Kaelan

Kaelan is one of the protagonists of Vantage. At the beginning of the story she is twenty-one years old and is allied with the Vell, and works for them on one of their reconaissance squads.

Background
A native of Earth, Kaelan spent her childhood in Toronto. Her parents were separated and she was an only child, meaning she had a lot of responsibility at home from a young age. She graduated at the top of her class academically and attended McGill University for one semester. Kaelan was always well-liked by her peers, but felt unsure and confused about what to do after University, believing that any single profession would force her to sacrifice some of her interests. She was close friends with Nick, Reid, Brynn and Gillian. She also had a close, committed relationship with Paul, which she maintained even after leaving Toronto for school.

On December 26, 2012, she was mysteriously transported to the planet Vantage. Though in shock from the sudden transport, she managed to survive alone for almost a month, testing plant life for poison and boiling river water to drink. However, while scavenging near the ocean, she was spotted by a Vell reconaissance team led by Helix. The team captured her and took her back to Ecill, where she was brought before the Vell consensus, who decided that she be held in the pressurized, oxygen-filled temple chambers once occupied by the Precursors. Many Vell wanted to have her vivisected to study her physiology in order to gain a clue about her origins, but enough Vell were swayed by Father Endrivin to stop that motion.

Though she nearly starved herself in custody, the priest managed to aid Kaelan by helping her eat and drink, and eventually by giving her a large wall to draw on. Kaelan recovered from her shock and used the wall to prove her sapience by drawing the Pythagorean theorem and a picture of the Milky Way galaxy. Convinced enough of her ability to reason, the Vell allowed her to live on Ecill as Endrivin's student. Under his tutelage, she learned the Vell overworld language and studied their culture and history. After several months she was allowed to return occasionally to the surface with reconaissance teams, and when she showed physical aptitude on land, the Vell allowed her to formally join a team. She made routine trips to the surface, and though she was not allowed to carry a weapon and was assigned a permanent guard, she occasionally provided combat support and assistance.

Abilities
On Earth, Kaelan was a skilled writer, conversationalist and artist. On Vantage, she has used and adapted these skills extensively. Her skills as an artist have especially proved useful: she first proved her intelligence by drawing the galaxy and the Pythagorean theorem, and has since used them to teach Father Endrivin about Earth culture and society. Her linguistic skills allowed her to learn the Vell language exceptionally fast, and her diplomatic abilities have saved her from the Vell consensus countless times.

Since arriving on Vantage, Kaelan has honed her physical abilities, and she is now proficient in combat. Though not physically strong--she has a significant disadvantage in direct, hand-to-hand combat--she has learned to use her size, weight and speed on land to her advantage. She has impressive endurance and balance, and as such is able to move quickly on unstable ground, which she uses to gain an advantage against her enemies.

In Chapter K1, Kaelan steals a sniper rifle from a dead Vell guard. Though she has to hide it on land, she is a capable sniper.