Bookkeeper

The Bookkeeper of Alexandria was a phantom located in the catacombs underneath the city of Alexandria, Egypt. She was prominently known for being a collector of magical antiquities, particularly of hermetic teachings.

History

Early Life

The Bookkeeper (her real name is unknown) was born circa 70 BC. She was a Hellenic Egyptian, following the beliefs of the Greek gods and being Macedonian in blood. She was likely descended from a Macedonian soldier who assisted Alexander the Great in the conquest of Egypt. She likely grew up in Alexandria. Sometime during her adult life, the Romans began to gain considerable influence over Ptolemaic Egypt, to which she sympathized with.

Caesar's Civil War

Sometime in 48 BC, when the Bookkeeper was in her 30s, the city of Alexandria was visited by the Roman consul Pompey Magnus. He was killed by the king, Ptolemy XIII, in order to gain favor with Caesar. Instead, it insulted Caesar, who made political demands over the kingdom and sought to install Ptolemy's sister, Cleopatra, as queen of Egypt. Ptolemy XIII turned against Caesar, using his army to entrap him, and his legion, within the city and kill him.   It was the efforts of the Bookkeeper, sympathetic to the Romans, who allowed them to escape the clutches of Ptolemy XIII. However, the Romans would then besiege the city of Alexandria, and a fire broke out within the city. The fire spread to the library, destroying many of the hermetic texts stored within. When the turmoil of Caesar's battle against the Egyptians was over, the Bookkeeper was ratted out and brought before the priests of Hermes.   The priests of Hermes blamed the woman for the destruction of the texts (as she assisted the Romans into entering the city, inadvertently causing the fire). She was cursed to be forgotten until every last one of the texts was restored. Thus her name was stricken from history, turned into a phantom to wander the earth until she could rectify her sin.

As the Bookkeeper of Alexandria

Though the library would fall into disrepair over the centuries, the Bookkeeper would take every copy of the texts there and began to build a private collection underneath the city where she lived in shame. Many of these texts were about hermetic alchemy and magic, as well as druidic magic. The collections she had on druidic magic brought the attention of another phantom, named Fetch. Around the 19th century, Fetch asked for a "loan" on her magic book, the Druidic Magicus, in hopes of lifting his curse and destroying the Emerald-Men. He would be cut short as he was turned to stone by Cathleen Barnes, the Emerald-Woman of the day, who took the book for herself.

21st Century

As the year 2022 came, the Bookkeeper eventually returned to retrieve the Druidic Magicus back from Fetch, who had kept it for far too long. She wounded him and threatened him to never return to her abode. However, Fetch would plan to retrieve the book again, tricking Emerald-Man into helping him. The two returned to the Bookkeeper's collection. The Bookkeeper attacked them, and Emerald-Man summoned an earthquake in self defense. This led to parts of her collection being scattered. In the chaos, Fetch stole the Druidic Magicus again and escaped. Emerald-Man apologized, realizing Fetch tricked him, and the Bookkeeper forgave him. She would send him back home, on better terms.