THE BESTIARY ⚬ CHARACTERS;
for one year in every hundred, the bestiary runs free.
It began a thousand years ago, as a new millennium began to stretch itself across history. The twins -- Jacob and Esau, then monks -- saw that the world suffered under the devil's influence and believed that greater pains had to be taken in doing God's work in order to spare mankind the End of Days. The plan, then, was crudely simple though its execution would turn out to be far more elaborate: gather the world's evil to them in order to spare their fellow man its torments, keep it caged under lock and key not just now but for all eternity. But it turned out there was more to man's suffering than just the devil. Beasts, monsters, demons, nightmares -- all of these things visited their blights upon mankind. Some bred madness and discontent, while others spread misfortune; even more were simply hungry and looked to man to feed their ravenous and unholy appetites. In the end, the word of God proved useless against many of the creatures they came across and the brothers were forced to turn to the same unnatural means used by heretics and harlots: magic.
Only one of the brothers would wield it -- Jacob, the elder and more resolute of the two -- and over the past thousand years his once spotless soul has grown sooty and tarnished, his conscious now unscrupulous. He is the one who holds the monsters' leashes and through witchcraft harnesses each of their strengths, quelling their influence over mankind to keep their havoc at bay. The power he wields could easily destroy those that they keep but death is not part of the brothers' plan, a practice that has earned them enemies among those who would sooner see the abominations destroyed. In the past, there have been attempts in the past at upheaval from the outside and rebellion from within, but the creatures of the bestiary do not play well with others -- a small mercy that has prevented success on their part for the past thousand years. It was practically minded Esau came up with what he hoped would be a 'compromise'. For every ninety nine years that the creatures of the bestiary remained in bondage, they would be allowed one year to run free on earth -- still leashed but unmuzzled -- so as to indulge their basest appetites and momentarily quell whatever fractious sentiments festered in their hearts.
So much like Pandora to her jar, so are Jacob and Esau to their blighted bestiary; none that are unlucky enough to cross paths with the twins are spared their' muzzles. But for one year in every hundred, the bestiary runs free.
And this is their year.
the keepers.
Jacob;
the wielder of power.
WITCH. Jacob is the elder of the two twins and, even before the bestiary came about, was always the one to take charge of a situation in order to spare the younger and less worldly Esau. When faced with the task of muzzling the creatures they looked to keep from the world, Jacob was originally hesitant in turning towards magic to do so. A thousand years have since past, however, and Jacob is no longer the humble monk he once was. There is no question that the shadows have tainted Jacob's conscience and his soul; whether he has become that which the twins sought out to cage is still unclear.
NO, NOT A MONSTER. NOT QUITE AND NOT YET.
Esau;
the wielder of conscience.
MAN of GOD. The younger of the twins, Esau has never looked to question or overthrow dominant Jacob's authority. Passive at most times to the point of complicity, he has been slowly forced into an uncomfortable position over the past thousand years. While Jacob's scruples and reluctance to wield unnatural power has waned considerably, Esau has been left with no choice but to try to counter him with logic, reason and the word of God. In the end, Jacob's will is much stronger and more often than not Esau finds himself compromising in ways he would rather not. Though through Jacob's actions, Esau's hands have remain clean.
A SOUL HANGS IN THE BALANCE. I WILL NOT ALLOW FORFEIT.
Jaromir;
the housekeeper.
WITCH. (played by vee) An unwanted child with bright red hair, a young Jaromir Thurzo was left in the woods to be eaten by the wolves. Quite rightfully assumed to witchcraft, the boy takes to a quiet life in the woods as guided by a creature from the shadows. When the beast does choose to reveal itself, Jaromir is quite taken with its smile, offers it friendship, a hearth to lay by, and a name all its own. Living an isolated life with Doza for two hundred years, Jaromir was left lonely after the brothers took his pet. It did not take him long to offer his housekeeping services in exchange for any contact with the beast.
ENTANGLED TO THE BEAST.
Agnes;
the inked skin.
