Intro Character List Glossary Sitely World Page Homepage
NAVIGATE
Drak Cer Sen Kai Mourn Talor Rain Keio Decree KL Ness Actu Sevre Ili Dea Eche Lily Slumber Aware Otaye Ishi Zero













Note: Not super mobile friendly, sorry!

Click the buttons on the left or the links below to navigate.
If you're curious about my characters, I highly recommend reading my world page first.

Cast of Characters

View All Characters


Drak Cer Sen Kai Mourn Talor Rain Keio

Decree KL Ness Actu Sevre Ili Dea

Eche Lily Slumber Aware Otaye Ishi Zero


➤ Glossary / Lore Overview
➤ Character Summaries





click to continue

next







The Anti-Existence King










lookup

I may know the answers.
Journeys over snow and sand.
What twist in fate has brought us
To tread upon this land?

 Distant Worlds - Final Fantasy XI





Biography


Full Name: Drakicho
Alias: Drak
Age: 27, according to records
Species: Anti-existence (human)
Gender: Male
Eye Color: Silver
Hair Color: Silver
Alignment: Chaotic neutral
Likes: Seeing new sights, coffee, browsing social media, freedom to do as he wishes
Dislikes: Unnecessary battling, boring tasks, responsibilities, crowds of people invading his personal space and getting too close to him



Soul Emblem Type: Entropy / Creation
















On Aethar, Drak takes the form of a tall, young man usually donning a long, flowing coat. The end of his usual purple coat is slightly raggedy with soft white lining, with a similar shade of white on his wrist cuffs. Under his coat is a plain white shirt and long black pants that cut slightly above the ankles of his black boots. He has long, silvery hair, platinum pupils, and is almost always found bearing a calm, calculating face, usually accompanied with a grin. This is his "illusion" form, which allows him to traverse the city more conveniently. He upholds this form through the use of his soul energy.

In his true form, one takes quick notice of the sword lodged through his chest, with the blade piercing out to the front. His purple tail is also revealed, along with the weapon seemingly attached directly into his right hand. The right side of his face is a husky grey with a gaping hollow eye socket, with a strange, white eye suspended in the center on three vein-like strands. His mouth on that side of the face is also replaced with a row of large sharp, overlapping teeth. Tendril-like appendages are attached to his right shoulder, and two metal claws are attached to two fingers on his left hand. A shackle and chain is attached to the end of his tail, and a chain is also wrapped around the blade in his chest.

He can also transform himself into a dragon-like creature with many of the features of his true humanoid form (which is his natural form). He uses his dragon form in rare situations, such as personal travel, and prefers to fight on his human form when possible.

















Drak is generally calm and reserved, easygoing, and tends to take things lightly on the surface. However, he takes his life very seriously and is prone to making paranoid decisions when he genuinely feels that his life is threatened. He holds immense power within his body (however, it is "sealed" by the sword in his chest) and recognizes the responsibilities that come with it. Nonetheless, he rarely shows this side of him openly and goes about his daily life quite cheerfully. He is completely mute, and therefore tends to communicate in gestures or writing, or by allowing Cer to be his voice.


Drak can seem unsympathetic or uncaring at times, as he is still fairly proud of himself and his position. He is very cautious when it comes to opening up to others, but does show some degree of genuine concern for certain individuals; this tends to be rare, due to his distant past. Prior to battling Keio, the shadow king, he befriended two individuals which he placed a lot of trust in. One lost their life, and the other was nowhere to be seen, and Drak felt responsible for both of these outcomes. Nonetheless, he carried along their words of wisdom, and their desire to live in a world where they didn't have to fight for their lives constantly. To this end, Drak reconnected with the world soul, Dea, soon after he took the throne.

He tends to do things himself (and in his own, unconventional way) but he is also found to be quite lazy in other mundane tasks and chores, which he typically leaves for Cer. In his home realm (the anti-existence realm), he is treated as high royalty.

He detests combat (and fighting in general) and prefers to avoid it if possible. He will not hesitate to slip away and flee from a heated situation.

However, this does not mean that he will hesitate to take a life if needed, although he usually does not condone mindless, meaningless slaying. Cer also remarks that by avoiding aggression, Drak will not be tempted to unleash his full power, which he chooses to remain sealed for various reasons. The primary reason is that he is known to drop into a bloodthirsty frenzy after the release, and he is unable to fully control his power at that state, in fear of repeating the same mistake he did in the past, in the anti-existence realm.















Most of Drak's power is sealed within his body, but he still holds the capacity to exhibit certain abilities. Most noticeably, he is able to project illusions directly to any individuals or to all individuals surrounding him (he can perform both simultaneously). The nature of these illusions is simply visual and can still be broken with ample concentration; knowledge of the presence of an illusion may distort or weaken it as well. It also seems to not affect certain individuals, but it can be transmitted through screens (so cameras will typically display the illusion, unless the individual viewer is capable of breaking the illusion). This is his main method of concealment or escape, however it falls apart if the illusion is ineffective against his opponents.

Drak is also connected to Cer telepathically, and they can communicate with each other utilizing one of Cer's abilities. Drak's true right eye also has the ability to share sight with Cer: if activated, Cer is capable of seeing through Drak's eye telepathically and from any distance. This ability is typically used to aid in Drak's escapes, allowing Drak to relay his location and situation in real time for Cer to adequately assist in the venture.

His most powerful capability is his ability to manipulate soul energy. When in his illusion form, he's still capable of channeling this energy in the form of shields, shockwaves, etc. but is most effectively channeled through the two weapons on him: the sword on his chest and the weapon on his right hand. He can conduct a small amount through the claws (or rings, in his illusion form) on his left hand, which is usually enough to perform simple defensive or evasive maneuvers. He can fire a concentrated bullet of his own soul energy through the weapon on his right hand, which can actually be quite destructive when coming in contact with a physical object or entity. He only uses this in extremely dire or specific situations.

In addition to this, his own soul energy provides him with a fair amount of immunity to pain. Injuries and wounds can still damage his body, although it does seem to provide him with a higher physical tolerance of said wounds. He also tends to recover more quickly than other individuals, but it is not instantaneous.









Place of Residence


After their meeting in Aeolus City, Drak and Cer moved to Hallow, and they currently share a small apartment on the second floor of a café in the center of the city, which seems to be largely for the reason of convenience.

Occupation


Drak does not hold a permanent job, however he typically acts as an informant of sorts for clients of all backgrounds and affiliations. He may also take on other certain one-off jobs, like a delivery, depending on the nature of the request. His connections to others in the underworld are solely professional, but he does this in order to stay better informed of possible threats.

In between jobs, he tends to enjoy quietly walking around Hallow (usually with Cer tagging along). The places he tends to visit are seemingly random, although it may also be simply to avoid being cornered in one spot by someone that is seeking to dispatch him. Although he does not travel often, he likes exploring the hidden crevices and sights of the nearby cities.













Cer

Cer is almost always seen alongside Drak. Cer, after several life-changing encounters, devoted his life to Drak, assisting with his tasks on the surface, although in public they simply act like very close friends. The two are also capable of communicating through telepathy (thanks to one of Cer's abilities) and sharing sight (thanks to Drak's unique eye), so communication can be performed extremely exclusively between the two in silence, however Cer still prefers to speak aloud in response, often appearing as confusing, one-sided conversations. Cer, because of this, also occasionally acts as Drak's interpreter or "voice".

Sen

Drak is found to be the anti-existence of another powerful being, Sen, the Lord of the Abyss, and therefore shares power levels. They hold a distrustful relationship, but are obligated to protect each other, since due to the nature of anti-existence, when one of them perishes, the other will as well. His lighter attitude deeply contrasts with Sen's serious and worrisome nature, and their methods of facing combat (Sen would prefer to crush their enemy instead of fleeing) often become an issue, but if they are forced to work together, Drak would usually agree to Sen's methods, even though he would openly express his detest.

Others

Drak is also found to have a few connections to certain information brokers located in several of the largest cities in Aethar. Rain, who was created from a project he indirectly funded, is his personal guardian (alongside Cer) although she usually remains hidden until called upon.

There are also a few individuals (namely Talor and Kai) seeking to eliminate Drak for various reasons. As a consequence of this, he usually makes an effort to be extra cautious of his surroundings in order to avoid a fight.

❝ Although I cannot see your future, you can rest assured that your fate is in your hands. ❞



∎ His favorite dessert is a mocha parfait, and prefers cold-brew coffee.
∎ Notoriously an endless scroller, but almost always a lurker.
∎ Plays several gacha mobile games and has pretty decent luck.
∎ Never cooks. No one knows why.
∎ His breathing pattern in his natural "unleashed" (humanoid) form is very erratic, and unique among humans and anti-existence. He breathes more "normally" in his illusion form to keep up his appearance, but the breaths are very shallow.
∎ Can show or hide parts of his unleashed form at will (not a complete transformation). His dragon form is not actually his primary form and he mainly only utilizes it for certain scenarios.
∎ Drak's chest crystal is both illusory and real. He seamlessly places it over his shirts on his illusion form, and it acts like a conduit for soul energy (much like his rings).
∎ Adopted a tuxedo cat named Akuro with Cer; together, they saved Akuro's life by modifying his decayed tail. Has some surface knowledge of Rune magic, but can't cast it himself.
∎ His most "primal" forms (before he came into contact with humans on Aethar) were mostly a cross between his unleashed humanoid form and his dragon form.
∎ Long ago, when he roamed the Ordeal alone, he constantly had to fight surges of power and loss of control due to his soul link counterpart's actions. His main motivators across these many years were - primarily - finding a way to control and limit these surges, and secondly to discover all the cuisines and foods that Ordeal, and eventually the surface, has to offer.
∎ His sword (and power limiter) was eventually crafted by an infamous blacksmith, who discovered soul weapons in the Ordeal, who still works in his service at the citadel.




Artwork





On Neopets


Pet Backstory: I think I've always been a Darigan lover, yet I never got the chance to own one before conversion because it was way out of my budget. After I came back from hiatus, I set my eyes on a Darigan family. I made good friends with a few lovely PCers during my search for a UC Darigan Draik. One of them, Mel, was trading a UC Darigan Scorchio at one point. I lovaed to stick around and chat on her boards, and I quickly fell in love with the sinister pose, and I got a bit attached to that Scorchio, partially because of the nickname I gave to it, which happened to be the initials of one of my best friends in RL.

Anyway, that Scorchio ended up going to a permanent home, but at the same time I was permanently captivated by the UC Darigan Scorchies. After a while, though, I ended up with no more UCs to trade. At the time I still had my four Mutants, a UC Jetsam, a UC Hissi, a Techo, and a Lupe I stupidly decided to convert right after conversion. I didn't want to break them up initially, because they meant a lot to me and they all had matching names, but I figured that the lack of inspiration didn't help… so I gave them all away except for the Hissi, which I traded for a UC Darigan Uni. I loved the Uni and I loved the character I gave him, but after a while, again, I started to lose inspiration. I threw him tentatively UFT and I sought UCs and RWs.

During the time the Uni was UFT I was offered a RW that I absolutely loved, and the name was on a Robot Krawk. I quickly accepted the offer and started coming up with a design for the Krawk. However, the user ended up not responding back, and so my excitement was quickly suppressed. I quietly continued to advertise. After a while, my excitement was stirred up once again when I was offered an uptrade I couldn't refuse.

Well, needless to say that after that, I felt like it was possible for me to finally achieve the dream I've been setting aside for so long. I came that much closer. After about two months of advertising, I finally managed to trade for Drakicho on February 1st 2013 at midnight. I loved the design I gave to the Krawk, and so I transferred it over to Drak. His quad design is loosely based on a design I drew for a UC Mutant Scorchio. I also ended up developing a character I really liked, no matter how cliché and overpowered he was. He was my baby. He was my UC dream come true, and quite easily my favorite pet.




click to continue

previous next







The Watcher










lookup

Give me the eyes to see
What's in your violet sky, in your cosmic tide
I'll stay by your side and float through time
Together we climb, ascending beyond our scars
With you, my guiding star

Dark Star - Aviators


Content Warning: Some potentially disturbing themes and imagery (forced medical procedure)





Biography


Full Name: Ceran Tyri
Alias: Cer
Age: 26
Species: Existence (human)
Gender: Male
Eye Color: Blue (modified)
Hair Color: Blue (naturally blond)
Alignment: Lawful neutral
Likes: Anything about the anti-existence, learning new facts, starry skies, suits
Dislikes: Physical pain, prison cells, being ignored, his lack of strength



Soul Emblem Type: Entropy
















Cer is a skinny, young man with a bit of a frail build, bearing square, thin-rimmed glasses and long dark blue hair. His natural hair color is actually blond, but he prefers to keep it dyed. His usual choice of attire is a black suit or casual jacket. Shackles are attached to both of his ankles, dragging the short chains as he walks. He wears plain white shoes below the shackles.

On his right hand, two black crystal-like attachments are fused to the top of his right thumb and index fingers. At will, these crystals can form excessively long, thin blades. This allows him to perform specific surgery practically anywhere, utilizing the blades as tools. It also potentially provides him with a means of self-defense, although he does not have the strength nor the speed to utilize these blades effectively.

His two human eyes were replaced with two Artifacts, which are modified magical eyes enchanted with very specific purposes that utilize both the wearer's and the receiver's soul energies. His left eye socket holds the Eye of Foresight, and his right eye socket holds the Eye of Clarity. To most people, however, the fact that his pupils look modified is usually passed off as special contact lenses.

















Cer, before meeting Drak, was a typical hardworking student in Aeolus City. His father was a surgeon as well, although his difficult and strange work schedule meant that he was rarely home for his only child, and even after his mother's disappearance when he was 12, Cer never really established a meaningful relationship with his father. Due to this, he became secluded and introverted, burying his feelings in his extensive medical studies. Nonetheless, he inherited his father's extremely detailed and careful handling in surgery, as well as the composure and patience. Because he found refuge in his pursuit of knowledge, he became a very curious individual, going lengths to learn more about the topics that interest him, and going about meticulous and occasionally dangerous methods.

One particular subject that he came across early after he became a certified surgeon was the idea of anti-existence, after operating on a particularly abnormal patient. They were both obscure theories at the time (it remains as so to the present day), and so substantial publications and reports on both topics (especially the latter) were extremely scarce. Nonetheless, the concept deeply interested him and he began to obsess over attempting to gather more information on them, to the point that it would occasionally interfere with his work.

After a fateful meeting with Drak, however, and the replacement of his human eyes with the Artifacts, he found a meaningful purpose, and decided to follow Drak (after all, Drak did save his life). He continues to slightly obsess over collecting knowledge that interest him, but he places priority on the safety and comfort on both of them.

He is terrified of physical pain, which was worsened due the events leading up to and after his meeting with Drak, and constantly revived through the fact that he is able to predict when he is about to receive said pain (due to the nature of the Eye of Foresight). He places great trust (and perhaps over-reliance) in Drak, however, and he knows that Drak is aware of this fear.

After their encounter, Cer began to open up a little bit more, becoming less shy and introverted, especially since he plays the part of the "voice" for Drak (as he is mute). It also seems that Drak's easygoing nature brushed off a little bit onto him. Although still socially awkward, he is generally positive and even impulsive and silly at times. However, he is not afraid to question things openly, although he clearly pays more respect when Drak is involved. He occasionally acts as the voice of reason when Drak is prone to making illogical decisions, especially when he feels threatened for his life.

It seems that Drak chose Cer specifically for numerous reasons, one being his unwavering loyalty, another being his determination. It also seems like Cer may have a specific soul energy "phenotype" that resonates well with his own, and was proven to be crucial when Cer realized his true purpose. His biggest fear is letting down Drak, and this builds up as he realizes his weaknesses. Despite this, he strives to become stronger so he could fulfill this fate, and repay Drak for what he did.















His Artifacts are his only source of supernatural power. As a pair, they utilize both Cer's soul energy as well as the receiver or target of interest. In most cases, such as predicting the future around his immediate area, he uses Drak as the specific receiver and therefore he is able to carry out the task without much or any strain on his own soul energy reserve. This also allows him to speak with Drak telepathically very easily and naturally, and at any distance.

The Eye of Foresight was extracted directly from Kai the raven god and slightly modified to be able to better control its unique properties. Drak obtained it at some point and claimed it for his own, and created a prototype eye to go along with it, the Eye of Clarity.

The Eye of Foresight, located in his left eye socket, allows him to predict the immediate future. In most cases, this is no longer than a few seconds, up to a few minutes in advance. Distances much longer into the future require substantially more energy, which Cer cannot carry out on his own. The prediction takes the form of a vision that flashes before the actual moment in time is reached.

The Eye of Clarity, located in his right eye socket, allows him to read minds, to a very specific extent, and speak telepathically with certain individuals. Mind-reading requires specific prerequisites, such as eye contact, as well as a lack of a fortified mind (with enough concentration, the receiver can break the flow of thoughts). In addition, the data is only given as audio, and only relates to the thoughts that are directly surrounding the moment of contact. However, despite this, this becomes invaluable for effective escapes.

The eyes, since they are instilled with Drak's soul energy, also allows Drak to share his sight with Cer, through the use of Drak's true right eye. Cer can also activate either or both of the Artifacts while this is occurring (Drak's sight also counts for the prerequisite of the Eye of Clarity), allowing for Cer to relay details in real time. When activated, the eyes glow a faint light blue, and his irises retract.

It seems that the Drak's true purpose for instilling the Artifacts into Cer was to force him to eventually predict the king's death, or events surrounding it, in order to (theoretically) indefinitely delay his end.









Place of Residence


He currently shares a small apartment on the second floor of a café in Hallow with Drak. He does most of the chores and housework around the living space, and tends to like to keep things organized.

Occupation


Cer currently works as a surgeon on standby and on-call for a local hospital. He is only called upon to perform extremely detailed and meticulous surgery that others had no success operating on. This often involves beings with abnormal existence states (such as anti-existence) or otherwise troublesome individuals. This allows for Cer to keep track of such beings and keep tabs on them in the occasion that they become a specific threat. Due to the specific demand of his job, he gets paid generously, allowing Drak and Cer to live quite comfortably.













Drak

Cer is most closely tied to the anti-existence king, Drak. In pursuit of some private reports, he was led into a trap by a shady group in the underworld. They threatened to end his life, however, Drak appeared to intervene, and assisted Cer in his escape. As they made their way out, Drak suddenly knocked Cer unconscious, knowing that having to protect him would slow him down immensely.

As Cer began to regain consciousness, he found himself tied to a table. He looked to his side in fear, staring deeply at the numerous surgical tools that he had so well familiarized himself with. The room was dark, aside from the blinding lights that shone on him. He could not make out any of the faces that operated on him. Cer's body originally rejected the Artifacts, causing his entire self to scream out in pain. Eventually, the pain overwhelmed him and he faded back into unconsciousness.

He awoke again still on the table, but he had become untied. All of the others had left the room, but Drak remained, stepping out of the darkness to greet Cer and introduce himself for the first time through telepathy. Cer struggled off of the table in disbelief and backed himself onto the floor. There, he took the time in attempt to make sense of the situation. At that point, Drak revealed the weapon on his right arm and seemed to aim it directly at Cer. The surgeon scrambled back in fear, only to be stopped by a wall behind him. The room was still dark, but to his disbelief, he was able to see much more clearly than before. He raised his arm in futile self defense, only to see a vision flash before his eyes - Drak fired his weapon, directly towards his head, from his perspective. He cringed, knowing it was too late, but ducked nonetheless. The vision immediately dissipated, and he found himself back at the moment right before the weapon's activation. Confused, he ducked and leaped forward instinctively, a split second before the weapon itself fired, and he narrowly avoided the burst of destructive soul energy. He heard the wall explode and crumble behind him, and although he felt the shockwave behind him, he was left mostly unharmed.

He turned around in disbelief, staring at the pile of dust and rubble behind him, knowing that it could have well been his own gruesome end, if it wasn't for that strange vision. It was there that he began to truly realize that something had happened to him that changed his life forever.

After that, Drak smiled and silently handed him the file that he attempted to reach, and revealed that he didn't intend to have the weapon hit him at all. Cer glanced down at the report in complete shock before letting it slip from his hands, at that moment realizing who he was dealing with all along.

Others

Since he never had any deep connections with his parents, he sought to find a usefulness and purpose, which he found with Drak. He does not speak much with Drak's other guardian, Rain, but she, as well as others such as Dea, acknowledge Cer out of respect of the one who placed so much trust in him.

Cer also holds a long-time friendship with the travelling circus ringmaster Actu, the latter being extremely intrigued with the strange energy emanating from the Artifacts.

❝ You've grown much, Watcher. I can see your worries, but remain by his side, and you will find your future and your happiness. ❞



∎ His favorite dessert is cupcakes, and never really drank coffee or tea before meeting Drak, but now often enjoys both.
∎ He enjoys reading fiction as well as nonfiction, mostly of the medieval fantasy variety. Has been secretly wanting to play a tabletop roleplaying game.
∎ Cer is fairly good at cooking, since he mostly learned to cook for himself while he was studying. His favorite food to prepare is steamed fish.
∎ His otter form is a full transformation that normally Drak would have to manually apply, but eventually he was able to acquire a crystal that allowed him to transform into it without Drak's immediate assistance.
∎ Main caretaker of Akuro, their tuxedo cat. Akuro was quicker to open up to Drak, but eventually became very loyal to Cer as well.
∎ The Artifacts somewhat adapt to whether or not he is wearing glasses, so he can still see without them, but it is still able to see slightly better with them.
∎ Cer has a dark blue scarf that he enjoys wearing during colder weather.
∎ The shackles on his ankles were left on by choice, and he wanted to keep them as a reminder for his second chance at life. Several years after the end of the Second Demon War, they came across a revolutionary blueprint that was treasured and left behind by Zero, specifically for Drak. With the help of Chrono, they were able to apply these runes onto these shackles to extend Cer's life, which Zero named as his greatest accomplishment.




Artwork





On Neopets


Pet Backstory: Certainty came about as the result of two things: the 2012-2013 purge, and the fact that I owned Uncertainty. I was not tracking Certainty at all during the purge, so I was fairly surprised that he was available for creation when I checked.

Cer's original attire, a straitjacket, is the only link to an older character design I had. He's one of my more favorite characters, although probably much more because of the fact that he's so closely linked to Drak, and since then, it really gave me a lot of inspiration to continue character building and worldbuilding around the two of them.

For a while I didn't know what I wanted to do with him customization wise. He was a Blumaroo, but I didn't really have any plans in terms of color and species. After a while I decided to adopt out my previous Mutant Flotsam, and I ended up morphing Cer into one instead. After a while, I finally decided on a Pirate Lutari customization more closely matching his original design, and since then I've updated his design towards, of course, more suits, because I can't stop drawing suits.




click to continue

previous next







The Lord of the Abyss










lookup

The sun goes down, the stars come out
And all that counts is here and now
My universe will never be the same
I'm glad you came

Glad You Came - The Wanted





Biography


Full Name: Unknown
Alias: Sen
Age: 29, according to records
Species: Existence (human)
Gender: Male
Eye Color: Purple
Hair Color: Black
Alignment: Lawful neutral
Likes: Battling, destruction, traversing space
Dislikes: Pure chaos (like the Insanity), meddlesome birds, arrogant bullies (no matter what their social status is), liars



Soul Emblem Type: Void
















In Sen's natural form, he is seen as a towering beast of pure dark matter, about the size of an average planet. He is capable of navigating through the vacuum of space in this form. He resembles an aquatic animal, mostly consisted of black dark matter, but occasionally bearing several pieces of armor. He uses two large, clawed pectoral fins and two smaller, leg-like structures, also clawed, mostly to assist in maneuvering in space, but also to grasp solid objects if needed. One primary dorsal fin lines his spine, and two other smaller fins are located on both sides and roughly halfway down his body. His tail fin is aligned horizontally like a whale's, and is thin and pointed. He is capable of opening his jaw to reveal a black hole within the core of his body, in order to clear the remains of a destroyed planet. Two pairs of dark red eyes are embedded on each side of his head, floating in a sea of dark matter.

When he descended onto Aethar, he took on a human form, locking away his power into his left arm, which is further secured by a large metallic cylinder. Sen is seen as a relatively tall and well-built male with light skin. He has spiky, pitch-black hair partially dyed purple, partially veiling the mask on the left side of his face. The white mask contains the remnants of one of his original eyes, which grants him remarkable vision. His right eye contains a dark purple iris. He often wears a black vest, trimmed with gold and tapering off into a single "tail" on his left side. There is a sharp fin-like protrusion along the edge of his vest that runs over his left shoulder. He is usually seen with a dark purple scarf with black tips. He wears an armored black glove on his right hand, used for both defense as well as offense.
The cylindrical structure around his left arm contains a pointed armor plate, much like the one on his right arm, curving upwards. It seems like the cylinder contains several layers below its main casing, but he is almost never seen without his cylinder when wandering on Aethar. However, in the rare situation that he is seen without his cylinder, his left arm is seen engulfed in his signature dark matter, ending in sharp claws.

















At first, Sen believed that his sole existence was to destroy, but destroying in order to create balance, rather than chaos. One day, however, he destroyed a particular world that had living creatures, souls, living within it, something that is extremely rare on the cosmic scale. Not knowing the result, the souls that he absorbed into him, however, tore into his own sanity and mind and tortured him with nightmares of fear, memories, and guilt. He felt true, raw emotions at that time, something he has not experienced before, and it scarred him. When he arrived on Aethar much later, he recalled this nightmare, but he descended onto the world with a desire to protect it, in attempt to atone for what he did.

He avoids pointless destruction, at least on a larger scale. However, he very much enjoys the thrill of competition and loves battling. Even with his power almost completely locked away, he is still very capable in combat, especially hand-to-hand combat, despite the handicap on his left arm. He is also fairly strategic, yet plays very aggressively. He will not back down to a challenge, but rarely loses nonetheless. He is still capable of unleashing a bit of dark matter energy from his right hand – which in itself is already quite destructive – but he only uses this in extremely dire situations.

Down to his core, however, he still craves destruction, and although the sealing magic on the cylinder is usually enough to mostly prevent him from unleashing that instinct, he constantly fights the temptation. This is further complicated by the Insanity, which slowly deteriorates his control over his chaotic desires.

He is quite cold on the surface, and fairly untrusting. He's fairly judgmental and weighs heavily on first impressions, although one is still capable of changing his opinion. Although he does not actively seek opponents, his reputation in the underworld of Aethar is usually enough to draw aggression towards him. He will usually not go as far as to take the life of an aggressor, but he has no specific objections against it if he feels that it is what the other deserved. Due to his past, he prefers to not be present for an individual's last moments.

He is searching for something on Aethar, and is the reason why he locked away his power. The other reason why he decided to arrive was to investigate and rid the world of the Insanity aura before it spreads any further, which he has a personal agenda against since it challenged his willpower. He is well aware of the anti-existence but tends to not meddle in affairs regarding them.















Dark matter itself is very destructive, and even one drop of dark matter is capable of creating an explosion capable of leveling buildings. It is because of its extremely destructive nature that Sen decided to lock it away.

The cylinder on his left arm contains especially powerful sealing magic, preventing him from unleashing his full destructive capabilities. However, although he is able to unlock this seal on his own, the nature of the lock requires his sanity to be intact, and therefore acts as a safeguard to the Insanity, at the cost of having immediate access to his power.

The glove on his right arm allows him to channel a bit of his power through his hand for combat, similar in function to the blades on Drak's left hand. Although most attacks leave him unscarred, any damage done to his human form heals extremely quickly.

In his natural form, however, he is capable of manipulating his dark matter powers to the fullest, from firing a concentrated beam of energy to summoning dark matter orbs to act as protection or as missiles. He is capable of consuming celestial bodies much larger than himself by creating a powerful gravity core to slowly rip it apart enough for him to absorb it himself, which he did so often in the past.

