Viola

**Viola** is a young adult End-born Enderman, who travelled to the Overworld where he has taken up residence in Rains town. He is the first enderman to have travelled from the End to another dimension in 2000 years.

## Appearance

Viola has dark midnight purple skin, bordering on blackish. His hair is a slightly darker shade, and is wavy and messy looking, strands usually falling into his face and framing the sides. He has narrow, tired eyes that are a striking violet color. His horns swoop backwards, swerving down then pointing back up, making an S shape. His posture isn’t great, making him appear shorter than he already is. When he first arrives in the overworld he is slender and wiry, appearing quite lithe, but still strong and able. The more time he spends in the overworld though, the more gangly and unwell he looks as his body weakens and deteriorates over time.

He likes to wear lots of layers, keeping his form vague with loose pants, trench coats, buttoned shirts, scarves, and really anything comfortable he can pull on himself. On hotter days he might lose the coat and go with a short sleeved buttoned shirt and more light airy pants. He typically ties footies below his ankles, more as a fashion choice than for a practical use.

## Personality

Viola is rigid and reserved, withdrawn, straightforward, intelligent, considerate, understanding and serious. He puts up a wall between him and those trying to get close to them, not letting himself get too comfortable and always keeping emotional distance. It’s a terrified response to losing the one person he let himself get close to, so now he instinctively keeps his distance and doesn’t let himself try and feel much. This makes it difficult for others though to decipher how he truly feels. Despite this act of not really caring and distancing himself, he will always help someone that needs his help, and will always be there for someone who is struggling with something. He has a soft spot for people who feel they are unappreciated, and will go out of his way to make sure they feel otherwise.

He has a very tired and gloomy air about him. He doesn’t appear very approachable or friendly to most since he’s never smiling and just sort of seems more concentrated in what he’s doing. He speaks matter of factly and gives direct, straightforward answers, so he may come off as uninterested or cold. That’s more of just how he is though, it doesn’t mean he’s uninterested or desperate to end a conversation, he’s just kind of tired.

## Relationships

### Aster

Aster was Viola’s past partner in The End. The two were together for about 4 years and had a very close relationship.  Aster Was naturally kind-hearted and compassionate, nervous and twitchy, but very optimistic and selfless. Having grown up with parents that were emotionally neglectful and distant, and never having made any real friends as a kid, Viola was taken aback by how this Enderman spoke to him, how this Enderman saw and treated him. He fell hard and fast, they both did, and were inseparable.

They both found comfort in each other's presence, a safe space to be themselves and escape the harsh and repetitive life on the end islands. Viola cared deeply for Aster, being the one person he felt happy and safe around, back then he was everything to him. He treated Aster as an equal, someone deserving of respect, which to Aster meant everything, having been born in the outer rings which had a reputation for being home to the lowest born endermen, unintelligent and only useful for labor work. In a world that was bleak and devoid of any freedom or happiness, they had each other, and for them that was enough.

Well, almost enough…

### Ivy

Ivy was the first Overworld Enderman Viola met, and before he learned english helped bridge communication between him and Rain, although difficult due to their different dialects. Viola considers Ivy a good friend and an incredibly kind and gentle person. He commonly comes to her with problems if he has any and values her advice and input. Ivy could tell fairly quickly that Viola was holding a lot in to himself, and that there was lots he had to say but just wouldn’t. He’s never told her the full story, but she knows that something has damaged his soul and he’s been trying desperately to escape the internal pain.

The two like to chat about various things, and Ivy will usually accompany Vi whenever he’s sitting on the bridge thinking. They both enjoy each others company and value each other as friends.

### Milo

The more Sol becomes a part of Viola's life, the more Milo does as well, something Viola realized as he was spending more time with Sol, that he would soon have a large role in Milo’s life. Viola had never once in his life considered taking care of children, and never believed he was that great with kids. Despite this he got on incredibly well with Milo and instantly felt a sense of care for him. Milo was a naturally shy kid, and Viola’s more calm and quiet personality was much more welcoming than say someone more energetic and loud. Even though Sol is still Milo’s primary guardian, Viola became like a second parental figure for the young kid. Milo prefers to talk to Viola about his feelings and thoughts and feels more comfortable asking him difficult questions.

Although it was never his plan to take care of a kid, Vi enjoys it a lot, and is always happy spending time with Milo.

