ᴛʀøʟʟᴀʙᴜɴᴅɪɴ

"Are you a man, or are you a monster?" A multi-fandom OC roleplaying blog for Silvanus Frost, an ancient vampire who clings fruitlessly to what remains of his humanity.

[anelegantdemise]

I apologize for the sluggish replies on this blog. There’s really no excuse for them aside from laziness and lack of motivation. I’m in a really bizarre state with my writing, and Silas’ character is a large part of them.

Silas was the main character of a series of stories I’ve written the last twelve years. Through the development of this character, I’ve learned so much about writing. Despite everything, I’m very fond of him because he is a testimony to how much I’ve grown as a writer. But I’ve been redeveloping this series again lately, and Silas has fallen behind. Recently, I’ve decided that Silas is no longer the main protagonist of this series. He has been replaced with another character, one that before I made just as an afterthought.

Trying to write for Silas has becoming difficult after this choice. Roleplaying is and always will be enjoyable, but this character is not. Not anymore, at least. I’ve been debating going on hiatus and then trying to come back to Silas, or outright giving up on him and moving onto another rp blog I have. I’ll think about it.

[anelegantdemise]

“Silas,” he introduced. Looking her up and down, he studied her jumpsuit. Another vault dweller possibly, but he wasn’t quite sure how to feel about that. Vault-Tec wasn’t exactly high on his list of favorable companies. “I don’t trust myself to sit up yet, unfortunately. Looks like this trip was a bust. So uh, what vault did you crawl out of?”

Not exactly the best worded question. But his head was beginning to throb from the incoming headache, and his legs were a mess. Most of the wounds were from shrapnel, and thankfully looked superficial. There was a worrying gash on his thigh, but he would deal with it when he made it back to the vault. The main focus was to regain his balance before something decided to check out the explosion. In the meantime, he might as well make small talk.

[anelegantdemise]

@psychotheory

Someone placed a hit on him.

The sun was a little too bright today, so Silas opted to wear some sunglasses. However, they weren’t properly adjusted to his face so he kept fiddling with them as he walked along the roads of the Commonwealth. No matter how much he tried to bend the delicate metal, they continued to slide down his nose. It was damn annoying.

His trip to the surface was a special one today. Instead of hauling a pack full of unusual goods and dressed in shabby rags and leathers, he instead opted for his pristine Vault-Tec lab coat and was carrying a leather messenger bag. With his Pip-Boy attached to his arm, there was no mistaking what he was.

The Brotherhood of Steel had piqued his interest, especially with their hand in Project Purity in the Capital Wasteland. He had heard rumors they had moved into the Commonwealth, and was rather curious about their intentions. So after a series of communications with them, Silas found himself invited to visit the Boston Airport.

It was right after passing Bunker Hill and reaching the bridge across the river Silas nearly tripped on some rubble. His footing fumbled, and his damaged sunglasses fell off his face. Cursing, Silas knelt down to pick them up.

A bullet tore through his left shoulder, most likely meant for his head. Crying out, his hand instantly went towards the wound. Knees ready to give out, Silas ducked behind the nearby ruined house for cover. White hot pain throbbed from the wound, tears blurring his vision as he fumbled inside his satchel for his laser pistol.

Damn! This was too clean to be just an ambush. Blood flowed freely from both ends of the wound, painting the white cloth of his lab coat red. Paying little mind to the damage, Silas quickly scanned his surroundings. There had to be more than one. There was no way someone would send just a single person to kill him. Where had the shot come from?

He was too exposed out here – he needed better cover. Without ceremony, Silas rounded the corner and kicked open the front door.

[anelegantdemise]

Polishing off the remainder of his tea, Silas set the mug aside. “Ah, young and inexperienced. It’s a shame you don’t have someone to guide you – not knowing how to properly use your power makes things difficult. And, you need motivation. Hunters don’t become killers for the sake of killing. Some want to protect the people they care about from things that threaten that safety, others do it for monetary gain, while some do it for scientific research. And even others fight creatures such as myself because they are afraid of what they don’t understand.”