WITCH. The one responsible for the entrapment of the Other onto Baldassare's back, it was her intention to slay both man and demon with one fell swoop once the abomination was bound to a mortal body. Furious that the brothers kept her kill from her, she bides her time finish the work she started. Drawing upon the same magicks she used to bind the Other, she has secretly begun amassing her own make-shift menagerie, using her body as the canvas. Much like Baldassare, those she keeps under her skin threaten to break free and bubble over into her own consciousness, but Agnes' will has proven more resilient than the boy's and she manages -- for the most part -- to keep the monsters at bay. Her true motives are unknown to the brothers, Anges has begun to ally herself with members of the bestiary with intentions of lopping off Baldassare's head.
DEAR BROTHER, WILL YOU NOT HELP BEAR THE BURDEN?
Priest;
the trapmaker.
WITCH. Sodomist, witch, blasphemer -- Priest had quite a laundry list of strikes against him when the Inquisition rolled into his town in the 16th century and in going to ground he came across the brothers looking to add to their slowly growing collection. Problem was that, beyond the problematic windowdressing, there wasn't anything particularly evil about Priest. Rude, at times; irreverent, definitely. But such things paled in comparison to those kept in the bestiary. Cunning in the ways of magic and a shrewd bargainer to boot, Bishop was quick to strike up an agreement that would maintain his freedom on the outside. He offered up his services to help the brothers in their work -- devise traps, listen for rumors in places the brothers could not safely go, acquire things that could not easily be acquired in their position. Always the businessman, Priest considers his freedom already bought for and paid. Nowadays, he demands compensation for his work and is not ashamed to admit playing both sides. He is considered a neutral.
SHALL WE HAVE TERMS?
the bestiary.
Eve;
the abomination.
WITCH. One of the oldest and first members of the bestiary, Eve sits at Jacob's right hand and is rumored to be the witch that first taught him the magics that would ultimately bind her. She, unlike so many of the other creatures, gladly suffers her imprisonment; most likely due to the fact that she is given much more liberties than most of the bestiary's creatures. Eve's power comes from the bodies of others -- both in spirit and in flesh. Her own body is comprised of parts of her enemies and her allies alike, cobbled together to form a more perfect union and held together with magic and thread. She is fondly referred to by both brothers as 'the exquisite corpse'.
DEVOUR THY ENEMY, INHERIT THEIR STRENGTH.
Guinevere;
the white hand.
WITCH. (played by koke) One of an ancient coven of witches that are now all but extinct, Guinevere follows the rites of the birch tree, preying on any unwary that would dare to pass near any of her chosen haunts. A single touch is all she needs, taking any energy from victims to build her own strength, but a touch to the head or chest is best, leaving those victims mad or dead. Living off the soil and the sky just as her trees do, Guinevere will not falter behind the walls of the bestiary, but her strength wanes and she is always eager to slip out into the forest again. However, her aims have begun to turn from necessity to viciousness as she sees her beloved countryside shrink and choke in the face of the mortals' spreading cities.
COME CLOSER, ONE LITTLE TOUCH CAN'T HURT.
Gareth;
the sacrifice.
HUMAN, made MONSTER. Gareth is unique in that he belongs to the bestiary as opposed to belonging in it. A victim of tragedy more than anything else, he lived all of his life as a normal (albeit unfocused) young man until the day that Jacob found him and turned him into something else entirely. Bound by the conscripts of ritual, Gareth's ultimate beheading proved to be the necessary catalyst to transform a boy to an aberration. Vengeful spirit as he is, the strength of his anger at his own death fuels his ability to serve the hand that slaughtered him. Until Jacob is satisfied, Gareth's soul is tethered to the bestiary -- trapped in its own private limbo.
MY ANGER, IT BURNS FOR ONLY YOU.
Baldassare and the Other;
the mortal prison.
