Official info

Origin: Abnormal trespasser | Nature: Tired | Boundary: Mangrove swamp | Size: Massive
Species: Esk | Collection: MYO | Designer: hitodama89

Uncommon traits: None
Rare traits: None
Nature features: White mangrove, crustose lichen
Mutations: Absence (eyes), animal traits (whiskers, horns), winter coat, unstable form, hollow body, size-shift (whiskers), shape-shift (absence)
Original form: Esk 301

Elementals: Wood

Curses: Fleeing wildlife (mountain biome)

TF rewards: Tiger's eye crystal, tiger's eye crystal, tiger's eye crystal

Biome: Fresh waters
Boundary: Mangrove swamp
Haunt: Riverbank
(Reference photos)

Ownership: hitodama89
- can gift, swap (esk only)
- cannot trade (non-esk), resell
Owner history: Claimed from nursery by hitodama89, retransformation by hitodama89

Personality

The Weary Eyed One and The Hollow Eyed One are names used for the two states of one Esk. Both Weary and Hollow are names that other Esk have come up with, as Weary/Hollow doesn't really care about names nor pronouns and has never chosen an official name for itself. Unless asked to do otherwise Weary calls every Esk, including itself, an it. Hollow doesn't call anyone anything at all

Weary is a passive, contemplative and solitary soul who doesn't deliberately seek out other Esk to interact with. It doesn't exactly mind occasional company though, as long as the visitor likes such riveting activities such as floating quietly down the river or pondering the nature of existence under the moonlight. It's patient with most creatures, but anyone who disrespects its boundary will get scared out of the mangrove swamp very quickly. Weary certainly doesn't like such confrontations and it would much rather spend its time daydreaming in its haunt than chasing intruders in the woods or completing spiritual quests around the world, but it's also dutiful enough that it does what it has to do.

Hollow is the hostile, mute and physically more heavily mutated form of Weary. If Weary is passive, Hollow is downright lifeless - until it isn't. It can spend weeks without moving an inch, but as soon as anyone approaches the Esk, it can start rampaging and trying to destroy anything on its way. It cannot physically hurt another Esk, but living beings aren't as lucky and might get impaled by the mangrove roots that it conjures out of the ground. Transformation from Weary to Hollow and back is technically controlled by the Esk's mental state, but right now it's permanently stuck as Hollow.

Appearance

Weary/Hollow is a bulky and slow-moving Esk. It has thick dark brown coat, stubby whiskers, ram-like horns and three transformation crystals in its shoulders. Its nature features are a white mangrove tree and its roots as well as some streaks of crustose lichen. It has the elemental power of wood, which grants it an ability to grow mangrove roots out of the ground.

As Weary the Esk doesn't look too striking for an abnormal, but as Hollow it gains some traits that reflect its unstable state of mind. Its whiskers and fur grow in length and turn shaggy, its nature features wither and its physical form glitches especially around legs. What gives Hollow its name is how its eyes disappear completely, revealing only darkness behind the empty sockets.

Life

Before becoming an Esk Weary was a busy office worker. He spent his whole adult life sucked into his work, but one day he received bad news regarding his health that made him re-evaluate his life choices. He decided to spend the time he had left traveling around the country and eventually found his way into the mangrove swamp of Everglades. While exploring around he managed to accidentally irritate a crocodile and get bitten by it. He was unable to hike back to safety and had already accepted his oncoming demise, but when the night fell an eerie creature arrived to the swamp. It was the Seventh and without warnings or questions the Wanderer ripped the injured human's soul from his body and transformed it into an Esk.

Weary lost most of its memories, but it still became a benevolent guardian of the mangrove swamp. It always had its gloomy side, but things got significantly worse over time due to humans littering and polluting the Esk's boundary. After a decade of it's first transformation Weary's spirit grew too heavy and it fell into hibernation. Someone Else, a younger Esk who Weary had transfomed, eventually granted Weary a second transformation while trying to cure its soul sickness. This ended the hibernation, but some damage that had been done was irreparable: the abnormal Esk who woke up was The Hollow Eyed One, a violent husk of its former self. Technically Hollow should be able to take a form more resembling the old Weary, too, but so far it has been unable to actually do so.

Tidbits

• Weary's "voice" (Esk use telepathy) is deep, rumbling and slow paced.

About the character

• Created in 2017.
• Esk is a closed species created by witherlings.
• Original character info can be found here.
• Bio of the pre-abnormal form can be found here.
• Masterlist entry can be found here.

Art permissions

• Everyone can draw this Esk mostly without needing to ask permission first!
  Permission is only required if you want to show this Esk:
• Interacting with another character
• Doing something that might permanently affect its life
• Doing things that might be against its nature.
• Currently Weary is hibernating due to its energy starting to shift
  from a traveler to a trespasser, meaning it does not travel away from its boundary.