v1.4.7
Latest update: 02/APR/2024
An information hub made by ThatRoyalArt.
Click on any of the categories to your right (or below, if you're on mobile) to learn about the worldbuilding and mechanics present in Deathless. Enjoy (or don't? who knows, I'm not you)LATEST: I'm currently working on updated key art for every character, this will take a while because my current main priority is university, but it'll be worth it. This also means that Avril and Dominik get to skip the awkward middle phase between styles, so less art for me to make.
TLDR: You might see characters get higher quality art than others, I'm currently updating them.
CATEGORIES
Recommended reading order is from top to bottom, but do whatever you want.
BONDS
Okay, so bonds. Probably one of the most interesting parts of Deathless, since they're fun to work with and create new ones.What are bonds, anyway? A bond is a word linked to a cadel's entire being, which determines what cool powers they have. Bondless cadels still technically have a bond, it just doesn't manifest, but could possibly awaken on their descendants if their blood got messed up (more on that later). Bond types are signified by a cadel's eye shape, and therefore can be hidden with contacts.Specific bonds aren't passed down by lineages, except for a very small amount of them. There are many different types of bonds, which I shall describe now:
Paragon: This type of bond is extremely rare, to the point there's only a few dozen lineages in existence. Paragons are also the most powerful bonds one could possibly have, from warping space and time to your will or even cheating death. To contrast their immense power, paragons are very restrictive and specific, you have one trick and that's about it.
Disruptive: Relatively rare, but one of the most aggressive types of bonds you could have, right under some paragons. Disruptive bonds combine the mind with the physical world, to highly destructive results.
Augment: The most common type of bond alongside stable. Augment bonds are beneficial to a specific thing the cadel otherwise lacks, and enhances existing traits. Not awfully powerful, but definitely a great asset in the right hands.
Stable: An extremely common type of bond. Stable bonds are the 'weakest' beneficial bonds, and are also quite simple in nature. However, these are very easy to get creative with, since they tend to be very vague and therefore have a lot of possibilities. Their main upside is that their simple nature means they almost always work exactly as intended.
Parasitic: A type of bond that has only recently started to appear. Those with a parasitic bond are able to harness great power, with the downside (or upside, depending on the cadel, I guess) of harming others or themselves in the process.
Detrimental: The only type of bond that doesn't have any upsides. Anyone unlucky enough to spawn with a detrimental bond will need to balance having to deal with an extra issue on top of normal life things.
None: The bond is inactive, however, the cadel still has a bound word.
Handy little guide (Bonds)
BLOOD COLOURS
Blood colours affect a cadel's appearance and personality, they are also one of the few things passed down via lineages.A cadel's blood colour can be altered, making them what's called a 'dualblood'. This can happen through various means, anywhere from simply being randomly altered during the spawning process, or someone else's bond affecting them in some way. If the blood colour gets messed up during a cadel's lifetime, it won't affect them specifically, but it would affect their descendants.
Dualbloods combine the appearance of whatever both their blood colours dictate and can therefore get a bit messed up if they're contradictory (i.e.: a crimson/black dualblood would probably have an uneven number of horns).Being a dualblood can also (but not ALWAYS) affect a cadel's bond, making it anywhere from slightly altered to extremely detrimental without changing the basic premise or word linked to it.So anyway have fun kin assigning yourself or smth. /lh
Handy little guide (Blood)
Note that certain blood colours are rare (orange and pink), and others are very rare (green and cyan).
ACTIVE BLOOD COLOURS
Greenbloods, those who reject harming: They desire, above all, to protect those they care about. They are angry at the world for doing them and so many others wrong and aren't afraid to yell and punch back at it. At their best, they are righteous, trustworthy and loyal. At their worst, they are cynical, forceful, and can hold grudges for a very long time.
Tealbloods, those who cause change: Undoubtedly the revolutionists of the blood colours. They refuse to conform with what they don't like and seek change in the world. This often leads them to drive away those they consider friends, as they are consumed by their emotions and goals. At their best, they are determined, fearless and ambitious. At their worst, they are cruel, destructive and single-minded.
Blackbloods, those who unify by force: They have a strong set of morals, and they are very rarely broken. these morals, however, depend entirely on their perception of the world. They are the no-nonsense, "ends justify the means" kind of people, if those ends happen to align with their beliefs. At their best, they are principled, skilled and enduring. At their worst, they are unrelenting, vicious and unsympathetic.
Purplebloods, those who succeed despite others: Driven by a desire to be involved in anything and everything - and be the best at it while they're there. Unlike bluebloods, purples want to be the very best, even if it means bringing others down, and for their own sake, not that of those they care about (though they may very well not realise this). At their best, they are committed, competent and strong-minded. At their worst, they are selfish, drastic and overbearing.
