The Called

The Called are a critical aspect of Camora. They have their genesis in the Ashen War, and are what turned the tide against the Stars. It is siad the gods produced the first Called to help them survive long enough to put up the Aegis, and they are still considered very high status.

Any family that gives birth to a Called is immediately promoted (including drogher families, which move to the Red Tower). Over time, this has moved Called bloodlines to the higher towers, making them very common in the Blue and Violet Towers and far less common in the Red or Orange ones. Whatever it is that makes someone Called does seem to travel in families, and Called parents are far more likely to produce Called children than anyone else. For this reason, Called often choose reproduce with other Called, and just about everyone has some interest in bagging a Called lover.

Only the Called are capable of traveling to Talamra and binding the spirits there, and the only ways to separate a Called and their neuma are by killing the Called or getting one of the Spiritbreakers of Notos to sever the tie.

The Trial
Called do not have their lives dictated by their title. That said, all Called children must attend special classes in which they learn about Talamra and its inhabitants, the neuma. These classes meet weekly when they're young, increasing to daily classes just before their 16th birthday and their Trial.

The Trial is a young Called's first experience with Talamra. All Called children are sent through the portal in the Violet Tower upon their 16th turning and are expected to come out having bound a neuma. It is not unheard of for children to fail to return, for Talamra is anything but devoid of danger. Less common still is for a Called child to return from their trial without binding anything.

Should this happen, the child loses status for life. They will be called a scratch behind their back, looked down upon as incompetant by all. There is no direct punishment, but the promise of lifelong shame is enough to deter almost anyone. No scratch is allowed back into Talamra again, making the Trial absolutely critical for Called.

What constitutes Called?


It is immediately obvious when someone is Called due to their heterochromia, but this comes in many forms. Only heterochromia with clear lines of demarcation between colours is considered to mark someone as Called, regardless of how small that piece might be.

There is some shame associated with having only a slice of heterochromia, and many consider such Called to be inherently weaker even though no proof of that has ever been found.