#Emery is still the speaker but Fintan is the real voice of reason

[team-council]

TW: SEMI-GRAPHIC VIOLENCE, SWEARING, INJURY, ABUSE

Evil Council AU! Part 1(??)Just in time for spooky month! I have a lot more to say than I thought so this doesn’t cover nearly the whole thing. Most of its very general save the parts with bronte (because I’m not capable of restraining myself)

Just a loose collection of ideas I’ve had floating around in my mind brain! Less ‘Evil Council’ and more of a ‘Role Swap’ AU if you want to get really particular. But I don’t. Could alternatively be called ‘Fallon Vacker Is A Piece Of Shit and Ruins Everything For Everyone’. The later half of this is Bronte-Centric and I don’t have any shame about that if I do a P2 it’ll mostly focus on everyone else.. probably…..no promises… also the tags have misc. ramblings I didn’t want to put here enjoy

- Starting the Evil Council AU of strong with some non council-related content here but it’s important to note that Sophie and Keefe kind of swap roles in this AU. Keefe is wholesale the moon lark- raised in the lost cities, brown eyes, teleports, alicorn blood, the whole shabang- and Sophie is… Well, this is where the ‘kind of’ comes in. She’s still the Neverseen’s anti-moonlark but rather than having been raised under the delusion of normalcy like Keefe she’s always known about the Neverseen and their plans for her. She fronts the facade of typical playful, sarcastic Sophie at Foxfire whilst spending all of her free time training to assume her rightful place as the Neverseen’s ultimate weapon.

- Kenric and Oralie are Sophie’s biological parents in this AU. They both resigned from their positions on the council to get married about :rolls dice: 70 something years pre-cannon. They come away from their time as councillors incredibly disillusioned with the state of their world, finding that regardless of the fact that they dedicated hundreds of years of their lives to bettering and protecting the Lost Cities virtually nothing has changed since they joined the council.

- Fallon Vacker’s totally epic evil schemes are already well underway by this point in time, but he sees an opportunity to gain valuable allies in the still wildly popular power couple that is Koralie, so he approaches them. And by them I mean Oralie. He’s off the council by this point but served *much* longer in this timeline, enough to spend at least a few years working alongside her and they’ve kept in contact. From what he suspects Kenric would be more proactive than her but would be more likely to try and alienate Oralie from their plans under the guise of protecting her- which won’t do, he wants them both involved.

- Seeing as he’s made his appearance I’ll now take some time to explain Fallon and his grand vision. I know some people speculate differently than I do, but for the sake of this AU elves have always maintained the facade of being a ‘peaceful’ species due to their fragile minds. Fallon’s spent he majority of his life on the council and in the nobility tap dancing around the real issues that face their world- whether it be humans, ogres, internal prejudices- and assigning asinine non-solutions to legitimate problems. The solution to the elven race’s terminal ineffectuality, he believes, is to shatter the illusion of peace they’ve manufactured so thoroughly that they’ll have no choice but to become stronger in order to survive. Like the Neverseen in the proper books he’s also like, a raving bigot and of course the end goal in all of this is elven supremacy- but in order for that to come about elves have to grow some balls. Also Fallon and whoever is taking Vespara’s place were experimenting on humans to replicate their indestructible minds, but also experimenting on other species as well. Specifically ogres since they seem to have a certain amount of telepathic skill.

- He doesn’t come out of the gate with any of this stuff though. Instead, when he approaches Oralie he softballs the idea of his rebellion to her. He recalls specific moments in her career when she was blocked from actually improving things, denied access to important history and information because it was deemed better forgotten, he has her relive every infuriating defeat she’s suffered throughout her entire career and then gently suggests that perhaps she can still do something despite no longer sitting on the council. She’s immediately intrigued but she can tell Fallon’s hiding something from her. She finds it ironic that even though he laments the state of Eternalia’s underhanded politics he’s still acting no better than an average nobleman. Fallon can tell Oralie’s figured him out before she’s had the chance to press him about it and decides to preempt her inevitable prying by testing the waters of her… moral flexibility. Being an empath he didn’t expect much of her mental fortitude, but to his delight she seems to be in agreement with him on the idea that elves have grown too unwilling to take action and that perhaps it’s time to abandon their ‘peace’ and reveal it for what it is: cowardice masquerading as benevolence. They have several conversations like this over the course of a year or so and Fallon finally comes clean about the entire plan to her. Oralie hesitates only briefly before agreeing to join the neverseen.