Crimsonbloods, those who develop distance: Driven by their inherent want to learn about the world they live in. While they try to keep themselves rational, deep down they are emotional and caring people, though they may have many reasons to hide that part of themselves. Don't be surprised if they keep a secret or two, even if it may harm others. At their best, they are intelligent, organised and warmhearted. At their worst, they are inflexible, distant and apathetic.
PASSIVE BLOOD COLOURS
Cyanbloods, those who reject healing: Whether it's purposeful or accidental, it's not uncommon for cyanbloods to reject help and to deny their need for healing, only to be as cheerful as can be five minutes later as if nothing had happened. At their best, they are charming, agreeable and lively. At their worst, they are irritable, indirect and erratic.
Orangebloods, those who accept change: If tealbloods are revolutionists, then these are the exact opposite. They are ready to take any changes and challenges life throws at them in stride, though this may oftentimes harm them in the end, as they probably won't tell anyone how they're truly feeling. At their best, they are effervescent, flexible and vigorous. At their worst, they are avoidant, uncommunicative and selfless to a fault.
Pinkbloods, those who unify by reason: They love adventure and experiencing the most interesting parts of life. They won't sit in one place for long without inspecting every nook and cranny of it and giving you a long-winded explanation about the history of the place, though they may oftentimes miss the bigger picture in the process. At their best, they are resourceful, attentive and enthralling. At their worst, they are dependent, unrealistic and wrapped-up in their own thoughts.
Bluebloods, those who succeed despite themselves: They find themselves driven by others' perception of them. Constantly having to meet expectations, don't be surprised if they don't know their own worth and keep themselves occupied with whatever will make them seem like 'worthy' people. At their best, they are productive, reasonable and admirable. At their worst, they are impulsive, critical and incautious.
Goldbloods, those who develop affinity: They are, at their core, driven by a desire to be heroes and to imitate those they look up to. This oftentimes leads to disappointment as they learn their idols don't quite lead up to their high expectations. It's common for them to hide an almost uncharacteristically cynical worldview "for the sake of others". At their best, they are charismatic, trusting and adaptable. At their worst, they are gullible, stubborn, and unsure of themselves.
SPAWNING
A couple minutes after a cadel's death, their entire body turns into a dust-like substance and sinks into the ground (or floats away until it's able to find a suitable place to sink into). Cadel dust is highly dangerous to inhale or even be around for too long, as it causes a reaction commonly referred to as "death tears", where anyone affected starts violently coughing and is unable to stop crying. This is theorised to be some sort of defense mechanism to prevent anything from consuming the dust and therefore ending a lineage.
The substance then travels to a cadelmade landmark known as The Harbor, where it rises through the grates and slowly takes a humanoid shape. When it has completely risen, defined flesh and fur finally form, and a new cadel has spawned. (See: Harbor section in Points of Interest)New cadels keep their ancestor's blood colour and bond type. If their ancestor's bond was one of the few exceptions that is passed down directly through lineages, they also keep that.The Harbor is a fairly recent development, the first functional prototype having been made two generations ago. It was deemed significant enough to mark a completely new era, and thus its creation is marked as cadelkind's year 0.When a cadel spawns, they know their name and have a vague sense of self, but they do not remember their ancestors' lives. They may, however, be able to very weakly recall certain events and even superstitions if an incredibly similar event were to occur to them.
A very rare thing that can happen to a cadel is a traumatic spawning, which involves them trying to recreate wounds their ancestors suffered via harming themselves or others. Augment bond lineages are more prone to traumatic spawning than others, as their brains tend to "give up" and assume their bond will compensate for whatever happens.After getting checked up by the cadels that patrol The Harbor, they are given temporary housing nearby until they're around 10. Afterwards, they are allowed to properly live in the city and attend the Harborside Integration Course until they're about 20 years old.
WORLDBUILDING
So, the world, right. Cadels live in these floating islands above The Great Unknown, because who would ever throw themselves into what seems like an endless sky? A couple of them, actually. There were expeditions done, but no one ever returned, so they obviously stopped doing that.
Since most cadels have wings, they are able to easily travel between these islands, and flying vehicles that resemble trains have been made for those without them.
The several islands have extremely different biomes, anywhere from canyons that sprout enormous crystals, to vast deserts riddled with dangerous ancient ruins. The flora and fauna that resides in them resembles our own pretty closely, but there are some exceptions.There is also an afterlife of sorts. Most cadels only get to experience it for a couple hours, because they eventually spawn at the harbor.
MAP OF THE MAIN ISLANDS
PLACES OF INTEREST
The Harbor
Constructed at the deepest point of the Central Canyon, The Harbor serves as the place where cadel material is released for new ones to be created.
