To the President of Highland,
You are ridiculous and foolhardy to believe you can get rid of this haze by yelling at it. It is not a sentient being, and we are beginning to wonder if you are sentient or not. Everyday we hear your voice over the speakers telling us to endure just a while longer until you have found a surefire way to clear this haze, but our families and friends are dying. We can only endure so long. Mister President, we assure you that you will face great danger and opposition if you continue to be useless in the fight against the haze. We advise you to stop talking at the haze and find a real solution.
Sincerely, Earl Grey Black and Jasmine Green
Name: Greyson "Grey" Urlenith Cole a.k.a. Earl Grey Black
Gender: Male
Age: 26
Species: Human
Family: A younger sister (Cloud; 15) and younger brother (Sebastian; 17) are the only immediate family that Greyson has. Everyone else is dead from the thick, poisonous haze that keeps increasing around the country. He has a large extended family in another country, Greensky.
Personality: Stubborn, passionate, brave, insensitive, brash, hardy, protective, reliable, playful, flirtatious, and somewhat of a playboy.
History: Grey has never known a home other than Highland. He was born and raised there, and has always lived a healthy life despite the mysterious and deadly haze that has steadily grown thicker throughout the years. Grey lost his parents and first younger sister to the haze when he was thirteen, but learned to protect his remaining two siblings (they were four and two at the time) from the haze. When Greyson was fifteen he met a girl around the age of his younger brother, and she became like his family. School was mandatory, of course, but unfortunately Grey was kicked out at age sixteen for his bold and reckless show of his discontentment to stand around and watch people die of the haze while the government did little to help. When he was twenty, the girl that had become like his little sister and friend disappeared due to his recklessness. Two years later she returned, but their relationship was strained for a while afterwards. Eventually the relationship was repaired, and Greyson was the one to first figure out he was in love with the girl he once lost, though she refuses to let him love her (he rather enjoys teasing her about that). Now Greyson is the leader of a group of rebels that keeps growing. The rebels stand for all that Highland once stood for: happiness, equality, justice, and life. Together they take matters into their own hands, rebelling against the government that secretly wants to kill off the weak and poor by giving reliable protection from the mist only to the wealthy and powerful. Greyson himself (and his friend "Jasmine") becomes a figure of great authority and power amongst the rebels, and eventually amongst the citizens of Highland. But to the government, he is a threat they will stop at no cost to dispose of.
Current Goal/Purpose: Save and restore Highland, keep the people of Highland (and those he loves) alive, evacuate those that cannot live in the harsh conditions to Greensky with the help of his extended family. Oh, and get the girl. Of course.
Appearance: A little short at 5'7, and although he seems muscular enough, he is still smaller than other men. But he is lithe and quick to make up for it, and is strong despite his small appearance. His hair is long, shaggy and black, giving him a very youthful appearance (further enhanced by full lips that always seem to be smiling) that causes most everyone to underestimate his intelligence. His eyes are seemingly innocent, always staring in wide-eyed observation at everything around him. They are hazel, a mix of silver, gold, and blue. Usually he is dirty; he has little time to bathe, and secretly despises baths. Under all the dirt, he is still golden tan. His hands are rough from work, and his skin is always marked with bruises and cuts. Many permanent scars are scattered across his body; several larger ones on his back and front, one obvious scar crossing his right cheek and ending just under his bottom lip, small scars on his legs and arms. He hates the color purple and refuses to wear it, but he loves red.
Name: Aurea "Ree" Gardner
Gender: Female
Age: 18
Species: Human
Family: A crazy pair of old men, the Gardner brothers, adopted her when she was young. She sent them away to live with Greyson's extended family in Greensky. The Gardner brothers liked flowers and plants... just a little. Her father was a government official, but disapproved and started to rebel against his leaders... when Ree was about seven, her family (mother, father, older sister, younger brother) were killed. She escaped and hid in a lush greenhouse. Her memories of the days before that come and go.
Personality: Irascible, violent when pushed past her limits, but quite sensitive. Energetic, determined, delicate, suspicious, protective, jumpy, bitter, outgoing, tries to be funny but fails hilariously, scatterbrained but a quick thinker. Horrible planner.
History: Ree was born into a well-off family in a higher class. However, she was forced to hide her true identity after her family was murdered by the government for her father's rebellious ideas. Not that hiding her identity was difficult; sometimes she remembers, sometimes she does not. These days she writes down every memory from every dream or flashback that occurs. After the murders, she hid in a greenhouse that happened to be tended by a fifteen-year-old wild child trying to make money to support his two younger siblings. His name was Greyson Cole, and she hated him for the longest time for ratting her out to the Gardner brothers. Eventually, though, they became almost like siblings. When the Gardner brothers were busy or needed her to hide, she was sent to live with Greyson for a while, and she got along with his two younger siblings well enough. They were one year and three years younger than her. Then times got even more troublesome after Greyson started the rebel group and spurred rebellions across Highland. Ree was lost for about two years, from age twelve to fourteen, when Greyson lost track of her while she was under his care. He had foolishly taken her along with him on a riot. She returned when he was twenty-two, and he had thought she was long dead. Unfortunately, Ree had suffered from the haze enough to make her lungs weak and susceptible to further damage. She hated him for a while longer, though it was more of disappointment and distrust. After a while the relationship went from strained and brittle to something much different, and although Greyson was well aware of his feelings for Ree and Ree's feelings for him, Ree refuses to see her own feelings. She keeps herself busy and away from Greyson by evacuating citizens of Highland, leading them through the dangerous road to Greensky. It's a stupid and reckless job for a girl with delicate lungs.
Current Goal/ Purpose: Save and restore Highland, get revenge, personally evacuate and protect Highlanders, make sure the rebels are taken care of. Make Greyson happy.
Appearance: Ree is 5'2 and was once scrawny as well as bird-boned, but now that she cannot exert as much energy due to her weak lungs, so now she is bird-boned and soft. It doesn't help things that she is crafty and charming enough to either steal food, find food, or get cheap food for both evacuees and herself (they love her for it). Mainly, she moved evacuees during the night when the haze is less prominent and the escaping is easier. Her skin is fairly pale because of that and illness. Her hair is always in a thick braid that hits around mid-back length; it's a cool dark brown color. Ree is persistant about being clean, but endures dirt without complaint when there is no other choice. Her face is always serious, small round lips usually always talking but rarely smiling. Perhaps that is why her jokes always seem so bad. It's odd how she can seem so charming although she is seemingly serious.