HUMAN, made MONSTER. Much like Gareth, Baldassare began life as a human. All of that changed when he was chosen by Agnes to bear the seal of Enoch, which bound a demon to his body, trapping the abomination beneath the ink scarred into his skin, chaining it to a mortal body. For Baldassare, it meant an existence of eternal torment and struggle. His demon taunts him constantly, a voice in his head and an impulse in his hand, driving him to violence and frenzy whenever he lets his guard down. Right now, Baldassare is the one winning the war against his passenger, but as of late he finds himself losing battle after precious battle.
I'VE FORGOTTEN WHERE I END AND THE OTHER BEGINS.
Doza;
the forest.
ILL SPIRIT. (played by vee) Gold leaves tumbling in the autumn light, swept into a murmuring serpentine. The lure of birdsong from the dark depths, the soft-swift feet of beasts in the shadows, the echo of loneliness and isolation when one finds themselves lost in the woods. The beating heart of the forest where it once lived, it took a special interest in a young boy left to die in its shade. Guardian, mentor, and master, the beast spares young Jaromir the hardships of the wild and in turn is gifted a faithful companion and pet. Ultimately nonplussed by his capture, Doza is mostly satisfied to continue to receive Jaromir's cooking and affection, if a bit bored by being forced to retain a singular form.
DON'T STRAY FROM THE PATH.
Mary Maria Marion;
the soul stealer.
ILL SPIRIT. (played by koke) Mary Maria was once a good witch, a good wife, and wanted nothing more than to be a good mother, too. But God saw fit to never let life take in her belly, and a string of miscarriages and stillbirths saw Maria slowly descend into a deep grief, breaking into something dark and dangerous when she discovered her husband had been dallying with other women in the town; women who had come to Maria for help with love, women who were often pregnant. Heartbroken, Maria turned from God, cutting herself open with the shards of a mirror, forever trapping her soul behind the glass. Call her name three times in a darkened mirror and she will visit to give advice, but any tiny offence sees her turn to rage, scratching her victims' eyes out and dragging their souls back into the mirror with her. Tortured by the questions asked of her, she has found relief in the bestiary, but is not ultimately sane enough to realise it.
AND LITTLE MAIDS ALL IN A ROW.
Polina;
the crying maiden.
ILL SPIRIT. (played by vee) The richest of creatures, sweet Polina's tears crystallize to precious jewels as she weeps. A melancholy creature with solemn eyes, diamonds sparkle at her ears and her throat, and surely she would share them with you. Before the twins, she has known many masters who have captured her and demanded the wealth of her crying. Each met with misery and misfortune as they stockpiled darling Polina's cursed jewels. Some of her jewels remain in circulation, wreaking havoc as they pass through mortal hands, but most now dangle from her, strung as sparkling jewelry. She would be so pleased if the monks would wear one of her trinkets.
ONLY MISFORTUNE FOLLOWS BEAUTY'S TEARS.
Dot;
the original.
MONSTER. (played by vee) Born a monster, lynched as a monster, Dot's first death occurred when she was eight years old after an accident on her father's farm that took off a finger. Her near immediate regeneration horrified her family, so they took her out back and put her down. Buried shallow, she and her first replicant, grown from that shorn flesh, set out on their own. Passing as twins, they blazed a path of violence and manipulation which crescendoed when the clone inevitably turned on the original to take her place and Dot learned her only weakness: fire. Approximately 130 years old now, Dot continued to sow seeds of discontent and madness, leaving a trail of dead clones and bystanders in her wake until caught by the twins. Rebellious and independent, she's never had anyone look after her that she hasn't killed.
YOU CAN NEVER STOP ME. THERE IS ALWAYS ONE MORE.
the Cuckoo;
the child.
MONSTER. The cuckoo is a good little monster; what it does is as much for the glory of its mother as it is for its own entertainment -- for all of the great monsters of the world are selfish and sick. Graced with the face of a child but with a face deeply-set with dead animal eyes, the cuckoo visits mothers who curse the children they bore. Whether out of long-standing misery or a brief moment of heated passion, the thought alone is enough to welcome to cuckoo to your house, where it will roost in a tree outside of the child's window, waiting for the proper time to climb inside and devour it still warm from bed. In the days that follow, the cuckoo revisits to drink the sorrow of the bereaved family. It likes to call itself a punisher or ungrateful mothers, but in the end the cuckoo is simply a beast wanting to be fed.
