Talon
Literotica Guru
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2000
- Posts
- 850
So...I'm hoping this fits with the tone of the setting. It's a take on a legend from a Native-American tribe local to the NE region. I tried for 'folk-sy', let me know what you think.
Name: Jacob Harrington
Age: 25
Appearance: Just over six feet tall, athletic build, appears to be of Western European/Native American mixed heritage. Lightly tanned skin, dark of eyes and hair.
Jacob's appearance.
Personality:
(See background for details on why there are two listings.)
Jacob is generally courteous and kind-hearted while at the same time sarcastic and witty. It is clear he uses the second set of traits as a barrier to keep others from getting too close, afraid of what will happen should his control slip but for a moment. Even while in control, he exhibits something of a "wild streak".
While under the influence of his 'passenger', Jacob's good natured wit turns sharp. He become insistent, foolhardy and short-tempered. He will attempt to coerce those around him into joining him in his supernaturally-induced bout of excess and revelry.
Background:
Jacob's great-great-grandfather Jeremiah was a spirit medium of renowned ability and a well-respected member of the Autumn Valley community. His wife was a member of the local Algonquian tribe, and Jeremiah maintained a strong relation with them through this link. During a particularly harsh New England winter an Algonquian man was brought before him, bound at wrists and ankles, his form gaunt and grey as if the man had been dead for some time. His howls of rage and hunger, however, told differently. According to the shaman that traveled with him, the man had been possessed by the spirit of the Wendigo during a hunting trip to the mountains. His group had become lost and sought refuge in a cave, where the man was accosted by the spirit and promised continued life, if only he would consume the flesh of his fellows. Such a deed was done, and several days later the man came stumbling into the village in his current condition.
No manner of ritual had successfully cleansed the man of the Wendigo spirit so he was brought before Jeremiah as a last ditch effort to avoid euthanization. Jeremiah confronted the spirit, managing to draw it unto himself while avoiding possession but he was unable to banish the ancient and powerful Manitou. A battle of spiritual will ensued that was rumored to last for hours, the end of which found man and spirit still locked in a stalemate. Unwilling to release the malevolent being back into the wilds to possess another, a bargain was struck; Jeremiah, and every first-born child thereafter, would serve as both a vessel and a prison for the Wendigo spirit. The spirit would be contained, but it's presence would forever tempt it's vessel from the darkest corner of their mind. The Wendigo agreed, feeling that it would eventually overcome it's human prison even if it would take centuries.
The Harrington burden was passed to the next in line upon death of the previous carrier. Jacob's mother was the last, and when she was killed along with his father in a horrific car accident, ten year old Jacob was the next up to inherent the family curse.
Jacob had been an exemplary child, the sort that all parents hope thier offspring would become. After the death of his parents, the responsibility of his care passed to his grandmother. Upon receiving the curse, which his parents had not had time to properly prepare him for before their untimely passing, young Jacob was unable to resist the dark whispers of the Wendigo. It encouraged excess, danger and disobedience. It was a slow and gradual fall from grace, but by the age of fifteen, Jacob was well known as the town hellion. His grandmother, unable to control the unruly teen, was driven to the point of desperation, and Jacob was sent off to a boarding school as a last result.
Fast forward ten years to the present day. Jacob eventually did learn to exert some control over the spirit's influence, and graduated from a trade school where he obtained his mechanic's license. He has returned to Autumn Valley in order to care for his grandmother in her waning years, and hopes to acquire a job working on cars and farming equipment towards that end.
The presence of the spirit has a few side-effects; His eyes shift from brown to a pale, ice blue in moments where the spirit has gained some manner of influence. During these times his behavior becomes rash and irresponsible. The Wendigo's whispers prod him towards acts of lust, jealousy and foolhardiness, and it generally bides it's time and power until moments of great stress or deep depression, in which it encounters the least amount of resistance from Jacob. These moments are a rare occurance now that he has matured and learned some manner of control, but the Wendigo never sleeps...
Name: Jacob Harrington
Age: 25
Appearance: Just over six feet tall, athletic build, appears to be of Western European/Native American mixed heritage. Lightly tanned skin, dark of eyes and hair.
Jacob's appearance.
Personality:
(See background for details on why there are two listings.)
Jacob is generally courteous and kind-hearted while at the same time sarcastic and witty. It is clear he uses the second set of traits as a barrier to keep others from getting too close, afraid of what will happen should his control slip but for a moment. Even while in control, he exhibits something of a "wild streak".
While under the influence of his 'passenger', Jacob's good natured wit turns sharp. He become insistent, foolhardy and short-tempered. He will attempt to coerce those around him into joining him in his supernaturally-induced bout of excess and revelry.
Background:
Jacob's great-great-grandfather Jeremiah was a spirit medium of renowned ability and a well-respected member of the Autumn Valley community. His wife was a member of the local Algonquian tribe, and Jeremiah maintained a strong relation with them through this link. During a particularly harsh New England winter an Algonquian man was brought before him, bound at wrists and ankles, his form gaunt and grey as if the man had been dead for some time. His howls of rage and hunger, however, told differently. According to the shaman that traveled with him, the man had been possessed by the spirit of the Wendigo during a hunting trip to the mountains. His group had become lost and sought refuge in a cave, where the man was accosted by the spirit and promised continued life, if only he would consume the flesh of his fellows. Such a deed was done, and several days later the man came stumbling into the village in his current condition.
No manner of ritual had successfully cleansed the man of the Wendigo spirit so he was brought before Jeremiah as a last ditch effort to avoid euthanization. Jeremiah confronted the spirit, managing to draw it unto himself while avoiding possession but he was unable to banish the ancient and powerful Manitou. A battle of spiritual will ensued that was rumored to last for hours, the end of which found man and spirit still locked in a stalemate. Unwilling to release the malevolent being back into the wilds to possess another, a bargain was struck; Jeremiah, and every first-born child thereafter, would serve as both a vessel and a prison for the Wendigo spirit. The spirit would be contained, but it's presence would forever tempt it's vessel from the darkest corner of their mind. The Wendigo agreed, feeling that it would eventually overcome it's human prison even if it would take centuries.
The Harrington burden was passed to the next in line upon death of the previous carrier. Jacob's mother was the last, and when she was killed along with his father in a horrific car accident, ten year old Jacob was the next up to inherent the family curse.
Jacob had been an exemplary child, the sort that all parents hope thier offspring would become. After the death of his parents, the responsibility of his care passed to his grandmother. Upon receiving the curse, which his parents had not had time to properly prepare him for before their untimely passing, young Jacob was unable to resist the dark whispers of the Wendigo. It encouraged excess, danger and disobedience. It was a slow and gradual fall from grace, but by the age of fifteen, Jacob was well known as the town hellion. His grandmother, unable to control the unruly teen, was driven to the point of desperation, and Jacob was sent off to a boarding school as a last result.
Fast forward ten years to the present day. Jacob eventually did learn to exert some control over the spirit's influence, and graduated from a trade school where he obtained his mechanic's license. He has returned to Autumn Valley in order to care for his grandmother in her waning years, and hopes to acquire a job working on cars and farming equipment towards that end.
The presence of the spirit has a few side-effects; His eyes shift from brown to a pale, ice blue in moments where the spirit has gained some manner of influence. During these times his behavior becomes rash and irresponsible. The Wendigo's whispers prod him towards acts of lust, jealousy and foolhardiness, and it generally bides it's time and power until moments of great stress or deep depression, in which it encounters the least amount of resistance from Jacob. These moments are a rare occurance now that he has matured and learned some manner of control, but the Wendigo never sleeps...
hehe.
