Juniper

'Juniper' is the code name for Miles Iuniperus Grigory. The Grigory family have been a part of the Templar organization for nearly 900 years. That history is very important to Miles, but she also feels somewhat estranged from it; she was the first of her line to have been born with no magical aptitude whatsoever. An encounter with the 'bees' changed that, but fear of being found wanting lingers. They're not 'bees,' they're miracles. 'Retelling what's written across the world in letters to large to see' so we can hear it. It's why they're always buzzing. - Miles Grigory, 16, misquoting C.S. Lewis to her father shortly after encountering a 'bee'

=Templar Personnel Dossier: 'Juniper'=

Enlistment Record
 Closing Remarks:  Proficient with swords. Magical aptitude, trained up to standard, not stand-out. Mediocre small arms scores - addtl mandatory firing range hours rec'd. Involved in the pilot study for the Blackwood Institute Apprenticeship Programme; good results. Family in good standing. Father a part of the Blackwood Institute, working on Project Bastion. Alternate next of kin - Aradhana Grigory, mother. One sibling - half-sister, codename [redacted] - currently on assignment. 

Notes from Psychological Evaluation

 * Worryingly low self esteem appears to be by-product of being sole nonmagical child. Still outshone by half-sister (powerful magi); lingering resentment.  Tell HR not under any circumstances to assign them together.
 * Escapism noticeably decreased since last evaluation. Encouraging continued interaction with civilian population - seems to be helping.

Internal Email, Blackwood Institute
From: MTremelay To: SGrigory CC: Subject: RE: Grigory, Miles (23.04.2002) Date: April 26, 2002 10:27:25

Sam -

Wanted to let you know that Miles is fine. The MRI does show some unusual brain activity, but it's nothing to worry about - quite the reverse, actually. She wasn't showing any signs of an aptitude for magic previously, according to her file, but it looks like Marche's efforts have paid off. You have another budding magi in the family.

I'm sure Marche will be crowing about this 'success' at the next quarterly meeting, but I have to say, he could have been more careful. She's bouncing back very quickly, though, and she says the 'humming' is pleasant.

You can come sign her out of Medical this evening. Get the poor child home to her mum, give her some tea, teach her how to avoid setting the house on fire. I know that runs in the family.

Take care of her, alright? I don't want to see Miles in medical for anything save a routine checkup until well after Marche has gotten bored with this round of self-aggrandisement (if Rush breaks her arm again, I may actually set his hair on fire; feel free to tell him so).

 Dr Marie Tremelay Clinical lead Blackwood Institute Medical Centre

=History=

Family and Childhood
The Grigory family was first inducted into the Templars in 1139; they have since served faithfully, although more frequently as administrators, scientists, and teachers than as warriors. Given the importance accorded to martial abilities within the organization, the Grigory have never been particularly prominent. The most distinguished member of the family was actually a librarian - Lucas Aiten rescued and preserved a number of important books during the inquest into the Knights Templar ofshoot in 1307. Miles was born to Samuel Grigory and Aradnaha 'Hannah' Grigory (née Shahani) in October of 1987; her parents were expecting a boy and had agreed to name him after Samuel's maternal great-grandfather. She was the second of two children; her older half-sister was 10 years her senior and not a major presence in Miles's life. Miles grew up on the campus of the Blackwood Institute, where her father worked as a researcher (1983-present). The Institute, often simply called 'Blackwood,' is a Templar-controlled think tank and R&D firm located in a remote part of Britain for the security of the researchers and the safety of the general public. This remoteness meant that Miles grew up largely isolated from children her own age. She spent a great deal of time reading, once she learned how, and went on adventures with a number of imaginary friends. This second was generally an unwise proposition around high concentrations of anima, but it only occasionally got her into very great trouble or mortal peril. Miles was a fairly normal child, by most measures, which was a private disappointment to the rest of her family (all magi). Miles perceived this disappointment, as children are wont to do, and when one of her father's colleagues (Bartholomew Marche) began a small study involving the magical entities dubbed 'bees,' she leapt at the chance to volunteer. The result of that particular study landed her in the Blackwood Institute's Medical Centre for three days, but she did come out of it with the magical aptitude she'd spent her childhood up to that point so desperately wishing for, although she was still never quite as talented as her kin.

Education
Miles was tutored by both of her parents with frequent supplements from other members of the Blackwood staff. Notables included Thomas Rush, who taught self-defense and fencing, and Marie Tremelay, who taught her biology and first aid. She was later sponsored for and subsequently accepted into the Templar's programme at Oxford University, where she annoyed the administration, first by taking a number of classes entirely outside her concentration and then by actually meeting the requirements for her cover major.

Adult Life
Miles fell in love with London the first time she visited Temple Hall as a child, but she has been sent on or volunteered for a number of missions which have taken her farther abroad. After spending most of her childhood stuck in one place, she is eager to see more of the world. Her superiors generally consider her a reliable agent, but seldom send her on vitally important missions because of a tendency to reinterpret and re-prioritize her orders when there are lives in immediate jeopardy. It's generally considered a better use of resources to point her at problems that involve liaising with non-Templars or rendering assistance to imperiled civilians... which means that by Templar standards, she hasn't achieved anything particularly noteworthy.

=Appearance= Miles is quite tall and lean, with proportions that tend more towards 'beanpole' than 'statuesque.' Her even features are rather pretty, but she rarely accentuates them with makeup. She generally tries to convey an impression of being rather ordinary; combined with a purposeful stride, it gets her into any number of places she has no business being.

=Most Recent Known Whereabouts= Templar agent 'Juniper' was last seen in south Texas, in the United States, trying to track and capture a chupacabra.