Name: Marta Calderón Primary Virtue: Mercy Creed: Innocence
Nature: Scholar Demeanor: Child Concept: Young occultist
Strength 1 Charisma 3 Perception 3
Dexterity 3 Manipulation 1 Intelligence 4 (book-smart)
Stamina 3 Appearance 3 Wits 2
Alertness 1 Firearms 2 Academics 2
Athletics 1 Performance 2 Computer 2
Awareness 1 Stealth 2 Investigation 1
Dodge 2 Technology 1 Linguistics 1 (English)
Empathy 2 Medicine 2
Intuition 2 Occult 4 (supernatural beings)
Streetwise 1 Research 3
Science 2
Backgrounds: Allies 1, Continued Exposure 3, Library 3, Resources 1
Edges: Hide (Level 1, Innocence), Illuminate (Level 2, Innocence)
Virtues: Mercy 3, Vision 0, Zeal 0
Merits: Fast Learner, Religious Devotion
Flaws: Child, Dark Fate, Defective Sense (sight), Foreigner, Ignorant, Soft-Hearted
Equipment: Old-fashioned pistol (a family heirloom), backpack with textbooks and school supplies, sizable library of occult-related books, Bible and rosary, small savings
Background: Marta Dolores Teresa Calderón Moreno was born on September 19, 1986 in Oaxaca, Mexico. Her father, Luis Calderón Díaz, is employed by his brother Chucho in a shop that sells handcrafts and souvenirs to tourists. Her mother, Isabel Moreno y Calderón, works at the front desk of a hotel in Oaxaca and provides most of the family’s meager income (while also doing most of the chores). Marta has six brothers and sisters: José María, age 22, a construction worker in Mexico City; Ana, age 19, a housewife with two children, Eduardo and Veronica; Miguel Ángel, age 16; Ricardo, age 11; Sara, age 9; and Fernando, age 5. She also has numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, and other relatives living in the area.
From birth onwards, Marta’s loyalties were divided. Her family was poor but loving and gave her a close-knit support system that cared for her unconditionally, and she never wanted to do anything to hurt them. But when Marta first went to school at the age of 6, it became clear to her that there was a world beyond her family that she wanted desperately to explore. Even as a child, Marta displayed a profound intelligence only rarely seen in her family, a cleverness that devoured and analyzed everything her parents and teachers could throw at it. Even the most challenging classes in her school weren’t enough; she skipped two grades and took the toughest gifted and talented programs available, and still pulled straight A’s without much effort. Marta’s parents saw that their daughter had an incredible amount of potential, but since they were relatively uneducated themselves (her mother never even finished high school) it took them a long time to figure out how to challenge her.
Fortunately, Marta had an ally within her family who understood her desire to learn and to understand the world: her maternal grandmother, Milagros Rodríguez y Moreno. Seventy-two years old and the widowed mother of eleven, Milagros had the reputation in Oaxaca as a sort of curandera or wise woman, with extensive knowledge of the native people who had ruled Mexico before the Spanish conquest (among other things). Thinking Milagros might be able to teach Marta some of the things she was so eager to learn, Luis and Isabel arranged for their daughter to visit her grandmother every Saturday afternoon.
Marta’s weekly visits to Milagros began when she was ten years old and continued for the next four years. They were indeed helpful, but not in the way her parents had originally intended. Milagros had accumulated an extensive library over the years, and allowed Marta to read anything she wanted out of it. But before long Marta had read everything in the library, and she began asking Milagros if there was anything she could tell her that wasn’t in the books.
That was the opening Milagros had been waiting for. She began by telling Marta stories about Mexico before the conquest, which then moved into discussions of the “old ways” and the pagan religions of the Aztecs and the Mayas. Then, Milagros shocked Marta by saying some of what those religions had taught had been true. In fact, there were even more bizarre and inexplicable things happening in the world every minute, things that no religion could fully explain. At first, Marta was unnerved by these stories, thinking they might be sinful in some way. But Milagros was as devoutly Catholic as Marta’s family, and reassured her that they didn’t negate her beliefs, just add to them. Simultaneously repelled and fascinated by the possibilities they suggested, Marta begged Milagros to tell her more.
So began Marta’s studies into the occult. Certain that her granddaughter was ready to know the truth, Milagros gave Marta access to her second, hidden library, full of books on magic and supernatural creatures. Though she could never be sure how much of it was true, Marta became fascinated by the possibilities of this hidden world and soon began to build a substantial occult library of her own. But the more Marta studied, the more frustrated she became by the way the works refuted and contradicted each other, until she couldn’t see how any of it was worthwhile.
By the time Marta was 13, she couldn’t take it anymore. She asked Milagros, “How can I believe any of this is true? How do I know I’m not just wasting my time on silly stories? Isn’t there any proof?”
Milagros sighed and said, “I wondered how long it would take you to ask.” She motioned for Marta to follow her into her bedroom, where she then began digging through many trunks and boxes in her closet. Marta waited nervously until Milagros pulled out a huge, battered steamer trunk. She flipped the lid open, and Marta nearly screamed when she saw what was inside. It was the skin of an enormous beast, like a cross between a wolf and a man. It was at least nine feet tall, with deadly curved claws and enormous fangs. Milagros put the trunk away without saying another word, and Marta went back to her studies. She never asked her grandmother where the skin had come from, but her life was different from that day forward.
Around this time, Marta’s aunt Ángela, a naturalized U.S. citizen, returned to Oaxaca to visit her family. Marta and Ángela discovered they had a lot in common and soon became friends. Upon learning of Marta’s boredom in school, Ángela decided that Marta needed a better education so her potential didn’t go to waste. Ángela told Marta about Oakwood Hills Academy, a well-regarded private boarding school in Minneapolis, and encouraged her to apply. Although she was apprehensive about the idea at first, Marta eventually agreed.
