Austere Ewer

Host of The Red Dream

### Allies

The Red Dream, Cinnamon, Pandora (formerly), Iris Fargon, Spudley, Gavin Espen, S'izdabbi

### Powers

Powerful psionic abilities granted by The Red Dream, Natural Shape Shifting, Nightmarish Summons

## Appearences

### Appears as PC

Crisis of Static Thoughts
Abysmal Lost Paradox

> "*Yiz iz ya xhaeaeg aem hima, ya waeiya aem ya gnaoz, yoq riksqzona qae s'ikh esaeu ona xaeuth.*"
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**Austere Ewer**  is a former agent of STATIC, and former member of The Interparty, and a circus performer of some renown. Though Austere appears as a kind elderly tiefling, he is actually the changeling Ego, who uses Austere as just one of their many personas, never revealing their true nature. The source of this secrecy stems from Ego being the host of a presumed forgotten obyrith, The Red Dream, and his goal to find a worthy successor to it via Austere.

## History

A changeling, but more commonly known as a Tiefling by most, Austere Ewer is the current Host of the Red Dream. The Red Dream is a long forgotten Obyrith, thought deceased with most of its kind. It once held dominion over nightmares, yet now barely can manifest itself. The Red Dream must be dreamt of in order to continue existence, and thus devised the Dance of the Red Dream to sustain itself. Each host of The Red Dream is granted a portion of its remaining power but in exchange dreams of the terrifying formless Red Dream each night. If the host dies, however, there would be no one to dream The Red Dream and it would cease to exist. Thus each host searches for a successor through the ritual of the Dance in order to find one who will become the new host of The Red Dream.

Ego was a child of a carnival performer. He was chosen by the previous Host of The Red Dream after witnessing a performance and has served The Red Dream faithfully after the Dance. Yet Ego is now aging and thus Austere set out to find another who he deems worthy of The Red Dream. Austere is warm and polite upon meeting him, but always keeps his true motives hidden. He will often seek to exploit those around him and only truly respects those who he sees as candidates for the Dance, despite what he may outwardly say. Austere may sometimes slip into a cold calculating side more similar to that of Ego, but in many aspects this too is part of an act, presented as an overzealous follower of the Red Dream when such nature is required.

The tendrils of the Red Dream seep out and into the mental world, which eventually drew STATIC to Austere. Realizing that the organization might help him in finding a mind worthy of containing the Red Dream, Austere joined as an intelligence gatherer. More secretly though, Ego recognized that STATICS could pose a threat to both him and The Red Dream, seeking to infiltrate it and eliminate such threats should they exist.

Austere takes particular pride in his abilities of subterfuge and disguise, keeping his identity unknown unless absolutely necessary. Most of Austere's colleagues in the physical world do not know he is a changling, believing that his shapeshifting powers in the mental world are an extension of the Red Dream's pact and not Austere's true self as Ego.

## Personality

Austere appears from the outside as a friendly and flamboyant tiefling, being a longtime performer and fairly known entertainer. He's appears confident in his abilities, earning him respect rather easily from those he encounters. Yet the man commonly known as Austere Ewer is merely a mask for a much more sinister being. Austere in reality, is a cold, cautious, and calculating individual who is devoted to the nightmarish entity he hosts. Austere is very careful to not let his true nature be known, going to great lengths to ensure no one even suspects anything about him. This nature leads him to being very isolated despite his extroverted lifestyle, seeing most of his companions as pawns for his own goals rather than true allies or friends. Though while Austere is very self focused on his goals, he has learned how to cooperate with others well in his travels, making him a very capable leader and team player. and has proven himself quite the force to be reckoned with when he utilizes The Red Dream's influence and power.

## Powers & Abilities

Austere's abilities are twofold, some stemming from his natural talents of deception and others from his pact with The Red Dream. Much of Austere's psychic power is derived from the underlying influence of The Red Dream within the Dreamscape, which Austere can draw upon and wield. This ranges from blasts of fiendish fire to summoning demonic apparitions, altering perceptions with a vast array illusions, and even assuming the terrifying aspects of The Red Dream. Even discounting the power of his Obyrith Patron, Austere has a variety of abilities to draw upon. Truly being a Changeling, he can alter his appearance at will to take on any personage. His training as a circus performer makes Austere an adept spear-fighter, capable acrobat, and captivating actor. These skills combined make for an obvious penchant towards assassination, something not lost on Austere given the number of 'unfortunate accidents' and 'unsolvable murders' that befall those who threaten his secrets.

## Trivia

* It's all Austere
* Austere Ewer literally means "barren vessel" or "empty pot". This references the fact the name is indeed a pseudonym and Austere's true identity is entirely blank for the purposes of serving the Red Dream.