#penitent smith

[helianthology]

finally got my mog squared away for sorry

pls admire the nice bone/spine corset and the horns that are a good visual stand in for sorrys crystal horns poking thru

and also

i rly love how it looks like he has a scarf and wrap around his head to top everything off

other bonuses include the starburst motif (+ red gem insets) which both fit perfectly for the fact that he works under sunchoke (argent themed, soon to be its own pseudo faction come leg day due to Events) and the fact that a lot of his background is tied into fleshcrafting and crystal shaping as much as being blood discipline

pls ignore that it doesnt QUITE perfectly match, colour-scheme wise; i had to sacrifice a bit for the look i wanted, but i think it still holds up p well

if blizz would just go ahead and give me a 2h red crystal mace (preferably a version matchy match to the typical 2h draenei-themed crystal mace), id be even happier

but i settled for a weirdo sword-axe as a stand in until then

[helianthology]

freeform - grave hunting

cw: amputated limb, gore, death

--

A dull glow pierces the gloomy dawn.

Muted and listing this and that way, it betrays one dead man’s return well before they drift off the field themselves. They bring the morning mist inside with them, mantled by plumes thin as the spidersilk torn away from a vacant tomb.

The reek they carry with them into the main building of the medic ward earns them trouble all on its own. The rest simply makes matters worse. The tiny medic that confronts them fails to appreciate their urgency, the need that finally drew them from relentless pursuit amongst the rubble left behind after the latest battle.

Ike sees only the muck tracked inside. Sees the way the hanging lamps darken visible skin to the brown of old rust. Sees how this spotlights the filth of the rotten and the dead that cakes the whole of the knight’s body.

"I do not care," Ike shouts up from the draenei's kneecaps at them, "what you are looking for.”

Hooves the size of the goblin’s face shuffle, scraping and clacking and clicking anxiously.

“You do NOT bring a SEVERED LIMB into MY ward if you are GOING TO ALSO BRING THE OFFAL OF THE ENTIRE BATTLEFIELD WITH YOU IN THE PROCESS."

"Ah--"

They clutch a spindle made of red crystal all the more tightly. The source of the red light bobbing in the mists, its twisted spines grow from, grow around the captured hand of a corpse.

“Sorry.”

"GET. OUT."

Sluggishly retreating in the face of a temper far larger than the man wielding it, the knight mockingly nicknamed "Sorry" wanders out the door again. And uselessly elsewhere.

The soul they hunt for, after all, does not seem capable of staying put, and they are hours behind.

[helianthology]

extra tidbits about sorry (mostly more details that i couldn’t reasonably fit in the wod update post)

misc body details -  body augmented by death knight disciplines + various metals/organic crystal fused to flesh and bone - somewhat rotty + damaged: most damage to face, ribs, and extremeties - overall appearance has an emphasis on looking constructed/looking like that uncanney valley cross between organic and not - "scarring" is cracks and larger damage filled in/fused closed w/minerals

- vaguely auroch-like horns -- st like this and this -- are grown from organic crystal - bitey crystal chompers (inspo from: 1,2,3,4)

- left eye gone/eyelid all scarred up -- cant see out of it w/out "borrowing" an eye, and doesnt usually bother -- when using magic, lichlight is visible in the socket (essentially raw runic power leaking out the hole) - both sides of face open -- can see bits of shiny chompers through pitted skin -- inside of mouth also leaks excess runic power when casting

- the most damage is to left side + tail -- ribs + forearm exposed -- "docked" tail missing a good chunk; for balance they wear a prosthesis of flexible material with a weighted core -- reinforced "bone" segments made of crystal that follow spine from tail on up

- brown skin looks like wet sand or clay; not that pleasant to touch, either - long, dark green-black hair (black w/highlights being that oil-slick rainbow green) -- usually worn in a tail w/ bangs hiding damage to sides of face -- v thick hair, more like a mane when let down; reaches to lower back -- decorated w/various bits of self-made jewelry -- both tail + bangs bound up w/strips of fabric (think penny for bangs, but more fabric/less weights; think illidan's dumb hair for tail style)

main focus in “afterlife” is repentance - understands that no lifetime, no matter how supposedly eternal, will make up for the suffering and the damage caused - believes this is the only way to find some semblance of peace for themselves, and the only way really open to them and their skillset to still serve in the light’s name - doesn’t expect forgiveness or respect from anyone - genuinely (generally) accepts the loathing of the living as their due, especially any light-touched - not an anti-hero - not a villain - just some middling average joe shmuck who died, got recruited, did bad shit, and now wants to keep going and see if they can help

