Cerio Dreswitch's page

”Cast the bones…”

They say it’s a sin.

”His name, write it in the blood…”

A man like that, he ain’t a man at all. He ain’t even human.

”Cut out the tongue and eyes. Fill his mouth with ash…“

Could you kill another man in cold blood?

”Bind the fingers, ‘afore they reach back past the veil.”

Could you kill your own brother?

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Edrick and I’s born the night of tha gibbous moon. Under what wise men call tha sign o’ tha seven witchstars. Was never sure 'xactly what that mighta meant. All we knew’s it caused us a lot o’ trouble.

Born’n Carrion Hill. Never knew our momma. Daddy done run off when we’s still in diapers. Edrick and me, we got shuffled this way’n that, ‘til finally we landed in that godforsaken hellhole, what they call an institution. That’s just puttin’ fresh paint on an outhouse, ya ask me, what for how we got treated. We grew up hard. Learned ta never trust nobody, ‘cept ourselves. People’s cruel, ya see. I don’t think they mean t’be, but cruel they is, and a couple of lost kittens like us, not a pot to piss in, not a pinch ‘tween us, didn’t nobody care.

But we kept on, best we could. Learned ta fish, that kept us fed. Learned ta beg, too. Not that that took us very far. But then we learned to steal. And that, that was livin’. Such as folks don’t wanna give, they hate losin’ even more. But Edrick and I learned early on that we’s a good team. We could, we could speak without speakin’, ya see. Talk inside our heads and nobody’d stand a chance o’ hearin’. We could hear ‘em, though. A person’s own head should be a secret place, shouldn’t it? Nothin’s safer’n the secrets in your own heart, innit? People liked ta think so, and we used that for our gain. At first it was just pocket-pickin’ coin purses, then money drawers. We got bolder. Some fancy piece o’ art here, a magic amulet or book there, a little bit o’ blackmail. Yea, we got bolder, then we got known. We got chased out'ta town.

And so we went, Edrick’n me, wandering that endless swamp. Gods, Ustalav. A wart on the back o’ the world, and us a couple’a fleas just a’scurryin’. But the witchstars, they followed us, cuz ill fortune just stuck ta us like grease, it seemed.

In Ardis, we...we done made a mistake. We lost ourselves, forgot where we come from, what we was runnin’ from. Maybe we never knew. But it found us. The Lady Mordlaine and her weird books, her funny runes and symbols. She was nice to look at, but none could stand the sight of 'er. ‘Twas like lookin’ at a crooked reflection of yerself. And she knew it, too, knew how ta twist 'er tongue and lie to ya, feedin' ya your own soul, but make it taste like honey.

An easy job, she said. I shoulda known better, ‘specially when I could see the witchstars behind her eyes.

A statue. Locked in a safe. Bein’ taken by ship to Lake Kavapesta. Steal the statute, bring it to 'er. Earn some coin. Easy, right? We’s fools. I’s a fool. Edrick even tried ta say no. But ya just couldn’t say no ta that woman. I couldn’t fight tha witchstars.

Gettin’ aboard’s was easy enough. Gettin’ down below’s even easier. The safe, though, it was huge, easy big enough to fit five grown men. Listened inta people’s heads til we found the key. Unlocked tha safe. And there it was, the statue. That statue. Gods, was it awful. I can’t barely remember it now. All claws and tentacles and, and evil. It shone blacker'n brighter'n any stars I’d ever knowed. I told Edrick, don’t touch it! Don’t even look at it! But he, ‘twas like he couldn’t hear me! First time in my life I couldn’t get through t’him. He just stared at it, crawled right int'tha safe reachin’ fer it.

Then the fire was on us. Edrick just starin’ at that statute, me screamin’ at him to come, to leave it and jump ship, but he couldn’t hear. Then the ship started ta sink. It keeled to the side. The safe door, I can see it now, the weight of it causin the door to slip closed as it slid down toward the water that was pourin’ into the hold. Edrick’s eyes found mine, then, just a moment ‘fore that door closed. And the look in his eyes...His eyes… Horrors, they whispered.

The door slammed shut. The safe slid into the river, sank right to the bottom. Edrick locked in tha dark. Locked inside with that, that thing.

I could hear him in my head, hear him screamin’ tha whole time, right til he run outta air.

How’s a fire start on a ship, anyway? Why’d a fire start that night, of all nights? And how’d it spread so quick? A feller’d never sleep if he asked those questions too often. And me, I ain’t slept in a while.

