#very fond of my helsknight..

[jalo-parker]

I did not mean to make my sonas void form this tall canonically 💀 (I'm keeping it though) (hes 9ft tall btw)

My sona is a shapeshifter btw. Hels is very used to seeing it's 'normal' form so the massive 9ft tall one was a bit of a surprise

[silverskye13]

I am turning EB around in my head like a microwave and I have a couple questions:

What is EB and EX's relationship like? I know they view each other as family and EX gets EB's booth, but will we see how they interact more?

Did anyone wind up telling EB that hels!zedaph is dead? If not, does he have suspicions that he is?

and a more general Hels question (that is totally not related no siree) - what is the upkeep for the remembrance walls like?

EB and EX are on friendly terms! They previously saw each other,,, not as rivals in the traditional sense. They didn't openly attack or oppose each other. But EB viewed EX as a challenge: How do I stay distinct from my brother's shadow? Anyone looking for it would find it obvious. EB got Bigger and Louder whenever EX was around, and he used to be much bigger and much louder than he currently is. It's less that he was mean, and more that he was prideful. Becoming friends with Helsknight changed him for the better in that regard. Since he's mellowed out, he and his brother have become closer. They enjoy visiting with each other during Colosseum matches [EB will often stand with EX in the box and talk both before the events, and during intermission] and EX invites EB to a lot of parties, where they shit talk the guests together. We'll see them together once during RnS, but EB is a secondary character, and outside of the one appearance, I don't intend to have EX very involved in the story. He's kind of the unspoken god of the world: he gets a lot of mentions because he's very important to hels, but he's not very important to the plot lol.

Someone did wind up telling EB about hels!zedaph, though yes, he did suspect before he was told. EB hadn't gone looking for HZ for a reason. He didn't want to be the one to find out he was gone. If I can't see it, maybe its not really there.

And the Remembrance Wall Ramble got long so its under the cut!

[Hello future me cutting in here because I just realized you were probably talking about what individuals like EB would do to upkeep a name of a loved one. Mostly it involves regular visits. Keeping the stone clean, replacing it if it gets cracked, making sure it doesn't wear down. Nether bricks to me are a bit brittle, and the ones on the bottoms of the walls will crumble and break down over time. Most of the time, the Order of Remembrance is pretty good at getting them replaced, though they encourage individuals to do it themselves, to decorate the stones, paint or carve them, and overall keep the care personal. People will also sometimes leave gifts of food, flowers, and favored items at walls where loved ones names are kept. Walls are very colorful spots in hels, full of a lot of care.]

The Remembrance walls are, basically, graveyards. Alongside friends and family, who will make sure loved ones names are put down and remembered, the Order of Remembrance manages all Remembrance Walls in the city. We'll get into it a little in the upcoming chapters, but the Order of Remembrance church, and its knights, have a very active presence in hels. They are the cloaks seen most often roaming the streets, in twos and threes. They have regular routes they walk, with walls they are assigned to tend. They make sure the stones are stacked straight and don't fall, replace broken ones, and help people carve names. Many knights have prayer chants where they intentionally try to memorize every name on the wall. Their focus is on the idea that no helsmet is truly gone as long as some memory remains of them. They welcome helsmets approaching them with fond memories of loved ones, and will take testimony from people who know their time is coming. Their church is a glorified library and house of memorization. Part of their worship in remembrance of people is also in the remembrance of history, and they have at least one copy of every book, memoir, and journal in hels they can get their hands on. They have one private collection in the church, and one public library in hels, which they regularly update with copies of originals from the church library.

The only place outside the Order of Remembrance's domain is the shady side of town where Cleo's gangs keep the peace. For control reasons, Cleo doesn't like any opposing force on her claimed land, which includes Order of Remembrance knights. She does still have Remembrance Walls on her side of town, but they are up-kept by the people that live there as a community project. People get together once every few weeks, make food, talk about those that are gone, and make sure none of the stones are broken or stolen.

Erasing memory is a big taboo in hels, understandably. The universe is already cruel enough in taking people, and people, once taken, are woefully easy to forget [they were never meant to exist in the first place, after all]. On the sides of town where the Order of Remembrance upkeeps the walls, anyone caught stealing or destroying stones is tracked down by their paladins, and subjected to community service under close supervision. They're often roughed up in the process, but the paladins won't kill you for breaking a stone. Depending on whose stone you break, and how angry hels is that day, the same can't be said for anyone else who catches you. Repeat offenders, or people who destroy many stones at once with the express intent of erasing memory, are branded by the Order with a mark somewhere visible, normally on the hands. Anyone with that unlucky brand will see increased hostility from their peers, ostricization, lost of livelihood and home -- it's a great way to make everyone in hels hate you. Anyone on Cleo's side of town caught destroying a stone is hunted actively in the streets, and leaving her side of town will not save them. She offers high bounties for that kind of thing.

[sweetest-honeybee]

To Hell and Back

Chapter 2

Summary: Hels still hates Ex but Ex pops by for a little visit to give Hels a gift.

Characters: Helsknight, Evil Xisuma, mentions of other evil hermits

TW: Uh....flowers? And kicking a bed?

Also this is a very short chapter 😅

——————

A couple days rolled by and it was Tuesday.

Hels dragged himself from his bed reluctantly to attend to his boring Champion duties. Executing at least a hundred different people every day wasn’t as fun as it sounded. He wasn’t exactly fond of ending his days drenched in the blood of what certainly wasn’t his enemies. He’d merely kick a few heads around the floor and have someone else clean the mess.

By the 30th execution he groaned. “Don’t I have anything else to do?”

The guards merely shrugged. “You’re the Champion. You may honestly do as you please,” one answered.

“Cool, clean this up, I’m visiting the other alters.” The guards made a noise of affirmation and left Hels to his own devices.

In his room once more he changed into a much less threatening outfit. Spiked armor topped with fire and chunks of magma wasn’t appropriate for his occasion, though it’d be useful. The other evil hermits were a bit more harsh than they seemed.

He opted for a loose red top and black pants, throwing a golden chain around his neck for added accessory.

“Oh, look at Hels without his big bad armor.” Hels turned quickly and met Ex’s eyes. He grumbled under his breath.

“Why are you here? It’s not even Friday.” Hels turned back to the mirror and combed his fingers through his hair at a useless attempt to make his hair look more kept.

“What, can’t a guy visit his friend? If Xisuma taught me correctly, you should spend time with them.”

“Xisuma can kiss my-“

“Look, I even brought you a gift! He said friends appreciate them.” Ex held up a small bouquet of flowers, albeit a bit wilted. Nonetheless they were quite colorful and Hels gagged. “I took a whole class on flower arrangements!”

“One, I’m not your friend. Two, those are the ugliest flowers I’ve ever seen. Three, like before, get out or I’ll kill you right here and now. You’re a disgrace to this dimension and you must have some guts to even be here.”

Ex frowned. “Huh, thought the roses would be more your taste.” He threw them behind himself, landing on the cold floor pathetically. “Anyways, I’ll be off then, see you soon!”

“You can’t just-!” Hels stared at the now empty space where Ex once was.

“ARRGH! DUMB-“ he threw a punch to the air “-PIECE-“ he threw another punch “-OF-“ and finally he kicked the frame of his bed with full force. He yelled and hopped around spewing curses.

Outside, the guards merely glanced at each other with concern.

Hels huffed and stopped hopping. “I don’t have time for this.” He hurriedly threw on his boots and summoned a portal, not bothering to check his final appearance before leaving. As he went through the portal, his sour mood lifted instantly. He grinned at the sight of the other evil hermits.

“Hello, friends.”