It was built on year 0, and since then generations have been thoroughly documented and the current population is no longer a rough estimate. A very well paid job that was introduced due to the existence of The Harbor is patrolling the perimeter and registering any cadels that spawn, writing down their blood colours, bond types, names, and other important data before they're moved into the temporary housing nearby.
Temporary Housing
Located near The Harbor, cadels reside here until they're around ten years old. These buildings have been constructed into the canyon itself, doubling as an easy way to move up and down from The Harbor with special elevators that staff and departing cadels are allowed to use.
The other reason for their unconventional positioning is that recently spawned winged cadels do not know how to fly right away, so it's easier to prevent them from simply fleeing, as they're bound to hit a dead end anyway. This means any cadel to ever spawn on the island since The Harbor's creation has been properly documented and has lived in the temporary housing.
Floor-Height Alleys
A collection of alleyways that are almost completely surrounded by railing, as they've been built significantly lower down, to the degree that the rooftops of all buildings there coincide with the average floor height of the rest of Harborside. They are only accessible via flight, elevators, and a singular set of stairs.
Originally built with flightless cadels in mind, the precarious buildings lowered in value drastically, eventually gaining a new target demographic of cadels with negative bonds. That, and those who don't want to be found.
Unknown Island
Written down long ago, on a book titled The Encyclopedia of All Skies, is a passage that reads as follows:
On the edge of the forwardright skyshore, where all vision is obscured by a thick relentless fog, sits an island explored only once. A group of five explorers was sent to investigate it, one of them famous and already on his triple digits. They returned beaten, bruised, and two members short. "Here be monsters," or so they said, "never, ever look back."
Their possessions had all been buried by the sixth twenty-sixth of the year minus twelve.
It is unknown when, where, and even if the famous explorer's descendant spawned.
The First Collector
Left to rot.
We don't need an overcomplicated justification for why people wind up here. All you need to know is that they get there after death, and that they can get out under some circumstances.
The Circumstances
Say, that, for one reason or another, you're in the afterlife and want to get out. Okay, cool. First off, let's see if you meet either of these requirements:
You are not dead, and got into the afterlife because of your (or someone else's) bond (i.e.: apparition, Wilbur's bond).
You are stuck in a state between life and death, and therefore won't pass on naturally (i.e.: you SOMEHOW got in there during a coma).
If you find yourself in either situation, you're good: You'll get out eventually via waking up or whatever other outside condition is keeping you there. However, to get out faster, you could also go through The Ten Gates. More on those later.If you DIDN'T meet the requirements, then there is a last resort:
Through some outside method in the living world, you retain some sort of connection or physical form, even after death.
If you meet any of the three conditions, this means that you will be able to see and interact with The Ten Gates. But what are these mysterious things that can seemingly revive you? Let's find out.
The Ten Gates
So, you're lucky enough to be able to see them. How do you get revived?It's a bit more complicated than you may think at first. Only one person in the entirety of the afterlife can go through them at a time, though they may have someone accompanying them, as long as the second person meets at least one of the first two requirements.What do they look like, and how do they function? It depends on a lot of factors. The Ten Gates will be themed around your blood colour(s), except for the last one. The last gate will be themed around the blood colour(s) of the person that you consider most important to you. If you're don't care about anyone, it will look empty, abandoned, and will be significantly harder to complete.The challenges presented are also blood colour dependent. The adventure you must go through is deeply personal, more than anything else. The Gates help you embrace your positive traits, overcome your negative ones, and even develop the better end of the blood colour(s) that is(are) a counterpart to yours.
Now, here's some rough estimates of what they would be:
Green and Cyan: As the ones that reject harming and healing, respectively, the gates would be a test of loyalty. You must learn to understand what drives you to care towards those close to you. What would you be willing to give up for them? How much of yourself would you sacrifice, if it meant a better life for those you love? The truth is, oftentimes the overbearing nature of both great highbloods ends up harming those around them, and stops them from properly healing, as you are not always truly aware of what's best for others. As you cross the final gate, be sure that you can better help people by also recovering from your wounds. They are not a burden for you to bear alone.
Teal and Orange: As the ones that cause and accept change, respectively, the gates would be a test of endurance. You must learn to know your limits, both mental and physical. How much are you going to bear before breaking apart? Do you tread on truly knowing what your impact on this world will be? The truth is, these blood colours need to discover their own boundaries, both to accept what they cannot affect, and to take on battles worth fighting for. As you cross the final gate, be sure that even the strongest fighter has to put down their weapon, and the sturdiest defense must open its gates. Not all battles are meant for you, much less for you to fight on your own.
Black and Pink: As the ones that unify by force and reason, respectively, the gates would be a test of will. You must learn to understand your own morality and personal worldview. Who are you willing to let into your life? How long will you yearn to walk into your ideal world, knowing you remain unable to move? The truth is, these blood colours are so caught up in a world that you can oftentimes only watch from a distance. But you cannot grasp existence from a single, never changing angle. As you cross the final gate, be sure that yes, you can cross that bridge, you just need to get there. And once you see things from a new angle, the sight can be truly wonderful.
