DIANAII

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First and Second. These are not their real names, but rather nicknames that I am more comfortable calling them. (Don't ask me what these nicknames mean, I don't know, just take it). They are both lichs, afterlife lords, and were once very long ago human beings. They're also siblings, though that doesn't matter after their death, because they're much more connected by Mortis’ spell.

Mortis.

Mortis is death. And I don't mean it metaphorically, or rhetorically, or poetically, or theoretically, or any other fancy way. (c) She’s Death :D 

I draw Death in different ways, but her eyes are always hidden. Mortis is the mighty lord of the dead, under whose patronage are countless hordes of the undead. She is distinguished by her chilling calmness, cold-bloodedness, and complete lack of empathy and any human expression. Her speech is quiet and monotonous, but her iron-gloved hand is firm. The true potential of Mortis' abilities is unknown, and the ultimate goals and intentions of the lord of death are unknown even to her favorites.

They both serve her, but are forced to do so rather than want to do it. Second is the commander of the undead hordes, and First is kinda the high priest. Second and First are not ordinary lichs, they are the supreme lichs, the right and left hands of Mortis, the Pillars of Death. The three of them make up the strongest triad of the underworld. The Pillars of Death are inextricably bound together by the seal of Mortis, and no one but herself can break that seal.

First.

Brief summary. ▪️ First. Life name: Virgicht Zodiac sign: Gemini MBTI: ESTP

I would like to speak separately about First, because Mortis has assigned a special role to him  —  the Calling of the Listener. He hears all the voices of the dead passing through their lands. Always. 24/7. He is forced to hear the cries and wailing of the forsaken souls in order to filter out the right information for Mortis.  That's why First is frankly insane and usually very aggressive. The high mental load is something he has been used to for thousands of years, so his demands on others are always very high. 

During his lifetime, the First was a sorcerer. He has always been fascinated by magical craft and medicine. He was unstoppable in his passions and this enthusiasm has accompanied him to this day. He was the kind of person who preferred work to family, liked to create something new, experiment and didn’t tolerate stagnation. However, death could not but affect him.

No matter what you say, First is a person of amazing willpower. He has to make so much effort to concentrate and just not fall to pieces from the mental strain that he does it already practically on automatic. But he hates any show of pity for himself, so don't you dare feel sorry for him. First is a total egoist, he’s possessive and a hypocrite. He was not a gift during his lifetime either, but in postmortem he became simply unbearable. He is characterized by sharp mood swings, sarcasm and impulsiveness. But nevertheless, he is a man with humor and didn’t stop joking even after everything that happened to him. 

Despite Mortis standing above him in status and power, First does not accept her authority. He still innately resists obedience and his indefinite service. Mortis can only make First kneel by force, but it's not a difficult task for her, much to his annoyance. First fears little in this world, but before Mortis he trembles. However, regardless of First's openly hostile attitude, Mortis doesn't care in the slightest. She absolutely doesn't care what he thinks or says about her as long as he does his job. And she'll make him do what she needs him to do, and whether he wants it or not doesn't matter to her.

The distinctive marks of First are the magical sigils on his palms and forehead. He had those sigils during his lifetime and they marked his belonging to a certain occult group in the magical community. In my drawings, you can always recognize him just by those stars. Also the very ring Mortis gave him when they first met is always on his hands. Afterward, he could never get it off no matter how hard he tried.

Second.

Brief summary. ▪️ Second Life name: Thanatos Zodiac sign: Sagittarius MBTI: ESFJ

Second is the chief commander of the armies of Death, under whose leadership the undead hordes set foot in foreign territories. He can raise the dead, summon armies, and command them.

Unlike First, in his postmortem Second retained his sanity. He is reserved and cold on the surface, but in reality, he likes to talk and socialize. While alive, he was very open, companionable and sensual, and these qualities haven’t disappeared in him without a trace, although they have become much less expressed. Second is characterized by unwavering self-confidence because he thinks he is better than the rest of us. It destroyed him once, but it never went away. Unlike First, who usually takes things in stride, Second is thoughtful. He can talk nicely, is fond of flattery, and in general is a master of playing head games. He prefers thinking before doing, diplomacy to open conflict (despite being a warlord lol). But if he gets into a confrontation, he leaves no chance to his opponents. He is a man of contemplation, philosophical musings, but was an avid hedonist during his lifetime. But Death practically burned out all his life aspirations and hope in him. He realizes that Mortis is stronger, Mortis is immortal, and it is his own fault that he was once so reckless. So Second humbly serves Death, obeying and fulfilling her will without question. 

There is a legend that in his curse, Second is powerless before Mortis in the bonds of endless devotion and... love, even though the goddess of death is cold and unapproachable. The question of whether the undead can have such feelings at all remains open.

Ghost.

Brief summary. ▪️ Ghost Life name: Gia Zodiac sign: Pisces MBTI: INFP

Since First and Second are lichs, they are constantly dealing with dead souls. Usually, souls are just a resource for the lichs, like batteries. They can absorb them to increase their power, but First and Second have absorbed countless souls in their long afterlifetimes, so it’s no longer necessary. They have become much more discerning, absorbing only special souls for specific purposes, not just to satiate themselves. Ghost is one of the many souls assigned to Second. (Like a backup power bank :D) She is attached to him not only magically, but also emotionally. Because he was the only one in the underworld who treated her with warmth. The kind of warmth a dead man can have. But since the seal of Mortis inseparably binds First and Second, you can say that they also share the entire cluster of souls that pass through them. So sometimes I draw Ghost together with First.

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Sooo, I recently watched the House of the Dragon and I came up with a new au for the Tower (there's a gazillion of them, so what). Anyway this au doesn't have a strong connection to the chronology and politics of Westeros, it's just a little something for my heart.

First and Second here, as is obvious by now, belong to House Targaryen. They are both legitimate sons of the king, and First's dark hair is just a gimmick of the genetic variety. Their father is a Targaryen and their mother is a Hightower. In this au, their mother is Mortis (just like in modern au). I couldn't resist sticking Mortis in Hightower's house, well kinda Tower breed is her :D

Ghost in this au doesn't belong to the Great Houses of Westeros (at least her origins are unknown) and is a traveling priestess of the Old Gods, a greenseer. The brothers stumbled upon her by chance on their journey and she helped interpret some of the visions and prophetic dreams of First. So they invited her to court, and Ghost became something like Melisandre, the court oracle, to the brothers.

Is Ghost a Three-Eyed Raven? Not exactly. As far as I know, “Three-Eyed Raven” isn't a title but a nickname for a particular dreamer, but Ghost is close to the subject and does roughly something similar.

In this au they have reverse agegap and she's older than them. Ghost has no husband or children, while both brothers are married to other girls (these are marriages of convenience). The relationship between First, Second and Ghost is purely platonic and she acts more as a mentor to them, although…. it's not that simple, of course. They don't have it easy.

Dragons.

Noxar is the First's dragon, a black male and descendant of Caraxes. Daeharice is the Second's dragon, a light-colored female from the Vhagar clutch. Both dragons are older than their riders.

About the relationship between the dragons themselves. Daeharice is older and bigger than Noxar, so she subdues his temper by force. she herself is not a conflictual neighbor, like Noxar in general, he is just rather unsociable and does not like to be disturbed by people or other dragons. But if someone starts violating the boundaries of his personal space, he will be very aggressive from the threshold, he will not trade on politeness. Daeharice is much more patient, but will not tolerate excessive aggression. If in a bad mood Noxar walks around growling at everyone, Daeha will growl back at him in a way that won't be pretty. He must respect her by law of force and she will remind him if he suddenly starts to forget. These dragons live close, so they are generally used to each other. When they are in a good mood, they can fly together to hunt and play in the sky. I wouldn't call Daeha a social butterfly or very contact, but she is clearly friendlier than Noxar and doesn't mind flying and socializing with other dragons.

(hum!dragon version for fun)

Noxar is a mean and grumpy dragon, but First was meaner and grumpier xD In general, they had known each other since First's childhood, and it was clear that sooner or later he would ride Noxar. So to speak, their connection was visible from afar. Though initially First was going to be assigned to another dragon precisely because of Noxar's bad character. No one wanted to risk the prince's health and life. I envision the contact between dragon and rider a little differently than how it's shown in the series, and I believe the bond is built up over time. Not as in "came, sat down and rode" (on a fortunate turn of events). In my understanding even with the successful development of events it takes time to adapt, even if the dragon has a regard for the future rider (and chose him himself), does not mean that he can jump on it immediately. However, First got on Noxar earlier than he should have. He was too eager to ride the dragon, he didn't understand why he had to go through all the trouble if everything was already settled. So First stalked the dragon at rest and jumped on him from a tree. And to put it mildly, Noxar was not pleased. So their first flight was unauthorized and not at all smooth. Noxar dragged First across the top of the forest and he didn't fall down only because his legs got tangled in the reins. Anyway, he fought with him for a while in the air, but managed to get back in the saddle, though he broke his leg. But then everything worked out well, and they got along with the dragon over time.

(hum!dragon version for fun)

When Second got on Daeharice, First had already been riding Noxar for almost 3 years, so Second got on the dragon pretty late, like 14 years old. They had taken a long time and were meticulously building a bond. Many of the people close to him were pressing Second with this, saying, “Isn't it time for you to be a prince, you're taking a long time with the dragon”. First also found a reason to laugh and didn't miss a chance to bitch about the fact that he had been flying for a long time, while Second was still dragging his ass around. The older Targaryens in the House understood why there was no hurry and all in good time, but those who didn't, wondered. In contrast to First, a whole delegation gathered for Second's first flight, because it was a momentous event - the firstborn son riding a dragon. A special date had been set aside for it, everyone knew about it, and everyone came to see it. If he'd done as badly as the youngest did on his first ride, it would have been a national disgrace. So Second was very nervous and prepared mentally for a long time. In his youth, Second was very prone to perfectionism and a high sense of responsibility, he had to do everything exemplary, perfect. Not only as the paramount heir, but also as an older brother. The theme of competition between First and Second in this AU is especially evident. Second, of course, was born first (I can't stop laughing at this pun), but First always strives not just to be on the same level with him, but to rise above him, so Second should never relax, always and in everything should succeed. But Second's first flight went almost perfectly, very smoothly, as if according to the manual. Daeha calmly ridden with him and accepted him. He landed to a round of applause.

The names of First and Second in this AU – Visar Targaryen and Thanerys Targaryen respectively. I decided to keep the root of their original names but adapt it to fit the setting. Ghost's name is not revealed in #hotdau so she's just called lady Ghost.

There has always been an element of rivalry between First and Second, and in AU by House of the Dragon this is even more obvious. Second is the crown prince, the people's favorite, the owner of a larger dragon and has silver Targaryen hair. This makes  First feel like he’s on the sidelines compared to his brother, and his dark hair had a serious impact on this particular case. He himself and some people behind his back consider him not Targaryen enough because of it, even though he also has violet eyes, has a dragon, and isn't the first Targaryen in the lineage with non-blond hair. It just happens. In their childhood, Second also teased him not realizing that such immature actions could cause harm to his dear brother. So First's complex is really unfounded. Because of all this, First has developed a cold relationship with his mother. He has always felt that he is less loved, paid less attention to as the second heir, and in general it's his mother's fault that he has dark hair. First believes that the Hightower blood has tainted his dragon nature. From childhood, he is inclined to constantly prove to everyone that he is worthy of his own family name and even prefers to wear only black and red (the colors of House Targaryen), categorically refusing green shades (the colors of House Hightower) in his closet. For the same reason, First sat on a dragon very early – at the age of 9. Therefore, First does not let Second relax as the future king, by his existence as if constantly reminding that there is always a strong and no less worthy challenger near The Iron Throne.

