“A strange creature […] lost in the world of man. A sweet heart living amongst darkness without fear. […] Heart open to the shadows pouring in. Dawning of a spirit rife with furious ruination. An ability to annul anything in its path. […] Compassion and civility present […] but not above ravenous desires. The second harbinger of eternal night roars for fresh blood. Despair humanity! Your sanctuary is at its end.” -- from the Aphotic Luminescence Cult, The Book of Wroth, chapter 114: Aphotic Triumvirate: Subsequent Destruction

Contrary to popular belief, these apparitions don’t just appear in this world, they are ‘born’ from beings already in existence. The power usually simply referred to as ‘darkness’ is omnipresent; it surrounds us even now… you have nothing to fear, light-dwelling beings naturally and effortlessly repel these forces. There are only three instances where darkness can overwhelm a bright spirit. The first is when a person completely loses their will to live, the darkness concentrates around them and invades resulting in a physical and visible barrage; their physical form is destroyed leaving a horrific, but practically harmless, spirit that serves nothing more than to haunt the living. The second can only be caused by the most powerful dark beings who can forcibly drown and dim a bright spirit by smothering the physical body in darkness itself resulting in a potent, nearly human being stripped of all mercy and reason, but still merely a destructive pawn. The final instance is when a being renounces the light and opens their soul to corruption, but this is harder said than done, proof of complete submission to the darkness must be shown. Rituals for doing so are usually hidden in ancient tales passed down family lines, especially those of nobility, but no matter the procedure the result is the same. Darkness relentlessly pours into the body and soul, melding with them, the physical body is completely and painfully transformed while the soul becomes pitch-black, resulting in the creation of extremely powerful dark beings known to be able to devastate entire civilizations with their predominant powers over darkness. The physical brain is lost in the process but strangely the psychological mind is left nearly unchanged but for a few added… urges.

Ah, the young Vehement, wanting so much to live out eternity with his dark but caring guardian he made the sacrifice of committing his soul to the darkness. With the help of his adopted father, the newly christened Grim enjoys his new body. His strange origins and powers allowed him to avoid extensive mutation but he no longer looks like the cute little reptile he once was. His eyes are a dull red and his scales are black with dark red skin underneath. He stands nearly two feet taller and is slightly muscled while his tail stays in proportion, only a few inches laying flat on the ground. His back blades are gone, replaced by a pair of large, black wings, much like a dragon, gracefully folded to hide snugly behind his back, tips extending just passed the base of his tail. His claws are dark gray and much shorter, only about half an inch long. On his right hand, claws are replaced with deep black, metallic blades that can extend to seven inches in length. His snout is slightly longer and broader, mouth full of long, sharp teeth and a thick snake tongue that is deep crimson in color and can reach out to over nine inches.

The darkness fusing with his own power leaves him with quite an arsenal. He can form any type of projectile from the darkness; he can even create guns and cannons, firing powerful ammunition using the extra explosive might formed from his original power. He also enjoys using an explosive he has dubbed the ‘arcane bomb’. It is a small, highly concentrated ball normally dropped from high in the air to surprise his victims. It can create many different assaults based on small changes in how it is formed: concussive explosions, stationary spikes and blades extending out, projectiles spreading out over a given area, and slicing waves. He can even create explosive forces from his hands and feet allowing him to move at unimaginable speeds… or just splatter someone’s brains from a close and personal perspective. Not only will he kill and destroy everything in his path, but he‘ll have fun doing it.