[haemon]

RESS

[recherché.]

Hnnn, procrastinated too much & didn't have time to commission any art, so i'm dropping out.
Good luck to the winner!

[trivium]

username: trivium
name: aselos ( aah - say - lohs )
gender: male

wip omg

[Kaitlynizer]

Kalon Try-out Form Part 1

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Sometimes a mask defines you, until you realize you can take it off"


art by me

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Prelude I:
Twilight. A misty sky overshadowing the hues of purple, orange, and yellow that were already turning
evanescent as a black glow overtook the day's light. Soon it would be night. It was at this time, that
a young couple was presented with a small kalon, bundled up in a ragged and worn grey cloth, by the
doctor.

"Oh my gosh... she's beautiful"

"I know"

"Whenever you're ready, please fill out these forms for the church record" the doctor said after a moment,
glancing over at the couple, the light of the candles reflecting gently on the shape of their silhouettes.
The couple nodded in response, the mom moving to take the baby from the father next, and then clutching it
in her arms tightly - as if she was afraid that the baby would somehow slip from her grasp. The mom took
in a deep breath, savoring the moment. She could feel the heartbeat. That tiny little pulse that whispers
"i'm alive" to the observer. The father watched the two for a moment, before picking up the forms
the doctor had left on the table.

"What name?" the father murmured, suddenly feeling overwhelmed, unable to fully capture his thoughts.
"Samuel Prue. She'll have your last name"
"That's a boys name" came the reply, a frown briefly passing through the father's face.

"It will make her strong" the mother said quietly, unable to stop smiling at the baby.
"Alright then. Samuel it is"
"Yes"

Prelude II:
Monday, october 31st.
"Honey?! Can you check on Samuel for me?" the mother called from across the room.
"Okay, but it's your turn next time" replied the father, who headed down the hall to reach the
nursery. "Don't forget a candle! It's hard to see"

"Okay, okay, don't worry" said the father, turning back around to retrieve a candle to better light the way.
The dim hallway creaked under his feet as he walked, having been made of wood instead of the usual
dirt. The soft glow of yellow light from the candle cast peculiar shadows along the plain, and albeit slightly
dreary, interior of the home. The father continued walking forward, pausing to switch the candle to his other
hand so he could open the nursery door, when the door suddenly swung open - all on it's own. The father froze.
Could it be? It was Halloween night after all; he'd heard of the celtic, pagan, warnings about this day - stories
of spirits rising from the grave to "live" for one last night - back before he had moved to America on that rotting
piece of barnacle-infested junk that was called a ship. Nothing had ever happened before though. But, could it?
The father raised the candle in the direction of the door, hoping to make out the details of the nursery, and yet hoping
that nothing would greet him from its depths. When suddenly- "dad?" The father felt a shudder of surprise, a shudder
that quickly turned into a sigh of relief. The father motioned for the child to come to him, all the while trying to catch
his own breath. "Yes sammy?" he asked, picking up the child with both arms. "I feel sick" was the groaning reply, followed
by shallow sounds of coughing as the child began vomiting. "Honey?!! Something's wrong! CALL THE DOCTOR!"

"Oh my..." the mother whispered to herself, sprinting down the hallway to see what was the matter. And then she screamed,
catching sight of the green mush and specks of blood falling to the floor from the child's mouth. "I'll go get the doctor" she murmured, trying not to alarm the father anymore than she already had. "Just.. hold on"

---

"What's wrong with my daughter?" the mother susurrated, speaking quietly as to not wake the child, who was now resting on
the white bedspread. "I'm not sure yet, but before any medicine is distributed to her there should be a bloodletting, to rid
the child of any...malevolent spirits" the doctor replied. The mother glanced over at the father, uncertainty showing in her
gaze. "Yes" the father spoke determinedly. "Do all you can for her, please"

---

"I'm afraid the treatment has made her worse, I hath no good news to speak of. It has had certain.. effects. I hath therefore concluded that this may be.. the sickness of sin. Similar to the disease of Roanoke, perhaps. We must pray that they
get better". The couple turned to each-other and hugged, tears in both their eyes, and then moved past the doctor into
the nursery to be near their daughter. "It's okay, it'll be okay" "I love you" "I love you too"

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Part I:
From here, Samuel recovered from the sickness, although left with a few changes. The body, weakened by lack of blood and
genetically modified by the disease bacterium, was changed, leaving a skinny quality to it's malformation. The tail began to
grow in a peculiar direction, warped. And one of their violets, "violets" being the term her parents affectionately called her
purple eyes, changed. The sclera turned black and the iris became red. Nevertheless, Samuel - nicknamed "Sammy" - was
loved by her parents despite this. For them, nothing had changed, as this was still the child they loved. To the rest of the
town, this was more then nothing.

This was the mark of the Black Man, telling them that something must be done in his honor, or else that sickness would
return to its ascension into control of the child's body and then, through her, spread as far as the eye could see. They feared
it. They feared her. Her parents' began to fear that the townsfolk would take Samuel away from them, and, in an
attempt to ease the fears of the puritans, gave her a mask made of bone; a mask said to hold off evil spirits from leaving
the body of the impure. This seemed to have been the right medium as it comforted the puritans and had no other visible
effects on the child. But in late December, the fates changed their luck.