I WILL STEAL YOUR CHILDREN. AND YOU WILL THANK ME FOR IT.
Aiko;
the broodmother.
MONSTER. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Maecenas euismod quam et eros pellentesque feugiat lacinia arcu dapibus. Maecenas convallis posuere blandit. Praesent vitae nisl turpis. Maecenas metus magna, mattis ultrices accumsan vel, iaculis a urna. Etiam ipsum quam, volutpat quis aliquet nec, vulputate molestie dui. Sed vestibulum ligula a leo semper pellentesque. Maecenas egestas pretium erat id tincidunt.
A BODY WARM AND WET, WHAT A PERFECT NEST.
Precious;
the whisperer.
NIGHTMARE. Neither a boy nor a cat, Precious is capable of taking each of these forms (boy for day and cat for night). When someone sleeps, pit's Precious that steals into their room and lies on their chest while they dream. Warm with purring, they hardly ever wake -- not even when Precious steals their breath and begins all of his whisperings. His lullabies inspire acts of sadism and violence against loved ones, as dictated by madness and fantasy. Women who massacre their lovers, men who drown their children, teenagers who murder their parents. Precious owns all of these bedtime stories.
GO SOFTLY ON PADDED FEET, SING YOUR LOVED ONES TO SLEEP.
Terhenetär;
the illusion.
NIGHTMARE. (played by vee) As old as dreaming, Terhenetär, so called after the goddess of the mist, takes the form of a gentle young man with kind eyes and a welcoming smile. A beacon of light and hope in dreams smothered by cloying fog, he holds out his hand and beckons you come to him. The bane of sleepwalkers and the trusting, he lures his victims off of cliff faces and rooftops, from windows and stairways. His smile is very sweet as you tumble. A captive of the twins for some time, he resents them deeply and wants nothing more than to see himself and his fellow dreams released back to their rightful place. His defiance is his fervor for victims whenever he is allowed out to haunt.
FOLLOW ME, DO NOT BE AFRAID.
Nu-kelavee;
the pursuer.
NIGHTMARE. (played by koke) The most primitive of urges, fight or flight, and Nu-kelavee has been chasing since the first beast could run. Sinking into the deepest parts of her victims' minds, she rarely takes a form as she rarely needs to, needs only the coming darkness, the dread writhing in the dreamer's gut, the tension prickling slowly up their neck. She has her respect for those who have outrun her, and it is one of their faces that she wears when she must. She is a determined hunter, and will come as many nights as it is necessary to leave her prey so exhausted that they eventually fall and do not wake. No animal takes well to being caged, and Nu-kelavee finds deep offense at her chains. She would happily chase the twins to their deaths if given the opportunity.
RUN UNTIL YOU FALL.
Rook;
the cannibal.
NIGHTMARE. Ask Rook about his work and he would claim not to be a nightmare at all, but a bringer of good dreams. When he visits, the dreamer can imagine nothing but feasting delights -- banquet halls full of revelry and drink, tables piled high with both the savory and sweet. And, of course, human flesh. Much like Precious, the nightmare who steals on softly padded feet, Rook looks to inspire violence and madness in those he visits so that they may commit unspeakable acts in his wake. Those that he visits wake with unspeakable hunger, a twisting need in their stomach and their soul which can be only be satisfied by one thing.
EAT THAT WHICH YOU HAVE BEEN DENIED.
Jan Lowotter;
the murky waters.