First and Second are heirs, that's why they both had arranged marriages. Second was married at the age of 16 to Zahari Martell. Second took his marriage as a given and a debt to his house. He didn't want to marry but pushed his desires to the back of his mind. Zahari took the same attitude. Love didn't happen, so they have a rather dry marriage, though not without friendship.

First's marriage was not rushed, so by the age of 20, his wife was Yanira Velaryon. First didn't want to get married at all and pivoted away from the altar until the last second, even though he understood all the benefits of this union. In the end he decided that it means nothing and he will continue to do whatever he wants, just with a wedding ring on his finger. Yanira, too, took this marriage in stride. The young girl believed that one should marry for love, and to love First with his bad character was not even possible. All in all, it was a very difficult marriage.

In general, both First and Second have wives and even children here, but they still have a tie with Ghost. Ghost has known them since they were teenagers and has stayed by their side for years, watching them become grown men. Since then, they saw Ghost a little differently, perceiving her not only as a close friend and mentor, but also as a woman. Ghost has no husband or children here, she leads an ascetic lifestyle and is fully devoted to her priesthood.

Ghost and First. Greensight.

“When a Targaryen is born, the gods flip a coin.”

It's not hard to guess which brother got the madness. Well, not that it was obvious to everyone at once. First's “madness” wasn't that he was uncontrollable or violent, but that he could greensight. Some Targaryens inherit the ability to see prophetic dreams and predict the future, but the visions are vague, confusing and frightening. You have to be able to read them and interpret them correctly to make any sense of them. First couldn't do any of that, and none of his closest living relatives had such skills to help him. That's where Ghost comes in.

Ghost became First's mentor and guide in his prophetic dreams. Not many people understand First in all these dream tricks, willy-nilly he has to let Ghost into his subconsciousness and dreams, so they have a dense intellectual + emotional contact. But First often has problems with subordination and social distance, so even in this au they have a complicated relationship.

An interesting point is that in this au Ghost is still a virgin at her age. This is due to the fact that her ability to "see", her magical gift, depends on her "purity". So even if First ogle over her, it’s the only thing that stops him. If Ghost loses her gift, she won't be able to curate his prophetic dreams and help him deal with his nightmares. Ghost was the only knowledgeable person who happened to be around. And only with her presence he began to understand what was going on and to control his visions.

But Ghost is teaching him, so technically… the more time passes and the more First learns, the less he needs her help and the gift of Ghost herself. Each year he navigates the dreams better and better, and the odds of him managing on his own get higher and higher.

At some point, First will probably come to the point of thinking "so what if you lose the gift? I don't need your help anymore, just you" and nothing will stop him.

– I saw them! I saw them! – I know. – What are they–– What forgotten god do I pray to to stop waking up in a cold sweat, Ghost? Which one?! – You'll accept it as well as the dark plumage of your hair. You must be strong, my prince. That's what's with you till the end of time. – And you? – I accepted my gift long time ago. – Are you with me forever? – Visar… – It's a simple question! – I will never leave you in your dreams. – Will you come to Driftmark? For my wedding. – Of course. – And you'll stay? – … – Will you stay?! – Yes. – Good… That's good. Don't betray me, Ghost. Never betray me.

Ghost and Second.

– I didn't want this life. – Didn't you want the crown? – I did. It would be foolish to deny it. – A crown has weight. You've known that since you were a child. – Yes. It's just that sometimes I think it's too heavy for me. – Your reign is not as heavy as your predecessors. Your father left you a legacy of peace. You're still very young, and the storms are yet to come. – Am I up to it? – You ask that of me? – You know everything. – No. I don't know everything, fortunately. – You know me. – True, but only the dragon knows where he's headed. – …And the dragon rider. – Do I look like a dragon rider, my lord? – …You'd look good in a dragon's saddle. – I prefer to walk on the ground. Dragons are too majestic and unpredictable for me. – Am I unpredictable to you, Lady Ghost? – I beg your pardon? – Ahem–– Anyway, I'm glad you're here. You're helping me to resist the influence of the dusty council, my brother's harsh words and my mother's pressure. I'm not afraid to say I'm the head of the Seven Kingdoms, but you're her neck, Lady Ghost. – You are too kind. I'm sure Queen Zahari will always support you. – Zahari is a wonderful woman, she is the mother of my children and I am grateful for her concern and patience. Not everyone could bear such a burden as honorably as she has. And it is dishonorable to say such a thing after this, but the queen has failed to rekindle the fire of affection in me. Nor I in her, unfortunately. – Love is often a luxury beyond the reach of kings. Not everyone is destined to meet it. – But I have. – … – I once thought the world lay at the feet of the man who sat on the Iron Throne. – It is not the crown that serves its king, but the king serves his crown. The realm needs you and your wisdom, my lord. – Say it again. – The realm… needs you. – Not that. “My lord.” – Thanerys… – I ask no more. Don't make the King beg. – I would not dare… my lord.

(This dialog took place when Second was already 22. But in general in the Middle Ages the view of agegap was different.)

When Second grew older, an unspoken tension developed between him and Ghost. He likes Ghost, but being married, it is inappropriate for him to show any signs of attention to others as a king. By such behavior he would be insulting his rightful spouse, the young queen, who is already in the vulnerable position of giving birth. Second is a very obligatory man, especially in this AU, and he would only allow himself some freedom after the birth of an heir, a few years after his marriage to Zahari. Like “that's it, I've done everything the crown required of me and now I can take time for myself”. Zahari also doesn't insist on their intimacy either physically or spiritually. When they had heirs they both breathed a sigh of relief that they wouldn't have to "debt-ridden" each other anymore.

Ghost likes Second too. She is older than him, but is still a fairly young woman. As he became an adult, their age difference became less noticeable. Ghost's voluntary celibacy doesn't mean she can't feel sympathy or attraction. It's just that she consciously refuses to do so. She realized that it wouldn't work, their fate lines were too different, running parallel and very close, but not overlapping. Aside from that slowburn is generally the leitmotif of 2G relationships in many AU and this one is no exception. They've socialized throughout the decade, have been friends and gotten close, but still keep their distance. I'd say they love each other but don't allow themselves to do so. So what Second and Ghost have here so far is just a mutual painfully platonic affection. They might both want to be together, but she has the gift and he has the crown. That's the way it is.

ps: The thing with her gift was told to Second by First drunkenly. Second himself would not dare to bring up such a frank topic with Ghost. He respects her too much to ask her directly. He might have tried to hint at it, but Ghost is adept at dodging the subject and, like an oracle, easily sidesteps direct statements. They would probably talk about it using some very abstract metaphors and circumlocutions.

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First and Second have given Ghost many dresses as gifts, but all of their offerings are royally expensive, and Ghost isn't prone to excessive luxury in clothing or accessories, unlike the princes themselves. On top of that, some of the dresses given by First were too revealing for Ghost and she secretly gave them to the poor. Still, I was curious to visualize different looks for Ghost for the sake of comparison, so I sketched them out.

the one Second would give her

the one First would give her

the one Ghost would choose herself

The one Second would give her. This is a dense but soft, somewhat strict, but still open dress in the colors of his ancestral houses - red from Targaryen and green from Hightower. On the one hand, this symbolism speaks of his possessiveness, which is actually inherent in Second, but he usually hides it thoroughly and it rarely shows. In this AU, it is more visible in him. On the other hand, it suggests that he is ready to let Ghost into his own family. In this scenario, Second dresses her as his queen, as a woman he would like to present as his own wife. However, he takes into consideration her identity - she is a greenseer, a priestess of the weirwood trees, and so her dress is decorated with stylized branches and roots. There are few ornaments, but they are massive and accenting. Her hair is neat, with many ornate weaves on her head and gathered up. In fact, the image is something of a reference in appearance to the outfits of Queen Mother Mortis, and this is no accident.

The First Circle

Next comes the First Circle, which includes the seraphim, cherubim, and thrones. These are the angels closest to god, who are basically only near Yahweh.

The seraphim are essentially singers, they make up the divine choir who chant the wisdom, power and holiness of their Father. (Yes, they exist simply to sing songs to Yahweh about how cool he is.)

The cherubim are engaged in an equally important work for Yahweh - they soak up his grace. (Yeah, just sitting in front of him and contemplating his awesomeness. Yahweh made them multi-eyed for that purpose.)

The thrones are angels on which the Lord sits as a throne and executes his judgment. (Yes, they are just chairs for Yahweh on which he sits or rides like a wheelchair.)

In fact, the entire first angelic circle exists only for the primary comfort of Yahweh himself and for the gratification of his infinite ego. Since the First Circle is almost always under Yahweh as his personal retinue, all of these angels are close to him in structure and share his vibe. They all look strange, unfathomable and show less of their consciousness and individuality. The First Circle is more of a faceless divine force embodied in angels, rather than entities endowed with personality like all the others.

The Second Circle

The Second Circle includes dominions, powers and authorities.

Dominions are the binding administrators. They sit in the office, coordinate all the angels on the phone, type faxes and deliver divine tasks to everyone. In a way, I would call them Project Leads, though they mostly just hand out tasks, not monitor their fulfillment. The Archangels are in charge of the latter.

The virtues are the angelic department of foreign policy. The virtues are the ranks whose duties are somewhat beyond the Lord's supervision, because it is they who are in contact with the rest of the pantheons, find compromises and ways to get along in the same world. The virtues are the parliamentarians of the heavenly office, but since Yahweh perceives the existence of other gods and pantheons in a very specific way, he considers that the virtues are engaged in some bullshit and “sell air”, so the “visible” activity of the virtues is the work with natural phenomena: thunderstorms, rains, snowfall, they organize all that. For Yahweh they pretend to be a department of forecasters, though in fact they provide peace and it is the virtues who should be thanked for all non-aggression pacts in force at least now. It was the virtues who once cooperated with diplomats from Allah, Mortis and the rest.

The powers are simply the whole power structure of Heaven, military army, guards, men in balaclavas and with machine guns.

The Third Circle

The Third Circle consists of angels closest to people and working directly with them. In fact, of all of them only the Third Circle and the Zero Circle are in contact with people, while the others usually don't even cross paths.

Principalities are control the change of power in the world of people, provide the connection between the church and the crown, which, generally speaking, is quite important for Yahweh, because it is the people's faith that feeds him. Therefore, religion as an apparatus must sit very high, preferably as high as any power in the mortal world. Better yet, even higher.

Angels are the most common guardian angels. The weakest in the angelic hierarchy, the most loaded with work at the same time, zero days off, zero vacations, purely celestial proletariat. One ordinary angel is usually assigned to one person and accompanies them throughout their life, if they are faithful citizen and decent Christian.

Each circular office is headed and supervised by a specific Archangel. When there were 9 of them everything was shared equally, but now the responsibilities have been redistributed. So Gabriel is essentially the “deputy director” of virtues from the second circle, Barachiel is in charge of dominions, Michael - powers and the Circle of Archangels itself, among them themselves it is he who is considered the main. After the death of several Archangels, the entire First Circle was taken over by Uriel, and the entire Third Circle by Selaphiel. The “director” is, of course, Yahweh himself, and all the angels are first and foremost subordinate, of course, to him.

Archangels

1. Michael The Taxiarch

I decided to go with the classic image of Archangel Michael, keeping the overall idea and palette the same.

By nature, Michael is sharp, straightforward and likes to shoot from the hip. It is quite easy to provoke them to aggression and retaliation, they will not be ceremonious. At the same time, they are incredibly sincere and honest, and sometimes resemble a very large glowing winged child :D In battle, their holy naivety evaporates and they turn into a killing machine. They’re not much of an empath, they don't understand people at all and communicate with them extremely ineffectively, but if their father says so, then “I'll run through walls, but I'll save them and keep them safe and in general, so that everything would be good for them” (in the sense that angels see it, of course). They sincerely love mankind, but prefer not to contact with people at all, leaving this task to their more communicative and socially adept brothers.

Michael is devoted to Yahweh until their teeth grind, their bones clench, and sparks fly from their eyes.