It was sudden, shocking, and strange. The parents had died overnight.

Samuel didn't understand, and just kept wailing beside their fallen bodies, holding their hands, confused as to why they
weren't getting up to comfort him. This was how the rest of the town found the three of them, huddled up on the floor
between the entrance of the nursery and the hallway. Nobody knew what had happened, but all thought it was mysterious.
The suspicion quickly escalated, the fears of the people instantaneously consuming their thoughts. It took only a few
seconds for them to determine that the child was the cause of the parents' death. It was the child's fault, with it's sickness,
with it's sin. They thought they needed to do something. They thought this was necessary. They thought that this was
the right thing to do. They were wrong. However, events that take place can never be taken back...
Shortly after the death of the parents, the town gathered for a meeting at the old church, a simple building in puritanical
style, which was clad in white and cracked with age. The church stood as a monument to their god, stood as a symbol of
resilience. It had been burned many times in the past years, burnt to the ground each time. But the burning was not as grave
as what they did after meeting there. For they had decided to lead the child into the black-woods as an offering for the
Black Man, justified by the belief that this would save them from the disease.

And they intended for the child to die here.

Part II:
The sky was a grim and shadowed shade between grey and blue, the atmosphere tense despite the bright morning light
shining from above the town. "Come on, just follow me okay?" they murmured, gesturing for the child to walk forward,
leaving a wide birth of space between the two. "No, no, don't come close. You don't want to get me sick like your
parents did do you?" "No.. where are we going?" "Why, we're going to the woods! We'll play a fun game of hide and seek
and then go home" came the half-choked reply, silently implying the moral dilemma of the kalon bringing the child here
to pass away. It was for the good of the town. They were just protecting themselves.. It would be sad, yeah, but this
was necessary, right? "Will momma and daddy be home then?" "Yes, of course. They would never leave you, not really"

---

"Time to play! I'll count.. Go hide!"
"I don't wanna"
"Hey.. why not?"
"I wanna go home"

"If you play we can go home"
"Okay" the child murmured.

---

Night began to fall as the child grew restless, and as the sky darkened she began to cry. As loud as possible, desperately
wanting her parents to come find her and hold her in their arms. They weren't there. Hours past before Sammy stifled
her tears and took a wobbly step forward so she could walk over to lay down next to the soft-looking bracken, which she
could barely make out in the dim glow of night. And then there was a sound. A long cry, a howl, a voice serenading the stars.
Sammy glanced around in the darkness, confused. "Momma what's that?" And there was another sound, a reply of sorts that
was heard about the wind, with the same long echoing sound that was heard above the chirps, scratches, and screeches of
the other animals.

Sammy twisted her head slightly, turning to see if she could make any shapes out, but there was nothing, until she spotted
two dots in the distance, dots that were getting larger and larger until she could make out a silhouette in the night. A
limber, narrow form, tail pointing down, moving closer, until it suddenly stopped. It was still and stiff, as if about to
pounce on some lower item of prey or object of interest, but then suddenly let out a sharp bark; immediately spooking
Sammy into scurrying backward in an attempt to push her body in betwixt the bracken. The shape darted forward, then
backward, getting just close enough to get a whimpering reaction but then jumping away again. Then it stopped moving,
its breath ruffling the tips of Sammy's coarse pelt for a moment, then there was a quiet yipping sound, and next a soft whine.
Nothing happened for the few moments after that. The shape stepped away, tail flicking slightly. Sammy let out another
cry, and then fell silent as the gaze of the shape glanced over them once more. And then Sammy watched as they began to
walk away, and then.. she followed. The shape glanced back their way, stopping and pausing, as if questioning the young
kalon's motion. Nevertheless the two made their way to a dirt hole in the ground together, be it by chance or fate or the
will of the limber shape. It deepened the further it came into the ground, a den of sorts, with its mixing smells clogging
the child's nose. So many new scents taking hold in that abandoned mind...

---

Sammy slipped inside, taking in the strange sounds that followed - namely a series of high pitched barks. Two smaller shapes approached, about the same size as Sammy, only they wandered around bumping into a few things, eyes seemingly closed; or
at least that's what the young kalon thought. More whining sounds. And then the larger shape laid down, the two smaller
shapes gathering close to them, Sammy gradually following behind, beckoned on by instinct. It was there that she was
given a new beginning. There that she made her home. There she was accepted and taught the lessons of the wild, by
a band of coyotes, primarily guided by the need for survival.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Afterward I:
From here on, she grew up with the coyotes. Soon she was an adult, living in the woods, and could barely squeeze inside
the den - because even though the other pups had left, she had stayed behind - her presence among the two adult
coyotes, including the one who had found her - who was affectionately called Mom inside of her head, seeming to be
accepted permanently. But one day, she ventured out on the outskirts of their territory in search of food, and suddenly
everything changed on that early spring morning.

