Josiah Avery
Species: Human
Status: Alive
Alias: -
Age: 31
Occupation: Witch, grifter, local nutcase, Cheryl's minion
Affiliation: Aaron Asher (formerly), Whitecliff Academy (formerly), Cheryl Lynn, Alexi Novak
Family: Joseph Avery (father), Jane Avery (mother, deceased)
About: Josiah is gifted (or cursed) with uncontrolled clairvoyance and other psychic abilities, as well as a moderate talent in general magic. The clairvoyance and psychic abilities primarily manifest as flashes of visions and as voices Josiah has both seen and heard since he was around the age of ten. His father left the family when Josiah manifested his abilities, blaming Josiah's mother for 'spawning a crazy freak' and Josiah never entirely got over being the cause of his father's abandonment. His mother never quite got over it, either, blaming him and withdrawing from him emotionally and sinking into a deep depression from which she never recovered. Eventually, she committed suicide, leaving Josiah alone at the age of 17.
At first, Josiah scraped a living using magic and a natural charm to con his way into money and gifts he survived on. Later on, he learned enough of magic to also sell his services working magic for those willing to pay. At the age of 27, he was approached by Aaron Asher and invited to attend Whitecliff Academy. He accepted, eager for the opportunity to learn more magic, and hopeful that Whitecliff might offer a way to control the voices that had only grown stronger and more troublesome as time had passed.
His hopes died when, two years into his time at Whitecliff, Asher confronted him, believing Josiah to be a danger to the school and too unstable to safely remain at the school. Josiah was expelled and banned, Asher going to far as to use magic to keep Josiah from ever returning to the Whitecliff grounds. Embittered and defeated, Josiah returned to grifting and selling his services whenever he could. He'd been edging toward madness due to the strain his voices put on him, and being forced away from the only place he'd ever felt he had a chance of fitting in only hastened his decent.
He went on for two years after Whitecliff, helpless against the insanity taking hold of him, until the day he met Cheryl at Novak's Pub. That was the day everything changed for him. That was the day became someone and something entirely new, and gave himself over to the half-demon Cheryl's control.