- Kenric is less enthused about the plan than Oralie is when she finally tells him. He dislikes the idea of working exclusively in shadow, but more than that he dislikes the idea of Oralie putting herself in such grave danger. He knows there’s no talking her out of it and before he’s even had the chance to decide whether or not he agrees with Fallon he’s come to accept that he will have to partake in his scheme if he’s to keep Oralie safe. After talking with Fallon and Oralie more extensively though he does come around, albeit more slowly, and once he does he’s even more excited about the idea than Oralie is and beings active work with the Neverseen- mostly gathering information, manipulating his social status and connections to access classified documents as well as any available information on the Black Swan.

- More important than any of that to Fallon, however, is the request he has for the pair. Now that he knows they’re on his side, implicated so thoroughly in his plans they’d rot in exile for treason if they betrayed him to the council, he asks them to submit their first child to him for genetic modification, to have it be the Neverseen’s penultimate weapon. Kenric and Oralie are appalled at first. The idea of using their own child as a pawn disturbs them, and rightfully so, but as Fallon explains what the modifications would entail they start to understand. He says he means only to strengthen her mind and ensure she has a couple of abilities that will be necessary for their war against the council, primarily inflicting (I made this AU before unlocked came out and since the reason for Keefe’s special ability or even how it fully works aren’t known I found it too much of a bother to rewrite this so that it takes inflicting’s place). They both tentatively agree, submitting their DNA to Fallon so that he and his team can handle the modifications. The process takes decades and during that time Kenric and Oralie find all of their guilt over the matter completely subsiding. They dig themselves deeper and deeper into their work with the Neverseen, watching with contempt as the Elven world spirals into inefficient madness around them.

- By the time Sophie’s born they’ve wholly given themselves to Fallon’s ideals. They’re prepared for war, prepared to make their only child an instrument of that war. She’s trained to fight, trained to resist pain, resist telepathic prodding, trained to analyze the weaknesses in other people and exploit them without mercy. The black swan won’t be very active until their Moonlark returns to its proverbial nest but even as a child Sophie’s warned of their existence, of the threat they pose to the Neverseen and the dogma she’s been fed. She’s told she will one day manifest an incredible gift and that she’ll have to use that power to wipe them out. Perhaps more so than any of her other training, the preparation of her mind for that moment is absolutely imperative. She was already designed with an infallible mind, but that of course has to be put to the test. Through out her childhood she is put through a series of experiences that escalate in the severity of their violence. At first she’s watching violence be done to an animal, then a person. Then she’s made to be the victim of violence. Then she’s forced to enact violence upon animals, and then finally another elf. She manifests as an inflictor, finally, during the last portion of her conditioning, losing herself in the brutalization of an elf she’s been told betrayed the organization.

- Oralie and Kenric have watched her progression with pride, joy even. Their daughter is remorseless. She’s capable. She’s efficient. She’s everything an elf hasn’t been in thousands of years. She will end an era of mock civility that has survived extinction events and countless wars. They don’t notice that she looks at them both with utter contempt when their backs are turned.

- So Sophie’s an inflictor, albeit with some adjustments made. Rather than targeting someone’s mind specifically she’s only capable of inflicting on a given radius around herself- the expanse of which grows as she harnesses her power. Anyone within her range will fall victim to a pain like they’ve never known. She’s incredibly violent, incredibly volatile, and desperately in need of training.

- So let’s talk about Bronte! Honestly, I agonized a little over what to do with him in this. The idea that I ended up going with is something of an… unconventional evil Bronte take? I almost felt like I was absolving him of responsibility by going the road I did, but at the same time I don’t think anyone’s convinced Bronte’s incapable of being a bad person. In another world- fuck, in Keeper’s proper cannon- he could easily find himself a self-aware, wholly responsible for his own actions villain. Thhhaaat said I felt like this AU didn’t have much of a need for another disillusioned former politician convinced they’re doing the right thing™️. Also, Fallon being who he is in this AU it seemed.. on brand that he’d show up yet again to make a mess of things.

- To being I should mention that Inflicting was banned instead of pyrokinesis in this AU not long after Bronte became an emissary- albeit not for the reasons you might suspect. Fallon had taken a particular interest in Bronte and his ability as soon as he manifested, watching from afar and occasionally arranging meetings where he would pry into the nature of his ability, the way he processed violence, and even provide encouragement and validation Bronte desperately needed. By the time that Bronte graduates from Foxfire Fallon’s already arranged for him to be a personal attendant of his and emissary soon after that. Bronte completely adores Fallon. He’s one of the only people that will acknowledge his ability without treating it as an affliction- if anything he seems excited to know more about it. Fallon sees his ability as a gift as opposed to a curse and Bronte in turn hates himself less for possessing it, eventually even coming to embrace his inflicting with enough coaxing. Bronte will do anything for Fallon’s continued approval and as such becomes an incredibly useful tool to him. He often dispatches Bronte to do his dirty work in regards to matters dealing with the nobility, the kidnapping of subjects for Nightfall, and other various problems. It doesn’t take long for Fallon’s enemies to realize that if he were to lose access to Bronte he’d lose a pretty substantial advantage as well. So they frame Bronte for an abuse of his power. Fallon attempts to protect him but inflicting has long been an idea that’s made everyone uneasy and they’re more than happy to sentence it and Bronte to the highest punishment elven society has to offer: being forgotten.