Purple and Blue: As the ones that succeed despite others and themselves, respectively, the gates would be a test of integrity. You must learn to better respect both yourself and others. How much of your worth is dictated by how you are perceived? How much harm have you caused in pursuit of success? The truth is, these blood colours struggle to understand and properly differentiate their wants from their needs, and even if their wants truly belong to them. As you cross the final gate, be sure that you can get to know yourself better, and that you can once again embrace those you haven't properly appreciated or have driven away.
Crimson and Gold: As the ones that develop distance and affinity, respectively, the gates would be a test of truthfulness. You must learn to better know your strengths and weaknesses. Is showing the "best" side of yourself at all times truly worth it? Are you not losing yourself whilst doing so, and for what? The truth is, these blood colours constantly hide parts of themselves that they think are "bothersome" or "unlikable", even if doing so may negatively affect them in the long run. As you cross the final gate, be sure that you can open up and embrace that which you consider flawed. Someone out there won't hesitate to appreciate you in your entirety.
THE ULTIMATE BLORBO MAKING PLACE
So, want a cadel OC of your own? Cool, cool. Here's a couple resources that could prove useful when making one (more are vaguely planned and will be added one day):
The FireAlpaca OC maker is an instant download that you can use to draw over/edit bases, or just use them as a reference. If you don't have FireAlpaca, scroll down to see the references as PNGs.
3D's fun cadel gen is a perchance.org generator that can help you come up with quick concepts for OCs. It includes blood colour, general appearance, bond type, bound word, all that good stuff. Go wild with it.
BLOOD COLOUR REFERENCES:
Keep in mind these are the default patterns, tail tips, colour values, etc. Some characters might have lighter colours on the patterns that show as darker on the ref, slightly different patterns, etc.
The only obligatory parts are the blood colour (obviously), the listed required colours, and the vague idea of what the ref looks like. And even then, there's exceptions! If you want to, say, make a cadel's blood slightly darker or lighter, or maybe colour shift it a bit as a stylistic choice, feel free to do so as long as it's still recognisable.
Look at canon Deathless characters for reference on how varied a single blood colour can be! (I.E.: Nemesis and Haros, both pure tealbloods)
INFO / TOS:
WHERE TO WATCH DEATHLESS
Now that you've read this carrd, and are hopefully interested enough to get to this part, then this is where the fun begins!
And I must thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for reading this far and showing interest in this little project of mine. Have a nice day!
Down here is a playlist where all canon Deathless episodes are posted, so have fun with the current ones and look out for more in the future.
Any questions relating to the worldbuilding, characters, plot, or other such things? Feel free to ask on my tumblr, it's solely focused on DL at this point!
There IS a Deathless Discord server, but it's currently invite only. So, if a friend recommended you the series and they're in the server, you might just be able to get in. If you personally speak to me you might also be able to join from that alone. You're also more likely to get your questions answered in there.
Need some real quick convincing? Scroll on down and watch the prologue in this very page right away!
You are now in...
Character section
Click on the blorbos to your right (...or below if you're on mobile) to check out their cool powers and all that.
All themes on character pages, including bonus themes, are made by me. If there were to be a guest artist in the future, I'll state otherwise in whichever themes it would apply.
THE CHARACTERS
For reference, the main part of the story takes place during year 61.
(Present) 3rd generation, starts at roughly year 40:
2nd generation, starts at roughly year 20:
1st generation, starts at roughly year 0:
BRAND FORTUNATO, death-ridden fireball
INFORMATION
Pronouns: He/him
Blood colour: Gold
Spawndate: 23/09/42
Age, during their generation: 19
Bond: Phoenix (Paragon) - After dying, revives amidst a flaming twister. Time for revival is about a few minutes but gets shorter and shorter every time. He can also control fire to set things like weapons ablaze with enough concentration.
Lineage: Fire (Previous: Radiant)
Description: Brand. How do I start with this guy. He's dumb, but in a 'can be smart if he wanted to but chooses against it' kind of way. He's also very optimistic, motivated and adventurous, but this often leads to bad situations that are hard to get out of. However, if you get to know him enough, you will notice that he has a fairly cynical outlook on life that he tends to keep under wraps for the sake of others.
Fun fact: The shades he wears are awful knockoffs of actual replicas, which Zillian spent all his savings to get several of. That was back when they were around 15, by this point he only has one pair left. The first pair he wore was sadly lost after he dropped them into the endless sky, while all the others have cracked from bad falls.