Such things were one of the many reasons why he enjoyed his little slice of paradise. This island – Devil’s Island – was his own little world away from everyone else. His life was simple here, the biggest worries usually concerned his garden or if one of his instruments needed a repair. Things moved at an incredibly slow pace, because there was no reason to be in a hurry for anything. It was so far removed from the rest of the world, but still close enough to civilization to ground him back into reality once in a while.

“You haven’t been shown how to interpret what you see. Or that’s what it sounds like. I wouldn’t have anything to help you in that department, as I don’t have that ability. You got lucky that it doesn’t show you everything. That would have been unfortunate. But I’m curious. What did I look like to you?”

[anelegantdemise]

“Hmm.” Silas never considered himself a spiritual person. He was an outsider looking in when dealing with such topics, unable to really understand why religions brought comfort to the human race. The way Saaleha worded it was almost romantic. A path to redemption? Silas had never really considered to look at it that way. “That’s one way of looking at it, I suppose.”

When she asked about his teacher, Silas had to take a moment to think of a response. This was one of those situations where it was better to lie than to tell the truth. Better for her to keep her romanticized notions than to edge her closer to the truth. She was but a stranger, and some things were better left unsaid.

“Oh, him? He passed away centuries ago. He’s buried somewhere in Norway, but it would be impossible to find his grave. I can’t remember where his family buried him. He was a good man.” Lies, but better than the truth. Better than to accidentally lead someone as curious as Saaleha to his master’s doorstep. Better for her to think they were a good person who tamed a monster and taught it to mimic humanity.

“But ah, most people like yourself believe their gifts are meant to be used to defeat the supernatural. Sometimes, humanity has a hard time believing they’re not on top of the food chain. I’m pleased to know not everyone uses their gifts like that.

“I’d be lying if I knew how your powers worked. But tell me, when you use your, er, Third Eye, what are you trying to see with it? Maybe there’s a way to control how much you see instead of cranking it up full blast. Don’t practice on me, though. You already almost lost yourself trying that trick on me earlier. Even now, you’re still on edge about it. That’s natural – humans fear the unknowable. I’m surprised you even came in here and accepted the offer of tea. For all you knew, I was luring you into my house to eat you. You really ought to be more careful sometimes.”

[anelegantdemise]

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Hope everyone is having an excellent day today. And to anyone having to work today, I salute you.

[anelegantdemise]

Damn. Silas hated bounty boards. Usually that meant providing the smack down on raiders, and Silas didn’t have the equipment to deal with that. Maybe someone posted something more reasonable for someone like him. “That would be great. Thank you. Lead the way, please.”

[anelegantdemise]

“What am I doing out here? I’m having fun. What are you doing out here?” Silas asked the newcomer. It was curious to see someone else out here, but they posed little threat to something like him. Besides, Silas was in a good mood and wanted to have a little fun before going back to his research.

Silas also wouldn’t acknowledge that he had bitten his glove to muffle his laugh when the stranger fell on their ass. While he had a little more tact, the faeries behind him did not. Childish giggling came from the creatures. Most were humanoid in appearance with bizarre animalistic features. They looked rather alien, despite being fully grounded in reality. Unlike the creature that stood with them, clothed in a human body.

[anelegantdemise]

It was a blessing that he could blame the slight redness of his face on the cold rather than embarrassment. Certainly it was reasonable enough that a human’s face would redden after soaring up a mountainside on the back of a nightmare. Diethelm was quick to react, patting him on the back and...was he laughing at him? Silas resisted the urge to pull his hood over his face as they moved through the doorway.

Upon entering the castle, Silas spent very little time admiring the luxurious architecture and decorations. Such frivolous items rarely held any appeal to a creature like him, or at least that’s what he liked to tell himself. While Silas always favored the more practical, he would be a hypocrite to say he loathed the extravagant. Silks and furs were always a guilty pleasure.

Following suit of Diethelm, Silas shucked off his gloves and coat, shaking the snow off of them before he proceeded any further. While his coat and snow boots were of high quality, his outfit was rather plain. Jeans and an olive knitted sweater was his choice for the day. His satchel was a different story, made of brown leather and lined with an enchanted fabric to help preserve the contents within.