- Bronte is stripped of his title as an Emissary and is put on indefinite house arrest as punishment for the ‘assault’ he committed. While he formerly had an outlet for his ability in the form of assignments from Fallon he can now do nothing but let resentment and hate build in him without relief as he rots alone with only his spite for company. Due to the fact that Fallon constantly encouraged him to explore and use his ability in this AU Bronte never discovered a means of keeping his inflicting at bay. He never graduated beyond ‘being an irritable fuck who’s constantly on the verge of losing his shit’. Had it not been for the fact he kept up appearances for Fallon’s sake it’s very likely he would’ve been punished a lot sooner for a crime he *actually* committed. Anyways, by the time Fallon is able to see Bronte again he’s a complete fucking wreck. Reigning his ability in hasn’t even occurred to him. He feels slighted, scorned, ill-used and those emotions are only heightened by an ability that feeds off of them. He’s totally trashed his house and apparently every other living thing that’s attempted to come near him- he hasn’t been very kind to himself either. Fallon’s sure that when he approaches him he’ll be greeted with the full force of his inflicting, or at least a fist to his gut. He’s surprised to find that he’s met with neither. If anything, his presence seems to calm Bronte and they’re able to have a discussion. Rather than suggesting that Bronte control his ability, Fallon suggests that Bronte find another outlet for his violent urges. He posits that hand-to-hand combat might do the trick and arranges for him to meet with a goblin instructor on the matter. It’s a difficult idea to sell to the rest of the council, but Fallon assured them it’ll be a good means of keeping Bronte occupied and reduce the likelihood he’ll snap and hurt others- and more pressingly himself.

- Fallon doesn’t make this decision out of the goodness of his heart though. No, originally he saw the weapon he created Sophie to be in Bronte. He figures that if Bronte’s to be unable to assist him then he can at least be acquiring a useful skill in the meantime. And boy does Bronte set to acquiring. He takes to combat well if not a little too zealously, but it doesn’t satiate him in the way that Fallon had said it would. If anything, it makes things *worse*. He can wail away at as many training dummies as he wants, it’s not inflicting. It’s not draining all of his pent up, festering rage, only adding to it. By the time Bronte’s able to leave his house again and his supervision is relaxed he doesn’t even care what Fallon’s planning so long as he can fuck something up. Fallon’s never been one to look a gift horse in the mouth and obliges him, testing the extent of his newfound inhibition by ordering him to torture various prisoners of the Neverseen. At first Bronte finds himself satisfied to just unleash his ability on captives. After centuries of frustration and unvented rage releasing the unbridled force of his power is a euphoric experience. He’s spent years rotting in purposelessness and now finally has something that puts his skills and his time to use. The satisfaction, the bliss of it all is overwhelming. Whatever guilt he feels at hearing the agonized screams of his victims is washed away by a tide of long overdue relief.

- To Fallon’s intrigue, however, Bronte’s new position as torturer doesn’t satisfy him either. Inflicting, like pyrokinesis, seems to be more of a gluttonous creature in and of itself than a passive power that can be manipulated. But where the consuming nature of a pyrokinetic’s ability is lost in abstractions about the vague ‘nature of flames’ Fallon finds inflicting very easy to explain.

