Toby Parker

Toby Parker is a teenage Warlock's apprentice, the son of a London baker and one of the most prestigious spellcasters to ever live, Henry Parker. He lives in Lower Brixton with his mother, and is currently on his third year of training under the apprenticeship of Warlock Master Anthony Crow. His closest friend is Juniper Rose, another young Warlock who has an impressive knowledge of magic beyond his own understanding, despite her being a year younger than he, and together the three of them serve under the Associates in efforts against Mistress Creed and her vampire army.

## Early life

Toby Parker was born in West London, at an M.I. (Magic Institute) hospital facility. The birth was smooth and there were no complications in his or his mothers' health - it is unknown how many vampires had attempted to enter the hospital and sabotage the operation, as if any had breeched, Belch would already have them handled.

As an infant while his father was still alive, Toby's childhood was fairly normal. He learned to walk at a very young age, much to the amusement of his parents, and had a special grasp on magic even as a baby. Accidentally levitating toys across the room, or shifting snacks in his platter just by looking at them. These small tells to his powerful potential concerned his mother, but made his father proud. This sparked some small arguments between the couple, as she was very against raising Toby to be a Warlock, while Henry wished to show Toby the bizarre and wonderful world how it truly was. These arguments never became very serious, but remained as a small disagreement between them for the rest of the period they were together.

Henry Parker died when his son turned two years old, and following swiftly after his death Elizabeth took her son and moved away to Lower Brixton, a quaint suburban neighborhood south of the city of London. She mourned for years but never failed to provide Toby a happy and peaceful childhood - Belch Nevershave, a Dwarf and godfather of the boy, always remained close but out of sight, guarding the child from any threats in the shadows.

## Schooling

Growing up, Toby's education and school life had always been rocky. On one hand, he truly couldn't care less, as he never had many friends and wasn't all too popular, but on the other, the constant shifting had begun to get irritating during his preteen years - although, it was for his own good, as he was in growing danger the longer he remained in one place.

Quillcrock Middle School was a relatively alright place that he attended for 2 years, albeit he made some enemies along the way. Fitz Wood was the school bully, the one who always picked trouble with everyone but came out on top of everything, anyway. Toby and Fitz were always enemies, even from the start - constant humiliation and teasing, but Toby withstood it all.

Meriwether College Preparatory school was where Toby began attending for freshman year of high school - there, he was attacked by "Bugaboos" and met Jack Ridley, a young half-Giant who he now calls one of his closest friends. Meriwether itself is a rather intimidating building, a mostly brick foundation with accents of shadowy wood around the exterior for supports. With the bold regal text on the front wall and never-green grass, it always reminds Toby of an evil castle. Or maybe he just hates school.

## Apprenticeship

When Toby was thirteen years of age, he found something in his own backyard, at the base of an apple tree etched by the initials of his parents - it seemed just a rock at first glance, but it was, in fact, a metal box. An ancient-looking container marked by runes of sorts that he could readily identify as belonging to the old Norse script - curiosity struck, and he pried it open with a branch for leverage, and opened not only the box, but also the true world as it was.

Taking the wand and the book inside, he was left with a silver whistle at the bottom - next thing he knew, he had blown it, and Doctor Crow was stumbling across his front lawn towards him from the wreckage of a funeral hearse, announcing the beginning of his new life as a Warlock's apprentice. The training started off rocky. Toby wasn't yet sure how to funnel his energy into anything particularly meaningful, but his mentor didn't mind - practice makes perfect, after all. Over the course of the boy's first year of apprenticeship and the retrieval of the Sprites of Magic, he got the hang of the basics of magic such as the common bolt, short-distance teleportation, telekinesis, invisibility, and making strobe lights from the palm of his hand, for example, along with some limited knowledge of alchemy picked up by Juniper Rose.

His second year of apprenticeship went smoother - while Mistress Creed had not actually died, which, admittedly, was a bit of a bummer, it didn't cease his training one bit. Twice every week or five times a month he would take time out of his schedule outside of proper training to hone his skill with the Mist, either in the local cemetery, his own yard, the garage, or at the school campus during the late hours of the night. Even as he was hurled into a massive gaping abyss in a swamp and stranded miles under the Earth's crust for weeks on end, he still didn't stop his training routine save for the unfortunate few hours where he had fully lost control of his left arm and shoulder.

