Profile
• Clever • Methodical • Passionate • Blunt • Headstrong • Petty
Brutus is the Beastguard of the royal Pyridekk house, a position xe has fought tooth and claw to achieve and wears proudly. Although xe may be part of the royal house, make no mistake that xe holds any fondness for them. xe hates the royal houses, the culture that surrounds them, and how they take advantage of the common creature, like those of hir family. And this in no way excludes hir own house. Although Renfinus Pyridekk may have mentored her, she longs to dispose of him and take his place as head of Pyridekk. But given that the creature is nearly godlike... it's proving to be a little difficult.
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Many of the royals find Brutus to be offputting and tend to keep their distance. There is a wire-sharp intensity that follows Brutus’s every word and movement, and Xe carries hemself with an air of authority that makes hir hard to approach. Even when spoken to, Xe’s not a very talkative creature – hir gravelly voice rasping a short sentence or two before finding some reason to excuse hemself from the conversation. Still, every word she utters is with meaning. She speaks her opinions pointedly and honestly and doesn’t believe in doing anything without purpose. She has studied diligently to get where she has today – especially at her young age, and it’s evident in the magical prowess that radiates off of her. Then there’s her eyes. Stunning, striking, and completely sightless. That, combined with everything else, made it so other creatures just never knew how to act around her.
Not that Brutus minded them avoiding her much. She would always rather be researching magic in her study then placating curious royals’ questions about her condition, her magic, her upbringing. No matter how snappish and rude she came off at times, other creatures were always peculiarly drawn to her – even if they kept their distance. Although given hir position, it wasn’t that surprising. To be the Beastguard of any royal house would be impressive, but for the Pyridekk – a house consisting entirely of professionally trained magicians, that gave hir more renowned than any other royal Beastguard. Particularly because she wasn’t even a species naturally gifted with magic, not a storm spirit, or a pipe fox dragon, or a fade – just a simple, common sheepdrake, and a blind one at that. She was an anomaly. And that made others curious of hir. Root for hir. Fear hir.
Those who interact with Brutus regularly notice that xe always seems to be busy. Whether researching for a project, making plans to research for a project, managing the birdfeeders at the Pyridekk manor, mentoring upcoming Pyridekk magicians, or making sure the menagerie of animals Renfi Pyridekk has taken on are properly taken care of – xe always seemed to be doing something, little room for anything else in her schedule. And while she may grumble about it, she enjoys having things to do and feels quite lost and worthless without something to devote herself to.
Her, very few, friends are the only ones to witness the softer, more nurturing side of her personality. (And even catch her crack an exceedingly rare smile or smirk on occasion). Perhaps rooted from years of looking after her large family and younger siblings, Brutus can be surprisingly doting. She checks on her friends often to make sure they’re okay and is more than happy to do things for them if they are feeling down or under the weather. (Although xe does recognize that xe struggles with saying the right thing sometimes or understanding what others are feeling, but will always give her best effort and apologize if she messes something up) That being said, she isn’t the type to baby someone either, and most often tells others what she thinks they need to hear versus what they want to hear.
Likes
- gardening/plants
- studying and researching
- pickled foods
- windy days
- aromatic flowers
Dislikes
- not being taken seriously
- very sweet/sugary foods
- cold/rainy weather
- frivolous creatures
- having nothing to do
Trivia About Magic
The earing she wears is a gemstone with an enchantment on it that makes it easier for her to get around. Due to hir growth order + training, xe is able to sense any flora/lifeforms round hir and uses this to sense her way around better – the earing strengthens this ability xe already has and ups the radius + accuracy/detail of hir sensing of lifeforms. (of course, if there's not many plants/animals around... this sensing is not very useful) She doesn't have the spell on the earring running all the time though (especially if she’s somewhere she’s familiar with already) because it can drain her magic pretty quick. Sometimes having this enchanment running can actually overwhelm her senses and make her more disoriented
The main magic she uses to attack are Star-thorn briar vines – which she tends to control 4-6 vines at once. Unlike many plants Star-thorn briar doesn’t need water to grow and can survive purely on keyaa energy+air. Because of this, Brutus never needs a water source to be able to grow her vines, as there is keyaa practically everywhere, even in minute measures, if you are skilled enough to find it.
