Dudley's full backstory

When Dudley emerged from the water lily, his fate was already set in stone. A metal doll took him and a handful of other fabric dolls to assign them other metal dolls as guardians in a secret place, to educate them. They were never explained why they were not allowed to leave the area. Some speculated that it could be dangerous outside if they were not well prepared. At least the fabric dolls were promised to be allowed to leave after ten years of successful completion. They only saw their own kind very rarely, and it was strictly monitored to allow the fabric dolls to interact mostly with their guardians - Dudley was no exception. His guardian was a large and strong metal doll with fiery eyes. A fighter who was not at all suited to raising dolls, especially not Dudley: He smeared the walls of his room, was unpleasantly sassy, and loved to annoy his pet. This companion, a black-and-white dodo, was physically bound to Dudley by a cord since his birth. If the cord were to be severed, the flightless bird would die.

As for his guardian, things went a little differently. The genuinely good soul was not a fan of physical punishments, but only reprimanding him brought as little success. She had ten years to educate the fool to a smart, reasonable fabric man. Meanwhile, the metal guardians had their very own test: If Dudley, her assigned ward, did not pass the test in ten years, she would have failed and be banished from the organization - her only home. She had to prove that she was capable of more than just fighting. That's what she and her colleagues were told. And yet it was strange. She couldn't stand it when the boy talked back to her, imitated her, and did foolish things. Nevertheless, after the first few months, she began to like him. After all, he wasn't as boring and obedient as the other fabric dolls, but rather a challenge! And she could never get enough of real challenges.

The first years passend and went surprisingly well for Dudley and his foster mother. And even though the fabric boy never called her mother, the duo became a constantly teasing, but still loving family. The end of the training was slowly approaching as the metal woman changed. In year eight, she was away several times for a few weeks, a time Dudley hated. He had never felt more lonely, and his companion, who was stuck to him with the stupid cord, was only a small comfort. Every time she returned, she had made further modifications to her body. She proudly presented them to him: wings, weapons, even glass elements. But her eyes didn't laugh along. The final exam. Nobody knew what it would look like, not even the guardians. Only the Metalldolls, who had already successfully passed with their ward, knew and stood in a row on the ceremony ground. Dudley's palms were sweating, he was nervous. The metal woman who had molded him for the last ten years wasn't doing any better. They trained everything that could be trained in the building. Various arts, calculation and thinking exercises, athletic activities - and then came the moment of truth. Every fabric doll should stand next to a metal doll, which were already lined up in a long row, waiting for them. Their guardians were ordered to follow their wards. So the three long rows of dolls stood there, without pen and paper, without sports equipment or anything like that to test the fabric dolls. A purely verbal exam then? A high-ranking metal doll strutted along the rows of dolls, leading the ritual. Whispering spread, confusion about why the guardians should even participate in the exam. A sign from the leader and the wards were forced to their knees. The whispering now turned into uproar from the guardians, but the leader was not deterred. "The final exam of the guardians and wards," she shouted, "is a test of trust. And loyalty." A smile flew over her face and disappeared as quickly as it had come. "Loyalty to us, and to the cause to which you, dear guardians, have devoted your lives. You swore us eternal loyalty and gave us every right to your thoughts, your bodies." The cloth dolls were always well protected and isolated, even from each other. Like animals conditioned only to their owner. Dudley looked up at his guardian and was startled when his gaze met hers. Her eyes screamed. "You swore to give up your life and become a machine. This test will prove whether you were honest all those years ago. Please raise your weapons and aim at your wards." Disagreement and shouting interrupted the monologue of the icy woman, but this time it did not come from the guardians. They fell silent and raised their weapons hesitantly. Even the metal woman who Dudley loved so much aimed the killing court between his eyes. The wide metal tube touched his forehead. "What are you doing!?" he screamed in panic and almost in unison with his fabric brothers and sisters. The whole situation had just been absurd. The noise of the clamor was unbearable, shouting, begging, crying, and then the first shot rang out. All cloth dolls fell silent, frightened, and looked towards the origin of the sound. The leader had ordered the first in line to shoot his ward. He had hesitated for only a few moments. Step by step, the cold metal woman went along the line, patiently waiting for everyone in line to pull the trigger. The cloth dolls had no chance, the initiated metal men and women behind them held them firmly on the ground. But Dudley was lucky. He was not only far down the death row, but also one of the few with a companion. When the Dodo saw an opportunity, he attacked Dudley's back man, who released his grip to defend himself. The fabric doll finally broke free and managed to rush past his guardian onto the open field. She didn't stop him. He ran like never before in his life and almost found the cover he had longed for behind a group of trees when a disgusting pain struck his left leg and he fell heavily to the ground. Tasche croaked frantically as something roughly grabbed the Dudley's hair and lifted him up. He forced himself to open his eyes, whimpering, and saw the leader with a claws where a hand should be. She had sliced Dudley's calf and now looked down with hatred at the little companion of his. A quick movement, and the connecting thread was cut... at least that was her plan, but Dudley stretched his arm in the way and was rewarded with another deep wound from which his blood and cotton filling poured out. He screamed again. The woman let him go and said something, but he was too focused on his pain, writhing and sobbing on the ground. Then his guardian ran up, like a scolded dog. "It's your turn," the woman said to her and stepped back. Dudley gasped her name, swallowed up by panic and lack of air. "Don't do this to me," he tried with his last bit of strength to convince her, "You don't have to do this, please. You're my m-mother, right?" She had not spoken since the first shot was fired. Now it was her turn. The bird croaked helplessly, and Dudley's leg was too badly injured for him to run away again. So the only person Dudley ever liked, ever loved, aimed her killing device at him. Surely the tables would turn any moment now. She would aim the gun at the leader and kill her instead of Dudley. That was what he hoped, but one shot later, his wish was not granted. Her tear-streaked face still haunts the the fabric man in his dreams today. Just like him, she sobbed, unable to find clear words that showed him that she, his foster mother, really loved him too. No goodbye, no last smile, just a shot to her own head. The leader watched in shock as Dudley's mother's lifeless body fell to the ground. She hesitated for a few seconds, then turned to deal with the remaining poor souls in the row. Dudley no longer mattered to her, and so he crawled away, mentally and physically destroyed.

That was many years ago. His emotional and physical wounds had healed and he is now a traveling merchant with a love for money. Money can't hurt in a way that relationships can, after all. Nonetheless he made a friend along the way, he travels with a nice woman called Liora who has a terrible start into the world as well. He's also closer with his companion now, and sees him as family. He's sort of happy now... until he met his presumed dead foster mother again.