After he clashed with Quinntillious Chambers at Neptune's Hollow and lost his life to the vampire's bite, he was forced into a new schedule of no training during his and his friends' imprisonment at Skull Hill, and thought he lost the majority of the skill he'd been learning for so long over this length of time with no magic. But no, just like riding a bike, when he did it, he remembered everything. Following their escape (with help from the MIPD), he returned to his usual training habits with his mentor over the course of the next few months.

## Friends and Relationships

Toby has many allies that he always goes to when in need of advice, company, or an extra wand in battle, namely a select five individuals: Doctor Crow, Juniper Rose, Jack Ridley, Harmony Sparkles, and his godfather, Belch Nevershave. Each and every one of them is like family to him, like bizarrely different brothers and sisters that are always there to help him.

**Doctor Crow**: Toby and Doctor Crow have a father-son dynamic, occasionally disagreeing on both small and large matters but always sticking together regardless. While his mentor has rather tweaked views on the London law system and would rather break them than follow them, Toby has a larger focus on paying attention to rules - he has his whole life. But regardless of small moral disagreements here and there, there wouldn't be a better mentor-apprentice combination out there.

**Juniper Rose**: Toby and Juniper are best friends, but it wasn't always that way. Quite frankly Toby didn't have much experience with girls when they met, and wasn't exact sure how to approach befriending her - she was harsh at times and quick to snap. But after they passed this stage in their relationship, they went on to learn one another's quirks and learn to enjoy being in the company of each other. While Toby isn't entirely sure about a romantic aspect to their relationship and many of his friends pushing them to try things out for a while, nothing will get in the way of their friendship any time soon.

**Jack Ridley**: Toby met Jack when he was twelve years old, on his way to school one evening. At the time (and still currently), Jack was homeless and didn't have much places to go or people to talk to, so they would occasionally hang out with one another in the parks or near the Thames. Their friendship never truly exceeded acquaintances until after the incident at Meriwether College Prep, in which Jack displayed his monumental strength in defending his fellow classmates. From then on, Toby and the half-Giant bonded a lot more, to the point of calling one another friends (but not best friends just yet).

**Harmony Sparkles**: Toby and Harmony have a rather uncertain dynamic - on one hand, Harmony cares deeply for the boy and vice versa, but on the other, Harmony Sparkles works in a very professional manner and doesn't spend much time doing things as fickle as socialization. She likes Toby in the way a teacher does a student - there is some genuine care, but she seems to rather be focused on providing him success in his career over lasting friendship. After this whole ordeal ends, it's uncertain if they will stay acquainted or not - only time will tell.

**Belch Nevershave**: Toby and Belch get along quite well, and share a similar sense of humor. While Belch is the young Warlock's godfather and sworn protector, he oftentimes acts as more of a playful uncle figure to him, always laughing, singing, and joking with his godson even in the most dire of times. While Toby feels reluctant to talk to Belch about deeper subjects, as he's afraid the Dwarf won't take it seriously, Belch truly already knows all of it, and will stop at nothing to provide his godson everything that he needs. Along with Belch's close ties with Doctor Crow, it's only a natural thing that he and Toby Parker would get along.

## Personality

Toby Parker is a brave-spirited, kind-hearted, and a natural leader. Many people tell him he is brave, and while he doesn't particularly agree, it is true. Like many young Warlocks, Toby is very reckless and tends to do or blurt out things before thinking, causing him to get into a lot of trouble. He feels responsible for everyone and anything which goes wrong, and inherited a fierce sense of personal loyalty that his father also possessed - he would sacrifice the world to save a single friend. According to Juniper, Toby is obtuse, meaning he doesn't always see the obvious even when it is right in front of him, such as people's feelings and what they are trying to say indirectly.

## Physical Appearance

Toby Parker is a tall boy for his age, generally considered as a fairly attractive individual by his peers regardless of his unkempt hair and awkward smile. His eyes are a brilliant shade of blue that many remark as strikingly similar to his mothers', and a small scar on his lower lip that he got trying to eat a stapler as a child (which was actually a shapeshifter). He typically dresses in sweaters, T-shirts, and hoodies when outside of school, and always wears Vans™ shoes.