Penumbra Grim

*"" -* Penumbra Grim when asked what do you call tasty word (jk ill think of this shit later)

Penumbra Grim is a rather odd and superstitious fellow, whose very existence seems to contradict itself in an almost comical but unnerving way. People who have encountered him say that he has an aura of glee and friendliness paired with something that just seems off-putting. The darkness of shadows around Grim seem to stretch and claw out towards him as he walks, animals find themselves untrusting or scared by his presence, and bad omens seem to follow his every step. Those around Penumbra can't help but to be intrigued and a little creeped out by his presence; that is however under the unlikely circumstance that they even notice him at all.

## 死 - Death

Penumbra's earliest lucid memory begins with a bright flash of light from the heavens and a vague vision accompanied by blurry images of fire and destruction and a shrill ringing in his ears. Something pulled Grim forward, he limped over the charred bodies of his comrades every step felt like his nerves were on fire; all he wanted was to lay down and die with his friends. But Penumbra had to figure out the cause of all this meaningless death, he had to prove it wasn't his fault. Grim slowly made his way to the deep black crater in the ground, like a prisoner walking to the gallows.  It billowed smoke that turned the sky black, and a large otherworldly stone sat in the center; fallen from the heavens themselves. As he peered into the smoke Grim saw the faint glowing lights, and fell onto his back scrambling to escape his fate. The Two bright yellow eyes, with thin black pupils stare at him, the eyes that had tormented his dreams so much he refused to sleep until he would pass out from exhaustion. The eyes that always kept him on edge, constantly looking over his shoulder; these two lights represented all the fear he had felt as a soldier. All of a sudden there was a flash of light, and for a split second he saw the horrible grin that accompanied those yellow eyes. The grin of an oni in the shadows, a grin that Penumbra brought into this world, and all went black.

## 骨 - The Skeleton

After who knows how long Penumbra awoke, the world around him was just as black as before. Grim tried to move but something was holding him in place. He began to thrash and panic until he figured out that he was within the very Earth, buried like the corpse he was. Penumbra clawed his way through the bone and shrapnel filled soil of the mass grave he was buried in, until he reached the blinding sunlight up above. As he looked around he looked upon his arms and body in fear. Grim had become a mere shadow of a creature, made from charred bones and skin. He held his head as the horror of his shattered memories rushed back to him all at once; and the fear of something hunting him once again became ever present in the back of his skull.  During this time it was impossible to distinguish between the material plane, his dreams, his memories, and the underworld; spirits of the dead either real or imagined constantly talked and harassed him.  He made his way to a loud splashing brook, which he followed for the next hours, days, or months; in an attempt to drown out the sounds of the spirits and his memories fighting within his head. He trudged through the river half present and half in another plane, for what seemed like a lifetime until he felt a strange tug from his shoulder. In a daze he noticed a shimmering line connected to a hook caught on in his collar bone.

## 父 - Father

Grim looked over and saw a figure on the river bed sitting in a small chair fishing rod in hand, and an older male voice called to him saying "At first I thought I caught dinner for a week, but now it looks like I'll have to make dinner for two." This external voice caught Grim off guard, it seemed different then the voices of the spirits around him; it seemed friendly. Penumbra's first instinct was to run, he could smell the salt water in the air he was close to the sea; he could escape this blasted continent and whatever was chasing him. But there was something about the old man's smile and friendliness towards a cadaver of charred flesh and bone walking through a river, that made Penumbra curious, he had to investigate.  It wasn't until he got closer that Grim realized why this old man, who he would later know only as as, Tou-San, was so friendly.  Tou-San was a Angrezian Man in his mid-60s, even in his old age Penumbra saw that he was tall and his body and hands showed that he must have been a workhorse for the majority of his life. He had wrinkles across his sun-tanned skin and smile lines in the corner of his eyes, his hair was black but greying and tied into a top-knot and his hands and arms were covered in mysterious tattoos that resembled fancy lettering. At Tou-San's waist was a Katana in a black leather sheath that he kept in perfect condition even if he never used it anymore; but most striking of all were his pale, blind eyes. No wonder he didn't try to attack or exorcise Grim at first sight for being undead, he couldn't tell. Tou-San became a father figure to Penumbra, rescuing his mind from the precipice and bringing his thoughts into the context of the world around.  He taught Grim to read, recite, and memorize poetry to keep his mind sharp and calm, as well as the slow and beautiful art of calligraphy.  Tou-san is responsible for rehabilitating Penumbra and setting his sights towards something better, teaching him not to drown out his thoughts, pain, and fear in the thrashing of the river for that only creates more chaos, but he should remain calm and silent in the face of adversity and push on toward redemption. Saying:

*"Learn this from water, Penumbra, loud splashes the brook but the oceans depths are calm and Silent."*

As Penumbra learned about Tou-San's past he became confused by some of the things he was saying regarding a place known as the *"The Malachite Isles"* and an event known as *"The Mallus"* or as Tou-San put it the *"Akui".* Grim learned something terrifying about his fate, that Tou-San was well over 100 years younger than him and he had been dead for two centuries.