He transforms anything he consumes into pure energy, which he either adds to his own power or releases it back to the vacuum of space for the purpose of maintaining realm stability. Since his descent onto Aethar, however, he has refrained from consuming planets at all.









Place of Residence


Sen doesn't really have a specific place of residence, and instead acts more like a traveler, although he mostly frequents Hallow and Aeolus City. He seals himself in a sort of pocket dimension when he decides to retire for the night, able to be opened and closed only by himself. He visits Hallow quite often, mostly to keep close tabs on his anti-existence counterpart. He also owns a drinking establishment in the downtown district in Hallow, which he visits on occasion to collect information from his assistants, as well as general upkeep of the facilities.

Occupation


When he is not managing his tavern in Hallow, Sen advertises himself as a very capable mercenary, and collects most of his revenue from this method. Many institutions are willing to hire him on the grounds that he is capable of leaving a merciless wake of destruction wherever he is assigned to attack. However, he only takes jobs that he feels fits within his sense of judgment. He also collects money from underground competitions, hidden from most of the city.











Aupera

In the distant past in the vastness of space, Sen encoutered a specific Verinu by the name of Aupera. They convinced Sen that they knew his true purpose. After he began destroying worlds, they fed on the remains like a parasite. However, after the destruction of the soul-filled world, Sen retaliated against them, in attempt to free himself again. He attacked Aupera, and they fled, mortally wounded. As it turned out, they crash landed on Aethar, where they took on a different persona to hide from Sen.

Ili

Sen works closely with the Observer, Ili, in maintaining balance and stability in the various inter-connected realms, although he mostly works from the surface realm. Ili treats Sen with much more respect, since he mostly works on his own accord. However, Sen is usually willing to assist Ili, recognizing the celestial being's unique knowledge of sealing magic, such as in capturing and providing power to seal the demon god at his most powerful state. They mostly carry out conversations through telepathy within the vacuum of space, but the nature of these conversations is almost strictly formal.

Drak

Sen is the existence counterpart of the king of the anti-existence and the most powerful anti-existence, Drak. They share power levels when in their unsealed forms, but the nature of their sealing magic differs slightly (Drak has sealed his soul energy mostly via the sword on his chest, while Sen sealed his within his cylinder). Due to the nature of anti-existence, they are obligated to protect each other, although their methods often vary. Sen is much more aggressive and serious, which overshadows Drak's more passive nature. As long as the situation is settled, however, Sen does not really care much for Drak's opinions, which is also reciprocated in Drak's feelings towards Sen.

Others

Sen closely watches a few individuals that he either deems dangerous or suspicious, particularly the non-existence, Keio and the runecaster, Actu (especially after having removed his memories of his dark past). He was actively searching for the demon god Ishi during their reign as well as their later release, in order to bring an end to the Insanity aura.

❝ Within your endless, merciless storm of darkness, I know that in it lies a heart of light. Follow your heart, and act to fight for what you believe. ❞



∎ His favorite dessert is dark chocolate cake.
∎ He is the owner of "The Shark's Lair", and really only loosens up when he's enjoying a drink, between work. He trusts his staff immensely, the few people he relies on, and they're usually the ones to get him to relax whenever he visits.
∎ Likes "swimming" in outer space, but dislikes swimming in water, especially since his arm container is fairly heavy.
∎ Doesn't get coerced to playing games (such as online games or board games) often, but when he does, he gets very competitive.
∎ Is trained in other modern weapons, but prefers a more direct approach in most cases.




Artwork






On Neopets


Pet Backstory: His entire story can be found here.



click to continue

previous next







The Eternal Raven










lookup

When the world was turned to gray
The hatred wouldn't go away
Resentment in chains
In the coldest of all hearts
A voice descends, the light departs
Madness remains

Remains - Aviators


Content Warning: Some potentially disturbing themes and imagery (insanity, body horror, torture)





Biography


Full Name: Kaisuin, the Eternal Raven
Alias: Kai
Age: Unknown
Species: Existence (immortal)
Gender: Male
Eye Color: Red (originally yellow)
Hair Color: Black
Alignment: Chaotic evil
Likes: Soul energy, graveyards, puzzles, pitch black darkness, music
Dislikes: Pathetic mortals, especially humans, being trapped, outer space



Soul Emblem Type: Insanity / Death

















Kai typically takes on the appearance of a large black bird, akin to a raven, but with a fairly long array of tail feathers, three of which seem to have eyes on them that are capable of opening and closing and emitting a faint glow. A few of his feathers are lined with dark purple. In addition, three stiff "feathers" float from his back, facing slightly dorsally and caudally. His legs and claws are featherless but also pitch black, much like the rest of his body, aside from a yellow claw-like appendage that functions similar to a thumb, but is unattached to his wings. Most noticeably, a semi-complete ring emblem floats behind his head, containing an hourglass in the center. Two triangular decorations protruding from the ring are lined with the same yellow as the two smaller pieces that, similarly to the claw on his wing and the feathers along his back, are not physically attached, but are held in place by telekinesis.

Before he was captured by the demon god, his eyes were a powerful tool and conduit for his powers, especially those involving visions. The demon god realized this and, after successfully manipulating Kai's vision and his pride, managed to capture him and extract his eyes, securing his head with a metal brace covering over his now-empty eye sockets and binding his beak closed. Kai's neck and legs were shackled to the ground and his wings were chained down, preventing escape. His neck restraint in particular also held in place several tubes that were thrust into his neck, where his blood and energy was mostly drained from. His hourglass emblem was shattered and broken, spilling much of his power into the hands of the master runecaster.


After his escape, many of these restraints, which were created specifically for him, were unable to be removed. Despite this, he still proves to be a very powerful individual.

More commonly after his return, he takes on the form of a human to more easily traverse through cities. He only does so at night, given that his strange appearance may still attract attention, although he is quick to retaliate if anyone dared to question him. His emblem still remains visible behind him. He has spiky medium-long black hair and dons a bird-like mask, with a hooded coat covered with numerous belts. Black feathers cover his shoulder. All of his fingers are covered with claws similar to the ones on his talons in his usual avian form, and shackles are found on both of his wrists. His back feathers are used as weapons in this form in a similar manner to Decree's blades, easily manipulated by his telekinetic powers. Prior to the First Demon War, Kai took on a different outfit, with a tattered cloak and simple armor.

















Kai is especially proud of himself, taking advantage of his knowledge of the future to gather massive amounts of energy from the deaths of other powerful beings (whether he caused them or not). At first, he believed this had to be done to preserve the flow of time, but the more power he gathered, the less he cared for the timelines and more on becoming unchallenged and absolute. His selfish dominion was soon shut down by his capture, and the power he collected was found drained from him, instilling years of rage and vengeance during the reign of the demon god, and this led him to firmly believe that the mortals were a plague on the universe and should all be exterminated, not knowing that what happened to the demon god was actually as a result of his counterpart Mourn's interference on the timeline. Regardless, his rage was instigated by the Insanity aura, quickly deteriorating his reason and replacing it with an unquenchable bloodthirst.

After he managed to escape, he quickly gathered his remaining energy to flee to an unknown timeline to recover. Here, he found himself surrounded by a dark, apocalyptic future. This, despite the fact that his influence on the timelines meant he would never be able to fully escape the Insanity aura no matter where he was, meant that his rationale never fully recovered.

In his darkest and weakest hour, a woman, seemingly one of the last few survivors of this barren world, approached Kai and, despite his threats and attacks, tended to his wounds and attempted to break apart his restraints to set him free. Although she was unable to do so, she stayed with him and continued to care for him, and he eventually developed a desire to remain sane as to not hurt her.

One night, she disappeared suddenly, and without warning. Kai, returning to his past fears, believed he was betrayed by this mortal, and this drove him past the brink to insanity. After remaining in the apocalyptic future to uncover all the energy he could, decimating the remaining life in the process, he returned to the main timeline to do the same.



Throughout all this, he still remained a fairly intelligent and cunning individual. He prefers to hide in the shadows for the right time to strike in his plans, but he seems a bit more open and willing to attack prematurely if he feels he is able to win; this confidence was what caused him to attack both Drak and Sen not long after the fall of Ishi. Although he lost that battle, he was able to recover in the shadows once more, and he was able to directly test his capabilities against two of his greatest obstacles. He is not afraid to use the humans to his advantage, feeding off of them, and treating them as lesser beings. This is the opposite of Mourn, who treasures them for their unique memories, and the reason why Mourn desired to fight on Aethar's behalf.















His most notable and powerful abilities involve his control over time, including time travel (limited to certain timelines and distances), seeing into the past or the future (the source of the Eye of Foresight), and warping time in the immediate area (slowing or even stopping). Utilizing any of these requires the use of soul energy, which he initially stored mostly in the hourglass behind his head. After it was shattered, much of the energy he stored was lost, and it hindered his use of his abilities. He is able to drain soul energy from others, but only when the individual is both physically and mentally weak or constrained (such as after death). He is also capable of passively absorbing soul energy from his surroundings, causing the area to become barren and dead.

Kai is very capable in combat, but prefers a stealthier approach when seeking to take down an enemy, hiding in the shadows until the perfect time to strike. The blades on his wings and his talons are sharp enough to tear through armor easily, but prefers use of telekinesis (such as manipulating the bladed feathers in both his avian and human form) if fighting directly. In addition, he's able to channel Death energy through these blades, injecting them into his foes with each attack. Death energy seeps like a venom, halting recovery and weakening his enemies. Much like Drak, another powerful user of soul energy, he is also capable of launching pure energy as an explosive projectile or as a shield, but he is less practiced in the use of his energy in this way.


After his imprisonment, the eyes on his tail feathers act similarly to his original eyes, granting him vision, but this is often not crucial in combat as he is capable of tracking his enemies' soul energy.









Place of Residence


He does not seem to have a specific place of residence, but he prefers to perch and rest in dark areas like thick forests and caves during the day. Once he finds a location, he bends time in the surrounding area, immediately incapacitating and draining energy from anything that approaches him. He was last seen around Zephyr City.

Occupation


Kai has no formal or informal occupation. He can rely completely on soul energy for sustenance, and will usually resort to force to acquire goods and services if needed. He still takes advantage of his abilities to steal soul energy, but to a lesser extent than in the past.













Mourn

Kai is generally solitary and prefers to work alone, with the only exception being his counterpart and another god of time, Mourn. He and Mourn monitored the timeline in the distant past, although he didn't understand Mourn's obsession with the mortals' memories. Contrary to Mourn, Kai's goals were very clear from the start: power to control and rule. As he gained this power, he began to grow more proud and selfish, but Mourn, having known Kai for so long, still felt that there was some good in his friend. When he gave counsel to Mourn regarding the demon god, he knew that no matter what, Ishi will lead the world of Aethar to its destruction. Mourn insisted on jumping to the past and changing the timeline; Kai warned him of the domino-effect consequences in time. Although Mourn took his dearest friend's warning to heart, he still decided to go with his plan, and the demon god eventually corrupted Kai as a result.

Actu

When Mourn left Aethar, Kai became even more distrustful. He will only establish relationships with others if he feels that they would eventually be able to benefit him, and he has no issues exploiting others for his own gain.

With that said, he is considerably vengeful against certain individuals. Although the runemaster Actu was the one that primarily dealt with his imprisonment during Ishi's reign, post-amnesia he has no memory of it. Due to this, Kai believes that he's no longer a threat and therefore carefully watches for the moment that he would be able to utilize Actu to his advantage, believing that, having once fallen to the Insanity aura, he would be susceptible to it again.

Others

Kai is also seeking to take down Drak and Sen, naturally because the two are perceived as his biggest threats. Ili is of lesser concern, but he realizes that he must take the Observer into account in his plans.

❝ My friend, I know that this is not what you wanted in the end. I dearly hope that I -- or someone, anyone -- can save you one day, but for now, I must stop you. ❞



∎ A long time ago, when Kai and Mourn were just beginning to find their "purpose", Kai did have a heart to care for the humans that were growing and developing on Aethar. He was especially drawn to the concept of music, and enjoyed all sorts of genres, but his favorite turned out to be classical.
∎ Even before his fall, he has always had a weakened sense of smell, so he never really understood why Mourn liked the scent of flowers so much.
∎ Doesn't typically eat, but would usually prefer foods with interesting textures over taste.
∎ Usually doesn't mind wildlife (they're not humans, after all) but also doesn't care if they perish when they approach too close to his soul draining aura effect.




Artwork






On Neopets


Pet Backstory: Kai, like Sen, has quite the backstory behind him and I almost lost him due to not one, but two reversals. You can read the full story here.




click to continue

previous next







The Co-Existence










lookup

If I told you what I was
Would you turn your back on me?
And if I seem dangerous
Would you be scared?

Monster - Imagine Dragons





Biography


Full Name: The Uncertainty Project (Subject 491)
Alias: Rain
Age: 7 (created)
Species: Co-Existence
Gender: Genderfluid (defaults to she/her)
Eye Color: Green
Hair Color: Black
Alignment: Lawful neutral
Likes: Candles (especially scented ones), being petted, freedom
Dislikes: Pain, hot weather, laboratories (mostly because of her past), enclosed spaces in general



Soul Emblem Type: Essence
















Rain was created to be a monster, but a monster with a defined purpose: to hunt down all traces of anti-existence on Aethar. After much trial and error (and a bit of anonymous guidance), a group of scientists in Kazanti was able to "combine" an existence and an anti-existence into what they call a "co-existence". She was one of the first of a line of subjects that survived and showed some promise of stability, but her form was still very chaotic from the minute her two hearts began beating.

They found that one of the things that remain throughout her constant form shifts was her skull, although it adapted to the form that she took, it was always visible. Attached to this skull is a pair of webbed wings or fins, and varies in size. Another is her "eye", which is attached to her via a long thread of flesh. A certain white mark is also always found somewhere on her body between form changes, although even the scientists could not figure out the purpose of this mark. The rest of her body is usually a color ranging from dark gray and pale white.

Within the lab, these forms were nothing more than random configurations, with varying types and numbers of appendages and shapes, rarely staying within one form for long. The scientists kept her tightly confined in a large tube of liquid to monitor her closely and control her environment directly, in attempt to modify her for better control. To their excitement, her one protocol remained throughout her form shifts, as well as the countermeasures that were instilled to ensure that the project would not deviate from the protocol.


However, unknown to the scientists, the individual that backed the entire project and secretly installed another protocol was none other than Drak, the anti-existence king. When she found Drak and attacked him, he activated this underlying protocol mid-fight, and since then she had become a very loyal guardian. After a few years of living with Drak, she was able to better control her random mutations and prefers to take on the appearance of a small, caped girl when she is seen in public. She keeps the skull in this form, masking over most of her black ponytail hair. A large cannon-like structure is attached to her left arm in place of her hand, much like the weapon on Drak's right hand. She primarily only uses this for self-defense.

















As a created being, Rain is instilled with a powerful "instinct" or protocol, and it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to deviate from it. Her protocol is simple: eliminate anti-existence, and never hurt existence. She is found to be able to differentiate the two by "sensing" their soul energy type, which varies only slightly between the two types of existence. Her protocol manifests into a stronge urge to hunt after the anti-existence, feeling no remorse or guilt when doing so, and conversely a very powerful aversion against hurting those from the existence realm. This is mediated and driven primarily due to a constant physical pain building up within her, with her only option of relieving this pain is by "transferring" the pain to a target. She can control the degree of pain that is released and can vary from a soft "punch" to a near-fatal spike of pain that is capable of driving most individuals insane. Because her inner pain is constantly building up within her, she requires constant "victims" to be able to release the pain onto. While she was in the lab, she quickly disposed of the very few anti-existence test subjects they had, and realized that they had to release her into the wild for the project to thrive. Although she struggled at first, Rain did eventually figure out the mathod of releasing her pain and she travelled from town to town to be able to keep her levels below her threshold.

Most of Rain's emotions was driven by this protocol, and she truly believed - as the scientists did - that the anti-existence were aliens that needed to be wiped out from Aethar. She encountered Drak, with his exceptionally powerful anti-existence soul energy registering to her as her prime target, and immediately attacked. The two clashed, and she was surprised with Drak's power and endurance, with her attacks seemingly doing no effect. Satisfied with her strength, Drak stunned her and activated the sigil on her body, which is in reality the real core protocol that he secretly instilled in Rain: to follow her creater willingly and loyally. This initial conflict caused her to collapse, but after her recovery under Drak's watch, she found that both protocols had stabilized enough within her.


She still requires an outlet for her pain, but Drak had allowed her to release it onto him when needed, since his soul energy effectively nullifies it. In most cases this meant that she relies on Drak's presence to be able to keep her pain at a manageable level, but out of respect she does so as passively as possible, in fear that a large enough spike would inevitably affect him.

Rain is extremely shy and is only capable of communicating in broken speech, so she rarely goes out in public, and usually does her hunting under the cover of night, if she is required to do so. After her encounter with Drak, she was made more conscious of her protocol and what she was created for. However, as Drak explained, both of her protocols were still under his wishes, and he weaved the anti-existence protocol as a way of safeguarding him from would-be attackers from his realm, and as a way of ensuring that anti-existence remain as much of an urban myth as possible. Although Rain originally struggled with finding her purpose, she accepted this as her creator's wishes, and developed a positive relationship with Drak with assisting him with this. She is capable of independent thought and shows a level of maturity that seems to be much more developed for her "age", which Drak hypothesizes is due to the "existences" she was combined with.















Although Rain's form shifts often, her physical strength is quite remarkable and can be fairly destructive, and her power seems to grow constantly, albeit slowly. This was an interesting side effect to Drak, who figured that it might have something to do with her genetic instability, which may be evolving at a very rapid rate within her.

In combat, she typically prefers to fight in close quarters, attempting to overwhelm her foe with a combination of physical strength and her pain transfer (which she can redirect immediately after receiving). She occasionally uses the weapon attached to her arm, which fires projectiles of soul energy, although it is not as powerful as Drak's.

To some degree, she can control what sort of form she shifts into, and uses that to her advantage, such as an avian or aquatic form, to fit the situation. Similar forms can be almost seamless, but significant changes in anatomy and size can take some time and she is vulnerable to attack during these phase shifts. Her agility and defensive capabilities usually depend on the form she takes. The skull on her head is almost impenetrable and she is able to use it both offensiely and defensively.


In almost all situations, even one that is life-threatening, she cannot break out of her protocol to harm existence on her own, which means she can only defend or flee from attacks that are not from anti-existence. However, if given a direct command from Drak, his protocol will temporarily override the other, and she can counter without any ill effects.









Place of Residence


Rain usually does not stay in one place, hiding or resting during the day, but is never too far from Drak and ensures that she is able to come to his side quickly when she is called upon. As her form became more stable, she is able to stay in Drak's apartment in Hallow for short intervals, but prefers being outdoors so that any unexpected form shifts would not damage anything - or anyone.

Occupation


Rain does not have any specific occupation, and is usually either exploring the city alongside Drak or performing errands for him (as well as being a special means of transportation).













Drak

Drak is ultimately her creator, although he did so by funding and supporting a group of scientists to carry out this project. Her "core" protocol involves her loyalty towards Drak, and her "surface" protocol is her instinctual reaction to anti-existence and existence. She acts as both one of his guardians and as a means of transportation, by shifting into a different form. She is reliant on Drak's presence in order to alleviate her building pain but will search for other targets when he is not around.

Cer

Rain doesn't seem to have any particular feelings towards Cer, but respects that he is also under the service of Drak. She initially avoided him or treated him neutrally, but after a while she began to warm up to him and come to him for guidance. Cer also attempts to homeschool her a little when Drak is not in need of them, although Rain tends to get bored of him easily. She enjoys the occasional skirmish against Drak, and hopes to one day improve her combat abilities to match his.

❝ Although the world rejects you, not all is lost. It seems like you have found your purpose, so embrace it, and you will find freedom someday. ❞




Artwork





On Neopets


Pet Backstory: It was the 2010-2011 purge. Although I knew of the purge and I did have my own purge list up I didn't really bother tracking the purge very closely. I would simply check for names I liked every so often and see if they were purged.

Around this time I had also gotten back into Soul Eater and I took quite a liking to Kishin Asura. After going through one of his more famous quotes, I managed to come across Uncertainty.

As a result, I based Uncertainty's original character on Asura. At least, until I found a more suitable pet to host that character back then, and Uncertainty took on a different character and role after that.

For some reason I've always liked the idea of a permanent labrat, and so that's what she has always been. Eventually I figured out a customization that I could carry through her species changes, and encorporated the pain transfer bit from a different character that ultimately could not be fleshed out enough. The idea of co-existence was sort of spontaneous but I figured fit into the whole stage of existence versus anti-existence, which at this point became much more prominent as I developed my characters further.




click to continue

previous next







The Non-Existence










lookup

The crown is gettin' heavy
But they've written my name in the stars
Ooh, for diamonds and castles
I've dealt blood and greed and scars

King - Zayde Wolf





Biography


Full Name: Roc Keio, The Existential Anomaly
Alias: Keio
Age: Billions of years
Species: Non-existence / Verinu
Gender: Male
Eye Color: Teal
Hair Color: Dark green
Alignment: Chaotic neutral
Likes: Dense fog, toying with others, speaking in riddles, short sentences, cats
Dislikes: Being outplayed, the Observer



Soul Emblem Type: (Corrupted) Entropy / Origin
















As a Verinu, one of the primal beings of the universe, Keio preferred a quadrupedal beast-like physical form. Upon arriving at the anti-existence realm, he settled on a humanoid form based on the humans on Aethar, although retaining many of his previous features. He bears two pairs of crooked horns, lightly ornamented with gold rings, on his head, covered in green hair, which completely covers over his eyes, which are almost never seen. He also has horn-like protrusions on his shoulders, also decorated. He bears a cape and, prior to his "fall", a pair of skeletal wings. Four rib-like ridges wrap around his torso, leaving the front of his chest open to reveal a core of soul energy, branching out to the rest of his body, most prominently seen on the back of his hands.
After he lost to Drak, he activated his power and became the first and only "non-existence". As a result of this, his form became much more tattered, to the point where even his arms, legs, and back were ripped apart. The remains are only held together by his soul energy, giving him a phantom-like appearance barely reminiscent of his original form.

His nameless weapon was also shattered, from the handle to the blade, leaving the pieces to float. A cage now hangs from the center ring present in the original weapon, the primary home of Fade, a black bird that seems to have similar properties to the non-existence.

















Keio is capable of disappearing and reappearing from existence, leaving all but a few specific individuals completely unaware of Keio's existence in the first place. He's relatively secretive and will only appear to these individuals or when called upon otherwise, or when he deems something interesting or curious enough to appear. He likes being manipulative and being above others -- although he does not admit it up front -- and hates admitting that he has lost. It was for this reason that he kept a last resort for his fateful battle against Drak, firmly believing that he didn't truly "lose"; instead, his existence was completely wiped, including any traces of his existence in the past (in any form), and Drak was immediately instilled into the throne.


Although he quickly fled the anti-existence realm following this to ensure his plan will be carried out perfectly, he traveled to Aethar and decided to stay, claiming to have found it much more intriguing, especially with the rise of the Insanity.

Keio is quite intelligent and knowledgeable especially about topics relating to the anti-existence realm as well as Aethar, but he seems to only be willing to disclose this type of information to certain individuals.

When interacting with others, he distinctly speaks in very short sentences, typically not running longer than five words, and speaks in an enigmatic manner. He also enjoys cackling maniacally into the night, allowing his laugh to echo eerily. No one is quite sure if the Insanity affects him, but he does seem to have a touch of madness within him. His bird companion, Fade, seems to share much of that madness, and acts just as erratically and mysteriously.















Keio is known for his ability to "vanish from existence", to a smaller extent recreating the existence wipe he used to transcend into a "non-existence". His particular state is actually on the boundary of existence and non-existence, and therefore is able to step between the two by will. This is also his primary means of escape from a certain astral entity.

He is proficient in combat, mostly through the use of his weapon and broken physical form (many traditional physical attacks will fail to do anything to him). He does have a large amount of remaining soul energy, but it is now in a form that is unlike much of the soul energy in the realms, and use of it can cause very erratic effects, leaving him to simply contain it within himself.








Place of Residence


Keio hates sticking around one place for long, but he can usually be reliably summoned to one of his favorite spots, a dark forest commonly shrouded in fog, just on the outskirts of Hallow. Fade tends to be found more commonly in other areas when Keio is not around, but almost always runs to its owner's side if he makes an appearance.

Occupation


Although he has no real reason or obligation to do so, he acts as an informant similar to Drak and KL. He gives his information somewhat freely if he is willing to disclose it in the first place. He occasionally asks for a favor in return from his client (almost always Drak), but this is rare.














Dea

Due to his past as the anti-existence king, he is inevitably tied to many of the primary players in the realm, including Drak and Dea. However, with his fall, he wiped his existence from the minds of nearly everyone in the known realms, and decimated any traces of his existence. With Dea in particular, his interactions with her past their contract were minimal, but was more or less the only social interaction that Dea had while he was in the realm, while she secluded herself from everyone else.

Drak

Drak was led to Keio, who was rumored with knowledge of extremely obscure and strange happenings such as those involving the anti-existence realm. Not wanting to turn him away, knowing well that Drak would not really bear any danger to him any longer, he agreed to assist Drak, seeing it as an opportunity to also watch his story unfold. Drak himself is extremely suspicious of Keio, but nonetheless finds his information invaluable, and has no knowledge of Keio's past. Drak, and by extension Cer, are part of the few that can actually trace Keio through his common disappearances from existence (they can remember who he is after he vanishes, contrary to others who would experience a form of amnesia).

Sevre

Keio's personal bodyguard and right-hand man during his reign was Sevre, or more specifically, the essence that is currently housed within Sevre. He can also trace Keio through his disappearances, which also affects Sevre's innocent alter ego. In the past, Keio seemed to trust Sevre a great deal, but a hint of doubt still tugged at him, which became much more manifest after learning that his existence is extremely difficult to dispose of if it came to that. After Sevre returned to him pleading for another chance to prove his loyalty, he decided to grant it to him, vaguely reminiscing his past.



Ili

The Observer, Ili, is in constant pursuit of Keio, although he suffers from being unable to trace him like the others, and therefore is only tracked and approached as an "anomaly".

❝ I still don't trust your intentions, Ancient One, but although you remain in hiding, you WILL play a part in this story. ❞




Artwork






On Neopets


Pet Backstory: As one of the first pets I traded for, this was very long ago when I was first trading, when FFQs and PDEs (pirate draiks) were still very valuable. There was a very unique pet being traded at this point, even though the owner knew the risks of trading such a pet. But the uniqueness captivated me… something about him seemed so amazing, even though he was just a regular Blue Scorchio. Having dealt with other uncapped names before (Drak and a few others) I was not bothered in the least about this pet's name. But I wasn't sure about it, and so I simply asked what he was offered – Draiks, said the owner – and wished them good luck, walking away, but with the possibility in mind.

A few weeks later I truly was not impressed with my offers, and I saw the owner advertise the pet again. I suddenly realized how much more interested I was in this pet than anything else I have encountered so far in my search. I offered the owner a FFQ – just the FFQ – and crossed my fingers. They gladly accepted and the trade quickly commenced. At last, I could finally invite Rockeio home. Still in a rush of inspiration, I easily came up with a customization and character design for him, and the piece I drew of him became one of my most beloved art pieces thus far.

But what made him so unique and special that I was so excited to trade a FFQ for him? It's simple: he was a glitch pet. He had negative stats and 0 height and 0 weight. Based on the fact that it made him "non-existent", I was easily able to come up with a character and role for him. In addition, glitches have always fascinated me, and Keio sparked in me a new love of glitch pets. I desired to know more about him: where the negative-statted pets came from, what other types of glitch pets there were, and the names of his negative-statted brethren.