### Rain

The first time Viola saw Rain was when she and Enoki slayed The Ender Dragon together. He didn’t know her name, nor who she was, but he remembered the two faces of the individuals who had defeated the dragon in the pure shock of the moment. He was not at all expecting to come across these individuals again in the overworld, but was surprised to learn it was Rain’s storage room he had stumbled into on that rainy day.

Viola believes Rain is a very troubled individual, trying her best to build up her town and keep it a safe inclusive area, but also manage to fight a god with powers well beyond what she could ever match. He thinks that her obsession with stopping Schlallas is harmful to her, and her confidence and risky behavior will get her killed some day. Despite whatever reasoning he’s tried with her, she won’t listen, and is too hellbent on what she believes to back down. It reminds him a lot of the event with Aster which makes the situation all the more upsetting.

Despite this though the two get along fairly well. Rain helped Viola get situated in town and when she found out how interested he was in literature set him up with his bookstore. The two are friendly and regard each other well.

### Rem

Rem’s first impression of Viola wasn’t great. He was always nervous around the older enderman, being a little frightened in his presence as he found him mysterious and very serious. When Ivy and Rain found out they urged him to actually talk to Viola, that he was actually very kind and there was nothing to worry about. The day they dragged him into the bookstore to do so Viola could instantly tell he was nervous and awkward, so he took it into his own hands to break the ice and do most of the talking.

Viola thinks Rem is very sweet, albeit a chatterbox and still quite naive. Rem’s fears and worries about Vi vanished, although he still thinks he’s mysterious and there's lots to discover with Viola, he also thinks he’s very genuine and caring, and considers him a good friend. Rem likes to get Viola to help him sketch stuff into his studies since he’s a good artist and Viola is always happy to help.

### Sol

When they first met, Sol and Viola’s relationship started off a little awkwardly to say the least. The two both had an attraction to one another, but Viola buried it deep deep down and acted quite snappy towards Sol, while Sol on the other hand put his efforts into the most cringe-inducing flirting in the hopes of having a fling with this guy. Obviously that was never going to get off the ground and Viola shot him down with the most deadpan, ‘please shut the fuck up’  remarks, but once he found out Sol couldn’t read, he felt compelled to teach him (definitely for noooo reason at all, definitely nooottttttt to spend more time with him because he deep down likes him, nooooo it could never be that).

When they began these lessons together it started out a little awkward and odd at the beginning, but once they got used to each other and started talking a bit, they started forming a genuine friendship. Sol started to figure after spending more time with Viola that he kept a lot to himself, and there was a reason he was so icy and reserved. He dropped the flirting altogether, and acted more like they were good buddies, surprised when he started developing romantic attraction the more time they spent together. Sol’s naturally cheery energy and fun personality helped to pull Viola out of his shell a bit more, as he started to become less and less distant, and let himself be closer to the people who cared about him.

Once they got together they were much more open with each other, and Sol was now able to help Viola much more with his mental health. He has a deep respect for Viola and Asters past relationship, knowing that even though Aster is gone, and he’s now in Vi’s life, Viola still loves Aster a lot and that will never change.

Everyday their relationship grows stronger, and every day Viola feels a bit better, more like he can be his old self again and enjoy life. Even though their personalities contrast, they also mold together very well. Viola is Sol’s anchor, someone to come back to reality to, the perfect person to keep him from making risky decisions and someone who will always tell him the truth. Sol is Viola’s uplifter, always in a positive mood, seeing the best in people and in him, helping him not get caught up in his seriousness and think  a little carefree once in a while.

They both make each other happy and will always do their best for the other.

### Zmauri

Viola met Zmauri when she came looking to learn some better english and writing. Sol had suggested she come join their lessons, and while Viola was not happy about the idea, considering he only really wanted to do this for Sol, he couldn’t say no and let her join.

Zmauri became good friends with both Sol and Viola, and the three enjoy hanging out together. Even as Viola and Sol become a thing, they still spend just as much time with her and never let her feel left out.

Despite their differences in personality, Viola and Zmauri get along well and have respect for one another. Viola is interested in everything Zmauri knows about the world and its complexities. He also makes lots of jokes about how Sol and Zmauri have discovered their strange twin souls.

