Melisma Ramijozana

This article is considered to be In Character by its author.

Melisma Ramijozana is a Sebiestor industrialist and activist. She is the heir of the cadet branch of Clan Ramijozana.

Name	Melisma Ramijozana
Gender	female
Race	Minmatar
Bloodline	Sebiestor
Blood Type	O+
Father	Emile Ramijozana
Mother	Joanna Ramijozana
Siblings	none
Place of Birth	Ramijanawa
Height	177 cm (5’10)
Hair Color	auburn
Eye Color	hazel
Specialization	Industry
Education	Republic University
Corporation	Corovid Industries
Religion	Sebiestor spirituality
Augmentations	none

Early life

Melisma was born to Emile Ramijozana, of Ramijozana, and Joanna Ramijozana, of Texiaco, on April 29, YC90. As she was born during sunrise, her “clan name” includes the epithet “Dawnbreaker.” She was born in her family’s ger, or yurt, in Ramijanawa, a small town on the clan’s ancestral lands on the steppes of Mikramurka, Matar, near the center of the coast and a few hours by car west of Sundsele.

Emile was the cadet heir of Clan Ramijozana. (Some centuries earlier, before the Long Night, the Ramijozana hereditary line had split, with half of the tribe supporting one heir and the other half supporting the other. As a result, the line has two heirs, one who becomes clan chief and one who becomes cadet chief.) This role traditionally made him the chairman of Corovid Industries, the clan’s manufacturing company and primary source of income.

Melisma was an active, curious child, eager to learn, whether through traditional schooling or exploration. She was especially attached to her father, a quiet but pleasant man who indulged Melisma’s questions and experiments.

Beginnings of grief

Melisma’s first brush with loss was the passing of her clan chief’s two daughters, both victims of what Ramijanawans refer to as the “slow sickness.” It is an autoimmune disease that attacks the myelin sheath of the spinal cord, causing various disabilities to a person that often last years before the body shuts down. The clan chief, Tiama Ramijozana, turned out to be a carrier of the disease, as was her husband.

Next to succumb to the slow sickness was Emile Ramijozana. His symptoms lasted for four years, rendering him blind, deaf, and unable to walk until a simple infection ended his life in the early hours of January 1, YC100. Both Joanna and Melisma were inconsolable. Joanna became markedly more reserved, and Melisma’s interest in her studies waned. Additionally, because Melisma was Emile’s only heir, control of Corovid Industries technically fell to her at that time, at nine years old. Joanna ran the company and would do so until Melisma came of age for running it, a handoff typically expected to happen at fifty years old.

Over the course of her childhood, several more of Melisma’s kin would be lost to the slow sickness, accidents, rebellion, and old age. The clan became known for its profound grief.

Genetic testing carried out ahead of her capsuleer training would confirm that Melisma is not a carrier for the slow sickness.

Military training

Melisma enrolled in the Republic military for mandatory service at fourteen years old. Her performance was unremarkable, and she remained in the reserves, never seeing action.

Postsecondary learning

After graduating from high school, Melisma attended Republic University, where she earned a bachelors and then a masters degree in cluster politics. Her roommate while living on campus was Tananarive Anat, a Krusual woman. This was Melisma’s first experience away from home, and she adapted to it poorly. She spent most of her time drinking and partying, and only passed her courses due to an uncanny ability to cram efficiently.

During her baccalaureate program, Melisma, accompanied by Tananarive, took a preliminary test for capsule compatibility because the University’s capsuleer program was giving out free sandwiches that day. Both women appeared to be capsule-rated. Tiama encouraged Melisma to undergo full testing, due in part to competition from the Ronukens, the only descendants of Ramijozana kin taken during the Amarr Occupation to have returned to Ramijanawa. Having made excellent money working in the Federation for a time, the Ronukens were comparatively wealthy, and were putting all four of their children through capsuleer training. Tiama wanted to send Melisma as well, so as not to be one-upped by the freedmen. (The Ronukens and one of their daughters would shortly perish in the Battle of Mekhios, and a son had already died in training.)

Melisma made it through capsuleer training not on talent but sheer force of will. She wanted to convert Corovid Industries to an interstellar corporation and use the resources she would have as a capsuleer to return the company to profitability. Her instructors passed her after she was the first in her class to volunteer for euthanasia, and survived her first clone transfer. The favored bet had been that she would not.

As a capsuleer

Melisma earned her capsuleer license on September 24, YC120.

Lagniappe

Melisma’s surname is pronounced “RRRA-mi-ho-ZAHN-nah,” with the R rolled and the J hushed. The town name, Ramijanawa (meaning “the seat of those in power”), is pronounced similarly. However, outsiders get it wrong so frequently that no clan member would correct it unless provoked.

Like the rest of her clan, Melisma uses the word “grief” the same way that other Sebiestor might use “spirits,” as in interjections and epithets: “Grief above and below.”