However, Star-thorns are a volatile plant to control even for a skilled growth order magician, and can feed on the spellcaster’s own keyaa/drain them if they are not careful at constantly monitoring where they are taking their keyaa from – thus most growth order magicians don’t use them (+ the plant only grows in spefific regions, hard to get a hold of). Brutus keeps a sprig of Star-thorn briar on hemself at all times (twined around hir horns, hoofs, or necklace), xe cannot grow any star-thorns w/o a seed/sprig handy. xe usually also keeps other kinds of plant seeds on hir that are less demanding/have different uses than star-thorn briar.
Brutus's raw magical power isn’t anywhere near the level of a storm spirit or pipe fox dragon, or even some of the other members of the Pyridekk – but it’s the way she uses her magic that makes her a formidable foe. is adept at outsmarting and predicting the moves of her opponent and generally being clever/sneaky/creative with magic usage.
Her condition (which manifested at age 13) made her blind (among other symptoms lasting) and also gave her an enhanced sensitivity to keyaa. She has a higher tolerance for keyaa exposure than most creatures, and can actually sense/see other lifeforms' keyaa (a skill that most creatures have to train hard to accomplish, if they are even physically capable of doing it). Her keyaa sensitivity + the sensory processing issues she already has = not a very fun time in terms of getting overstimulated easily, rip lol
Misc Trivia
Knows how to knit/sew and likes to do it as a stress reliever. Particularly likes to make insect-themed plushies. Makes scarves, cloaks, and blankets aswell. The stuff xe makes may not look very pretty color-wise, but it's always soft, comfortable, and can take a lot of wear and tear. Generally knows how to do a lot of practical life stuff due to living on a farm in Raarkajkr most of hir life.
Doesn't like to throw things away or be wasteful. If it can be fixed or mended, xe'll find a way to do it.
Is a great cook. Doesn’t settle for eating mediocre food, ever. Enjoys cooking for others, and won’t give them a choice on the matter if she believes they aren’t eating well. Yes, xe will threaten you with food.
Dislikes cold weather because it exacerbates her chronically aching joints (due to her condition). She is also rather sensitive to rapid weather changes, especially when it comes to sudden rain/storms. If stuff hurts too much for her to do things, she likes to hunker down under a warm blanket and listen to her favorite classical music, something light and relaxing.
loves listening to the birds in the morning, or just general nature noises. Has taught herself to recognize a lot of birds by their call. She manages the birdfeeders at the Pyridekk manor mostly single-handedly, and it’s a treasured part of her daily routine, kind of meditative.
Is very straightforward with the way xe does things. Loves to have schedules and to do lists and such. Gets angry when others do things to interrupt/mess up hir plans. Hates surprises, often even pleasant ones.
Has an absolutely stunning singing voice. Unlike her normal voice which is mostly deep, gravelly, and rough, hir singing voice is surprisingly bright and striking, but still with some hard/rough tones if listening closely. Although xe mostly just sings for hemself/or family, she isn’t shy to do so in front of others if asked.
If directly challenged, will not back down. (its a bit of a problem). But she will give a honest fight and put whoever foolishly challenged her into their place.
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Childhood and Introduction into Pyridekk
Brutus grew up with a large and loving family out in the rolling hills of the countryside. Although her father left when she was too young to remember him, their ramshackled farmhouse was always bustling, hardly enough space between her four other siblings – one older sister, her clutchmate sibling, one younger sister, and her baby brother – along with their hard-working and ever-cheerful mother of course. They weren’t wealthy, no one in the village was, but they managed to support themselves with their own crops and made the best of things, everyone in the village looked out for one another.
Brutus’s childhood was mostly uneventful. Even though xe wasn’t the oldest of hir siblings, hir intense, headstrong, and responsible personality turned hir into a bit of an authority figure in the household, and if anyone took advantage of hir mother’s kind and forgiving disposition or any of hir siblings, they were sure to meet Brutus’s fiery retribution. Xe was also the only one in the house gifted with magic (or at least, the most naturally gifted, and only one with any interest to pursue it and hone it). Because of this, xe was able to sell hir skills to the rest the village and trade for things hir family normally wouldn’t have been able to get with just farm goods.
