Oliver Jespersen was a successful businessman in the 1800s who made his money through scams. One day, Nemesis realised his usury and cursed him so all his relatives-to-come would be the recipients of untimely deaths. Two centuries passed with the Jespersen’s lives ending in unexpected deaths.
Luminita Jespersen was clear-sighted and learned of her families’ curse when she was seven, and so ran away to join a band of gypsies. The gypsies accepted her into their fold and they travelled around Russia and Europe performing at carnivals as fortune tellers and magic performers. Luminita and her fellow gypsy Alfonzo became renowned as the tellers of light and dark, Luminita as the teller of death and Alfonzo as the teller of life.
One night at an evening carnival in Russia, a man dressed all in black swept into the caravan and asked Luminita to read his fortune. Luminita instantly felt the death surrounding the man and subtly slid away from him. The man laughed and took off the swathes of fabric surrounding his face. Luminita was surprised as the man was devilishly handsome, and they began an affair that lasted three weeks. After that, the man disappeared, leaving a note behind that explained how he was actually Thanatos, the Greek god. Luminita had no trouble believing this as she was clear sighted and had seen stranger things.
A month after Thanatos had left, Luminita realised that she was pregnant. She gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, but only lived long enough after the pregnancy to name the child, due to the family curse. Morrigan was brought up by the gypsies, learning at an early age how to pick pockets and “enchant” tourists. One day, one of the tourists Morrigan had performed for followed her back to the gypsy settlement. As Morrigan reached her caravan, the tourist that had been following her sprouted wings and her body shrank into that of a large bird’s, transforming into a harpy. The woman screeched at her and lurched forward. Morrigan was shocked and kept thinking about how she could defend herself in the heat of the moment. The harpy came closer and Morrigan closed her eyes and held her hands out, imagining a weapon in them, as if it would defend her. To her surprise, when she opened her eyes, the harpy had backed away from her as she held a shimmering scythe in her hands. Astonished, Morrigan swung the scythe out in front of her and sliced the harpy in half, and it turned to dust.
She began fortune telling in her mother’s place at the age of 12, when she realised she could see people’s lifelines. However, whenever she went to tell people their fate, her mouth sealed up, and she had to tell it in obscure ways which they wouldn’t understand. She didn’t know what was happening to herself.
One day, while the gypsy troupe was setting up at a German festival, a teenage boy about Morrigan’s age (15) bounded up to her, seemingly ecstatic to meet her. He told her that she needed to come with him to a place where she would be safe. Morrigan wasn’t convinced at first, but eventually packed her suitcase and followed the boy. The boy told Morrigan his name was Sam, and he was a satyr. Morrigan just nodded, not really taking anything in as it was all happening so fast.
When Sam and Morrigan reached the airport, Nemesis appeared. She told Morrigan that her family had paid their dues and that, as of Morrigan’s lifetime, the curse had been lifted. Morrigan just nodded again, still not believing what was happening to her. Nemesis also presented her with a chunky skull ring, a scythe that changed forms. Again, Morrigan nodded. Nemesis disappeared, and Sam dragged Morrigan along to the terminal gate.
Morrigan glanced at Sam and her mouth hung open. Sam’s lifeline had almost run out. Suddenly, a giant scorpion jumped in front of them. Sam stepped in front of Morrigan to protect her, only to be sliced in half by the scorpion. Morrigan watched in horror as the scorpion advanced towards her. Her battle instincts kicked in, and Morrigan charged towards the scorpion, tapping her ring as she charged. The ring transformed into a skeletal scythe in gleaming celestial bronze as Morrigan slid under the scorpion and sliced open the creature’s underbelly. It turned to dust immediately. Morrigan lay on the airport ground until someone came over to her and helped her onto her plane.
When Morrigan arrived in New York, she was overwhelmed by the streets full of shades of grey, and the level of smog in the air. Having no money, she pick pocketed her way through New York until another satyr found her and took her to Camp Half Blood.
Morrigan Jespersen 
