"Silhouettes above the cradle hold me down. They won’t let me go the wrong way. My mother taught me all the fables, taught me all the sinners have to pay." —Silhouettes (Smile Empty Soul Song)
Name
Damien Morpheus Black
↳Just Damien
Age
21, 11/9(November 9th)
Gender
Male in every way that matters
Sexual Orientation
Heterosexual
Ethnicity
½ Greek, ½ English/Scottish
Years at Olympus Academy
5.
Appearance
some might say that Damien is the type of man to invoke a certain kind of fear in others. Honestly, they wouldn't’t be wrong. On the surface he looks like any other man from Britain would. The way his head is shaped, the flowing locks of golden hair that perfectly fall down his oddly-shaped head, and the pale skin that’s said to glow in the moonlight. He is gifted with unreasonably blue eyes that glow like a full moon hovering over a mystical lake. It is said to be one of the few things about the Son of Nyx that can bring a serene feeling, though his general attitude completely contradicts that. He is a young man of a lanky stature standing just a partial inch over six feet. As far as how his height quite literally weighs against his body weight, it is surprisingly high given his height and overall body type. From the average muscles and slightly defined body throughout, his total weight comes just past 170.
Damien’s clothing style is quite simple and fitting of self-proclaimed “Punk of the Night”. Mostly consisted of dark-colored attire, his entire closet is full of various punk rock memorabilia such as armbands, bandanas, tanks and t-shirts, as well as long-sleeve shirts that are dedicated to iconic legends in both anti-government, anti-religion, and overall anti-establishment figures. He also has an unhealthy obsession when it comes to fire designs. Don’t why, but he has over three dozen shirts that should’ve been left back in the early 2000s (yeah, he’s one of those guys). His pant wear and overall lower body article of clothing isn’t really complicated to understand. He has varying shades of blue, gray, and black jeans, as well as similarly colored shorts. He also has the most basic form of shoes. That’s right, he’s a sneakers guy.
Personality
Protective ☾ Observant ☾ Selectively Compassionate ☾ Honest to a Fault ☾ Overtly Emotional ☾ Lacks Impulse Control ☾ Violent ☾ Arrogant ☾ Overconfident ☾ Displays Psychopathic Tendencies ☾
If Damien Black was to take one of those percentile personality tests, he would probably score pretty damn high on the protective instincts category. It is because that’s the most dominant trait - positive or otherwise - is. He has the distinct desire to protect those closest to him. Whether this takes on the form of the subtle protection for his friends by getting them out of a jam or extreme such as taking on fights he shouldn’t or being a bit too violent when he thinks someone is a threat to those closest to his heart- especially his sister - he’ll do it no matter what it might cost him. He’s also pretty brash and arrogant. Clearly not a trait lost on him because he sometimes knows it. Another thing that separates him from all famous children of Nyx. Unlike hsi sister, Damien is not so much a mystery as he is a cocky, brash, arrogant, borderline-psychopath.
While Damien is clearly someone not to be trifled with, he has some moments of - oh, let’s say clarity - that can bring him back to planet earth. He may have a hard time knowing when to dial it back, but it’s not like he lacks that thing people have that allows them to understand people’s point of view. What do they call that? Oh, yeah! Empathy. Oh and being a decent human being. If anything, he has a problem with recognizing that not all situations need to be settled with his fists. Now, this isn’t to confuse him with the children of Ares. They fight for pride and to test their skills. Damien Black fights because some unlucky son of a bitch decided to appear to pose a threat and being the kind of guy he grew up to be, Damien never did quite grasp the concept of controlling his emotions. Let’s just call that a work in progress.
Oh. Damien also forgets that words hurt. So yeah, he’s an asshole on top of being a violent, borderline psychopath (note it’s never been clinically proven). As long as he is able, he’ll stay far away from doctors who poke into his mind.
History
The origins of Damien Black is, if nothing else, a twisted, old tale that dates back to the times where technology wasn’t even a concept and faith to the many, many,
many deities in the various religions around the world. For Damien’s ancestors, however, that particular origin centers around an old cult devoted to a very, very powerful, and most importantly, dangerous deity rumored to have been at the start or close to the beginning of creation.
