#oc: the bloodcarver

[aalinaaaaaa]

infodump everything you want to share about this rn :>

I literally squealled in delight when I saw this! Heads up, this is going to be a long one (like almost every single question long, lol)

Before we begin, the character I'm going to talk about here (The Bloodcarver — his actual name is below the cut/see below) features in a few short pieces I wrote (and also in Obsidian Sapphires, Chapter Two and thereafter)

#269. Living Weapon | A Pawn for a Greater Cause (he's the main character in this piece)

#276. Dark and Stormy Night | A Dance With Death (makes a guest appearance; this piece is the thematic reciprocal of A Pawn for a Greater Cause)

#289. Blinding Gaze | A Thesis in Bloodlust (he's actually doing his job here, bloodcarving :D)

The Bloodcarver

— Also known as Petrius, the Second to High Councillor Claudia Emar

•/🗡\•

Simply put, he's the right-hand of a lady who is his childhood best friend that ended up becoming a High Councillor because she got revenge for her sister. He couldn't exactly, leave now could he?

He fights with swords and knives, and he can also shapeshift into a raven, which makes him very annoying to fight. He even wears talon chains from time to time, but it's almost more of a fashion/intimidation statement.

Some of you may have questions, such as the ones below here:

3. How much autonomy is he given?

A certain degree, he can pick his clothes, food, etc but in terms of daily activities, he doesn't usually have a lot of autonomy unless it's a rest day. Most of the time he has obligations to fulfill

He likes to keep his face very neat, he's always clean shaven but his hair is usually a little messy. The natural consequences of fighting and/or shapeshifting, he supposes (though Claudia has an unnatural ability of keeping her hair dead straight even after going in and out of bird form — even Eshani can't do that!)

4. Does he groom himself? What details about his appearance are chosen by other people?

5. How obedient is he? Is he more defiant or compliant?

He's very obedient, it ties in with his loyalty, he's ramrod straight to the point of it being a flaw.

6. Does he have a comfort object?

The fur cloak he was wearing the day Claudia got turned. He got it from killing a bear with his father a few months previous, and he still has the cloak to this day.

7. How does he dress to go on missions? Does he have a uniform?

He doesn't have a uniform, he simply wears what's appropriate for the occasion. So what he wears to court will differ greatly from a hunting outfit, for instance.

8. Does he have a workout routine?

Most of his exercise comes from sparring, though he does go swimming in the lake regularly.

10. Is he a favourite? Is he precious or replaceable?

Let me put it this way: Claudia would be broken beyond repair if he ever died. If someone was to murder him, she'd go to ends of the world to ruin the perpetrator's life, even if it meant breaching her Vow of Madness.

While his job might be fillable by anyone competent, Petrius himself cannot be replaced. Not in Claudia's eyes anyway.

11. Is he stealthy? Or perhaps bulky, odd or otherwise eye-catching?

He's capable of being very quiet, he can sneak up on people, change into a raven and catch people off-guard that way, he can be pretty sneaky. All the hidden corridors around the place only serve to help with that.

12. What is his name? Is it a number? Does he have a nickname? Who uses it?

So most people that know of him know him as The Bloodcarver. It's his professional title. Only a certain amount of people know him as Petrius, and very few of that bunch know his surname (in other words, Claudia, a few of the crows and the folks back in their hometown are the only ones that know his full name).

14. Does he have a favourite food? How often does he have it?

There's a particular type of stew he likes but he can't really have the exact thing because some of the ingredients (a specific type of fish) can't be found in Morilaste.

15. Did he have a life before this?

He most certainly did. His childhood was pretty alright, the usual ups and downs, it improved when he found close friends and a purpose in life.

Then the problems started rolling in during his early adulthood and before he knew it he witnessed/was an accomplice in the murder of a giant swan lady.

17. Does he have a squick in their job? Something that bugs them or pisses them off?

The pettiness of Helindian ministers. He grew up in a not-tremendously-well-off Feudranian household, so going from a grounded, uptight but earnest culture to the flashy, competitive, colourfully cutthroat chaos that is upper class Helindian culture is a big change. He's long used to it by now, but he's still irked by certain things sometimes.

18. How does he wear his hair?

It's in a bowl cut, nothing too fancy, something simple and practical to maintain.