Along the way to their destination, Silas took note of the other residents. Now that was interesting. He’d have to ask Diethelm more about the purpose behind this castle eventually. It was so bizarre seeing so many types of creatures in one place.

The lounge room looked like it had already been prepared for visitation when they entered. There was a fire already made, heating the room to a pleasant temperature. Like the rest of the castle, it is dripping with luxury. Silas was reminded of one of those magazine covers for home decorations.

Placing his coat and gloves into a chair as well, Silas made himself comfortable in one of the chairs. “Thank you,” Silas automatically answered. “I didn’t expect something like this place to be way out here. It’s fascinating what people will build in such impractical locations. What is this place, really? And I’m sure you’ve got your own fair share of questions yourself.”

[anelegantdemise]

As the woman gathered his things for him, Silas closed his eyes to rest. He would have rather done something else to help alleviate the pain, but with someone nearby it would be too risky. Using his inhuman abilities outside of the vault would be a tremendous mistake. He’d just have to tough it out.

When she returned with a pile gathered on the ground, Silas opened his eyes. Things were a little better now. Bracing himself with his elbows, Silas carefully pushed himself up into a sitting position. It hurt like hell, but lying around wasn’t an option. “Like shit, but thank you for the help. What’s your name?” he asked. His words were becoming clearer the more he talked.

[anelegantdemise]

Settling down further in his seat, Silas nursed his drink as he listened to Saaleha. His nerves weren’t as on edge as they had been just a few moments ago now since she was more than a few feet away. Living in solitude didn’t really help much with learning how to handle people getting into his personal space.

It was a fascinating tale, one that drew him in the moment she mentioned she encountered another person at the merry-go-round. Especially when she mentioned that part of the other person’s face fell off.

Undead were unpredictable, nasty business. Popular media did the undead little justice in their portrayals. They were just as complex and dangerous as they were when alive, if not more so in some cases. She called this person a zombie ghost, but Silas suspected they may have been something else. Zombie ghost just doesn’t make any sense. And the fact that ashes were left after the werewolf demolished them? Hmm.

He had heard of people being blessed with powers against the supernatural, but hadn’t really given it much thought. Not for a long time, anyways. With very few threats against his life, Silas did not feel compelled to research possible enemies. But maybe now since he met Saaleha, he might start digging around for more information. He could always ask her, but sometimes it was best to get several different accounts.

“You’re fortunate to be alive. Werewolves are extremely dangerous and unpredictable. It was obviously after whoever else you encountered though, and you just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Or maybe the right place at the right time? It depends on how you look at it, yeah?” he commented. It barely registered in his mind that she might still be shook up from the encounter.

“I guess it’s time for me to tell a story. I do not know where I came from, or what I really am. All I remember is waking up on the Faeroe Islands. As I already said outside, I was once nothing but a wild monster that thought nothing more than hunting, killing, and sleeping. The birds there were my usual game, but once humans began to settle on the island they...maybe I should stop there.” He was sitting in front of a human, after all. It wasn’t very often he spoke of his history, and sometimes he forgot to be considerate of who he was speaking to.

“Anyways, I eventually found my way to the mainland. It wasn’t an easy task for something like me, but I managed. Over time, I became something of a legend. A story to scare children not to wander into the woods alone. There was a road that cut through my forest. Sometimes, I would mislead people off the path and get them lost. I would make them wander around for some time before I approached them. Sometimes I would let them leave, sometimes not.

“Eventually a wizard approached me. He sought to find the truth, and allowed me to mislead him off the path and towards me. But his mind resisted from breaking. I had never met someone else who could do that. He found me entertaining, and captured me with his magic.

“He thought he could make a man out of a monster. And who knows? Maybe he did. I’m a product of his teachings and experiments. He taught me everything I know about being human and how to perform magic. As for you using magic, I don’t know if that would work. You’ve already been given a different kind of power. I don’t know how the two would react. Uh. Next question?”

[anelegantdemise]

The books on the chair Saaleha weren’t anything extraordinary. The books were mostly in German, relating to learning the language and culture. The book she was flipping through was merely a German history book. It was everything he had read to refresh himself on the country before journeying over there.

