We Will Rise

Introductions

Calliope Asteria Sencen, a fourteen-year-old, ice-blue-eyed blonde, has many faces.

Ria

Ria Sencen was a bookworm.

Only her twin brother Keefe called her that, and in many ways she felt that that was the Real Her.

She absorbed knowledge like a sponge, reading every book she came across and storing the information in her head. She'd created her own mindscape, with different sections for separate categories.

Irritatingly, she didn't have a photographic memory like Keefe, so instead worked hard to memorise useless facts she'd never need but enjoyed knowing anyway.

She was also sharp.

She had a sharp nose, a sharp chin, sharp eyebrows, sharp eyes that could be kind or cruel depending on her mood, a sharp tongue that had somehow granted her a reputation for being the 'coolest of the cool' at Foxfire Academy, and a sharp mind that kept her at the top of her class.

Callie

Callie Sencen was a fan of fashion.

This did not mean that she spent all her time drooling over dresses she wouldn't be able to afford. All elves received a birth fund of five million lusters, so even working-class elves could have the same grand houses as the nobility elves.

Of course, she would know, as her father was an Emissary, and constantly reminded everyone of it.

Elves had no qualms at stitching gems on gowns, jerkins, boots and capes. Capes were a symbol of the nobility. The more extravagant a cape, the higher the wearer was on the elfin social ladder.

Her personal favourites were sapphires, amethysts and emeralds. Diamonds. . .not so much.

Her best friend, Biana Vacker, had much the same interest as Callie, and they often spent hours in the former's house, with Biana describing her dream dresses and Callie attempting to sketch them out.

Biana was one of very few people who knew that Callie and Keefe were twins—multiple births were severely frowned upon in elfin society—but then again, her older brother Fitz was Keefe's best friend and also Callie's future match, at least according to many others.

Calliope

Calliope Sencen was perfect.

She did not have a choice in the matter. She'd seen how her parents treated her brother, and he most certainly was not perfect. Therefore, she conformed to her parents' will, and exceeded their expectations by miles. When they passed her off as Keefe's younger sister by a year, she accepted it with a smile. When she started at school, they expected her to be one of the most liked students of her year, and she became the most popular girl in school, even more popular than one of the Vacker daughters.

She also made sure that her grades were above and beyond, consistently staying at the top of her year.

Everyone expected her to get into the Elite Levels and go straight on to join the Nobility. Unlike many others, she'd manifested her special abilities, Empathy and Frosting, which in itself was rare, before even starting at Foxfire, the elfin school.

Another expectation was that she would be put on the first matchmaking list of Fitz Vacker, Keefe's best friend and part of the Vacker family, one of the most illustrious families around.

She didn't mind. Fitz was handsome. He was a Telepath, one of the less common abilities. He was the top of his year.

She didn't mind at all.