Deville Pyk

* July 1645
* October 1644

**Deville van den Pyk** (referred to as **Devillian**) is an alchemist, naturalist and child prodigy who lived in Kalkaheim with his family. He lived with his brother, Daville Pyk, his father, Manne Pyk, and his mother, Maria Pyk. Deville had an extreme fascination with animals, and he was known to keep dozens of pets. At one point, Deville had 17 mice, 2 birds (Vaun, Jidn), and a bobcat. He acted as a veterinarian for the people of Kalkaheim, especially in his region.

Deville's life was tainted with tragedy, as he lost his eyesight (Deville Case) and had a close connection to the nearby Lurritgate, which terrified his brother. Following the slow, subsequent death of his family, and a number of paranormal incidents, Deville died of an Opium overdose at age 14 on the 30th of December, 1648. His animals were taken into the custody of the Borean Parish. His body was found in the same praying position as his brother's following the Battle of Louwpiek.

## Appearance

Deville was a short, young child with long curly hair. His eyes were originally brown, like his brother's, but following his disappearance and loss of eyesight, they appeared milky white. This has been likened to be similar to Emperor Osmont II's case. Deville grew out his hair to cover his eyes, and wore a veil when necessary.

## Personality

Deville was extremely enigmatic, and connected much more with animals than humanity, a fact that terrified Norm. Deville only seemed to ever find happiness around animals, and was otherwise borderline comatose. At one point, he seemed to attempt to fit in, in a number of strange events that Norm detailed. Deville's behaviour was not understood by anyone but the animals. The clergyman of the nearby church, Pilarre Lupoust, suspected Deville to be afflicted by some kind of humour malfunction.

## History

Unlike with Daville (*referred to as Norm*), who was born in a medicinal hospital in the heart of town, Deville was born in the rural house of the Pyks, roughly 45m away from the local Lurritgate. Maria's unprecedented labour has been reckoned to be a miracle. Deville was reported missing soon after his birth, and was found 9 days later, overlooking the gate. Norm speculates that Deville had fallen into the gates, and had returned as someone else.

Following the incident, Deville lost his eyesight, and had an extreme fascination for the wildlife around him. Around 1635, Deville displayed extreme signs of intelligence, being made a potential Royal Laureate candidate by the burgomaster, Saun Reiner. He specialized in biology, and the care and treatment of animals. His intelligence, according to Norm, made him seem entirely alien and distant from the rest of the family. This is where he first began to fear him.

Norm recalls a memory where, upon walking into Steinlordt Forest, he discovered dozens of disembowelled animals, including horse, all over the floor, and strewn up high on trees. His brother was also missing. Once Deville returned home, he was drenched in water. This was the inciting incident for Norm to begin studying the Lurritgates, as he had learned to truly fear his brother and had become convinced he had been replaced.

Upon Deville's learning of his brother Norm's death at the Battle of Louwpiek in 1648, he named his newest and most recent mouse, Norm, after him. He began to converse feverishly with the mouse, completely locked in conversation with it. He would spend hours talking to it, referring to it as his big brother. Once his mother, Maria, passed away in the same month, Deville did the same thing.

In autumn, Maria (the mouse) devoured Norm (the mouse) in an act of cannibalism. Maria then bolted for the nearby Lurritgate, causing the usually stoic Deville to scream, claw, and desperately sprint in terror, grabbing the mouse with all his strength, accidentally crushing it in the process. Upon dissection (with the use of the Isaac Set) the inside of Maria was entirely infected with some kind of disease. Following this, Deville had a dream where the Lurritgate moaned.

Deville's father, Manne, eventually has a 'stroke or seizure'. while writhing, all 16 of Deville's mice devour him. Deville burns down the wooden house utilizing illegal alchemy. He finds a mouse half-dead, and refers to it as his late father, talking to it. The mouse promptly expires, and Deville instantly darts his eyes to a cockroach, naming it Manne as well and continuing the conversation. While fleeing the house, cockroach in hand, Deville notices that the burnt mice were piling ontop of one another to get to the gate.

Due to his blindness, Deville had not realized that it was not a cockroach but rather a baby mouse. Seemingly noticing this, Deville promptly bit its head off, and threw its remains into the gate. 1 month later, Deville, aged 14, overdosed on Opium. upon dissection (via the Borean Parish), he is found to have been full of the infection as well, especially near his ears. While on the operating table, Deville's heart suddenly splurts out pus, and 2 mice crawl out. The surgeon, Nicholaas Walt, claimed it was a hallucination.