2. Gabriel The Annunciator

Gabriel is the most communicative of all the Archangels. They are called the Annunciator, the messenger of God's will, because they contact people most often. It was Gabriel who notified Mary of the incarnation of the son of God and gave the Virgin a lily from the Garden of Eden, her favorite flowers. Since then lilies have become their trademark, and in the world of people they are often depicted with a lily flower in their hand. It is also Gabriel who usually visits the prophets.

Gabriel can be called Yahweh's spokesman, and it is they who decipher and explain for all the incomprehensible ideas of their father. Not only to humans, but also to the other heavenly brothers, as well as to everyone else. Gabriel has the superpower to negotiate and convince anyone. They are often ascribed the status of a Taxiarch, like Michael, precisely because of their high diplomatic skills. And where agreement is not possible, Michael steps in. Gabriel also wears armor, as they often act as an ambassador of Yahweh. Michael and Gabriel are the only archangels who wear armor on a permanent basis.

Gabriel has a soft approach to people, they love them sincerely and is characterized by tolerance towards them. Gabriel is the one who will be ready to explain the same thing 355 times, so that you definitely get it, but if at 356 times it will not get through, they will get a fiery rod for efficiency. They really don't like it when their words are misinterpreted after all the detailed explanations. So they're ready to fuck you up for twisting and bullshitting.

Despite their usually calm demeanor, Gabriel is a rather fidgety and restless angel. In fact, routine drives them into boredom and they are often looking for reasons to go somewhere hustlin' :D They are in general a great joker, and watching people has adopted their ability to sparkling humor. True, there are few angels who understand these jokes. Michael thinks that Gabriel is too humanized, but Gabriel is not offended by this.

PS Gabriel is the kind of guy who rather treats Yahweh like a crazy elderly father, but is still wholeheartedly loyal to him and loves him very much.

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Gabriel and Michael are considered arch-celebrities. Both in Heaven and on Earth they are mentioned and honored more often than any other angels. Mortals even have cults dedicated to the worship of Archangels, although the Archangels themselves do not favor such cults. They believe that the faith and love of people should be directed only to Our Lord, the Great All-Father Yahweh the One. But still they condescend to it, realizing that such cults exist mainly out of delusion and great love.

Gabriel is universally recognized for their frequent and friendly contact with people. They are gentle, understanding and quite delicate despite their nature. Archangels are still entities energetically very “massive”, although they are creatures of light. And not all people are able to survive direct contact with an Archangel. The chance is about the same as to survive a powerful lightning strike. It largely depends on the personal characteristics and astral “endurance” of a particular person, but still the Archangel can make some effort on their part to make the contact as safe as possible. Just as Gabriel the Annunciator brings good news more often than not.

Michael is not so soft and delicate, the contact with them is always very hard and dangerous, so Michael themself don't really understand why they have earned the people's love. Gabriel jokes that they are just charismatic. But in general, Michael is very revered for overthrowing the infidel Lucifer and protecting against evil. Michael is a fighter by nature and as an angel helps people fight their vices and doubts. But they are modest and say that this is just their “work”, a vocation, which they were endowed by the Heavenly Father and do not see any personal merit in this.

In addition to this, Gabriel and Michael are quite often featured together, be it in military actions, peace negotiations or some kind of missions.

____

First and Second crossed paths with Michael and Gabriel only a couple of times during the two millennia. These meetings were accidental and didn't end in a massacre, although it's hard to call them peaceful. The Pillars of Death had once struck down the Archangel Raphael. It is their emerald wings that still shine brightly in the Cairn of Necros' Trophy Hall of Death. Though Raphael was defeated not by the current First and Second, but by the Pillars of previous generation, the Archangels still bear a resentment against any Pillars and are angered by the death of their fellow Archangel.

As Yahweh's primordial beings, the Archangels are tens of millennia older than any Pillars of Death. Unlike the Pillars, the Archangels do not replace each other, but have existed in a single and unique copy since their creation. They perceive each new generation of Pillars only as the successive corrupted children of their Father. To them, the mentality of the Pillars is naive, immature, and underdeveloped. To the Archangels, the Pillars are still just former humans, similar to teenagers with guns in their hands. In their view, the Pillars of Mortis contain a power they can never fully comprehend. But the power granted to them by Death itself is a force to be reckoned with and cannot be underestimated. Neither the Lichs of Mortis nor the Angels of Yahweh have orders to directly attack each other (except to retaliate), and these factions are not currently in an active state of war. But the lichs and angels detest each other on a molecular level. Patient Gabriel keeps Michael's impulsiveness at bay, and cold-blooded Second holds back First's aggression, for neither side is interested in occupying their next few hundred years with a random back alley brawl and getting a knife in the side for a randomly shouted slur.

3. Barachiel The Protector

Archangel Barachiel rarely leaves heavenly “office” and is often at Yahweh's side. They blesse the people by protecting them... from God. Or rather, from God's crushing wrath. It was Barachiel who convinced Yahweh a hundred thousand, a hundred million times that mankind need not be destroyed just because they mispronounce his name. Yahweh is rather fond of people, but sometimes he can get angry over a small thing and want to execute the Egyptian plagues and burn the whole fucking place down. Barachiel always strongly discourages him from this. First of all, they genuinely love people. Secondly, they personally put a lot of effort into them as a project, so it's also very frustrating for them to just tear everything down. Third, Barachiel knows that not only Yahweh, but also other higher beings feed upon the world of mortals as space. And while Yahweh doesn't always realize the magnitude of his own actions, Barachiel realizes that such a whim of their father's may not please the other gods in the world. Not that Barachiel doubts that their father is omnipotent and can fight back against anyone, no, of course he can.... he could... but not all at once. Barachiel believes that sometimes their father is a bit... insane, or, as the angels delicately put it, “inscrutable”, so as a voice of reason they try to gently reach out to their father.

The great Archangel Barachiel is our intercessor before God, they justify and pray for people, for their safety and prudence. Barachiel often has to smooth the edges, minimize the flaws and in every possible way favor people in all their faults. In this they are something close to Gabriel and both are in charge of the Second Angelic Circle. As politicians of external activity, they believe that to maintain astral neutrality is much more important than the self-assertion of their Father in his own imaginary absolute.

Barachiel is often depicted with white roses as a symbol of purity, sincerity and good intentions. They look rather tired and more than anyone else deserve a quality vacation somewhere in the Canaries for a century or two, but mankind is in a hurry to anger the gods.

0. Yahoel The Voice Of God

Yahoel or Metatron is the angel of the Zero Circle along with the great Archangels. He is Yahweh's personal scribe and the embodiment of his Voice. He is called the “altarpiece” angel, which speaks of his special unique status.

Metatron is often at Yahweh's side and documents everything he says. Metatron also knows about divine designs and plans that Yahweh doesn't share even with the circle of Archangels. Meta is closer in nature to the angels of the First Circle, although they are above them in the hierarchy, but Metatron is more like a fragment of Yahweh Himself. This can be said of all angels in essence, but Metatron is more so. They are sometimes referred to as "little Yahweh," which is also confirmed by their name, Yahoel, which is very similar to the name of the Lord Himself. If Gabriel can be called God's spokesman, Metatron can be considered his full-fledged deputy. Meta is extremely diligent and capable of writing at the speed of light. They are introverted and silent, but their voice is so loud that it can shatter the solid earth and split the heavens. Metatron can literally speak with the voice of God.

More often than Yahweh himself, the great Archangels Gabriel, Barachiel and Michael are in contact with Metatron. They clarify among themselves the interpretation of their Father's words and ideas before communicating this information to the others. Metatron gives them detailed reports, but usually doesn't participate in discussions, trusting their opinion. Metatron fully shares Yahweh's worldview and thought process, but is far less aggressive, so they turn a blind eye to some of the archangels' condescension regarding the reasonableness and adequacy of the Divine plan. The world didn't fall apart and the heavens didn't fall to the earth from the fact that Archangels sometimes supplement something from themselves, discuss and volition. Who knows, maybe somehow through Metatron Yahweh Himself is looking for ways to begin to perceive actual reality?

Metatron was “born” much later than the other Archangels and is the youngest to the divine throne. Yahweh created Metatron from his own tears shed over Lucifer after the great biblical tragedy. Some angels believe that Metatron was created as a “replacement” for his favorite son, others say that Metatron is a living monument to the suffering of the Lord. In both cases it is obligatory to treat Metatron with the greatest reverence.

Metatron prefers not to think about it. They try to be as impersonal an entity as possible, to be a natural shadow, a perfect reflection of the Father, and not to question their self-worth and importance to him. Yahweh created Metatron and is free to destroy them at any time, and Metatron's main goal is to faithfully and effectively serve and maintain the world order established by the Father.

There is a theory that Metatron was once a man, the Old Testament patriarch Enoch, who for his righteous life was allegedly honored by God with the status of a great Archangel. However, this is a pure fiction, which Yahweh wrote in one of his “fanfics”, either in a delirious frenzy or deliberately, so that people hope and think that such an outcome of events is even possible, so that it further motivates people to live righteously and trust in his mercy. But Metatron is an angel and has never been a human being.

Yahoel is ambiguous about their origins. They believe in their Father, and if Yahweh says they were a man, they must have been.... But Yahoel has no memory of his “human past” and has never felt united with humans. They love people with all their heart, just as the Lord himself loves them, but their motivations and actions are foreign to them. Metatron convinces themself that their transformation into an angel has fundamentally changed everything about them.

The other Archangels have long since gotten used to living “with reservations”, skillfully incorporating their father's madness into the rational way of their existence. But so far, no one is taking the risk of bringing up the subject with Metatron and dumping it on their head that the old man is feeding everyone delusions, including them. Most Archangels in general communicate with Metatron very carefully, for they are not just a walking mouthpiece of their Father, they are the faceless boundless power of a Creator on the verge of his own divine self-consciousness and great grief. But perhaps Metatron themself, somewhere inside, feels everything and knows the truth.

4. Uriel The Enlightener

Archangel Uriel is the angel of knowledge and divine revelation. Their name means “Light of God,” and Uriel is the angel to whom prayers for insight and enlightenment are addressed. They guide to righteousness those who have strayed from the path, as well as patronize those who comprehend the sciences, learn new things and generally strive for knowledge. However, it was on the basis of their calling that they often had misunderstandings with Yahweh. Yahweh is very cautious about enlightening mankind. Yes, people must evolve, but there must be a limit to the progressiveness of their thinking, within which the status of the One God is not questioned. People should receive revelations in portions, and should not know what can compromise God as a phenomenon. The development of mankind must be strictly controlled and it is Uriel who is appointed as both their spiritual guide and spiritual overseer. That is why they have the sword of truth in their right hand and the whip of fire in their left.

Uriel encourages and punishes by revealing the secrets of the Universe. Uriel drives insane with overwhelming knowledge those who meddle in the wrong places or seek answers to things they are not supposed to know. These people lose their minds, become disabled, or die as if their mind had burst like a balloon. Up until a certain point, this often happened by accident, as Uriel could not restrain their enthusiasm for sharing great knowledge with people. Their revelations caused people to turn into vegetables, commit suicide, or go to mental institutions. Uriel, of course, was very upset about this and blamed themselves, but they and Yahweh talked a lot about how it wasn't Yahweh who was so evil and bad because he didn't want to teach people everything and tell them everything at once - it was just that people weren't ready to learn everything and understand everything at once. Uriel over time has maximized their discipline, grasped the concept of moderation, and mastered control over the flow of information, although they still believe that "it is better to be too careful than not careful enough".

