Name: Morgan Mortirmir
Gender / Preferred Pronouns: Male, He/Him
Age: 20
Year and Degree Program: History & Philosophy double major, with a minor in Political Science
Nationality: American-Greek. Father was from Athens. Grew up in Boston.
Appearance: Black hair, brown eyes. Pale white skin, a sharp nose and a bookish dispostion. Tall and rail-thin; delicate hands and long fingers. cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/i…
Location and Notes on Star Mark: Large five-pointed star on the palm of his right hand. It is pale white -- but this is actually just a scar he inflicted upon himself to hide his real star, which is jet black and located on the sole of his left foot.
Star power: Small-scale energy manipulation. Such as creating a flame similar to that of one made by a lighter above his finger, or a spark of electricity. This was the extent of his power before his star became corrupted; presently he is now capable of significantly stronger manipulations, though this is unknown to all save himself. Without external resources available, Morgan can conjure a fireball or small bolt of lightning, though this is extremely costly to him as every evocation requires an energy source — usually derived from his own body's reserves. Sugar and fat reserves are typically burned for his power, and as a consequence Morgan has significant trouble putting on weight. He has also developed a voracious appetite and an infamous sweet tooth in order to replenish his body's reserves.
Personality: An introvert by nature, Morgan is seen as bookish and somewhat of a prude by his peers. He is highly sensitive, socially awkward, and has difficulty connecting with others. However, Morgan has a serious, assiduous demeanour and a sharp intellect. He cares deeply about the subjects he studies, and his ultimate and most secret passion is gaining the ability to affect societal change.
Biography:
Originally born into a loving household, Morgan was a quiet child. His father was Greek, having immigrated to Boston from Athens, and his Mother was a local. Morgan was a prodigious reader from a young age, consuming any and all text lain before him. Fiction, comics, dictionaries — it didn't matter. He read them all with the same appetite, though over time he gravitated towards historical topics. His father owned a successful construction company and thus their family enjoyed a comfortable life. This allowed them to enroll Morgan into several famous preparatory schools in the Boston area, where his interest in history was heavily encouraged. He found out about his star and its power shortly afterwards, and from then on had the personal tutelage and supervision of many so-called "experts" on the subject of star power, all hired by his affluent parents.

This all changed after the financial collapse of 2008. His father's company went bankrupt, and Morgan's family was forced to sell their home to make ends meet. His father swiftly became an alcoholic, and took out his anger on Morgan by beating him senseless from the slightest provocation, imagined or otherwise. This deeply scarred Morgan, and it was during these years that his star turned jet black. He became even more of a recluse, even more devoted to his studies. He experimented with his abilities, finding them significantly stronger than before. After a particularly bad beating from his father one night, Morgan snapped and struck his father with a bolt of lightning. Morgan promptly fainted from the excessive energy consumption, and his father was hospitalized. His parents, even his gentle mother, were from then on terrified of him. It came as no surprise to Morgan that he was soon enrolled into the Nova Excelsis Institute with a scholarship — doubtlessly his parents had sought any means to rid themselves of him. He has since studied at Nova Excelsis for four years.

Notable Rumors: He is rumoured to have a terrible relationship with his parents, and to have also written several textbooks under a pen name.
Trivia: Morgan embarasses easily. He also speaks Greek and Latin, the latter having been self-taught. He loves Roman history.

Name: Naomi Johnson
Gender / Preferred Pronouns: Female; she/her
Age: 16
Year and Degree Program: Naomi is a high school junior at NI. She doesn't really know what she wants to study once she graduates into the university program.
Nationality: American
Appearance: Naomi is a pale, freckled girl with hair the vibrant orange of fire. Her hair is long, reaching almost to the small of her back when it's down. Usually, it's tied back into two twin braids, placed over her shoulders. Her hair ties are always matching and never garish- always black, brown, or beige. Occasionally, on days where she wants to feel pretty, she'll elect to wear a headband. Her eyes are a deep brown. A tall girl, Naomi is 5 foot 11 inches and 145 pounds- a height that ensures she will never be able to confident wearing heels. There are a few burn marks on her forearms, and some where she might put her hands on her face when resting her face in her hands.

Her fashion sense is very understated. Most often, she wears unoffensive t-shirts with jeans. The t-shirts usually have some kind of corny slogan or design on them, or are from some sort of Bible camp. She always wears her t-shirts with an unbuttoned plaid shirt. She prefers boot-cut jeans by far, and usually wears a belt along with them. Tennis shoes and boots are her go-to footwear. But, probably her most defining piece of clothing is her gloves. Flame-retardant heat-resistant brown leather gloves are always seen on her hands while she's in public. Beyond that, she can usually be seen with a saxophone case in hand. She wears a necklace with a cross hanging on the chain.
Location and Notes on Star Mark: She has one Star Mark on her outer thigh. It's white, and has seven points. She has another on the heel of her hand, which also has seven points.
Star power: Naomi's power is fairly simple. She has a kind of low-level pyrokinesis. She can't actually create fire, but she can heat up her body (especially her hands and feet) to the point of melting metal. That is, if she really tries. On a casual level, she'll often leave burn marks on objects and even other people after touching them. It's a great source of guilt to her. She can even burn herself, and she often does it accidentally when her gloves are off. Her forearms and her neck are a testament to this, as places that she frequently touches. Keeping herself hot for an increased time causes her significant pain and can exhaust her quickly. With practice, she's drawn out the time limits, but it still causes her distress to do so.
Personality:

