Amaranth

## Heather Lovelace-Bellamy

Heather Lovelace-Bellamy, known in Cascadia as "Amaranth", is an influential Interloper who resides on Vancouver Island, specifically on Bedwell Lake. She is the mother of Cristal Bellamy, and widower of Grant Bellamy.

## Personality

Amaranth's combination of a rough upbringing in the streets and gentle knowledge of farm life made her into a bashful yet intelligent woman, carrying a sense of self-assurance and a grounded perspective. Her success in her criminal career and her deepening love with Grant made her feel on top of the world and invincible, but her arrogance would blind her to the risks and consequences of the life that led to her downfall and flight to Vancouver Island. Her desperation led her to act without considering potential consequences, putting herself and others at risk. Her solace in her daughter and her best friend was a guiding light through her trials, but as she gave away her daughter and lost her best friend, this made her detached and reckless, leading to choices that prioritized her own interests. Her arrogance would resurface as she sought fame and fortune across Cascadia as a solo Ranger. However, meeting Kaumo and Synne and their daughter Ida changed her perspective, as they keenly resembled the family she could have had with grant and Cristal. This led her to have a renewed selfless purpose as she obligated to help them in any way she could, often charging headstrong into danger for those around her. Despite this, she lacked the courage to end her own life, struggling to face her own emotional challenges and led her to indecision. However, when Cristal came back into her life, she had a renewed purpose in life, happy to finally have a life with her daughter. But when Cristal was injured during a trip to Victoria, she began to question her commitment to Cascadia and made her consider leaving the island, willing to face the consequences for her actions if it meant her daughter was safe.

## Background

Heather and her older sister Klara were born to neglectful parents. After a drunk driving incident which killed both parents and severely injured Klara, Heather was adopted by her grandparents who owned a farm in Walla Walla.

Unlike her sister, Heather was disciplined and focused on getting good grades in school. She aspired to be an architect at an early age after being fascinated in watching a distant farmhouse being built. When she graduated high school she moved to Klapston to study being an architect and to be closer to her sister. However, when money got tight and she started having trouble paying for college, Klara helped pay most of her bills. Piquing her interest, she asked her sister "if there's any openings where you're at".

Klara initiated her to the Van Oirschot Gang, which would supply Heather with enough money to make it through college.

### Criminal Career

Heather started out being a runner of messages between organizations. After proving her loyalty to Van Oirschot, she would later be assisting with weapons trafficking, and after graduating college, robberies. Her knowledge in architecture would prove useful in breaking into and out of secured areas.

Heather would later meet Grant Bellamy, and after three years would get married.

#### The Federal Reserve Job

The Federal Reserve in Renton was the prized hit of Van Oirschot's operation, which involved years of planning and preparation. Heather discovered that the reserve was built on top of old ruins (like Pioneer Square), which they would exploit to break into the vaults.

On top of securing bullion, Grant Bellamy would also steal documents which were initially believed to be bonds. They would later find that these were highly confidential documents and dossiers, *“Despite robbing a literal federal reserve, we bit off more than we could chew. We messed with something we shouldn’t have... It was information that could topple economies and countries."*

After stern pressure from federal agents, Van Oirschot made a plea deal; arrest those responsible for the heist and return the documents. Managing to arrest Grant and Klara, Van Oirschot launched a manhunt to find Heather. With the help of one of Grant's friends, she managed to steal back the documents and any pertinent information that would appease the feds. Then, she escaped north to Vancouver Island.

### Interloper

Heather would arrive in Vancouver Island, with only a few supplies and a gun to her name. She would later give birth to her daughter, Cristal. She was as soft as the puffy Amaranthus flowers that her grandparents grew as a cover crop in the off-season, so she had "Amaranth" as her daughter's middle name, and as her Interloper name.

After a few years grifting in the cities, Amaranth set out to the Nanaimo region with her daughter to lie in the wilderness. She would later meet Anaheim, who helped her set up her life as an Interloper. She kept the existence of Cristal a secret, as she was the only normal thing she could currently cling on to.

Amaranth and Anaheim would become one of the first Cascadian Rangers who would navigate the Ranger Trail along the Cascadian coast, which would later serve to distribute Qatiun and other necessities. Being guns and hunters for hire, they would make a notable and reliable reputation for themselves as famed Interlopers.

Four years after giving birth to Cristal, The Great Rumble occurred, which threw their lives in disarray and sent the island into chaos. Many civilians were evacuated from the island, mostly leaving Interlopers and stragglers left on the island.

Six months after the earthquake, Amaranth was under the employ of Bernard Bisset, who was looking for any interesting elements or geological features on the island that stirred up from the quake. However, Bernard confided in Amaranth that he was also there to assassinate someone, but did not want to go through with it. He warned her of the dangers of the company he was working with, and offered any assistance he could to Amaranth in the event they went through with mining. With hesitation but necessity, Amaranth would give Cristal to Bernard, stating that she did not want to force her way of life on her daughter, and to give a job to her convicted sister once she left prison.

After this, Potbelly came to Amaranth seeking refuge from Anaheim's ire. After a week, Potbelly left claiming he needed to do something. Anaheim then barged in claiming that Amaranth was a homewrecker, as Potbelly never returned from her cabin. Amaranath refuted these claims and demanded an apology. Push came to shove, and Amaranth left Arrowsmith Mountain for Bedwell Lake.

For 12 years she would do famed ranger work around Cascadia, until the fateful day her daughter came back, informing her of what Bernard had told her years ago.

1. ↑ Merged last name, read here