It is actually quite dangerous to address Uriel directly in prayers, even if there is no selfish motive. They may simply misinterpret your immense hunger for knowledge and punish you as the Father has commanded them to do in such cases. So you should be careful when addressing your questions to Uriel, for you may get your brains burned instead of an answer. But if you do it right and gain their grace, Uriel can give out some truly divine lifehacks. Uriel covers half of his face with a lock of hair to shield people from the searing light of the omniscience pouring from their eyes, but if you seek the wrath of God, you will behold the awful truth.

ps Uriel spends most of their time in Heaven and rarely comes down to earth, they are one of the main guardians of the Garden of Eden, and are tied to their post. You can of course say that, yeah, they're a nerd, but it's a nerd with a sword, I beg your pardon 🤓🗡

pps Uriel looks like a young Yahweh to me, somewhat like their father. Their relationship is not a perfect one, but Uriel, and all the great archangels in general, are characterized by a sparkling loyalty to the Father.

____

Once it was Uriel who defeated one of the previous generations of Mortis' Pillars.

Not always, but in most cases, the First Pillar's role is filled with curious people. That is very noticeable in the current First and the same kind of people have been found among the previous ones. Uriel as a repository of endless knowledge often attracts such curious Firsts.

One of the previous Pillars of Death was literally obsessed with Uriel. She desired them as an artifact, as a relic, as a slave, as a thing, as a key. She wanted to own them in every possible way, and had been dreaming about it ever since she learned of their existence. But Uriel is very hard to catch "out of the house" and almost never goes out alone, but that First spent all her free time stalking and tracking, and finally she got the chance.

Uriel was accompanied by Raphael and Gabriel. They were on their way to some completely peaceful mission and the Pillars caught them quite far from "home". In this battle, the Pillars of Death defeated the Archangel Raphael and Uriel struck down the First.

Uriel's main weapon was the incomprehensibility of knowledge, looking into the eyes of the Pillar with both of their eyes Uriel drove her insane. Though each First learns more than the last, there were still many secrets unknown to the past First, and the discovery of these secrets burned her mind. The rest were wounded and scattered in various corners. But the fall of one of the Pillars was later followed by the fall of the Second. In the unity of the Pillars of Death lies their strength and weakness at the same time. So Uriel, figuratively speaking, killed two birds with one stone. But the price was Raphael's head.

Each of the Archangels felt the death of a fellow Archangel, even Lucifer in Hell was heartbroken at the news. But Uriel was especially close to Raphael and loved them with all their heart. Unlike the sensually hardened necros we've grown accustomed to, angels are more than okay with feelings and love. Their love for the Father, people and each other is so radiant, pure and selfless that it can heal and cleanse even darkened souls. The Archangels are very attached to each other, and though they cannot experience physical attraction, the power of their platonic love can illuminate even the gloomy halls of Cairn Necros.

Uriel is still grieving for Raphael to this day. Angels are almost incapable of feeling deep hatred for anyone. Uriel had been taught to feel that by the Pillars of Death.

Despite the Pillars' losses and injuries, Archangel Raphael's wings were taken to Cairn Necros as a war trophy and valuable magical artifact. Due to Archangel Raphael's healing nature, his wings exude a divine life-giving light to this day. The underworld has found a use for this power and thanks to this miraculous light, dark souls are purified.

Our dear current First would also very much like to catch Uriel, put them in a cage and interrogate them with various questions, but he is well aware of the history of the rise and fall of all the previous Pillars of Death and will keep his head down. At least trying to act not as thoughtlessly and impulsively as his predecessor.

5. Lucifer The Light-bringer

(The picture shows a view of Lucifer before the fall, now they look different.)

Lucifer the Light-bringer is the morning star from heaven and hell's carpet, God's favorite and truly the most beautiful of all angels.

Yahweh loved all his sons equally, but he loved Lucifer more than the others, and he loved him dearly. His best work, his creator's magnum opus. A kind, intelligent, strong, handsome son of his father. They were generous and merciful, yet harsh and relentless at the same time. They were the shining light of sincere love, the embodiment of virtue, and they glorified the name of Yahweh more than anyone else, bearing its divine light. In those days all believed in the absolute Yahweh, enlightening those who went astray and severely punishing those who denied him. The other Archangels had an equally great love for Lucifer, they were loved by all. Lucifer was also called the Heavenly Executioner, the Lord's Punishment, because they occupied an important position - they were the Archangel of Death. They were the one who interrupted the lives of people, reaping their souls. Since Hell did not yet exist at that time, all the souls of people were sent to Heaven, although they were subjected to some selection there.

In my setting, humans were not created by Yahweh, so the story of Adam and Eve is a bit different. They were indeed some of the first humans, but they lived originally on Earth, although as the first humans they had a much longer lifespan. There were very few of them, but their existence attracted the attention of many gods back then. It was a novelty that brought variety to the endless bickering of the pantheons. Gods could not influence people directly, such was the specific nature of the hierarchical niche in which people appeared as creatures. People were so low in the world pyramid that universal laws did not allow gods as beings of the highest order to contact them directly, only through mediators, signs and other indirect forces. And the gods did not learn about it at once. By stopping the endless chthonic wars with their appearance, humans brought a period of peaceful observation into history, when the gods laid down their weapons and became fascinated with the study of the human race. During this peaceful time, all divine pantheons grew from within, and the supreme gods wrote a lot of “fanfics” and tried to force-feed these fanfics to humans in various ways. Thus, different cultures and religions began to develop on different continents at the same time.

Of course, Yahweh didn't stand idly by either. He was fascinated by human consciousness and amazed by the intelligence of such microscopic beings. Until then he was a shut-in and sat far away in his isolated astral plane, but humans became his new hyperfixation and now Yahweh spent all his time observing them and in his crazy fantasies about how he had created them and how they all actually owed their existence to him. Angels were all hooked on interacting with humans, but the more Lucifer observed them, the more he noticed the corruption in them that defiled their Great Father's name. In Lucifer's opinion, these inferior beings were completely unworthy of even a second of their Father's attention, even a fraction of His experience, much less His precious love. But like all Angels, Lucifer obeyed Yahweh unconditionally, performing their work properly. After a while, Yahweh finished his great fanfic and turned the Old Testament over to Angels for evaluation. Or rather, he was just waiting for all Angels to flutter their wings in admiration when they saw this masterpiece of his writing genius. And everything would be fine, if Yahweh had not gone completely crazy, presenting it as the real truth, as the actual history and the authentic chronology of events. Many Angels were perplexed, but no one dared to even flap a fucking wing, all spacing out, they just nodded and clapped silently. Except Lucifer.

The conflict did not start immediately, and Lucifer did not start shouting from the rostrums “what is this nonsense”, but at the presentation of the Old Testament they were the only one who did not flap all their wings with sparkling adoration in all their eyes, but only raised their eyebrow in perplexity and looked at the others, but remained silent. Then the time of turmoil began.

Lucifer was not the only one who noticed some inconsistencies between the Old Testament and reality. This confused a good quarter of the Angelic community, and whispers spread throughout the Heaven. A number of Archangels divided into two camps: those who sincerely did not understand what is wrong and why it is so difficult to accept the new reality, if it is set by their Great Father, how dare they subject to skepticism and debate on the subject of His decisions; and those who realized that the Father seems to really have a screw loose. Gabriel, Michael, Uriel and Barachiel shared Lucifer's opinion that their father had gone mad, but did not support their idea of telling Yahweh about it. Why? Yes, he had gone, so what now? He is still their Father, he is still Great, and his madness does not diminish his divinity, holiness, incomparability, and most importantly, their love for Him. Deep down, Lucifer thought the same, but was so jealous of him of the human race that they were stirring up conflict about his insanity in the background. Angels are his sons, only they are his real beautiful beloved children, and not this primordial filthy crap. Confusion between the Angels was growing.

Yahweh sensed that there was unrest among the Angels and that some of them seemed to dislike something, so at one point he gathered them all in one place and made them fold their wings, lower their heads, and kneel before the human race as a sign of eternal humility and service. Yahweh wanted to be sure that he was only imagining, that he was dreaming, and that in fact all the Angels adored and were as passionate about people as he was, but this was not the case.

Adoration was the last straw for Lucifer and the Angels on their side. They refused to bow their heads to the humans, and in that heavenly square, civil war broke out at that very moment. Angels raised their arms against each other, and brother went against brother.

Yahweh was so shocked by this that he fell into a deep prostration while the heavenly slaughter took place. He was in such disbelieth that one of his children dared to defy him, so stunned by the fact of disobedience, and so incensed by the sight of his favorite son as the leader of a rebellion in his own home, that he mourned silently, staring into the void for several centuries while the battle continued. The rebels were fewer in number, gradually being pushed to the edge of Heaven, but it was all hard and slow. Lucifer clashed with Michael, and almost the whole battle they confronted only each other. During this battle, everyone roared and the howl of woe was eerie. So boundless was the love of the angels for each other that the necessity to fight among themselves wounded their hearts more than their weapons. Every blow that Lucifer dealt Michael - wounded them so deeply that their beautiful face did not dry from tears. And Michael felt the same way. So bitter was this battle for everyone that everyone wanted to throw down their weapons, embrace their brother and only eternally apologize for the pain and suffering caused to each other. And only more wounding was the adamancy with which each side never did so.

Yahweh came out of his years-long stupor at some point. Michael was distracted by their Father's appearance on the battlefield and at that moment Lucifer slashed their face. Yahweh joined the battle and with that ended the slaughter almost immediately. He crushed Lucifer's halo in his fist and tore out his snow-white wings with his bloody hands. All this time Yahweh did not stop weeping and howling heartbreakingly at the realization of what his own son had forced him to do to them. His favorite son. Tearing Lucifer's wings out was like tearing his own heart to shreds. Yahweh could not raise his hand to cast Lucifer out of Heaven, so dried up was he by the whole situation that deep inside Yahweh was almost broken and shattered. He commanded Michael to do it. And the other unfaithful Angels fell from Heaven like a meteor shower.

The blood and tears of the Angels corroded Heavens like acid and all the heavenly architecture was ruined. After this battle, Heavens awaited many centuries of reconstruction and rebuilding. The military reserve was fully operational every day in case of a sudden external invasion. Heavens were weakened, and Yahweh locked himself in his office and only "drank uncontrollably" to grief. Michael took over, but it wasn't what they wanted and it wasn't something that was easy for them. They're only an Archangel, a soldier, not a Lord, but someone had to centralize control while their father was in a prolonged depression (as if he was the only one fucking depressed after such a fuck-up). With persuasion from Gabriel and the other Archangels, Michael agreed. Technically, they were the one who were performing Metatron's duties until they appeared. Michael “didn't sleep, didn't eat”, endlessly patrolling the celestial boundaries, controlling all internal processes and giving instructions to the others. Still being wounded, by the way. The Angels in general were all very bruised and broken for a long time, but continued to do their job, rebuilding their home and maintaining order both in Heaven and on Earth (if possible).

Lucifer, bloodied, deprived of angelic grace and rejected by their own Father, experienced the deepest resentment and inner catharsis. The remaining Archangels imprisoned them in one of the empty astral planes. Devil, Satan, Serpent, Evil One, etc. became Lucifer's nicknames after their fall. But even when Lucifer was imprisoned, they were still determined to go out of their way to prove their Father wrong. To show Yahweh all the hidden depths of human souls, all their rottenness, lowliness and corruption. To make him regret what he had done and recognize the Angels, and them personally, as the only perfect children. They will make the Father hate mankind. They'll do anything for that.

Later, all those who remained like-minded crawled to this astral plane and this place was called Hell. In fact, the whole infernal top represents fallen Angels, mutilated, mutated beyond recognition, both internally and externally.

Allah and Yahweh appear in the Tower as divine-level entities and are in the weight class of characters like Mortis.

