OC: Nathan West

"Nathan is something of a neo-primitive. Born to an already unsteady family, within a few years his unnatural presence and abilities pushed things over the edge, and in a violent murder-suicide that took his parents' lives and nearly claimed his as well, he was driven out of society. Existing on the fringes for years, barely surviving, he still managed to quickly learn enough to keep a grim hold on life.

During adolescence, he tried once more to integrate himself into society, choosing the largest city he could find. Unfortunately, as his most formative years were spent far away from human contact, he had no luck managing any sort of social game, and he was relegated to using what he learned in the wilds to barely hang on in an urban jungle, surrounded but ultimately separate from his own kind.

Then the apocalypse came and went. Both 'urban' and 'wild' changed, mixed, became something entirely new for that small portion of the populace that survived. Nathan, having lived as an outsider his entire remembered life, adapted to this environment better than most. Even so, his social handicaps prevented on him from capitalizing on his skills in earning any sort of real power base. Instead, he lives on as a near mythological being, pursuing his own ends and socializing with others only when absolutely necessary.

Semi-nomadic, there are a number of towns who talk about the White Wyrm, a solitary thing which alternately protects or devastates those that cross its path, carrying a spear carved from its own flesh and bone, and a sword allegedly taken by force from an archangel."

Fae: Autumnfire

"Possibly one of the most human-like fae in both appearance and action, the Autumnfire is still no less dangerous and unpredictable than any other type of fae. For whatever reason, the Autumnfire tends to express protective instincts over nearly any type of random object. This could be anything from a small child to a single stone in a long wall to a particular patch of sunlight on a forest floor for as long as the daylight lasts.

While she will care about the object of her temporary obsession in the best possible way for that particular object (for instance, she won't treat a child the same way she treats a rock), the attention is always as fleeting as it is single-minded. Once the obsessive period passes, the object will be dropped and forgotten, ignored in most cases, or violently attacked if said object is too persistent in demanding more attention. The latter case most often arises after the Autumnfire had turned her attention onto impressionable young males, as the 'care' she provides then is generally very suitable to their tastes.

Even while the care and attention lasts, it can quickly turn deadly. While something is marked by the Autumnfire's obsession, she will consider it her possession and no one else's. In the case of wayward children, this generally results in well-meaning parents getting viciously attacked when they come to pick up their offspring.

Having the ability to set fire to nearly anything, as well as a surprising level of strength, tends to make the results of any attack by the Autumnfire unpleasant at best."

Fae: Lady of the Husk

"A shining example of how one should never take a fae's gifts for granted. The Lady of the Husk, initially, appears to be downright beneficial for a member of the fae. She grants her chosen lands with vibrant growth and excellent soil. Naturally this will attract farmers, and without fail a small but productive community will grow up around her territory.

After several years of incredible harvests, the Lady then makes her desires known to those closest to the land, appearing to them through dreams and visions. Always those desires revolve around a need for sacrifice. The identity of the victim is not important, so long as the level of emotional torment they go through before spilling their blood in her fields is sufficiently extreme.

By this point the community has grown rather insular and xenophobic thanks to the Lady's subtle machinations, and it doesn't take much to convince them the lives of a few complete strangers is a worthwhile price to pay for incredible harvests. Thus a few travelers a year end up mysteriously disappearing around these communities.

Sometimes, however, the community resists. If a year goes by without sacrifice, the Lady of the Husk makes her displeasure known. The next harvest is even more vibrant than before, but this time the field produce crops with strange, unsettling deformities, tastes and colours, the wind whispers almost malevolently through rows of stalks, and many community members suffer horrible nightmares.

Most of the time this is enough to whip the community back into shape, as few are unwilling to leave by this point, insular and tied to the land as they are. Exceptions do occur, however, and when that happens, the Lady of the Husk gives the community up as lost. In one horrifying night, she turns the land against nearly everyone in the community, resulting in a horrific bloodbath during the hours of darkness, but leaving almost no evidence behind when the sun comes up, just an abandoned down and maybe a few inexplicable bones.

