Brody Bearthorne

**Brody Bearthorne**, is a *Sin-Eater,* the head of the *Krewe Hecate's Pride*, the builder and driving force behind the **"Ephemeral Library of New York"**, and an accomplished anthropologist. Well traveled, well mannered, well versed and loves to believe that he is intellectually superior to anyone present in the room. Most of the times it may even be true. His library is a relic wrapped inside of a mystery, a constant target towards wild and sometimes vile gossip, for not many people outside of *Hecate's Pride* most prominent members are allowed to ever witness its full glory.

## **Biography**

> *"I heard the muses of the past. They asked. No. 'Begged' me to tell you their stories. Who am I not to oblige them?"*
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Hailing originally from Kent, England at the dawn of the roaring twenties. His family still feeling the effects of the first World War passing by slowly, living a modest lifestyle. He was a rather bright child as proven by his early accomplishments in school, with quite a knack and interest for history especially. His thoughts and free-time always running down the time on the clock by spending it away in museums or classrooms, cornering his history teachers and bombarding them with various extra questions. Many of them going on unanswered, much to Brody's dismay. Firing up a deep desire to find answers to many of his curiosities.

At the break of the 40's, he joined the army and participated in the Second World War, mainly in the African front of the European theater. This has given him some opportunists to gain first hand experience with the culture and some relics of the past from Egypt. In one spur of the moment incursion, even going as far as exploring one of the pyramids at night. To this day, he claims that was the most exhilarating experience as the stone halls of the tomb echoed away in the tune of whistling artillery shells. He remained in Africa for the rest of the war, and returned only years after the war as he spent some quality months in Egypt to let everything sink truly in.

This time was all he needed to decide and fully commit to a life of exploration and discovery. After returning home, he poured most of his wealth at first into personal travels towards some intriguing lands, like the Middle-Eastern area of what was once back in the day Mesopotamia, and the remains of the Mayan Empire. Later, he joined and tagged along various anthropologist and archaeologists who started expeditions around the globe. Finally, he himself started his own expeditions, excavations and searching parties in his early forties, around the mid to late 50's.

He was present in some major discoveries, like uncovered the Dead Sea Scrolls, the finding of The Pilate Stone, started his own excavation site at Ħaġar Qim, and the discovery of Marcahuasi. Quite an accomplishment for any regular man, however the pride of Brody was starting to overcome his senses. He needed answers to more unknowns, turning his ideas and realistically based facts into muddied up visions mixed up with the occult. Leaning more and more towards the weird and mystical side of what history had to offer, in no small parts thanks to the many explorations that he was a part of in Egypt as they reopened some older tombs for more a decisive clearing. He was gripped by the futility of mortality, the fatality of life when it comes to its end. He wished to defeat it like Gilgamesh wished to acquire immortality in his epics, as the aging anthropologist realised that life is much too short for a single human to gain all this information. Let alone share it.

As much as humans are always looking for ways to defeat death, fate seems to find it hilarious to stop them in their track. In the summer of 1969, in the midst of one of his tracks into Greece once again, he came down with a harsh sickness. Within hours he was coughing blood, within the end of the day he became incapable to stand, and within the next sunrise, his life was already claimed by this illness. In his death throes his thoughts went towards his deep desires to carry on, for the people around him to lift his torch and ignite the forest with it. That people around him should know and understand what he does, so to not lose all these memories into the annals of history.

As death finally extinguished his candle, it followed by the momentary darkness. A darkness filled with hissing voices of need, of stories which went untold. Truths about a bygone age that went on silently, untold. Mysteries which will never be asked about again. Brody was convinced by the voices, and *The Bargain* was struck. Within seconds, visions of mythological monsters appeared for everyone around Brody's body, haunted by their shrieks, one even driven mad by the extreme visions, before the middle aged anthropologist sat up, like Lazarus, in front of his collegues.

After becoming *Bound* he continued on with newfound vigor in his discoveries. His powers giving him an almost unfair advantage in the discoveries of tombs thought to be lost to history. Leading expeditions in to unearth the Terracotta Army, the KV 63, 64, 65 and even the Tomb of Philip II of Macedon, gaining many conspirators against his person as wherever he went, he was met with such overwhelming success. Some hopefuls even going as far as to even try to murder him in his own home. Brody shortly after the assassination attempt went into a crisis of faith, as he suddenly realised that humanity does not truly care about the simple knowledge which would lay rest to many speculations, but cares much more about being 'the one' to have done the discovery. It was not the drive for knowledge which gave them passion, but the gloating and bragging rights for it. In his stupor of calamity in his now broken visions, a quick and decisive choice was made. He burned down his properties, leaving dummy books and notes behind while escaping from the public eye. Forever.

He traveled to New York afterwards, settling down within the territory of the abandoned subway trail system within the underground of the Modern Gomorrah. It is somewhere within these winding track of rails where he has built the **"Ephemeral Library of New York"**, where all the knowledge he has ever accrued is located. The ghosts being drawn to his overwhelming presence and *Psyche* was quickly followed by *Bounds*, curious as to what is causing all these ghosts to group up down below. These people is to be said to be the first neophytes of *Hecate's Pride.* To this day, it is unknown who are within the inner circles of the *krewe.* Only Brody is known as the leader of it all, and some of the fledgling members are sometimes known.

With his established *krewe*, he set his eyes upon more expeditions. Though this time, they revolved around much more dangerous and sometimes utterly uncharted lands. *The Underworld*. These went from small incursions into the domains and kingdoms of smaller *Kerberoi*, in the likes of **"Trail of Needles"**, **"Martyr's Crossroads"** and **"The Albino Plains"**. To the infamous **"Prism Palace"** expedition, which even claimed the lives of some *Sin-Eaters* and is considered by many as a failure. Though Brody would argue vehemently against such a statement.

As he is one who possesses exceptional *Psyche*, on top of a rather sharp intellect, he is considered by *Drama* as friend, and one who is worth his time to teach and guide within *The Underworld*. Though *Drama* remains still cryptic and ambiguous at best even to him.

## Powers

> *"Brilliant. He is. Absolutely. Brilliant." - Drama*
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Widely and without question, Brody is considered one of the most powerful *Sin-Eater's* in New York state. Though he is lacking the offensive *Manifestations* and is much too old to go toe-to-toe with the younger generations. He relies completely on his powers to control the battlefield. Even possessing *Manifestations* unknown to *The Bound* at large, thanks to the sheer knowledge and unearthing of mysteries he has done throughout *The Underworld.*