Yahweh denies Allah's divine essence and status. He doesn't see him as equal and separate, he sees him as an extension of himself, or as one of his subordinates whom he just didn't look after. Yahweh occasionally mopes about this. In this I wanted to reveal such a moment, that in the Abrahamic system of beliefs Allah/Yahweh/Yehovah/etc are considered different hypostases of one and the same unified divine essence, a monotheistic idol in its different incarnations. That's why Yahweh considers Allah to be one of his unfaithful angels, a part of himself, because in his opinion only he is "the El or Elohim with a capital letter", "I Am Who I Am”. Yahweh's absolute ego is manifest in this attitude. He wholeheartedly denies everything that doesn't fit into his picture of the world: other gods and even his own pagan past.

In my story, Yahweh was originally a god of the pagan pantheon and existed side by side with the other gods, but because of his craving for power and absolutes, he destroyed and absorbed all his brothers and sisters and remained the only one of his kind in his pantheon. Allah's story is roughly similar, but it all took place in a neighboring pantheon. Unlike Yahweh, Allah doesn't deny his past, but it's definitely not worth talking to him about. Despite being more sane in appearance, Allah is much more fiery and angry than Yahweh. Where Yahweh will at least listen ironically to your argument, Allah will not. In general, Yahweh and Allah are in opposing positions. I would call them more like enemies, but it's a bit more complicated than that. Their pantheons are like nuclear-armed superpowers. They could bomb each other, but they would probably both fall. And both realize that. So they've been engaged in cold-guerrilla warfare for many millennia without actively and effectively attacking each other.

They aren't the only divine entities in the setting. The Tower is a collection of different pagan systems, but most of the pagan gods had already become the harvest of Mortis. As they lost followers and popularity in the world, they lost their own power as well, and thus could no longer fight back. The idea of Mortis as an aspect of death is that everything comes to an end and nothing lasts forever, not even the gods. But since the gods are reluctant to go to oblivion and actively resist, she has to raise an army, fight and literally besiege pantheons to reach them. Mortis' essence is empowered by the same principle as other deities - more by the strength of her egregore, i.e. the belief and popularity of her image among mortals. And since the image and phenomenon of death permeates all of human history, Mortis is practically a meta that only gets stronger and stronger. All of these high-level entities are already difficult to clearly categorize, and Mortis have an ambiguous nature. Chthonic beings can transform and change in general. For example, Yahweh and Allah, after absorbing their kin, were no longer what they were before. They acquired both a new power and a new form.

Not all encounters with Mortis always ended in bloody wars. Some surrendered without a fight, others “bargained” for a couple more millennia, offering alliances or their own service. Especially it applied to the gods of adjacent spheres - the gods of death in various pantheons. So, for example, the Scandinavian Hel opened a “branch of Mortis”, that is, she simply began to work for her as a temporary reprieve. Reaping souls as before, but completely abandoning her name and ceasing to claim the resource she gathers, giving all her harvest to Mortis. But neither Allah nor Yahweh can be written off. They are two of the most powerful beings of the divine level at the moment.

Yahweh and Allah have fairly conservative pantheon structures. There are practically no shifts and changes there, so almost everyone who was initially put on a certain post stays on the same post to this day. In the heavenly office there is no concept of career growth (unlike Cairn Necros, for example). And those who have such thoughts are flogged with whips of fire in the main heavenly square, so that they don't think about what there might be at the end of this career advancement.

Half of the angels take Yahweh as seriously as possible, honoring him as the Originating Father and the Center of All That Is, the One. But the other half treat him more like... a crazy elderly father. The question of free will amongst angels is in a rather shaky state. As well as whether they can act independently, on their own. They themselves argue a lot about it, about whether free will really exists, whether it should be manifested and so on. But such discussions are not open and are considered rather taboo. They are topics that are whispered about in heaven and then on the schedule is singing songs to Yahweh about how cool he is. Despite such discussions and the different attitudes of the angels toward their God, they all obey him without question, having been taught by the experience and example of the Light-bearer.

Yahweh treats Mortis in a similar manner to Al, as well as to all the other near-divine entities outside his pantheon (like “I made you up, you are my fantasy, designed to amuse and entertain me, but I can unmake you again. I will sit here for a little while, and I will unmake you. You will see for sure. Be happy while you can, while I am kind, for my mercy is boundless, that I allow my tulpas to exist, but I can stop everything at any moment. Everything will be like that. You will see."). Allah has a more appropriate attitude toward Mortis. He perfectly understands the similarity of their natures, though he absolutely detests the power, order, and motivation she imposes. He reckons with her power, but to him Mortis is just another goddess that he will one day cover and absorb. Just like all the others.

Mortis is in no hurry to deal with them for various reasons. After all, she's on a strict schedule for such things. So wait your turn, please. Nevertheless, there are clashes between the Celestial army and Mortis' lichs in the Wasteland territories, as they share the entire pool of mortal souls between them. More often than not, the distribution of souls after death is based on faith. Those who believe in Yahweh are picked up by his angels, those who believe in Allah are picked up by his angels. But no one said that this principle of distribution cannot be interfered with. Neither Mortis, nor Yahweh, nor Allah are engaged in wrangling for souls. It is not in their status. Their subordinates do it for them. So souls can be confiscated and taken away during their “transportation” to heaven or hell. The clashes are usually between lichs and mid-ranking angels, although demons are also involved. Archangels are the “Pillars” on the side of Allah and Yahweh. So Second and First are roughly identical in status to the Archangels Michael or Jibril, for example. Rarely do the “favorites” of different factions bump foreheads, usually they all walk different paths, but such situations have happened and they know each other in person. Identification of the Pillars is not by “face ID” as one might think, but rather by reading the aura and mass of the entity. You wouldn't mistake Betelgeuse for Pluto. So regardless of the Pillars of Death changing with the flow of time - angels/demons will never mistake the Pillar for someone else. Just as the Pillars of Death will always recognize the Archangel in whatever form they are in. Clashes with Archangels are no joke, and even though the Pillars are notionally immortal, the Archangels can do a lot of damage with some very unpleasant consequences for First and Second. Even First probably won't want to get in trouble with Archangels in a random encounter. Almost certainly they will all drive off in different directions just keeping each other in their sights. First and Second can bullshit each other “at home” all they want, but when it comes to their common enemy they unite. At the very least, because it's simply profitable. Archangel / Archdemon can make the Pillar almost impossible to resurrect, or very difficult and with side effects.

***

1) In Islam, green is one of the main colors. Green is considered the favorite color of the Prophet Muhammad, and it is also believed that the wings of some angels were green. Therefore, I made the source of their common love and beginning green, albeit in a somewhat extreme brightness.

2) Yahweh cannot be approached from the back. It is hard to explain, but this strange construction of Yahweh's doesn't turn around, and even if Yahweh turns around, he remains in the same position to the viewer. From whatever angle the viewer looks at Yahweh, it will always seem that he is looking at you.

Ghost plays better than both of them. She’s more often playing something. Second is more inclined to games like heartstone or strategies, he plays just to relax and enjoy, in short, very chill about games. First used to play a lot of shooters, likes competitive games and generally PlayerVSPlayer, doesn’t play alone. But they both partially spend their time playing in the youth and now prefer other leisure activities. But Ghost, unlike them, plays a lot. Usually, she dives deep into games and thoroughly studies both lore and mechanics, but she also tends to choose PvP and prefers MMORPGs.

3 fav games

First: Hotline Miami, Left 4 Dead, Postal Second: Hearthstone, Disciples, The Elder Scrolls Ghost: Genshin Impact, World of Warcraft, Hades game

3 fav movies

First: It (1990), Texas chainsaw massacre (1974), Begotten (1989) Second: Tucker & Dale vs Evil (2010), Macbeth (2015), The notebook (2004) Ghost: The skeleton key (2005), The witch (2015), Possession (1981)

3 fav music band

First: Death in june, Shining, Satyricon Second: Celldweller, Type o Negative, Summoning Ghost: Lana Del Rey, Mylene Farmer, Evanescence

3 fav books

First: The Emotional Plague of Mankind. The Murder of Christ (W. Reich), Worstward Ho (S. Beckett), The World as Will and Representation (A. Schopenhauer) Second: Sonnets (W. Shakespeare), The Lord of the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkien), Karamazov Brothers (F. Dostoevsky) Ghost: Dragons of Autumn Twilight (M. Weis, T. Hickman), Labyrinth of Reflections (S. Lukyanenko), Exquisite Corpse (Poppy Z. Brite)

Fav food

First likes spicy greasy food. He doesn’t consider chicken/fish as meat and likes, you know, normal meat. He is the kind of person who will gladly eat meat stuffed with meat, some kebabs wrapped in fried bacon and all that kind of stuff. He has a good metabolism, he’s the kind of guy who will eat a lot of fucking food without gaining weight. He almost never eats vegetables. He doesn’t like sweets, he prefers sour foods. He mostly eats european food, but he likes spicy as fucking hell asian food. He won’t give up fast food. Favorite food: spicy barbecue ribs 🥩

Second has more versatile tastes, he likes meat, chicken, salads, seafood and pasta, so he mostly prefers Italian cuisine. He likes sweets, but limits himself in this, because sweets quickly make him gain weight. Plus Second likes to hang out in the gym, so in general he adheres to a varied, but moderate diet. So he is a gym bunny. Favorite food: pasta with shrimp 🍝

Ghost is a fan of Asian cuisine, she loves ramen and pho bo. In all Asian cuisine she chooses only what is not spicy or asks not to add spicy sauces. She loves seafood, and swallows everything that swims: from octopus to oysters (here I remember mermaid AU, where her gastronomic cravings were fully revealed). She prefers steaks rare and in general likes meat with blood. She has a terrible sweet tooth. Favorite dish: bibimbap 🍛

___

Oddly enough, Second likes to gossip even a little more than First. The thing is, First is quite comfortable discussing and criticizing a person in their own presence. Even more, there is nothing to stop him from doing it directly to their face, if he wants to.

Second, on the one hand, is more tactful and won’t do that. On the other hand, this translates into the fact that it is not shameful for him to discuss a person behind their back. Second won’t be blatantly toxic and denigrate someone, his gossip is more in the nature of the cringe news of the week. He discusses others to have fun and amuse himself, not to vent bile on anyone. First, of course, is not squeamish about such things either, but from himself will still add who is a whore, who is a slag heap, who is a faggot 💀

___

8:07 PM Ghost: «What’s one of my favorite things about V? His eyes. Wild and kind of totally crazy. Sounds creepy, but like, you look and you don’t know what to expect from the man and so inside it’s like, well, like when the elevator stops and everything goes up. Haha! I dunno. There’s a lot of things I love about him. The determination, the fearlessness on the edge of recklessness. I don’t like that dumb boomer expression “as safe as houses,” but, uh… he’s just someone I can rely on. Someone I can say “I don’t know, I forgot, I’m dumb” to and he’ll just take matters into his own hands and do it himself. Even though he gets mad about it, of course, but he does it anyway, you know? And he doesn’t sugarcoat me, that’s what’s important. If I’ve done something wrong, I fix it myself, it’s not him making and watching me. It’s like he’s letting me grow up or something. And I want to grow up to his level someday. I want him to be able to rely on me, too. Because I, uh, I think we’re really good for each other, and I’d like to be his rock.»

12:15 AM Ghost: «V he… I’ve never met anyone like him. It’s like, seeing is believing. He’s a very versatile man: smart, handsome, funny, considerate, generous! I mean, like, fuckin’ triple sevens on the slots. Ha! If I list it all, I’m gonna come off as a lunatic, but, you know, I’m really lucky to have him. Sometimes I wonder what he sees in me. I’m simple like everyone else, but he’s unique, one in a million. Don’t laugh! Even if it sounds a little too lame and lovey-dovey, I really think so. Everyone is boring, and he is an explosion, a symphony of chaos, an outburst of energy of some absolutely mind-blowing kind. And this madness I want to pour into all the tanks, to make the tires smoke, it’s scary. He can be very difficult to deal with, of course. Because he’s impulsive, abrupt and sometimes acts like a total asshole, but it’s a completely honest expressiveness. No glare, no embellishments, no hypocrisy of any kind… I know what you’re gonna say. Well, sometimes he tells some fucked-up lies without blinking an eye. Ha-ha! But he’s no saint. I’m not a saint either. All people are liars. We’re perfect together in our imperfections. The important thing is that we don’t lie to each other about the important things. And at the end of the day, true love survives even fucking up, but fake fucking love falls apart over fucked up shit.»

