Get to Know: Father Caleb ("Cal")

Name: Father Caleb (“Cal” for short)

Height: Tall enough 

Weight: What is this for again?

Age: I will punch you in the face. 

Bio: I grew up in a deeply evangelical family and hated every second of it. So how did I end up with the white collar? Long story. 

Short version: I rebelled like hell in my youth, got into street racing and drinking, fighting and bar brawling, that kind of thing. I thought of myself as an urban Han Solo, but, really…I was lost. 

In my early days, I drove a 1994 Ferrari 348 Spider I “borrowed” from my dad (he probably bought the red and shiny thing during a midlife crisis--he wasn’t a car guy but liked expensive things). During one of my first races, I found out the truth about our world: demons were real and making everyone’s lives a living hell. Three Great Schools of Magic were supposed to protect our world from this evil (the Great Dark), but instead, they fought against one another for power and control. Greedy bastards. 

I didn’t mind the truth. It gave me something to punch. So I joined up with a group of people who fought back against the Great Dark and the Three Great Schools of Magic. 

That’s when I met Gideon. He’s been my comrade and friend for years. We’ve fought together, bled together, and almost died together more times than I can count. That kind of relationship, it forges a bond, beyond friendship, beyond family. 

Eventually, the priesthood found me. It all started with a girl. Korina Armstrong, a former member of the Verum, helped me learn not to judge magic by the worst of its practitioners. She taught me to look at belief beyond the lens tainted by my parents, tainted by people who twisted magic for their own selfish purposes. 

I met others too, like Rabbi Nachman, who owned a little bookshop in the city. A good man. Not many of those left. I learned a lot from him too, mostly about demons, magic and monsters, even gods and angels. All real. So much knowledge.

But all the knowledge in the world couldn't answer the question: Why is there something instead of nothing?

And that opened the door for me to find my faith. Faith gave me balance in a way nothing else could; balance and structure. What can I say, I like Catholicism because of the ceremony of it all. The order, when used the right way, can help to still chaos and bring calm. 

Faith gave me hope, that the world could get better, someday. I knew my generation had failed in just about every way possible. But I made a vow, anyway. To fight the good fight, for as long as I could. And to bring others into the fold, so together…we could do some good. 

So yeah, I put on the collar. Not because I’m holy. Not because I’ve got all the answers. I just figured if the world’s going to hell, someone’s gotta be stubborn enough to stand in the way.

Lucky me. 

END ENTRY