World Whispers in the Dark / characters & WB

[Aerix]

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ :◈: ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Introduction

Spoiler

WIP

Background

Spoiler

WIP

Ark-Valley / Fallout Shelter

Spoiler

WIP

The Silks

Spoiler

There are only theories as to what these creatures are. Are they monsters? Demons? Something even more foul? No one can possibly say for sure. The one thing that is known about them is that they are born from tragedy and death. Wherever great pain has taken place, these shadowy creatures have the potential to be born. The end of the world was a catalyst for these things to be created (or perhaps summoned?) on a scale wider than ever before. No one can possibly say how many of them there are in the world, but it must be thousands at least. Throves of them wander the scorched planet, terrorizing and destroying the last remaining inhabitants.

Appearance:

The creatures are almost always described as shadowy beings; Faceless forms of darkness swirling around the barren and scarred landscape. They can vary in size anywhere from around 4 feet tall up to 10 feet of towering shadows condensed into a shape that resembles a body. Sometimes, however, these creatures can take on a more physical form. It is theorized that they usually exist in the space between their realm and the human dimension. In this pocket of reality, they are unkillable. Certain electromagnetic frequencies seem to draw them fully into our realm; It has long been known that the Silks can manipulate these frequencies. They can interact with radiowaves and are often thought to gain power from the leftover gamma radiation from the fallout. Very specific frequencies cause them to become more physical and grounded in our world, and it is at these times that the Silks become vulnerable and able to be killed.

In their more physical form they become slender, humanoid beings. The smoke which usually surrounds them becomes a more liquid-like substance and drips from their body and pools around them. This goo is water-like in texture, and clings to their bodies and itself. It is also extremely acidic and will dissolve through flesh in a few seconds. They remain featureless in this form aside from a mouth which is said to be filled with rows of needle-like teeth. Similarly sharp blade-like claws extend from their fingers, which can stretch 8-9 inches long. Although they are technically killable in this form, they are no less deadly. The best method to kill a Silk is to burn it while it is in a physical form.

Temperament

More than anything, the Silks are hate-filled creatures. Their disdain for human beings and desire to destroy them is consistently evident in their behaviors. No one has ever seen a Silk kill an animal, but their slaughter and torture of humanity is well documented. Some speculate this may be to cause suffering and create more of them, while others seem to believe that these monsters seek to snuff out humanity as an act of God. They are considered to be sadistic, enjoying driving their prey to the brink of insanity before killing them in a horrific and slow manner. They show no mercy; They feel no empathy.

Abilities

The Silks are an alpha predator. They are able to move through solid structures (unless in a physical form) and are incapable of being harmed by physical weapons. They are very quick, the slowest still being able to outpace the average person. They are most well-known for their ability to drive people mad through possession. In their vapor-like state, they are able to enter through a human's orifices. They seem to physically take possession of the brain and manipulate the way the person thinks. They can cause auditory and visual hallucinations, memory loss, seizures, and a wide variety of other reactions caused by hijacking the brain. They are sometimes able to possess someone physically, orchestrating that person's body like a puppet. A lesser-known skill is the ability to lie dormant within a person's body. In this state, they are immune to the electromagnetic frequencies often used against them. This is also a vulnerability. If the host is killed while harboring the Silk, the creature will die as well.

Character List
Arwin Osran
Senan Cadell
Kayne Barclay
Chay Osran
Selene, Head of Council
Joy, SiC of the Rovers
Leland, Resident Doctor​

 

[Aerix]

Arwin Osran

A mechanical engineer / EMR fields & electrical engineering / residing in the Ark-Valley, one of the last standing bunker sites in Scarston Peak.

He is thought to be twenty-three years old, speculated to have been born during summer. Goes by he/him, and prefers men. Currently three-months single following a rather unfavourable break-up with Kayne, a cheating bastard, and one of the rovers – A-Valley's reconnaissance group.

Arwin boasts of a lean muscular build, standing at approximately six feet, give or take. He has short, strawberry-blonde hair, which is perpetually mussed, a pair of murky grey eyes that are always looking for something, and a fair skin tone peppered with freckles. His hands are calloused from frequent manual labour, arms scarred by burn marks and cuts. He likes wearing bright colours to contrast the bleak dull grey metallic bones that make up the body of the shelter. He prefers shorts to trousers, loose-fitting tees and shirts, and overalls.

His favourite colours are red, yellow and teal! Style examples #1 #2 #3 #4 #5

Background

Spoiler

Arwin came to the A-Valley as an infant. He was told his parents had fought hard to reach the shelter in order to give their son a chance to survive, but they were unfortunately torn to pieces by the Silks a few clicks from Scarston Peak. Arwin was found in the hollow of a tree trunk by a group of rovers and placed in the care of its Chief Engineer, Chay Osran, who had taught him everything about the inner and outer workings of A-Valley. Arwin now works alongside his adoptive father, taking care of the shelter's fragile electrical complexities, the heating & cooling systems, as well as the A-Valley's most important means of defence against the Silks - the EMR field regulators that emit a powerful DHF / direct high-frequency. There aren't many things he is incapable of fixing.

Arwin has always been rather inquisitive, mischievously clever, and painfully stubborn. He believes nothing is impossible, and enjoys proving others wrong. He often gets himself into trouble because he has issues with authority and detests being told no because deep down he always thinks himself to be right, no matter the circumstance. He acts on impulse most times, and doesn't seem to be able to stay put. He desperately wants more from life, even though he is constantly being told the world out there has nothing else to offer and that he should be happy with what he has. He has tried many times to convince his father, and the Council, to allow him to do to the outside world, alongside the rovers, but he's always been denied. 'You're too important for the future of the shelter for us to put your life at risk' they'd argue. He has very few friends, despite being friendly and talkative. Being the Chief Engineer's son comes with both perks and prejudice, after all. Most of his agemates are either farmers, or rovers, and they don't take too kindly to someone like Arwin complaining about his life.

