Catherine Rojo

Lady Catherine/Lady Rojo Catherine N/A Rojo (a.k.a. Cath)

Catherine Rojo is a councilwoman on the Council of Cedar.

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Extremely healthy, extremely physically fit. Buff goddess.

Body Features

Pale skin, almond eyes, beautiful straight black hair

Facial Features

Beauty mark on her left cheekbone

Physical quirks

Left-Handed Taps foot

Apparel & Accessories

Known to wear long, sweeping gowns

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Catherine was born in Cedar to an upper middle class family, with two brothers and a sister. As a child, Catherine was always interested in politics, and by the age of thirteen was entirely committed to securing a seat on the council.
Unbeknownst to Catherine, her mother, and her siblings, their father had taken out a loan several years ago from one of Cedar's underground gangs. When Catherine was fifteen, four gang members took their family hostage while a fifth gang member was with their father, arguing with him about the money. Despite their father eventually getting the money back to the gang, Catherine's mother and her older brother and sister were killed, leaving only Catherine, her father, and her younger brother alive. They also would've been murdered, Catherine believed, if not for the intervention of known alchemist Eugene Alvorn, who rescued Catherine, her brother, and her father before anybody else died.
Despite the grave loss, Catherine didn't lose sight of her dream. In fact, the tragic deaths of her family members sickeningly provided a boost to her campaign, which she started at the age of sixteen by taking on an apprenticeship for Madeline Gecko, a former councilwoman. While it made her stomach churn, Catherine was built for politics, so she put on a dazzling smile and told the sad story about the murders.
At eighteen, Catherine's life took another turn for the worst. Her father killed himself over the guilt of what he caused, leaving Catherine and her younger brother to fend for themselves. Catherine's brother, Jia, was only fourteen at the time. Catherine was surviving on donations for her political campaign at the time, as well as her measly income from her underpaid apprenticeship, so money was tight when her brother had to move in with her. Catherine began to think that the council seat she'd always sought after was simply unattainable; that is, until she got a huge cash infusion from an anonymous investor. With the money, Catherine could finally properly launch her political career.
Catherine married her husband when she was twenty-six years old, and bore three children, none of whom she particularly likes.
Eventually, Catherine was elected to the council by a landslide, her hard work and mysterious donation finally paying off. At the age of thirty-three, Catherine Rojo quickly became the most beloved councilmember, routinely beating her colleagues in polls in Cedar, Renga, and other large cities in Mallowa. She is popular for her unmatched strength, fitness-wise, and for publicly slugging Foxglove Lexington in the face, breaking his nose. (Foxglove is generally disliked by the public.)
Throughout her councilhood, two major scandals have plagued Catherine. The first was her affair with Sorza Abernathy, a twenty-three year old fellow councilwoman. In reality, the affair had been going on for five years, starting when Sorza was nineteen and Catherine was thirty-four, and Sorza was not yet on the Council. Catherine was bored with her husband after a long engagement, and Sorza was nineteen. The media only caught on because of some unnamed source, and the only evidence they had was a few blurry photographs of sunglass-clad women. Luckily for Catherine, Sorza had connections spanning the entirety of Mallowa, and all she had to do was trade in a favor or two in exchange for the press to forget about the story, publishing a quick column saying that the entire thing was fabricated, based on a wayward rumor meant to spread drama.
The second scandal was when she punched Foxglove in the face, but that was less of a scandal and more of an applauded action that dominated the news cycle for weeks.

Sexuality

Bisexual

Education

Apprenticeship from Madeline Gecko

Employment

Cedar Council

Accomplishments & Achievements

Becoming a Councilwoman

Mental Trauma

Watching her mother and siblings be murdered in front of her, as well as seeing her father's corpse after he killed himself.

Intellectual Characteristics

Logical/Linguistic

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

Catherine was constantly motivated by her political agenda to secure a seat on the Cedar Council and to have a final say in the decisions that affect the entirety of Mallowa. She is driven by a sense of respect for all of humanity, and aligns her decision with her personal definition of morality. (However, those same morals don't seem to apply to infidelity.)

Hygiene

Who has time to shower when you're a Councilwoman?

Social

Family Ties

The majority of Catherine's family was contained within her parents and her siblings, but since their deaths, she has reached out to a few of her aunts and uncles, as well as her grandparents, when she can. However, the only family member she considers herself particularly close to is, of course, her brother Jia.

Social Aptitude

Councilmembers have to be charismatic to some extent, to win the favor of the people, but Catherine and the public have a relationship unlike anything a councilmember has achieved before. (The secret to her success is that the public are all, collectively, in love with her. Wouldn't you be, too?)

Relationships

Catherine Rojo

Friend (Important)

Towards Sergei Torr

3

3

Honest

---

Sergei Torr

Friend (Important)

Towards Catherine Rojo

3

3

Frank

---

History

When Catherine Rojo was fifteen, she was taken hostage by a Cedarian gang that her father owed money to. After watching the deaths of her mother and two of her siblings, Catherine was rescued by Eugene Alvorn, an infamous alchemist. With his raw, unfiltered power, he rescued Catherine, her brother, and her father from the gang.
After that encounter, Catherine considered herself indebted to Eugene, and kept in contact with him when he visited Cedar. However, as Eugene aged, he no longer had the energy to make the journey from Renga to Cedar, and so he began to send his disciple, Sergei, on his behalf. Sergei was five years younger than Catherine, and his charisma matched Catherine's no-nonsense personality well. The two quickly became friends, and were brought closer due to the fact that both of their fathers had committed suicide. As a councilwoman, Catherine could never officially endorse a crime syndicate like Sergei, and especially not one who was illegally practicing alchemy, so she keeps her mouth shut, but turns the other cheek when word reaches her of Sergei's nefarious deeds down in Renga.