<…>

6:17 PM First: «What I like about G? I don’t like those stupid questionnaires and interrogations, to be honest. What am I supposed to talk about? About looks? Gia’s pretty. You don’t have to be a sniper to see that. Character? Well, like any person, she has positive and negative qualities. On the positive side… Hmm… She’s direct, sincere, and perhaps unconventional. Regular people just don’t appeal to me. If there’s no originality in them, I become uninterested plus I don’t give a fuck. What is her unconventionality? Unconventional thinking. Like attracts like, and in some ways G and I think alike. Even if it’s not obvious from the outside, I can see it. Because I notice people like that in the crowd. They’re, uh, strange. I mean, the opposite. They seem the sanest in a crowd of fucked up people. I guess that’s what got me about her. Plus, her head isn’t full of stupid ideas and forced positions. She’s like a blank parchment, and I just wonder what it will eventually say, what she’ll eventually come to.»

2:45 AM First: «…I just think sometimes, why the fuck is all this going on anyway? Why the fuck do I go to work, why the fuck do I pay my rent, why do I take my car in for maintenance, why the fuck do I get a haircut, why the fuck do I shave? Why the fuck do I answer the phone, why the fuck do I get in a fight, why the fuck don’t I? It’s just that otherwise… it’s boring, you know? Boring to death. With G… it’s not boring. Most of the time. It’s like there’s a point in going somewhere, doing something, coming home instead of hanging around like a turd in a punch bow. Fuck knows. To sit and listen to her strumming something on the ukulele in the evening, to throw your dirty paws on her and realize that a whole person belongs to you, you know. Not just that ass, those tits, but her thoughts. I could say, “Heart, soul!” All that sublime ass. But, you know, I don’t believe in that shit. We’re here in our heads, not in our chests or our assholes or wherever the fuck. Mental connection, u know. Relatable meme. To know that a person isn’t just physically giving to you, but mentally as well. That’s something money can’t buy, huh! When completely random people in such a big city meet unexpectedly and a special connection suddenly forms between them, you want to play it at full volume so that everything can be heard and everyone can hear. To live this moment with flavor, to the max. It’s weird, but… there’s something about it. Something that makes you feel alive.»

Ghost and her family

Ghost is an only child and her parents aren’t the worst. In general, her childhood was rather good: she was always fed, clothed and educated. But her mother is very strict and overprotective, and her father is a cold and indifferent. Her mother’s attention was always too much and her father’s too little. After all, she had to be home after six p.m. at the drop of a hat. Thoroughly checking homework all the way through high school, for C, D and F she got house arrest, for B — oppressive silent disapproval, and A is a given and not even worth paying attention to. Ghost hated studying. And she hated school, too.

She was a quiet and calm child, somewhat aloof, and that’s the kind of child other children don’t like. That’s why she was often “lightly” bullied in elementary school. No one dunked her head in the toilet, but there was plenty of mockery. Especially about her slanted eyes. After graduation, she lost touch with her few school friends and lacked socialization. Her parents insisted that she go to college for an industrial specialty. Ghost wanted to study music. She enrolled in an industrial college.

She didn’t get a scholarship so her parents paid her tuition. After all, they wanted her to study there. They also give her money to live in a dormitory, which Ghost never actually lived in for a day. After the separation began, parental supervision decreased significantly. They saw each other only on weekends, and the phone calls were reduced. It was much easier to keep their boundaries at a distance, but Ghost had learned to keep a low profile without it. Her parents didn’t know what she did in her spare time, what bothered her. Because they never wanted to know, because nothing was supposed to bother her, and in her free time she was supposed to stand like a doll in a box and look through plastic wrap, waiting for them to take her out and brag to the relatives, “Look at our quiet, calm, perfect daughter,” as if to represent their parenting skills. All that remains is to start her up with the key and watch her walk in a perfect trajectory.

And then First comes into her life and says, “Fuck the rules, fuck the honed trajectories. Nothing is true, everything is permitted.” And Ghost is naturally blown away by the hurricane of new impressions and the feeling of mental freedom, and by this strange guy in a black car who is ready to take her to the end of the world, it seems. “Yeah, this isn’t some pimply-faced skateboarding college classmates. That’s it!” Ghost is proud of herself, very flattered by the attention of a grown man. Although she realizes that it’s not something she should talk about. She doesn’t have any close girlfriends, and her group at the college is almost all guys, and they are noticeably losing out against First. Her parents wouldn’t approve of a “fiancé” on the horizon anyway. Especially since she lied to them about the dormitory and is actually living with him. And the longer this lie goes on, the more explosive the consequences of revealing the truth will be.

First advised her to tell them everything and come out in open conflict with them, saying how long can you tolerate and hide, show your teeth. But Ghost simply doesn’t know how to conflict and stand in opposition, she has been taught all her life to be docile and go with the flow. That’s why Ghost and First often have conflicts. Not about her parents, no, he had mentioned it a couple of times, but First doesn’t want to get to know her family, so he didn’t insist and the subject was quickly dropped. But Ghost’s passivity manifests itself in many other things as well.

On the one hand, Ghost’s docile and compliant nature endears her to the First. She has been raised to be obedient and comfortable, and at some points this behavior makes him almost teary with pleasure. But on the other hand, her weakness sometimes irritate him. In some cases he has no problem taking responsibility and solving her problems, but everything has its limits. “I’m not her father, after all. She should be able to make her own decisions. She’s an adult, for crying out loud.” First treats Ghost like an adult, not a child. And on the one hand Ghost is very much attracted by this, but on the other hand she doesn’t know how to be an adult yet. Her family just didn’t let her learn it. Someone else always made the decisions.

Sometimes First purposely pressures her to make decisions. He provokes conflict to force her to be aggressive so that she learns to let her anger out. He backs her into a corner on purpose so that she will attack him. To release the emotions she’s used to repressing. Those emotions always come out of Ghost with a cry of relief, even if she doesn’t realize it. Yes, First feeds on other people’s reactions in a way, so the claim that he provokes for his own pleasure is also quite true. But in Ghost’s case, there’s an effective side effect to the way he’s used to interacting with people. He genuinely believes he’s helping her, even if she doesn’t realize it herself. It’s just that his ways are a bit unconventional.

1 – I put as much pressure on you as you can handle.

___

The First has few positive qualities so it will probably surprise many, but he is quite generous. You can say, of course, if you have finances, why not throw money around, but you’d be surprised how many cheapskates there are among seemingly wealthy people. Oddly enough, First won’t count pennies or, when breaking up, drop a check for how much dough he “poured into you.” He is not petty and treats money simply — money exists to be spent. Combined with his tendency to live like there’s no tomorrow, it gives him that easy “fuck it, I’ll make more money” attitude.

Apart from that, gifts are one of the most understandable love languages for him. He shows sympathy through such gestures. Instead of serenading you under the windows or going to the theater, First would rather just give some earrings. And that’s what Ghost really likes about him too. I wouldn’t call her mercantile, but we all like to eat good food and have sweet dreams. So in fact First doesn’t skimp on any of her whims, and if she suddenly wants a saxophone, he’ll buy one. He spoils her with expensive restaurants, clothes, trips, they often go on vacations. First works as a funeral agent, and it is quite a lucrative business, so he can afford it.

Ghost comes from a middle-class family, but she didn’t get that kind of treatment from her parents. They do not live poorly, but the money in their family came only through hard work. Ghost herself has never earned money on her own, so she often doesn’t know how to feel about it. On the one hand she “doesn’t know the value of money”, on the other hand she feels that she owes it all to First. He’s not petty, but in the heat of the moment he may say something like “I gave you this and that, you should be grateful”, because he still considers material goods as an investment in the relationship and expects a corresponding reaction and favor for expensive gifts. Just not in the same material equivalent, but in psychological, emotional terms. And this is the other side of the coin of his generosity. He is used to buying people and sampling them with money, thus he checks what a man is worth and whether he will stand on his hind legs if you rustle a bill in front of his nose.

Sometimes Ghost feels as if she is getting into an invisible loan of unimaginable proportions, as if at the end she will have to sell her soul to him for all the material comfort provided. And the more he spoils her, the harder it is for her to refuse the gifts and material security. First doesn’t ask her for it, but she’s afraid that someday that day will come and she won’t have anything to repay. Not because she has no money, but because it is not money that First wants.

But in the sea breeze on the warm sand, these thoughts fade away by themselves. ___

One day Ghost bought two tickets for an exhibition at a gallery she had long wanted to visit. She had planned to go with First, but he refused, because he had other plans for that day, and he wouldn’t change them for the sake of visiting art places he had little interest in. Ghost didn’t really want to go alone, and she had an extra ticket anyway, so she offered it to Second. He didn’t refuse. Moreover, he had been to the exhibition before and was happy to be an impromptu guide. First is not prone to contemplation. You can discuss science, psychology, literature with him, but he isn’t interested in art.

Second, on the contrary, loves painting, although he isn’t a great connoisseur. In this he and Ghost were alike and it immediately became a convenient topic of conversation. They were glad that they had something to talk about, because at first they had thought that they were too far apart in mental terms.

___

Interacting with both brothers Ghost finds the key difference between them is that First places more emphasis on material comfort and carnal pleasures, I guess you could call him more down-to-earth, while Second places more importance on the mental aspect. I mean, yeah, Second is a real hedonist and loves everything earthly, tasty and pleasant, it’s just that for him there is something more to life than that. Second isn’t religious, but unlike First believes that people have a soul, believes in the concept of an afterlife and that there is something beyond our mortal understanding, though he doesn’t take it with fanaticism.

He and Ghost are very much on the same page on this, but she believes in all this stuff even more. Ghost believes in reincarnation, parallel universes, quantum immortality… aliens :D But it’s more conceptual, like “we’re probably not the only ones in this universe” stuff, rather than circles in cornfields or pictures of blurry shit in the sky. She’s generally superstitious, reads horoscopes, she’s into tarot cards, and is into magical practices. First is dismissive of it and doesn’t believe in that sort of thing, but it’s like everyone has their own quirks. As long as it’s not a fundamental factor in her decision making and doesn’t go beyond adequacy, he generally doesn’t care.

Second believes in it 30/70, but also believes that “magic”, if it’s in a person’s life, shouldn’t be its fundamental structure. Maybe a supporting one, especially from the psychological point of view. Ghost herself is of a similar opinion to Second, but for a different reason. She practices rarely because she’s frightened. Ghost believes in the law of conservation of energy, including metaphysically, and believes that everything has to be paid for and nothing comes out of thin air. For knowledge and the truth that the cards can reveal, too. For her, esotericism is a way of looking behind the veil, but she does it very carefully and doesn’t demand more than she can give in return. At least with the Second she can initiate a conversation about such things without questions about where her tinfoil hat is :’D

Second generally accepts a sensual-intuitive way of perceiving the world, for him feelings are an important component of a person, something that should be taken into account and respected. For First, other people’s feelings are a lever for leverage. First is erudite, inquisitive and multifaceted person, he is really interesting to talk to, but it’s almost impossible to avoid his condescending tone. He always puts himself above the interlocutor. This doesn’t mean that he doesn’t listen and only talks, no, First can listen very closely. After all, you need to know all the details and all the context to competently outdo the interlocutor. It also doesn’t mean that he will prove something vigorously to anyone, he can wash his hands of a person in the style of “what to talk about with a stupid?”. Without speaking directly, he’d definitely make the other person feel that way. Ghost is used to this attitude by now. With him, she’s always “well, how stupid of me, now you’re going to explain everything”.