Strangely enough, the Lady of the Husk tends to be slightly more merciful towards children. This isn't due to any goodwill on her part, however. Children are simply more malleable than adults, and with the proper motivation can be turned into near perfect servants, viciously defending her and rounding up sacrifices. It is from this, most likely, that certain urban legends concerning 'children of the corn' originate."

Fae: Punktopus

"Believed to be descended from the violently murderous 'redcaps' of Celtic mythology, the Punktopus is thankfully not quite so outwardly dangerous. One of the fae best able to pass among humanity, she seems to have a strong social drive and can quite possibly feel some form of empathy for the people around her.

Like all fae, however, the Punktopus relies on a steady diet of emotion to exist. While its tastes can vary, usually it prefers feelings of intense physical exhilaration. Because of this, the Punktopus likes to be present at things such as rallies, protests, certain sporting events, raves, orgies and the like. Quite intelligent in her own way, the Punktopus will not only do the necessary socialization to find out the most likely spots for these sorts of events, but also actively manipulate things so that more of them occur.

Unfortunately the Punktopus tends to lack a sense of scale or consequences. She will happily whip those around her into a violent frenzy and feed off the resulting emotion, but either remains ignorant or uncaring of the long-term effects of such a display. Thus demonstrations turn into riots, sporting events turn into... riots, and orgies turn into... well... riots."

Fae: Water Dragon

"One thing that is true about all fae is they all have a certain degree of intelligence. For most, while possessing intellect that rivals or often exceeds that of many humans, it is of such an alien nature that many don't recognize it for what it is.

The Water Dragon, while in many ways having that same alien mindset, shares some parallels with humanity. One thing that defines a Water Dragon is its pride. It knows it is beautiful, and will rarely pass up an opportunity to display this fact. Often she can be found sunning herself in highly visible locations, carelessly displaying her vibrant colours and glittering scales for all to admire.

However, one should be very careful with what they say around a Water Dragon. She has some understanding of most human languages, and tends to pay careful, if subtle attention to what onlookers say about her. The Water Dragon is quite certain of her superiority over most all marine life, and should someone mistakenly refer to her as a 'fish fairy', she will take a deep and terrifying hatred of that individual for daring to lump her in the same category as mindless, slimy creatures such as that.

Of course, being as intelligent as she is, she will never act rashly. Instead she prefers to take her time, stalking the one who delivered the insult over a course of hours or days, and choosing an appropriate time to, if she's feeling merciful, cripple the offender, or otherwise just slaughter and devour them whole."

Fae: Thistlenest

"Many older stories tell of evil fairies that lead children astray, kidnap some, devour others, play dangerous and sometimes fatal pranks on anyone that catches their interest. While the Thistlenest thankfully doesn't fall into these categories of outright malevolence, she (if gender can be applied to these things) is still no less dangerous than any other fae.

The Thistlenest prefers to make its home in less traveled places: The dark spot under the old bridge, the disused lot overgrown with rough shrubbery, that storage closet in the basement of an office building not touched in over two decades. From this safe point, she likes to venture out at any convenient time, either exploring other out of the way locations, or taking a brief interest in more populated locales. The Thistlenest is not known to be violent, usually escaping quickly even when hunters are sure she's cornered. One story tells of a surprised Thistlenest beating an intruder senseless with her straw broom, but this is unverified.

The Thistlenest's danger comes from its interests. She will quite persistently go after something that catches her attention until it is in her possession. Sometimes it will get taken back to her lair, sometimes it will be forgotten and tossed aside moments later, often it simply ends up tangled in her hair. The reason this is dangerous is because of the sorts of things that have been known to attract the Thistlenest's interest. These include, but are not limited to: Small rodents, wedding rings, heavily pierced ears, shiny walking sticks, doorknobs, painted fingernails, and children's eyes. The Thistlenest is perfectly willing to destroy whatever property or remove whatever limbs are necessary to get to these items."