My love for him grew even more when I had the opportunity to give him a very unique petpet: an item petpet. This was a temporary, rare glitch when you could attach a non-petpet item (in this particular case, the Jagged Ink Wings) as a petpet.

Of course, being a glitch pet, he does have his downsides. TNT has mentioned numerous times that all glitch pets (in particular, the negative-statted pets and unknown Grundos) will be fixed in due time. However, a recent editorial mentioned that they would not be deleted, simply fixed. Thankfully, that means Keio, no matter what, is still not going anywhere, as he already means so much to me.

But I still ask myself why… why must they have to rid him of his harmless uniqueness? Alas, I cannot tell what the future holds for this "non-existence", but I know well that he already holds a very special place in my heart.




click to continue

previous next







The Knight of Justice










lookup

Recoded, we'll reboot
An uprising is moving
And the power you misused
Will soon be your undoing

Empire of Steel - Essenger


Content Warning: Some potentially disturbing themes (manipulation)





Biography


Full Name: Desiree Archle
Alias: Decree
Age: 34
Species: Existence (robotic entity)
Gender: Female
Eye Color: (originally brown)
Hair Color: (originally black)
Alignment: Neutral good
Likes: Children, coding, fighting for the good of Aethar, flight combat
Dislikes: Criminals, losing to KL, her superiors, sleepless nights, tight spaces



Soul Emblem Type: Essence
















Desiree was a normal woman of fairly tall height, with long, slightly curly black hair. She wore glasses and was generally quite friendly, although she was known to be very focused on her work in the Department of Defense, tasked to stopping the elusive hacker known as KL.

One day, she lost her human life, and her remaining conscious was transferred into a robot body. She awoke to find herself in control of this body as if it were her own. The 20-foot-tall robot bears prominent crests and shoulderguards, accented with blades. Her eyes and chest core glow a light blue, while most of the rest of her body is covered in yellow and silver. Several bands are wrapped around her arms and hands. Most notably, four blades float from her back and to the side as if levitated by telekinesis (in reality, magnetic force is the source). A large dark-gray ragged cape sails from her back, hiding a long, thin tail.

















Desiree was a mother of one, and she and her family lived a normal life outside of her government work. Although she is a hard worker, she values her off time. At work, she would work relentlessly against KL, as she and her team were dedicated specifically to stopping him and his efforts. She detested his lack of morals, and she was the only coder in the division that could match KL's precision and tactics. For years, she deflected many attacks KL made on the government and various related agencies, and they were partially successful.


However, once KL's project succeeded, he became much more difficult to track and counter. Desiree started becoming discouraged, especially as her bosses and superiors urged her team to improve, fighting an endless battle against a sleepless foe. Then, that day happened. Desiree lost her life, and she awoke in her robot body, her conscious transferred. Now on similar footing with KL, she was able to continue her fight, although she did so much more reluctantly and with doubts against this project as a whole, which also went against her beliefs and crushed any hope of peace, knowing very well that she was at the mercy of her superiors.

She always avoided taking lives and causing harm or destruction, but because of what she has gone through and the importance of her overall mission, after her transformation she has more often put the mission above others, and will do whatever it takes to ensure that she can accomplish her goal.

Not long after her death, she found out that her family was also lost to her, although it was not clear whether her and her family's deaths were at the hands of KL, the agency, or someone else...















Like KL, she is capable of manipulating code (once she is physically plugged in through one of her cables) just as well as he can, although her powers are mostly limited locally as well as any direct connections within the system she is manipulating. Her conscious can fully control every part of her robot body and does so naturally, including the floating blades on her back. The blades also have capabilities of firing ranged attacks. She eventually grew to be fairly competent in using these weapons, although she will usually only use them as a last resort. Her "tail" can actually detach to form a long whip-like cable attached to her arm, and can also act semi-independently from the rest of her body as a small robot. She is especially protective of this, as it reminds her of her daughter that she lost.

Decree has no soul energy capabilities, as it was mostly tied to her biological human body, but she did not seem interested in the concept, even when she faced it once before and found reports detailing incidents involving soul energy.









Place of residence


Due to her larger-than-human size (about 20 ft), she typically rests in her own specially-designed room, in the Department of Defense headquarters in Zephyr City. She does not need biogical rest, but her consciousness will show signs of exhaustion after many days of work, and require time to recharge. Her robotic body is designed to be able to run on months of charge and can also revert to solar energy to maintain itself, although she is capable of charging the body anywhere where there is an electrical source.

Occupation


Decree was originally enlisted in the Department of Defense under the Digital Information division, where she quickly proved her ability and was tasked into a special force to stop the government's most notorious threat, KL. Although most of her team remained, with her "revival", she began to act more and more independently, within the bounds that her superiors allowed.














KL

Desiree, or Decree, dedicated her life (and "afterlife") chasing down the infamous information hacker known as KL. They maintain a heated rivalry, with Decree attempting to reinforce and thwart hacking attempts and breaches by KL, and retrieving information he stole, as well as (when he was alive as a human) tracking down his physical location or even his identity, which he so cleverly concealed. Even after KL's project to become a digital entity, he maintained a sizable store of weapons, which he uses rarely to attack Decree directly. Decree, with her new form, is more capable of defending herself from these particular attacks, while maintaining proficiency in her code manipulation.

However, because her robotic form is based on the technology that KL developed, she seeks him out in order to find answers to counteract the revived soldiers project she was forced into. She still does not condone his actions, but realizes that he is necessary for her to find peace, one way or another.

Others

She officially works in the government in the Department of Defense (headed by Otaye), so although her project is focused on KL, she is also tasked to assist on other projects, such as maintaining peace in Zephyr City (and occasionally other large cities like Hallow) and helping to investigate other targets of concern, such as Talor, the CEO of Abyssic.

Generally, she is not fond of the underworld and especially Actu's Circus of the Underworld, but she reluctantly allows him to tour because it seems that these criminals do not cause trouble where they go, and she has other things to be concerned about.

❝ Brave knight, never give up on your valiant battle! You will ascend, and you will be in control of your destiny. ❞




Artwork





On Neopets


Pet Backstory: A little bit after I got my first HG Gundam kit (a 00 Raiser with the blue pieces painted gold) I went into a bit of a mecha phase. I've liked mechas for a long time, and I did have an elaborate detailed Robot Eyrie design (based off of a Zoid) with a character a long time ago, but it was underdeveloped and I eventually let the Eyrie go. This time, I wasn't sure what species I wanted, but I had a few pets UFT, so I sought after robot pets as I attempted to figure out a character. I drew up a knight-like mecha (drawing heavily on the 00 Raiser as evident in her final design) and at that point I became determined to find that perfect Robot.

At this time I also began to really adore RWs (I had just gotten Drakicho, and at the time I only owned 3 RWs) so I thought to myself -- how cool would it be to have a RW Robot? However, my offers didn't seem great enough for a really nice RW, and the chance that the RW would come with the casings/species I wanted were slim.

However, I eventually found out about Decree from a friend. She was UFA at the time. I thought to myself that this would be the perfect opportunity. Decree also gave me the idea of using my Robot Ogrin casings, which at the time were simply sitting in my closet after previously zapping a Robot Ogrin on my permanent labrat, and the character and customization came together quickly after that, especially after brainstorming her deep story connection with another one of my pets, KL. However, I knew that I wasn't really an app person. I'd always attempt to trade for pets if possible, and past experiences with rejected apps really discouraged me. But regardless, Decree's inspiration and potential was just too good to pass up, and I tried and applied anyways.

Miraculously, I was chosen to adopt, and I happily welcomed her home. I loved that, although she was a cheap base color (Yellow) she was able to safely boast the casings as my active pet (without fear of REs that were active at the time), and so I was absolutely delighted that I was able to show off my lovely knight mecha.




click to continue

previous next







The Immortal Hacker










lookup

Some legends are told
Some turn to dust or to gold
But you will remember me
Remember me for centuries
And just one mistake
Is all it will take
We'll go down in history
Remember me for centuries

Centuries - Fall Out Boy





Biography


Full Name: Unknown
Alias: KL
Age: 25
Species: Existence (digital entity)
Gender: Male
Eye Color: (originally white/blue heterochromia)
Hair Color: (originally black)
Alignment: Neutral evil
Likes: Recognition, acquiring information, wealth, challenging security
Dislikes: Pointless conversations, annoying government agents, owing people favors



Soul Emblem Type: Essence
















KL was a young man with exceptional abilities related to technology, and his peers hailed him as a prodigy. From his parent's home in a small town outside Zephyr City, he toiled day and night over his monitors to become the best hacker in the world. He has medium-length straight black hair and is often wearing a casual suit or simple shirt. His eyes display heterochromia, with his left eye colored blue, and his right eye a very light green, almost pale. In many cases, he looks as normal as a regular human being, aside from the occasional sleepiness from restless nights attempting to break through a particularly troublesome system.


His most revolutionary project would upload his consciousness onto the worldwide connection space known as the Internet, allowing him to become one with the system and the technology he mastered. On the fated night, he closed his eyes and allowed the experiment to unfold. Before the protocol was complete, a powerful earthquake shook the home. His parents barged into the room and extracted their son from the apparatus, and fled the house. His body fell into a coma, but KL quickly found out that his project was successful, and he awoke in the weave of the Internet. However, he became unsure about the implications of his parents' interventions, and made efforts to protect and hide his comatose body, in case it were still somehow connected to his uploaded conscious.

His usual digital "form" is typically one that is reminiscent of his human appearance. His jaw is replaced by a jagged mask along the mouth. Several diamond-shaped symbols float just off his neck. This is his appearance that he prefers if he desires to project an image representing himself to his clients, but he can also appear as literally any other visual form assuming the medium (screen) is capable of displaying such a form. He can also communicate in either pure audio (he will manipulate sound clips to this effect, usually imitating his original voice as a young man), text, or both.

















As KL grew older and took on more advanced challenges, he grew more and more proud of his accomplishments and prowess. He found his passion challenging himself with powerful security systems, especially the government. He took advantage of this and began to deal with information, delving into the underworld and selling access to information from the numerous databases he was able to breach. He is usually not picky about his clients, aside from those that attempted to cheat him, in which he will typically dispose of fairly quickly, utilizing the various weapons or hired mercenaries he acquired during his endeavors, in order to protect himself and his business.

He was an extremely focused and calm individual and rarely showed emotion, even as a human. When he transcended, he didn't necessarily lose his human emotions, but they became more and more suppressed. Although he very much enjoys his position and admits to his greed, he is still terrified of losing everything, and realizes that perhaps it could've been different, but he had already gone too far. From the very first database he hacked, it was either he continued as one of the most notorious hackers on Aethar, or he would find himself locked up in prison for life.















As a digital entity, he is capable of "controlling" the flow of information on the Internet. He is capable of manipulating code just as well as he could when he was a human, but with the full potential of his conscious, he is capable of doing much more with infiltrating security, branching out to other connections and systems, and erasing evidence, with superhuman precision and speed that only Decree could rival.

However, he remains connected to his physical body. While his body still has a small store of soul energy (typical of most normal humans), his digital form is completely void of soul energy and runs completely on the connections of the Internet.









Place of residence


Although KL is capable of dealing with clients anywhere on Aethar (assuming there is sufficient technology), he is typically based in Zephyr City. He also has personal weapon reserves across all the continents.

Occupation


KL became quickly known as an information dealer capable of acquiring almost any piece of information from any database with sufficient time, with most already at his disposal... for the right price. This includes, but is not limited to, personal information, locations, classified cases, and even encrypted communications. He typically also has direct access to the bank accounts of most of his clients, allowing him to immediately withdraw payment. Very rarely has he been outwitted, but he has become exceptionally experienced at avoiding government agents.















Decree

As he made numerous breaches in the Zephyrian government database, KL eventually grabbed the attention of the information division of the Department of Defense. The most formidable worker in this division was none other than Desiree, who was immediately tasked (with her group) to end KL's efforts. They were often quite evenly matched, with Desiree's advances in the security system countering each breach that KL would attempt, occasionally successful at protecting particular sensitive information, including the project that re-uploaded Desiree's conscious into a giant robot after her unfortunate death, with plans to do the same with other soldiers and humans. She continued her work as Decree, capable of manipulating code similar to KL, but to a lesser degree. One of her main objectives is to locate and destroy KL's physical body.

Ness

KL is also the older brother of Ness, who was always extremely sickly, yet he appreciated and looked up to KL. The older brother did seem to care slightly for Ness, choosing to pay his hospital bills and allowing him to watch him while he's working in his room. With his transcendence, he decided he could no longer be associated with Ness at all, and decided to cut ties, leaving Ness to fall into depression.

Others


Although his parents are still alive, he has already moved his body away from his parents' knowledge. While KL was working in their home, they were only barely aware of what he was really doing. KL recognizes that they interfered with his project (which they were oblivious to) because of their desire to save him from the earthquake, but with that, he left his parents to believe that their son was truly lost in the coma, and prevented them from visiting him, in order to hide his body away from Decree.

As an information broker, he often works closely with the denizens of the underworld, and his influence spans across all of Aethar. Drak is one of his most trusted clients, and one of the only clients in which he agreed to refuse to disclose personal information of to others. Other less frequent clients include Sen, Talor, and Sevre.

❝ One day your pride will be your downfall, but for now, I can sympathize with your desire to live. ❞




Artwork





On Neopets


Pet Backstory: Trading for KL was sort of an impulse, but it was one that I never regretted. When I first received the offer, I wasn't sure what to do with a 2-letter name, but the instant I realized that the letters were the initials of someone very close to me, I accepted the offer and happily welcomed KL home. His character and story came quickly after that (inspired by his real life counterpart's career of interest).

At the time I got him, he was a Royalboy Uni, so I left him like that, since I enjoyed drawing Unis, and I wasn't sure that I had the heart to paint/morph over a Royal (even though I had little to no attachment to his color). Eventually though, I got bored of his look and put him under the lab, hoping for a more fitting color/species to match his story. That zap came, in the form of an Invisible Poogle. After a while of wanting to have another customizable invisible, I put together a new customization based on more abstract invisible customizations. Because his initials hold so much sentimental meaning to me, KL is probably one of the last pets I'd ever let go.




click to continue

previous next







The Innocent Plague










lookup

Look into the mirror at the lines that time drew
See them painted white and the eyes that shine through
My heart beats heavy in an open chest
And I wanna say goodbye but there's nobody left

Believe - Hollywood Undead


Content Warning: Some potentially disturbing themes and imagery (medical horror)





Biography


Full Name: Unknown
Alias: Ness
Age: 21
Species: Existence (human)
Gender: Male
Eye Color: (originally brown)
Hair Color: Pale blond
Alignment: Lawful neutral
Likes: The soothing rhythm of a heartbeat, observing people, a soft bed, pie
Dislikes: Suffering, death, the Contagion, hospitals



Soul Emblem Type: Essence / Insanity
















Although he was always a frail and sickly boy, Ness was forever transformed when he encountered the mysterious plague known as the Contagion. It took residence in Ness's body, occasionally revealing itself as a green mist. The Contagion transformed his eyes, leaving a zombie-like gaze. Ness always carries around a set of gray headphones that he is able to use as a stethoscope. He usually wears tattered clothes and bandages are wrapped all around his body, covering his legs and arms as well as his right eye. Several IV tubes remain attached, remnants of past escapes from hospitals that attempted to help him. His skin is a sickly pale, contrasting his shaggy blonde hair.

















Ness is the younger brother of the notorious hacker KL, but he takes nothing of his older brother. In contrast to KL's arrogance and greed, Ness takes on a much more passive approach to his unfortunate life. Prior to KL's transformation and before Ness encountered the Contagion, Ness looked up to his older brother and, although he was always the more shy of the two, Ness would be content looking over KL's shoulder as he flaunted his expertise. KL would usually not take notice, as his mind was much more focused on his goals. Ness eventually developed a liking for the rhythmic sound of the heartbeat and his time alone would be spent listening to simple music that reminded him of it. Ness was often sent to hospital rooms due to his frail health and recurring sicknesses, so he admired KL and everyone around him for having a more normal life.

Little did Ness know that KL's grand project was one that would distance him further than Ness imagined. Ness saw KL's transformation as one that removed him from his life, and Ness started to become mentally unstable. Around this time, the demon god Ishi was released from their prison and their influence began to spread again. One result of this was the formation of the Contagion, a non-sentient essence that would consume both flesh and soul (as well as sanity) alike. It lurked the world, hidden and far away from the source, and encountered Ness as he was running from home. The Contagion immediately made Ness its unwilling host.

The Contagion manifests as a flesh-consuming disease, but only to those around Ness, and is capable of spreading violently without any control. It also drives the victim insane as the disease eats at their mind. Ness immediately passed out at first sight of the effects of the Contagion. As he encountered more people and witnessed more deaths, he became extremely fearful of others and distanced himself as much as possible from civilization. However, at the same time, the Contagion seemed to heighten and push several of his desires to the extreme, notably, his love of the heartbeat, and his curiosity of others. As the Contagion contains the essence of the demon god, it also instilled a very powerful self-preservation instinct into Ness, and he found himself still wandering back to the crowded cities to sustain himself. With each unfortunate victim, he found himself unable to help them, shedding tears as he placed his headphones on and pressed the scope against the decaying individual's chest, listening to their last heartbeats.

Ness constantly hates himself for being selfish and fleeing home, which caused him to absorb the Contagion. He became more and more unstable and unsure of himself as he began to yield to the suffering around him...















The Contagion, which was formed from the demon god's release, has become distanced enough from the source that it was unaffected by the demon god's demise, and remained as one of the last influences of the Insanity. The Contagion itself is not a completely sentient being and seems to take its victims indiscriminately, although it does not affect its host the same way. Its most common visible form is a light green mist, but it can induce its effects completely concealed, leaving nothing but an insane and dying victim. While in the midst of a crowd, it chooses to either infect the entire radius or individuals one at a time, almost as if it was savoring each victim. Mental and physical effects usually manifest simultaneously, and lead to a fairly slow and painful death.

The Contagion is powerful and infects normal individuals effortlessly, but it can be nullified by sufficient levels of soul energy. It is Ness' only method of self-defense, due to his extremely frail body.








Place of residence


Although Actu was willing to foster him for a while, Ness eventually left on his own because he felt that he was endangering too many lives by traveling with his circus. It was an extremely difficult decision to make, because it meant that he would have to somehow survive on his own. He left with a heavy heart and became a wanderer, eventually settling around Zephyr City.

He takes whatever he can in terms of a place to sleep, but he constantly moves from city to city to try and find KL and some way to answer the questions regarding the Contagion.

Occupation


Although it (emotionally) pains him to do so, he steals in order to survive. The Contagion clouds his judgement and morals when he falls into dangerously low vitality levels, as if it is consciously attempting to preserve its host.














KL

Ness adored his older brother KL and saw him as the only person that might understand his suffering (their parents did care, but were distant). Although KL never visited him in the hospital in person, he would usually oblige to pay the fees. Ness never completely understood the reason behind it, but was thankful for it nonetheless, and everything was built up to lead to a drastic betrayal and abandonment when KL finished his project and successfully became a digital entity.

At first Ness attempted to reach KL and find out from him why he didn't say anything to Ness, but after his information was obscured and his body moved elsewhere (in order to keep him hidden from Decree), Ness felt helpless and eventually gave up on his search. All the while, the Contagion ate away at his heart, but Ness clung to the hope that KL still cared about him... as well as the hope that someone out there, someone living and breathing, would be immune to the Contagion, and would be able to help him figure out how to rid of it.

Decree

Since Decree never found KL's true identity, she has not attempted to contact Ness in any way, and they have yet to cross paths. Notably, Decree is one of the few individuals that would be completely unaffected by the Contagion.

Others

After the fall of the demon god, the Contagion remained, and Ness eventually encountered a strange individual who was the first to show immunity to the Contagion. The stranger seemed to recognize the essence and whispered dark lies that the world soul may know something about it and would be able to cure it... Ness would simply need to find him.

❝ Flawed. Broken. However, a dark secret lies within you, and you are its keeper. Keep the beast in its prison, do not let it tempt you. ❞




Artwork






On Neopets


Pet Backstory: Ness came about in an amazingly lucky series of trades that I still couldn't believe happened, and he also came with the perfect color and species, so I was able to jump into designing his character and customization right away.

His character is somewhat of a reincarnation of my scaredy-cat EKG-themed Christmas Kougra. I was excited to be able to include the concept of EKG/the heartbeat somewhere into a character again, since I've attempted to incorporate it into several pets, to no avail. Since his character stands out quite a bit from my other characters (he's more innocent, although his story is still quite tragic) I was really happy to be able to contrast him with KL.




click to continue

previous next







The Ringmaster










lookup

Ladies and gentlemen, good evening
You've seen, and seeing is believing
Your ears and your eyes will be bleeding
Please check to see if you're still breathing

Hold tight 'cause the show is not over
If you will please move in closer
You're about to be bowled over
By the wonders you're about to behold here

Ladies and Gentlemen - Saliva





Biography


Full Name: Actu Iniaris
Alias: Actu
Age: 73
Species: Existence (humanoid)
Gender: Male
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Silver to pale blond
Alignment: Neutral good
Likes: His show, speaking in rhyme, eyes, anything rune related
Dislikes: Dealing with the authorities, being lied to, misbehaving performers



Soul Emblem Type: Rune
















As a young man, Actu was a typical human living in one of the smaller and quieter cities of Aethar. Perhaps not so typically, he also had a peculiar curiosity for rune magic, a long-forgotten discipline of magic that has not been studied or practiced for decades on the surface (after first runecasters seemingly arriving from the anti-existence realm). After finishing his basic studies, he packed up and traveled to find a runecaster living alone in the swamp. Actu found this runecaster, and after much pleading, was taken in as his apprentice.

He was found to be quite gifted in runecasting, and quickly learned how to cast basic spells using runes carved onto the muddy ground with a stick. While learning a new, relatively harmless spell one night, involving himself and a nearby wild crocodile, he made a critical mistake in his rune and the spell backfired. After the flash of light and smoke had dissipated, he opened his eyes to see a gruesomely disfigured monster before him. Without thinking, he quickly thrust his staff into the monster in fear, where he was able to take a better look at the creature before him, a mess of flesh and bone, scale and.. skin. He glanced down at his hands and backed away, startled. His right hand was clawed and scaly. His gaze fell upon the rest of his arm and, shakingly, he brought his left hand, which still looked human, up to his face. He brushed his crocodilian snout and felt his rows of sharp teeth.

He stepped back from the corpse before him in disbelief, bumping his tail against the tree behind him. He rushed to his mentor's house and examined himself before the mirror. As his mentor returned, he shot a powerful spell at what he thought was a wild beast, not realizing it was his apprentice. As Actu watched the rune form and the spell materialize, he realized there was no time to explain, and he used the only counter he could recall at the moment, a hastily scrawn spell shielding himself and reflecting the cast spell back at his mentor. He watched, wide-eyed, as his mentor fell to the ground, lifeless.

With much remorse, Actu eventually moved on and continued his studies, which he believed is what his mentor would've wanted him to do. He eventually moved back into Prismalia, accepting his new form, but realizing that he would have much difficulty attempting to fit back into society.

Here he adopted his signature white feathered hat and cloak and vest, lined with gold trimmings. His tail was covered in rings, along with one prominent ring around his right wrist. His light blue scaly skin and blue eyes were complimented with aquamarine gems attached to his cloak, pants, and cuffs. To complete his look, he attached - via rune magic - non-functional wings, one feathered and one bat-like.
After years of practicing underground, mostly out of sight of the public, he was approached by a strange individual who exuded exceptional power. He called himself the demon god and requested Actu's assistance, utilizing his knowledge of rune magic. The demon god, Ishi, taught Actu about the original use of rune magic: weaponmaking and enhancement, and requested for his services and loyalty in exchange for power. Actu was able to easily adapt his experience of runecasting to this new purpose, although he was still hesitant. When Ishi revealed their prize, the captured raven god Kai, and allowed for Actu to make use of this immense reserve of power, Actu fully devoted himself in service of Ishi and began work on a new line of weapons, as well as his ultimate creations: two powerful swords driven by soul energy, Voidheart and Soulfear.

He also crafted himself a personal staff, Runegaze, but it held no specifically powerful function aside from being a conduit to his runecasting. Actu extracted one of Kai's eyes (the other later becoming the Eye of Foresight) and fashioned it into an orb on his left shoulderpiece; this originally allowed him to siphon Kai's power directly and distribute it however the demon god saw fit.

















Actu has always been a fairly ambitious individual, wanting to become the most powerful runecaster. Although he was at first humble upon meeting his first teacher, he accepted that he was capable of much more. He used the accident as an excuse to move on and he began studying alone again, which drew the attention of Ishi. Although his impressive talents gained him favor from the demon god, he was still very much under their Insanity influence and fell to a fanatic phase much like the rest of the demon god's army. He still kept his somewhat perfectionist attitude all the way until Ishi's capture, which also contributed to his own downfall.

Actu was spared, as Sen saw potential in his runecasting and reasoned that it must have been the Insanity that drove his motives. Ili requested the help of Mourn, and they were able to perform a memory wipe on Actu, successfully wiping out most of his memories as Ishi's weaponmaster, but it was not without consequence. Actu realized that it was very difficult for him to create new memories and from that point on he suffered from anterograde amnesia.

Actu returned to Prismalia and returned to the underworld, while quietly refining his art and searching for a purpose. While he travelled from city to city, he felt connected to others of his kind: outcasts and criminals. Having had a bit of a change of heart with the loss of his memories and his second chance at life, he eventually acquired the brilliant idea to create a circus, inviting those individuals that would otherwise not be able to fit into society like himself, but also needing a place to feel safe. To prove he was a worthy ringmaster, he freely utilized his runecasting and showcased his power to the criminal world and the dark corners of the cities. As he traveled to gather his troupe, a few individuals eventually came to join him, and he eventually formed the Circus of the Underworld.

To better fit his role, he began to gather a love of rhyme. Because he wanted to prove that he was capable and still the most powerful runecaster, he made it clear to his audience as well as his cast that his show would be completely authentic and real: no smoke and mirrors, no illusions. Every explosion triggered, every arrow shot, every beast summoned into the ring was either of his own power or his performers'. Although much of his audience never really believes that he is telling the truth, knowing that fact himself was enough to carry on his show passionately.

Having lost a lot of his past memories, he became somewhat more carefree, although he still takes his show very seriously. He seems to care about his performers and he values his long-term friendships, often (unintentionally) forgetting about new ones. Although it is difficult for him to create new memories, he has a habit of writing down notes and reminders. Eventually, things fall into his long-term memory, and he is able to retrieve them more easily. He particularly hates people that take advantage of his amnesia and is quick to punish them, but he otherwise generally keeps a friendly attitude towards others.

He also has a strange obsession with eyes, and keeps his own personal collection of them.















Actu's primary expertise, runecasting, involves carving runes (either with magic or physically carving them onto the ground) in a specific pattern, and the effects of the spell are determined by how the rune is drawn. Since there are numerous ways to inscribe a rune, runecasting is a very potent form of magic and spells of various natures can be crafted by runecasting. The drawback is that developing new spells often involves a lot of trial and error, and even a slightly misdrawn mark or portion of the rune can backfire immensely or cause the rune to do something completely different. However, runes do build on a very basic structure and it is not completely random, although it still requires immense training to recall spells and develop new ones.