KEY ART
CHARACTER THEMES
"chill lofi beats to confront your scary idol to" by ThatRoyalArt
"Y Axis" by ThatRoyalArt
"BURNT RUBBER" by ThatRoyalArt
"Get well soon (Gold)" by ThatRoyalArt
"MISPLACED GRIEVANCES" by ThatRoyalArt
"EVERYBODY LIVES" by ThatRoyalArt
TAYLOR TAYLOR, burdened adviser
INFORMATION
Pronouns: He/him
Blood colour: Crimson
Spawndate: 04/09/42
Age, during their generation: 19
Bond: Weave (Augment) - Can control fabric, strings, ropes, etc. Depending on the material, he can even reform it into different shapes (like a cool scarf that definitely doesn't have any cadel parts in it!)
Lineage: Strings (Previous: Thread)
Description: Taylor is one of the few cadels in this world that are actually rational and smart (/HYP). He works part time at the library out of both necessity and fun, since he gets to proofread books that are added. Also, he may or may not have a reason for wearing that mask, but who would want to know about THAT part of his backstory? Well, Nemesis has known about it for a while, that's for sure.
Fun fact: Those claws on his scarf are, in fact, cadel horns. Not just any cadel horns, but some that Nemesis repeatedly and intentionally broke off when they were younger. Quite the arduous and lengthy task for a tealblood, but at least it looks cool.
KEY ART
CHARACTER THEMES
"Why this theme slaps: A thread" by ThatRoyalArt
"Of wounds and words" by ThatRoyalArt
NEMESIS DANGER, reckless analyst
INFORMATION
Pronouns: She/her
Blood colour: Teal
Spawndate: 05/11/42
Age, during their generation: 19
Bond: Clash (Disruptive) - Can move objects via telekinesis, as long as she's strong enough to physically lift them. She can also use telepathy to basically scream or imitate other harsh noises in people's minds and startle them.
Lineage: Sound (Previous: Echo)
Description: The not-so-proud-moreso-angry current owner of the title "edgiest name in Deathless". Nemesis and Brand have a long history together, and by that I mean she disliked him for no real reason besides finding him annoying (fair enough) and over time it... improved? This later resulting in downright worrying escapades involving repeatedly killing him for the sake of understanding his bond better (or for the sake of science, as she put it). Hey, at least no one knows better than that duo that if you play with fire, you get burnt.
Fun fact: Nemesis wanted to get a science related job from a very young age, and eventually discovered that her interest lies in studying bonds and their limits. Luckily for her, those kind of positions are in desperate need of personnel after a certain controversy involving unethical usage of cadel material.
KEY ART
CHARACTER THEMES
"Meet Nemesis" by ThatRoyalArt
"KICK PUNCH SLAM" by ThatRoyalArt
HAROS MOSS, bridge burner
INFORMATION
Pronouns: He/him, they/them
Blood colour: Teal
Spawndate: 16/07/44
Age, during their generation: 17
Bond: Devour (Parasitic) - Can steal people's bonds after biting himself and hurting them in some way. The harder the bite, the longer they get to keep it. However, the bond can be downright painful if he keeps it for too long.
Lineage: [UNKNOWN]
Description: Is that a snake? Reference?? Okay, seriously speaking. Haros Moss. He was dealt a bad hand in life: they spawned right when parasitic bonds became a more widespread thing, like RIGHT THAT MOMENT. Because of this he has issues (like a lot of them) that they take out on other people, including those he considers friends. A lot of the time he won't notice when they've hurt someone, which leads to strained relationships at best and bad cutoffs at worst.
Fun fact: Haros has the largest wingspan out of any Deathless character so far, to the degree that it'd be difficult to find a single cadel that can compare. This regularly makes it a struggle to retract his wings, so they opt to not do so most of the time. He's also taller than the average cadel, despite his age.
KEY ART
CHARACTER THEMES
"Or total" by ThatRoyalArt
"Just this once" by ThatRoyalArt
ZILLIAN DEXTER, unlikable know-it-all
INFORMATION
Pronouns: He/him
Blood colour: Blue
Spawndate: 10/08/42
Age, during their generation: 19
Bond: Stash (Stable) - Can store objects in a pocket dimension of sorts, with a limit of around 20 items. They can be accessed via saying certain commands out loud.
Lineage: Computer storage (Previous: Trash)
Description: This guy. He's an absolute nerd that's playing up a cool kid act and it's actually working... on Brand and just Brand, which is an inconvenience, since they've already been friends for pretty much all their lives. Zillian boasts about being able to rival paragons (he doesn't like them in general because they supposedly don't need to put in any effort) in power due to being creative with his bond but then proceeds to pull out the wrong item 17 times in a row. Seriously speaking, if he was less holier-than-thou about it, he could actually be really powerful.
