Harper Anne Marlowe
Ms. Marlowe comes from a world with no magic. A dark cold industrious world that has long since depleted its resources for magic by various means.
The most detrimental shock to the worlds magic was founded in genetic manipulation. The gene that allowed energy movement was found by accident in an elf's blood by a young Dr. Grey. With noble intentions he attempted curing disease, deformity, and mental illness lovingly calling it the soul gene. He believed it was what allowed the ethereal soul to attach its self to the human form.
All of his medicines worked, for a time, creating a healthy intelligent euphoric human existence. So much so that it even delighted the other creatures to tolerate humans more often. The city laid great honor on the good doctor and even began adding the soul treatment to the water supply. It had seemed like denying human rights to keep it for a select few.
Like all drugs the effects wore off as the populous gained a tolerance. Slowly at first, then all at once causing humans to riot and demand more of the treatment.
The elves were disgusted by the mistreatment of their gift and refused to donate any of their energy to fuel the human addiction. Dr. grey tried molding a synthetic model of the treatment with terrible results. All subjects suffered an irreversible psychological break within 24 hours of injection that is if they didn't have an annuerism first.
Dr. Grey had one willing elf, his wife. She was not enough to fill the demand of the ravaged humans pounding on his door. He nearly brought her to her demise more than once trying to draw just one more vial. Desperate he moved to other creatures and soon discovered the same gene in varying strengths. Witches, druids, wolves, and reapers all had the gene.
He was able to produce treatments in lower doses to at least satiate the worst cases.
He locked himself away determined to find a solution and driving himself insane with his work. Being a human himself, he feared testing on his own body and losing his strength so he began searching for other subjects. As the riots grew wilder the unaffected were harder to find and even more difficult to convince.
(apparently in creating my character i needed a menagerie of others....)
Dr. Grey began kidnapping creatures and humans alike desperate to find a solution. He found Harper as a child, no older than 2, among a colony of witches. She had no apparent ability to manipulate energy but she did have a weak form of the gene.
Within six months of finding Harper he was able to develop a stable synthetic compound from her blood. The mutated gene from the little girl provided a symptom satiating serum for the withdrawal, but provided no high and no healing properties. It simply allowed the humans the return to normal by deactivating the soul gene.
Experimenting on Harper provided much different results than the normal humans. Dr. Grey kept her close and raised her as his daughter even after the solution was found. Partly because he wanted to study her closely and partly because he had grown a fondness for her tenacity.
Soon he discovered he could not deactivate the soul gene in Harper, she possessed great power when given a treatment concocted from witch and reaper genes. The doctor had rarely captured druids or wolves and when he did he could not subdue them long enough to take full samples.
Harper could not survive without treatment. If the gene was not satiated by treatment it would send her body into shock And she violently rejected any synthetics.
She grew up as magic depleted in the world. The doctor kept captive creatures. He continued to develop serums to aid her and in turn continued to develop the soul gene as an intoxicant. Harper was taught all Dr. grey knew with little emotion and a firm hand. She was charged to care for the captives as if they were pets and thought nothing of it. She was unaware that their suffering kept her "illness" as her father called it at bay until her 21st birthday.
There is more... but not right now.