Runes that are drawn physically onto an item or location are generally less resilient (but it depends on the method of inscribing) and the rune's effect can be cancelled by modifying the physical rune. On the other hand, runes inscribed by magic (a form of soul energy) are often more resilient but require the ability to control magic, and thus are reserved for more advanced runecasters. Similarly, the rune can be nullified if it is modified through magic, but the benefit of having a magic-inscribed rune is that it can be drawn to leave no visible trace after emitting a soft glow. Actu tends to do a bit of both depending on the situation, but geneerally combines both a magical and physical carving of the rune to make it seem more mysterious and appealing to his audience. Many of his "special effects" during his show, like transforming the stage and changing the nearby atmosphere, as well as protecting his audience, involves complex runes inscribed in the area.

Actu is shown to be very capable of combat with his runecasting and have learned to be able to inscribe runes quickly in the heat of battle. Once the rune is drawn, the spells often act on its own and he can focus on working on the next rune. Because of the nature of his runes, he is very meticulous about preparing for a fight and often sets traps and escapes whenever possible to ensure he will not be backed to a corner. After establishing his circus he has rarely been pushed to this limit, although when Gallow first encountered him he was forced into a skirmish that ended in a stalemate.

Much of his power for runecasting comes from his own reserve, but he is capable of casting very powerful runes utilizing the energy in the orb on his left shoulderpiece where he siphoned much of Kai's power. Although much of that power was already distributed to his weapons at the time, he kept the rest to himself. He rarely finds the need to use the orb and most of his performers are unaware of it in the first place. He also has a decent understanding of soul energy, since rune magic is a form of soul energy, and dabbled in direct soul energy manipulation with his two most powerful weapons. He found that he didn't really understand it once the weapons were created, and he struggled to control them. When they were scattered, Actu lost track of them until they were slowly revealed to him much later. He vaguely recalls creating them, but he doesn't remember the situation surrounding them.









Place of Residence


While Actu doesn't really hold any permanent residence anywhere, he considers his circus his home and often treats his crew as his family. His parents are supposedly alive, but after he left he had no intention of returning "home". He does occasionally tend to stay in hotels and inns around the area where his show is performing at the time, and enjoys exploring the cities, both for sightseeing and advertising his show. He is currently around the Eckar continent, travelling between the main cities there.

Occupation


Actu proudly holds the role as the ringmaster and leader of the Circus of the Underworld. Prior to this and before his memory wipe, he acted as the demon god's right-hand man and weaponsmaster. He has participated in a fair number of underworld dealings which allowed him to sustain himself before he was able to gather his circus.














Main Cast Members

Gallow the Shadow Marauder

Edge

Nicknamed "The Mistress of Cards", Edge proved herself to be a capable card and knife thrower, although she initially specialized in the latter while she was still a runaway criminal. As Actu took her in, he challenged her to do the same feats of cutting through materials and piercing through boards with a deck of cards. Wanting to prove her worth, she eventually learned to do so and became much more proficient with cards. She is a bit tomboyish and is often mistaken to be male, which Actu (and the other cast members) joke about often, much to her frustration. Nonetheless, she feels genuinely happy to be at the circus and enjoys performing; that is, until Gallow decides to instigate her into a battle on-stage. They are found to be quite formidable and evenly matched, and fights often end with split arrows and sliced cards, although Gallow always claims to never use her full potential.


Admyri

Nicknamed "The Siren of Masks", Admyri is a very strange individual always donning a mask, never showing her true face. She is able to captivate and mesmerize her audience with her voice, and her song is said to be nearly unforgettable. She switches masks often to display her emotions, even when not performing on-stage. Actu supposedly knows her backstory, but otherwise she remains very quiet on the subject. Although she is soft-spoken, she acts motherly and takes care of the other performers when they are injured or otherwise unable to perform. She takes in Ness and allows him to stay under her watch while the circus is travelling, despite Actu's concerns about the dangerous plague in his body. Admyri seems to be immune to the plague as well as most spells. Her most prized possession is an orb she keeps with her.


Vanishir

Vanishir is the last of his kind, mysterious creatures only known as the Spiritwalkers. His towering form is mostly invisible, his motions hinted by the physical, visible parts of his body. Actu purchased him from a collector on the black market and gave him a home. Vanishir cannot speak but follows Actu's directions loyally, displaying remarkable strength transporting the large tents and other supplies required for the travelling circus. He typically acts like a playful kitten, with the other performers keeping him entertained when not performing.


Others

Actu initially joined Ishi because of their promise of power and he found purpose in serving them and making use of his runecasting. Although he did become heavily influenced by the Insanity aura, he never fell completely insane.

Sen and Ili, who were mostly responsible for the demon god's initial capture, spared Actu, although the memory wipe meant that, in his memory, this encounter never existed. Thus, Actu never really felt anything towards either individual. Sen and Ili still kept Actu under surveillance, in fear that he would revert to his old self, especially after Ishi managed to escape and the Insanity aura began to spread again.

Actu, being involved with the underworld, is aware of Drak and KL, who are both quite notorious in their respective networks, but he tends to not deal much in their affairs, deeming information "not quite his specialty". He does become friends with Cer, initially out of curiosity of his two Artifacts.

Although Kai does hold a grudge against Actu for his actions during the demon god's reign, he has decided not to dispose of him quite yet, since he believes that Actu is still capable of being manipulated by the Insanity aura.

❝ Everyone makes mistakes, but you have moved far beyond your past and made your life what you wanted. Keep living on your dream. ❞




Artwork





On Neopets


Pet Backstory: A long time ago, I applied for a Red Krawk to paint Darigan; at that time, Krawks were still worth millions and still traded for UCs. To no surprise, there was a ton of competition, and although I put a ton of work into my application, I wasn't chosen. I became heartbroken, since it was pretty much my first app that I've ever put together. My friend that supported me through the application process felt bad for me and generously gave me her UC to trade for the perfect Krawk… it was then that I eventually traded for a Darigan Krawk that I affectionally nicknamed Ray.

The design I had for Ray was slightly modified from the design in the Krawk app in order to better fit the theme that I had for my pets at the time. I kept Ray through the Krawk deflation, even though it hurt me a little inside knowing that he wasn't as "valuable" as he used to be. However, I knew his character was fading, and I didn't have enough motivation nor attachment to his name to continue his character. Eventually, however, I traded for Actuality, and my inspiration was rekindled. I'd have to blame my attachment for RW nouns for that.

He always held a sort of gentlemanly design, but he was modified from a sort of hermit/wanderer character to a circus ringmaster, which I was so inspired to carry out after hearing a particular song. The other tidbits in his character, such as his love of rhyme, his mysterious, forgotten past, his knowledge of weapons, and his short-term memory, were simply other things that I wanted to include in other characters, but never really had the chance to.




click to continue

previous next







The Timeless One










lookup

Where can I bury all of my suffering
Casualties of poison and pride
Where is the line between losing everything
And giving it all to say that you've tried

Apocalypse State of Mind - Aviators





Biography


Full Name: Mourn, the Timeless One
Alias: Mourn
Age: Unknown
Species: Existence (immortal)
Gender: Male
Eye Color: Gray (beast form: magenta)
Hair Color: Gray
Alignment: Lawful good
Likes: Fond memories, flowers, talking to people, attending galas
Dislikes: Nightmares, anything related to the Insanity, pests, wrinkles ("I don't look THAT old, do I?")



Soul Emblem Type: Memory
















Mourn's natural form is one of a large, pointed-ear bear with a fur ranging from grey to black. He has two tusk-like horns sprouting from the back of his ears to his mouth, curving upwards. Several needle-like blades levitate around him, with two attached closely to his front paws. A shining, gem-like emblem floats above his head, similar to the one that his counterpart, Kai, has. It glows a faint magenta every time he uses his energy, as well as when he's happy. It is an indicator of his health, as it has been slowly darkening ever since he tampered with the timelines.

He is an immortal, and, like Kai, was given power over time. While Kai was able to explore the future, Mourn kept charge of the past. He watched over the surface realm, Aethar especially. The rise of the demon god was concerning; the initial path led to a very quick demise of the entire world of Aethar. He asked Kai if this was truly the case; in all the timelines that Kai glanced into, he saw nothing but the destruction of the world. Mourn, however, was determined to change this fate. Against Kai's warnings, Mourn dove into the past and presented Ishi with a simple sign: a flower. A tattered, bloodstained flower. A sign of what was to come, if he had continued this path to destruction. With that, the timelines shifted. While this was not the perfect outcome, it was one that would grant the world a chance to fight. However, what he didn't expect was Kai's capture, and eventual downfall to insanity.


He hid in the vast emptiness of space, far away from Aethar, in attempt to hide from his guilt. In addition, as the interference he made created numerous ripples in time, his consequence is the endless pursuit of these mysterious beings that he simply calls "nightmares". They followed him through space, feeding on his energy and emotions. However, when Kai returned from the future, he felt that it was his duty to intervene once more.

He took the form of a tall man with a top hat. His emblem shrinks to the back of his left hand, acting like a shield. Long, dark grey hair accompanies his beard. He typically wears a formal suit and tie, with a military jacket and shoulderpads. He wears the jacket on his back like a cape, with the sleeves loose. The nightmares have taken a toll on him, his face weary and drained. However, a conviction shone brightly within him, and he was determined to preserve all of the precious memories of Aethar, and his best friend.

















One of Mourn's special abilities allows him to see (and to some extent, manipulate) memories of the past. As Aethar matured, he began to bond with and share the memories of the humans that lived on the surface, almost with a hint of jealousy. But he dared not try to interfere, out of a sort of respect, as it wasn't his memories, and his lives, to be involved in.

However, he also developed a fondness for flowers during his time on Aethar, commemorating special events and memories with bouquets, until eventually it became a widespread culture among the humans.

Mourn wanted to treasure those memories, as it was one of the things that he felt gave him purpose. When he made the decision to interfere with Ishi, it was one that burdened his heart and filled him with guilt. But he felt there was no other choice. He became overcome with sadness when he found that Kai, his best friend, had been corrupted as a result. He distanced himself from Aethar until he had to return once again to save it. After exploring the vivid memories of Aethar once more, he became determined to solve the predicament he caused.

He is willing to help where he can, but he realizes that he is not as powerful as he once was. He is normally quite friendly and open, and despite his serious stature he is prone to hearty laughter. He loves hearing about others talk about their past and everyday lives. However, he is also not one to be taken advantage of. He is usually keen to others' malicious intents and will distance himself from them.

He likes joking when others lie about their past, but it is usually in good nature. In general he is very kind and understanding, but with his own battles that he chooses to fight alone, because he feels it is his own burden to bear.















His combat style in his human form is somewhat similar to Sen's, an upfront boxing style with fists and kicks, as well as strikes from the blade attachments on the back of his hands. He also uses the floating blades around him to cut into his opponents. In addition, the blades can create a glowing thread that is very difficult to break, allowing him to create traps or tie up an offender. In his beast form, which he is more comfortable fighting in, he can utilize the blades as well as attack with his claws, teeth, and tusks, like other beasts on Aethar. In general, however, he is not well-versed in using his soul energy for combat, and so if he is forced to fight, he uses more direct, physical attacks.


He is able to view the memories of anyone he wishes, regardless of whether they still remembered them or not, as long as it was part of their past. He is able to jump into the past as well as to different timelines, but out of fear of the consequences he rarely does so. He is also able to remove or alter memories, as was the case with Actu. He still holds onto Actu's memories, as he believes that even though they were his darkest days, it was still a memory to be treasured.









Place of residence


Mourn lives upstairs from his flower shop in one of the quieter portions of Hallow. It is a fairly cozy apartment, with nothing extravagant, aside from his wardrobe of formal attire.

Occupation


Mourn owns the flower shop and usually tends to it himself, but occasionally welcomes interns and helpers. His shop gains regular visitors but it is rarely crowded. He enjoys conversing with his customers and tending to the flowers in his shop. His favorite flowers are the orchids.

When he is not attending to his shop at night, he becomes a socialite, attending galas and dances. He started to become well-known in their social circles but always tries to meet new people. Very rarely, a nightmare may materialize, where he will excuse himself to take care of it personally. Some began to suspect him as being more than a simple florist, but Mourn would smile and reassure them that he is nothing more than someone who loves people.














Kai

He and Kai worked together to watch over the timelines of the surface realm, but Kai was always the more cynical and proud of the two. Mourn began to worry about Kai as his hunger for power grew. But he believed this was something about Kai that could be changed. Surely, the world still had a hope, right? It was something Mourn was not clear about, but Kai seemed to know full-well.

Ili

He is a close acquaintance with the Observer, Ili, and he was the only one that knew of Mourn's whereabouts after he left Aethar. Ili came to Mourn with a special request regarding Actu, and Mourn gave Ili a special trinket that allowed for them to perform the memory wipe after the fall of the empire. He felt sympathy for Actu and felt that he still had a chance to make more memories. But he reaffirmed that he would not come back to Aethar. At least, not yet.

It wasn't until the battle against the demon god himself that he agreed to help Ili once more. With Ishi greatly weakened from the battle against Drak and Sen, he and Ili were able to intercept and seal his fate, successfully ending the demon god's life and stopping the spread of the Insanity.

Others

He has agreed to ally himself with Drak and Sen, as well as the world soul, Eche, to stop Kai's plans.

❝ No matter how bleak it looks... there is always a way. ❞



∎ His favorite food is cake in general, but he prefers to bake for others.
∎ His flower shop is named "Fond Memories" and is usually pretty popular for being a flower shop, managing it all by himself.
∎ Doesn't really understand social media, but appreciates that modern technology has such wonderful tools to capture memories to revisit in the future.
∎ Feeds several stray animals that frequent his shop and home, but detests fleas and pests. Would often go lengths to try and use natural repellants.
∎ Is only really grumpy if he's dealing with his own fleas. His fur is fairly thick after all.
∎ Often forgets his wallet at home.




Artwork






On Neopets


Pet Backstory: He came about from a series of lucky trades after finally deciding to let go one of my RWs that I traded for years ago. The RW sort of had a character, but I never had motivation to develop her further. While I was trading, I was both looking for a RW to fit a character or another UC Darigan to add to my cast. At the time I was offering around I didn't really have a character in mind, but then I came across the UC Darigan Yurble and decided that was what I wanted; the last UC Darigan dreamie.

Mourn came home after an amazing four-way trade, granting multiple people their dreamies in the process. The instant I saw his name, I decided he was going to be my dapper Yurble. After some brainstorming, I decided to make him the opposite power to counter Kai. After having him on my main for a while after the trade, I decided I could not bear to move him to a side account and decided to keep him there. He'll be there with Drak and Sen fighting together against Kai and the Insanity. And I thought I didn't need anymore UC Darigans...




click to continue

previous next







The Anti-Existence Realm










lookup

This is the world we live in
And these are the hands we're given
Use them and let's start trying
To make it a place worth living in

Land of Confusion - Hidden Citizens (Cover)





Biography


Full Name: The Ordeal
Alias: Dea
Age: Billions of years
Species: Anti-existence (world soul) / Verinu
Gender: Genderfluid (prefers she/her)
Alignment: True neutral
Likes: Attention, candy from Aethar, playing tag and hide and seek, tending to the royal gardens
Dislikes: Being bored, loneliness



Soul Emblem Type: Creation / Origin
















Dea is the anti-existence realm personified. She is a Verinu, one of the primal beings of the universe, that made a pact with another Verinu, Keio, to form a realm linked to the surface world Aethar. In return, Keio would grant her the power she desired. As a result, Dea's soul became connected to the sleeping world soul of Aethar, Eche, and their souls became the very stage of the existence and anti-existence, and the basis of the soul links between the two types of existence.

Within the vast anti-existence realm, Dea can control every physical part of the realm willingly and can usually sense things happening within her reach. She typically takes the form of a small dolphin-like creature, with the top of her head forming a helmet over where her eyes would be, complete with a dorsal fin. Bone-like blades sprouts from both of her pectoral fins. Along her back, below where her "helmet" comes to a point, rows of "teeth" line her spine, like a gaping mouth. A "tongue" which forms into her caudal fins start from the back of her helmet. From her back there are also (usually) three tendrils, with an eye on each of the tips.


She can take on other forms at will, using the surrounding physical matter to build her size if needed. She can also hide her form within the realm and reappear anywhere she desires. However, because she is the soul of the realm, she cannot leave it without an immense amount of power. Only once so far has she ever been brought to the surface world (in an incomplete form), where she was only able to remain very shortly before being forcefully drawn back to her realm.


















Very soon after she formed the realm, Dea fell to boredom and began fusing some of the loose soul energy in the realm to her molded creations. At first, many attempts failed, but eventually these "fleshwoven" creations began sparking to life and grew in complexity, to the point where many of these creations (or "inhabitants") held intelligence very closely resembling the humans on Aethar. For the most part, she didn't care for individual inhabitants, but does care for her creations as a whole. However, she was very close to Keio, who ruled over the realm from the darkness and security of his fortress. As the realm became populated with Dea's fleshweaving, they formed colonies and built cities, and whispered rumors of a king that they could not see. However, it was very clear that power was the key to survival in the realm, and the anti-existence built their hierarchy around it.

After Keio's fall, Drak took over the title and the throne and, like everyone else, Dea's memory of Keio was wiped from her mind. From then on, Dea served Drak willingly, just as she had done with Keio, and she trusts that he will protect her and the realm. Since then, she vaguely remembers her past as a Verinu but believes that she had always been the realm.

She very much cherishes Drak's return visits to the realm, as he would often take time to play with her, typically in the form of destructive chases and carefree battles. She is especially thrilled whenever he'd bring candy from the surface world, which she developed a love for.
















Although she is not as much of an experienced user of soul energy as Drak or her counterpart Eche, she typically attempts to overwhelm her enemies using brute force by controlling the physical structures of the realm. She can form hardened blades and fleshweave mindless soldiers. She is also capable of immediately decomposing most anti-existence (those with weaker amounts of soul energy) in the case of an uprising. She speaks through telepathy.









Place of residence


Although she can be found anywhere in the realm in her usual form, she typically wanders around in the area housing Drak's citadel in Drakar.

Occupation


Dea was tasked to enforce the realm and ensure that those deemed "criminals" (such as abusing the flow of soul energy) were promptly punished. There are no real laws in place in the realm, however she does attempt to keep the peace and will attempt to suppress anything that might be damaging to the realm or the king. She also keeps track of gateways being opened from the surface and will intercept if an intruder is found.














Keio

During the universe's early stages, when soul energy was plentiful and untamed, Dea was approached by Keio to form the realm. They were fairly close once the realm was established, and she was one of the very few to interact with him during his shadowy reign. After he left for the surface realm and performed his existence wipe, Dea doesn't recall him and it seems that Keio would rather have it remain that way.

Eche

Dea is linked to Eche, the soul of the surface world Aethar, much like how other existence and anti-existence are linked, which meant that extensive damage to one of the realms will be reflected in the other, and influences such as the Insanity will permeate through both realms. Like Eche, she is essentially immortal as long as soul energy remains in the realm (or in the opposing realm). When she was drawn to the surface during a fateful battle, she commented on how beautiful the realm looked, but was quickly drawn back before Eche himself could make an appearance.

Others

As the soul of the realm, she is fated to serve the most powerful anti-existence, who is currently Drak. He recognizes her desire for recognition and interaction and will usually spend some time to play with her.

As for Cer, she sees him as a necessary component in Drak's plans, but otherwise doesn't seem to care much for him. She does accept him out of respect for Drak. She initially saw Rain as an abomination (since she was a creature formed from combining the essences from an existence and an anti-existence) but, in a similar case to Cer, accepts her since she is working closely with her king.

❝ You were quite lonely, weren't you? I know how it felt. But I hope you do not feel that way anymore. ❞




Artwork






On Neopets


Pet Backstory: A little while ago, I dedicated one of my sides to be a Flotsam account. I had three Flotsams: a Baby Flotsam, a Mutant Flotsam, and a Magma Flotsam. I ended up not keeping the Magma Flotsam, and I adopted out both the Baby Flotsam and the Mutant Flotsam that I had. The Baby Flotsam's design was no doubt my favorite, so I kept it in the back of my mind when I ventured back to the PC to look for RW pets.

I traded for a RW, but I ended up name swapping for another RW that more closely fit my pet theme, Ordeal, and I became much more attached.

Her character was much more fully developed when Echelon went UFA; I wanted to give her a proper counterpart, so I decided to develop them both in tandem. When I was graciously given the opportunity to adopt Eche, I couldn't be happier with the outcome, and I was able to put them side by side.




click to continue

previous next







The Soul Dealer










lookup

I will not take from you and you will not owe
I will protect you from the fire below
Alone with this vision
Alone and blind
Go tell the world I'm still alive

Who Will Save You Now - Les Friction





Biography


Full Name: Sevre Impernion (according to records)
Alias: Sevre
Age: 31 (according to records; in the current form)
Species: Anti-existence (human)
Gender: Male (currently)
Eye Color: Red
Hair Color: Dark gray
Alignment: Neutral good / Chaotic neutral
Likes: Being a prankster, cats, magic, freedom / starting fights
Dislikes: Forgetting things, the sound of dripping water, manipulation / machinery and mechanical weapons, which have no soul energy signature, annoying tricksters



Soul Emblem Type: Death
















Sevre's unique ability allows him to transfer his existence to other beings, allowing him to "share" a body with an existence or anti-existence. In the distant past, he was Keio's personal bodyguard and most trusted warrior during his reign. Over the generations after Keio's disappearance, Sevre sought him, transferring his existence from individual to individual (thus "binding" himself to them) in a way similar to reincarnation. Sevre's previous form -- or "host" body -- was of a male university student. When he is not "active", the student, Kedric, would merely act as his alias, with no knowledge of his other self hiding within (these form as gaps within Kedric's memory).


During the time he spent in Kedric's body, he came across an ancient weapon named Soulfear, one of Actu's two most powerful creations, forged from the blood and energy of Kai during his capture. Some time after the Second Demon War, when the demon god was vanquished for good, he encountered Imp, an existence that he was forced to capture within Soulfear, and then subsequently forced to share a body with.

Imp's human form (and Sevre's current form) is of a thin yet somewhat flamboyant male wearing an intricate black-and-tan patterned scarf under another sash-like red scarf. Under a dark gray jacket he wore a simple white shirt with orange markings. Tall boots accompany his black shorts. He wears a silver bracelet on each wrist. When Soulfear is not in its active scythe form, it takes the form of glasses, which Sevre uses to assist with his nearsightedness.

















When his "normal" form is dormant, his soul signature is also hidden as well, allowing him to avoid suspicion from beings that may be out to hunt him (including Ili). He can resurface at will, as well as in near-death situations. He is much more sadistic and dark in this form, reminiscent of his merciless role when he served Keio. However, he doesn't prefer close combat, and utilizes stored souls in the form of summons as guardians and minions. These souls are stored within Soulfear when not in use. He also has one primary guardian that watches him closely when he is in his more innocent form, protecting his otherwise frail body.

He is not afraid to flee if things do not go his way, but he will usually be quite persistent until he is sure that the encounter is not to his favor or not worthwhile. His loyalty still lies very deeply with Keio, and he believes that anything he does is in Keio's best interest.

When he is not utilizing the body, a conscious that is somewhat reminiscent of Imp is present as the front, but without any of the memories of his past. Some of Imp's personality still reveals itself occasionally in this form, although he is a much more fragmented and quiet soul when Sevre is not in control.















Soulfear is capable of storing souls in the form of soul energy within itself, and can materialize the original physical form of the soul at will. These summons can vary from intelligent guardians to nothing more than mindless puppets, which depends mostly on the amount of soul energy the original individual had. These souls can only be collected soon after death, with a greater delay leading to more soul energy loss. These summons are completely under the control of Sevre, which he uses as both defense and offense during combat. He values certain souls a bit more, especially those he uses most often, while having little to no issues discarding weaker ones if it would eventually lead to his victory.


Sevre prefers to keep his distance, but if challenged to hand-to-hand combat, he is found to be quite capable of wielding Soulfear as a regular weapon. Disarmed, he is still capable of utilizing soul energy, but only from within his own store of energy, which is limited if not attached to Soulfear, but still fairly capable. Although his eyesight is still handicapped while wielding Soulfear, he can track soul energy, in a way very similar to Kai. Because he relies on either this or his summons as vision in combat, his weakness lies in what he cannot track.

When his alternate self and Soulfear are not active, no soul energy is leaked, thus avoiding attention of otherwise keen beings such as Ili. The "innocent" half also does not recall anything after he becomes dormant, but is notably one of the few individuals that can remember Keio whenever he shifts out of existence.









Place of Residence


Although Sevre's previous form resided in Hallow, he had since moved the quieter nearby Aeolus City, where he opened a peculiar restaurant as his base of operations and continued his "soul dealing" business. The restaurant that deals in exotic delicacies, and is a front for dealing with his clients.

Occupation


When Sevre is not "active", he (as Imp) works as a waiter in the restaurant but otherwise is found simply reading books or being on the computer. His counterpart will also occasionally make trips to Xal'vi City to deal with souls.














Keio

Sevre was Keio's personal guardian during his reign long ago in the anti-existence realm, much like Cer is to Drak. During Drak's rebellion, he fought against Gallow, a masterful archer, and lost, but he prevented himself from perishing by transferring his existence. He spent centuries searching for Keio after Drak succeeded him. After he found Keio, he presented himself and swore his loyalty to him, but Keio remarked that he doesn't completely trust him anymore, having learned that he is essentially immortal. Regardless of this, Sevre affirmed that he is still willing to serve him to the end, and Keio granted him a chance to prove his loyalty once again. Sevre agreed wholeheartedly, even with a blade held to his neck. Sevre strongly believes that Keio, despite having given up the throne once, still deserves that title. Thus, Sevre strives towards accomplishing that goal, even if it means eliminating the current anti-existence king.

Imp

Years after the Second Demon War, after escaping from his prison (from Talor), Imp succeeded in helping Mourn capture and seal away the raging raven god. However, the aftermath of this left him poisoned with Death magic, and without much time left, he sought to save both his soul and his body by luring Sevre into a trap. Imp allowed himself to be captured by Soulfear, and revealed that he had also lured Sen, the Lord of the Abyss, to the location as well. Not being able to fight and win against this seasoned and powerful veteran, he was mortally wounded, and was forced to find a soul to transfer to. He was forced into transferring into Imp himself, despite him still being bound to Soulfear. Imp was confident that Sevre wouldn't be able to defeat Drak, despite these turn of events, but combining with Soulfear in this way, Sevre had found, had only made him stronger.

Others

Soulfear was located a few years after the fall of the demon god's empire, when Actu's weapons were scattered. Soulfear deemed Sevre worthy and was willing to serve him, and soon Sevre set out to collect souls to store within his weapon. Sevre has also been seen dealing these souls and summons as mercenaries or otherwise brainwashed servants, granting him notoriety as the Soul Dealer.

Actu's other weapon, Voidheart, held by Chrono, operates on souls a bit differently, but the two weapons refuse to do battle against each other. This forces both Sevre and Chrono to form a peaceful neutrality between the two, but this is often of no concern.

❝ You act like a puppetmaster, but in reality, you're no different from the rest. Watch your tongue, snake. ❞



∎ When he transfers his soul to another body, he resides in tandem with the other soul and cannot typically override or completely take over the body unless Keio interevenes. Taking control of the body is based on how much soul energy he holds at the time, and recharges while he is "dormant" within the vessel. This is also dependent on the original soul's energy as well, but Imp (Sevre's current vessel) is a special case.
∎ Sevre was not completely immune to all of Keio's existence wipe effects, but recalls faint memories of the past before it including the final fight for the throne before Drak's ascension. He is aware though, that Keio was responsible for the timeline shift.
∎ Sevre's weapon, Soulfear, was excavated out of ruins of an old site where the demon god's armies had hidden and locked it away. Sevre crafted an alternate form for Soulfear, manifesting in the form of a snake-like dragon, slightly reminiscent of Zero's dragon form, who was one of the two other beings (the other being Gallow) that defeated him in the revolution.
∎ Is extremely prone to making impulse purchases.