Fun fact: If you think the title given to him is a tad mean, this guy listens to and composes whatever the cadel equivalent of breakcore is, and probably gets into more internet arguments than you have in your lifetime. His canon social media bios literally say "part-time banger producer and local smartest person in the room."
KEY ART
CHARACTER THEMES
"Meet Zillian" by ThatRoyalArt
"Axe up my sleeve" by ThatRoyalArt
"Axe up my sleeve (Canon mix)" by ThatRoyalArt
"FLOPPY DISK" by ThatRoyalArt
"Y Axes" by ThatRoyalArt
"Y Axes (Dating sim mix v1)" by ThatRoyalArt
"Y Axes (Dating sim mix v2)" by ThatRoyalArt
BLESSED GWYAR, hesitant sanguinary
INFORMATION
Pronouns: They/them, it/its
Blood colour: Black
Spawndate: 02/09/41
Age, during their generation: 20
Bond: Hematophagy (Detrimental) - They need to drink blood to survive. Yeah, it's a detrimental bond, there isn't much more to it for obvious reasons. So far, only cadel blood has worked properly, you can see why this is a big issue.
Lineage: Blood (Previous - Infection)
Description: Blessed is one of those few unfortunate cadels with a detrimental lineage and is driven mainly by the need to find some sort of alternative food source so that they don't harm anyone else, because making others suffer and/or die for its sake isn't really their jam for obvious reasons. Another thing it plans on doing at some point is getting its blood intentionally messed up so that their descendants don't have to suffer through the same downright agonising and constant moral decisions that they have to make once or twice a week.
Fun fact: While blackbloods may not naturally have wings, in certain cases they are able to form them depending on their bond. Though in Blessed's case, being able to make wings out of their own blood isn't very convenient, painless, or really that worth the trouble.
KEY ART
CHARACTER THEMES
"Edgy Religious Vampirecore" by ThatRoyalArt
"BACKSTAKE" by ThatRoyalArt
VENDETTA ARIEA, misguided sawchain
INFORMATION
Pronouns: They/them
Blood colour: Purple/gold
Spawndate: 18/01/41
Age, during their generation: 20
Bond: Choir (Disruptive) - One of the very few bonds passed down its lineage, those who possess it are able to hear the voices of their ancestors to aid them in battle. Because of Vendetta's blood being messed up during the spawning process, they can manifest the voices into a mass of matter out of their body, with the downside of it being incredibly painful and sometimes involuntary.
Lineage: [Passed down]
Description: The absolutely terrifying combination that is a cadel that can hear voices in their head and a tendency to be quite easily led astray. Oh, yeah, about that. they were manipulated into thinking that certain cadels have a greater purpose that they should be used for, which would involve killing them. I, for obvious reasons, can't reveal much more than that. They're actually one of the characters I can talk the least about without resulting in spoilers.
Fun fact: Their eye colour combination is completely exclusive to purple/gold dualbloods: Any part gold dualbloods are required to have their eyes reflect both their blood colours, and purplebloods require the cadel's eyes to be any purple-adjacent colour. While goldbloods and cyanbloods can have heterochromia regardless, they can't reflect actual blood colours if they're by themselves.
KEY ART
CHARACTER THEMES
"Your ancestor's sad breakup mixtape" by ThatRoyalArt
"Kill the Keyboard" by ThatRoyalArt
"Your ancestor's sad breakup mixtape (Reprise)" by ThatRoyalArt
"VINYLCHECK", superstitious vigilante
INFORMATION
Pronouns: He/him
Blood colour: Black/crimson
Spawndate: 25/10/-1
Age, during their generation: 21
Bond: Pacing (Paragon) - Can control how slow or fast someone or something moves by manifesting vinyls and making them spin at the desired speed. Said vinyls can also be used as weapons because of the strings/chains attached to them (and therefore his hands, yeah he can't physically fully let go of them when they manifest) which make them easy to throw around.
Lineage: Literature (Previous: Converge)
Description: Do you ever look back at something you admired and go "hey, wait, this is actually terrifying in retrospect"? Yeah, that's Brand's opinion of this dude. It's fairly public knowledge that his direct ancestor ended several paragon lineages by fusing with them and dying in the process (yes that's absolutely horrifying to think about). Vinylcheck is, in his own words, a way better person than his good-for-nothing ancestor and fights evildoers, but he's still a reasonably shady cadel.
Fun fact: Only a few cadels know his real name, of course including those who registered him when he spawned, and perhaps others that he's trusted enough. He's not too keen on revealing it, for one reason or another.
KEY ART
CHARACTER THEMES
"Meet Vinylcheck" by ThatRoyalArt
"In media res" by ThatRoyalArt
"Diabolus ex Machina" by ThatRoyalArt
"Ergo sum, post mortem" by ThatRoyalArt
WILBUR CLAEG, first casualty
INFORMATION
Pronouns: He/him
Blood colour: Pink
Spawndate: 13/02/-1
Age, during their generation: 21
Bond: Apparition (Augment) - While unconscious, is able to visit the afterlife, interact with, and properly see the dead.