This was the cult of Nyx. The only thing about this cult recorded in any history book - modern or otherwise - is that they existed during the times of Ancient Greece and had a small, but devout, batch of followers who believed in the most extreme views that were thought to be far too extreme even for the mainstream cults back in the day. A lot of rumors and theories surround the cult even in its modern charters. Some theorize the cult has become a lot more modern and hid well within countries all over the world, but no matter how large it grew, The Order always remained ever-present and ever-devoted to their forefathers.
This is where the tale of Damien Black resides. Specifically, it resides in a small, yet surprisingly technologically-savvy, utopian village in England called Shadow Lake. It is rightly named, too, because this village - the place where Damien Black grew up - holds a mystical story. They say on the night of the Lunar Solstice, which is somewhat different than the Winter Solstice. The Lunar Solstice is a grace period during the early morning hours that, despite all science suggesting otherwise, the moon is as bright and as full as it usually is on the night of the full moon, though some say they can hear the whisperings of a beautiful melody. It is said that the voice belongs to the Goddess of the Night, Nyx and that she sings for the union of two souls that have proven to be faithful members of the cult. Of course, these are just rumors.
The only truth that Damien has known for his entire life was on one night, ironically during that very night, the rumors about the village and the supposed voice of Nyx was the same day he was brought into the world. And since becoming aware of it since he was ten years old, which his parents explained it to him as a literal gift from the gods. They claimed Nyx traveled through his mother and blessed her by taking control over the body. Damien told them they were full of shit and had slowly but surely started to reject his family’s beliefs in the so-called “Order of the Night”. And in the process, he became the village pariah.
And then he decided to embrace it. He started to act more outlandishly, embraced the movement of anarchism and started to show certain characteristics that would otherwise be barred from the cult he belonged to. In other words, he spoke blasphemy the village elders shunned him for. He rejected everything about Nyx from the tales told to him by his father and mother when he was younger to downright declaring his disbelief in the goddess. This, as he had found out, was the final nail in his coffin (so to speak).
Even to this day, the words from his parents, from his cousins, his friends, the adults who babysat him while his parents were out working, and every single person who had come to know him and love him and who he had come to know and love, spoke to him reminded and still reminds him how horrendous religion is and how it brings the worst out in just about everybody.
”You are no son of mine,” his parents repeated over and over.
“We have no place for nonbelievers,” the rest of the villagers and the Elders spat at him with such disdain in their eyes and mouths.
An eruption of rage and shame fueled their words and all he could do was stand there on the outskirts of town as the literal angry mob of villagers in black robes with pitchforks and torches literally drove him out. On that day, part of Damien died, but as he left the inland village, he also gave birth to a part of him that, at the time, he had no idea existed.
A few years later, Damien, who was now fifteen, had found himself in the great capital of Britain, though his stay was anything but the royal treatment. Quite literally, he had to scratch and claw himself in order to survive the next day. He stole, hurt, and even threatened to kill people who didn’t give him their money. He fell into bad crowds, gave himself to whatever drugs would carry him on, but no matter how he tried, the drugs themselves never had any effect. And then, as he started to crave more from his life, this was right around the time he started to see weird symbols. At first, he thought it was the drugs, but soon it was revealed to him it was a lot more.
And what was it that enlightened him? None other than the very person he had sworn off when he was just thirteen, the apparent Goddess of the Night. What was a tale told to him when he was a little kid, was actually the truth. She came to him in a dream no less, making it last forever as she explained it all. And throughout the entire time, her voice reminded him of that night. He couldn’t really explain it, but he heard her voice as a fucking infant. How was that even possible? And that’s when she told him that her children bear incredible gifts. She told him about her other children and who their father was.
It was, at this point, Damien was ready to shit his pants. The idea of actual smokey darkness being a non-physical form of Erebus and her children, those who were fucking fables told to scare children were his half-siblings. Unbelievable as it was, Damien hadn’t even been told the most shocking part. He was told that no more than just a few months ago, his sister - half-sister - was on her way to a sanctuary in America surrounded by jagged mountains. She told her son that his sister, Emma, needed him more than anyone. But, she offered him the choice.
As he thought about it, only was it a minute later did he utter the one thing that would earn him an approving smile from his Godly mother, something Damien had been craving for three years.
”I’ll go to her. I will protect Emma.”
Simple words to some, but it was everything that Nyx needed from her son. In one fell swoop, darkness surrounded his entire body and it wasn’t even a second to him did he find himself waking up in a bed in the medical wing of the infirmary on the campus of Olympus Academy.
