Hanky-Spanky
Some shizz on Melyssa's dad
Name: Hank Corrin
Age: 42
Height: 5'5" Weight: 150 lbs
Body Type: Muscular
Eyes: Hazel Hair: Black with streaks of gray; shoulder-length always kept in a tight ponytail
Personality: withdrawn and quiet, cautious, controlling, depressed
Once upon a time, Hank was a nice guy; he was a devoted husband and proud father. And happy. But then bad shit happened.
You see, Hank is a shadow mage (shadow mage), and he has been ever since he was a young lad of 15. As a child, Hank's own father used him as a free source of labor: Hank had to work in the pub his father owned every day from opening until closing time. His father beat and berated him every day, and the old man did pretty much anything in his power to control the poor boy. This kind of activity stirs up negative energy, and that attracts nasty little shadow creatures called lurkers.
Lurkers feed off the energy of people. They're like annoying, intangible little vampire bats. They love to be around mages because mages have more energy in general about their person because of the magic. But! mages tend tend to be smart and keep their energy to themselves, barring it from others, especially the shadow people. But the shadows have ways of tempting mages into letting them get a few tastes of their energy. This is what happened to Hank.
During the peak of his father's abuse, Hank was visited by lurkers. They promised him a way out of this prison that he had found himself in. He, desperate, accepted. Within a year, Hank's father was dead, and Hank found himself with all his family's property, including the pub.
With his newfound wealth, Hank courted and then married the only girl he ever had eyes for: a beauty called Melynda. He and Melynda had attempted to have children for years, but it seemed that every time Melynda found herself with child, she soon lost the baby. It wasn't for another seven years together that they finally had Melyssa, and they were damned grateful and happy when she was born.
Hank kept his shadow secret from his family for years. The pub was successful and always busy, kicking up tons of energy for the shadows to feed on. They never asked for a sacrifice, and Hank thought he had it made. But soon, his friends came to collect.
When his daughter was a mere 8 years old, the shadows came to Hank and demanded a fitting gift for all they had done for him: they wanted the essence of his wife. Hank knew this meant that Melynda would die, and he could not bear to lose his beloved wife.
Instead he tried to bargain with the shadows: he offered up countless other villagers and pub patrons, and even himself, but the shadows only wanted one thing, and finally, after two long and draining years, Hank finally consented and lifted the protection spells he had cast around his wife.
She died suddenly a few months later. The entire village of Olmsmead was shocked and expressed sympathy to Hank. They took his withdrawal and distance as signs of his grieving, and while many tried to help him, he simply asked to be left alone.
Melyssa was only 10 when her mother died. She was young and full of energy. A happy child, and the daughter of a shadow mage. She was a lot like her mother: caring and cheerful and always willing to help. She was by her father's side after her mother passed, willing to do anything for him to help him get better. Hank, ashamed of his actions, could hardly bear to look at her.
He withdrew from his daughter and, for a time, from his friends and patrons. He spent all his time in his room, wallowing in his shame and grief. In this time, the lurkers came to him and asked for his daughter. Hank agreed to let the shadows feed on her freely, but with two conditions: they could not kill her, and they could not let her see them. The lurkers agreed to this pact, and Hank set about making sure Melyssa would never know about and could never protect herself from the shadow people: he blocked all her memories of there ever being magic in her family. As far as she knew, they were a simple, non-mage family. She knew no spell or ward.
Though Melyssa could not see the shadows crowding around her as they fed off her extra magic energy, Hank could, and the sight repulsed him. To keep her busy and therefore away from him, he made sure she kept many duties in the pub: cooking, cleaning, tending to patrons, pouring drinks. He made sure she never had time to even think, for fear that she would sense the shadows.
Eventually, Hank transformed into the man he hated most, and he treated his daughter just as his father had treated him. He never let that thought enter his conscience mind, however, and constantly denied it to himself. He maintained control over Melyssa for nine years, until one day when new lurkers found their way to her and decided to show her there was more to the darkness than meets the eye...
