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[scythe_lucifer]

IN CHARACTER

Character Name: Rowan Damisch
Canon: Arc of a Scythe by Neal Shusterman
Canon Point: Roughly halfway through the second book in the trilogy.


In-Game Tattoo Placement: At the base of the throat, middle of the clavicle, a small set of antlers that fit between the bones.
Current Health/Status: Technically, Rowan has just died.
Age: 18
Species: Human


History: Here is the fandom wiki with just Rowan's backstory, but because it's written with the assumption that the reader knows the canon, here's an additional blurb.

In the Age of Immortality, the Scythedom is charged with gleaning (read: sanctioned killing) the population just enough to keep population growth balanced.

When Rowan and Citra were taken on as joint apprentices to Scythe Faraday, both despised the idea. Rowan thought himself incapable, but having witnessed a gleaning himself, he decided that he was needed to show compassion and concern for the soon-to-be departing. He learned the old ways of gleaning, the respectful, quiet practice of rendering the living dead by quick and painless actions. He learned about duty and honor, and his mentor honed that quality of compassion that he had seen in Rowan the first day they met. However, when Faraday supposedly died, Rowan’s apprenticeship was transferred to Scythe Goddard, the leader of the new guard. While Rowan learned much of killcraft from his new scythe, he was forever troubled by Goddard’s bloodlust, his desire for spectacle and arrogance. For Goddard, each gleaning was a bloodbath, a massacre, something he enjoyed. He took pleasure in it; and the worst part of that was, Rowan started to understand that pleasure. Goddard encouraged him to tap into his more primal self, the fierce and fiery side of him that had been lost by the inertia of immortality.

He succeeded. Where once lived a boy who did his best not to make waves was born a machine, capable of destruction. Capable, even, of killing his own master scythe and two others in cold blood and wiping away the evidence, tidying up the loose ends so cleanly that no one would ever know. Rowan abhorred what he had become but, at the same time, decided to embrace it. He was the evil that let the good stand out, the necessary darkness from which the light would bloom. He vowed to weed out the undesirables from the scythedom himself -- those who took too much pleasure in their killing, who targeted certain groups, who let their arrogance overwhelm their sense of duty. He took on the name of Scythe Lucifer.

As Scythe Lucifer, Rowan ended a dozen scythes before he encountered Scythe Brahms. He allowed him to go with a warning. As repayment, Brahms gleaned Rowan’s father. When Rowan went to take revenge, he let his anger guide him and made a huge mistake. Brahms’ hired security guards took him prisoner and he was immediately turned over to none other than Scythe Rand, chief among Goddard’s cronies and one that Rowan had ended. Or at least thought he had. He trained for months against his friend Tyger, who had been taken in by Rand's lie that he would one day be a scythe, too. But rather than being ordained, Tyger was killed so that his body could become the new body of Scythe Goddard. The previously decapitated Goddard took his fury out on Rowan in every way imaginable, fighting him each day and killing him in a different way after each match. It's after one such match that he leaves canon for Deerington.


Personality: From the very beginning of the series, Rowan has been an empathetic creature. When Scythe Faraday came to his high school to glean (read: sanctioned kill) another student, Rowan sat with the other boy and held his hand while Faraday electrocuted him. Rowan didn't know the other boy well; he simply didn't want him to be alone and no one else had the courage to face the scythe. He was not rewarded for his kindness, but he did it anyway. This is what drew Scythe Faraday's attention to him in the first place.

When the scythe attempted to convince Rowan (and Citra) to become his apprentices, he took them to a museum of art. They compared the newer works with those of the Age of Mortality and Rowan was struck by how much more feeling there was in the older works. He wanted desperately to bring just a hint of that old feeling back into the world he knew. He didn't want to kill; he never wanted to kill. But he wanted to make the world a better place in some way, even if it was a dark and grisly way. He could do it with respect and with fairness in mind. That's what he wants: to be a force for good.

When he took on the moniker of Scythe Lucifer, the same was true. He chose the name not because he brings death but because "Lucifer" actually means "light bringer." He wanted to shed a light on corruption within the ranks of the scythedom, the only place corruption still existed in the world, and he wanted to shed light on the world, let it grow and prosper with only him being the victim of the darkness that lurks at the edges.

Rowan is always willing to risk himself for the greater good, but he's also willing to risk himself, period. He grew up not being given much attention, not taken seriously, so his own life and his own soul he handles very loosely. He lets his anger lead him and his dark sense of justice prevail. He considers himself judge, jury and executioner; granted, he does this over a small segment of the population, the truly evil, but they are evil as he deems them.

Because of this, however, he does fear what he has become. He sees himself as too powerful, too much, but he cannot stop himself. He hopes that in his gleaning he is fair and restrained. He doesn't engage in the bloodbaths that Scythe Goddard would, doesn't take pleasure from the killing, even though he believes he's doing good. But he knows that he's taking on stains to his soul that can never be washed away. He is okay with that, if it means the world prospers.


Abilities/Powers/Weaknesses & Warping: Rowan was born in the future, past what is called the Age of Mortality. Disease (and death) has been eradicated. This is so through the use of nanites within Rowan's blood stream that make him immune to illness, give him enhanced healing, curb his more extreme emotions, and even release morphine into his bloodstream when injury does occur. However, he does age. (In the future, it is a simple process to reset one's body to a previous age, enabling them to live forever.)

These abilities shall be warped in multiple ways: 1. He can very much die, according to the rules of the game. 2. His pain nanites are already dialed down in canon, meaning no morphine is released into his veins and he can feel every injury. This will remain the same. 3. The nanites that control his brain chemistry (keep him from feeling depressed, etc.) will be dialed down. (Mind, he does have scary control over his emotions, but this control will be unassisted by the nanites.) 4. The healing process will be slowed significantly. He will still heal faster than a normal human being, but not at all as instantaneously as before.

Additionally, Rowan has been trained in the deadly martial art of Bokator and is an exceedingly good student. He has knowledge of all the poisons known to man as well as an extensive knowledge of all weaponry.


Inventory: work out clothes, stained with blood; a journal; a bowie knife.


Writing Samples: TDM & Other Game Post

OUT OF CHARACTER

Player Name: Kat
Player Age: 35
Player Contact: evilsalmon or Evil Salmon#2308

Other Characters In Game: Uhura applied for
In-Game Tag If Accepted: Rowan Damish: Kat
Permissions for Character: Here.
Are you comfortable with prominent elements of fourth-walling?: Yes.
What themes of horror/psychological thrillers do you enjoy the most?: Basically all of it, but creepy kids, supernatural elements and dark comedy appeal to me.
Is there anything in particular you absolutely need specific content warnings for?: No.
Additional Information: