Caleb

Caleb is the original alterego of Karthik in the Hope/Despair series.

'''This whole description is SPOILER for Karthik's past! Read ahead at your own peril. ^^'''

Family
Caleb was born to a happily married couple, who at this point, have no names. He was the first born son of the family and major heir. His younger brother, Vioda, is his only other sibling and he was born about six years later.

Vioda
From the moment Vioda was born, Caleb doted on him. He knew it was his special role to be protector of his brother and he took that role very seriously. His parents had always displayed a favoritism towards Caleb, but Caleb cared more about Vioda than his parents. However, Vioda's birth was heralded by many others of the Angalian as an unfortunate and dark omen. The way the magic of the Angalians worked often affected physical appearance. Specifically, the stronger the cursed aspect, the darker the hair of the individual. Since Vioda's hair was solid black, this caused many in the area to worry about the strength of Vioda's curse and it's implications to the rest in the area. Caleb's family worked directly for the royal family. They were like a collector's toy to the royal family, as the Angalians were growing rarer and rarer. His family and a few select other families were special servants and showed off for foreign dignitaries. The basic message of their ownership was how strong the kingdom must be, to employ the Angalians and function normally without the typical curse afflictions. However, Vioda's presence could potentially change everything. Their favor with the king preserved their lives and allowed them to live and interact almost like normal human beings. But, if Vioda was strongly cursed and began to negatively impact those around him, he could jeopardize their lifestyle. Caleb, however, was oblivious to all those adult concerns and barely noticed that Vioda received different treatment from everyone else.

When Vioda was about five or six years old, some of the mystics of the Angalians finally accessed a prophecy. More accurately, it was like a dual prophecy centering around Caleb and Vioda. The prophecy stated that through Caleb would came the saving of the Angalians and that Vioda would be the one to kill him.

Caleb and Vioda didn't pay particular attention and Caleb in particular could have cared less, but those of the Angalians that were living outside of the traditional persecution saw this as a hope. If Caleb could save them, they didn't want to take the chance that Vioda would take that away from them (as the prophecy seemed to indicate). Their mother loved her firstborn son desperately, almost to the exclusion of Vioda. So when the

Character
The biggest part of Caleb's character is his innocence combined with his naivete. He innately trusts others and believes in the good inside them. When they don't meet those expectations, he is confused and uncertain about how to deal with it. He is extremely pure-hearted. Despite that, his personality is not particularly strong. He doesn't have the stamina or strength of character to withstand the terrible things that happened to him. His innocent heart can't really understand it, which gives him a touch of petulance and especially makes him vulnerable. His inability to deal with emotional trauma eventually becomes his undoing as his life's catastrophes transform him into someone who is strong enough, Karthik. In many ways, Caleb and Karthik are opposites, but it's more of a yin and yang, in that neither really means anything without the other. Karthik's strength is a function of Caleb's weakness and many of Caleb's choices and failed ideals affect Karthik's attitude in subtle ways.

Books
Caleb is mentioned but rarely throughout the series. This is primarily due to the drastic transformation he goes through to become Karthik. As Karthik, he is present throughout every book of the first series, including Smile, Blue and Vioda2. As Caleb, he is only mentioned throughout the series, because Karthik has completely superceded the personality by that point. He stars in Prequel: A Darker Shade of Grey as the hero. He also makes an appearance in Prequel: A Lighter Shade of Grey, which focuses more on his brother, Vioda.

Theme Song
Evil Angel by Breaking Benjamin

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