Sunray and Dustdevil are from a five book series that I'm working on called The Verses (each book is named after a type of spoken word, Rhapsody, Eulogy, Riddle, Limerick, and Requiem)
They're the gods of time and space respectively. Sunray is an axolotl because their ability to regrow any part of their body is like immortality, in a sense they reverse time to make their body like it was. Dustdevil is a cowboy because space is wild, untamed, and expansive. Their names aren't really their names, rather they're nicknames because their true names can't be spoken in English or any other mortal language. It's more accurate to literally call them Time and Space.
I can't give too much away because they're pretty massive spoilers but Sunray's golden thread is what holds time in a straight line, if the thread is messed with or cut, past, present, and future begin to collapse in on each other. Similarly with Dustdevil's pistols, the recoil causes the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd dimension to collapse
WHAT THATS ACTUALLY SO COOL????? I GASPED AY THE NAMING THEME JSJS
This sounds AMAZING, really cool concept even. Them having physical objects that effect stuff is soo????? Omg. I loooove the reasoning for there forms too. You HAVE to give me updates I'm already invested
He kept his hair shorter through his 30s (which he turned 30 in 1903) and up to around the late 1960s into the 1970s when he started to let it grow out some and kept it in the general style he’s drawn with currently.
So I have come to realize that Falx’s general backstory is not well known and it is a bit unfair of me to ask people to have read the various RPs where I have given out little tidbits of information. So here we go with a Prelude to where we are now.
I want to notate a couple things before we begin this long post
1) Falx’s backstory is a bit vague on a variety of details so it can fit within the various headcannons of each verses Troupe. I am more the willing to work with Troupe members on certain details like timelines and other headcannons
2) Falx is the creature as a whole. When referencing Caretaker or Reaper, one is referencing a personality, not the individual as a whole.
So without further ado, here we go
Before the Troupe
Falx was born to the Cicind Tribe which was a distant tribe of Tiger Beetles. While they served a similar role that the Mantis Tribe provides for Hallownest, they were considerably larger in number and considerably more dominant to the kingdom they resided near. Additionally they worshiped the Nightmare King and believed that embracing the fear and nightmares would give them strength. It was not uncommon for them to be visited by the Nightmare King and as such they were extremely devout and loyal to their god because unlike other higher beings, he was tangible and walked among the people that worshiped him.
However when the Nightmare Realm separated from the Dream realm, the disappearance of the Tribe’s god was noted. The Tribe, no longer seeing their god without a reason, lost hope and faith over time.
Falx had matured shortly before the Nightmare King had disappeared. His since a grubwyrm was to be one of the knights that served the King when he arrived and serve their lord when the King was not present. His devotion to the cause would not come to fruition as a few years after the King had disappeared, what was called the Great Cataclysm occurred.
The sprawled out kingdom and tribe that surrounded the pristine lake suddenly was destroyed by unknown large creatures. Some of the Tribe survived but when assembled to fight the large beings, they were destroyed. Falx was among the last in the Tribe to be alive, however was dying when suddenly Nightmare King Grimm had appeared and asked if Falx wished to join the Troupe.
Early Troupe Days
During the Early days of the Troupe, Falx was one of five new members. The Tents had only just been established and the various tasks each had to preform differed based on the skills of the members. Though even then, things were still chaotic and somewhat unorganized as the concept of the ‘Ritual’ was unfamiliar to all of the new members.
Falx had been tasked being the Troupe’s protector and with collecting Nightmares to help fuel the Troupe Master for his final performance and to raise the Child. There wasn’t a clear explanation of what this meant so being eager to serve, Falx collected as many flames it could hold, this caused some physical strain but had gone unnoticed.
This over zealous nature earned the creature’s title of “Nightmare Reaper”. The title “Caretaker’ was soon to follow as when the Child had been abandoned by its bearer shortly after the Ritual had failed, none knew what to do. It was there that Falx had stepped in, raised the Child as if his own and ultimately earned his place closer to the Troupe Master’s side.
As another Ritual or two had passed, Falx had proven too diligent in collecting the scarlet flames and the power overwhelmed him. A common issue occurred with the Grimmkin where a ‘Burnout” would take place where in the Grimmkin would become fueled by rage, would lash out to any who approached them with an explosive power and if the Grimmkin survived, would become mentally unstable
While Falx survived his Burnout, he was damaged both physically and mentally. In addition to not being able to remember the event, the mental instability created a different to control form of mania that was malicious in nature and often sought more brutal avenues to collect Nightmares than what had been previously been displayed. Recognizing the dangers of this event, Grimm sought to counsel Falx into finding ways to control this desire and focus more on the positive attributes of the creature such as his calm nature and giving nature.
Over a great period of time, this mental instability spawned two complete personalities of the same creature but with more defined attributes. Caretaker, the more calm, seemingly emotionless, driven, and anti social of the pair, and Reaper; a more wild and malicious personality that still had a burning passion to be as effective as possible.
As Reaper was the more dangerous personality to individuals around, Grimm had instructed to Falx that this personality was only to be ‘freed’ when the Troupe Master could supervise or while there was a period of time where the Child was with the bearer after the Ritual’s conclusion. As Falx was dedicated to his master, the personality was restrained with ease for a time, but even then something didn’t seem to be all good with the now assumed Caretaker.
Leading to a Failed Ritual
As time passed, Falx’s interest in the Master had only grown. Previous to the burnout, Falx had spent a considerable amount of time with the Troupe Master as he was often viewed as “The Shadow to Grimm’s Light. After the burnout, Falx had more time with the Troupe Master as part of the counseling until it was no longer seen as needed. Additionally more distance had been created as other Troupe Members were starting to disappear due to old age or their own burnouts. This in turn caused more tasks for the remaining members to assume. Somewhere in this mess, Divine is brought in to the Troupe.
