Damien Embery

Damien Embery is a Hedge Witch operating out of Harlem, and is a longtime friend of Odette Caplan. They, along with Chance Holloway, are inextricably connected from an accident years back.

History
Damien always knew that he was born into a hard time, but he never let this dampen his spirits.

''Though he never excelled at school, Damien still attended daily and refused to fall in with any gangs. After all, that would break the hearts of his mother and big brother, and really, Damien never cared much about looking tough to begin with. Where other boys would hide their smiles and pretend not to think about their futures, Damien would always be the optimistic, respectful one. Sure, this attracted bullies, but Damien never had a problem handling bullies. He may not have realized it for a few years, but his ability to get others to back away from him was subtly influenced by magic. ''

''Keon, his big brother, had to sit him down and tell him all about magic, and how even with the discovery of this wonderful aspect of himself, Damien would still always be at a disadvantage. You see, the magical world was just as divided as the Devoid one -- after all, no matter the realm, the richest/smartest/most connected got to go to the best schools, learn the best spells, and run the world. Any magic Damien learned would be passed down from his mother or Keon, and only scratched the surface of what was out there to learn. And he had to accept that, no matter what, he'd probably never learn even ten percent of the spells in the world, because the privileged had dibs.''

''The first time Damien felt the truth of his situation and the oppressive nature of the world -- really, the day he lost his childlike innocence -- was when he was eight years old. Keon had gone out in the late night to grab him a tub of ice cream from the nearby bodega, and was approached by police. According to them, he looked suspicious, and did not comply when they asked him to take his hands out of his pockets. ''

''Officially, the police report said that Keon had threatened their safety, which is why they just had to put twelve bullets in the fifteen-year old. Just another dangerous black kid pulled from the streets before he could cause even more harm.''

''It was bullshit. Keon knew his rights, and they hadn't appreciated that.''

''What angered Damien the most, really, was that his mother turned to God to get them through this hard time. Damien had always liked church, but God had done absolutely nothing to protect Keon against two terrible men. He hated seeing his mother praying to the cross, crying over Keon's death, and hoping that he found peace in Heaven. He should be ALIVE, not playing hopscotch with fucking Tupac or whatever everyone thought Keon was up to. He kept this to himself, though. No need to upset his mom even more.''

''Damien decided, ultimately, that getting revenge wouldn't accomplish anything that he wanted. Instead, he volunteered for charities and threw himself into goodwill work, and social justice campaigns. Might as well try to make a difference through peace rather than violence, he thought. Though sometimes, he wished he could burn those racist assholes to their sinews...but just because Keon was dead, didn't mean his lessons didn't matter anymore.''

''Eventually Damien fell in with Chance Holloway and his small group of Hedge Witches. Unlike the Hedges Damien had heard about, this was just a small group of people who wanted to learn magic and had absolutely no interest in applying that power beyond their own learning. Damien appreciated the welcoming atmosphere, and a chance to learn magic he had never heard of before. Being that Chance was formerly of the magical elite -- having been expelled from Havermore for his interest in necromancy -- it also gave Damien the opportunity to learn even more than other Hedges.''

''When Damien met Odette Caplan for the first time in 2010, he wasn't sure if he'd get along with the shy, ignorant Magician. But he was her first magical friend, and they both had more in common than they realized at first. Their friendship grew very strong very quickly. In fact, Damien was Odette's first kiss, though there was no romance behind it at all. Really, he knew she was too nervous about kissing someone weird, and offered for her to get it out of the way with him instead. Clarissa and Jonas teased them about it relentlessly, but their relationship was much more akin to brother and sister than anything else.''

The accident changed everything.

''Damien had agreed to the ritual because he wanted a taste of that forbidden, powerful magic that he had been told he would never get to practice. Besides, he thought it would do good for them. Instead, Clarissa, Ren, and Jonas were killed, Chance was mentally maimed, and Odette was traumatized. Damien felt he had to be thankful for coming out of the experience mostly unscathed, save for the new red lines all up and down his arms, and fluctuations in his magic that occasionally interrupted whatever spell he cast and instead turned objects to fragile gold (and he couldn't even use it to get rich, since the gold turned to dust eventually).''

''His relationship with Odette diminished to nothing, and Damien retreated back into Harlem, where he joined Muriel and Oscar's hedge. It lined up with Keon's ideals -- to help the neighborhood -- and tried to put it all behind him. He kept visiting Chance, though. Since Harold had killed himself, the poor man was insane and alone, and even if he somewhat resented the man for convincing them to do the ritual in the first place (it would take a few years to forgive him entirely), he couldn't just abandon him. ''

''Damien found renewed purpose after reuniting with Odette, and meeting other Hedges. He could tell that the politics would get in the way of mutual, and good, benefit, but Damien hopes that he can be a positive influence on some of the other Hedge Witches. After all, it's what Keon would have wanted.''