He often reads and fantasises about grand adventures and is always the first one to offer help or put himself in harm's way, not because he has this moral need to protect the weak, but because he wants to feel something, to experience anything else other than the dull and dreary confines of the shelter. He feels rather lonely, in truth, and depressed. He's always wanted to know more about his parents, but all he has to remember them by is a tattered old blanket they had left him in, and a faded note that said 'Please take him.'

He hasn't got a lot of relationship experience either – his last boyfriend broke up with him because Arwin was being 'too much' but even a blind man could see that Kayne was simply interested in someone else and afraid of being honest. Arwin doesn't like being lied to or being pushed around – a harsh truth is always better than a soothing lie. Ever since the break-up, he's been spending a lot of time manning the radio, and communicating with the outside world. The outside world, however, rarely responded. Even the shelters they used to have constant communication with in the past have stopped responding. One day, however, he got in contact with someone who felt just as lonely. And the more they talked, the more Arwin entertained the idea of going out there, to find him.

And one day, following a rather harsh altercation with his father, he decided to do it.

Arwin enjoys reading science-fiction novels, old comic books, and playing with an old play station console he himself has repaired countless times. He likes to tinker and collect oddities – whenever the rovers bring back pieces of tech, Arwin makes use of them. He's got quite the collection of VHS tapes, a VCR, and a record player. He's tried many times to build a functioning robot, and he's getting real' close, for sure!

In his spare time, he hangs around the research department, making notes of everything the few scientists that reside in A-Valley know about the Silks.

He does not get along well with pessimists. He hates bad or sad endings to good books, and detests spinach.

 

[Aerix]

Secondary Characters
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ :◈: ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Spoiler: Kayne Barclay

Kayne Barclay, the rovers' newest recruit and A-Valley's most wanted eligible bachelor. He is twenty-five years old, and has two younger sisters who work in the shelter's hydroponic farm. They arrived at A-Valley two years ago following a flooding disaster at their old bunker site. A-Valley hasn't had any new arrivals since then.

The rovers are made up of mostly young, durable men, and women, and are sent on scavenger missions or trading routes as frequently as necessary. The Council keeps a tight hold on the rations that are handed out, so that the need to venture outside for anything that cannot be grown inside is not great.

Kayne is a sweet talker, a flirt, an opportunist, and a doting older brother. He cares a lot about what others think of him and likes to be perceived as a good, genuine guy. He and Arwin bonded over talk of adventure, and comic books, when Arwin was repairing some of the rovers' equipment, but Arwin grew feelings for him when Kayne started bringing him scrap metal pieces from the outside world, as well as whatever interesting thing he'd find but couldn't understand. They got along pretty well but Kayne was very much concerned about other people's opinions, so he managed to convince Arwin to keep their relationship a secret.

Most of the younger inhabitants of A-Valley are part of a clique that Arwin doesn't quite like or get along with -- they do not like him either -- but they like Kayne and Kayne loves their attention. He cared a lot about what they thought and ultimately broke up with Arwin because of how they perceived him. Now, he's dating one of the shelter's educators.

Arwin's heart broke, not quite so much because Kayne cheated but because he never once acknowledged their relationship existed. He thinks him a coward now, and loathes being in his presence.

Kayne is 5'11'', has messy blonde hair, and dull brown eyes. He's got broad shoulders, and a muscular build. He is terrified of the outside world but manages to keep it together so that nobody notices. On his first ever run, he recovered an old guitar and has been learning how to play it ever since. He's only learned a few easy songs but already he's got everyone praising him, which is all the applause he needs.

Spoiler: Chay Osran

Chay Osran is Ark Valley's Chief Engineer and Council Member
He is a grumpy genius who lost the love of his life to the Silks many years ago and has made it his life's mission to keep the people she cared about safe. He drowns his sorrow in home-made moonshine, and tinkers to pass the time. Twenty-three years ago exactly, he used to be a rover, and following one of their recon missions, he and his wife, who was still alive back then, ended up being saddled with a child. They found a baby in the hollow of a tree trunk, with a note that begged for him to be taken and kept safe. His wife always wanted a child but she could never bring herself to expose a baby to the cruelty of this unlivable world, so she was beyond happy they had a little bundle of joy to take care of. But their happiness didn't last for long. A year later, Chay fell ill with a lung sickness before an important trading mission in the outside world, and his wife volunteered to go in his stead, to spare him the trek that would have undoubtedly ended his life... but it was her life that got whisked away in an instant. She was torn to pieces by a Silk.

In his grief, Chay vowed to the heavens that he would find a way to destroy them forever, but it's been twenty years or so, and his confidence had been whittled down to despair... which he always tried to mask with a smile whenever Arwin was around.

His son was much like his mother, even though they were not related by blood -- he would never fail to give him a headache with his new-found ideas and an abundance of mischief whenever he tried to put them to action. Still, Chay always tried his best to teach him everything he knew, hoping to pass the mantel of protector to someone as skilled at keeping the Shelter running as he was. Sadly, Arwin's mind would always drift towards the world beyond their cage of metal, and that always worried Chay. He is too scared to let him out, too scared to lose a loved one again.

Chay is rather tall, and lanky. 6'2'' give or take. He has shoulder-length brown hair, blue eyes, wears glasses, and spends most of his rations on smokes -- it is a miracle the shelter still has some to go around.

 

[PassingWhisper]

Senan Cadell



Senan's Character Sheet
​