Modern Lockhearts and Humans
In the earliest days of interacting with man, humans attempted to worship Lockhearts as Gods for their affinity with magic. The Lockhearts of this age ignored the attention of man, and instead focused on their tasks, remaining vigilant against the ever-encroaching threat of the Loveless creations of Ego. As religion began to develop, humans started to view Lockhearts more with suspicion and fear as their existence ran counter to common popular belief.
In today's world, Lockhearts are extremely rare. When Ego made his creations, his cut his power up very finely to make as many as possible. Empathy chose instead to give large portions of power to individuals it found worthy of being the guardians of life. Currently there is approximately one Lockheart to every 50,000 humans in the world. Humans generally view them with a varying range of reactions from curiosity to jealousy, and sometimes even outright hostility.
Generally, Lockhearts are accepted into human society with some trepidation. In first world countries they attend human schools, work human jobs etc. However, they have their own culture and prefer to interact with one another over humans, they only mate with their own species, and humans tend to view this disdainfully as a sort of elitism they are incapable of understanding. In third world countries Lockhearts are viewed as gods, due to their divine powers, come to save people from the loveless.
Community
Since the Loveless are attracted to population centers, many Lockhearts make their homes in human cities. They often form their own small groups and call on one another for aid in the event of large scale invasions, and it isn't uncommon for ten houses on the same block, or a whole apartment building to be entirely populated by Lockhearts while the surrounding hundred miles have none.
Community is very important to Lockhearts. Although they share a unique bond with their partner, they also feel a special connection to other Lockhearts in the solidarity of their purpose. Even in the wilderness of the amazon rainforest or the desert, Lockhearts prefer live and travel in small groups which allow them to share their unique experiences, history and heritage with others capable of understanding them.
Holidays
Lockhearts generally ignore the holidays of humans and instead prefer to celebrate their own unless specifically invited. The first of two holidays which Lockhearts celebrate is called the Last Day. The Last Day occurs on the winter solstice, and is a celebration of the last days of life and vibrancy before winter. Return Day occurs on the summer solstice, and celebrates the return to the height of light and life of the year. Both days often include a feast of some sort, friendly competitions, dancing and music. These holidays are especially important for Lockhearts as many gather in one place and it's a great opportunity for unbonded Lockhearts to meet others from far away.
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The Beginning
Long ago, when the world was still forming, the densest, most magically potent elements slowly made their way to the center of the Earth and formed a crystal. Over time, the condensed magic inside the crystal awoke. Groggy at first, the first stirrings of base emotion. But over the millennia, consciousness began to emerge. And as the crystal observed life on the surface it became split in its powerful mind between empathy and ego. At first the crack was small. But as the division of mind slowly became division of consciousness, the crack grew until finally the two could no longer suffer to live in the same body and split entirely in half.
Though neither was able to craft a soul out of magic, Empathy became benevolent, and used its power to subtly aid life in its eternal struggle to become more complex, ever increasing with each iteration of the cycle. Ego turned inward, growing bitter in its loneliness, and with its power made its own versions of the things it saw - magical beings which existed only to worship and carry out Ego's every whim - loveless shadow puppets, hollow immitations of life which embodied their creator's envy of the living.
The First Plague
When Ego could finally bear it no more, it unleashed its creations on the world. If it could not possess the life it so desired, then life should be destroyed. The creatures of the surface were caught by surprise, and even the magic passed onto them by Empathy could not save them from near extinction.
Its rage sated and power spent, Ego slipped into the torpor of hibernation to rebuild its energy. Eventually, with Empathy's subtle magic touch, the spark of life finally rekindled on the surface. But Ego would soon awaken from its long sleep, and something had to be done to prevent Empathy's jealous twin from finishing the work it started so long ago.
Lockhearts
Life needed guardians, and Empathy could not leave its prison deep inside the Earth. So instead, it summoned representatives of the most developed species to it. All the beings of the world capable of thought found their way to the center of the Earth except man, whose selfish nature prevented them from abandoning their own pursuits purely for the sake of others. Empathy was disappointed by man, for it had seen in this species the greatest potential and imagination closest to its own intelligence. And when it gave a portion of its power to the other creatures of the world and made them its guardians, Empathy used the template of man to augment its representatives.
These warriors of light would embody all of the positive elements that make life worth saving. The vitality and vibrancy of youth colored their appearance, but Empathy left traces of their animal heritage to remind them of their origins. To ensure that they would remain true to their noble goals, Empathy gave them each a key or a lock and bade them pair off and show the world the love and kindness they would show one another. And so each pair were tied together with strands of magic, their bond made manifest by the markings on their bodies.
Avarice
A need for material wealth above all else. This creature covets anything and everything it can get its many hands on. It claws and grasps its victims with its many hands as it seeks to possess their very bodies and souls by consuming them. As it has no face-up orientation, it is able to move deceptively fast hand over hand in a rolling ball of deadly steel-gripped appendages.
Gluttony
This choking cloud is a single contiguous entity which manifests a variety of insatiable mouths. Shredding teeth, piercing fangs, and prehensile tongues to bind and draw in its disoriented prey are the primary hunting methods of this enormous but slow-moving, ever-consuming monstrocity.
Sorrow
Often appearing as a glass-like still pool of water which is nearly irresistible to gaze into, those who look into it soon find themselves paralyzed and drowning, pulled under the surface. Sorrow is the least aggressive of the Temptations, but one of the most difficult to escape.
Betrayal
Two incomplete beings who once were whole, tied together but yearning to be free. More than any of the other Temptations, Betrayal will play mind games with its prey as it hunts them. It will try to separate pairs of Lockhearts and defeat them individually, often using illusions to show them visions of their worst fears about one another.
Discouragement
This Temptation has three consistencies it will switch between. When clear as glass, its surface is able to deflect most indirect strikes and disperse magical energy. When cloudy, it becomes vampiric in nature, sticking to and draining the energy of its victims. Finally, while opaque, Discouragement becomes sentient liquid.
Vainglory
The corpse of an innocent, now home to a dangerous plant-like creature. Unable to move from its position without considerable effort, it prefers to stay in one place and hunt on its own turf where its vines and tendrils have taken root. While its heart is often exposed, it manages to be very evasive, taking pleasure in stealing others' weapons and using them against their original wielders.
Anger
Spiky, blind, and extremely aggressive, Anger is exactly what one would expect. As the largest, strongest, and fastest of the Temptations it is also the most dangerous. Its blindness makes it easier to evade but also extremely unpredictable.
Pride
Pride is rarely seen, but its influence is often felt. It prefers to remain in the shadows, directing minions to do its bidding. No one actually knows Pride's true capability in battle because none have survived an encounter with it.