05. meet the cast (pt. 1)
The Company: a traveling mortuary company that provides services for both hire and charity. Some of their services include, but are not limited to: corpse preparation, funeral ceremonies, headstone design, coffin crafting, memento mori commissions. Their mode of travel is this really peculiar hearse caravan.
The idea of The Company came about in part because I had read somewhere that some cowboys were buried with custom designed cowboy boots to be placed by their graves – then I wondered, what about all the folks that were left alone in the wild and are left alone to just perish? Or what about in settlements that don’t really have an undertaker or formal funeral company to help one of their own? Everyone ought to be sent off, remembered. My initial thought was that it would be cool to have a specific company/group that travels the West that specializes in cowboy burials – memento mori pieces, custom headstones things, burials etc. Then, during that time where I was trying to pivot to a more gothic-fantasy-western sort of direction, I thought the idea of this company would be so freaking cool. They would be the in-betweeners of the “monsters” vs. “hunters” in this universe, and be associated with all things Death. Soul senders? Collectors? Unsure if I have totally written that off yet hmm.
Anyways! I’m still flushing out the members of The Company, but so far, I’ve sketched out enough to formulate a group of six individuals. These folks share a deep and respected relationship with death/death culture. Their “titles” only highlight their role of expertise within The Company’s services, but they are more than capable of intersecting and assisting each other when needed. Folks!!! I’d like to introduce you to:
Rupert Fritz Worth (46), The Surgeon that has been accused of being a time travel on three separate occasions—from the Austrian Empire to America. Others might be offended, or a little self conscious, but he sees it all as a compliment to his eclectic fashion sense. Like many other professionals in the field, he began his career as a barber—his speciality was impressive facial hair styling—until necessity and opportunity called him to train his skills with deeper, and more invasive kinds cuts.
Ed McCullen (25), The Carpenter more fearful around the living than the dead. Though he can handle the sight of blood and rotting flesh without so much as a flinch, the idea of engaging in small talk with a stranger is enough to make his stomach hurt with anxiety. Whittling is something that helps to calm and ground him. He has quite the collection of wooden animals he carved himself.
Dara Quinn (28), The Undertaker leading The Company and all of its logistical duties. When they aren’t organizing funeral services or meeting with patrons, they’re dabbling in the occult.
Lora-Mae Powell (26), The Right Hand and curio collector.
Chester Reeves (32), The Reverend who is impressively handy with a gun. Was he naturally skilled? Or did his profession call for him to learn how to handle firearms? His past has greatly shaped his views on life, fate, and death. Vic, his albino corn snake, enjoys napping in his inner coat pocket.
Delfina “Della” Rivera (39), The Chemist with a keen talent for brewing. Tonics, moonshine, balms, perfume, poison—you name it, she can make it. She had no interest in profiting from her creations, as she is much more content with experimenting new recipes and sharing with others she meets. When she isn’t buried in her chemistry kit concocting something new, she is usually with Rupert assisting with embalming and the dressing of corpses.