HALF-BREED (greenhag/siren). (played by koke) Viewed as abominations, the sirens abide no male children and typically destroy them as soon as they are born. Jan survived through only luck and his birthright, free to move between both saltwater and fresh, and he was safe from his mother's kin in the pools and streams of inland water. A deeply lonely existence, and when he wasn't dragging unwary children and travellers into the water, he would sing to draw company to his side, his otherworldly looks enrapturing many. But his hunger for human flesh was not so easily appeased, and all soon found themselves in a watery grave. The bottom of his chosen pool was lined deeply with the bones of his victims before the twins caught him, but Jan held no attachment to it and does not really see the bestiary as a prison, never being able to stray far from water as it is. His only active complaint is his limited diet, and he indulges his appetites fully when the bestiary's doors open again.
I WILL DRAG YOU DOWN INTO THE DARK.
Baramue;
the skinwalker.
HALF-BREED (grigori/human). Daughter of a human woman and one of God's Watchers who fell, Baramue is cursed for her father's betrayal of Heaven. Her burden: to suffer from agonizing hunger and thirst but exist always without a mouth with which to eat or drink. Her solution: to possess weak-willed men and women and use their bodies to consume until it kills them. As ravenous as she is, this happens quite quickly, much to Baramue's dismay; ninety-nine years out of each century she is forced to deny herself in order to keep from destroying the body she does have -- something she resents the monks for indefinitely. Her appetite is unrivaled by none among the bestiary, save Rook; the two often feast together once they are cut free.
MY MY, WHAT A PRETTY MOUTH YOU'VE GOT.
Maladonna;
the stinging nettle.
HALF-BREED (succubus/fae). Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Maecenas euismod quam et eros pellentesque feugiat lacinia arcu dapibus. Maecenas convallis posuere blandit. Praesent vitae nisl turpis. Maecenas metus magna, mattis ultrices accumsan vel, iaculis a urna. Etiam ipsum quam, volutpat quis aliquet nec, vulputate molestie dui. Sed vestibulum ligula a leo semper pellentesque. Maecenas egestas pretium erat id tincidunt.
HAVE A HEART OF THISTLE AND WEEDS.
Amon;
the deadly sin.
DEMON. (played by koke) A Marquis of hell, Amon specialises in wrath in all its many forms. She can inspire or incite it in others, encourage already planted seeds to grow or simply sit back and enjoy a pre-existing case. An embodiment of the sin, Amon is often easily caught by the sways of rage herself, hateful, violent and vengeful. She is still not entirely sure how the puny monks managed to capture her, and takes every chance she can to spit insults at them, to stir up discontent between the other creatures, and oh how she'd love to break the brothers apart. A thirst for vengeance and a curiosity for the potential in Jacob see her refraining from pushing on her bonds as hard as she truly could.
GIVE IN TO YOUR RAGE, LEAVE NOTHING BUT ASH.
Babylon;
the false prophetess.
DEMON. There are few among the faithful who have not spoken her name in hushed, disdainful tones: the whore of Babylon, she who rode to ruin in Revelations, baring a cup between her hands which carried abominations bred by her own filthiness. Fed on a diet of false teachings and drunk on the bloods of martyrs and saints, Babylon brings with her promises of power, greatness, influence and knowledge but -- as with all things with her -- these lead nowhere but to ruin while those that suffer gladly thank her for her cursed graces.
LOOK UPON ME AND WONDER WITH GREAT ADMIRATION.
Vankiel the Righteous;
the perversion of faith.
FALLEN ANGEL. Of all of the creatures in the bestiary, Vankiel the Righteous is considered by many to be the most pathetic. Once a soldier of God that served under during Lucifer's rebellion, Vankiel was sent to earth to watch over mankind (a task he saw as punishment rather than duty, considering himself cast down from the Silver City and away from God's light). In order to win back the favor of his superiors, he took to purging evil from the world -- a job he undertook with too much enthusiasm and not enough evenhandedness. Now mad and tortured by his own fall, Vankiel deludes himself to believe he is still doing God's work. A murderer and a sadist who prays mostly on the innocent, he serves as a cautionary tale to the brothers as to where their path may lead.
REPENT, REPENT, FOR ALL THAT YOU'VE DONE.