Dark

by Floyd (@arsonadvocate)

 —Dark, to the Fated Four

Dark is Armani's angelic guardian, though he Fell to a fiendish nature when Armani was in their early teens. Though he is not always visible, he claims to be present protecting Armani at all times even when incorporeal. Armani kept him a secret at the beginning of the campaign, as they had since his Fall, though after a heart-to-heart between the two, his presence is now known to the rest of the Fated Four.

## Description

### Appearance

Dark appears to be a dark blue tiefling with long, messy black hair. He has two sets of horns, one emerging from his forehead and the other emerging from farther back on his head. He has long pointed ears, though one of them has been torn in several places. Despite this, he wears several ear piercings and other facial piercings. He also typically wears heavy eyeliner and makeup that matches either a mall-goth or emo style and vibe. He typically dresses androgynously with a lot of black colors and a lot of mesh. Dark's forearm also features a tattoo in an Old Celestial dialect that reads "Hunger." While they are not visible constantly, he also has black feathered wings, though they appear partially scorched and shed heavily, leaving them uncomfortable and patchy in places. It is unclear whether the wings will shed eternally or if his wings will eventually lose all their feathers.

Dark used to wear a small pendant with a rough crystal on it on a chain around his neck near-constantly. After Armani and Ivory began to recieve fey dreams again and Dark volunteered to help settle the deals, the necklace disappeared and he began wearing a small portion of the crystal inset into a ring, which he wears on his left middle finger.

### Personality

Dark is aloof and reserved--but mostly only on the surface. When first meeting anyone, Dark tends to try to keep up an "official" or "cool" veneer, but it falls apart quickly when combined with his lack of social skills. He is passionate about the idea of starting a punk band, and often tries to recruit people into his plans to create one. He is also passionate about issues of liberation and unionizing, and has ranted to members of the Fated Four about standing up for oneself and similar subjects on several occasions. When talking about something he is passionate about, he is loud and excited, and gesticulates heavily. However, despite an obvious desire to reach out to others and make friends, Dark maintains a rather secretive nature, even with Armani, and most of the details of his life remain unknown. When asked about a subject he wants to keep secret, he clams up, putting up the "official" front again and refusing to put it down. Despite his secretive nature, though, Dark is always a fierce protector to Armani, and will often get nervous at the idea of even letting them out of his sight.

## Biography

### Background

Dark attempts to keep his personal history a secret, and mostly succeeds. The party, including Armani, knows very little detail about his past. When residing in the Nine Hells, he has mentioned living in the layer known as Dis specifically, and repeatedly mentioned a familiarity with an area known as the Garden of Delights. He has mentioned two significant figures in his life present in the Nine Hells, only briefly mentioned by name--"Zaz" and "Mihr." Dark refused to go into detail about them, but an Insight check revealed mixed feelings towards "Zaz" when discussing them. Dark originally went by a different name and raised Armani throughout their childhood as a Celestial before he appeared to Armani as Fallen in their early teens. Dark's exact nature after falling is unknown, though he is confirmed as devilish.

Dark staunchly refused to tell Armani any details about his Fall from Celestial status for many years. However, recently, the Fated Four have called Dark's nature into question after a discussion with Amythera in the mountains outside Moongate. According to Amythera, a Fallen angelic guardian is completely impossible, as he would have lost his connection to Armani immediately upon his divine soul's transformation into a devilish one. Since then, Dark's honesty and true nature have been under scrutiny by the Fated Four, especially Judice and Ivory. After this doubt resurfaced and after Armani discovered their family's connection to the Curators, Dark admitted that he was not supposed to maintain his connection to Armani as he Fell; however, due to "special circumstances" and "a lot of begging," he was able to keep the last remainder of his Divine soul as a fragile crystal about the size of a baseball. After Armani made their fey deals, though, he traded away the vast majority of that soul to "take care" of it, and the small piece left behind became the necklace he wore constantly to keep safe for years afterwards. When Armani and Ivory began having troubles with their past deals, Dark went back to the Feywild to demand answers for the changes in the deal's terms that he set--a conversation that ended in him giving away yet another fraction of his crystal. While these details were significant, Dark still refuses to talk about why he Fell, who the other people in his past were, or why Dark had to give up so much when mitigating the deal.

## Relationships

**Armani Auxilium:**

Dark is Armani's angelic guardian, and this is a job he takes very seriously. Dark and Armani were friendly but not very close during their childhood, and for a period after his Fall, Armani refused to acknowledge his existence entirely. It took years, but their relationship slowly defrosted, and while Dark knew Armani associated him with shame and failure, he refused to give up on them. Because of this, he is a fierce protector to Armani, and has made it clear he is willing to sacrifice plenty to keep them safe. He is wholly devoted, even willing to endure torture from the entity Paranoia for them while Armani was possessed. There is an underlying awkwardness between them that seems to stem from Dark's secrecy, and the hurt left over from years of Armani treating him like "a stain" on their life, but Dark still considers Armani family.

**Psyche Afsolis:**

Psyche is the member of the Fated Four who Dark is closest to other than Armani, though he is still wary of them on occasion. Psyche has expressed interest in Dark's band idea, and the two of them frequently share makeup ideas, tattoo inspiration, and outfit plans.