Callum Nova

art by @littlechmura

**Callum Nova** was one of the Atlas Six (2020–2022 initiation class), recruited by Atlas Blakely in Cape Town, South Africa to be initiated into the Alexandrian Society. He nearly didn’t survive the year, but due to the abduction of Libby Rhodes, he was able to make it out and participate in the initiation ritual.

## Personality

Callum is used to getting what he wants. This makes him come off as arrogant and conceited. He's immensely dislikes when someone else in a group makes friends before him.

## Appearance

Callum is tall (about six feet, give or take a few inches) and thin, with blond hair and blue eyes. Most of his face is illusioned, though. The only person who knows what his true face looks like is Tristan, but some features have been hinted at. Callum’s hair is not as blond as he makes it out to be. The true shade is somewhere between a light brown and a dirty blond. His eyes are also an exaggerated blue. Instead of the piercing blue he’s adopted, his true eye color is a normal shade of dull blue. Callum has a widow’s peak hairline, inherited from his parents. However, under illusion, his hairline appears straighter than it truly is.

## Relationships

### Tristan Caine

Callum and Tristan had formed an unlikely alliance, much to the dismay of the other four initiates. They spent a lot of time together throughout the initial year. During this time, Callum indulged in possibly self-destructive behavior as he had influenced Tristan a few times. Callum had grown very fond of Tristan, something he wasn’t used to. He allowed himself to be more vulnerable around Tristan, letting him see what Callum’s true face looks like beyond the illusions along with tiny things that no one else knows about Callum. Additionally, Callum states more than once that Tristan understands him unlike no one else. He believes that he and Tristan are similar in many ways. At some point, it is possible that this unsettled Callum, which is what pushed him to influence Tristan. During a very confrontational moment of influencing, Callum very directly tells Tristan, “I love you. That’s why you can’t turn your back on me, even if you want to.”

After Callum’s initiation ritual, Tristan’s betrayal truly begins to set in. It is heavily implied throughout the second year that Callum was—and still is—in love with Tristan. He feels brief jealousy when he suspects something may be going on between Nico and Tristan, then when he guesses at Tristan’s feelings for Libby. He drinks excessive alcohol to forget the betrayal (and his own shortcomings), and even has Parisa point out how obvious it was that Callum’s feelings are not just platonic. Reina also picks up on some of this. During the Alexandrian Gala, Callum drunkenly asks if Parisa’s ever been in love, which can be easily interpreted as Callum asking for some sort of advice in relation to Tristan.

It is a recurring theme that Callum has tied the definition of love (as well as some of his emotional worth) to Tristan and that Tristan’s clear rejection of him has damaged him further.

### Parisa Kamali

In *The Atlas Six*, Paris and Callum play a game to see who is a stronger mind controller. Callum seemingly manipulates Parisa into jumping off the roof of the Society house. However, it’s revealed that Parisa made it all happen in Nico’s head, so none of it was real. Since she had successfully (and flawlessly) tricked Callum as well as all the other initiates into thinking they were still in the real world, she technically won the game.

## Gallery

Callum & Reina by @littlechmuraCallum by @littlechmuraCallum & a partially out of frame Nico by @littlechmuraCallum by @littlechmuraBonus Christmas art by @littlechmura
## Trivia

* Callum was nearsighted to the point of having a squint, but he later fixed this.
* Callum knows Greek in addition to English.