Marta’s completed application genuinely impressed the admissions committee at Oakwood Hills. She was accepted and given a full-ride scholarship to attend. It only took her a few hours to decide for certain that she wanted to go, then began preparing to leave. Her family was shocked by her decision and absolutely distraught to see her go, but Marta knew that this might be her only chance to get the kind of education she wanted and really make something of herself. She shed plenty of tears the day that she left, but ultimately got on the plane and didn’t look back.
Marta was in her second year at Oakwood Hills, trying her hardest to be the model student and learn as much as she could, when everything changed. One night, her roommate Sally invited her to go out to dinner at a nearby Chinese restaurant with several other Oakwood Hills students. At the restaurant, the patrons were attacked by the owner, Mr. Saigow, and his sons, who began systematically slitting their throats and draining their blood into the metal pans of the buffet. Hiding under the table and praying, watching her roommate be slaughtered, Marta experienced something strange: The screams of her companions suddenly resolved into the words, “Why do they do this? How can I help?” Marta got out from under the table, walked up to one of Mr. Saigow’s sons, and calmly started trying to talk him out of killing anyone else. Eventually, he got fed up and knocked her unconscious. When Marta woke, she was in the locker room at Oakwood Hills—and the next morning, her face was all over the news as a suspect in the murders at the restaurant.
Ever since,
Marta has been hiding out at a Minneapolis apartment owned by her mentors, Chet
and Saria, living with several other people who were at the restaurant that
night, experienced similar awakenings, and are now trying to clear their names. She has befriended several supernatural
creatures who were not nearly as bad as they seemed and discovered some strange
powers of her own. At best, her fellow
hunters regard her as a sadly deluded fool, but her optimism, while tested on
several occasions, remains strong. As
long as she is alive (which, judging by some strange and prophetic nightmares
she has been having, may not be much longer), she will continue trying to find
the human being she believes is within every “monster.”
Personality: Marta’s most obvious personality trait is her intelligence. Although she is only a sophomore in high school, she is smarter than many adults and knows it, though she is never arrogant about her talents. In fact, she is sometimes afraid to show her intelligence unless she knows something important depends upon it. Marta is well-informed about a wide range of general knowledge, but her specialties are science (particularly chemistry) and the occult.
The thing Marta values most in her life is her family. She stays in close contact with them, writing them lengthy letters every few days and calling them at least twice a month despite the ridiculous phone bills that result. Her parents are supportive of her desire to get a good education, though they don’t understand why she “abandoned” her country and family to do it. Marta knows this and has considered going home on many occasions, though so far she has always been able to talk herself out of that urge.
Marta was raised Catholic, and her religious faith has only grown stronger as she gets older. She always carries a battered Bible (a gift from her Confirmation) mixed in with her binders and textbooks and can often be seen reading it in between classes. Though she has never genuinely doubted the truth of her religion, her experiences with Milagros and her studies into the occult have demonstrated to her that the world is vast and filled with more possibilities than her religion has taken into account. Marta is secure in her faith and will not hesitate to defend it, but she is also open to the possibility that there are more things “out there” than the Church and the Bible talk about.
Marta is neither particularly shy nor particularly outgoing, though most people at her school would define her as being the former. But this has more to do with her discomfort with American culture and apprehension about her (not too shabby) English skills than with any personality trait. Even after spending a year in Minneapolis, she still feels somewhat out of place in the States and has a hard time finding common interests with Americans. Her rigorous schedule of advanced classes (she made the Dean’s List every semester since arriving at Oakwood) and part-time job at a local restaurant made it difficult for her to become fully assimilated.
Most of Marta’s meager social life came from her interaction with her aunt, Ángela Calderón Díaz. The younger sister of Luis (she’s 36), Ángela was the first person in the Calderón Díaz family to graduate from college (with a degree in chemistry). After spending several years working in Mexico City, she emigrated to the United States in search of better job opportunities. In short order she was hired by 3M, and for the past 10 years she has worked for them as a research chemist. Ángela lives alone in an apartment in uptown Minneapolis, and Marta spends the night there every Saturday. The two of them go out on the town or just stay home watching cheesy Mexican variety shows, stay up late talking, and then go to Mass together on Sunday morning. Marta idolizes Ángela’s intelligence and independence and considers her a mentor and a close friend. Ángela, in turn, can empathize with Marta’s problems and concerns and wants to support her and help her achieve her dreams in any way possible.
In many ways, Marta is a study in contradictions. She is devoutly religious and never misses Sunday morning Mass yet is also fascinated by the occult and the ancient traditions of Mexico. She greatly values the education she has gained by coming to the U.S., but longs to return to her own country and start a family. She wants to be independent and think for herself yet is very dependent on her family and the opinions of others. She loves the comfortable safety of her own culture yet is fascinated by the intricacies of others. Eventually she will have to become reconciled to herself decide whether she wants to become a traditional woman or a modern, more progressive one, but that worry is still a long way down the road for her. After all, she’s only 15.
Appearance: Marta is a reasonably attractive, petite (5’0”, 102 lbs.) Mexican girl who looks younger than her 15 years. She has smooth, fine black hair cut in an easy-to-maintain bob, and intelligent brown eyes partially hidden by a too-big pair of wire-rimmed glasses. She is usually clad in the forest green uniform of Oakwood Academy. On the rare occasions when she is not, she is always neatly groomed and wearing simple, tasteful, clean-cut clothing. She always wears a silver crucifix necklace (a gift from Ángela upon her acceptance at Oakwood). Marta speaks softly and with a pronounced Mexican accent. She doesn’t think she speaks English very well (though she does) and will always switch to Spanish if given the chance.