Amaranth Benedicta

Amaranth Benedicta is a character in QUIETUS.

Description:
Amaranth wears heavy and plain cloth dress similar to a nun's habit. She has a layer of chainmail underneath, her hands are in metal gloves, and her feet wear durable boots. Her face is covered by a metal grate protection which has two fake flowers attached. They emit a pale purple smoke, which can also issue from ducts in her hand-armor if necessary. A large shield is strapped to her back.

Had she not been spirited away to here she would have become something like a missionary. Despite having been mentally prepared for the horrors of the outside world, she is still only 21 and has lived in a utopia-like society her entire life. She has not encountered any serious hardship or challenges to her faith. She will not kill unless she has to, but is willing to go to extremes to accomplish her goals, as she strongly believes in the greater good.

Items/Abilities:
Amaranth has had basic training in defensive tactics/combat, as well as persuasive rhetoric of the spiritual/philosophical/moral nature. She carries a set of 6 Agape sanctus subsp. commonalis seeds in a special container on her chest. Her own body is host to the modified cultivar of A. sanctus, which allows her to affect the minds of herself and others via the smoke-like pollen clouds it releases. Protective breathing apparati halt the effect, but only an airtight suit with powerful filters can fully ward it off. The effect will also be lessened the further the subject is from "human". She can use it to aid herself, creating preternatural calmness and focus, bursts of adrenaline, pain-deadening hormones, and dulling of hunger pains or need for sleep. Or she can use it on others, although its effectiveness is dependent on distance, windspeed, and other variables. Common uses are extreme fear, nausea, or feelings of love and happiness.

Biography:
Amaranth's world, which her people call "The Garden", exists in an uneasy state of peace. After decades of war (between which there were many skirmishes but all counties denied that any such border conflicts existed), during which the Union's lands only grew inexorably larger, and later when technology became more widespread, decades of cold war fought through development of bombs, spies, and expansion into "neutral" territories that had not been conquered by any of the major parties, both sides were ready to enter into a time of real peace. The Union, Amaranth's native land, wished to do so because they are a compassionate peoples who cannot stand the loss of human life. The Alliance, a combined force of various countries who banded together to be able to match the Union did so because despite their best efforts they were ultimately fighting a losing battle. The remaining unconquered lands were divided between the two parties. Amaranth has been raised from about ten years of age to aid in the conquering of these lands.

The A. sanctus plant is a parasite which in its basic form makes humans happier and calmer, and with a strong desire to go and implant the parasite in others. They also wish to die in a fertile and sunlit area, as upon death a seed begins germinating within them. The plant grows from the corpse and releases a pollen that entices humans to eat its fruit. This is its lifecycle. Due to the society-benefitting properties of A. sanctus, a cult formed around it, which soon grew into a full-blown national religion. The society is significantly socialist and collectivist. Poverty and homelessness are essentially eliminated. Certain members of society whose jobs are very necessary and would be aided by more powers are equipped with special cultivars which allow them to influence a broader range of emotions via their pollen, while the majority of society has a basic version which can only create the milder positive emotions. Amaranth possesses the highest level of cultivar possible, as she must face heathens and dangerous situations.

Worship primarily takes the form of community gatherings were everyone enters a trance-like meditative state, under the guidance of a priest or priestess possessing a stronger cultivar of A. sanctus. There is also a significant amount of ancestor-worship involved, as families keep the trees grown from their previous generation's bodies well-tended and often use the fruit to "pass down their spirit" to the new generation. Martyrs may have their trees housed in huge temple-orchards as an even higher form of honor. The highest punishment for a crime is to have your body cremated so that no tree grows.