Artwork





On Neopets


Pet Backstory:Originally, this character was vaguely attached to a Maraquan Shoyru, with the concept of two souls living in the same body. At some point, I decided to trade my old BD pet that I had for a very long time (see Sentiiment's story) and I eventually managed to trade for a RW who I thought fit the character as sort of dealing with "borrowed" souls and existences, and fit perfectly in my pet theme. I originally wanted him on a side account with the customization items that I used for the Shoyru, but I eventually figured that he'd look much better on my main account. As I was browsing customizations, I settled on a Hissi, knowing that I've been wanting one for a while and the Shadow Morphing Potions were actually quite affordable.

For some time, I held onto this RW and was quite happy with him, but I still didn't quite feel as attached as I hoped. I put him UFT, and eventually I found that I still needed his character in some form, as he already played a bit of a role in the story and had involvement with other characters that I didn't want to rewrite. I had the idea to use Dyserve, which was a pet I was only keeping around for sentimental reasons (and occasionally used to enter as Drakicho's "imposter"). He was a name I used in several MMORPGs, so I had the idea to use some inspiration from those games as his "previous forms" in-canon.




click to continue

previous next







The Observer










lookup

Visions we chase
Truths that we face
Curse of our kind
A lost horizon we can't find

The Veil - Scandroid





Biography


Full Name: Ili, the Manifestation of Pure Energy
Alias: Ili
Age: Billions of years
Species: Existence (astral being)
Gender: Genderfluid (defaults to he/him)
Eye Color: White
Hair Color: None
Alignment: Lawful neutral
Likes: Cosmic balance, sticking to a plan, constants, like in mathematics, birds (except ravens)
Dislikes: Anomalies, unnecessary destruction, art (he sees no point in it)



Soul Emblem Type: Entropy / Rune
















Billions of years after the Verinu were formed, an unnamed world from a distant galaxy was destroyed with the collapse of a nearby star. The soul energy from the world soul coalesced into an astral being. This being found itself drifting through the vacuum of space towards Aethar, where it adopted a form similar to the humans there, however, his body remained translucent and covered with stars, especially on the four feathered wings on his back. He adopted a hood, with two feathers and a ribbon, and shoulderpads which constantly emit beams of light. A ring surrounds his left arm. His gloves are accented with ribbons, as well as the same beams of light found on his shoulders. His waistguard contains pouches on his side as well as four long, detailed ribbons, each which contains a small orb on the end. His feet and boots are shaped like bird talons. His eyes are cold and emotionless, but it is simply the way he was created.

He eventually came to become acquainted with several other beings drifting in space, such as Sen, whom he works closely with, and Mourn, who, after months of attempting to convince his logic-driven friend that he needed a name, provided him with his current alias as Ili.

















Ili is driven by a directive (akin to an instinct) to protect the balance of the realm. To accomplish this, he became extremely proficient and knowledgeable about sealing magic, and cooperated with the much more powerful Lord of the Abyss, Sen, who had very similar goals. He feels that the Insanity and other abnormalities, like the non-existence, are things that must be addressed and eradicated, if possible. He will not hesitate to do what is needed, regardless of reason, to maintain the realm's balance. At times, he can be quite stubborn, but only if he calculates that his plan is the most logical to him, comparing cost and potential.

Ili seems unable to feel emotions, and approaches everything logically and tends to over-examine small things. Although he is driven by logic and reason, he is by no means omniscient, as his logic is still vulnerable to being flawed. In conversations, he will typically go as far as to calculate and predict every possible response, which occasionally will make him fairly difficult to negotiate with. Although he has not had much direct contact with it, he is believed to be immune to the Insanity.















Ili primarily utilizes two daggers, which are also individually capable of firing small projectiles of soul energy from an attached chamber. He typically prefers to engage from afar, making very calculated, accurate ranged attacks. As the battle progresses, he is constantly calculating and predicting every possible outcome, and attempts to counter it.


Because he is essentially a being of pure (soul) energy, his physical form is especially destructive and can cause destruction when coming in contact with things as inert as air particles on Aethar. Therefore, if he needs to descend onto Aethar, he will surround himself with a vacuum and levitate himself off of the ground, making efforts to avoid unnecessary destruction. In addition, due to the nature of soul energy, his own form is relatively unstable, but semi-predictable. This usually manifests as power fluctuations, position shifts, or changes in the immediate surroundings, including his localized vacuum. In combat, Ili will immediately re-calculate any shifts and adapt to it.









Place of residence


Ili is usually found in outer space, in the vicinity of Aethar and the surrounding planets.

Occupation


He takes on the title of the "Observer", encompassing his role in watching and maintaining the realm's balance and stability. True to his title, he is typically aware of most of the happenings around Aethar, although he will typically only intervene in situations that have a potential to become a large-scale threat.














Sen

Although Ili is quite knowledgeable about the use of sealing magic, his own energy source is found to be lacking, and so he often requires assistance from other powerful beings to accomplish a more complicated sealing ritual. This includes sealing Sen's power within his human form's arm, and furthermore into the container on that arm, sealing the demon god Ishi (culminating to the ends of both the First and the Second Demon War), and removing Actu's memories.

Ili works closely with Sen, striving towards similar goals, but they also can work independently. He treats Sen with respect due to their power differences, but Sen also acknowledges that Ili's capabilities are invaluable towards ridding Aethar of the Insanity.

Ili, like Sen, is aware of the anti-existence, but he primarily works in the surface realm, since he is unable to traverse to the anti-existence realm on his own.

Mourn

Mourn in many cases, is Ili's polar opposite. After giving Ili his name, he asserted that they were friends which, of course, Ili would not care to oppose. Mourn would occasionally joke about how overreacting Ili can be. However, during Mourn's seclusion, Ili was the only individual he conversed with. Ili approached Mourn with a favor regarding Actu, after the initial fall of the demon god's empire, regarding his memories (Mourn's specialty). Ili also approached Mourn prior to the final battle against the demon god, asking for help once again in defeating him. While Ili could not completely understand the reasoning behind why Mourn's willingness to help, he was nonetheless grateful for his cooperation.

Keio

Ili especially finds Keio, the non-existence, troublesome. However, he is vulnerable to his "disappearances", which Keio would utilize to escape from Ili's watchful eye, leaving Ili in a confused, amnesiac state, who can only recall that there was an anomaly present.

❝ My friend, I'm glad to be able to fight alongside you once more. I know it is unlike you to do so, but I hope you can forgive me for what I've done. ❞



∎ The constellations on his body are mostly static (like bone joints), but do flicker and glow much like the rest of his body.




Artwork





On Neopets


Pet Backstory: Ili was the result of a (in my opinion) fairly lucky trade. The user was seeking a small custom, and was offering Instability along with another RW pet. I decided to do the trade despite not having a solid idea in place for Instability, but I knew I could do something with him.

After I traded for him, I couldn't let him sit on my account lacking a character for too long. I delved into several ideas but finally decided on the theme of unstable energy, and I kept the idea of the various astral/celestial designs of World of Warcraft (a game I'm pretty thoroughly addicted to) in the back of my mind. I tried my hand at customizing him and finally came across the perfect customization based on an Eventide Lenny and the Cosmic Space Faerie Pants. Quite quickly I splurged to provide him with this customization, especially the (at the time) elusive Cloak of the Night Sky.

After watching Darker than Black, I became fond of the idea of a logical, emotionless contractor linked to stars, which became an inspiration the base of his character.




click to continue

previous next







The Surface World










lookup

We are the mountains, the woods, the fields
We are the rivers, the shore and the sea
What's worth fighting for
The reason to win
our land, our home, the air we breathe

Together, Against the Sisters - Jyc Row, Princewhateverer





Biography


Full Name: Aethar / Echelon / the Surface World
Alias: Eche
Age: Billions of years
Species: Existence (world soul)
Gender: Genderfluid (defaults to he/him)
Eye Color: Blue
Alignment: Neutral good
Likes: Hunting other beasts in his forest, beautiful things (like blossoming trees)
Dislikes: Pesky birds, frolicking, destructive humans, the Insanity



Soul Emblem Type: Entropy / Essence
















Although he was formed much after the primal Verinu appeared, his soul flourished in the form of a world full of life. This world was much later named Aethar, although the creatures that wandered the world had no interaction with the still sleeping soul. However, his soul energy seeped into the wildlife and the world developed for billions of years before the first humans walked on the surface.

Eche began to stir awake when the Insanity aura from the tyrannical demon god Ishi began to spread and seep in. Because he was not fully awake and his influence was spread out throughout the entire world, he was not as affected by the Insanity as the mortals were. However, this did not mean that he was ultimately unaffected, as it planted seeds of doubt within him.

Eche sprung into action when the raven god Kai made his return from recovering in the future (of course, this was in an apocalyptic timeline in which Aethar was completely drained of its soul energy, and nothing was left alive). He took the form of a great green stag, with multiple dark green antlers. Dark green branches sprout from his back as well. His soul energy, glowing in the usual light blue of most pure soul energy, can be seen emanating from his eyes as well as his back and tail. He has one extra claw on his front hooves. Although he is most comfortable on all fours, he can stand on his hind legs, slightly adjusting his form, to make use of his front limbs.


Eche cherishes the beauty of nature and his presence can cause surrounding plants to bloom. However, the Insanity twisted his vision of himself, and he cannot shift his form to match the natural beauty around him. Still, his majestic form and presentation was enough to capture the hearts of the villagers and countrymen living close to the forests he frequents, although he began to distance himself from them as the Insanity began to affect him.

















Eche likes being elusive and hiding within the forests, but he also will make appearances to lost travelers, feeling pity for them and leading them to safety before quickly disappearing. In the past, he often visited the small villages by the forest, allowing them to revere him as a guardian deity. In time, with the influence of the Insanity and increasing appearances of the anti-existence, he started to grow fearful of the humans, even though he still felt a deep connection to them. He does not care for the humans who intentionally cause destruction on the ecosystems; he will usually not interfere unless he sees it as a very real threat to the world's wellbeing, however. With the taint left over from the Insanity (as well as Kai's influence from the alternate timeline), he is ultimately terrified of the thought of a completely desolate world, void of life.

He enjoys hunting and will occasionally hunt predator and prey creatures alike to keep the delicate balance in place. He loves the thrill of the chase but can be distracted by something he finds beautiful. He commands the Aethegard, four powerful guardians each with their own armies, who are dedicated to protecting the world of Aethar. Eche has proved to be quite the strategist, but his confidence has since been shaken, due to the growing influence of the Insanity within him.

Because he is the world soul, he is deeply affected by many of the battles held on the surface. He recognizes the threat of the Insanity and the raven god, and agreed to work with certain mortals (especially Drak and Sen) to prevent his own corruption, the world that Kai foresaw.















In contrast to Dea, who would rather attack using physical force, Eche takes a more defensive and cautious approach and uses soul energy to attack. His favored tactic is forming soul energy orbs (which also act as a sort of shield) and firing them as destructive projectiles. He can also warp the branches on his back as well as the surrounding trees to trap his enemies or counter a blow. He can amplify his attacks by absorbing the surrounding soul energy and focusing it on an attack, but this causes the trees and plants to wither and die, and he would only use this in dire situations.

Like Dea, he can mostly materialize himself anywhere in the world, but it takes more effort than Dea in her realm. Because his soul extends throughout the entire surface, he is immortal unless all of the soul energy is drained, which would also mean the death of the living things that depend on his soul energy, including the Aethegard.

Any wounds inflicted on him heal extremely quickly, like other powerful users of soul energy. Although he does not speak often, he does so using telepathy.

The Aethegard are able to operate on their own for the most part, but they were very well hidden before Eche was finally awoken. With Eche's appearance, the Aethegard also began to jump into action. Each of the guardians and their armies specialize in a certain style of combat and are known to be some of the best in their specialties. In battle, Eche is very capable of adapting to any of the guardians' styles, allowing for smooth and coordinated strategies.









Place of residence


He is often found in the deep wilderness, such as Silla Island, far away from most human civilizations, where he spends his days hunting and tending to the flora and fauna.

Occupation


As the soul of the realm, Eche feels obligated to protect it, and will intervene to counter any threat he sees. As the commander of the Aethegard, he will not hesitate to send them to settle a particularly dangerous threat. If he feels the need to, he will make a personal appearance thereafter.














Dea

Eche's dormant soul was linked to Dea when she and Keio formed a pact within the vastness of space. Dea became the anti-existence realm, and the two realms developed in parallel for billions of years, forming the structures and landscapes that are seen in the present. They are continually linked and, like other existence and anti-existence, will reflect any large-scale damages and influences on each other. Although Eche was always somewhat aware of this link during his slumber, he awoke and attempted to contact his counterpart, but due to their mirrored states, he could not reach her.

However, when Dea was drawn to the surface temporarily (before Eche was fully awake), he was able to capture a slight glimpse through his dream-like state. Although he could not see her form as beautiful, he acknowledged that she was unique.

Others

Sen, the Lord of the Abyss, was formed from the soul energy emanating from Aethar while he was dormant. Although Sen did not immediately recognize Eche, he sensed a strangely familiar soul when he passed by the world in his full void form in space.

Eche would eventually run into Keio in the dark forests, and, like Ili, he sees him as a strange and suspicious anomaly. He is affected by the non-existence's disappearance like the other mortals, and cannot recall him upon each meeting.

He also vowed to eliminate any traces of the Insanity and the demon god, with the bloodthirsty, vengeful raven god being the most dangerous threat.

The Aethegard

The Aethegard consist of four commanders on horseback: Scourge, the undying swordmaster; Strife, the armored juggernaut; Scarcity, the ancient runecaster; and Silence, the master assassin. Their souls (and to a lesser extent their armies) are directly linked to Eche and therefore gain his "immortality", and act as conduits to Eche's soul energy. The Aethegard obey Eche without question, but were nowhere to be found in Kai's apocalyptic future.

❝ You're a proud and powerful soul, but even you have your fears, don't you? Do not worry, we're here to fight alongside you. We won't let them win. ❞



∎ Only has mild control of the weather, but is typically not bothered by any kind of weather. Will act using his own powers to counter any extremely drastic disasters, giving him a reputation as a grand protector.
∎ A primary deity of worship by many rural villages and cultures, and especially around Kazanti. Though not many humans witness Eche's physical forms and his appearances are not well-captured online_ there have been enough eyewitnesses and evidence of his influence over the years after his awakening, and even before then where visions of his form would appear to lost travelers.
∎ Several years after the sealing of the Demon God, he had an encounter with Ness, who hosted the Contagion, in hopes of finding a cure. The Contagion attacked Eche's form, but he was able to flee and recover from the attack before more damage could be done. The direct effect of this was observed as several large areas of forests and plains in Aethar withered to disease. Although it took several years to recover, no one was entirely sure what caused these witherings.




Artwork






On Neopets


Pet Backstory: As a huge World of Warcraft fan, I was very intrigued with the idea of a world soul. Part of this was incorporated into Ordeal, being the anti-existence realm, but because she was the realm... why wouldn't she have a counterpart? Thus, the idea for the soul of Aethar was born. However, this idea was in the back of my mind for a while and was very underdeveloped. It wasn't until I found Echelon UFA that I was spurred into action to develop the character further.

At this point my family was almost complete, but it was still missing something. I knew this character would have to be a RW. Echelon stood out to me for some reason for being a name that sounded very powerful and mysterious. Perfect for my world soul character.

I wanted a Mutant Ixi for the longest time, and I decided Eche was a perfect fit for that. With all of these hopes I poured my heart into an app, and I was awoken to the amazing news when I was chosen to adopt Eche, as only the second pet I was able to welcome home from an application process (the first was Decree). Regardless, I couldn't be happier to have Eche by my side, and I'm glad to be able to finally wake him from his slumber for him to join the story.




click to continue

previous next







The Void Star










lookup

If it feels good, tastes good
It must be mine
Heroes always get remembered
But you know legends never die

And if you don't know now you know

Emperor's New Clothes - Panic! At the Disco


Content Warning: Some potentially disturbing themes (mind control)





Biography


Full Name: Taylor Boyce
Alias: Talor
Age: 26, according to records
Species: Anti-existence (human)
Gender: Male
Eye Color: Red
Hair Color: Black
Alignment: Neutral evil
Likes: Crowds, attention, his hair, profit, total chaos, manipulating others, airtight rooms
Dislikes: Boring meetings, phone discussions, government agents



Soul Emblem Type: Mist
















Talor's natural, beast form resembles a giant bird of prey, with a silhouette reminiscent of a vulture. He has two long feathers that streak out from the back of his head, and two "vents" on the top of his black beak (also found on the sides of his neck). His feathers are mostly a tan-yellow color. Two purple blades run over his shoulder, and his underside is featherless and dark gray. Two tubes connect his knees to his talons, which are tipped with purple claws. Although feathers cover his back, he has a reptillian-like tail that also acts as another conduit for the Mist. His wings are feathered on the top and webbed like a dragon on the bottom half. The membranes are semi-transparent, similar to Drak's dragon form.

This is the form he took mostly in the anti-existence realm long ago, but he has since been settled on Aethar for many decades. He recently appeared to the public as in his human form as a dashing, charismatic young man with medium-length black hair streaked with yellow. He quickly gained popularity as a pop star, and typically found wearing a black jacket and black tight pants with yellow links. He usually wears gold bracelets and rings on his fingers, and his hair is usually styled with two long streaks on the back and two "horns" similar to the feathers on his natural form.

When he is not performing, he is the CEO of the weapons company Abyssic, and takes on a more professional look. He combs back his hair and puts on a formal black coat, typically with a purple skinny tie. Although some may claim otherwise, he manages to keep his identities separate and his face as a CEO is not well-known to the rest of the media, allowing him manipulate both sides without impeding the other.

















Talor is obsessed with attention, and, utilizing the Mist, ensures that his performances are always filled with the crazed mania that his fans became known for. Vicious and ruthless, he will stop at nothing to obtain what he ultimately desires. As the CEO of the weapons company Abyssic, he is extremely efficient and is capable of managing (and manipulating) people very effectively. He is not afraid to deal with the underworld and the black market, but he also manages to remain spotless on record whenever investigated. Typically, this is through his extensive use of third parties and other cryptic methods.

Talor enjoys building his wealth and power, a narcissistic greed that knows no limits. He believes that his ultimate endgame is a world filled with war, a world where only the strongest survive: just like the anti-existence realm, his origin. To meet that goal, he released the demon god from their prison. Although his vision was only partially fulfilled, he relished the small victory he had. The Insanity was indeed a very potent catalyst in his plan, but he had to develop a way to eliminate a few troublesome factors first.


He freely utilizes the Mist in his discussions with clients and partners, "coercing" them in his favor. When he is not able to secure a suitable situation to utilize his power, he is still a very capable speaker and negotiator.

In the depths of the Abyssic headquarters, in the deepest part of the building, lies a prison, dedicated to one individual: Imp. Talor will occasionally descend to the depths to check on Imp, and ensure that he is still under the Mist's full control.















The Mist is a special form of soul energy that typically takes the physical form of a smoke, acting as a hallucinogen, asphyxiant, or even mind control, depending on the severity and quantity inhaled. The Mist, even at very low, nearly invisible concentrations, is extremely potent, and victims are completely at Talor's mercy. He is capable of emitting the Mist in a controlled environment in his human form, and much more so in his beast form.


In combat, the Mist is also capable of blanketing the area visually like a fog. Talor utilizes this to strike quickly and where his opponents are most vulnerable. The fog is fairly resilient, but can be dispersed with sufficient countering soul energy. As it is a form of soul energy, it will also cloud attempts to track soul energy.

Outside of the Mist, he is not able to manipulate pure soul energy as efficiently as several other powerful beings, but he is capable of weaving the effects of the Mist into direct attacks, like an injection. He is also quite agile and strategic, but he is one that would rather retreat and attempt to rearrange a more favorable battle at a more opportune time. Everything will work out just right, according to his plans.










Place of residence


The Abyssic headquarters and primary manufacturing facility is located at Victareon, although he has reserves in most of the other large cities on Aethar, including Hallow and Zephyr City. Talor makes frequent travels to the other cities to negotiate with clients and perform at concerts, most of the time using a private jet.

Occupation


Talor has two main fronts, his pop star job and his CEO job. As a pop star, he is mostly his own manager, although he also has his own fairly large group of staff and musicians supporting him, although he does not tend to delve in his private life with any of them. He will not turn down praise from his staff nor his fans, and he ensures that everyone is under his direct control. Anyone that was found with a hint of betrayal was swiftly dealt with.

Talor is also actively working as the CEO of Abyssic, a weapons company that specializes in artillery, nuclear weapons, and explosives, although it also manufactures other categories of weapons in slightly smaller quantities. Abyssic is the largest weapons company on Aethar, and often sells to private corporations, the military (especially the Department of Defense led by Otaye), and the underworld.














Otaye

Talor and Otaye were involved in separate sectors, their paths only crossing occasionally before Otaye eventually approached Talor to strike a business offer... and since then, they've come to realize that their goals actually aligned quite nicely. Otaye originally did not really care too much for Talor's night persona, but every so often he would find himself showing up at shows if their schedules aligned in the same city. Over time, they both opened up with several secrets to each other, and they shared a special mutual trust and understanding among the other "rabble" of the world.

Drak (and Sen)

Although he is an anti-existence and recognizes the king's power, Talor sees Drak as nothing more than the "final boss" of his game. He was surprised that Drak and his counterpart, Sen, were able to successfully end the demon god. With that result, he adjusted his agenda to prioritize their downfall.

Imp

Talor is an anti-existence that was not fleshwoven, but was instead formed from a very powerful existence. After arriving on Aethar, he was able to track down and capture his soul link counterpart and make him his prisoner. After decades of torment, Imp has long forgotten his true name and his past, only his nickname, and the Mist was able to deteriorate his willpower, his sanity, as well as his power. However, contrary to other known soul links, Talor did not grow weaker as a result, believing that it was the soul link itself that was disintegrating, although even he did not completely understand the mechanisms behind the soul link.

❝ I don't know who you truly are or what your intentions are... but your greed knows no bounds, and that is a dangerous thing indeed. ❞



∎ He goes by the alias of Vincent Emyst when using his CEO alias at Abyssic.
∎ Was not really a fan of tea at first, but more recent meetings with Otaye have swayed him otherwise.
∎ Likes to host his own galas and parties (mostly to keep connections or collect information), although he rarely does so under either of his known aliases.
∎ Doesn't drive, as he's always chauffeured, but he knows how to if necessary.
∎ Talor's first few years were around Atalean, so he considers it his original home, but he has not gone back since arriving to Aethar.
∎ His songs regularly hit the top charts, and has hit #1 several times. His most popular song is "The Sweetest Revenge".
∎ Usually performs solo, but has occasionally featured backup dancers depending on the album and song. There are rumors that these dancers are puppeted, however...




Artwork






On Neopets


Pet Backstory: When I was trading a UC Mutant Scorchio a long time ago, as one of the first UC pets I've ever traded, I didn't think I'd end up with a UC Darigan Shoyru. However, I was offered one that I nicknamed "Myst", and the twisted character based around a mysterious smoke power came into being. I loved that character, and I was so inspired to draw him out once I got him.

What made the Shoyru even more special, however, was that I realized that his pose was very similar to my very first pet, a purple Shoyru. I held onto him for over 5 years, redesigning his character slightly to better fit the story. However, eventually I realized that I wasn't getting any more inspiration from him. I tentatively put him up for trade, and even being offered pets that some would consider an overoffer, I didn't go through with it, because I still felt attached to him. Perhaps there was another UC Darigan that could inspire me more.

I finally came across that opportunity, and the other person really wanted Myst as well. I traded, and I ended up with a VWN UC Darigan Grarrl. With my preference of uncapped purple UC Darigans, I figured I may as well look around. I knew that I still adored his character and I wanted to keep his role in the story, so I looked for a name to match his character: a cunning and ruthless CEO.

As I was searching, I came across a few UC Darigan Pteris and offered. I owned one for a very short time while I was trading for Drak, even though they're not a purple UC Darigan, so I had a soft spot for them. I was eventually offered talorboyce.

I didn't jump right away, since I was unsure about the name. I remember joking around with my friend that his name reminded me of a pop star and I couldn't think of anything else other than that for him, even though I knew I was going to give him Myst's old character as a CEO.

Her response: Why not both? Businessman by day, boy band heartthrob by night.

I laughed but... I loved this idea. I sketched it out. It was silly, ridiculous, and he'd be the most narcissistic character in my cast, but he made me smile. It was just the rekindling I needed to continue developing his character and story, and who can say no to a pretty boy pop star?




click to continue

previous next







The Spirit Healer










lookup

You're in control
Rid of the monsters inside your head
Put all your faults to bed
You can be King again

King - Lauren Aquilina





Biography


Full Name: Kalilita, the Royal Healer of Drakar
Alias: Lily
Age: Unknown
Species: Anti-existence
Gender: Female
Eye Color: Dark pink
Hair Color: White
Alignment: Lawful good
Likes: Plush animals, social media, attention, human culture (like fashion)
Dislikes: Noisy dogs, hot weather, internet trolls



Soul Emblem Type: Entropy
















Lily, a fox-like humanoid, traveled with a group of nomads in the Shroud, the vicious and mysterious outer reaches of the anti-existence realm, for much of her life, until she was recruited by the anti-existence king for her extraordinary healing abilities and knowledge. She was adorned with a decorated fur cloak with a hood, and a dress with no sleeves, allowing her long fur-covered arms to show. Both of her arms are tipped with long dark gray claws. Her head consists of crystal-like spines jutting out from the forehead back behind her neck, and around her left side of her face. She has long whisker-like tufts of fur on her cheek and long triangular, fox-like ears.

When she arrived on Aethar, she transformed most of her body aside from her head, which she leaves as a sign of her individuality and is the main selling point of her social media profile, which others see as merely a very articulate mask. Although her usual attire is usually affected by the current fashion trends, she typically likes to dress warmer, and enjoys fur on her clothing wherever possible. She has a fairly slim but beautiful build fitting of an enthusiastic young woman. Her preferred color palettes are usually close to her favorite color, dark pink.

















Lily is a very headstrong woman and was not afraid to prove her worth when Drak had first encountered her in the Shroud. Having travelled with her nomadic tribe for much of her life, she was accustomed to meeting strangers and enemies alike, and was hesitant to trust anyone outside of her usual circle. However, when Drak asked if she would accompany her back to Drakar, she was taken aback by his display of power and pride, and was curious about the daily life in the castle. She eventually came to enjoy the castle life, since Drak allowed her much freedom, and was able to utilize her knowledge until she attained a very special and unique position as the designated Royal Healer.

She is very loyal to her king and one of his most trusted individuals in Drakar. She is proud of this and enjoys the attention she got, until he moved to Aethar and resided there, where she felt more lonely while still carrying out her duties. She eventually was called onto Aethar to heal Drak from a drastic battle, and made her decision to stay there to be closer to him, and in secret hopes to steal him back from Cer, who made her quite jealous.


While she was on Aethar she delved into the human construct of social media and became an Internet sensation with her "mask". She would often share about her travels and things she found interesting, acting much like a curious foreigner. She is quite likable and interacts much with her audience, and many joke about her accent and mannerisms. She likes seeing what others find interesting as well, as she never quite experienced the vast human culture of Aethar before, and loved how much more lively it was compared to the Ordeal.















Lily's main abilities revolve around her healing, allowing her to not only heal and repair physical wounds, but also injuries involving soul energy. She primarily uses the liquid on the Ordeal (especially from Mortier Lake, which has innate magical healing properties) enchanted with her energy in order to heal her patients. For more drastic measures, she can also project out a diamond-like crystal (a visual manifestation of her soul emblem) and connect with the soul energy of her patient in order to heal them directly. This does drain her own soul energy, but her natural recovery, after having travelled so long in the dangerous wilderness, has also been trained, and was one of the things that made her such an effective healer.

