Hezekiah Esposito was abandoned to the Vatican's care as a small child when he began exhibiting symptoms of the Plague known as Virgin's Tears. The supernatural illness manifests in infants and toddlers, causing them to cry blood for no medically evident reason. The constant drain slowly depletes them of life, causing a map of complex medical issues that are unresponsive to traditional care. In the final stages of the Plague, they lose their sight and begin to experience visual hallucinations of the divine. Traditionally, all children with Virgin's Tears pass away before they've finished puberty.
Hezekiah was one of the first exceptions, thanks to the treatments developed by a team of cutting edge Witch Practioners. But his survival came at the price of being a guinea pig, his consent never courted; The Vatican sold his body for experimentation to the group, knowing a terminally ill orphan would have no way to refuse. Despite this trauma, Hezekiah formed a close bond with one of the WPs that helped treat him; Salma. He has studied under her ever since he escaped the custody of the Vatican, determined to make her proud and further develop treatments for other Plagued in a world that despises his kind.