottage on the outskirts of Ilyrium. (She had been saving her own money without her father's knowledge.) At this point, Charmion changed her surname from Tyne to Ligeia, both because of the anger she felt towards her family and because she desired to have a unique non-monosyllabic surname. Because of her eventual status, she was also able to afford her own villa outside of Ilyrium, the ruins of which can still be seen today. Although many Ilyrians found it strange that a young woman would live by herself, Charmion ignored the whispers and set about to make a life for herself, where she was in control for the first time in her young life.
Magic
The practice of Arbitriums had not yet been established in United Britannia and Hibernia, so Charmion was seven when she discovered she had been born with Dark Magic. Dark Magic had not yet been outlawed, but the disdain for it was already clear to Charmion. Because of this, Charmion threw herself into her music and simply did not mention the magic she was born with. However, once she left her father's control, Charmion began to notice that by imbibing her music with magic, she could subtly entrance her audience. Charmion didn't utilize this power to such an extent that her fans felt cheated, but it fetched some extra coins when she needed it. After experimenting for just a few months, Charmion began to imbue her songs with even more magic. During a famous performance at what would become the Circus of Wonders (now simply a simple performance hall), Charmion began to sing of the legendary and bloodthirsty Tenebris. In the middle of the song, screams began to echo from the outside, and to everyone's dual surprise and horror, a Tenebris had appeared and began to massacre the people of Ilyrium. Luckily, the Tenebris was captured and killed, but not before dozens of witches had been slaughtered. No one thought to connect the arrival of a Tenebris with Charmion's song, but Charmion suspected it. Of course, Charmion didn't want to wreak havoc once again on her fellow Ilyrians, but she needed to know if her singing had, indeed, caused the Tenebris, so she set about to experiment on her own. Charmion managed to conjure up all manner of Dark flora and fauna, although she was able to control all of them on her own. Unsuspecting the Immortalium's ultra surveillance, Charmion continued these experiments for a few weeks before she was visited by the Immortalium in 71 CE. Although deeply honored that they wanted Charmion to work for them, she declined their first offer. After realizing the offer was not an offer but merely an order dressed as a request, Charmion begrudgingly entered the service of the Magisterium/Council. She quickly became a fixture at all government-sanctioned events, and her songs became ubiquitous. Although the Immortalium was unsure of how she was able to have such power (originally, they thought it was the result of a different kind of Psychic Magic; Charmion was able to keep her Dark Magic secret even from them). Over the period of several months, Charmion became the most popular musician amongst UBH witches.
Vates Title
Main title: VatesBecause of Charmion's obvious success, the Immortalium (through the Magisterium, of course) granted Charmion the first-ever Vates title, a title that exists to the present. A Vates in ancient Rome was thought to be able to predict events, and although most people assume that the Immortalium meant it as a tongue-in-cheek reference, the name was very much meant to reflect Charmion's magical talents in music. Although the gift of titles was usually meant to honor, in Charmion's case, it was meant to control her; once she accepted the title, she unknowingly relinquished all ability to perform anywhere or at any event that wasn't connected to the Magisterium or Council. Additionally, all of her music had to now be approved by the government for content control. This made Charmion deeply unhappy, but the money and prestige that came with the title was a small amount of comfort at the loss of her artistic freedom. Presently, the Vates title is still used by the Magisterium and Council and is bestowed every five years to a worthy musician who performs at all government-sanctioned celebrations. There is considerable wealth and prestige that comes with the title, as it is a hugely competitive position. The position is currently held by Celestina Tyne, a descendant of Charmion through her brother. A descendant of Charmion has held the title once a generation for many centuries, despite a wavering amount of talent in the family. Many assume this is simply to honor Charmion, although the Immortalium has other reasons for the Tynes being Vates.
Lupinalia Massacre
In 72 CE, Dark Magic was outlawed in Ilyrium. This was, of course, devastating to Charmion, as she had been born with Dark Magic, and she knew that her usefulness to the Magisterium and Council would be nothing once her power was quashed; Charmion was correct when she intuited that her lack of usefulness would mean her death. On October 16, 73 CE, the Magisterium rounded up 100 witches suspected of being born with, or using, Dark Magic. Charmion was called to Lupinalia Fields to sing at the mass execution (executions were commonly a public event). Charmion couldn't decline, so she arrived at the Fields to a hundred stakes set up by the Magisterium and Council, ready to burn the witches alive. Although Charmion strenuously objected to the deaths, the Magisterium ignored the young girl and simply ordered her to sing for the entertainment of those that had gathered to watch the deaths of the Dark witches. Charmion did, indeed, begin to sing, and when she saw the massacre of Dark witches that was about to take place, she used her magic to call forth all manners of Dark creatures, whom she knew would follow the command of those with Dark Magic. Charmion hoped that fatalities would be kept to a minimum, but the battle whipped up the fury of the Dark witches (both those about to be executed and those that were not yet captured), and many thousands of witches lost their lives that day, despite Charmion's desire for that not to happen.
Death
Charmion was killed during the Lupinalia Massacre. Although Charmion possessed Dark Magic, she didn't want the violence associated with the massacre. She was ordered by the Immortalium to decimate Mala forces, but she refused, and in a fit of anger, the Immortalium killed her (much to their later regret). Mala forces supposedly recovered her body and house the ashes in the Crypta Labyrinthus. Later, the Immortalium (through the Magisterium and Council) tried to eradicate any mention of her existence, but her ubiquitous popularity meant that was nearly impossible. However, much of her music no longer exists, and so only fragments, or descriptions of her music, survive.
Legacy
Unknowingly to the Immortalium, Charmion became a sort of martyr figure to the Mala. Her power became legendary, and her refusal to kill the Mala meant that they worship her almost to a god-like extent. Charmion is a common Mala female name, and music is one of few Mala-approved recreational activities. As mentioned, the Immortalium has strenuously attempted to erase all mention of Charmion, but legends of her still persist. After the realization that she would not be forgotten, the Immortalium decided to continue the tradition of appointing a Vates, and instead attempt to paint Charmion as an innocent songstress who was sacrificed by the Mala during the Lupinalia Massacre. Like with many things concerning the Magisterium and Council, many Ilyrians suspect her role in history is bigger than the government would like to admit.
Music
Charmion preferred epic historical-poetry, odes, and hymns; many of her songs told stories or were in deference to her religion, Roman Pantheonism.Boscoreale by Wikipedia
Species
Ethnicity
Professions
Date of Birth
March 5
Date of Death
October 16
Life
48
73
25 years old
Birthplace
Place of Death
Children
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
A full but tragic life. Did her education before here family disowned her include the playing of instruments or was that something she learned on her own later? Good job on the layout of the article. I do find it interesting that the magic is considered Dark Magic just because it can manipulate emotions, although I guess I can see why.
Thank you! And that is a good question I had not thought of, so when the contest is over I'll add it. Dark Magic is basically the name the government gives any type of magic they deem 'evil', whether it is or not. Thanks so much for reading/commenting!