Somehow, in between his spell and returning to the living room, Saaleha had moved into the kitchen with him. It made concentrating a little more difficult, but the spell was a simple and easy one. Then she moved a bit too close, trying to see if there was any heat coming off of his hands.

For the briefest of moments, Silas was reminded of an overeager child sticking their hand into a cage to pet the wild animal inside of it. It was becoming exceedingly difficult not to be like that animal. Saaleha seemed like a nice woman, but he wouldn’t be surprised if her previous encounters with the supernatural resulted in violent outcomes.

He waited until she accepted the mug to sit down in the living room, making himself comfortable. Might as well – he had no idea how long Saaleha would be here. Which meant it might be a good idea to do a breathing exercise to calm himself down before he ended up ripping her body in half.

1 2 3 4 5

Breathe in.

1 2 3 4 5

Breathe out.

Much better. Now he felt ready to say something. “You didn’t answer my question all the way through. But if you’re wondering, I performed magic. I am able to refine my energy, sharpen it into a tool using song and dance. I can use it to bend reality to my will, although I must have the proper tools to do what I want to do. And no, you cannot touch my hands. You’d be disappointed that they’re of normal human temperature.

[anelegantdemise]

Upon entering the little shop, Silas took note of a few things. One, there was a Mr. Handy trying to look busy behind some boxes – and two, the woman at the counter looked like she could use a nap. Unfortunately, sleep deprivation was commonplace in today’s world, but it didn’t stop him from wondering what was preventing her from getting proper rest.

It took her a moment to register he was there, but that was fine. Once she did, Silas accepted her greeting with a firm handshake. Her eyes were drawn to the Pip-Boy attached to his arm, and her question certainly confirmed her curiosity.

If he hadn’t been about to hand her a bunch of equipment with Vault-Tec branded all over it, he would have lied about coming out of a vault. It was easier to explain that he had plucked it off the arm of a corpse while scavenging than to identify himself.

And here he had thought Goodneighbor might be a little more discreet than Diamond City. “I am the overseer of Vault 23,” he stated bluntly. “The equipment I need looked at is important to my job. Here–”

Silas rummaged through his pack, taking out pieces of equipment he had wrapped in rags to protect them on his journey over here. They were all tools used to detect radiation in different sources. There were a total of five devices. “I’m not sure how well you work with sensitive equipment, but it’s worth at least getting an estimate for the costs, yeah?  I’d appreciate it if you can fix these things for me.”

[anelegantdemise]

“That’s because I am a man, not a monster,” Silas commented as he shuffled around the kitchen. Taking another look around, he realized the room was in dire need of a scrubbing. Perhaps he was only noticing now because he had an unexpected guest.

There was no electricity in the house. Not yet, at least. Silas had been considering remodeling his home and installing a small wind turbine and solar panels for electricity. While candles and his own magic have served him well for lighting, updating the house to the best of his ability would make things so much easier and convenient.

Since the cat was out of the bag, Silas figured it was too troublesome to toss some wood into the stove just to heat up some tea. Shuffling around in his cupboards, he eventually found what he was looking for. His favorite kettle, an orange monstrosity of a thing that deserved nothing but the trash bin. Still, Silas was rather fond of the thing, claiming it boiled the perfect cup of tea.

Reaching into another cupboard, he checked the expiration date on a box of tea bags before grabbing two out of the box. “I’m very old,” Silas finally answered her question as he moved to the sink to fill the kettle. “I didn’t keep track of the years for a long time, so I can’t give you an exact date. I think I came around somewhere in the fourth century. And what might you be, hm? You saw through my ruse. That’s not something normal humans do.”

Setting the tea bags down on the counter, he grabbed two mugs out from a cupboard. Setting a bag inside each mug, then moved to cradle the kettle in both his hands. Humming a gentle tune, heat poured out from his hands and into the kettle. An easy spell for an easy task. Bringing the water to proper temperature didn’t take very long, and he poured the hot water into each mug. Letting the tea steep for a few moments, he removed the bags and tossed them into the trash bin.

Carrying out the mugs, he offered one to her.