And that was that. Damien Morpheus Black, the Son of Nyx whose name comes from both the one who tames and shapes shadows, was here for one purpose: to protect his sister at all costs.
Godly Parent
Nyx, Primordial Goddess of the Night
Relationship With Godly Parent
Damien's complicated relationship with Nyx is a fusion of the longing of a mother's love, a disdain for someone who has been absent from his life, and the total admiration of her power. He does not entirely reject her, though the expectations laid upon him from her has put a strain on his relationship with her. He is thankful for her part in his birth but fears the worst of what she'll demand of him.
Demigod Abilities
Wear it Proudly!Much similarly to his sister, Damien can utilize the shadows in a way that he manipulates and bends it to his will, but unlike Emma, his isn’t to hide from view and escape away from existence into a safe space. Damien uses the gifts his mother bestowed upon him as a tool to further his physical prowess. He uses it to don a literal Shadow Skin. It starts out as a flicker of black and white stars in his eyes and then spreads as it consumes his entire body in a metallic black skin. It hugs to his body so tight it bonds with every cell in his body until the only thing that remains of Damien’s previous form is his lanky body.
Being a tamer and a shaper of the shadows, he can shape it to grow spikes/thorns of darkness - tendrils in other words - that tear from the sanctuary of his ebony skin and rip through the any and all physical substances. These tendrils respond to his will. If he wishes to attack, they will embody the wrath of the night and should he wish to protect, they grow in density and will do everything to protect whoever his heart desires to shield from harm.
In an alternate, the somewhat evolved form of this ability, the shadow’s completely rearrange Damien’s body matter and allow him to travel through the shadows, and appearing wherever he desires (though this is a limited ability only to be used in rare instances). An emotional link to calmness is required and due to his lack of emotional control, the distance in which he can travel within the shadows is limited to a mere ten yards.
The Eye Sees AllOtherwise known as “The Eye of Nyx”, when he activates the hidden power in his right eye, Damien’s visual prowess is increased nearly tenfold. He is able to see clear images up to a hundred miles ahead of him and with a crippling pulse that emits from his dull purple eye, he is able to invoke a fear similar to the feeling one gets when they wake up from a terrifying nightmare. When this happens, though it is only temporary, the chosen target is paralyzed for a total of one minute. The biggest drawback is, the more time Damien spends focusing on this target, the weaker his vision gets and thus the more likely it is for worsened effects in the long term. As it stands now, he can only target two people at a time, after which he has to wait a full twenty-four hours before reusing that same ability and/or using it on the same couple of people.
Connected, Are WeSibling bonds tend to be the strongest, if not the most difficult ones to understand. This is no truer for his bond to Emma. While Damien alone lacks a certain impulse and emotion control and even lacks empathy, the one person he understands more than anyone else is his only mortal sibling. When they are less than three feet away from each other, not only is his powers magnified by nearly three times, which in itself is a great feat, he also is able to suppress her more unstable abilities. He serves as a unique siphoner for her darkness. His entire body quivers and shakes, but it is also the only way to prevent any further catastrophe to those within yards of them. He does this by holding her hand and uniting his own darkly essence with hers until she feels safe.
He does not care what it does to him. The only thing that matters is her safety. His own well-being be damned.
Notes in ConstellationsEvery night - especially if there’s even a partial moon out - Damien’s powers magnify to godly levels. The power of his mother fiercer than they are during the daytime. The shadows that hug to his body can even spread around, creating almost a field of darkness that clones what he creates. Should he forge thorns and tendrils, they will double in numbers as well as in any other way that Damien sees fit. Additionally, his visual abiltiies find themselves doubled as well. He can induce fear into twice as many people as well as when he is in the company of his sister, their ability to influence those around them, though doubled, is equally as controlled when in the presence of a full moon.
As an added bonus, under a full moon only, Damien can create miniature black holes in the size of his palm that, while they do not consume entire bodies or even partial bodies, there is a gravitational pull within them that can, for a very small window, completely immobilize anyone within five feet of it. The only kicker here is that Damien must be conscious and maintain full eye contact on it. Obstruct his vision in any way and it will completely evaporate into thin air, ceasing to exist.
Jamie Campbell Bower | 6c697e