Step 1: Concept Elements
Psychic Twins - The stars were right. Cerio and Edrick were bonded since birth, bearing both an indistinguishable appearance and a telepathic connection. That Edrick should now manifest in Cerio's dreams is only a continuation of their fated, shared destinies.

The Witchstars - A thinly-veiled allusion to Lovecraft mythos, the twins’ birth sign is interpreted by Cerio to be closely tied to the misfortune that has befallen them. Cerio is fascinated by the stars.

Arcane Magic - Cerio and Edrick earned a living by several means--as beggars, as fishmongers, as thieves, and as fortune-tellers. They traveled the backwoods of Ustalav, catering to unfathomably destitute and dread-stricken villages and backwater settlements with their weird occultist methods. The brothers had an innate but uncultivated talent for magic (as evidenced by Cerio’s spontaneous, rather than prepared, spellcasting and his conspicuous lack of knowledges). Interestingly, no one ever taught them how to do these things--they simply arose instinctively.

The Lady Mordlaine and the Statue - This mysterious dark lady was the impetus of the Dreswitch Bros’ (most recent) downfall. She provides the likely manner in which Cerio was pulled into whatever business caused his amnesia (see “Amnesia” below). The statue is another clear reference to Lovecraft and the Eldritch cults the party will no doubt face in Strange Aeons. The statue itself is probably less important than the entities it signifies.

Amnesia - Cerio’s amnesia period begins almost immediately after the death of his brother. The trauma of that event alone could explain an emotional breakdown.

Step 2: List at least 2 goals for the character.
Cerio may decide to attempt to reclaim Edrick’s remains and bring him back to life.

Cerio’s destiny may not be a happy one--the witchstars may hold sway over him, afterall. Although Cerio will strive for redemption, I am ready to accept that the only thing he will gain from this adventurer is the piecing together of dissociated knowledge that will drive his already-damaged psyche further toward utter insanity.

Step 3: People that are tied to the character. Two of them are friendly to the character, one is hostile.

Edrick, Cerio's deceased twin.

Lady Mordlaine (hostile), who sent them on their fated mission to steal a statue.

Constable Vorduclaire, the official responsible for getting the brothers run out of their hometown of Carrion Hill. He’d love nothing more than to see them hang.

Step 4: Mannerisms
Cerio drawls on in a strong rural accent. He sounds uneducated and “folky.”

Cerio prefers to leave doors and windows open to alleviate his claustrophobia. A closed room is stifling and forecloses escape.

Cerio dislikes the number seven. Seven is bad luck. Eight is good, six is fine, but he’ll avoid anything to do with seven if he can help it.

Step 5: Fears
Cerio is now severely claustrophobic, terrified of both restriction and suffocation.

Level 1: FCB (extra spell); Feat (Improved Initiative); Racial Bonus Feat (Spell Focus); Bloodline Arcana; Bloodline Power (Black Motes); Cantrips; Eschew Materials
Level 2: FCB (extra spell)
Level 3: FCB (extra spell); Feat (Combat Casting); Bloodline Power (Voidwalker); Bloodline Spell (unseen servant)
Level 4: FCB (extra spell); Ability Score (Cha)
Level 5: FCB (extra spell); Feat (Augment Summoning); Bloodline Spell (glitterdust)
Level 6: FCB (extra spell);
Level 7: FCB (extra spell); Feat (); Bloodline Feat (Toughness); Bloodline Spell (blink)
Level 8: FCB (extra spell); Ability Score (Cha)
Level 9: FCB (extra spell); Feat (); Bloodline Power (Voidfield); Bloodline Spell (call lightning storm, dealing fire damage, damage increased outdoors at night)
Level 10: FCB (extra spell)
Level 11: FCB (extra spell); Feat (); Bloodline Spell (overland flight)
Level 12: FCB (extra spell); Ability Score (Cha)
Level 13: FCB (extra spell); Feat (Persistent Spell); Bloodline Feat (Quicken Spell); Bloodline Spell (repulsion)
Level 14: FCB (extra spell);
Level 15: FCB (extra spell); Feat (Spell Perfection (black tentacles)); Bloodline Power (Breaching the Gulf); Bloodline Spell (reverse gravity)
Level 16: FCB (extra spell); Ability Score (Cha)
Level 17: FCB (extra spell); Feat (); Bloodline Spell (greater prying eyes)