[anelegantdemise]

“A very long way,” Silas corrected himself. “If you plan on bombarding me with questions, may I ask that you keep my answers to yourself? I’m rather fond of my privacy, and I’d hate to have to move. I quite enjoy the solitude of my little island.”

Saaleha looked surprised by his answers, leaving himself very pleased with his decision to be honest. The last time someone had ventured onto his island searching for ‘the truth’, he had devoured them before they learned too much. A disappointing, yet tasty end to that encounter. This time, he wondered what would happen if he entertained the human’s fascination with the supernatural. Saaleha, despite her eagerness and naivety, seemed better to entertain and delight than to destroy.

As he made his way to the cottage, he shucked off his gardening gloves and tossed them near the bucket full of weeds. He’d return to that chore once his guest was gone. “Lovecraft’s stories might be the closest comparison, but I’d like to consider myself better than that. Anyways, sorry for the mess. I just got back from a trip today and haven’t had the time to clean up.”

Opening the door, he offered for her to step inside his little yellow cottage before moving to follow after her.

What could be considered the living room was packed to the gills with stuff. Various musical instruments sat in their stands or hung on the wall. The loveseat was in dire need of replacement, but it was his favorite place to sit and it was difficult to part with such a comfortable thing. There were two other chairs, one with books stacked on the seat and the other clean of any clutter. The coffee table could use some decluttering, but the chaotic mess hardly bothered him. A book shelf took up one corner of the room, filled with tomes from around the world.

“Make yourself at home, but I would be careful about touching some of the things on the walls. Some of my instruments are very delicate. What kind of tea do you prefer?”

[anelegantdemise]

He had little choice other than to remain where he was. It was difficult to say what might have survived being caught in the explosion. The squishier foods probably didn’t survive, but perhaps the carrots, yams, and potatoes did. He had a Nuka Cola in there to sell off, and that was probably smashed to bits. It was hard to say if the clean water he had survived as well. Hopefully the pieces of equipment and scrap were still salvageable, but if the water was smashed then probably not. Damn.

“Thank you,” he murmured in her direction. Hopefully she didn’t run off with his stuff. People were prone to doing that out here.

[anelegantdemise]

He had hoped his little party trick would scare Saaleha off, but it obviously proved ineffective. At first, it had seemed that the more he spoke to her, the more fascinated she became. There was no getting her off his island by pretending to be an ignorant middle aged man, and she wasn’t as easily spooked as he had hoped.

Or that’s what he has assumed, anyways. For a moment, she looked to be focusing right on him, as if she was trying to view him under a microscope. Maybe she was. It was then her demeanor performed a complete turnaround. Gone was the overeager woman who thought she would find some ghosts on Devil’s Island. Silas watched as a symphony of emotions played out on her face, beginning in the onset of fear, then terror, and then the edge of madness.

Oh dear, this wasn’t good. He had written her off as one of those kids who thought they could be the next internet sensation by posting their supposed findings and videos. That was obviously not the case now – there was more to this human than that.

She seen him.

But that couldn’t be right either. Otherwise her reaction would have been far more extreme than this. Just what was she? She had said she was some kind of truth seeker? She seemed to be quiet knowledgeable in mythology so perhaps…no. It couldn’t be.

It was better to take this one step at a time. Saaleha was speaking in Arabic, a language Silas was incredibly inept in. He hadn’t used Arabic in decades, and could make out only but a scant few words. Nothing for him to put together and understand.

After a few moments, she seemed to regain her sense of self and mustered up enough courage to ask him what he was. Fascinating. Humans never ceased to surprise him. He supposed it was time to cast away his eccentric persona.

“No one knows, including myself,” Silas answered truthfully. “I came into existence as a creature of madness, one that feasted on whatever it deemed fit for consumption. Many tried to end my life, but failed miserably. But I was greater than a wild beast, and thought that perhaps I could do better. It was only after centuries of study and self discipline was I able to successfully mimic the human race. What you see is the final product of my studies, modeled after the man who helped me realize I was more than a monster. But enough about that. Would you like some tea to calm your nerves? You've come a long way from the mainland to search for little old me.”