Second, in the other hand, is having a very different approach to a conversation. He’s just, uh, talking. He doesn’t have to prove anything to the other person or assert himself in any way in the dialog. He talks on an equal footing, even though Ghost is younger, he doesn’t lecture her. In fact, he doesn’t even think about it most of the time. In most of their interactions, age doesn’t begin to matter at all. So Ghost has suddenly realized that she is very comfortable talking to Second. He doesn’t pressure, he doesn’t try to change her mind or impose his point of view, he calmly accepts disagreement. Sometimes she was intimidated by this level of comfort with Second; it seemed to her that it shouldn’t be like this.

She was drawn to Second not so much because she liked him or anything like that, but because he was the first person in her life with whom she could talk openly and simply, without fear of judgment, condescension, or any other negative reactions.

You’d be surprised, but there is no friendship component to Ghost and First’s relationship. A healthy romantic relationship implies that in one way or another. Like, you and your partner are not only lovers, but close friends. Ghost and First don’t have that. Perhaps because First has never been good at friendship in general, but Ghost lacks it badly. She lacks empathy and sympathy, and she doesn’t understand why First can’t give her that. She feels like it’s because her problems aren’t worth someone else’s empathy, that those problems are insignificant and unimportant since he doesn’t empathize with her.

When Ghost shares her problems with him First looks for a rational solution, sometimes it really helps, sometimes it doesn’t. Friends are usually of relatively equal standing, but Ghost is never on the same level as him in her relationship with First. He’s always patronizing, he’s always controlling, he’s always sorting things out. He’s in the position of the elder, the parent. Despite the fact that he demands autonomy/independence from her, he doesn’t allow himself to let go of the reins of control. He’s supposedly pulling her down to his psychological level, but he’s the one who won’t let her go there. In part, he doesn’t want Ghost to think that he’s somehow putting her off, saying, “Go ahead and act, I’m not holding you back”, (he is). First gives her an imaginary feeling of freedom of action and choice.

Ghost is misled on the one hand, but on the other hand she unconsciously gravitates towards this model of relationship because her mother behaved in a similar way. Ghost doesn’t want to see her partner as another parent or just a lover, she wants to see her partner as a friend and ally, but this desire is so unformed and so deeply hidden that she doesn’t realize it now.

First listens to Ghost, but doesn’t hear her. He looks at her but doesn’t see her. Second sees Ghost.

g— I don’t mean to sound like a stalker, but I think I know you. 1— You do. g— That must have sounded kinda creepy… 1 — Just a little bit. g— Sorry. If you’re in a hurry, I don’t want to keep you. 1— Honestly, no, I’m not in a hurry. So… where have we seen each other? g— I don’t know. In a previous life? 1— You believe in that kind of things? g— Maybe. Do you? 1— Maybe.

In Modern AU, Ghost met First first. Strangely enough, it was her initiative to start a conversation. And First impressed her immediately. He is charismatic, erudite, and generally quite an interesting person. Quite sociable and curious, so the prospect of a new person on the horizon always attracted him. He’s enthusiastic about “testing the waters” and exploring, so such interest from him flattered Ghost. Especially considering their age difference. In this AU Ghost is about 18 years old, when as the First is almost 25. At first they only chatted, but they did it really a lot, their messages were just miles long. Then they started seeing each other from time to time, then more and more often. Well, the scenario is the most usual, nothing special.

Living First is far more attentive and listening than his necrotic version in canon, he’s just as fond of talking, but he also listens and observes his companion intently himself. Ghost is also much more relaxed and confident, she flirts and teases, she laughs and smiles more often, she genuinely enjoys their conversation, and so does First. So their relationship was off to quite a pleasant start. Not without quarrels and some cold days, of course, but this is natural for human relationships.

First quickly learned to “read” Ghost, to understand her thoughts, to anticipate her desires, to complete phrases in dialogues for her, and Ghost was very much attracted by this. He really understood her well, and that was exactly what she was looking for. First himself remained unpredictable and mysterious to her. Ghost felt that he had a dark side, but everyone did, so Ghost saw no good reason to worry. In a way, this inner darkness challenged her and provoked her to look into Pandora’s box. But First is not very good at trust, so he cleverly distanced himself. He knows how to conduct a dialog in such a way that the other person will tell everything about themselves, while First will tell almost nothing about himself. And at the same time it won’t be like a monologue and everyone will have fun. It wasn’t that he didn’t tell Ghost anything about himself, of course not, but if you compared the way Ghost told him about her life and the way he did it, there was a significant difference. In short, he poured a lot of water.

Often, First carefully mirrored some of Ghost’s own personal views, manner of communication, values, or stances in life. Ghost felt as if she had found a soul mate. Such behavior had become his habit, because it always seemed to increase the points of contact and dispose people to each other. Nevertheless, First really liked Ghost a lot, strange to say it, but he was even in love with her. Ghost thought she had met the love of her life.

Ghost and First met six months before her high school graduation. Ghost had finished high school diligently and was preparing to go to university. She had planned to live in the dorms, but First offered to move in with him. They had already been dating for a while and had become quite close, plus he had his own large apartment that happened to be not far from her future university. Ghost thought it was a good idea.

She didn’t tell her parents about it and lied about living in a dormitory. Ghost was very reserved about her family and didn’t tell them much. She didn’t even mention the fact that she had a boyfriend for six months, and if they asked her, she would lie that she had no one. Not that her relationship with her parents was bad, but it was cold and distant. Her parents didn’t know about their daughter’s life, what she was interested in, what she liked, what she dreamed about. When she shared this with them as a young teenager, she only faced misunderstanding and judgment, so over time she hid in her shell and really shut herself away, not only within her family, but with everyone. Ghost wasn’t such an outsider, but she didn’t have any close friends either. So, let’s be honest, the attention and interest from First was a glimmer of light to her at the depths where she had settled. And for a man like First, it wasn’t hard to show a little patience and find an approach to a young girl.

First himself, in his turn, was not eager to get in touch with her parents either. He didn’t think it was necessary unless they were getting married, and he wasn’t even thinking of getting married, and he wasn’t in a hurry to introduce her to his family. It wasn’t a problem for either of them, they were fine with what they had at the time. He and Ghost mostly hung out at his house, so his apartment was already a familiar and comfortable place. For Ghost his proposal to move in together was not unexpected and she had anticipated something like that, but she didn’t dare to ask for it herself. If they were going to take their relationship to the next level, she wanted him to be the one to make the move. Of course, First realized that this would require Ghost to go much deeper into the details of his life and personality, but he was willing to let her into his world, to become a part of hers as well.

___

1 — Are you still afraid of him or something? g — No, just… a little. 1 — Pfft, come on. (No way.) 1 — My sweet soul, as long as I’m around, you have no one to fear… (But me.)

___

g — I had a dream about you today. 1 — What kind of dream was it? g — It was a nightmare.

First in modern is probably the softest of all the variants of his character in all the possible Tower AU. There he’s still a living person, mortal and feeling (not as much as you’d like, but still). And as is often the case with the living — no one pours out all his black soul on you from the doorstep.

___

1 — You like it? g — It’s beautiful, really, but, uh. I don’t wear chains. 1 — That’s okay, it’s never too late to start. g — It’s just… 1 — Baby, I know you have no idea how much that necklace is worth, but can you at least say thank you? g — Thanks… Really, you shouldn’t have. 1 — I’ll decide. It looks good on you. ___

g — Look, I’ve never been to one of these things. Maybe I shouldn’t go. 1 — Are you kidding? I already told everyone I’m bringing a date. g — I just don’t know what to do, what to say. There’s gonna be tons of people there and everyone’s, like, so important. 1 — Mm-hmm. You don’t have to say anything. Just sit back, drink your cocktails and smile, sweetheart. We’re going to relax, right?

Fun fact: at Modern AU, First smokes like a chimney, strong, super stinky cigarettes that make your fucking eyes water. Ghost smokes occasionally, only when she’s drunk, and only something very light, like slims. she asked him to try to quit smoking, but it was a dead end, because he’s been smoking for a million years and he’s not going to give up the habit. at least he stopped smoking in the apartment all the time.

___

g — I love listening to you.

These are cherished words for everyone who likes to talk, like knowing that you are being listened to and that someone is genuinely interested in your talking. Ghost is a great listener in general, she is attentive to the other person’s story, she knows how to keep the narrative thread alive even if the story is full of random details and the person jumps from topic to topic. She doesn’t interrupt and knows at what point it’s best to add to the dialog, ask something or make a joke. so by the principles of conversation, by the level of extroversion/introversion, First and Ghost work well together in a dialog. (I sometimes see comments like, well, what did she see in him, how did they get together, but their relationship puzzle is made up of a bunch of small details).

As for First, he actually reacts very emotionally to everything, but some of his reactions fall under his own internal filter of how a “real man” should or should not react to anything. So he just smugly closed his eyes at this compliment from her, while inside he almost squealed with joy. ___

g — So, what, you, like, read all these books? 1 — Like, yeah. g — I don’t believe you. There’s not enough time in a lifetime to read them all. 1 — Okay, then don’t. g — Well, aren’t you the sma-artest! I can’t help it!~ 1 — Yeah. g — When did you read them all? You’re always so busy. 1 — Well, I had to find a way to pass the lonely nights before… g — And now what? 1 — Now I’ve got better things to read ;) g — Yeah? What is it? :> 1 — Mmm… Hegel’s 14 volumes ;’D g — Fuck you :D

___

“If you live with wolves you must howl like a wolf.”

In general, for 1g* biting is a love language 🥴 they’d rather bite than kiss and cuddle. Ghost bites not only because she has learned to speak to First in his language, but also because it is also characteristic of her. in this respect, they really do match up.

*1g — First/Ghost pairing abbreviation.

Outfits

First’s closet is mostly monochrome and black, he isn’t a fan of anything colored at all. He usually dresses quite lightly, even in winter he wears a thin coat. Hats it’s who? A scarf at most. Prefers the classic style, just like his mother. It was her, in particular, who unconsciously instilled the love for this style in him. Although in his youth he wore leather and army boots. As teenagers, he and Second were into metal and dressed like informals. But in reality, First has always had an inner desire to look older. He’s the youngest in the family, so he often found that he wasn’t taken seriously. So he thought that if he looked more formal and solid, he would be perceived differently, and then it just became a habit.

Second’s closet’s based on something between casual and sporty. He likes loose, unrestrictive clothes, comfortable sports shoes. He loves jeans, he has a whole collection of denim pants of different colors. The palette of his closet is more diverse than that First’s, a lot of light colors, but mostly monochrome things. I wouldn’t call them both fans of prints. His favorite clothes can be worn for decades until they fall apart into atoms :D There are a lot of old t-shirts with logos of his favorite rock bands in his closet. He also has some more formal classic clothes, but he doesn’t really like to wear classics himself. Suddenly you can dig up some funny rainbow socks or a Christmas sweater with fucking reindeer that he bought for fun (he’ll wear it).

In modern au Mortis is a mom of First and Second, a person like any other. She’s been wearing classics since her youth, though her styles used to be looser, with more soft flowing fabrics, airy sleeves, and light natural colors. Now the materials are denser, darker, and there are more sharp straight lines in the silhouette. She wears both long pencil skirts and pantsuits. Her image invariably includes black sunglasses because of photophobia, a special sensitivity of the eyes to light. Her eyes themselves are dark brown. With age, Mortis has moved away from loose hairstyles with long hair and prefers to tightly gather her hair up. She does not cover her gray hair. She loves beautiful vintage clothes, but rarely wears them as it is more of an informal style for her, when she wants to flaunt something special. But she doesn’t refuse vintage jewelry even in everyday outfits. In makeup she likes a thick tone and lipsticks of deep plum shades. (The Devil Wears Prada has already been mentioned under the sketch with her, but I was inspired by Chanel and Karl Lagerfeld in particular.)