Name: Hank Corrin
Age: 42
Height: 5'5" Weight: 150 lbs
Body Type: Muscular
Eyes: Hazel Hair: Black with streaks of gray; shoulder-length always kept in a tight ponytail
Personality: withdrawn and quiet, cautious, controlling, depressed
Once upon a time, Hank was a nice guy; he was a devoted husband and proud father. And happy. But then bad shit happened.
You see, Hank is a shadow mage (shadow mage), and he has been ever since he was a young lad of 15. As a child, Hank's own father used him as a free source of labor: Hank had to work in the pub his father owned every day from opening until closing time. His father beat and berated him every day, and the old man did pretty much anything in his power to control the poor boy. This kind of activity stirs up negative energy, and that attracts nasty little shadow creatures called lurkers.
Lurkers feed off the energy of people. They're like annoying, intangible little vampire bats. They love to be around mages because mages have more energy in general about their person because of the magic. But! mages tend tend to be smart and keep their energy to themselves, barring it from others, especially the shadow people. But the shadows have ways of tempting mages into letting them get a few tastes of their energy. This is what happened to Hank.
During the peak of his father's abuse, Hank was visited by lurkers. They promised him a way out of this prison that he had found himself in. He, desperate, accepted. Within a year, Hank's father was dead, and Hank found himself with all his family's property, including the pub.
With his newfound wealth, Hank courted and then married the only girl he ever had eyes for: a beauty called Melynda. He and Melynda had attempted to have children for years, but it seemed that every time Melynda found herself with child, she soon lost the baby. It wasn't for another seven years together that they finally had Melyssa, and they were damned grateful and happy when she was born.
Hank kept his shadow secret from his family for years. The pub was successful and always busy, kicking up tons of energy for the shadows to feed on. They never asked for a sacrifice, and Hank thought he had it made. But soon, his friends came to collect.
When his daughter was a mere 8 years old, the shadows came to Hank and demanded a fitting gift for all they had done for him: they wanted the essence of his wife. Hank knew this meant that Melynda would die, and he could not bear to lose his beloved wife.
Instead he tried to bargain with the shadows: he offered up countless other villagers and pub patrons, and even himself, but the shadows only wanted one thing, and finally, after two long and draining years, Hank finally consented and lifted the protection spells he had cast around his wife.
She died suddenly a few months later. The entire village of Olmsmead was shocked and expressed sympathy to Hank. They took his withdrawal and distance as signs of his grieving, and while many tried to help him, he simply asked to be left alone.
Melyssa was only 10 when her mother died. She was young and full of energy. A happy child, and the daughter of a shadow mage. She was a lot like her mother: caring and cheerful and always willing to help. She was by her father's side after her mother passed, willing to do anything for him to help him get better. Hank, ashamed of his actions, could hardly bear to look at her.
He withdrew from his daughter and, for a time, from his friends and patrons. He spent all his time in his room, wallowing in his shame and grief. In this time, the lurkers came to him and asked for his daughter. Hank agreed to let the shadows feed on her freely, but with two conditions: they could not kill her, and they could not let her see them. The lurkers agreed to this pact, and Hank set about making sure Melyssa would never know about and could never protect herself from the shadow people: he blocked all her memories of there ever being magic in her family. As far as she knew, they were a simple, non-mage family. She knew no spell or ward.
Though Melyssa could not see the shadows crowding around her as they fed off her extra magic energy, Hank could, and the sight repulsed him. To keep her busy and therefore away from him, he made sure she kept many duties in the pub: cooking, cleaning, tending to patrons, pouring drinks. He made sure she never had time to even think, for fear that she would sense the shadows.
Eventually, Hank transformed into the man he hated most, and he treated his daughter just as his father had treated him. He never let that thought enter his conscience mind, however, and constantly denied it to himself. He maintained control over Melyssa for nine years, until one day when new lurkers found their way to her and decided to show her there was more to the darkness than meets the eye...