However, when she turned 13, a medical condition lying dormant in her genes began to manifest.
It was commonly referred to as “Scarlet Iris”, and wasn’t uncommon to the area they lived. In fact, part of the reason why the area was so sparsely populated and poor was because the land was believed to be cursed – many children having been born there with the condition in the past century or so. Those diagnosed with scarlet Iris became blind within a year of the condition manifesting, their pupils, and sometimes their whole iris, gradually turning red as their sight slowly faded. They also typically had chronic aches, pains, and joint discomfort for a year or two after the condition progressed completely, which lessened over time, but never truly disappeared.
For several years, living was painful for Brutus. She lost the ability to do simple tasks as her sight faded, to take care of herself, to do the activities that brought her joy. And even when she found the will to do the things she still could, to try, her body ached. If not for the love and support of her family, she wouldn’t have made it.
But it wasn’t within Brutus’s disposition to lay down without a fight. With help and support from her family, xe learned to manage and live with hir condition. Yes, there are now things that xe’s unable to do, will never be able to do – but there were still plenty of things xe could do. Maybe not the same way xe did them before, but xe could still do them. Just required a bit of creative thinking and determination.
As soon as she could figure out how to do so, she began to feverishly study magic once more. Just because she couldn’t do written spells didn’t mean she couldn’t do spoken ones, or object enchantments, or find her way around magic arrays or spellcircles. Because her blindness limited her resources of study (not all texts responded to "speak aloud" spells, and they always had to commission braille texts), she sucked up any magical resources and information she could find, delving deeper into magical theory, utilization, and history than she ever had before her condition manifested. However, xe soon exhausted the knowledge of the local small-time magicians and farmers, so hir thirst for information drew hir to travel outside hir village.
Then when xe was 17, an opportunity was presented to hir. The royal Pyridekk family was looking for members, for those adept at magic or with potential to join their ranks. The Pyridekk were traveling high and low through the lands searching for hidden gems.
Brutus had never cared for the royal houses, in fact, xe rather disliked them. Maybe even hated them. The way they squabbled and fought wars over meaningless things and often dragged the common creature into it, the way they saw themselves better than creatures like her – like the creatures of her village – even though they themselves may not have had to work for a single thing they owned. They were part of the reason why her homeland was so destitute, so looked down upon.
But the Pyridekk were different. Probably not better, probably just as corrupt and ill-intentioned, but different. For none of them were truly “royal”, or even related to each other really – they were just an organization of magically adept creatures using their ranks and influence to sell and improve their skills.
And they had more resources and knowledge of magic than perhaps any other group or organization in all of Pippaf. Resources that Brutus would be privy to if she was among their ranks. That, and the pay for her service to the house could go towards supporting her family.
She got incredibly lucky at her audition to join the Pyridekk, and caught the attention of Renfinus Lazuli Pyridekk himself, the house head. Renfi was impressed by her skill at her age, intrigued by her species, her upbringing, her condition. Renfinus loved curious things, and he found Brutus to be very curious. Renfi decided to take hir on as his apprentice, and Brutus utilized the position and opportunity to hir fullest extent.
She grew more skilled. Stronger, dangerous. She climbed the ever-changing ranks of the Pyridekk and became the house Beastguard at the age of 23.
Through hir time with the Pyridekk, the corruption and vile nature of the house and other royal houses became unquestionably apparent. Although xe was grateful to Renfinus for the opportunity he had given hir, for his tutelage and his never-ending search for magical knowledge, a passion they shared, it was undeniable the malicious intent behind his actions. Or perhaps not inherently malicious or cruel, but he was indifferent if that was the result of them. Renfi did things just to see what happened. He poured money and resources into endless research and experiments. Curious, he was always curious. And just a tad sadistic.
Although Brutus has already accomplished much more than many others her age, she also hungers for more. For herself or for others, she isn’t quite sure yet.
Either way, xe has plans.