---

I stood stiff, having spotted a mouse nibbling on a few fallen seeds nearby. I could almost taste it, my mouth watering
at the sight, almost feel its heartbeat through the ground we stood on. The earthy smell dwindling from my mind as
my nose picked up the scent of the mouse. I felt the dirt under my claws. My paws trembled in anticipation. It was
almost time. I leapt forward, legs propelling me, and pounced. My mouth came into contact with the plump form,
and it was over in seconds. But something felt wrong. I twitched my ears, suddenly aware of something watching me.
I looked left, then right, trying to get a better picture of my surroundings since the mask blocked out some of my
vision. I straightened up, mouth still hanging onto the mouse, cautiously glancing every which way. "Spirit, begone!"
came a deep voice, joined by several others that repeated the same phrase, the harmonization growing in volume.
I blinked, taking a step to my right in the direction of the voice. I felt a guttural growl emerge from my mouth,
almost causing me to drop the mouse. It started to slip as the growl grew, and I abruptly stopped in order to retain my
grip. Then instinct took over and I let go of the mouse, now guarding the prey between my legs, and then started
barking wildly in a series of short notes. I moved my head around in order to watch the reactions of the voices - which
belonged to a series of kalons that had strange markings on their fur - and was surprised to find them turning tail and
retreating. With that, I picked up the mouse - happy to have protected my catch - and scampered off in the direction
of home, still a little confused - maybe even a tad curious - about the threat I had just discovered. I'd have to ask
Mom about it. I looked back as I left the area, a mixture of feelings rising in my heart. On one hand, that had been
scary but triumphant, on the other it seemed vaguely familiar. Not in the sense that I knew them, but in the sense that
they looked like me - just a little bit. Hmm..

---

Dear Diary, today has marked the 98th time I've interacted with those kalons I met in the woods that morning. Through
one of them, I've learned so much! It took me a while to understand him, and I still don't get the whole "tribe" thing to
be honest, but he approached me and tried to explain anyway! He's tried to teach me the language too, so I've decided
to have a name - which is something that others know you by. My name's going to be Shaw. I just wish the tribe
wasn't afraid of me, I mean - I'm still afraid of them a little, but I'm working on that. Anyway, I think I've decided
something. I want to explore, discover, and learn so much more! I'll miss my family but I feel like I need to leave.
It's time. Goodbye everyone... I'll be back soon.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Story-line overview:
- birth name was samuel (parents had wanted a boy) prue stevenson
- instead was a girl, but mother refused to change the name, so they kept that name
- "grew up" (baby to toddler) in a radical puritanical society (in a small town)
- born to a puritan couple on october 21st as a healthy babe
- caught a sickness as a toddler on halloween night, some thought it was a version of what wiped out roanoke in the 1500's, others thought it was the sign of the "Black Man" (devil)
- the couple brought her to a doctor which led to frequent blood letting via leeches (which is how they thought sickness could be cured at the time)
- this worsened the disease to the point to body malformation (and skinny-ness) and had strange side effects (the eyes), puritans were convinced this was "sin" (called the disease the "sickness of sin")
- somehow she survived, but the puritan people were scared that she would cause an outbreak of the disease
- the parents gave her the "bone mask" (given to them by the doctor/alchemist) to prevent the evil spirits (causing the disease) from "escaping" her body
- grew up with her parents for a bit longer, but they mysteriously died later in december
- babe left to fend for itself as the puritans thought she was the cause of the parents' death
- the townsfolk led her to the black-woods as an offering for the "Black Man"
- she was supposed to die there, but instead was taken in by a group of coyotes and raised as one of their kind
- now lives in the woods
- viewed as an evil spirit (wendigo) by native-american kalons as they always wore the mask (the mask had frightened natives, which led to the legend and belief that she could posses other kalons)
- slowly develops new understanding/comprehension (previously only acted in coyote-like behavior/speech/etc.) as time moves on and there are more encounters with other kalons settling on the land with the coyotes
- learns the kalon language all over again and eventually desires to leave/explore/live among other kalons bc it feels strangely familiar to her (ish)
- only vaguely remembers the puritans from their childhood, mainly just the coyotes, but recalls hearing "revelations" and "confessions", and seeks this out in kalon society
- adopts the name "shaw" (used no name when she lived with the coyotes, as she was too young to remember her birth name)
- leaves the coyotes to explore the world and learn more about other kalons

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[tiny little box]

Username: tiny little box
Name: Echo
Gender: male

Later

[spirit • daydream]

Username: APH Siantia
Name: Rajani (Meaning: The dark one)
Gender: Female

[The Worst Username]

Dropping! Good luck everyone, and have a nice day.

[gravestones]

USERNAME-
queen crossroad.
NAME-
---
GENDER-
Male
BEFORE THE NIGHTMARE-
---
LOSING OUR MINDS-
---
ONGOING TURMOIL-
---
Holy crap WIP
- was normal
- changed
- craves power
- always hungry
- scary
- unapproachable
- his friends still search for him in the forest he calls home
- lost down a mine shaft
- don't answer the voices
- bloodthirsty

[Evils]

Username: Evils
Name: Haures
Gender: Gendervoid (they/it)

[lovage]

Username: Fernmoon
Name: Taki
Gender: Female