She is much less capable in combat, but she is able to manipulate her own soul energy as needed, like a spellcaster. She would mainly focus on supportive or defensive maneuvers, as her other tribe members would usually act as the offensive counterpart when she hunted in the past.









Place of residence


Although Lily mostly began to travel once she grew more accustomed to Aethar, her primary home is in Hallow, allowing her to remain in somewhat close contact with her king hiding nearby. In the anti-existence realm, she rarely traveled far from Drakar, as most of her duties still called her to the castle.

Occupation


She was designated as the Royal Healer under Drak, which meant that her primary objective was to keep Drak and his closest subjects (including Dea herself) as healthy and comfortable as possible. While she is not doing so, she is one of the main leaders and strategists in Drakar, keeping close tabs on the activities surrounding the castle and relaying them to Drak when needed. On Aethar, she goes around as a social media celebrity.














Drak

When she was approached by Drak, she merely regarded him as another arrogant and fake anti-existence, with only vague knowledge about him as the king. She gained more respect from him when he displayed his power, although she knew that he was hiding much of it for some reason. Out of curiosity she followed him back to the castle and she was able to establish an important role, while allowing her freedom to explore in her free time. She highly respects him and grew very close to him when he worked in the castle, but felt lonely when he traveled to Aethar. She hoped for his return to Drakar, but once she found out that he was more likely to remain on the surface realm, she decided to follow him there. She is more comfortable speaking with him than much of the other subjects and he allows her to speak her mind, but still remains a balance between her loyalty and her independence.

Others

Lily is a bit envious of Cer and considers him a bit of a rival, but is otherwise willing to work with him in benefit of her king. She also finds Actu's shows to be especially enjoyable, and makes time to attend his shows whenever possible.

❝ A kind and strong soul, for I know you will use your gift for good, because you see the value in life. ❞



∎ Can sing fairly well and has great control of her voice, but her accent is still somewhat noticeable when she speaks Common.
∎ Her social media handle is "kalily"
∎ Is a bit gullible when it comes to online interactions (especially over text), but is quicker to pick up on lies or sarcasm in-person. Tends to hold grudges, but usually is not extreme unless it involves Drak.
∎ Her popularity gave rise to recognition of "hybrids", human-animal mixes like her and Actu. To many city dwellers, this was a rare sight, and originally came with mixed enthusiasm and disbelief (as many Internet users still believed her face was a very articulate mask instead). However, as her online reputation spread, along with Actu's dazzling and highly-acclaimed shows, hybrids were eventually seen in better light, and she became an online celebrity.
∎ Her favorite stuffed animals are big cats and deer. She dedicates a whole corner of her apartment to her plush animals.
∎ Is able to fall asleep sitting up, nearly anywhere.
∎ Very friendly with cats and visits cat cafes and shelters often.




Artwork






On Neopets


Pet Backstory: Lily was the result of an adoption from a friend who was quitting Neopets. Although I didn't really intend to own a UC Grey Kougra at any point, they really admired the characters and art that I had and wanted to give Lily a loving home. I was eventually able to spin a character idea that I could work with, another character closely associated with Drak, especially from the Ordeal/anti-existence side of his character, which was rarely explored with any others other than Dea. When Pet Styles were released, I was finally able to swap her for a Darigan Kougra, and I was able to gather more inspiration to further her character and worldbuilding around her.




click to continue

previous next







The Sleepwalker










lookup

Wake up now and see the truth
I'm here to show the world to you
The way it was meant to be
So follow your destiny

This twisted future isn't right
Let's bring the real you to the light
I'm going to make you realize
So open your eyes

Open Your Eyes - Aviators





Biography


Full Name: Unknown
Alias: Slumber
Age: 381 (recent awakening)
Species: Existence
Gender: Male
Eye Color: Turqoise
Hair Color: Dark turqoise
Alignment: Lawful neutral
Likes: Naps, owls, soft things of all kinds, peace and quiet, kind people
Dislikes: People that desecrate the dead, big machinery (he can't sense them), his amnesia



Soul Emblem Type: Entropy / Essence
















Slumber is a pale, older teenager-looking boy with dark turqoise to black hair, tied loosely into a small long ponytail with light blue pins and a thin braided string. He wears a traditional dark grey kimono robe with teal trims on the bottom and sleeves. Most noticeably, he bears a large white cape with a high collar that reaches just past his neck. The ends of the cape are tapered like banners, each displaying a rune-like symbol at the end. Wrapped loosely around his cape, usually so by telepathy, are two long brown ropes each with a large blue bead attached to the ends, and a light blue translucent ribbon usually over his shoulders. On the back of his cape, two small black feathered wings are attached, although these are not used for flight.
His usual look is simply endless sleep. He is seemingly always calm and emotionless, his eyes always closed, but he acts and performs as if he was awake (or akin to lucid sleepwalking). He also keeps around a plush owl named Ekrou, although it looks much like a real owl, aside from the beady black eyes. Ekrou acts as Slumber's eyes when needed, although he can sense soul energy itself even in his dreamy state.

















Slumber was a mysterious and enigmatic individual when he arrived at Actu's Circus of the Underworld, where he made his first appearance after his long hibernation in unknown reaches. It was clear that he was not very familiar with the modern world of Aethar, being very curious yet accepting of many of the new technologies that surfaced since his sleep. He did not mention how long he was asleep for, but he mentioned that it was long before the rise and fall of the demon god.

While he performed with Actu, he was generally friendly with the other members, although he avoided much conversation otherwise. His lack of emotion and old-fashioned way of speaking often makes it difficult to carry out a normal conversation for most individuals. He doesn't mind being alone, and is usually seen meditating of some sort. After some months of being with the Circus, Actu encouraged him to seek out his own place in the world, and Slumber decided to part ways with the Circus.

He found a place where he could practice the rituals that his old mentor taught him: putting the souls of the dead to rest. He felt more fulfilled doing so, and learned more about the feelings and emotions of those who passed in these modern times. However, he still felt at a loss, confused as to why he returned, and why his mentor left him. He sought these answers, but what he found (or didn't find) only made him sadder. It was then that he encountered Aware, who supposedly held the answers he didn't have. Seeking him out, and discovering his old mentor's intentions, led him to be involved in the larger picture of the war against the raven god, and the Insanity.














His most notable ability is his being able to lead the souls of the dead to rest back into the world soul, by balancing and converting the soul energy accordingly. When he does this, he can often sense the last feelings and memories of the individual, giving him a glimpse into their last moments. This ritual is one that was taught and passed down by his unnamed mentor, who he believes may still be wandering this world in some form. This prevents the soul energy from being drained or used for other purposes, and he gives them a proper sending in the form of traditional funeral services.
Although he is mostly peaceful, Slumber is still capable of powerful self defense, usually with the use of his fan. He is very much a spellcaster in battle, and will launch soul energy or gusts of wind to attack his foe. Ekrou, his familiar, can act as both a scout and as a means of focusing energy. He can levitate effortlessly, allowing him to drift over the battlefield to distance himself.









Place of residence


After leaving the Circus, he came to reside back in Kazanti, the area where he became renowned and known for, although the culture has since changed drastically, as well as the technology. He still drifted towards the countryside, where he was able to settle in a small town in the outskirts and find his bearings in the world.

Occupation


While he still has a place to return to, he seems to occasionally travel around the continent, offering his services as a funeral director and as a medium. He is not very attached to money and would rather be paid in simpler things like food and shelter. However, he does find technology interesting and likes to muse about how things work that he does not immediately understand.














Actu

When Slumber first awoke again, he came across an individual who led him to Actu's Circus of the Underworld. Actu, who was accustomed to very weird and magically-inclined individuals, recognized him as a potentially powerful threat, but to the ringmaster, he seemed fairly harmless at first due to his missing knowledge of the current world while he slept. He decided to place his trust in Slumber, and allowed him to travel with the circus for a while in order for him to get his bearings and begin to understand the world.

Although Slumber does not typically show much outward emotion, he is genuinely appreciative of Actu's help, and decided to take his advice into heart when he suggested that he carved out his own path.

Aware

When he met Aware, he seemed to recognize that he was involved in very similar things to his trade. What Slumber did not recall, however, was that Aware was part of a small group that consisted of both of their mentors and them, and they each helped perform rituals related to the dead, especially around Kazanti, where they became known as the ferrymen of the dead in ancient times. Aware, of course, still recalled everything and was especially cold towards Slumber, for reasons that Slumber did not understand. However, out of respect, Slumber refused to pursue him any further... although still hoped that he would open up and explain everything to him at some point.

Others

Slumber's old mentor taught him everything he knew about guiding the souls of the dead, but after Slumber re-emerged, she was nowhere to be found.

❝ While you slept, the world needed you. Now, will you wake and take responsibility? ❞



∎ His favorite dessert is dango mochi.
∎ Ekrou, the owl, is a magically animated plush doll, coalesced from a child's powerful dream that he had to put to rest long ago. It is said that Ekrou is constantly daydreaming, living out the child's dreams, but also anchoring Slumber to the real world through its vision.
∎ Aware and Slumber's work, following directly in their mentors' footsteps, is putting the dead to rest, with Slumber preparing the body and soul for the grave.
∎ Slumber no longer wears his mask that he wore long ago, as he entrusted it to Aware before his hibernation. Aware has kept it within his possessions, but not in immediate reach, and has collected quite some dust.
∎ Slumber's eyes are a bright cyan blue.
∎ His mentor never gave her true name, only her title, which was translated from the local Kazanti dialect as "The Weeping Reaper". She was a human who became well-known in Kazanti for having connections to the local spirits and, indirectly, to the world soul Eche.
∎ He was adopted as an orphan and his mentor nicknamed him Slumber while he was young, due to his tendency to fall asleep for most of the day (more so than normal children). As he became more closely tied to her work and he cultivated his soul energy, Slumber was able to "control" his sleep in a way to sleepwalk, maintaining his consciousness as he trained.




Artwork






On Neopets


Pet Backstory: Slumber was a RW that a friend owned for a little while, but eventually lost interest in. At the time I was also trading around casually, and ended up with a UC Darigan Buzz. After a little while I half-jokingly offered the Buzz on Slumber, since it was a name that I did really like, for being a spooky RW noun. She asked if I was serious, since she was starting to get tired of trading this name (and didn't seem to have as much luck/interest as she hoped), and was more than happy to consider my offer. After a bit of thought she decided to go through with the trade, and I was so excited to welcome Slumber home (she eventually retraded the Buzz for a permie name she really adored as well, so in the end it was a win for us both).

Since Slumber was one of my later pets, I didn't have a specific role for him, but I wanted to develop him in tandem with another character that was also lacking a bit of depth and backstory, Myv. I knew he had to be associated with sleep, so I decided on a very "sleepy" look - a sick Grey Bori. In the end, he turned out to be one of my favorite designs, drawing inspiration from Japanese culture.




click to continue

previous next







The Death Scribe










lookup

Awake within the moment
Asleep throughout our lives
We suffer in this torment
Ensnared in our own lies

Masks - Aviators





Biography


Full Name: Aware Kajana
Alias: Aware (pronounced Ah-WAH-reh)
Age: 370
Species: Existence
Gender: Male
Eye Color: Violet
Hair Color: Maroon-red
Alignment: Chaotic neutral
Likes: Interesting tales, calligraphy, foxes, cleanliness, bells
Dislikes: Cold temperatures, getting his hair or tails ruffled, being alone



Soul Emblem Type: Death / Essence
















Aware typically appears as a fairly young (late teenager) male individual with very long, slightly curled maroon-to-red hair, which gives him a slightly feminine appearance. Some of his hair is tied in a loose ponytail with a long gray cord fitted with a tuft of fur at the end. He often wears a frilled gray cape with a fur-trimmed collar over his red and black robe. Tied around his waist is a belt with two silver bells, and around his neck a choker with a crimson gem affixed in the center. He has long sharp black-painted nails that have grown like claws.

Most noticeably, he exhibits several aspects of a white fox. The two fox ears, along with the seven fluffy tails that trail behind him, were very characteristic of both him and his now deceased mentor. They are often tipped in a specific black magical ink that he uses to write with. Much like Slumber, his specific powers and soul energy allow him to reverse the effects of aging.

He occasionally keeps a small gray fox with him named Ravai, who carries a few brushes and rolls of parchment that Aware needs for his rituals.

















Aware is quite arrogant, but at the same time fairly uncaring to those around him. Growing up in the harsh reality of the wilderness, he was picked up by a strange individual who seemed to have some powers related to spirits. He was raised like a human and began to pick up on his mentor's practices. He began to develop a love for calligraphy and painting, especially because of the time he spent with his mentor, travelling together and performing the rites of the dead, even though he did not completely understand it at first. His heart slowly began to open up while he worked with his old mentor, as well as Slumber and his mentor, who they became close friends. However, when the group dissipated, he lost his sense of purpose and direction. No longer feeling any sense of remorse, he offered his powers to anyone who bothered to recruit him, no matter who it was.

He has a bit of a trickster attitude in him, and is often found smirking and seemingly plotting things. He is occasionally found twisting words or "misbehaving" if someone treats him poorly, but it is cleverly hidden enough that he still maintains a fairly good reputation within the underworld. Sharp-tongued and quick to escape, even the law has trouble pinning him down.















Aware's primary ability is the magical ink that he holds, and is able to "revive" the dead temporarily, under a heavy control spell. This is because he is able to recapture the soul energy (and thus the soul) of a recently deceased individual and reverse the flow back into the body through the magic inscribed in the ink. He requires a special grade of parchment in order to properly perform the ritual, but can still use it to some extent on any surface (although to a much weaker degree). The original purpose of this ink was to bind the soul energy and memories of the deceased together as they recombine with the world soul - which happens eventually - but in time, he started to lose any sense of caring for the individuals that he performed this ritual to. Without the guiding words of his mentor, Aware felt that it was simply a game of survival: what point is there in remembering those who had lost in such a boring manner?


He seems to only be able to revive up to two individuals at a time, although he maintains utmost control when it is only one. This also varies depending on the individual's own soul energy level, and the amount of time the body has been deceased. Regardless, the magic wears off at dawn, due to unknown reasons, and the body (and soul) returns back to its original state.

In regards to combat, he is quite inexperienced in offense or defense, and would rather escape to safety if possible. He prides himself in his ability to seemingly blend into the shadows, utilizing some of the magic in the ink. If backed to a corner, he keeps close to him a special dagger infused with ink, allowing him to deliver a stun just long enough for him to escape.









Place of residence


Aware drifts around Aethar freely, but finds most of his work around the big city hubs (especially the underworld) including Hallow and Zephyr City. Despite being from Kazanti, he does not seem to have any attachment to that side of the continent.

Occupation


Aware is typically recruited in the underworld as being able to temporarily bring back the dead, typically in order to extract needed information, as in most normal cases, he is able to exert control over this soul. He lives and travels comfortably due to the unique one-of-a-kind service he provides, but because he is often involved in with dangerous individuals, he does not remain in one location for long.














Slumber


Despite being one of Aware's closest friends in the distant past, Aware felt absolutely betrayed when Slumber made his decision to disappear and hide in hibernation for centuries. In the heat of emotion, he had misheard and misunderstood Slumber's last few words to him then, and that, coupled with a series of events leading to the death of his mentor, led him to discard his emotions and memories and favor a life of living solely in the present. When he found out that Slumber had reawakened, he still had not quite forgiven Slumber, and felt that he knew much more than Slumber does regarding the world and its current state. Not really caring for Slumber anymore, he leaves him to fend and learn for himself, although he would not go out of his way to harm him.

Others


Due to his involvement in the underworld, he does know of KL and even vague hints of who Drak is, but he tends to not really bother with connections unless he really finds someone intriguing enough to observe for a time.

❝ You toy with powers and energies that are beyond your control. There is still chance for redemption, but you must come to realize your mistakes. ❞



∎ He doesn't have a favorite dessert, as he dislikes sweets, but loves spicy food.
∎ While Slumber was much more timid and focused on his training with his mentor, Aware was more playful and aloof, but he had a special innate talent for writing his elegies.
∎ His mentor was known as Kitsu, the deathwriter, who was also a fox-hybrid humanoid. While not as widely renowned as Slumber's mentor, the four of them quickly gained notice as they traveled around and granted their services, which were very unique and in high demand due to local customs and fears of their dead turning into vengeful souls (while this was not really the case in reality, their rites did provide for the soul energy to be properly returned to the world soul, while granting the living a meaningful funeral).
∎ Kitsu was also an anti-existence from the Shroud, one of the few who were able to find their way to the surface. When he found Aware in the wild, he saw a child who used his unnaturally powerful innate soul energy to mimic the foxes he grew up with. Kitsu lightly adjusted his already lupine form so Aware would grow comfortable with learning from and trusting him.




Artwork






On Neopets


Pet Backstory: Aware's character design originally came from a very simple idea: I want a kitsune character. I originally applied the character idea to a UC Darigan Eyrie (not Kai) that I owned at the time, but I could not end up making it work, as I was more hoping for the pet to match Slumber a little bit more. After I traded the Eyrie away (see Otaye's story) I ended up looking for another name to replace this idea, specifically hoping for a matching RW for Slumber.

The trade for Awareness was the result of a lucky catch from the "big UC Santa drop" in 2019. I caught a UC Desert Poogle, who I eventually traded for Aware. I felt that the idea of Awareness was a decent opposite for Slumber, who was themed around sleep. That gave me the idea of a sort of spirit-based duo related to the dead. Although he was a much later addition to the story, I was excited to develop him along with Slumber, really getting to explore another region of Aethar and uncovering some of the past that they were active in. Ultimately, however, I don't feel that either of them would play a huge role in the main story, but they still have some of my favorite designs to sketch.




click to continue

previous next







The Realmkeeper










lookup

What have I done?
Where is my home?
Were these deeds I've done
Truly my own?
I was so blind
But now I clearly see
I only have one choice
In front of me

Chara - Andrew Stein





Biography


Full Name: Sergeant General Otaye Favari
Alias: Otaye
Age: 30, according to records (real: several thousands)
Species: Realm Master (Human); Existence
Gender: Male
Eye Color: Light blue
Hair Color: Dark gray/black
Alignment: True neutral
Likes: Fancy tea, fine art, collecting exquisite weaponry, war tactics, being a leader
Dislikes: Failure, wasting resources, loud music, fabric wrinkles, the realm-shifters' burden



Soul Emblem Type: Void / Origin
















The realm-shifters were planar travelers that visited different planets and worlds. By planting soul anchors to these worlds, they were able to draw energy and resources from them, create portals to them, and, in rare cases, even entirely destroy these worlds. Although they often claimed to be "protectors" of the world, in reality, they were beings that felt that they were entitled to these realms. The first realm-shifters were Verinu - primal beings of the universe - and their powers were passed on to a small population. Otaye was not among the original few, but his ambitions and powers grew to even greater heights and could rival the original Verinu, who have since then disappeared in history and were forgotten in time.

As he settled onto Aethar, he began to develop a form based on the humans there as a slender, gray-hair young man with glasses and a luxurious feathery cape and white suit. Since he established himself in Zephyr City, he has never looked back to return to his original form. His original form was a demonic, energy-engulfed being with ink-like tendrils, which manifest partially whenever he uses his original realm shifter abilities.

















As the millennia passed, Otaye realized that the greed and audacity of the other realm-shifters grew too big; they became tyrants and leeches over the realms that they claimed, even to the point of destroying them. He found this appalling and sought to "relinquish" these realms by eliminating and hunting down his fellow realm-shifters... one-by-one. Eventually, he was faced with his closest friend and acquaintance, who admired him as the Aspect of Envy. Dealing his last blow, Otaye was unsure if this course of destruction was truly the right one, as he stood as the last remaining realm-shifter. Alas, it was too late, and he settled onto Aethar, one of the most coveted and developed worlds, in attempt to erase the memories and burdens of what he has done. Although he still feels guilt, he has hidden it away with his pride, focusing on the beautiful future he wishes to build.

Although Otaye is an extremely ancient being, he very much likes to live in the moment and enjoys high class. Much like Mourn, he enjoys socializing at galas and masquerades especially, and will take the time to broaden his social circles whenever possible, although he will typically not go out of his way to flaunt his identity -- although due to the nature of his work, he's relatively well-known regardless, almost at the level of a celebrity. A charismatic smile, and a bit of light deception, and he is capable of captivating almost anyone he targets after.

Aside from collecting weapons within his pocket realms, Otaye seems to really have taken a liking to tea, and is quite the tea aficionado, with large cabinet full of various expensive and exotic tea that he enjoys. He will always take a couple moments in his day to enjoy a tea time, even to the point of delaying important meetings with officials. He takes his teaware very seriously as well, and will take the time to appreciate fine craftsmanship on his cups.

He also enjoys fine art and has a small personal collection spread across his office and home. His favorite depictions are of birds, especially graceful and elegant birds like peafowl.















Otaye's specific power is from his origin as a realm-shifter, a mysterious population of cosmic beings that disappeared over the course of time. He keeps his collection of "pocket realms" sealed in cards that display patterns depicting those worlds. Pulling these out and activating his power, he's able to manipulate and access those realms and what they have stored in them, such as explosive artillery and even advanced nuclear weaponry.

He only has access to realms he has "captured", and even then, his control over much larger realms and worlds are much more loose; nonetheless, his very unique power allows him basically unlimited access and escape to realms that only he can enter.

His power manifests into black tendril-like energy, with the portals themselves forming from the individual cards. For the most part, only Otaye can activate the portal in the cards, but he can allow for others to access them if he so wishes. Because his powers are fairly tactical, he typically does not like fighting head-to-head with an enemy, and actually has very little experience in terms of physical combat. Ages ago, he held a different form than the human one he took once he settled onto Aethar, but he has since discarded it, believing it to belong to an era he no longer wishes to remember.









Place of residence


Zephyr City, the biggest city on the continent of Gaia, only rivaled by the city of Hallow across the ocean. A modern, developed city with a bureaucracy. Since his home and office are both in the city, Otaye never misses an opportunity to attend a gala or ball that any of his vast network of connections may be hosting. His residence is a typical fancy, modern high-rise condo, with plenty of space for his luxurious wardrobe.

Occupation


Otaye holds the seat of the Head General in the Department of Defense, leading in the defense of the city (and the general defense of the world), with access to the very cutting-edge technology that Aethar is rapidly developing.














Talor


Talor, the CEO of the weapons company Abyssic, is an old friend and one of the primary suppliers of Otaye's weapon arsenal. Although unlikely friends in regards to interests (while Talor doesn't care for Otaye's interest in fancy culture, Otaye doesn't care at all for Talor's night persona), they do seem to have some goals in common. Otaye is one of the only individuals that are aware of Talor's status as an anti-existence, although Otaye holds no specific interest in the realm of Ordeal.

Decree


One of Otaye's primary secret projects he headed and funded was the soul-knights project, codenamed The Eternity. Unit 001, the prime subject and prototype knight, now known as Decree, was forced into the project after her unfortunate and untimely death, but despite her hardened feelings against the project, it allowed her to continue her fight against her rival, KL, and find a way to continue her search for justice. She harbors deep hatred towards her superiors, Otaye included, but she is still technically employed by him and realizes that currently she cannot face him directly. Regardless, Otaye considers the project a success, and still considers Decree a valuable member with her impressive capabilities.

❝ A Realm Master? Here? I had thought that your kind went extinct millennia ago... ❞



∎ Almost never takes off his gloves, but in the rare case where it is removed, there is a black and white swirling rift like an eye located on each palm.
∎ Doesn't typically like to drink (other than tea) but will do so as a social gesture. Very tolerant, surprisingly.
∎ Is actually a bit nearsighted, but he is still able to sense soul energy without his glasses.
∎ Lived alone with no "family" when he was still amongst the other riftwalkers, so the concept is not quite fully understood by him. However, he still formed friendships and acquaintances, and the species benefited from mutual cooperation.
∎ Usually reserves a private box seat when he attends one of Talor's concerts.




Artwork






On Neopets


Pet Backstory: For a long time, I tried to keep a "duplicate species clause" with my pets, where I aimed to try not to own two of the same species. That ended when I ended up with two UC Darigan Eyries. However, after some time, I lost inspiration with the other Eyrie, and with a heavy heart, I traded them away to a friend, in hopes of sparking some more inspiration.

I originally aimed to try and get a RW name to match Slumber (see Aware) but I ended up being offered an exceptionally well-named Lenny, Otaye. Although he was uncapped, it didn't bother me at all, and infact, made it even more difficult for me to decline, even if I was overoffering by the PC's standards. After mulling it over, I found that there were some plot gaps in the story that I could have him fill in. Namely: who was responsible for several important characters' disappearances leading up to the Second Demon War (and Ishi's re-emergence), and who led the organization behind Decree's project. Although the latter did not necessarily need a name attached to it, I felt that having one be more involved with it could bring Decree's character into a more relevant light (since I felt that that set of characters - Decree/KL/Ness - were a bit neglected in the scope of the big story).

Otaye's quad design is based on a secretary bird, while his normal, extravagant human design is based more on a peafowl. His whole character idea revolved around the whole cool, calculated glasses-character stereotype. In order for him to connect with the disappearances, I made him a master of realms, which also allowed me to potentially use this as a link to the imprisonment of the gods of time. All-in-all, I felt that this character simply fell into place quite easily, and I was very happy with the idea of another evil birb for my flock.




click to continue

previous next







The Demon God










lookup

That's the price you pay
Leave behind your heart and cast away
Just another product of today
Rather be the hunter than the prey

And you're standing on the edge face up
Cause you're a natural

Natural - Imagine Dragons


Content Warning: Some potentially disturbing themes and imagery (insanity, eldritch/Lovecraftian horror)





Biography


Full Name: Demon God Ishi
Alias: Ishi
Age: At time of last sealing, about 130 years
Species: Existence (humanoid)
Gender: Non-binary (they/them)
Eye Color: Gold
Hair Color: Crimson red, black streaks
Alignment: Chaotic evil
Likes:Insanity, being alone, innocent souls, destruction, mind games
Dislikes: Any being they cannot communicate with, being pestered, meddling time gods, rune magic, uncertainty



Soul Emblem Type: Insanity
















Ishi's normal form displays red hair with several silver strands between the large ears and horns. They wear a tattered black cape (always worn) with eyes embedded throughout, and a similar coat with more pronounced trails, each with an eye as well. Tendrils are attached from their neck to their wrists (palm side) and around to the back spine, and pointed appendages where the feet would be. Underneath the cloak, they wear armor-like protective wear while keeping them fairly agile. Ishi does not utilize any specific weapons, rather preferring to use their soul energy powers and their signature Insanity aura.

When Ishi was a mercenary, prior to their transformation into the demon god and acquisition of their current powers, they prominently used ranged weapons (like ancient artillery) or hand-to-hand combat, specializing in martial arts and unarmed blows. Ishi dressed in very basic attire featuring dark colors, although they still wore a hooded cloak.

















Ishi's plan focused on absolute domination and control, and their entire motto revolved around gathering the most power possible in order to become unchallengable. They reveled in chaos and destruction, and was filled with selfish greed through-and-through (enough for even the realm-shifters of the past to label them as the Aspect of Greed). They cared very little for the plights and lives of others, but understands that humans would devote an extraordinary amount of themselves for just a taste of similar power... and so, they took advantage of them to the fullest. One prime example of this was Actu, who was driven mad with devotion when he was invited with the promise of the knowledge he sought, and further recruited into Ishi's darkest plans of soul weapon creation with the gift of Kai's powers.