While Falx did have some qualms about the Troupe Master’s interest in romantic partners before, the issue had grown into a jealousy. As time went on, Falx had discovered his jealousy stemmed from his own wishes and desires to be considered a romantic partner. This was an internal issue that Falx deemed as shameful and hid away. In addition Falx sought out his own companions in a hope that his heart would find someone of a greater love as he wouldn’t be effected by his sudden allure to the Troupe Master.
However as time went on, Falx found that there were quirks and issues within his own personalities and physical form that his partners were keen to point out or torment the creature over. Instead of thinking Falx had just picked terrible partners, the creature blamed itself and sought to hide a variety of his features with the cloak, hood, and scarf he is often seen with now. Additionally there was a time where he had sequestered himself entirely from any kind of social interaction.
Then it seemed love struck the creature with a new member. For a time things seemed to be calm and while Falx’s loyalty to the Troupe Master was strong, it often seemed the beetle’s allegiance was more towards his new love.
Until a Ritual failed and the cause of the failure was Falx’s own companion. Enraged, torn, and betrayed by this action, Falx allowed his Reaper personality to descend upon the one he loved and end the other member's life. The action left Falx utterly destroyed, but his loyalty and love for the Troupe Master took priority. At that point, Falx absolutely destroyed his body in an effort to collect enough flames to have Grimm continue the Ritual.
This was what brought the creature to further spiral downward.
Continuing On
With a Ritual failed, Falx was considerably weak. He started referring to himself more and more as one of the two personalities and struggled to fight the other. Reaper had since grown restless and even more demented in isolation while Caretaker had grown more antisocial. A long period of time from there had been spent staying away from other Troupe members and even purposefully being distant towards new members as now Falx was terrified to make new friends.This behavior continued from then on with Falx interacting very little with anyone outside of the Grimmkin and, on occasion, the Troupe Master. Naturally his forced isolation and created loneliness only caused more of a desire to be a companion for the Troupe Master, however his own self created inadequacies kept him from attempting to pursue anything. And thus we arrive to what we see now.
Nasir was born in Syria, and was the son of a man who ran a very powerful militia. (He has basically the same backstory as as his gladiator verse to a point, minus the brother stuff, if you want more detail.) He was a promising warrior, and was expected to take over for his father one day, but that changed the night he did something reckless.
(cutting for length - sorry mobile users)
He usually did not sleep around, but he found himself easily seduced one night into a woman’s bed. It didn’t make any sense, given his usual preferences, but she was irresistible. He later found out why as she drained him of nearly all his life. She let him live, however, forever changed. He was missing for almost two weeks, as she taught him how to navigate his new life, and he was in love with her immediately. It was only a byproduct of the bite that changed him, but he would have followed her anywhere. His feelings were not returned. She grew bored of her new plaything and abandoned him.
He returned home to his family, heartbroken, but was not the same man. He slept all day and only went out at night. He stopped fighting in the militia, even as his strength grew more and more. He stopped taking meals, and avoided others. Rumors spread quickly throughout the city. None of them true.
As a result of him no longer fighting in the militia, his father forced his younger brother, Mahdi ( @agonymasked ), from his studies and onto the battlefield, something Nasir felt immense guilt over. When Mahdi returned from a particularly devastating battle near death, Nasir bit and turned him in a panic. The two fled Syria later that night, and spent the following centuries together, moving from place to place when necessary.
He still sometimes dreams of the woman who bit him, sometimes longing for a woman who has likely long since forgotten him, and whom he will likely never see again.
Annnnnnnnd because vampire folklore and popular lore is all over the place sometimes, here are some specific stats to Nasir’s vampire verse. Note: In my mind, even if Nasir is the one to turn your character, you do not have to have the same characteristics he does in vampire form. I like seeing it the same way human genetics work, where a parent can have one quality, but their child may or may not, and vice versa.
Basic stats:
- Skin color: Normal, medium brown, NO FUCKING SPARKLES XD
- Fangs: Retractable
- Reflection in a mirror: No
- Can be photographed/filmed: No
- Mostly nocturnal
Powers:
- Immortal (outside of circumstances below listed as fatal/potentially fatal)
- Enhanced strength
- Enhanced sense of taste, smell, and hearing
- Decreased sense of sight in highly lit places
- Heals quickly (unless burned by sunlight)
- Mild psychic ability, useful for seducing victims
- Bite creates a powerful feeling of euphoria in both himself and his victim. This can be, but is not always, sexual. It can also create a powerful bond between himself and his victim, under the proper circumstances.
- Can communicate telepathically with his brother. This link is not created with every new vampire he creates, but sometimes with those he shares a strong connection to.
- May be able to form some level of telepathic link with a mate, if the bond is strong enough.
- Capable of shifting into animal form. His animal form is a European Badger.
Weaknesses:
- Fatal: Stake through the heart, decapitation, and drowning
- Potentially fatal: Direct sunlight (suffers severe burns quickly and heals slowly, will be fatal if exposed too long), and fire (he will burn the same way a human would, and fatal burns to a human are also fatal to him)
- Unpleasant, but bearable: Indirect sunlight and silver
- No effect: Garlic and holy symbols
Reproduction/feeding:
- To create another vampire, he must drain his victim’s blood to the point of near death, and they must then consume his blood to revive them.
- Can feed on the blood of any kind of animal, but human blood of the living is more sustaining.
- The blood of virgins and children tastes better, though he doesn’t usually prey on the young.
