Stats

Shapeshifting

Bellinor has exceptional shapeshifting abilities, even beyond those of regular phuzo: he can change 100% of his body mass at will, offering him the opportunity to grow even larger or to alter his body with deadly precision.

The Halved

When Bellinor uses his shapeshifting abilities, his mind shifts as well: rather than remain Bellinor, he becomes a vicious, defensive beast known to him as "the Halved." The Halved is in agony most of the time, lost in grief and rage, and it channels its shapeshifting abilities to become as monstrous and deadly as possible. Fighting the Halved is, for most phuzos, a death sentence: it does not know mercy and it does not fear death.

But it isn't heartless. As Artemis has discovered, there is a spark of humanity within it; Bellinor and the Halved have locked away their heart, but they still have one.

About

Bellinor is quiet and observant, and always prefers the dark. He keeps to himself most of the time, preferring to watch other phuzos rather than interact with them himself. He has a history of violence against those from Praque, a habit which has has put a lot of effort, with the help of his partner, Artemis, into breaking. He is slowly rediscovering that life does not have to be fury and pain: there is still light, and there is still softness, and there is still hope that tomorrow will be better than today.

He and Artemis travel the Wastes. Bellinor is reluctant to return to Sanctuary, where he grew up, for fear of being recognized; when they do visit the city under the sands, he disguises his face with a blindfold and his body with layers of clothing and bandages.

Before Artemis

Bellinor grew up in Sanctuary alongside other mutts and his half-sibling, Lazarus. He was a quiet child, a cautious person who was coaxed by his friends into adventures and excitement. His best friend was Soren, an adventurous phuzo with a fascination with the Wastes and the faraway Iyzmiskan city of Praque. They dragged Bellinor into all sorts of situations, and Bellinor went happily. He and Soren fell in love young.

They were young, and foolish, and one day Soren convinced Bellinor to venture closer to the city than ever before. They ran into bad luck then: a group of Praque's guards ran into them, knew immediately that they were mutts, and attacked. It left Bellinor injured and Soren apparently dead. Bellinor only survived because he fled, and he was furious.

Bellinor never went home. Instead, he limped to a cave by a water source and healed, his anger growing stronger all the while. When he next left, he hunted down the guards he believed had killed his love and almost killed him, and he slaughtered them without mercy. This is how he spent the next ten years: holed up in a cave by day, hunting any Iyzmiskan phuzos by night. He survived off the supplies they carried into the Wastes and dragged their bodies back to his cave to be devoured by the blind creatures who lived there with him. He was not Bellinor any longer: he was the Halved, a beast of pure fury, who would kill anyone to get its vengeance.

After Artemis

A phuzo started venturing near Bellinor's cave. He never entered: he only sat by the oasis outside, gathered water, and talked to himself. Bellinor found himself curious about the newcomer: he had no scent of Praque on him, and the life he talked about to the air and nobody was sad and unfulfilling. Weeks passed listening to him, and Bellinor became more and more interested in this life outside of his own. Bellinor and the Halved felt a kinship with him: they were both unbearably sad.

When one day the stranger arrived crying and said no words outside of the tears, the Halved couldn't stand it any longer. It crept out of the cave, showing its face to the stranger for the first time. It offered comfort: something it hadn't received in a long time, but which it still remembered in the back of its mind. This is how Bellinor and the Halved met Artemis.

Bellinor spent much of his time terrified that he would hurt Arte by mistake. After ten years of violence, he wasn't sure there was anything else left of him. Artemis wouldn't accept that as an answer: he gained Bellinor's trust, slowly but surely, and Bellinor began to believe Artemis when he said he didn't think Bellinor would hurt him. Arte was teaching him how to love again: Bellinor fell fast and hard for this unbearably kind soul, and eventually he could no longer stomach the suffering Artemis was enduring.

Leaving the Village

Bellinor offered to take Artemis away. He offered Artemis the opportunity to leave the village, his partnership with an uncaring spouse, and the pressures of his family. He didn't know what they would do, but he knew that they would be happier out in the world than they were here. Even so, Bellinor was almost surprised when Artemis agreed.

So they left. Both of them left almost all of their belongings, whatever they had, and they struck out into the Wastes alone. There they still travel: Bellinor is reluctant to return permanently to Sanctuary, even if the pair of them do visit, so instead they walk the entire desert together.