Arley

Originating from the humble village of Guildchester, Arley had a generally picture-esc childhood- Having been born with the mythic gift of an astral aspect, directly into a welcoming, bubbly family. Through this spectral gift, Arley’s life path was set out before him the moment his crest properly formed, on the path leading directly towards his villages most well known guild; the Aberration Hunters. Tasked with hunting down, researching, and preventing nightmare entities from breaching the bounds of their world, the Aberration Hunters act as a “Knights of the Round Table” for the villagers of Guildchester, holding some of the most esteemed seats of power in the village. The opportunity to study under them is not something to sneeze at.

Entry into this esteemed guild was not a village-kept secret however, as their members happily and routinely offered opportunities for their neighboring villages to bring their best candidates forward to test their skills and potentially join their ranks. For despite their rigorous requirements, the Aberrant Hunters greatest point of pride was the chance to spread their knowledge and skills across the entire meadow, and ensure every villager had the chance to thrive. With these ideals and virtues baked into Arley at a young age, his excitement to become someone to remember was bursting at the seams- if he wasn’t such a scaredy cat.

Despite his clear inclination to the habits and skills required of an Aberration Hunter, the idea of hunting down these entities and facing them head on struck a deep fear into Arley’s heart. No matter how well organized his research was, nor how tactfully he understood what marking details, crest deformations, and demeanors to look out for, his most important skill always fell short; combat. That is, until the guild opened up applications to the neighboring village, and he met Hickory.

With Hickory by his side, Arley’s performance was like night and day, performing at a level he’d never been able to before without the support of his new found friend. The two of them complimented each other seamlessly, balancing the other when they fell short, and constantly rooting for the other when their anxieties (mostly Arley’s) got the better of them. Through this bond they climbed the ranks and managed to score just enough credit to be trusted with the first true test of an Aberration Hunter: locating a rift and reporting back to the village with their findings. Simple, fast, and with their team of friends by their sides? It’d be the fastest job they’d ever complete, and their first step towards their new incredible careers.

It was a massacre. Nothing went how it was supposed to, the aberrations weren’t meant to leak through so suddenly, nor with such force. Their numbers were culled before Arley and Hi█k██y could even figure out what had gone wrong, resorting to fleeing in order to notify the other Aberration Hunters of the disaster. Smoke and thorns covered the landscape before them, the vines snatching up what strands of fur and flesh it could get ahold of as their bodies pushed through the brush. Slowly working its way up their legs until it gained ahold of their arms and necks, the landscape mercilesly sucked Arley and █ic█o██ up into its midst. In an instant, everything was dark, and Arley was certain they'd lost.

Yet, despite everything, Arley managed to get away mostly unscathed, waking up shortly after the damage was done. When he was recovered from the disaster site, H█████ was unresponsive- Until he made contact with Arley. Within an instant Arley’s world nearly fell apart all over again, but for once, a rabbits luck blessed him, and they were reunited again.

...but did ██████ always have thorns..?

After the incident, Arley was tasked with traveling from the meadow to find more knowledgable individuals, anyone who could help his village uncover what happened that day. With his Tomb of Curiosity in hand and his new Sol Roc companion (graciously gifted to him early by the guild) by his side, Arley was as ready as he’d ever be to face the journey ahead.

Yet for some reason, the guild wasn’t too keen on ██████ following along, something that he and Arley found confusing, and concerning. With a little bit of planning they were able to sneak ██████ out of the village just in time to accompany him, but something was… off.

██████’s crest had shifted and contorted as they traveled, his body growing thorns, and smoke beginning to seep through his lips. He promised, “crossed his heart and hope to die” to Arley that he was fine, and that him coming along would be for the best to ensure they were able to figure out what went wrong.

And in that promise, Arley chose to trust him, and they embraced on their new found adventure. With hope in their hearts and something nefarious at their heels, Arley sought to find a cure for his friend, and find answers about his enemies.

Here’s to hoping the answers for both weren’t the same.

Answers only come with time, and time requires patience. Far off in the future however, with many smaller ventures and realizations in between, came the moment of truth. Arley had managed, through the help of a powerful socercer named Cosmo, to obtain an auric stylus. With this tool, he hoped to breach the barrier between their reality and the Dreamscape, and finally. Finally. Find Hickory again. Whoever he'd been traveling with was not Hickory, it took far too much delight in his fear, his nerves. He was exhausted. But it would soon all be over-

But it was never that easy, was it? The onset chaos nearly tore Arley's being in two, ██████ and him both being ripped into the Dreamscape through the violent, hungry force of this void entity residing alongide him. It was a nightmare, nothing was working how it was supposed to, and that... beast. Its horrid, ear piercing cackles as it mocked Arley's attempts, lapping up his tears and cries with its claws like a delicacy fit for celebration. Everything finally made sense, he was never going to find Hickory here- And ██████ knew that. It wanted him to hope, to believe something could be done, so it could rip it from Arley's grasp with even greater fervor. He was nothing more than a tool to this beast, and he'd just given him the keys to eternity.

In his panic, Arley reached out with the auric stylus in a desperate attempt to breach the barrier again, even if it killed him. Yet as the stylus ink sparkled with magic, the portal did not return; instead, the pen latched its tip to the back of ██████. The ink poured out in a fluid motion, seeming to burn the stolen flesh of this beast as it sat stuck in its back. Arley had little time to process what could've caused such a pull, but through adrenaline alone, he began instinctually carving into the back of the beast a sygil; a binding tie to the body it inhabited. It was sloppy, as he'd never carved a sigil this powerful nor to this size in his life. But something pushed him through the motions, the gravity of the Dreamscape mirroring that of a guiding hand. And in an instant-

They were back. They'd managed to be expelled from the Dreamscape and returned to the Surface, both of them still in tact. The stylus was fractured in the process, incapable of any further magic; but it worked. Corpse now lay in the snow before Arley, his ragged gasps for air pulling forced life into his newly bound flesh. Arley had lost Hickory, and created a new man; Corpse. Corpse, now holding but a fraction of the power and control he once had, was trapped within the mortal shell of the man he stole from the world. How poetic. It could be said the mercy he decided to show Arley moments later was poetic as well, utilizing what remaining void power he could muster in that moment to shatter Arley's crest, and retreat into the forest surrounding them.

But it didn't matter now. He did it, Arley did it. And as he lay there mere moments after Corpse's departure, he let his body breathe, and his heart mourn. The tears burned on his face as they fell to the snow, but they were real, they were his. "We did it, Hickory," he whispers to the sky-

"We did it."