!! MOST OF THESE ARE OUTDATED OOP !! Renfi L. Pyridekk
[ Mentor/Enemy ] Brutus’s feelings towards Renfinus are complicated. She is endlessly grateful for Renfinus taking interest in her, for mentoring her and sharing his knowledge of magic, for making her the Beastguard of the Pyridekk. She hates his callously curious personality, his willingness to cause harm and misfortune to others in order to get what he wants. She respects his magical prowess and undeniable charisma, the intelligence that went behind his quick rise to power. She detests how wasteful he is, how he collects things of intrigue and wonder only to lock them up and let them rot, his hedonistic, careless nature. She wouldn’t be able to support her family as she does without him. He gave her purpose when she was purposeless, made her feel strong when she had felt weak. She wouldn’t be who she was without him, she knew that. She also knew that the longer he was in power, the more others would suffer. She knew that although she might not be the right creature to do it, she might be the only one capable of taking him down. Taking him down, and taking his place as head of the Pyridekk.
Ame Valencia
[ Queer Platonic Partner ] While Brutus may have nearly killed Ame the first time they met, now anyone that gets between the both of them does so at the risk of their own death. Brutus didn’t like Ame at first, his silly, fake-cheerful demeanor reminded hir too much of her rival, Chrrris. However, the more Brutus was forced to interact with Ame, they slowly grew on hir. She discovered there was a lot more to Ame beyond their surface level personality – deepness and compassion and sarcasm and enough pettiness to match her own. Soon, xe found hemself enjoying talking to them, and for reasons xe couldn’t fathom, they also enjoyed talking with Brutus, enjoyed hir. Enough to stick around longer than any friend xe had had previously at least. Through the mutual nonsense and hardships they deal with living among the royal houses, their relationship grew ever closer, ever stronger. They bring out the best in each other, push each other to be better creatures. By each other’s side, they feel both stronger and more vulnerable – comfortable to share parts of themselves that they would with few others. Brutus and Ame have a boundless love and trust for each other, and would do nearly anything for the other’s happiness.
August Valencia
[ Close Friend/Family ] Brutus was introduced to August through Ame, his sibling. Xe was indifferent towards him for a while, but thought he seemed like a bright, creative, yet skittish young creature (and greatly intimidated by hir, however xe didn’t realize this until a time later). Slowly, as Brutus got closer with Ame, August opened up by extension. Once xe was made aware of their mutual love for magical history and research, their friendship quickly hit off. They started to spend many hours geeking out together, discussing obscure magic trivia and history, and August hesitantly recommending hir his favorite fantasy novels (of which, they often had to order braille copies to be made, or go through the ordeal of enchanting a book to read itself). August, with his passionate rambling and shy smiles, reminded hir much of hir younger sister, and with a shock, Brutus began to realize that xe was starting to see August as hir family as well. Brutus has a deep trust and love for August, and is perhaps just as protective of him as Ame.
"Ghost" Garvey Amaranth
[ Ally ]Brutus is not particularly close with Garvey, but respects him a fair extent. She believes his aspirations and actions to help the other Beastguards and undermine the corrupt royal houses at large, are noble. He also has a wealth of information that has been greatly useful to her and her friends time and time again. Brutus believes Garvey is a good creature, and is grateful to him for, in a way, introducing her Ame and August. She knows that if she’s ever in a tight position, she can go to Ghost Amaranth for help.
Chrrris Pyridekk
[ Enemy ] Brutus hates Chrrris with every inch of hir being. His stupid voice and his obnoxious, howling laughter. He has been a thorn in Brutus’s side since xe joined the Pyridekk and become a strange sort of rival. They are both favorites of Renfinus and constantly have to fight for his praise (which only infuriates Brutus more, because xe also, hates Renfinus, but needs his good opinion to keep hir position and benefits within the house). While Brutus is strategic and clever with hir magic use, Chrrris is messy and reckless – relying on his natural brute power to crush any of his opponents. He spends all of his free time not studying, as Brutus does, or really doing anything remotely productive – but partying with the other royals, or sleeping the day away, or spending his Pyridekk allotted money on trinkets he wears only one time then throws in his closet and forgets about forever. Bitter that Brutus has the Beastguard position and he doesn’t, Chrrris takes great joy in making hir life as difficult and annoying as possible (and given that Chrrris has a rather sadistic personality, sometimes his antics go past just annoying). In short, Brutus’s would probably kill Chrrris if xe was physically able to.
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