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Maribella

Born in Cuba, Maribella Aristizábal was born in Cuba, and would've spent all her life under the Castro regime if it weren't for her discovery by the Stellae Errantes. Already a medical student in her native homeland, elements of the Stellae managed to relocate her to the Dominican Republic, where she finished her studies and experience to become a physician. Part of her motivation to study medicine was her desire to help others, motivated by her previous life conditions on the Caribbean island - however, it was also her talents that pushed her to pursue this discipline. After moving to the United States (again, through her connections with the Stellae), she established her offices and earned renown as a distinguished physician able to treat any kind of illness, sometimes with methods that were considered antiquated or even quackery - combining her knowledge in modern medicine with natural and folk remedies, which she studied very carefully. It is in the United States, alongside her husband Domingo - a police officer hailing from San Juan de las Matas but working in neighboring Santiago - that she has her two surviving daughters: Mireya and Vanessa. Using her own funds and those of "angel" benefactors (again, the Stellae), she founds a charitable medical institution dedicated to research and treatment of all kinds of diseases regardless of the patient's economic status - the establishment later known as the "Dr. Maribella Aristizábal Institute of Bioethical Medicine".

As a Perelandran/Lurgan, Maribella is effectively Aparajita's Punthali's predecessor. She died shortly before the events of the "Book of Masks"; this coincides with Aparajita's Punthali's birth, as her earliest appearance is seven years after the events of BoM. Her cause of death, as mentioned by Dr. Gus in "Familial Confessions, Part 4"  was "septic shock" caused by a venom. This happened due to an unfortunate incident attempting to capture a live Basilisk, where she unfortunately became afflicted by the very same venom she was attempting to find a cure to. Despite her prodigies allowing her to understand her condition quite effectively and with Dr. Gustavo as her attending physician, she was unable to survive the condition, becoming another of the victims.

Maribella's Perelandran qualities manifested in her unique approach to medicine. While she had, as all Perelandrans, a talent for healing, she preferred to use established techniques and procedures to determine the condition and then figure out a solution. As Dr. Gus mentions, Maribella was capable of discerning between effective folk remedies and natural treatments that could complement modern medicine, and could figure whether the patient suffered from a disease (and what caused the disease), poisoning, or a curse. Since most curses involved dealing with the source, Maribella often made field trips to these places, dealing with them directly - with the aid of associates. Her Lurgan attributes manifested mostly in her "bedside manner" approach to treating patients - slowly gaining the individual's trust, until they confessed more than just what afflicted them. As Dr. Gustavo also mentions, she had a way of analyzing and investigating topics related to medicine that would surprise even the most adept Kenandandran - however, she lacked the unique prodigies and qualities that make those having Kenandandra as an ousiarch that skilled at discovering things. Though she handled everyone very warmly, she could bring them to heel with a single look, something that her daughters often experienced firsthand.

Being a posthumous character, she mostly affects the newly-introduced characters in particular ways. To Mireya, her death motivated her to become a cryptid hunter, hoping one day to find a live basilisk and capture it; she also seeks to atone for her differences with Maribella, particularly after her mother saved her life. To Dr. Gus, it represents his one greatest failure; his dogged pursuit for an effective antivenom to the Basilisk is currently his major work. His failure is one of the few moments where he drops his usually stoic expression and shows his true colors.



This chapter, "Familial Confessions, Part 4" , rounds up the 8-chapter arc that details some of Mireya's backstory - how did she learn about the supernatural world, her ties to the Stellae, as well as the Institute and its eccentric director. It also advances Will's story since "Leavin’ on a (Commuter) Jet Plane" , showing what happened to Harris' corpse-golem, and how did he end up as "Jeff Harrison". (Yeah, I really wanted to make that pun.)

Next arc will be the last for the time being, and will have some appearances by old "friends", as well as some changes and some insinuations.