Happy Holidays! :D 2013

So here’s a snapshot of all our elves in one place (excluding Dirzryn’s three brothers), the party invite cited fancy dress as a requisite with the theme of ‘atypical elves,’ however it seems the interpretation and effort made by various individuals varied greatly.

Christmas Elves

Left to right, top to bottom we have:

Alanor (bottom left, pregnant woman, sitting in left chair)

Dioxa (left, shy lass with piercings and stripy top in front of fireplace)

Orin (left, the lad with bright blonde hair who is stealing a candy cane)

Tor (top left the tall pale blue fellow who is propping up the drunk)

Fedura (top left, the drunk)

Tahl(upper centre, fellow with red hair who is trying to appear interested in the conversation)

Saffron (upper centre, the woman talking AT Tahl)

Lady Vay (right, the woman stood in front of the tree sneering down on everyone)

Mathiaas (right, he’s holding up a glass, almost hidden below Vay)

Riaf (right, the blonde very stoned looking lad on the sofa)

Ungus (centre, the tubby one in the santa hat)

Tomor (centre, the lass who is holding mistletoe and giggling)

Dirzryn (centre, sat on sofa wishing he were anywhere else but here)

Wishing everyone a great festive season and good elf for the new year 

- sorry just couldn’t resist that pun :P

See you all in 2014! :D

Tahl Nihil

Another to add to our list of psychopaths is Shiiath’s right hand man, Tahl Nihil. A murderer by trade, Tahl greatly enjoys making friends and finding ways to dispatch of them. He is what you might call ‘slightly unbalanced’ with a tendency to commit antisocial and violent acts and a failure to feel any guilt about them.

At 47years old he works beneath Shiiath as an enforcer and agent for Lukas. This job includes in the field tasks such as information gathering, creating alliances with potential targets, killing targets and ‘acquiring’ items. Standing a respectable 5ft 11in Tahl is a well-known degenerate, an abuser of the magical arts and an outcast from his homeland.

When questioned about his past Tahl speaks candidly about the facts. He tells us that his father was one Amren DeNihil, a rejected member of the drow, and cutthroat criminal without reform. Amren was punished as with all drow criminals by having his glyphs seared red and the prefix removed from his surname. To add insult to injury Amren then married a pale ordic woman named Sophie Astir, and their resulting child, Tahl, was scorned before his first breath. Ergo, like his illegitimate father, young Tahl DeNihil was often in trouble; it didn’t take much for him to earn the red mark and lose that precious prefix from his own surname.

What Tahl doesn’t reveal are the more twisted details of growing in a skewed household where manifestations of love were lashed, displayed feelings were literally ignited and any self-esteem was bolstered by regular electrocution. It is likely his emotional distance stems from these early years. He certainly learned his façade in that time, a warm and friendly persona that he now presents to us. Unfortunately it is painfully obvious to the majority of our staff that he is putting on an act, a mishmash of mimicked interactions that prove whilst he loves trying to fit in he’s actually not very good at it. Still he maintains an air of calm and continues to speak despite being aware that we see through his egregious lies. His biggest fear is having his true personality uncovered, something we’re not keen to aid in overcoming as we hear it results in various forms of death.

Moving on he explains that he currently identifies himself as Sen Tek (an extropian convert), a key sign of which being the two splits in his once sheer elven ears. He defected from his birth species for several reasons, none of which relate to his father or a dislike of the drow, even though carrying either resentment would be justified. Mostly he fears being disliked and finds he relates well to stereotypical Teks, those who appear as cold or as emotionally depraved as Tahl is himself.

From his awkward demeanour it is clear that Tahl is unable to experience love or establish meaningful relationships. He possesses a deep desire to control the people he meets and once secure he has gained their trust he indubitably terminates their friendship. 

Trust is a weapon Tahl greedily extorts, a sensation that sickens him and a concept he ultimately fails to understand.

Shiiath Utica

Of the many frightful looking interviewees to pass through our doors we have to admit that Shiiath rates in the top three. On first sight she is a fearsome figure to behold. After a second glance, after taking a more measured weighing up of the fact she stands 6ft tall we conclude that staring intensely into laser beams might be less stressful to our eyes. Being presented with such an affront, the masochists among us squirm in delight at the thought of picking the brains of such an ‘interesting’ candidate.