Lineage: [Passed down]
Description: Decades ago, but not many, this freshly formed pinkblood rose from the ground. Since there wasn't a unified part of the world for cadels to spawn back then, he was doomed to fend for himself, away from any semblance of society. Thankfully, he was able to find the ruins of a weapons museum, where he learnt all that he could about cadelkind. Eventually, Wilbur met a very, very important person, ending his years of solitude. Unrelated from that little dramatic story, did you know that Wilbur owns a ridiculous number of rusty rapiers and can wield up to three of them at once?
Fun fact: Despite quite literally growing up in a weapons museum, he's quite uncoordinated while fighting. Said museum (and only parts of it, at that) was teleported to the island from very far away and a long, long time ago, due to an incident with someone's bond, though that's a story for another day.
KEY ART
CHARACTER THEMES
"Bygone Biography" by ThatRoyalArt
"Before 61 (Orchestrated)" by ThatRoyalArt
"Stranded and astray, in A major" by ThatRoyalArt
"Stranded and astray, in A♭ minor (Dating sim mix)" by ThatRoyalArt
"Get well soon (Colourful)" by ThatRoyalArt
DOMINO FALLON, resolute guardian
INFORMATION
Pronouns: He/him, she/her
Blood colour: Green
Spawndate: 23/09/-3
Age, during their generation: 23
Bond: (None)
Lineage: [UNKNOWN]
Description: What Domino lacks due to not having a bond, he easily compensates with discipline and combat prowess. In fact, I would not be surprised if she tried to fist fight a paragon, because he probably would do that if it was to protect Mersey. About that, despite cadels lacking the concept of families, Domino is basically Mersey's overprotective sibling, and for good reason, after all, the latter does have a very powerful bond. Maybe this overprotectiveness will one day bite him in the back, but who's to say that?
Fun fact: Domino had two possible colour schemes, from which some close friends helped me pick between. The one that wasn't picked was mainly orange with green highlights, but did not go unused, as it served to inspire Avril's colour scheme.
KEY ART
CHARACTER THEMES
"Draconian Masquerade" by ThatRoyalArt
"BUT THE VOID YELLED BACK" by ThatRoyalArt
MERSEY EVERMORE, mourning threefold
INFORMATION
Pronouns: She/her, they/them
Blood colour: Cyan
Spawndate: 23/05/-1
Age, during their generation: 21
Bond: Cluster (Paragon) - Can create small constructs out of debris to accomplish simple tasks. If a recently deceased cadel is combined with an object that has strong emotional value, a "clusterborn" cadel is made, which superficially resembles them, but is more of a hollow shell.
Lineage: [Passed down]
Description: Due to having a rare blood colour and a paragon bond, Mersey manages to singlehandedly be one of the rarest types of cadels to ever exist, and thus has lived mostly in hiding, because Domino believes it is for the best. This, however, does not discourage her at all from doing their own thing in secret every now and again, and she has even helped out others that happened to die far too soon. One fateful day, Mersey and Domino happened to meet two cadels, and their lives would be forever changed.
Fun fact: Mersey has befriended at least one person from each relevant generation, and three of said friends have died by the time the story proper starts. Despite this, she adamantly refuses to use Cluster on any of them, since Mersey views those deaths as her own fault.
KEY ART
CHARACTER THEMES
"who did thisz" by ThatRoyalArt
RUE SOLAVITA, reclusive scientist
INFORMATION...?
Is the crudely drawn image... necessary?
Wouldn't it be more efficient to wait until my key art is done?
"Rite of passage"...?
Sigh.
KEY ART...?
CHARACTER THEMES
"We're here, are we not?" by ThatRoyalArt
ALLEGRO ELEKTRA, illustrious engineer
INFORMATION
Pronouns: They/them, spark/sparks
Blood colour: Gold/blue
Spawndate: 01/05/19
Age, during their generation: 21
Bond: Choir (Disruptive) - One of the very few bonds passed down its lineage, those who possess it are able to hear the voices of their ancestors to aid them in battle. Despite Allegro's blood being messed up during the spawning process, their bond didn't experience any unexpected changes.
Lineage: [Passed down]
Description: Ah, yes, the one cadel that could somehow speedrun a flight simulator. This definitely-a-gamer was Cyrus' (reluctant) closest friend during their Integration Course years, but their friendship ended pretty quickly after that, as they parted ways to do whatever they wanted in life. Allegro was doing fairly well by themselves, even helping to design one of the newer flying vehicle models. That was, until spark was contacted by the morally dubious purpleblood yet again, with a promise of adventure and discovery.