Nicknames & Petnames

Upon their first meeting, Sergei called Catherine "Cath". He has not done so since.

Shared Secrets

While Catherine knows both about Sergei's involvement with organized crime and his lack of an alchemy license, rendering his alchemy-acquired magics illegal, Sergei does not know about Catherine's affair with Sorza Abernathy, as although Catherine trusts Sergei, she couldn't risk that information falling into the wrong hands.
Surprisingly, Catherine is completely unaware of Sergei's complete enamor for Eugene's son, Ben. Catherine and Sergei have both been around Ben at the same time, but Sergei happens to be very good at concealing his emotions, and has, in fact, never told of his love, except to confess to Ben himself.

Foxglove Lexington

Colleague (Vital)

Towards Catherine Rojo

4

Dishonest

---

Catherine Rojo

Colleague (Vital)

Towards Foxglove Lexington

3

Frank

---

History

When Foxglove was studying under the mayor of Cedar, he attended a public questionnaire held by the then-current councilmembers. Foxglove asked a question directed at Catherine, and he made an offhand comment about the general weakness of women. That very morning, Catherine had gotten two hours of sleep, as her youngest child, Maxine, was refusing to let her sleep. So, the sleep-deprived, equality-pushing Catherine Rojo marched up to Foxglove and punched him square in the nose, breaking it. Foxglove was elected to the council two years later, and he hates Catherine more than anyone else on the council. Catherine, likewise, despises him.

Catherine Rojo

Colleague (Important)

Towards Belladonna Preston

2

Honest

---

Belladonna Preston

Colleague (Important)

Towards Catherine Rojo

0

Dishonest

---

History

Belladonna Preston and Catherine Rojo see each other frequently, and as such have had to keep negative feelings about each other well hidden, as is the case for most of the relationships within The Cedar Council. After Catherine broke Foxglove Lexington's nose, Belladonna has held Catherine in particular contempt, as her and her brother's enemies are one and the same. Catherine dislikes Belladonna because she can sniff out her complete lack of a moral compass, and tries to avoid being alone in a room with her.

Valentino Sarver

Colleague (Important)

Towards Catherine Rojo

3

4

Honest

---

Catherine Rojo

Colleague (Important)

Towards Valentino Sarver

3

4

Honest

---

History

Valentino oversaw Catherine's first few years on the Council, and he took a liking to her for her charismatic personality and commanding appearance. Catherine likewise respected Valentino's seniority and figured he must have been doing something right to continue to get re-elected. The two are friendly with each other's families, and Catherine has gone out to brunch with Valentino's wife a few times. Similarly, Valentino has babysat Catherine's children. They are as close to friends as councilmembers can get.

Nicknames & Petnames

It's not uncommon for Catherine to begin calling Valentino 'Val', especially after a long night poring over tiny font.

Relationship Reasoning

The two are aware that their allegiance will always be politically charged, and hold each other at a respectable distance, as is natural for two politicians. They are more likely to vote the same on legislation than to divulge from each other, and it's useful to have an ally in the council. Neither would ever say it aloud, but having alliances is especially useful after the Lexington siblings came to power.

Omar Wasem

Colleague (Important)

Towards Catherine Rojo

3

5

Honest

---

Catherine Rojo

Colleague (Important)

Towards Omar Wasem

2

4

Honest

---

History

One might consider Omar and Catherine friends, in another life. Omar was something of Catherine's mentor when she was freshly elected to the council; not because she needed the guidance, of course, simply because she admired Omar's ability to charm a large group of people. Omar, likewise, admired how much the people gravitated towards Catherine, as they consistently love her in public polling. Additionally, Omar was there when Catherine punched Foxglove, and has always held her in high esteem ever since. After a short while, the two of them rose to become equals, and can often be found laughing and chatting, even making time to occasionally spend time together outside of the council. Park and Haris often hike together.
Completely unbeknownst to Sorza or Catherine, Omar knows that the news report of their affair was in fact true, and that it's continued even after the report's publication. Omar had a suspicion after he saw Catherine throw her arm around Sorza and hold her tight after a particularly long night, and he noticed how he'd never seen Catherine smile so wide. He later confirmed this when he saw Sorza kiss Catherine in Catherine's office. Ever since, he's kept his mouth shut.

Wealth & Financial state

As with the rest of the council, Catherine is beyond well-off in terms of her finances. An intelligent woman, Catherine invests her money when she trusts in a promising expenditure, and has a remarkable sense for knowing if things are going to pan out.
Her primary goal is always to house Jia and cover any of his expenses, despite the fact he has a secured job and is fully capable of supporting himself. Her secondary goals are to cover her personal expenses and properly educate her three children.

Honorary & Occupational Titles

Lady Catherine/ Lady Rojo/ Councilwoman Catherine Rojo/ Councilwoman Rojo

Professions

• Councilmember

Year of Birth

799 PTE 33 Years old

Birthplace

Cedar

Spouses

Siblings

Current Residence

Cedar

Gender

Female

Eyes

Brown

Hair

Black

Height

5'7

Aligned Organization

The Cedar Council

Known Languages

Mallowan