Unlucky for them Shiiath seems to make up for in looks what she lacks in personal depth.

A cold and calculating Tek fanatic, conversing with Shiiath is about as easy as milking an enraged bull whilst blindfolded. The strong and silent type, she is an armoured powerhouse of weaponry and a very hard woman. We were pre-warned not to threaten or enrage our guest as she is known to have very short temper and snap over the smallest thing. A loner by choice who does not play well with others, Shiiath is the type of person who responds to phrases like ‘there is no ‘I’ in team,’ by sharply sticking her stinger into the nearest individual and sucking their liquefied innards out. 

Gaining the facts about Shiiath is less troublesome than actually asking her seeing as they are all neatly listed on her linked identity fact file. From there we learn that she is a scorpion anthropomorph of the Death stalker variety, a highly venomous arthropod who works for Lukas Graye and at 27years age is a single mother to three scorplings. The details of her children and previous partner are not listed at length. As hard as we try we can’t help but assume she devoured her lover and an innumerable number of scorplings even if the number of paternal and sex killings are recorded as ‘rare.’ The fact they are listed at all should be concern enough for potential suitors yet it seems some cannot resist the allure of a powerful woman. 

Under Tek modifications Shiiath is registered as having permanent alterations to her pincers, tail and telson alongside regular tune-ups to her exoskeleton’s defensive capabilities. The enhancements listed provide improved flexibility, tensile strength, a better grip and the ability to lift a greater weight. Shiiath has also had internal extenders implanted to allow further reach with her pincer arms, because you know, she obviously isn’t intimidating enough already.

At present we take solace with the fact that it’s daytime and Shiiath is mostly nocturnal, it is somehow comforting to know that roaming about in the sun is making our guest feel as groggy and unsettled as we do conducting her interview. Oddly whilst she possesses six eyes and is extremely sensitive to light Shiiath is practically blind.  Instead her inherent scorpion abilities allow her to sense temperature, smell and vibrations to such a level she is able to see, just in a completely different way.

If she has emotions or a softer side they never surface during our interview. Shiiath never smiles once; in fact we’re not even sure if it’s physically possible for her face to bend that way. She can however dislocate her lower jaw, which we might add, is truly terrifying. So we decided to gift you with a second rendition of her, as not everyone can boast that they resemble something out of a horror movie when they open their mouth.

Well, you weren’t planning on sleeping anytime soon anyway, right?

Elgar Bhoi

Elgar is 43years old and 6ft 2in tall. He runs a workshop called Teknectic Amalgamations. This shop deals mostly with body modifications be they aesthetic or functional. Side projects involve actual machinery. His adopted son Ughei is quite fond of creating large insect replicas as means of transport.

A grimy mechanic Elgar is highly focused on his work and obviously has a brilliant mind when it comes to technology.  As mentor to his adopted son he has been most successful in teaching the lad. In person Elgar is rather grumpy; not the talkative type he clearly dislikes people and being away from his workshop. We suspect Bug garnered his love of the great indoors from Elgar.

In appearance Elgar bears a slight beer belly, he’s well rounded with rugged skin, a few wrinkles and a grubby yellow tan that might be unwashed oil from his machines. We are pretty certain there are no women in his household. Elgar’s hair is both silver and brown and slightly thinning on top. 

His left leg is missing, amputated after a rather nasty childhood accident. At the time his father crafted a crude false leg, one that was meant to be updated when they had the money. Over the years they worked together on improving the appendage, mending and recreating the design as Elgar grew. It is likely the same reason that Elgar still uses the oldest available model even to this day.

His current replacement limb is bare wires, metal and hydraulics ending in an ill-fitting claw foot. It doesn’t appear to hinder him in the slightest; notwithstanding the fact that this limb is hideously outdated it still serves its purpose. A stickler for old fashioned technologies Elgar stoutly refuses to modify his own body. When queried on his opinion of Bug’s vast modifications he smiles, ‘each to their own.’

We asked why he adopted Bug. In response Elgar half-shrugs, ‘I was lonely,’ and confesses, ‘that boy showed an aptitude for mechanics.’ We push further to ask why he went to the orphanage in the first place. ‘A misleading letter,’ Elgar huffs.