Fun fact: Allegro constitutes one of the few examples where aspects exclusive to certain blood colours are passed down a generation despite the blood itself not persisting, with Vendetta inheriting their blueblood wings. This is very rare, and won't last another generation.
KEY ART
CHARACTER THEMES
"CAVOK" by ThatRoyalArt
CYRUS CONLEY, wicked soloist
INFORMATION
Pronouns: He/him
Blood colour: Purple
Spawndate: 23/01/18
Age, during their generation: 22
Bond: [UNKNOWN] (Detrimental)
Lineage: [UNKNOWN]
Description: What do I even say about this guy? He's the type of cadel to somehow run an emo band for like 50 years straight, and releasing several songs a month, too. However, despite what you may see on the surface, his true passion lies in investigating local mysteries, even if it involves non-violent crimes such as trespassing. This, naturally, led to him persuading Allegro into being involved with these not-so-legal escapades, to the dismay of the aforementioned cadel. Wonder how that turned out.
Fun fact: Cyrus does actually have an in-universe band, though calling it a band is an overstatement, as he's the only member in it. He compensates through clever merging of prerecorded tracks and skillful playing of several instruments. Live performances are, however, not his forte.
KEY ART
CHARACTER THEMES
"Yet in your eyes it lacked meaning" by ThatRoyalArt
"Limevoid Words - HaTE//GRIeF" by ThatRoyalArt
WOLFE EINHART, cryptic coroner
INFORMATION
Pronouns: He/him, they/them
Blood colour: Black/gold
Spawndate: ??/??/??
Age, during their generation: Early twenties, later appears in the present day on his mid thirties.
Bond: (None)
Lineage: [UNKNOWN]
Description: Realistically speaking, creating a minor illusion on a bondless cadel's eyes to convince them they have a paragon bond that's simply taking a long while to manifest is an awful idea. So, obviously, this happened to Wolfe. Bond or not, he's a former renowned investigator, specialising in murder cases of the cold variety. After that career didn't pan out well for reasons, they became what's known as a 'reaper', now tasked with finding piles of dust instead of figuring out who or what caused the dust to begin with. Oh, and he has a pet void creature that resembles a bird, its name is Noisy.
Fun fact: Wolfe is quite accident prone, having been stuck in between the outside of an elevator and the wall, been hit by the flying train several times, and having fallen off the skyshore at least twice. Then again, he "boards" the train by hanging on for dear life to the outer shell and not even at proper stops, so they're kinda asking for it.
KEY ART
CHARACTER THEMES
"The best there is" by ThatRoyalArt
"Coffee machine's jammed" by ThatRoyalArt
"Orange-stained floorboards" by ThatRoyalArt
AVRIL NOUVEL, adrift enigma
INFORMATION...?
Hi! I just remembered my name!! It took a moment. I don't know why I forgot basically everything about myself? Well anyway. If you wanna stay and like... hang out? That's fine! I like making friends!! I have like. Two? Yeah, two! I thought it was three but one of them is very mean and I don't think we're friends. There's another cadel too but I barely got to know them because we were in the void or something? I don't think I'm supposed to tell you that last part...
KEY ART...?
CHARACTER THEMES
"Break Through" by ThatRoyalArt
DOMINIK ROVE, inadequate marksman
INFORMATION...?
get out
KEY ART...?
CHARACTER THEMES
"Walled-off heart" by ThatRoyalArt
PRIMROSE NEYO
LOGGED DATA
Pronouns: It/its, she/her
Blood colour: Black/orange
Spawndate: ??/??/??
Age: ??
Bond: Infection (Detrimental) - Weaker than the average cadel. Noted complaints about chronic pain, current catatonic state may very well be because of this bond.
Lineage: Blood (Previous - Cell)
Description: The prime candidate, adequate for the final phase. Very easily accessible due to convenient connections. Extraction imminent.
APPROVED IMAGE
AUDIO
"IS TO BECOME AN EXPENDABLE PART" by ThatRoyalArt
{ I've been expecting you, dearest audience. my true name is not relevant at this moment, however, you may refer to me as kv. }
{ Now that you're here, let me tell you a little story. i promise to not take much of your very precious time. }
{ What is a play without actors to enact it, and what is a thespian without a story to tell? one may say nothing. i, in this narrative, am but an actor, and there isn't anything i can do to change that. }
{ But who am i, truly? i am a cadel with a mission, but a strict code: thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not lie, thou shalt not betray. of course, many others have broken what i've sworn against, among them is vk. }
{ I seek order and peace, whilst vk seeks chaos and despair. }
{ If i am life, he brings death. }
{ But, you know of him already, don't you? you know him far too well. and if vk is to be known, then i, kv, shall remain in the shadows. }
{ I bid thee farewell, dearest audience. for now, that is. }