Lyra Whitesmith

Lyra's past is marked with tragedy. She was born in Taveton, a small town in the Grand Duchy of Tacia. At the age of three, both her parents were killed under mysterious circumstances near Calibridge Citadel, leaving her and her infant brother, Ben Whitesmith, orphaned. No official cause of death was ever released, but whispers spoke of something unnatural.

Lyra and her brother were placed in a Vatican controlled orphanage in Sadapintal, the capital of Tacia, under the supervision of Father Littlechild. Lyra was treated differently from the other children because of her striking purple eyes, a rare and ominous trait, drew suspicion. When she began reporting sights and sounds other couldn't perceive (whispers of the dead, flickering shapes in the shadows), the Vatcian didn't see a child in mourning, they saw a tool. Father Littlechild subjected her to tests and forced encounters with spirits convince she was a weapon meant to hunt Vampyres and malevolent Ghosts that stalk Caelum Prime.

These years left scars. Lyra learned to fear her own ability, to question whether she was blessed or cursed. The veil she could peer into was not always kind; it offered her glimpses of the dead, but rarely clear truths. Every time she used her gift it drained her, sometimes leaving her shaken for days. She began to dread the moments when her vision shifted into the ghost realm.

Despite this, she found two anchors: her younger brother, Ben and her closest friend, Sarah. With them, she felt something the Vatican had long denied her: trust. As the three grew older, they built a small found family in the face of institutional coldness and manipulation. Lyra became fiercely protective of them, determined to ensure that no one would use them the way she had been used.

At seventeen, she broke away from the Vatican, slipping away from the orphange with Ben and Sarah in tow. She carried a deep hatred of Father Littlechild and the system that saw as little more than an instrument of violence in Infinite Grace's name. This hatred would never fade and it sharpened her resolve to use her gift on her own terms. Despite this she still believes in Infinite Grace and follows the tenets of Eternal Harmony.

Returning to Taveton, Lyra established Whitesmith Investigations. Compulsion and purpose, drive her to be a paranormal investigator. Though she still fears that ghosts will manipulate her or that the Vatican will find her and drag her back into servitude, she presses forward. For Lyra, every case is an act of defiance against those who once controlled her. Every truth unearthed is another step toward reclaiming her identity.

Yet the shadow of her past never fully leaves her. She believes her parents' deaths hold answers about who she truly is and why she was cursed with Ghost Sight.

All Vatican controlled orphanages provide the children with all the necessary education for them to be productive citizens once they leave the orphanage, whether they go onto higher education or not. The tenets of Eternal Harmony are taught everyday. But at select orphanages extra education is provided to turn the orphans into soldiers that hunt Gloombringers, Vampyres, malevolent ghosts and other evil entities that threat the Human race. Sadapintal is one such orphanage.

Lyra's extra education was harsher than others because of her ghost sight. She spent long hours learning the following:

• Religious Studies: Memorizing scripture and learning "High" Cosmic
• Combat Discipline: The Vatican believed that their soldiers would confront physical threat when out looking/dealing with the supernatural ones.
• Occult Studies: Father Littlechild gave her access to fragments of records on Ghosts, Vampyres, and forbidden rituals. This led to her fascination with the supernatural, eventually to her opening Whitesmith Investigations so she could uncover hidden truths.
• Forced Trials with the Veil: Father Littlechild would force her into "sight sessions", making her use her ghost sight on command. Locked in dark chapels, crypts, or rooms believed to be haunted, she was forced to describe what she saw. Failure or resistance often meant punishment, both physical and spiritual.

Despite all the scars (physical and emotional), this education made her resourceful, disciplined, and knowledgeable in the supernatural. All of it set her up for success in her business as a paranormal investigator.

• Determination
• Resourcefulness
• Courage
• Independence
• Empathy

• Stubbornness
• Paranoid about her gift