- One of Bronte’s charges is refusing to talk. They make a small jab at him, something juvenile, something stupid. It doesn’t really matter what they said. Fallon’s called to the scene and finds their captive simultaneously covering the floors, walls, ceiling, and Bronte. Fallon expects this to shatter even an inflictor’s mind, but his friend surprises him again by taking things in stride. For a while, anyways. It’s a month or so before another incident and in that time Fallon’s come to the conclusion that an inflictor’s mind is simply a naturally superior version of a humans, the perfect step 2 in elven evolution he was always striving to achieve with his research. It’s not a presumption he gets to hold on to for very long. The next time that Bronte mangles one of their ‘guests’ he doesn’t seem to recover so well. He’s not grieving though, not stewing in self loathing. No. He’s agitated. Fallon finds his moods to be increasingly more volatile. Sometimes he’ll maintain his cold, sarcastic demeanor but as soon as something displeases him slightly he’ll lose his shit, usually not calming down until Fallon’s soothed him or he’s done severe harm to someone else. Fallon’s still struggling to figure out what’s going on, but Bronte already knows. The first time he inflicted on someone after such a long hiatus he felt so… satisfied. But when he did it again that sense of fulfillment was nowhere near as great. Emotions started to build in him again, every minor annoyance compounding, silly little aggravations multiplied a thousand fold until he could see nothing but red. Brutalizing someone with his bare hands… it felt like that first time inflicting again. Satisfied. Relieved. He thought it was his answer. The next time he felt his anger piling high he went to marring his victim as he had the time before, horrified to find that this pleasure too had become dull to him. With no way to truly feel as if he’s dispelling his want of violence he becomes trapped in a downward spiral, a perpetual loss of control. He finds that it gets difficult to pay attention to things, that he can’t listen to anyone- save Fallon- speak to him without wanting to floss their teeth with their vocal chords. It gets to the point where he doesn’t even notice time passing all that much. All he desires is to have an enemy pointed out to him, to partake in whatever meager rush of dopamine ripping into somebody gives him at this point. Fallon decides that this is the true nature of an inflictor, the monkey’s paw-esque cost of their exceptional power. In order to keep the mind of the, for lack of a better term, ‘host’ from shattering under the weight of their power’s inherently violent nature the ability consumes it. True, the ‘host’ is no longer capable of caring for their victims but they are also no longer capable of caring for much of anything. By the time the process is complete what’s left of the inflictor is little more than a vessel of violence. It’s not the result Fallon was hoping for but he nevertheless thinks it’s comforting to know that elves *are* capable of violence.

- he decides the best thing to do from here on is to keep Bronte sedated or otherwise drugged when not in use. He does occasionally pay him visits just to be ‘social’. Bronte rarely says anything to him anymore but he’s always listening when he speaks.

- When Fallon creates sophie it’s with the intention that she be a compromise between Bronte’s power and a normal elves’ sanity. Unbeknownst to him, his design is imperfect. While she’s not prone to losing her whole self to her ability she will struggle with violent urges her whole life. Even if she’s incapable of breaking due to the guilt of her actions they still make her wonder just what kind of monster she really is.

- she doesn’t wonder anymore after she’s introduced to Bronte for the first time. He’s the personification of her urges. His hair’s long and matted. His nails are long, their undersides coated in thick clusters of rot. She can’t see much of his face except for a hellish, bloodshot eye. His stare is empty of everything except hatred and for the first time she feels as if she’s really looking at herself. Fallon has explained her situation to Bronte and up until seeing her he had thought he would test her limits as he’d asked. Test her limits and then go back to drifting between assignments. But when he sees her… Well, Fallon’s always had theories about why he did what he did. His ego likes to think Bronte was scared of being replaced by her, that he’d only ever lose control of Bronte if he were afraid of being cast aside again. The answer he likes less is just as plausible though. That Bronte saw in Sophie the potential to fall just as far as he had, and in a brief moment of awareness had.. done his best to prevent that from happening.

- Sophie spends months in the infirmary after Bronte attacks her. He’s broken her jaw, torn her stomach open with his hands, practically flattened her throat. For the first time in her life Sophie has a lot of private time to herself. For the first time in her life she considers what all of this has been for. If that creature is the incarnation of violence.. the culmination of everything Fallon aspires to, the ‘gift’ he wants to bestow upon elven kind… What was everything even for? That creature was farther from salvation than anything she’d ever known in her whole life. What good could possibly be done by bringing that darkness into the lives of ordinary people?

- She keeps these thoughts to herself though. The Neverseen is still all she’s known. She has no other support systems. It’s where her family is. She won’t give them up so easily. (and besides, who would welcome a monster into their ranks anyways?)

- During her recovery Sophie is allowed a break from training even after she’s no longer bound to the infirmary. Her injuries have been explained to Foxfire and all concerned authorities as the result of an accident at Havenfield. Jolie, who is alive and collaborating with the Neverseen, helped sell the story by claiming she was a witness and had invited Sophie over to help with animal care when some of the security systems failed and a few dinosaurs escaped. Grady and Edaline have left the property to Jolie and Brant in this AU is well and are taking (a very deserved) vacation somewhere. Brant is an emissary of the council and was personally trained by the still sitting Councillor Fintan but that’s for part 2.

- Anyways, when she returns to school she’s surprised to find that gossip isn’t so much focussed on her as it is a new student with peculiar brown eyes.