Their original transformation as the demon god stemmed from greed as well, realizing the potency of soul energy. They fell down a similar path to Kai, the Raven God, taking soul energy from the dying, however, Ishi sought out this power more readily. At first, they only took from the ones who they were paid to eliminate (such as from mercenary contracts) but they soon began to delve deeper into taking the souls of the innocent. This delved into a rapid spiral until they acquired enough soul energy to rival some of the most powerful soul energy users on Aethar at the time, made even more powerful with the capture and siphoning of the Raven God's power.

Ishi's primary struggle is their unstable nature, and overwhelming obsession with wanting to eliminate all uncertainty and unknowns. Even with as much power as they held, they were extremely reclusive and secretive, only coming out of hiding once they had ensured that their plans were not going to be disturbed. After the demon god's first release from their prison (with the help of a dastardly weapons company CEO) they hid in seclusion in order to recover their strength and regather their numbers, and only revealed themselves once they were able to trap their biggest targets.















Ishi's signature Insanity aura permeates like an invisible gas, which grows stronger with proximity. Those that have already devoted their mind to Ishi become more under their control, enough that their devotion grows beyond any sort of fanaticism. Their aura seeps into the minds of the unguarded, deteriorating reason and driving them insane enough to do irrational and reckless things, essentially amplifying the victim's darkest emotions. This was especially clear during the First and Second Demon Wars, as destruction in the cities spread like a wildfire. Even the Lord of the Abyss was driven to insanity, attempting to activate their suppressed destructive urges, which was stopped by Drak, just in time to prevent Aethar's full destruction.

Although they prefer to avoid direct combat, they're able to utilize their soul energy much like other powerful soul energy users, granting flight and supernatural strength and reflexes. They are very sk.illful in close, hand-to-hand combat, harkening back to their mercenary days, and is an excellent sharpshooter and sniper as well. They also took advantage of larger military-scale weapons during their conquest attempts, although Ishi did not prefer to use these personally.









Place of residence


Situated in the southern corner of Aethar, Victareon (along with the sister city, Vecuna) are strong, highly developed cities known for their powerful military forces. The law was strict, but order was maintained, and many of the individuals here were trained for war in some way. Mercenary work is common here as well (usually to be sent overseas), and is where Ishi first gained their reputation. As the third-largest city on Aethar, magic (in the form of soul energy) is not unheard of, but is often tossed aside in favor of readily-available technological weapons.

Ishi grew up on the streets of Victareon, abandoned while young, so they learned to depend only on themselves, only going so far as to collaborate with others for their own gains. During the First and Second Demon War, their deep knowledge of the city allowed for them to turn their military against them (through sabotage and betrayal), preventing any organization to take control of the situation to re-establish peace efficiently.

Occupation


While Ishi was a demon god, they prominently worked on building up their empire and discovering new ways to overthrow and conquer their enemies, and often dealt specifically with officials to get what they wanted (usually through some form of mild mind control due to the aura). They hyperfixated on much of this in order to eliminate any "uncertainties" in their plans, leaving almost no time for traditional hobbies. This included recruiting faithful followers to their cult, ensuring that the armory and soul weapon creation was going as planned, and collecting information through their vast, underground network on their primary targets - namely, powerful individuals like Drak, Sen, and Ili.














Kai


Of all of the numerous powerful entities that Ishi determined was the most dangerous to their plans, the Eternal Raven was the highest on the list. As the demon god began to plan for their ascension to pure world domination, they were able to lure Kai into a trap by faking their death, and shrouding and twisting his visions of the future. Kai remained chained at the center of the demon god's fortress, where his blood was drained to make powerful weapons that fueled Ishi's war machine. Most notably, the raven's two eyes were taken from their sockets and fashioned into artifacts, and the time god was forever blinded. After the First War, Kai was freed... but it was too late to recover his sanity, and his desire for vengeance became insatiable.

Actu


As Actu began to learn and practice the forgotten art of runecasting, Ishi quietly recruited the curious adept into their ranks. Actu's runes were crucial in the demon god's plan to capture Kai, and Actu quickly grew in power within their growing army. The crocodilian's expertise in runecasting also made it possible to craft magical weapons, and in return, he was given access to ancient texts and knowledge on runes to fill his curiosity. Ishi's madness seeped into him as well, but his life was spared by Sen and Ishi in the aftermath of the First Demon War, his memory of serving the demon god wiped away from his mind.

Mourn


Mourn observed from the stars as Ishi began to grow unstable, and he grew worried that Ishi would eventually come to destroy Aethar. The time god of memories asked Kai to gaze into the future to try and find an outcome where Aethar would not perish... and only found one. Mourn took the burden upon himself, he intervened in a critical moment when Ishi first began to contemplate their plans. A sign: a lone flower, in the midst of a snow-covered land. After decades of solitude after seeing the consequences of what he had done - and losing his best friend to the insanity - Mourn was finally able to find some peace by assisting Drak, Sen, and Ili in defeating Ishi at the end of the Second Demon War, marked by a yellow seal surrounded by magenta-colored flowers.

❝ Could I have wished to save you somehow? Perhaps... but I no longer know if all souls are capable of being saved. This was the path you ultimately chose. ❞




Artwork






On Neopets


Pet Backstory: At some time when I was pet trading, I owned the pet Kishin, based on Kishin Asura from Soul Eater. His character seeped into my story as the main antagonist, but I eventually slowly moved away from complete fanpets in my canon story. I did keep much of his influence in the story, however, in the form of Ishi, who had a more distinct and original design (though still very much inspired by the original).

For some time, I didn't have a pet dedicated to "house" the character of Ishi, because I felt that it was okay to keep them as a character that just existed in the story. In 2022, I was able to welcome home Madness, who was a perfect fit to the character, and the NC UCs (pet styles) were just over the horizon. I developed them as my original ultimate unobtainable dream pet, a UC Darigan Draik, and they cemented their role and spot in my Neopets family.




click to continue

previous







The Runecarver










lookup

No, this is not the end
It's the beginning of our story
Tales of wonder and of glory
Where we would save the world again.

This is Not the End - Aviators





Biography


Full Name: Ziron Runecarver (long-forgotten)
Alias: Zero
Age: At time of death, several thousands
Species: Anti-existence (human)
Gender: Male
Eye Color: Red
Hair Color: Dark gray; glows yellow
Alignment: Neutral Good
Likes: Tinkering, soul energy research, libraries, innovations, jacket capes
Dislikes: Freezing cold, boredom, prison cells, unexpected complications, those who abuse his research and work



Soul Emblem Type: Rune
















Zero's attire in his humanoid form (his default form) is mostly highlighted by his signature jacket-cloak, long sleeves trailing with the yellow highlights of his rune magic aesthetic. He wears normal leather-like clothing and accessories underneath, with two holsters for the two tablets that he uses to channel his energy. He is often seen with metallic gloves, etched with runic veins. Two pairs of glowing yellow horns, one set more prominent than the other, adorn his gray-colored hair, framing his face accented with his deep red eyes.

His dragon form has darker plates on his chest and legs, and are "armored" and rocky; the chest plates split in the center. He boasts an inner jaw with a larger armored jaw covering over. Similar to his human form, all rune trails glow yellow, as do his eyes. Each eye has a rune trail (bottom-most) that is long and exaggerated; the other rune trails connected to the eyes are positioned like horns. One tablet is attached to each wing, with a few pieces of smaller rubble.

















As an inventor, Zero's greatest ambitions surrounded around his discoveries. He was proud and wanted to be renown for his rune magic, and he shared the most useful pieces of his knowledge to the other inhabitants of Vesulo to create helpful tools and trinkets. Zero, however, focused much of his actual tinkering on technologies that would assist Verity's greatest goal of overthrowing the Shadow King. Although no one was able to reach his level at the time he was alive, he kept a lot of the knowledge of rune magic that directly related to soul energy power to only a select few in Verity, in concern that others may take this knowledge and upset the balance that the anti-existence are built upon.

Zero especially held Drak on high regard, and wanted the most to help him eventually become the new ruler of the anti-existence after ending the Shadow King's reign. He created trinkets especially for him, including a collar that allowed Drak to telepathically communicate with Zero (similar to how he communicates with Cer in the present time), lessening his need to write and use his illusions to communicate.

Although his eagerness and stubbornness occasionally gets the best of him at times, his biggest downfall was his chronic illness. Almost like a ticking timer, he could sense the number of days he had left. For centuries, he was able to extend this and delay it, but he knew it was not a permanent solution. He spent a not-insignificant amount of time attempting to cure this with his research, but it was secondary to his other discoveries. In the very end, although he knew he still had time left - although very little - he fought to the death and sacrificed himself to ensure his final, ultimate plan succeeded - and it did.















Zero was the pioneer in discovering rune magic, his trademark. This was a scientific, methodological way to harness and infuse oneself with soul energy, something that was nearly unheard of. While his trinkets and armor were able to much more easily capture and utilize soul energy in a more straightforward way, the peak of his research involved rune magic on living beings, using himself as a test subject. He was able to extend his life multiple times through rune magic, just like how large amounts of other forms of innate soul energy would as well. He kept much of this knowledge to himself at first, his theories written only in his most well-kept notebook that not even Drak would have had full access to. He was proud of this research, and his numerous inventions and ideas were used throughout his life as he helped the revolution in Ordeal.

Despite his testing and best efforts, he was unable to cure his chronic and eventually fatal illness. By the time he breathed his last breath, he was one of the most powerful soul energy users in Ordeal, and he was unparalleled in his rune magic, especially in the form of setting traps, as siege weapons, and equipping the army that eventually stormed and took over the Shadow King's castle. His fighting style was also very practiced, a war mage that was able to utilize the various runes carved onto him to attack and defend.









Place of residence


Vesulo is the most technologically advanced city/settlement in Ordeal, and the inhabitants there foster creativity and innovation. This was where Zero spent much of his time, researching in his own abode. Like many other artificers and tinkerers, he took much inspiration from others, and shared his thoughts, but his prime breakthrough was discovering and truly mastering rune magic. After his discovery, others began to slowly pick up his research, allowing his discoveries to survive. He was recruited by Drak and Imp into Verity, and he left Vesulo to journey with them as the revolution traveled across Ordeal.

Occupation


Research takes up much of his time, as he spends it either tinkering, experimenting (either in his workshop or out in the field), and exploring to uncover new ideas for his line of study. Much of the experimentation is trial and error, which take either trial or sacrifices in the form of injuries or pain. He would never risk another life, however, ensuring that he would only risk his own if the magic protocol would come close to it. He is extremely diligent, often chasing a theory to a lengthy end.














Drak


Drak was the individual that he was devoted to helping the most, as the three of them (along with Impernion) consisted of the leaders of the resistance group, Verity. Zero was not as powerful and talented in battle, so he relied on Drak's expertise while Drak relied on Zero's plans. He put all of his faith in Drak to complete the group's final goal, and although Drak was somewhat aware of Zero's illness, he was never told how dire it was, until the very end. After the Shadow King's fall and the existence wipe, Zero's sacrifice was also erased from history, but his devotion and efforts made an everlasting impact. Many years after, Drak uncovered a message from Zero, though his memories did not return to him in full, granting him a parting gift in the form of his finished research: a way to (theoretically) infinitely extend a human's life.

Chrono


Chrono was his one and only apprentice, who took upon to help him in his research and theories. Like Zero, he honed his soul energy on Rune energy, and approached a similar theory to his mentor's, though focused more on time magic. He held the key to Zero's laboratory through Zero's final moments and the events that followed, though the memories with his mentor was hazy, due to Keio's existence wipe.

❝ Though the world may not remember... your sacrifice was not in vain. ❞




Artwork






On Neopets


Pet Backstory: When I traded away the RW that originally held the character for Dyserve, I got into at the time what was considered fairly "high" tier trading. I participated in a few Pet Trading Shuffles and was casually looking for a RW to fit a vague character concept that I had in mind at the time: it was a character that was specifically tied to Drak's past, and no longer "existed" in the current timeline. However, the character still held an important role in the overall story, so I felt that it would be fun to have a pet dedicated to him, and I could eventually splurge on the Pet Style for a UC/Nostalgic Darigan Krawk, which was a pet that I had really liked for a while. I had recently traded for Madness, and Sanity was also up for trade. I chased after Sanity for a while, until I was finally able to work out a three-way trade, and I was absolutely thrilled to have another RW pair. Zero's design and character were developed further through a guild petpage bootcamp event, and his design (especially his quad design) became one of my favorites to draw.








Glossary of Terms

➤ Soul Energy: The form of "power" in this universe, it can be utilized in various functions, such as to cast "magic", amplify physical combat capabilities, and affect emotions and thoughts. Soul energy users also tend to have longer lifespans, as it counters natural aging. Comes in various forms ("types"), and is most effectively channeled through metal.

➤ Aethar: The primary world in which the story takes place; an Earth-like planet with modern technological developments, including the internet. Several developed cities with unique cultures, largely at peace. Many traits are similar to Earth, and contain humans and animals alike. Magic (soul energy use) is rare, but not unheard of.

➤ Surface Realm: Often used interchangeably with Aethar, but it also contains the surrounding galaxies. Its opposite is the Anti-Existence Realm.

➤ Existence: A normal individual born or created on the surface realm (which includes Aethar). This also includes all creatures and animals.

➤ Ordeal / Anti-Existence Realm: The "underworld" of the story, which is a realm/world with a landscape filled with dark purple, flesh-like structures and bone, although most are as tough as minerals and rocks are like on Aethar. Anti-existence inhabitants are created or formed here. Pink oceans and rivers of Vior are scattered across the land. Raw Entropy soul energy is visible in the sky.

➤ Anti-Existence: An individual that primarily resides in the Ordeal, and is created in one of two ways. The most common anti-existence are created by the world soul Dea, and are typically weaker. Anti-existence can also be formed from coalescing soul energy mirroring a powerful soul energy user in the Existence realm, creating a Soul Link between the two individuals. Most anti-existence are capable of independent thought, but size and shape can vary dramatically.

➤ Soul Link: A link that connects a soul energy user on the Existence Realm with one that was created to mirror them in the Anti-Existence Realm, as a result of the pact that created the Ordeal. Only when an individual in the Existence Realm acquires enough soul energy power does the possibility of a Soul Linked individual arise, and not all users in the Existence Realm have an anti-existence counterpart. Power levels are mirrored, as well as large-scale changes such as major injuries. The end of one is the end of the other, and links cannot typically be severed by any means (only one exception has occurred).

➤ Verinu: The original, primordial beings that inhabited the universe at its beginnings. They are the only individuals capable of wielding Origin soul energy, and are always very powerful soul energy users, as they survived the harsh environment of unstable wildspace. Notable Verinu in the story are Keio and Dea (who agreed to a pact connecting Dea and Eche together as mirroring realms). Direct Verinu descendents (such as Otaye) are also able to utilize Origin soul energy to a lesser extent.

➤ World Soul: A being that inhabits and acts as the soul energy "core" to the world or realm. Aether's world soul is Eche, as the anti-existence realm's is Dea. The two are also linked in a special Soul Link in which massive-scale destruction or modifications to one are mirrored in the other. The world soul is directly able to control natural structures rooted on their surfaces, but is limited in their range of sensing what happens. When a living individual dies, their soul energy is naturally reabsorbed into the world soul.

➤ Time Gods: The two immortal time gods, Kai and Mourn, came into being alongside the Verinu, but they were born with the burden and power to oversee the timeline. Kai watches the future, as Mourn observes the past. The two time gods did not meddle with the inhabitants of Aethar at first, but took special interest in the world as it developed. Kai fell from grace when he abused his power to take soul energy from the dying.

➤ Non-Existence: This title refers to Keio, the previous "Shadow King" of the Ordeal. During the revolution that overthrew his rule, he "wiped" his existence from both realms, permanently shifting the timeline and removing his "existence" from the flow. Specifically for the anti-existence involved with Keio, this essentially resulted in a memory reset regarding Keio, and Drak became the original and only ruler of the realm. In his new, fractured form, he continues to flicker into existence, but as a complete anomaly, only allowing select individuals to retain memory of him.

➤ Co-Existence: This title refers to Rain, who is an artificially created being combining the essence of an anti-existence and existence, who are typically never capable of being hybridized. As a result, her physical form is fairly unstable.

➤ The Seven Aspects: In the ancient past, the Aspects were powerful beings that the realm-shifters (Otaye) looked up to (some, worshipped) as they traversed through the cosmic realms of existence. Although they recognize that there are other beings out there that may be more powerful (and ancient) than them, they were designated based on their powers and their personalities. See below for more details.

➤ Vior: The light pink liquid that comprises the main standing "water" in the Ordeal. As raw Entropy soul energy often seeps into the Vior, it has innate healing properties, and certain locations around the Ordeal contain notably potent Vior.

➤ The Shroud: The outer borders of the Ordeal, furthest away from the central capital city of Drakar. Often obscured by clouds and storms. More dangerous feral anti-existence beasts reside in the Shroud, and there are rarely any permanent settlements, with several nomadic groups forming the primary inhabitants of the Shroud.

➤ Soul Emblem: A soul energy user's unique "profile" of their soul energy, manifesting the form in which their soul energy appears internally, although it may not always match their outward appearance. Summoning one's Soul Emblem puts their soul energy on full display, completely vulnerable, but it can be used to connect directly to another soul energy user. It always takes the form of a silvery diamond prism, marked with the soul energy of the one who summoned it.

➤ Soul Weapon: Weapons that are infused with some level of soul energy or capabilities to channel soul energy. Notable named Soul Weapons of history are Soulfear (held by Sevre) and Voidheart (held by Chrono). Drak's sword is a specially created soul weapon that was forged separately, and several other soul energy users use some form of metal weapon to channel their soul energy.

➤ Artifacts: Specifically used to refer to the Eye of Clarity and Eye of Foresight, two powerful artificial eyes that are currently in the possession of Cer. Although knowledge of their existence is fairly well-hidden to the public, those keen enough to realize the Artifacts' potential seek to obtain them.

➤ Soul Resonance: Not to be confused with Soul Links. The level of sync that two soul energy users (or two individuals in general) display regarding sharing or linking soul energy. This is an abstract measure of effectiveness and can also vary from time-to-time between two specific individuals, and does not affect outward emotions.

➤ Common: The universal language spoken on Aethar. Other languages and dialects do exist but on a much narrower scale. Written, it is displayed with letters of an alphabet.

➤ Pyre: The universal language spoken on the Ordeal between anti-existence. Written, it is displayed in a series of glyphs or runes (although written Pyre in the Ordeal is much less prominent compared to written Common on Aethar).


Soul Energy Types

Entropy (light blue): The most common soul energy type, as it is soul energy in its purest form, and can be seen freely drifting in the Ordeal's atmosphere, like an aurora. Entropy soul energy, as the name suggests, is flexible and unstable, and can be melded for multiple uses by various users. Its most recognizable form is a wispy, light blue.

Essence (green): "Life energy", or simply, the world soul of Aethar, Eche's, form of soul energy. All life born on Aethar contain some amount of Essence energy, although only specialized users can take advantage of their own (or others'). There may be certain factors that amplify or modify Essence energy to make a user more powerful. Its most recognizable form is a lightning green.

Death (orange): The raven god Kai's specialized soul energy, which has been spread and manifested in the soul energy weapons crafted during the First Demon War by the demon god Ishi. Death soul energy is a version of cursed, corrupted Essence soul energy, and therefore actively counteracts against most other types of soul energy like a poison. Its most recognizable form is a thin branching, vein-like orange.

Insanity (red): The demon god Ishi's specialized soul energy. Different from Death soul energy in the sense that it is not a specifically corrupted form of soul energy, but rather is a completely different aura created from the demon god's own twisted emotions and power. Those that are afflicted with this or carry this aura in some way typically display symptoms of insanity. Its most recognizable form is a faint mist-like red.

Rune (yellow): A special form of soul energy that draws from methodology (and a sufficient power source) instead of specifically one's own soul energy reserve. Although a Rune soul energy user can use their own soul energy, it does not require it, as the way the runes are drawn determine its effect and potency. Created by the Runecarver, Zero, but his research was scattered through time, leaving only specialized users to pass on its methods. Its most recognizable form is a cra.cked yellow, often with light beams emanating from an active rune.

Origin (white): Soul energy in its most primal form, only usable by Verinu (and direct descendants), as it instantly transforms into Entropy energy if transferred. Origin soul energy is the collected form of the untamed soul energy of the universe's beginnings. It does not display a specifically recognizable form aside from being a pure white, as it combines and supplements a secondary soul energy type.

Creation (light purple): This is the spark of soul energy for most anti-existence, as this is the world soul of the Ordeal, Dea's, form of soul energy. However, very few are able to actually wield Creation energy as it is often transformed to a different type (usually Entropy) within an individual if used. Drak is notably able to control this due to his connection to the world soul. Its most recognizable form is a fire-like light purple.

Void (black): The soul energy that resides in space in the form of black holes and similar anomalies, notably wielded by Sen, the Lord of the Abyss. Void soul energy is simultaneously the control of space and the power of destruction that comes from it. In its raw form, it is extremely volatile and causes an explosion in contact with any material surface, akin to antimatter. Its most recognizable form is a blob-like, inky black.

Memory (magenta): The Timeless One, Mourn's, specialized soul energy. He is the only individual capable of using this energy type, as it is formed from abstract, coalesced memories of the past. It is typically only visible to those that are involved with the memories associated with it, unless Mourn is using it to amplify his combat capabilities, where it appears visible to all. Although its most recognizable form is glowing magenta orbs, Mourn can spin this energy into a glowing thread.

Mist (dark purple): Specialized soul energy by the anti-existence Talor. Much like Insanity, it can permeate as a gas, and allows for Talor to directly influence or even manipulate the minds of those that are affected by it. When concentrated, its recognizable form is a smoky, cloudy dark unsaturated purple, but it can be hidden to be nearly invisible to most normal humans.



Miscellaneous Character Info



Character Height Chart!
(height displayed in feet)


Character Designations:
Gods (Immortal): Kai, Mourn
World Souls: Eche, Dea
Verinu (Mortal): Keio, Aupera, Siren
Powerful Mortals: Drak, Sen, Talor, Zero, Ishi, Otaye
Anomalies: Ili, Rain, KL, Avim, Chrono
Mortals (Soul-Energy Wielders): Cer, Sevre, Lily, Slumber, Aware, Actu, Gallow, Aster
Mortals (Non-Wielders): Decree, Ness

The Seven Aspects
as designated by the realm-shifters


By Order of Ascension


The Aspect of Sloth ➤ Mourn || Memory
Current Status: Alive

Mourn, the Timeless One, along with Kai, were the gods of time that were present since the beginning. As he watched the timeline, he hesitated to do anything unless it was a dire situation; when Kai fell to insanity, he fled, terrified. Regardless, his love for his fabled memories were legends to be told.

The Aspect of Wrath ➤ Kai || Death/(later, Insanity)
Current Status: Alive, Insane

Kai, the Eternal Raven, was gifted with the power of the future. As the grim reaper to the unfortunate inhabitants of Aethar, his wrath was not one of rage, but of vengeance. With the Demon Wars, he was captured and was driven to insanity... and his wrath intensified even more.

The Aspect of Envy ➤ Otaye || Void/Origin
Current Status: Alive

The Realm Master, Otaye, was envious of many things - the beautiful realms he visited, the magic and innovations he encountered, the stories that he witnessed. As one of the strongest realm-shifters, he also became the last, watching as the rest of his people fell... by his hands.

The Aspect of Gluttony ➤ Sen || Void
Current Status: Alive

Sen, a being made of pure dark matter, became known as the Lord of the Abyss as he devoured countless worlds in his course through the galaxies. Having sealed his power away when he descended onto Aethar, he no longer seeks to destroy, but sometimes instincts are hard to suppress...

The Aspect of Pride ➤ Drak || Entropy/Creation
Current Status: Alive

Drak ascended from the soul link of the realms of Aethar and Ordeal, when Sen grew into power. Although his title as the anti-existence king was only recent, his pride and charisma was what led to the fall of the Shadow King, and his claim to the throne.

The Aspect of Lust ➤ Zero || Rune
Current Status: Deceased

Although he was always known to the anti-existence as the Runecarver for his discovery of rune magic, his real name had always been shrouded in mystery. Zero held undying loyalty towards his beloved, even to his death, in order to allow him to ascend to the throne.

The Aspect of Greed ➤Ishi || Insanity
Current Status: Deceased

Ishi the Demon God, the last of the Aspects to ascend, was the epitome of chaos and insanity. Their greed for soul energy was boundless and their power caused the First and Second Demon Wars. Even after their fall, the taints of their avarice remained.







back to intro











Main Characters


The Anti-Existence King

Soul Emblem Type: Entropy / Creation


The tensions evolving on the surface could be felt down into the anti-existence realm, and the inhabitants began to feel uneasy. Drak, the king of the anti-existence, could not bear to lurk around in his kingdom any longer, and he ventured onto Aethar to secure his own life. While completely mute, he is capable of projecting illusions (either towards a certain person or to everyone in close proximity), allowing him to blend into the crowd. Usually carefree and spontaneous, he is followed by the immensely loyal Cer, who also acts as his voice.

He is also the anti-existence of none other than the Lord of the Abyss himself, which means that his power rivals his counterpart's, although the sword on his chest acts as a restrictor much like Sen's container on his arm.

Drak is a pacifist and would rather flee than fight, primarily utilizing his speed and illusions to gain distance. Only a few have witnessed him fire his weapon or unsheath the sword from his chest, but in the dire situations that he fears the most, Drak demonstrates why he is crowned a king.
➤ full profile ➤ lookup

The Watcher

Soul Emblem Type: Entropy


In the past, Cer was nothing but an ordinary surgeon with a strong fascination for acquiring knowledge beyond his specialization. He was especially intrigued with the lore revolving around anti-existence. This fascination eventually turned into a dangerous addiction, however, as he began to step into dark territories to acquire more information. In an unfortunate accident, he was led into a lethal trap, only to be saved by a certain individual before he was knocked unconscious during the escape.

He was then transported to an unknown laboratory where experiments were prepared to be performed on him. After a brutal and scarring night, his human eyes were replaced with two artifacts: the Eye of Foresight on his left, and the Eye of Clarity on his right, which allowed him to read a certain distance in the future and the read the mind of individuals, respectively.

For saving his life, however, he devoted his loyalty to Drak and became a valuable asset in his escapes. Using the Eye of Clarity, he is able to communicate with Drak through telepathy. There is also implication that the anti-existence king intends to do something much grander with Cer's abilities.

He absolutely hates pain, and fears it immensely (an unfortunate side effect to being able to predict future pain).
➤ full profile ➤ lookup

The Lord of the Abyss

Soul Emblem Type: Void


The Master of Darkness. The Void of Worlds. The Lord of the Abyss. Those were the names given to the being known as Sen. He drifted from galaxy to galaxy, consuming and destroying worlds, for that was what he believed to be his purpose. Suddenly, he descended to the human world, Aethar, and locked his immense power in his left arm, further secured by a huge metal cylinder with a strange lock. He claims to be searching for something very dear to him.

Although he has locked his power away somewhat, he still craves deeply for destruction and struggles constantly to keep himself from releasing that instinct. Due to this he is fairly vulnerable to the Insanity, which he is also aiming to eradicate.

Drak is Sen's anti-existence counterpart and primary check to his power. They hold a distrustful relationship but are obligated to protect each other, since the fall of one would mean the end of the other.

Sen is very strategic and enjoys battling. Even without his dark matter powers, he is extremely capable in battle and rarely loses.
➤ full profile ➤ lookup

The Eternal Raven

Soul Emblem Type: Insanity / Death


Kai was a powerful and cunning raven god gifted with the control over the domain of time, particularly the future. As he watched the timelines, he foresaw the deaths of many powerful beings, appearing before them shortly before their fall. Initially labeled as a doombringer, his true motive soon became clear: to absorb as much energy as he could from their fresh carcasses. His growing power, however, could not stop him from being captured by the demon god, who was able to distort his visions.

