❝ WE THUS DRIFT ― toward unparalleled CATASTROPHE.

Second born son doesn’t quite have that ring to it. Afterthought, spare, lagniappe– how can Orion compare to his brother, the eldest spoiled and fattened by the prime cut of their parents attention? ‘Luck of the draw.’ His brother was dealt the winning hand simply by being born first.But Orion is practical. Inevitability is bullshit, and fate is malleable under enough pressure from money, connections, and a knife to the throat of a man’s reputation.YOUTH +Orion was nurtured in a gilded cage. As a boy his leash hardly extended past the four walls of his home, a pale, little ghost scampering between the white walls, bare feet on the cool marble flooring. After all -– conventional schools (no matter how prestigious) would never suit the son of a Cato. “They’re dirty,” his mother complained. “You don’t know what those other boys bring in. You’ll get sick.” His father’s concerns were less tangible. He wanted to spoon feed his sons his own ideals, keep them from the radical ideas of the masses. Equality was an ugly word.And Orion was a handsome little mage, features sharp enough to cut (he took after his mother). Well-behaved and willing to please, he sat with his spine straight while his tutors filtered through his home. But it wasn’t all work, no play. Several times a week he was allowed to interact with other boys his age, handpicked by his mother from their same social class. Orion was assertive and bossy. A little bit of a bully, and his most his playmates ducked their heads and allowed him to lead (lambs thrown to a lions whims). Unlike his brother, Orion was pushed to dabble in the arts – singing lessons, painting classes, the violin. During his parent's parties his mother would demand he sing for the guests, his rich and warm baritone receiving praise, applause, attention that would be diverted as soon as his brother was paraded out to the crowd.Orion was a novelty. A party trick. The opening act before the main show, and even as a boy the love he had for his brother was tainted by envy, his affection for his parents polluted by resentment.ADULTHOOD +The very thing that elevated him in his parents regard was what ruined his relationship with his brother. Orion had a golden, gilded tongue. A knack for endearing himself to other elites, and a cutting viciousness that carved him a spot among the young, notable monsters in the upper echelon of Bellstrat. The connections he'd managed to secure endeared himself to his mother and father, and his brother worried. Good, he should, because while Orion played at tame around his sibling, his brother’s concern wasn’t misplaced. Validated by peers that jostled for his time and attention had fed Orion's ego and inflated his self-worth. His brother with his late nights of liquor and warm bodies couldn't compare, ignored at events while bodies flocked to Orion as he spoke. And, ah – he couldn’t resist. Orion fed his brother’s paranoia by building connections with the children from other prominent companies despite not being the heir. Always with honeyed words, generous with money and promises (‘i’ll see if i can make it happen’). He and his brother began to fight in private – vicious, often turning physical. One evening his brother brutally beat him down, and that was the turning point of Orion’s ambition. Instead of being hindered by love, it was finally fueled by enough simmering hate to take what he wanted.Orion machinated his brother’s downfall. It started with hallucinogen drugs planted in his brother’s food while in a popular restaurant, leading to a public breakdown (too many witnesses to smother the story). They took his brother to the closest hospital and Orion was prepared – several of the staff already paid off to manipulate the medical records to correspond with a mental break.The crown toppled off his brother’s head. It looked better on him anyway.PRESENT+Post-graduation from Bellstrat University, Orion's slowly settling into his position spearheading Stellaris General Hospital, replacing his father. The whispers of illegal experiments among the board don’t bother him. It’s business, baby – and information pulled from the unfortunate, often unwilling creatures is a formidable weapon that Orion is willing to sell to the highest bidder.Ultimately -– Orion will do anything to keep the status quo that benefits him. Even if it hurts the ones he loves.

+001;

the cato family have long been conducting illegal experiments in the lower restricted level of stellaris general hospital. their involvement in the health care industry is self-serving. as animancers they utilize the life and death around them as batteries for their spells and to feed their lifespans, going against the expectation for their kind to do good.

+002;

TBA

+003;

TBA

+001;

anyone involved in the illegal experimentation in the lower levels of the hospital -- whether present and former experiments, staff, or those complicit in the secret. information for sale include species specific weaknesses, certain drug cocktails, and biological weapons.

+002;

former slaves who've helped raise orion due to the negligence of his parents during his youth. this will mean his selective empathy will extend towards your muse.

+003;

potential alliances, friendships, or marriage proposals (as the bloodline of animancers are sought after in bellastrat). the catos have been involved in the health care industry for five generations and are well known among the mage families.