We were in the middle of wondering if he got promised pie when he elucidates, ‘an ex of mine said she had a child at that orphanage that might be mine, none of that was true. During my visit I met Ughei. I dislike children but this one struck me, I knew I could teach him what he wanted to know.’

Our staff went all slushy at the idea of kindred spirits and suddenly we liked deadpan Elgar a whole lot more than when we first met him. Neither did we expect sullen Elgar to be the philosophical sort. He surprised us by spouting, ‘Our technology can allude to any ideals you have of perfection, yet nothing will ever be perfect, there is no such thing as a perfect machine.’

Despite the steeled and dissonant edge of Elgar’s projected personality, he still manages to melt our hearts. His awkward compassion and bold ideals speak volumes of his character. We like to think we understand the unspoken charm in such a dedicated and passionate soul, as if its essence is splayed in his gristle and grit before finally being greased in charisma.

Ughei Bhoi

Ughei Bhoi is 5ft 5in tall, and 15 years old. He prefers not to be called Ughei. Acquaintances have come to call him Bug for several reasons, the most obvious being those telescopic protrusions erupting from his scalp and the fact he has a genuine flair for anything technological. 

He lives and works as a mechanic in a workshop belonging to his adopted father Elgar. We must clarify that this workshop and the term ‘mechanic,’ both relate to physical technological enhancements of one’s body as opposed to fixing up inanimate objects such as cars. Elgar’s shop is well established, although perhaps not for the right reasons. Whilst their skill precedes them the shop is also known to run an underground service of less-than-legal procedures. Most mechanics won’t service known criminals or mercenaries, Bug and Elgar on the other hand are willing to sell new modifications to anyone providing they can pay and abide by workshop rules. Charrock is one such faithful client. Zya too keeps her custom loyal to Elgar and Bug and although she isn’t a criminal she does have a penchant for some rather odd, outdated and therefore illegal methods of modification.

We were instructed prior to interview that it might be difficult to coax Bug out into the ‘real’ world. In his declining letter Bug states that he is intensely focused on his work and thus cannot be torn away from his confines. (We suspect he is actually a socially inept hermit, with dare we say, slight hikikomori tendencies and a complete lack of understanding of anything that isn’t technologic.)

After several failed attempts at inviting him to attend our studio we were informed that the best way to get a meeting would be to travel to said workshop or take the interview via live connection. As it was the cheaper of the two options we chose the latter. Thus this is the first interview conducted from afar with the subject in an entirely different location to ourselves.

To further complicate matters Bug isn’t the talkative type. We were going to ask about the weather but then realised there are no windows in his room and he likely hasn’t been outdoors since leaving the orphanage.

His manner is somewhat androgynous and he gives no clear indication of his gender in the way he dresses, speaks or acts. His modifications are the only subject he talks of at length. It took some prompting but he explains that his bionic red eye was present from birth whilst his telescopic headgear and other alterations were added as he grew. He did most of the work himself and is clearly not vain as none of his mods are for atheistic reasons. Even his tattoos were grafted on because they had personal meanings as opposed to covering up the fact that he has no hair. Interestingly Bug has never had any hair, anywhere, not even a single eyelash. 

From this brief conversation we can clearly see he is a genuine and highly intelligent individual. Although a bit of an anomaly Bug is just the type of weird friend we would secretly like to have on hand in a technological emergency.

Zyaxine Grenavere Teraegu

Such an easy name ¬.¬

Credits to my pal Aulakauss for the written concept/all aspects of this character! As always, Aula delivered the premise in intricate and flawless detail.

 

Zyaxine comes across as cold and calculating. Her hair is threaded like silver wires.

At 22yrs old and standing 5ft 10in tall she very well portrays the visage of a mathematical droid. Her augmentations are archaic by choice. Hailing from a wealthy backdrop and a technologically advanced isle means she has had a great deal of options. Zya always chooses the painful ones, the invasive ones

Her body is now almost entirely hardwired and fused into her metallic armour plating. She says it’s liberating, like walking around naked. Yet Zya would never walk around without attire. She is in fact so closed that she acts as though her thoughts are based on algorithms, and are merely answers selected from a given set of responses.

She rarely opens up to anyone.

She considers her normal facilities as painfully obvious, yet many remain oblivious to the fact she is alive. Although she acts well her persona occasionally spills over in defiance.

Zya doesn’t play this charade for perverse kicks, well not always.