Kai's blood and energy was drained from him by the demon god's army, his wings clipped, his eyes extracted, and his body chained to the ground. With the eventual fall of the empire, he managed to escape -- with what little power he had left -- to a dark and secluded future.

However, he was ultimately unable to escape the demon god's influence, and he eventually fell to the insanity, returning with an insatiable desire of the complete annihilation of the mortal world, fueled by his vengeance and fear of the past.
➤ full profile ➤ lookup

The Timeless One

Soul Emblem Type: Memory


Mourn, the god of fate and destiny, while watching over Aethar and the primary timeline, realized that a certain unstable individual was becoming exceedingly dangerous and would soon doom the world in total destruction. Mourn dove into the past and intervened in what he thought was the right moment, showing this individual a mere glimpse of what was to come, in the form of a symbolic flower. He felt the timeline shift; Mourn succeeded in averting the planet's quick demise. However, his intervention also gave birth to the demon god, which eventually rose to corrupt the eternal raven, his one and only friend.

He quickly fled, unable to face the consequences of his actions. Peering from the shadows, he watched as the mortals fought relentlessly against those that wish to threaten the peace of their world, including the vengeful raven god. Kai was too far gone to be saved, but Mourn could not let these fates, these stories, and these memories disappear.

No more running away. Drained by the shadowy nightmares spawned from his interference on the timeline, he had lost the power to face Kai alone. However, he was the only one that could seal his fate and stop him for good.

So the world may see another morn'.
➤ full profile ➤ lookup

The Void Star

Soul Emblem Type: Mist


Talor became a pop star sensation overnight, captivating his fans and supporters with his charm and lyrics. A lover of attention, his concerts are always packed to the brim with undying fanatics, the most enthusiastic crowds that Aethar has ever seen.

By day, he is actually the charismatic and devious CEO of the largest private military corporation in Aethar, Abyssic, holding a very powerful and influential position. He shrouded his past in mystery and focused on the future: one where chaos reigns, and Aethar has collapsed into an all-out war. And war is profitable.

Bypassing every safeguard that Ili set up, Talor successfully released the demon god from their prison, allowing the Insanity to spread once more. Even after the demon god's fall, he was convinced that all will go according to plan. His special ability involves control of the "Mist", a potent hallucinogen and willbreaker, which is also capable of asphyxiation. He utilizes the Mist to his advantage, "convincing" investors and partners... and trapping all of his fans in his uncontrollable craze. The void star will rise.
➤ full profile ➤ lookup

The Co-Existence

Soul Emblem Type: Essence


Rain was the most recent and most successful experiment created to achieve one goal: hunt and slay all traces of anti-existence in Aethar, including the king himself. As a result of the experiments, her DNA became extremely unstable and she periodically shifts forms entirely. Her programmed motive, however, remained throughout.

When Rain finally was able to find and confront Drak, her primary target, she was ultimately unable to overpower him. Grinning, Drak admitted that he was the one that secretly drove those experiments. Rain's original program collapsed, and the ruler seized the opportunity to activate the secondary program hidden from the scientists in the laboratory: to follow its creator willingly and loyally.

Rain's power grows steadily over time, as a result of constant mutations within her body that allows her to overcome previous weaknesses. She is able to communicate with broken speech.
➤ full profile ➤ lookup

The Non-Existence

Soul Emblem Type: (Corrupted) Entropy / Origin


Flickering in and out of existence seemingly at random, both the existence and anti-existence realm have failed to claim this strange individual, and thus he became known as the non-existence. No one knows where he came from or what his motive is. A dense fog blankets the area accompanying his appearance, and he is known to be extremely dangerous.

Attached to his weapon is a cage holding a pitch black bird, which is more than capable of escaping from the cage on its own. The bird also seems to be a non-existence, as it also tends to vanish from existence from time to time, although at a lesser frequency than its master.

Keio is often found bearing a sinister grin, yet always seemingly devoid of any emotion or remorse. He rarely speaks, and only speaks in two to four word responses, however he is shown to be extremely intelligent and knowledgeable; how he obtained this information is unknown.

When he vanishes out of existence, many normal individuals fail to recall him at all. However, there are certain beings that are capable of retaining memory of him.
➤ full profile ➤ lookup

The Knight of Justice

Soul Emblem Type: Essence


Decree (or Desiree, her given name) was an extremely proficient government security agent – a programmer, to be exact – that was given the responsibility of leading the search team to find and eliminate KL. After an unfortunate accident that caused her to lose her life, her conscious was uploaded quite similarly to the way KL's was done; however, instead of uploading her to a server to roam the network, her superiors implanted her into a giant robot body, making up its programming. She was the first of a secret project to "revive" soldiers, which she was extremely opposed to. As Desiree quickly found out, she is actually at the mercy of her superiors because she fears she could potentially be trapped in this physical body, leading her conscious stuck inside to go insane.

They nicknamed her Decree and commissioned her to continue her hunt for KL. Decree accepted this, but on the secret intention to find out from KL more about his technology in order to counteract this soldier creation and moreso to find a way to free herself from this cursed robot body.

She fiercely adheres to her sense of justice, however she feels that as long as the ends justifies the means, that certain measures can and must be taken. She values life (especially since hers was taken away from her) and loathes taking lives; she would only do so if it is absolutely necessary for the success of the mission.
➤ full profile ➤ lookup

The Immortal Hacker

Soul Emblem Type: Essence


KL has always been feared as a very proficient hacker capable of bypassing even the tightest of digital security from his small home town. He acts only for profit and interest and has no allegiances, specializing in information. Over the years, he gathered wealth and assets to protect his true identity. Extremely proud of himself and his accomplishments, he also worked on a revolutionary project to upload his consciousness on the Internet, forever preserving his brilliance.

However, while he was in the process of doing so, an earthquake struck his home, and his parents, fearing for their son's life, extracted him from the apparatus and they fled the collapsing structure. As it turned out, the project was only partially successful: KL found that he now exists as a virtual entity, capable of manipulating code and doing everything he was capable of before and more, however, at the cost of his human body. His human body was moved to a hospital where it fell into a comatose state with no signs of awakening. He claims that this was because of his parents' intervention.

KL holds a deep rivalry with government agent Decree, who is also in a similar metaphysical state. His brother still looks up to him and wishes to return to the days before the incident.
➤ full profile ➤ lookup

The Innocent Plague

Soul Emblem Type: Essence / Insanity


Ness always loved the sound of the heartbeat. It was a soothing rhythm for him, and it seems to be one of the only things that still keeps him sane. Unfortunately, he lacks one himself, and therefore he is always hoping to be able to hear one through the pair of headsets he always carries around, which also function as a stethoscope. He strongly believes that he is not dead, since he doesn't recall his own death.

However, he is an extremely fearful and easily terrified individual, mostly because of the fact that his body houses a flesh-consuming disease known as the Contagion. Simply being in the presence of others puts them in perpetual danger, and so he became extremely excluded and shy. As a child, he depended a lot on his older brother, KL. After his older brother's transformation and abandonment of his younger brother, Ness believed he lost that sense of security and he became unstable as a result, further instigated by the Contagion within his body, preventing him from falling back on the heartbeat sound he so cherishes.
➤ full profile ➤ lookup

The Ringmaster

Soul Emblem Type: Rune


Within only a few years, Actu became widely renowned for his eccentric passion: running and traveling with a circus of mutants, murderers, and otherworldly beings. How he keeps this menagerie in check is a mystery, but he has been able to boast that no unintentional deaths have occurred during his shows. He has an incredible stage presence, with a charismatic voice and an unforgettable appearance as a crocodilian-humanoid ringmaster.

While his audience can remember him fondly after the show, Actu suffers from anterograde amnesia, or short-term memory loss. Much of his memory, like his routines and his past before the incident, however, is secured. He is fairly carefree and sympathetic, loves speaking in rhyme, and has a deep fascination with eyes (he owns an extensive personal collection of them). He also seems to be well-versed in weapons related to soul energy.

It has been discovered that there is a considerable time span in his past that is missing from his memory, some of which involves his two most powerful creations, Voidheart and Soulfear.
➤ full profile ➤ lookup

The Soul Dealer

Soul Emblem Type: Death


In the distant past, Sevre was none other than the shadow king's right-hand man, and most valuable soldier. He held the unique power to "transfer" his existence, allowing him to survive the fated battle involving the fall of the king. In time, he came to inhabit the body of an innocent university college student, who would merely experience amnesiac spells while his alternate self was active. This allowed his existence to stay hidden, avoiding the prying eyes of beings like the Observer, while he watched in the shadows when the demon god was revived.

While he shared the body with this student, he acquired Soulfear, a powerful weapon capable of storing souls and calling them out in the form of summons, and the sister weapon to Voidheart. He became notorious as the Soul Dealer, involved with selling and lending souls as mercenaries.

However, it turned out to be his weakness, as he was led into the trap of a certain trickster human, and was forced to inhabit his body to avoid his death. In this new body, he begins to set his plans into motion, in order to bring his king back to his former glory. He only had to take out the current one.
➤ full profile ➤ lookup

The Observer

Soul Emblem Type: Entropy / Rune


Ili is a logical, emotionless celestial being concerned mostly about the stability and state of the surface and anti-existence realms. He mostly plays as the observer from afar, however, he will not hesitate to intervene if an event (or, in some cases, an individual or group) threatens the large-scope well-being of the realm. He works closely with the Lord of the Abyss in order to maintain that order; although Sen still acts very much so on his own accord, he still agrees to assist in most scenarios.

His specialty is sealing magic, but he requires assistance from more powerful beings, like Sen and Mourn, in order to perform more complex sealing rituals, such as sealing away the demon god. He strives for order, and detests anomalies like the non-existence.

He observes from the vacuum of space in order to prevent damage to his surroundings due to his unstable physical form. He fights very logically and calculates every move and shot he makes, even to the point of being able to calculate and adjust from the interference due to his physical state.
➤ full profile ➤ lookup

The Anti-Existence Realm

Soul Emblem Type: Creation / Origin


Dea, or Ordeal, is known as the soul of the anti-existence realm, who was linked to the "surface realm" world, Aethar, in the universe's early stages. The anti-existence realm is a cold, ruthless landscape made of flesh and bone, with towering spires and floating islands. As the protector and lawkeeper of the realm, Dea usually manifests as a smaller creature, but she is capable of controlling the rest of the realm like her own limbs.

Dea, despite being billions of years old, is very childish and playful. She also carries out judgments and punishments for invaders and criminals of the realm (often playfully, which, for the victims, turns out to be usually fatal). She always looks forward to Drak's return visits, as he always spends time to play with her.

She also capable of creating new bodies out of leftover flesh and attaching a very basic conscious into it (how most anti-existence are born), a process known as 'fleshweaving'.

Very few know how she became the anti-existence realm or how Drak met her. They hold a close relationship and she rarely listens to anyone else, much to the inhabitants' frustration.
➤ full profile ➤ lookup

The Surface World

Soul Emblem Type: Entropy / Essence


For billions of years, the soul of the surface world, Eche, slept and nourished the wildlife living on Aethar. However, with the rise of the demon god, the Insanity eventually seeped into his mind and disturbed his slumber. He fully awoke at last to find the world threatened by the raven god Kai, who vowed to eradicate all life.

With his awakening, Eche took the form of a great stag. He appreciates the beauty of nature and his mere presence causes flowers and trees to blossom. However, he cannot reflect his vision of beauty onto his own form, due to the influence of the Insanity. He fears a future with a desolate and lifeless world, and agreed to assist in the fight against what remains of the demon god.

He is the commander of four guardians and their armies, known as the Aethegard. Eche is a competent user of soul energy and enjoys the thrill of the hunt. He battles with the use of soul energy orbs, which act as shields or projectiles, however he will usually take great care in ensuring that his surroundings are not harmed. He is the existence counterpart of the soul of the anti-existence realm, Dea, and their link became the basis of all other soul links to follow.
➤ full profile ➤ lookup

The Spirit Healer

Soul Emblem Type: Entropy


In the distant past, Kalilita was part of a wandering group of nomads that traveled within the Shroud, the uncharted, dangerous outskirts of the anti-existence realm of Ordeal. One day, they met a powerful individual who requested for healing for one of his subjects at the brink of death. Kalilita stood up, with her experience with the nature of the realm, and her practice impressed the king. Out of curiosity, and a desire for a change of pace, she followed him back to the castle, where she was established as the Royal Healer.

One day, she was called from the anti-existence realm to assist Drak in the surface realm after a calamitous battle with the raven god. She was able to stabilize him, and was instantly captivated by the strange new world of Aethar. She became a photographer, absolutely enamored with the idea of pictures, and her quirky attitude and strange mask made her a social media celebrity.

Lily loves to travel, collect oversized stuffed animals, and discover new things regarding the humans, and she thinks that their culture is intriguing.
➤ full profile ➤ lookup

The Sleepwalker

Soul Emblem Type: Entropy / Essence


Once seemingly lost and wandering, Actu provided a home in his circus for a strange, drowsy individual known only as Slumber. Although he seemed to be in a state of perpetual sleep, he quickly proved that he possessed knowledge of very ancient and powerful magic, earning his nickname as the Sleepwalker. His animated plush companion, Ekrou, acts as his eyes, when needed. However, he refused to share any information on where he came from or what he seeks. His soft-spoken yet wise demeanor suggests that he may be much older than his young human form may imply.

He can occasionally be found in the small rural outskirts of Kazanti, where he operates as a local funeral director. Here, he continues the practices taught to him by his master, by leading the sleeping souls of the dead back to the world soul. He also has the power to sense emotion and even faint memories of these souls as well.

Like Aware, another ancient being, Slumber speaks a fairly old-fashioned tone. He seems to know a lot about Slumber's past, and especially regarding his lost master. What exactly does the past reveal about their futures?
➤ full profile ➤ lookup

The Death Scribe

Soul Emblem Type: Death / Essence


In ancient times, Aware was responsible for writing the elegies of the dead. These scripts were written with magical ink imbued with his personal, unique soul energy that allowed their souls to be associated to them, and were able to preserve the memories as their souls reconnected with the world soul. He worked closely with another scribe, a close friend of Slumber's master and teacher. The four of them were whispered in legends and tales around Kazanti for centuries, as the benevolent ferrymen of the dead.

As centuries passed, the group disintegrated, and Aware, who felt that he lost his family, traveled aimlessly around Aethar. He began to experiment with his powers out of curiosity, and found that he was able to reverse the flow and bring the dead back to life, until the next dawn. As word spread of his capabilities, he was commissioned by the underworld to bring prisoners and unfortunate henchmen back to life for their information. He began to understand what human nature had transformed into.

However, he didn't care what others wished to do. For as long as he can still write, let them be the entertainers.
➤ full profile ➤ lookup

The Realmkeeper

Soul Emblem Type: Void / Origin


When Talor found out that his safeguard had escaped, he reached out to contact an old friend. Otaye, who was busy managing the Department of Defense in Zephyr City as the Head of Security, offered to assist in the investigation, and found that it was his own project that led to the escape. He cleverly concealed this fact and offered to assist Talor more directly from then on, knowing full well of his true intentions and plans to set the world under fire.

Otaye manages a careful ruse of a regular politician and war general, meanwhile keeping healthy connections with the underworld. His powers are those of a realm-shifter, allowing him control (of various extents) of other realms of existence. With this, he has immense control over physical artillery, whether it is with maintaining his own pocket realms full of them, or sealing away others.

He enjoys high class and enjoys tea and luxurious outfits in the meantime. However, he loves nothing more than the peaceful ending of a cleanly swept battlefield, a beautiful painting in tribute to his own ambitions.
➤ full profile ➤ lookup

The Demon God

Soul Emblem Type: Insanity


The demon of chaos and insanity, driven to do anything to get their way, a soul that has left all remorse behind. Their greed for soul energy was boundless, and their stolen power manifested in a malicious aura of insanity, driving others around them to lose reason and become vulnerable to their control. Immediately surrounded by fanatics and the weak-minded, their influence spread throughout Aethar, seeping through the crevices of society.

Ishi's carefully planned domination was the cause of the First Demon War, which encompassed all of Aethar in desperate survival, and led to the capture and fall of the Raven God, Kai. They were sealed away at the end of the First War with the combined efforts of several powerful individuals, but was released by Talor only a few years later. They were finally resealed at the end of the Second War with the help of the god of memories, Mourn, after many sacrifices were made. Even after their fall, the taint of their avarice left the world forever changed.
➤ full profile ➤ lookup

The Runecarver

Soul Emblem Type: Rune


Zero (full name: unknown) is the primary inventor and armorsmith of the revolutionary group and is responsible for many devices and creations. Hailing from the technology megahub of Vesulo, he came out to be one of the most promising artificers and created phenomenal works; his primary focus and main inventions involved amplifying and controlling soul energy. A natural tinkerer at heart, he's always looking for a challenge for an idea that would revolutionize the way they fight, looking for any way to assist in the group's overall goal. Although he was not able to successfully create soul energy-based weapons (although he claims he has a working theory, just not enough time and resources to experiment), he was credited with a huge discovery for soul energy-based accessories and armor, his main hallmark.

Quite fearless and outgoing, and never afraid to speak up about something he does not agree to. He also has a decent share of tactical knowledge and he and Drak would often compare and discuss plans. Zero seems to put the plan before all else. Fairly approachable, but his loud mouth and enthusiasm sometimes gets him into trouble.
➤ full profile ➤ lookup

Side Characters


The Shadow Marauder

Soul Emblem Type: Entropy


Nicknamed "The Shadow Marauder", Gallow prided herself as being one of the most powerful anti-existence. She held the unique ability to bind and manipulate the elusive shadow beasts of the realm as well as take on a powerful shadow form. Her marksmanship was unmatched, capturing the interest of Drak during the revolution, where she faced against Keio's right-hand, Sevre. After Drak's rise, she served him willingly, until he suddenly disappeared to the surface realm.

Gallow pursued him to the surface, where she decided to join Actu's circus, acknowledging his exceptional runecasting. Her segment usually consists of remarkable feats of marksmanship. She is well-known to challenge the audience during every show, hoping to find a worthy opponent.

Gallow can be fairly hotheaded and stubborn, but she is extremely proud of her abilities and her "pack", the shadow beasts that she brought to Aethar. Her battle style is an all-out offense, showering her enemies with a rain of tainted arrows while her shadows maintain a relentless assault.
➤ lookup

The Pirate King

Soul Emblem Type: Essence


Aster was an ambitious man with dreams to become the greatest captain on Aethar. Gifted with innate soul energy and natural charisma, he proved his worth to a small crew to pursue a valuable lost treasure that was passed down to him. This treasure was the lost possessed ship hosting the cursed spirit of the legendary pirate, Rati the "Sea Dragon".

The two grew notorious across the seas as smugglers and pirates, nicknamed the "Leviathan's crew". Aster valued freedom above all else, but certainly would not hold back on plundering wherever he wished. He collected treasures and trophies, including the soul energy-infused bones of a long-forgotten anti-existence beast, which he can control like an extra appendage. In addition, the bones allow for him to transport his entire ship to the Ordeal, granting the Leviathan a very unique role of transporting goods (and individuals) between the two realms, with the permission of the Ordeal's Royal Guard.

Courageous and daring, with a heart full of adventure in order to carve his name in history forever. Although he would never hesitate to spill lies and deceit to accomplish his goals, Aster had his heart set to fulfill his promise to Rati.
➤ lookup

The Cosmic Sea Witch

Soul Emblem Type: Entropy


Myths among sailers and astrologers alike tell tales of a creature who made their home in a pocket of reality known as the astral sea, where the stars of the skies find their way adrift the waters of the ocean. Many who get lost in the endless night at sea were believed to have been taken by the sea witch, and many never returned.

Avim is a curiously mysterious creature who was born of a fallen star, and made her way to Aethar. Her primary territory lies within the Echo Ocean, when she would meet with these lost sailers. Impetuous and unpredictable, sometimes she would devour them if they proved to be too annoying or rude, and other times she would release them to a completely different part of the world entirely. Her powers revolve around manipulating space and gravity, and would often retreat into the tear in space that borders the sea and sky.

Avim cursed Rati after a battle of egos, and bound her soul to her ship. After Rati was freed by Aster, Avim fled and hid, gracefully avoiding their search. She is capable of taking on a humanoid form on occasion to meet with Chrono.
➤ lookup

The Time Wraith

Soul Emblem Type: Death / Rune


In the distant past, Chrono was an anti-existence inventor and researcher that stumbled upon Zero's work, and was deeply inspired by his theories of rune magic. He was taken in by Zero as an apprentice during the revolution, and they worked closely to uncover the secrets of life-extension with the use of external soul energy. While Zero took a more holistic approach to rune magic, Chrono focused deeply on utilizing rune magic in attempt to tap into timelines. He discovered a breakthrough, but it was too late for Zero.

Escaping the turmoil of the anti-existence realm, Chrono slipped into the shadows and arrived to the surface, where he discovered he could "borrow" time from passersby. A few hours here, a day there. Eventually, he began to understand his connection to rune magic and time enough to grant him notoriety as the Time Wraith. Detaching himself from the timelines, he fearfully hid away from the watchful gaze of the time god Mourn.

Chrono eventually came across Voidheart, a powerful soul energy weapon that had once saved the life of an innocent child. While the child was nowhere to be found, Voidheart insisted to feast on souls. Chrono vowed to wield Voidheart in pursuit of criminals, until he discovered Avim, who simultaneously challenged his morals and captured his heart.
➤ lookup

The Azure Ice Prince

Soul Emblem Type: Entropy / Origin


When the ancient Verinu roamed the primeval cosmos, Aupera was among them as one of the lesser Verinu. Aupera followed a peculiar being that later became to be known as the Lord of the Abyss. Sen enjoyed their company at the time, and they in turn whispered words of encouragement, convincing him that they knew his true purpose. Aupera followed as Sen destroyed and consumed countless worlds, feeding on the fragments of the world souls left behind. Sen was led to destroy a world he ultimately regretted, his actions beginning to haunt him, and he retaliated against Aupera, forcing them to flee to the newly-formed world of Aethar.

Aupera decided to take on a different visage, a masculine human where he was adopted by the royal family of Victareon. He rarely makes a public appearance, but his knowledge of the inner workings of the world allowed him to advise the leaders of his city. His special Verinu powers allow him control over absolute zero, instantly draining the energy and temperature around him, but as this takes a notable toll on his physique, he prefers not to use this unless necessary.

Aupera works closely with Vanish, the sister of Keio's pet crow, who similarly to the other two, disappears completely from existence from time-to-time. However, these disappearances typically marked an abnormal event on Aethar, hinting him onto occurrences that are normally overlooked by others.
➤ lookup

The Spirit Songstress

Soul Emblem Type: Entropy / Origin


Every soul sings a melody. Siren, one of the primeval creatures known as Verinu, drifted in the silent emptiness of space for eons. Her unique ability allows for her to sense and interact with soul resonance as if it were sound and music. She found her way to Aethar, a beautiful world filled with flowers, something she's come to love and adore after meeting with the God of Memories, Mourn. A bouquet of lilies, one of the first gifts she ever received, and a treasured memory.

A wandering spirit at heart, she travels from city to city in different personas to perform her harp and dance, immersing herself in the sea of melodies of the people of Aethar. Occasionally she finds a dissonant soul, and offers to try and soothe the soul through her voice and song. One of the first instances of this was when she sang to the Lord of the Abyss to calm his soul, which had become a vessel of vengeful spirits. Some say that listening to her songs is like being lifted into a pleasant dream.

Siren often takes on various humanoid forms, but is typically always found with silver or white hair, decorated with a blue lily, her signature. She likes to try new things and meet people, but is especially attached to dogs, whether or not they take a liking to her.
➤ lookup

The Deathwriter

Soul Emblem Type: Entropy


Kitsu was an anti-existence from the Shroud and one of the few who were able to find their way to the surface. While not as widely renowned as Slumber's mentor, the four of them quickly gained notice as they traveled around and granted their services. Kitsu was known as the deathwriter with his ability to draw out the last memories and wishes of the recently deceased, following it with a proper elegy.

When he found Aware in the wild, he saw a child who used his unnaturally powerful innate soul energy to mimic the foxes he grew up with. Kitsu lightly adjusted his already vulpine form so Aware would grow comfortable with learning from and trusting him. When a war broke out in Kazanti, Kitsu and Naku agreed to leave the children (teenagers at the time) in the safety of their shrine home in order to go and protect their country, but they never returned.

Kitsu boasts seven tails in total, tipped by candlewax that is always alight with soul energy. His favored weapon is a fan.
➤ lookup

The Weeping Reaper

Soul Emblem Type: Entropy


Several hundred years in the past before the Demon Wars, a human gained renown in the region of Kazanti as "The Weeping Reaper" (with no other name to speak of) because she traveled from town to town performing last rites for the dead, guiding their souls back to the world soul. An unmistakable specter, she carries a staff that transforms into an elegant scythe, and is accompanied by fluttering glowing pink and blue butterflies. She accepted Naku as her nickname only by the other three she was close with: together they comprised of a quartet of wanderers, benevolent ferrymen of the dead.

She adopted an orphan, and took him under her wing as a student. She eventually nicknamed him Slumber due to his tendency to fall asleep for most of the day (more so than normal children). They trained together and cultivated their soul energy, until Slumber was able to control his sleepwalking, while Naku taught Slumber how to grow connections with the world.

After Naku and Kitsu left for war, they never returned, leaving Slumber and Aware to discover their futures for themselves.
➤ lookup

The Little Star

Soul Emblem Type: Rune


Soft, tiny wings fluttered eagerly as she made her way across the room to grab a small metal tool. Grasping it tightly with her arms, she dashed back and handed it over gently to an outstretched hand. "Thank you, Little Star," the voice said, and her eyes lit up with joy.

Lost, fragmented memories. She heard footsteps, and a voice, but it was not the voice of her dreams. The laboratory door opened, to reveal a strangely familiar face. But she doesn't recall meeting them. Who were you?

A moment of silence fell between them. There was a twinkle in his eyes, and then a smile.
➤ lookup

The Everlasting Hunter

Soul Emblem Type: Essence


His vision slowly began to return to him, and he glanced up to meet eyes with a familiar friend. He couldn't move, and his body hurt... what were they doing before this?

I am sorry, friend... this was my fault...

Pitiful flashed a tired grin, recalling their duel and subsequent chase. There was no blame or anger in his eyes, and if his time was over...

He awoke again in a clearing of the dense forest of his home territory. His spine was whole once more, replaced and reinforced. The familiar sounds of the trees filled his ears, and he slowly stood to his feet to explore his newly granted life.
➤ lookup

The Weaponmaster

Soul Emblem Type: Creation / Rune


In the revolution against the Shadow King, Rama was recruited to the resistance by Zero. Rama's soul was found to be quite special: she was able to draw very miniscule amounts of Creation energy directly from the realm, a highly coveted ability for its vast uses and potential. Though she was hesitant at first, she found her love and spark of creativity by the Forge, and began to craft.

Even though her body was physically weakened due to the harshness of survival in the realm, she was able to utilize her soul energy to manipulate her tools for her. However, time began to wear on her, and eventually she resigned to one last project, a sword that was specifically made for the head of the resistance, a blade truly fit for royalty. The Runecarver saw this and declared that if she wished to continue to create, he would come up with a solution for her - and he did.

Her body repaired by his runes and the soul of the world, Rama happily continued her endeavors, becoming the greatest weaponsmith and architect the realm had ever witnessed.
➤ lookup










CSS base by www.neopets.com/~Tines, edited by Tiffy
Additional textboxes from www.neopets.com/~Mariquita

All art and graphics by Tiffy unless otherwise specified.
Scenery backgrounds taken in-game in Guild Wars 2 (ArenaNet) & Tera (Enmasse)

Save!