I'm interested in hearing more about The Host, especially Selvvinir and Sycamour.
What were the circumstances surrounding their deaths?
Would you like to talk about some of the bargains they've struck with mortals?
For The Host in general: How do they deal with the dragons who hunt them? How difficult is it for regular dragons to defeat any members of The Host?
Known in kinder company as The Bonebound Bard and The Harvestmaster, Selvvinir and Sycamour do not share a domain, but they are among some of The Host's only known gray morality members. Their deals are fair, albeit dangerous- and it is most likely because in death, they were not as furious as their fellow entities.
Selvvinir led a clan for a time in a shape far unlike the one she wears now. A battle poet and storyteller who penned the bulk of her people's stories in meter to be performed in the honor of the fallen, Her honesty would see her destroyed, as her tales of survival and perseverance spat cleanly in the eye of those trying to rewrite her ilk as the aggressors in a grand clash between Plague clans that led to her ultimate capture. The remnants of her once-great pack have been scattered to the wind now, and the leaders have shed the fins and skull-plates of Mirrors for the feather of Skydancers and grand bulk of Guardians, and in death, she offers her voice to those who seek to be remembered in the echelons of great singers, performers, bards and poets- with the caveat that they use her boon only to speak truths.
A liar wielding her blessing will find themselves swiftly and resolutely crushed beneath claws still slick with the filth of the Wyrmround she was drown within.
Sycamour Was not raised under the banner of Plague's great respect for power and survival, and one might assume that would have made him more angry to die than Selvvinir, who's respect for her culture meant her death was accepted, albeit, perhaps, more cruel than it needed to be. In life, he was a scholar stationed in Lanternlea Port, a keeper of a grand library of Light Flight's most cherished knowledge. His death was a simple accident, if you ask the wrong people, found deceased with a deadly dose of a bitter root in his cup of tea, the fine porcelain laid almost picture perfectly, beside the pearlcatcher and his scrolls... with his pearl nowhere to be found. Those with a more conspiratorial mind might insist he knew too much, had found something that a collective of others may not have wanted known- But his work unfinished, his desire to catalogue that which dragonkind knows still burning hot within him- The Host welcomed him with open arms.
Serving now as both a reaper predominantly focused on the collection of Pearlcatchers in their moment of death and specifically, gathering their pearls to fill his 'library'- Sycamour is not without his willingness to trade what he knows to petitioners. He is a Memory Broker, using his abilities as a spirit to strip memories from the pearls he harvests and pass them along to the highest bidder- But a memory given is a memory lost, and all things are a trade with the Harvestmaster.
Selvvinir and Sycamour don't often make deals with the mortals of Sornieth, and the notable subject who sought a deal with Selvvinir made his deal with a different lady of strings entirely. But that does not mean there have been none at all.
Tarrence is no mortal at all, and his deal with the Bonebound Bard is a favor from a friend, instead of a curse. Tarrence abandoned The Host some time ago, to hide himself away from the politics and petty squabbles of his fellow spirits. The true spirit of Death who's position now splits among his fellows and rests more heavily on Sycamour, in fact, Selvvinir's pity for his desire to protect his only son and escape from the cycle The Host insists upon forcing led to a deal struck in a long-held familial affection. Should Tarrence seek her former lover, and offer him protection from death, from the looming threat of being made a member of The Host himself, Selvvinir would defy her own nature- Siren songs speaking beautiful lies in the ears of those who would rather see him continue in his position- or destroyed and absorbed entirely.
Occulus' deal is one of cruel hunger for ascension, and she sought knowledge from the fount of the Harvestmaster. What Occulus gave up for what she knows is unclear, but given her personality, and general proclivity for being a stone-cold bitch, one might assume it was the last happy memory she bore. The owner and operator of The Mirrors Apartments in Vaudemire Way, she's a good bit more dangerous than her pretty face might imply- and the knowledge she traded for has a cost greater than her own memory- the knowledge of how to create Beholders of the Host without the violent, detrimental cragging of the mind that oft comes from experiencing such power- she seeks to bring the Gods to her own level- and her hunger for knowledge means her greed is... overlooked, by Sycamour. She'll need more than knowledge to strip those on high from their place, after all.
[Absinthe, Dethrone, And Bast]
While there have been several Host-Hunters over the years, there are currently very few who are... notable thorns in the side of the Host itself, and they are, unsurprisingly, given The Host's reach, unrelated to one another entirely.
Absinthe is a young priest in over his head, investigating the strange happenings around Vaudemire Way, The Stelhope Orphanage, and The Black Adder Circus. Hired by a man who went missing mysteriously soon after his arrival, Absinthe's stay in Vaudemire Way has been... odd, to say the least, and the mad ramblings of the few people who he was directed to as 'leads' have not offered much aid. However, his nosing around has earned the ire of one spirit, Magda, the Eyeless One is not one for the meddling of those who speak with the dead- and Absinthe's investigations have been turning over dirt- and things best left buried- perhaps unlucky for Absinthe, Magda's Cleaversworn is not in the market of asking questions.
Dethrone is ancient, and furious. He seeks to destroy specifically three members of The Host, the Three who conspired to create him. In most cases, Dethrone would have been classified as a member of The Host himself, an undead wraith wreathed in vile black flame, bound in bandages and stitched together with gold. He is a Beholder, despite this, Stygian's one and only, and created, perhaps, with the intention of a power play. In league with Mithos and Puppeteer, Stygian created Dethrone, enabling him to see members of the Host, to hunt more efficiently- their intention to haul a missing god back into their council- Dethrone has only ripped their newest members to ribbons, in response. He defies what he is called to do, and instead follows the streaking energy of the Splintering to possible Ascensions- destroying the fledgling spirits with flame and fang.
Bast, finally, is the most 'recent' but most knowledgeable Host-Hunter. Present at the site of the Splintering that trapped Hope Adder Enterprises in a time bubble, and released The Host across time and space all at once, Bast's task is not to kill the Host, but to secure it, and return them to the walls of H.A.E.- He is aware of what caused the Host's creation, his boss' meddling in the affairs of life, death, and technology and the subsequent escape attempt by VAN- the results of Avis' unethical hunger for knowledge. Infected with an offshoot illness caused by a small number of host members, Bast is uniquely equip to pursue and fight those who resulted from The Splintering- and has a relatively impressive capture rate- Four possible Host ascensions contained and prevented from claiming any greater power is almost unheard of.
Which does, in fact, lead to the question: Can those who might be referred to as "regular" fend off members of the Host? And the answer is resistance is possible- defeat is unlikely. While they are not true gods, simply mangled spirits twisted with magic, and the tangling threads of reality, they have been given a number of boons that make them difficult to fight, to say the least. It is a matter of wits and deception- turning deals back into the face of those who make them- seeking aide in those around you- a lone dragon will never survive the thrall of the Host- the promise they offer too great, their hunger for consumption often too strong- the Host-Hunters themselves are touched by The Splintering, wielding skills not accounted for in the bounds of reality.