• Shy
• Nerdy
• Melancholy
• Witty
• Kind
• Gullible
• Bookish
• Intelligent
• Polite

Biography: She couldn't have been more than 5 when her Star Mark showed up. One day it just appeared- no rhyme or reason to it. Little 5-year-old Naomi thought nothing of it. It was only a pretty mark on her thigh, like the stars she drew at school in art class. However, the adults in her life did not think the same way. One day, at the community pool with her best friend, her best friend's mother was cleaning up a little cut on her knee when she spotted the star on Naomi's thigh. She screamed and dropped her like a rock, taking her daughter and getting far away from her. She called Naomi's mother, and the nightmare started.

Even before the Star Mark, Naomi's family had been evangelical born-again Christians. Naomi was the first child of what would eventually be six children, and her siblings' lives were influenced by Naomi's oddities dramatically. As soon as she heard about the mark, about Naomi's powers, her mom fell on the floor and wept. She believed that God was punishing their family, punishing her for wrongdoings. That, somehow, Naomi had been touched by Satan. Later, through countless online forums and Facebook groups, she was led to believe that Star Marks were caused by vaccinations. None of Naomi's younger siblings would ever be vaccinated, and her own vaccinations stopped when she was only 5.

After her mother found out, it was private school after private school, youth group after youth group, Bible camp after Bible camp. She was always on some kind of diet, whether it was raw foods or paleo or keto. Her mother said, almost fanatically, that it would "cure" her of her "illness". That, because of Naomi's dedication to God, He would take away her affliction and make her whole again. And Naomi believed it. She prayed and prayed and prayed for it to be taken away, for her to be whole again. But prayers and diets and treatments didn't work. Nothing worked. Eventually, for her 12th birthday, Naomi's mother gave her her gloves, defeated.

If her own family's fear of her wasn't enough, Naomi also had to contend with other people's fear of her, too. Upon learning that she was a Star, teachers and pastors and students shied away from her. They didn't talk to her, refused to touch her. And how could they not? Once, while brushing past a nun while she was in Catholic school, she gave the woman such a horrible burn that she ended up in the hospital. That was the end of that school. Sometimes, teachers would scream at her, and other students, too.

It got to be the worst when she was about 14, going through the thick of puberty. One autumn day, she woke up to find another Star Mark, this time on her hand. She cried and cried and cried. She prayed for it to go away, but it did not. When she went to her mother that morning so that she could take her to school, she tried to hide the mark as best as she could, but her mother saw it anyways, and went into a full-on rage. She screamed that Naomi was ungrateful, that she wasn't trying hard enough, that she was a dirty sinner. She tearfully tried to apologize, laying her hand on her mother's in an attempt to calm the woman down. But then, belatedly, she realized that she had taken her gloves off. Being focused on her emotions and not paying much attention to her hands, she gave her mother a burn so bad that she screamed loud enough to puncture the eardrums of everyone in the car. That was the angriest Naomi had ever seen her mother. In a fit of rage, she cussed at her daughter and slapped her across the face. She then forced her to get out of the car and walk to school by herself.

That night, she tearfully confessed everything to the leader of her youth group. Deeply concerned, the leader called CPS, who then called NI. But that wasn't before the leader told her something she wouldn't ever forget- "God has given you a blessing, Naomi. What your mother preaches is not God- it is her own fear." That night, Naomi went home and couldn't stop thinking about it. She woke up the next morning and went to school, where she found two NI representatives waiting for her in the principal's office. They interviewed her, and she told them every little bit. Shamefully, of course. She feared them- harbingers of the end, her mother called them. They seemed nice enough, though. They removed her from her home ("Take that Satan's child with you, I don't care," her mother said, glaring). And then they took her to the Institute.

Naomi has attended NI since she was in her freshman year, and she's quite the model student. She gets all As, and participates steadfastly in marching band as a saxophone, in the debate team, and in a handful of clubs. She misses her family, but she's happier away from the fear and the hate.
Notable Rumors: There are a couple of theories that classmates have about Naomi. The first is that she's secretly a lesbian. The second is that she's a horrifically homophobic person. Another, much nastier rumor is that Naomi is secretly a black star, given that she hides her hands under gloves and doesn't show much skin. Of course, this is not true.
Trivia: Naomi is a sax in the marching band of NI. She's pretty good at it. She's also a fairly decent member of the debate team, and a member of the Book Club and the Christian Club on campus. She speaks Spanish fairly fluently. She listens to a lot of gospel music, but has started to branch out into indie. Her favorite is Hozier.