## Background

### Childhood

Viola was born to Elara and Tempest in the middle ring of islands, where he grew up. Their home was situated on the edge of a barren quiet island, overlooking the edge out onto a sea of void and distant floating land. Elara and Tempest were not cut out to be parents, neither really wanting a child, however Elaras family had high expectations of their daughter, hence her taking Tempest, despite not truly loving him. They had been badgering her about when she would mother a child, and so Viola came to be, in an unwelcoming and strange family.

Elara raised her kid under strict rules and expectations, she expected him to be obedient, not to question what's been asked of him, to keep to himself unless asked to speak and to always follow the rules. Viola had a strange relationship with his mother, since she always gave him conflicting messages, and he never understood how she ever truly felt. She was emotionally distant, giving him one note responses, never giving any of his creative ideas or curiosities the attention or interest they needed, just being there. She took care of him, taught him, fed him, cleaned him, but her heart was never into motherhood. Elara had over time numbed herself to so much, she had even numbed herself to the joys and love of parenting, to caring for your own kin.

Tempest however was much worse of a parent, half the time not even acting like they had a kid in the house. Viola was a pest to him, an annoyance they simply had to deal with. Tempest had tons of pent up anger, and could be easily triggered at the slightest of bothers. His family got most of the brunt of his frustrations and outbursts, Elara usually being the receiver of it. Viola had never known a time when he wasn’t afraid of his father, and can't recall a single positive memory relating to the man. Many nights he spent in his room with the door shut, trying to filter out and ignore the shouting from the other side.

Viola went to school like the rest of the kids, learned everything all the other kids learned, but was always fascinated by something that was considered taboo, lost history. He had only learned this through quietly and carefully listening to hushed conversations by adults,  adults that had high status and were entrusted by the dragon with specific knowledge. Of course rumors were rumors, and people made things up all the time, but he was hearing this from the source, unknown to them. The idea of a time before the dragon, when life was different and vibrant and full, and the idea that there were scarce relics unknown to most that contained information on the past, a past never talked about or taught in school.

What all young endermen are taught is that they are to serve the dragon, that the dragon is the ends protector and that the endermen are in her debt and must follow her lead and guidance.

At least that’s what the dragon mandate be taught. All kids are taught the same thing, the same lessons, the same information, and the same beliefs; to teach young anything contradicting the mandated school formula was punishable by death.

Viola was young and hungry for knowledge though, and was obsessed with these secrets he had learned.

Books were rare in the end, there were boring ones given out during school lessons that outlined their teachings, but the books always had to be returned back, they were not allowed to be kept by students. Storybooks were a foreign concept, and any written material was strictly documented and watched by the dragon and her puppets.

Old books were special though, when the dragon first seized the end's control, she destroyed as much written material as possible, she wanted to erase the endermans current lifestyle, and that meant stripping them of their culture and history, and any evidence of it. A few books survived though, some lost out in the ends barren world, but some kept in safekeeping, and under strict watch. Viola wanted to read one of these books, he wanted to see what was in them, what undiscovered mysteries and information they could contain.

The thrill of getting his hands on one of these books was overwhelming, and he couldn't contain his excitement over the thought of seeing something no one had seen in years, of having knowledge only he knew.

And so he started figuring out a plan, a plan to steal one of these books. Important things were kept in tall, tower-like buildings that were only meant for authorized individuals that directly served the Dragon. It was also these buildings where discussions happened on important things such as island sections, and any changes needed to be made to them. They were difficult for any average citizen to waltz into, and as such, dangerous to sneak into.

Viola only had one thing on his mind though, and it was getting one of these books, no matter the risk.

He would spend hours watching the building from afar, memorizing the routines and movements of each member and formulating his way in and out. He was still young, and could only teleport once or twice without ending up breathless, so he had to save that for emergencies or the very end.

When he felt he was ready, he put his plan into action and successfully stole the book. The moment he got out of that building he hightailed it home, unable to contain his excitement. Now all he had to do was sneak past his parents into his room, and he would be home safe. He slid the book into his pack, and as soon as the house was in sight, he calmed his nerves and tried to act as though everything was normal. His mother would probably be in the kitchen, occupied with preparing meals, and Tempest would be somewhere in the house. He usually never even noticed when Viola got him, and he was hoping today wouldn't be the day he’d suddenly want to chat it up with him.

