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A curious fellow who lives a curious life. Over the course of the winter of 1922-1923, Deadman has become thoroughly entrenched in a series of mysteries, murders, and cult activities. His sanity remains unwavering in the face of it all.

Deadman died at the hands of The Emperor, a strange bat-like creature.

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--> Biography

Sterling was born the only child to a well off couple. He grew up in a large house that just barely counted as being in Teddington. Being an only child, he was fawned over excessively by his mother and pushed to be the ideal child by his father. As such, he grew sour towards his father at a young age and strongly preferred his mother.

Throughout grade school, Sterling attended a private boarding school, which he absolutely despised. Letters were constantly sent home regarding his poor behavior and refusal to pay attention in class. He didn’t get along with his classmates, finding them irritating and loud. The two classes he did enjoy were horsemanship and fencing, and he excelled at both. He also took interest in science, but disliked his teacher and classmates strongly.

In year 11, he was riding a green horse who’d been tacked by a newer rider. They were in the middle of practicing oxer jumps when the cheek piece, which hadn’t been properly latched, came undone and flew back. The horse startled and stumbled while Deadman was leaning back to avoid the flying strap, resulting in him falling from the horse entirely. He landed gracelessly, striking his head on the jump and fracturing his femur. The resulting injuries left him with a scar across his face and a very slight limp. When he returned home on holiday that year, his mother gifted him his cane.

When he was 17, in his last few months of year 12, he received news that his mother had fallen ill. Despite immediately getting a train ticket home, she’d passed and been buried before he returned. This spurred a more intent and specific fascination with death. Deadman was now determined to find a form of funerary practice that would allow for a dignified burial as well as visitation by grieving family members no matter the wait time.

He insisted on beginning college as soon as he could, wanting to study and find a way to bring about his concept. While in Wales for college, he spent most evenings of his first semester getting drunk at a local pub with a rather poor reputation. Eventually he was caught in the alley alongside the building with another man (one Boyd Butcher) and rumors began flying about him. He stopped going out and quickly became even more reserved and standoffish. Even so, word of the rumors reached his father and his father demanded he come back home immediately. Deadman refused and his father threatened to disown him, to which Deadman responded by continuing to refuse. The next several months saw a steep drop in Deadman’s grades as he abruptly found himself cut off from his father’s money and having to move into student housing.

It was around this time that he first actually noticed Shrike in one of his classes, as he’d previously been entirely ignoring his classmates. It was hard to focus with so many other things to think about, but man that guy had a big hat. Was that allowed in class? Wow he’s short. The guy was surprisingly popular. Was it the hat? It was probably the hat. He did look nice in it. He’d look nice without it too. Oh, the professor’s already erasing that diagram, hm.

Over the next few months, Deadman juggled studies, planning, and trying to get a job precariously. He sold most of his possessions, aside from what he absolutely needed. The one thing that really kept him afloat in classes was relying on help from Shrike. In the time they spent together, he found he didn’t actually mind being around the guy. Once he’d gotten his feet under him a bit, he still hung around Shrike rather than blowing him off like he’d usually do.

It was about a year into college that he put together that he absolutely wouldn’t be getting what he wanted from this education. Medical science was interesting, and would certainly be useful, but it wouldn’t help him start a funeral home. He stuck with it for about another year before dropping out and moving back to Teddington. For the first few months he only bothered to keep in contact with Shrike, but eventually began writing to Boyd as well.

Shortly after he resumed contact with Boyd, Boyd offered to help him with the whole funeral home thing. He’d talk to his father and get him a deal on rent for one of their larger properties, if Deadman would essentially work as an unpaid intern for Boyd Senior for a few years. He accepted this deal, and the funeral home was off to a shaky start.

Not terribly long after the funeral home was fully opened, Shrike moved in. For about a decade after this, things ran smoothly. However, in early 1918, Deadman was accused publicly of being gay, and both his and the business’s reputation quickly dove. Realizing he wouldn’t be able to stay afloat here, and holding no loyalty to the town that had so easily turned its back on him, Deadman moved to America. (and took shrike with him i guess)

Arriving in Boston, Massachusetts in mid-late 1918, Deadman found that this was where Boyd was currently living. Boyd, now married and having two young children, was a well established surgeon, and helped Deadman to get him work identifying and burying the bodies still crowding the city’s morgues as the pandemic petered out.

By spring of 1920, Deadman had opened a new funeral home. Shortly thereafter, he met Nelson Church, a local minister who was working with families who’d lost loved ones to the pandemic.

Having learned of Nelson's death, a dejected Deadman hosted a memorial in Boston before following the gang to Utah. In Utah they fought and killed Beegham Young (a scary big bee inhabiting the corpse of Brigham Young) and got in a shootout with some angry members of the Navoo Legion.

Shrike was also lost shortly after the standoff with the Navoo Legion, and Deadman took a brief trip back to Boston for this as well. Grief-stricken, Deadman eventually rejoined the group for a final trek out toward California. It was on this journey that he was attacked by bat creatures and died, much in a similar manner to Nelson.

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--> Other Notes of Interest

Habits: Regardless of situation, if he is going out it will always be in a pristine suit. Despite this, his hair tends to be slightly less than tame, as he under uses hair grease. He always carries a cane.

Frequents: Most often, he is found at the morgue in his practice. Aside from that he can be found in one of a few local cemeteries, the local taxidermist's, or the tailor's.

Vices: A bit of an adrenaline fiend. Also tends to overspend on unique taixdermy pieces, tack for his horse, and suits.