[helianthology]

character updates for wod, sorry edition

only the penitent man shall pass - sorry is my other new character for wod - is actually brand spanking new since i rolled them when x was trying to come up with a concept for a priest and we got distracted by dead draenei shenanigans - another of my big dumb woobie characters because i really like that design trope - their name when they were alive was ttolmir - i based their name, as i tend to for nelves and draenei, off greek -- tolmi: daring, bold, audacity (from tolmo: to dare/i dare) -- used double consonant tt, + ir, for draenei flavour - after freedom from lk's grasp, they become known as ttolmir the penitent as bad joke/insult -- this is b/c they vowed to serve eternal penance for their unholy existence as an abomination to the light and all the horrible acts they committed -- everyone just calls them "sorry" usually - they were young enough in life that they never knew argus, and old enough to have been aboard the genedar as a child before it crashed into draenor - they are fairly androgynous by draenei standards, and assumed male by non-draenei - they don't really care about the particulars because dead + non-draenei are weird about gender - they are physically equiv to late 20s/early 30s, of av height/weight for a draenei - they have a bulky, boxy build; v muscular - dark skin, dark hair - somewhat rotty + damaged: most damage to face, ribs, and extremeties -- augmented by dk disciplines + various metals/organic crystal fused to flesh and bone -- several prostheses - they are shamelessly inspired in design and concept by jasper from su, the dynamics/design of worrick/nic in gangsta, and the motivation of balsa in moribito

we are the crystal gems, we will always save the day - their career started out in shattrath at a very young age: since they had a natural affinity for the earth-related elements/with crystal-shaping, they were apprenticed to a master crystalsmith -- they studied in design, creation, and repairs related to this -- but eventually their specialty became all about the vigilants

from art and religious relics to the army of the naaru - the systematic pillaging and destruction during bc of the draenic holy cities influenced them greatly -- they traded crafting for taking up their hammer in defense of their people -- this later led to assisting sso at the isle of quel'danas - they ultimately fell, and died, at the hands of the scourge presence around the dead scar

ttolmir the soulshaper - in death, they used their knowledge for the benefit of the scourge -- including: soulbinding, hyalurgy, and metallurgy - they devoted much of their research and efforts into melding scourge and draenei technology: -- they improved on the foundations of unholy and blood disciplines wrt raising ghouls and the mastery of them -- and in the process, greatly augmented those raised wrt preservation, strength, stamina, and overall abilities - this earned them their rank and many high priority assignments - this is also what eventually led to grave's being killed, bound, and raised as an experimental construct, oops -- grave was intended to be the latest prototype -- if not for the events at light's hope chapel, grave wouldve been tested (like those in the pit during the dk starting experience) and then disassembled for sorry to continue refining their processes after obtaining that data -- instead sorry is freed of lk's grasp, and horror and loathing ensue all around :Da

through the portal - during wod they go through because they see this as a huge chance to help -- and later, when they realise just how bad things are, esp wrt the draenei themselves, they lend their particular areas of expertise that arent all death and decay l o l - grave has to go with ofc; sorry is the only person he really knows and being left behind to fend for himself isnt on - they join sunchoke's garrison midway through the campaign (after having been wandering around like dum-dums for a while unsure where to go and not always getting their help accepted) - hilarious awkward hijinks ensue with grave and a certain tiny tyrant - sorry and grave are slowly coming to terms with the circumstances of their unlives, and grave gradually forgives sorry for what they did to him - yay sorta bros (not a magical fix of forgiveness ofc, gotta work on it, but baby steps u no) - sorry mostly spends a huge majority of their time travelling back and forth, doing the thing they set out to do: passing on their knowledge, doing merc work for what amounts to free, and assisting (when seen draenei let them, anyway) with the vigilants around the holy cities of this au!draenor - this leaves grave on his own quite a bit, and he has to grow less dependent on his "superior officer" - lots of sads when the garrison gets hit and hit hard, because grave takes the brunt of an iron star's attack for his new buddy - sorry literally becomes mrs nesbitt until things start to improve/get resolved - more awkward when nextus finds out grave's "origins" - no idea where this will go from tanaan's campaign and onwards!