He opened the front door and made his way through the kitchen, his mother as expected working away, and only giving him an absentminded ‘hey’, too focused to turn around. As he quickly made his way through the house he noticed his father was nowhere to be seen. He quietly walked into his room and gently shut the door. As soon as it clicked closed he tossed his pack under the bed and scrambled after it, crawling under the frame. Once he was under he pulled the book out and admired it. He could tell it was old from the rough texture, and the frayed and torn edges of the cover. It was also covered in a coat of dust which he did his best to blow off.

There was writing on the cover, but it was so exquisitely and fancily written he couldn’t make out what it said. He figured that back in the day they must have been a lot more creative with their writing then the simple printed symbols in his school books.

He flipped it open to the first page which was brittle and rough, and only had a few words written on it, that fancy title again,  a sketchy drawing, and a name. The name read out Lyrine, and the sketch was something Viola couldn’t recognize, a swirl of patterns all making up a circular shape which looked like it was surrounded by an aura. He flipped the page and so began to slowly read through the first few pages of the book, sounding out words he didn’t know and trying to piece together what everything was saying. The book contained writing on enderian magic, and the things endermen could create with their magic. It had info on the ender pearl, the sources of their magic, and their most vital part of the body. It spoke of incredible feats and successes with their magic and what they could do with it, that they had even built a doorway in the middle of their world, that could lead them to wonderful and vibrant lands.

Viola was awestruck and starry eyed at everything he read. He couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that it was real, it felt like a made up story. He could have read that book forever, but knew someone would probably find him under his bed and get suspicious. He needed to be careful with this book, nothing could happen to it, not now after he had just begun to discover all of its wonders. He kept the book under his bed and crawled out from under. He had only looked through the first few pages, and was itching to read more, but it would have to wait, especially since someone would probably notice it’s missing, and start searching for it.

The next day he read a few more pages after school, learning more and more about the world before him, and what it used to be like. He went to bed that night happy and content, and when he woke up the next morning, he jumped out of bed excited for the day. Once he got dressed, he quickly checked under his bed, and the book was gone.

Viola had never felt dread like he felt in that moment. He frantically scrambled under his bed, double checking every corner and waving his arms about, as if the book was just invisible and was still there.

It was gone.

He crawled out from under his bed and started running about his room checking every table and drawer and chest. The book was nowhere to be found.

He stood in the middle of his room hyperventilating, his hands on his head. The book was gone, and he couldn’t find it anywhere. In the middle of his panicking though, his ears perked to the sound of voices from outside his room. He stilled and listened, panic coursing through his veins as he feared the worst. It was the usual hostile arguing of his parents, but it sounded different, it was a bit more hushed and it sounded less like accusing and more like a discussion? He could hear Tempest, always the loudest, shouting things like “trouble”, “thief” and “discipline”. Viola’s tail dropped to the floor and his eyes grew wide. The moment he heard them mention his name was the last straw, and he flung his room door open. There standing before him in the living room was his parents, both facing each other and tense, tails lashing. But there, in Tempest's hand, was none other than the book, and Viola felt his heart sink. He didn’t know how he got it, he didn’t know how he knew, but at this point none of that mattered, all he cared about was getting that book back.

His parents turned when he opened the door, and Tempest's expression turned enraged.

He looked Viola dead in the eye and spat “Not as sneaky as you think you are, you abhorrent thief.”

Viola could only begin to shout and run after his father, as Tempest turned on his heel and marched out of the house. Viola screamed at him, pleading to give the book back, that he’d return it and make it right, begging Tempest to stop over and over. Tempest walked to the edge of the island and Viola chased after him, at this point sobbing and just desperately begging Tempest to listen.

Tempest turned towards Viola once he was standing on the edge, and looked down at him. Viola pleaded, telling his father that he didn’t have to do this. Tempest scowled and flicked his tail, shouting at Viola. “What makes you think I should give this back?! You could have gotten us in trouble, what were you thinking? You think you can get away with anything, well hate to break it to you, but you can’t.” and with that he dropped the book into the void. Viola screamed, running to the edge and helplessly watching the book fall into the void, gone forever. He slid to his knees and Tempest marched away, back towards the house.

He sat there for what felt like forever, staring into the dark expanse below, his legs pulled to his chest and his tail wrapped around his feet.There was nothing he could do, it was gone forever, and now no one would ever be able to see what was in it. All of that knowledge, the lost past of his species, gone in an instant.