19. Does he have a good aim?

He does, but he doesn't really use it that much. He prefers short-range combat, and is excellent at going for the jugular.

20. Does he have survival skills? If he's on his own, can he find food, take care of himself?

Absolutely, this would be no problem to him. He has the know-how to find food for himself (he hunts on the regular), and if worse comes to worse, he can change into a bird and fly somewhere else :D

21. Would he survive a battle royale situation, like the Hunger Games?

I would fancy his chances a lot, especially if he was allowed to shapeshift. If not, he'd have the skills, the know-how and the ruthlessness to pull off a good result.

Ironically, I entered him into a round of the Writeblr Hunger Games and he did the worst out of the trio I entered (he came 14th out of 20-something — Eshani won the whole thing and Claudia made it to the final day 😂)

23. Is he loyal? Do his superiors trust him to go off on his own and come back, or is he kept on a tight leash?

He is loyal to the point of it being a flaw. Maybe even worse than a flaw. Most people in his situation would probably have left. But him? Nope, he eschewed his friends and family at home to stay with his best friend after a very dark moment in their lives. (Their efforts did relieve their town of being pestered by overly antagonistic swans, so that was something).

Claudia has a great deal of trust in him. As long as he's around for the important things, she does not care what he does in his free time. (Well, okay, she cares in a "what did you get up to?" sort of way, not in a weird or negative way)

24. What makes him relaxed?

The moment Helinda's ministers leave, any time he enters a bath or body of water, the occasions when it's just himself and Claudia spending time together.

25. What makes him nervous?

Having to mind court while Claudia's off doing stuff, dealing with Helinda's ministers sometimes, being touched sexually

27. Can he blend in on a civil and normal environment? Does he know how to navigate whatever's normal in the setting? Can he get by lowkey or would he catch attention?

He'd be a little caught off guard initially, but he'd get the hang of things pretty quick. It would just be a case of wearing the right clothes and being careful of when to shift into bird form (could be construed as rude if it's during a conversation and/or crows are bad luck in Helindian superstition [Claudia, Petrius and their 1,000+ strong murder of crows are a big part of that!])

29. Can he endure torture? Is there a method that immediately breaks him? Is he a good torturer?

28. Does he have a non-fighting related skill, such as writing, doing math, drawing or speaking another language? Was it taught to him? Did he learn it himself?

[ I'm going to direct people to this lovely ask I received here ]

To a certain degree, yes, he's good with physical pain, to a limit. Iron would be a pretty quick way to beat him, though, iron is anathema to faeries. Also ash wood and arsache (silverweed; it's a type of Helindian plant that can result in multiple organ failure among other things if overdosed and it contains a compound that inhibits magic).

As for torturing, he's never had to do it, but he'd do well at physical torture.

30. How is he doing?

He's doing well. Currently, things are a bit chaotic because, well, the events of Obsidian Sapphires have started occurring and it's stressful for everyone in his circles.

—

@/ominous-faechild thank you so so much for this ask, this was absolutely brilliant <3333333

Tagging everyone on the Obsidian Sapphires taglist (and in General), because he does feature in it. (As a side character, but a frequent enough face nonetheless)

(ask/comment/reblog, etc if you'd like to be added or subtracted): @mr-orion @the-ellia-west @guessillcallitart @thereadingfoz @glassstardust22124 @original-writing @honeybewrites @ashirisu @drowsy-quill @oliolioxenfreewrites @theglitchywriterboi @seastarblue @gioiaalbanoart @rae-butter @corinneglass @thelaughingstag @oros-ash3s @jacqueswriteblrlibrary @midnight-and-his-melodiverse @outpost51

[aalinaaaaaa]

Do they have a non-fighting related skill, such as writing, doing math, drawing or speaking another language? Was it taught to them? Did they learn it themselves?

Admittedly, I've never extensively thought about this, but I guess speaking another language counts? The Bloodcarver's originally from Feudrain, but then he got stuck in a place that speaks Helindian.

So he has at least two languages (but the thing is, he's give or take about 300 years old, so the language he spoke growing up has changed since xD). He'll speak his native language with the two people that also know it (High Councillors Emar and Darüven), which has resulted in preserving the vocabulary and grammatical register that was common in his youth and young adulthood.

Thanks for the ask <3