[attr="class","header2"]APPEARANCE

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The Spine of the World



Rhea's life began with a simpler time. Both of her parents originated within the state of Israel, meeting through a shared acquaintance and doing what young couples do: going on dates, finding all the wrong buttons to press, getting married regardless due to one mistake and generally trying to make the best of life. Her mother, Shyra, was an aspiring artist with a penchant for singing, while her father, Tomas, was a mechanic. Needless to say the going was rough, but the young family made things work. The Harkers ended up traveling frequently, predominantly within the country though occasionally to the surrounding regions. When Rhea was six Shyra had caught a break; she was signed on to an international record label that allowed the struggling family to live more comfortably and to travel more frequently. Obviously the sheltered Rhea was enthusiastic about this, and soon she saw places in the world she had only dreamed of: London, New Delhi, Paris, Boston, Buenos Aries...despite not knowing much about any of these places, she was captivated by such wonders and peoples that it made her head spin.



The family traveled around the world like this for a year, Shyra performing in major cities all over the world and making a name for herself: The Desert Rose. Things were progressing so well that Tomas decided to go into early retirement to help take care of Rhea and to support Shyra any way he could. Despite this, the marriage was strained, and this was compounded with a few minor inconveniences upon arriving in Tokyo. This resulted in an argument at the airport that spilled into the car ride towards their hotel, where tragedy would strike.



During this fateful ride, a villain was fleeing capture from a hero and his student ward. The student, looking to prove themselves, fired a series of quills at the villain, two of which were reflected by the villain and into oncoming traffic. The first pierced the front passenger side wheel well, destroying the tire and causing Tomas to loose control of the vehicle; the second shot through the windshield on the passenger side, killing Shyra instantly.



The car veered uncontrollably, and through careful maneuvering crashed into a concrete barrier. Tomas received serious damage to his right leg, and Rhea got a few scratches along her arms.



In the weeks after the event, the record label made an effort to take the matter to court. While the student had their provisional license revoked, no serious consequences befell them or the hero in question. To top it off Tomas was permanently crippled, and with their savings almost all dried up both him and Rhea were trapped, strangers in a strange land.



In Circles



While the label was not keen on giving much aid to the family, they at least helped them set up within Japan. Rhea by this point had witnessed her parents almost tear themselves apart on several occasions, and was now a witness in her own mother's death. While she was accustomed to not making friends and generally not lingering in one place for two long, the sheer amount of culture shock to her was a little too much to bear. Initially, she refused to even go to school, locking herself up in her room for days at a time. Eventually, she was coaxed out, strangely enough with a smile on her face. While many attempted to talk with her, try to talk with her about events that transpired, she merely shook her head and changed the subject.



It was at this point she took a major interest in reading and self-learning. While she was admitted into a school, she found that she hated the structure of the organization and how they taught classes. While her grades were barely passable within the classroom, she found ways to work around this through other interests, a pattern that would continue for many years to come.



Meanwhile, her father continued to struggle to provide a means for them to survive, bouncing around from job to job and barely be able to provide any valid income. It was by this point Rhea had discovered her quirk, and found that if she hit just the right pitch she could convince anyone to do anything she liked. Of course, it was not as clear cut as that and there were many growing pains involved, but she did catch on that most people that heard her reasoning took pity on her, chipping in a few yen here and there to help the family along.



As Rhea got older and things got harder, she took this a step further by teaching herself how to sing. Music was one of her better subjects in school, but she had been dismissed and put in a supportive role within the band due to her status as a foreigner. While some of the girls in the class got the spotlight, Rhea remained in the shadows learning and scheming from them and their mistakes. Supplementing this with old books from her mother, ones she insisted to her father she keep, she managed to find a style that she could use. Her busking had all but kept the household running.



Bullying was something that Rhea struggled with throughout her schooling in Japan, and this only intensified once she reached high school. While she managed to endure the brunt of it in middle school, she had managed to refine her talents and had built up a solid face of self-esteem. Her confidence was something that some of the other girls could not handle, however, and had singled Rhea out for this. This had awoken something new in Rhea, a blinding rage that she couldn't tolerate. She had a grit and a power that none of these girls could fathom. They didn't understand her or her struggles, only that she was better than them.



Behind her smile lay an intent that she had never felt before, one that would require meticulous planning.



Over their three years, Rhea had slowly worked the class behind the scenes against those who slighted her. At first, it was nothing serious; wedges between each of the girls to separate them from one another. Then she toyed with their love lives, their social images, and even set one of them up as a plagiarist. The coup d'eta, though, was when the ringleader of this group was found dead after she had jumped off a bridge into the river. While the authorities claimed suicide, several people claimed foul play. The only problem was there were no feasible suspects, and Rhea being the only one was seen busking earlier in the evening.



"We All Become What Our Desires Demand of Us"

Just prior to graduation, Rhea managed to land a job as a waitress at a semi-respectable club called the Oasis Lounge, waiting tables and gaining the ability to sing on amateur nights. This was met with stiff resistance from her father, but considering he was in between jobs yet again he had no choice but to relent to Rhea's plan. Unfortunately for him, she had a much more sinister plan in motion.



The hero and the ward of her early days in Japan left an impression on her. One that reeked of corruption, posturing, and a general disregard of the lives of those seeking to exist. As such, she wanted to find a little payback for what was stolen from her, even if it was dysfunctional. She wanted to find the two that trapped her here, that forced her to fight and struggle. And she wanted to enact proper justice on them.