Ghost dresses like a Pinterest girl. She likes cute prints with cartoon characters, cropped tops, short shorts, but sometimes she wears oversize. She’s actually cold quite often, so she dresses in layers when she goes outdoors. Usually doesn’t wear chains, but loves all kinds of earrings and rings. Went through her gothic era as a teenager, which still sometimes echoes in her style. Ghost dyes her hair often, she is brunette herself, but can change her hair color every season. She went with split, multi-colored ends, hidden coloring, even rainbows. But later from the bright nuclear colors moved to more muted. She doesn’t always touch up her roots in time and often walks around with the top of her head in her own color. In makeup she prefers a light tone, almost does not use lipsticks and shadows, but likes tints and fruit glosses, only draws arrows with eyeliner.

While First and Second are fairly restrained in their overall appearance, Ghost and Mortis can be lowkey overdressed at times.

First is very similar to Mortis both on the vibe and appearance, but when he’s told how he looks like his mother he flies into the stratosphere on the ass exsplosion, because they have a very strained relationship in this au, but I’ll tell you more about it another time. First’s addiction to cigarettes, by the way, is also from her. Second used to be a heavy smoker too, but then he quit. As for the height in this au, the guys are still very tall 6'1" to 6'3" (185–190cm) and take after their mom, who is also about 6'1" (185cm). Ghost is the same average height as in canon, just under 5'7" (170cm).

I am going to draw Modern AU in black and white/monochrome style, but for color reference I wanted to make a collage. Ghost has green eyes and dyed hair. First is strangely not black-haired, it’s them in postmortem he got fucked up. While Second… I still don’t understand what kind of gray-brownish hair color it is, but they’re kinda such an obscure ash-brown. In postmortem he got a decent gray. But they all have pretty natural hair colors.

___

First/Ghost horny headcanons in Modern AU

I didn’t think I’d ever write a whole fucking wall on this topic, but since it’s such a thing…. You won’t see this kind of detail in Tower canon. (I’ve warned you, read on at your own risk)

First doesn’t like foreplay, usually gets right down to business. He and Ghost are similar in that, they both have a fast pace. But First likes verbal flirting, talking before the process. For him foreplay is more about verbalism than tactility. If he doesn’t get his brain going, he’s gonna proceed with difficulty. Ghost, on the other hand, isn’t much of a talker, and talking about such topics makes her very uncomfortable. But she loves sexting :’D She’s the kind of person who chats like, oh yeah I’m like this and that, I’ll do everything, and then sits there like “ahem 👉👈” First was always amused. So starting it all in a chat while he’s on his way home is sacred.

In general, sex in their relationship is a regular thing, although it is First who initiates it more often. He does not neglect force in the process, likes to twist hands and in general all kinds of fixation of the partner, preferably in a position that is not very comfortable for her. Not only because he is such a control freak to the bone, but also for ambivalent feelings. Pleasant in an unpleasant position. Plus and minus. Prefers only leading top positions, likes to be in control of the process from start to finish.

Ghost is generally very following, so she is happy with this state of affairs. She prefers lower positions, likes to lie down with her legs spread and enjoy. First is very visual-oriented (this bitch loves to beg for nudes), likes to look at the partner from different angles, to see all the details, so he likes sex in good light. Ghost on the contrary likes languid twilight, aesthetics of silhouettes, darkness and blissfully cover her eyes. But First really needs eye contact, so he sometimes demands it, even when Ghost is no longer able to do so. Especially when she is unable to.

He is attentive to the emotional tone, not because he feels it well, but just the opposite, so he reads a person’s condition by movements, pupil opening, breathing rhythm, and all sorts of little things. In such close physical contact, he notices the slightest changes, but often consciously chooses to ignore it. First likes moans and screams, when emotions are vividly shown, enjoys every sound (he himself is very reserved in bed, stone-faced even when he orgasms xD). He does his best to squeeze all the reactions out of Ghost without a trace, to get everything that is suppressed or hidden. In a pleasurable way or not so much. So he can purposely bring her to tears, he thinks it’s an indicator of sincerity. I’d actually say he has a kink for crying during sex.

And here they match again, because Ghost often cries from an overabundance of emotions and sensations. That is, she doesn’t always cry because she feels bad, she can cry because she feels really good. Although First generally likes to bring her almost to hysterics and exhaustion, can slap her face to bring her to her senses. But Ghost is no slouch either and suddenly can respond in the same way, try to intercept the dominant position, put him down and sit on top. But, as a rule, this is just a game, in reality she doesn’t need it and doesn’t care. She wants to be dominated and subdued, First knows this.

Their playfulness can look wild to outsiders, they may yell and growl at each other and it may look more like a wrestling match on the bed. First can drive Ghost to the state of a wildcat who is going on a rampage, not because she’s angry or annoyed, but because she’s overexcited. It turns him on, he likes to tame. Ghost likes it too, she lets her demons out and emotionally discharges in this somewhat unaccustomed way. In that respect, First gives them a lot of freedom, what to many might seem like a scary cringe to him is fucking great. ‘Release the kraken’. Ghost likes physical acts: choking, spanking, flogging, so she likes light pain. First’s happy to organize it.

He’s fucking turned on by humiliation and psychological domination. He would cry with happiness if Ghost stood on all fours naked and licked his shoes and called him master, but in this he and Ghost do not match lake at all, big no. Ghost doesn’t tolerate psychological pressure and humiliation at all, for her it’s too much, and she strangely enough refuses to give it to First. But because of this she gives him carte blanche to almost any physical action in bed, like, she likes light pain, but in case he is overzealous and crosses the line — she keeps silent and tolerates (Ghost doesn’t fully understand for herself where this line is and doesn’t always realize her own feelings. Especially in the midst of the process).

But First sees this moment, sees when it goes from pleasure to discomfort and excessive pain for Ghost, but doesn’t stop. First, because she herself lets him do it and keeps quiet. Second, he thinks it’s only fair: if she’s not giving him everything he wants in sex to the fullest extent, then he’ll scoop to the bottom where it’s “allowed.” Unfortunately, Ghost thinks the same way. Well, third, he just genuinely gets high off of it because his sadistic nature hasn’t gone anywhere.

So in some ways they’re the same, in some ways they’re not. They have different sexual temperaments, for example. First ideally needs to have sex every day, or even several times. Ghost is comfortable with a slightly more rare schedule, more like several times a week. But, of course, this is a very conditional schedule and a lot depends on the cycle, mood, stress level in life, etc. Ghost had never had a sexual partner before First, so he was her first in every sense, and partly set the standard for “how it should be”. Ghost, of course, isn’t exactly an uncomplaining doofus who agrees to anything, but she still didn’t know many of the nuances and didn’t have the experience to compare.

And lastly, Ghost’s favorite position: lying down doggy style. First’s favorite position: missionary with legs on shoulders.

First does indeed have a row of handcuffs hanging on the headboard in his bedroom. Where did they come from? Originally, it was just a joke at one of his house parties. The guests had brought a dozen fake handcuffs just for fun. It was no big deal, they had fun and forgot about it. For a while he was too lazy to clean it all up. A couple of times the handcuffs were used in bed and he liked the theme. He decided to keep them. Except that he replaced some of the handcuffs with real ones, which really couldn't be removed without a key. Besides, the metal was visually a good match for the cold style of his room. Over time, First noticed with interest that the rhythmic ringing of the chains calmed him for some reason.

Ghost and Second

In fact, the first time Ghost and Second had seen each other had been by chance on the subway. Ghost felt the same strange inexplicable feeling as when she first saw First, but this time she ignored the feeling. It seemed like how could it be, but it was just like that. She was already in a relationship at that point and wasn’t going to chase every man she met. Besides, the reoccurrence made her feelings not so overwhelming. She explained it all to herself as just a hormonal surge, it happens, the guy was cute… But in the end she thought about that meeting all day long.

Second rarely rides the subway, he doesn’t like the stuffy atmosphere of the metro, waiting for the train and then crowding in the car. Besides, he has a bike, but that day he had it serviced. Second was planning to go for a walk and who knows what drove him to the subway. When he saw Ghost, he genuinely wanted to meet her and get her number, he thought maybe that’s why he was here. The stars aligned, who fucking knows? Though he thought it was some kind of cringe to get acquainted in the subway and while he was gathering his thoughts Ghost had already left the car. He mentally laughed at his hopeless romantic (and retarded) self and went on his way. “Not fate,” he decided then, but this was not their last meeting.

What was their surprise when they ran into each other again at a party just a few days later.

In modern au they don’t remember their other embodiments. It’s not their previous lives or anything like that, but specifically an alternate universe. But as they looked into each other’s eyes, they experienced what is known as a sense of deja vu. An irrational feeling as if they had met before. Even more, a feeling as if something invisibly connected them. But neither of them could explain it for themselves, so they kept their mixed impressions to themselves.

___

2 — So, what do you see in her? 1 — I thought you had a good eye. 2 — No, well… She’s a good-looking girl, no question about it. But I’m kind of interested in other things. You rarely stay with someone that long, you’ve even moved in together. I’m freaking out. 1 — Fuck knows. She’s fucking crazy =) 2 — Well, you’re definitely the kind of person only a fucking crazy person would reach out. So, uh, what about this? She’s a kid, isn’t she? 1 — Oh, fuck, you should see what she’s doing. A little girl, hahaha…. Remember yourself at that age. 2 — Oh fuck… 1 — xD 2 — Still, it’s something. It’s just… I don’t know, bro. 1 — Than, she threw herself at me, please. 2 — So what? You’re a grown-up, control yourself, for god’s sake. 1 — She’s an adult, she’s got her own head on her shoulders. She’s a grown-up. Why are you making me look like a fucked up man? 2 — Because you’re a fucking asshole. I hope our mother doesn’t know about that at least. 1 — It’s none of our mother’s fucking business who I sleep with. 2 — Sleeping? I thought you guys were serious. 1 — Well. I like her. I guess. A lot. 2 — Ooh, “a lot”? You must be really into her. 1 — Fuck you =)

Social media

Speaking about social media, Second doesn’t really spend much time online, and neither does First. First sometimes spends time on Twitter, but mostly uses only messengers. Second has Instagram acc, it’s open and has quite a lot of followers (well, you can understand why). He doesn’t have many posts, he rarely posts anything, but if he does, it’s almost always something blowing up :D Ghost never even had a chance to come across his profile before, because First has all his friends hidden in all his accounts, and he doesn’t have insta at all. So Ghost just once asked the Second for his Facebook account, and from there she went to his Insta just for curiosity’s sake. And lost her shit, of course, when looked at his profile. Well, Second is a handsome guy, he likes to take pictures, and most importantly he knows how to do it, so his account is aesthetically pleasing. 50% of the gallery, however, is selfies, but we are all not without sin.

As for Ghost, she also has an instagram. Her profile is closed, she doesn’t have many followers, but she has a lot of photos. Most of them are photos of interesting places or funny cute things she comes across. Although sometimes Ghost can post a sexy photo in a super open swimsuit just because she wants to. She has a couple of photos with First in her profile, but in general he doesn’t like to be photographed and often doesn’t let himself be in a shot. Ghost mostly sits on twitter and tiktok.

She tried to persuade First to create a tiktok acc to send him videos, but he flatly refused. He said that he doesn’t need any crap on his phone, and if she wants to show him something, she should come to him with a phone and show him in person. Ghost grumbled about it, but in the end she kept running to show him something. First usually defiantly rolls his eyes at her vids of dancing kitties, but is actually happy when she runs to him. He doesn’t show it, but he is flattered by Ghost’s attention and her desire to share something with him, no matter what it is.

Souls.

Aside from Ghost, there are a huge number of souls at the disposal of the Lichs. All human souls in the underworld look pretty much the same. These entities are astral and have a greenish-bluish color spectrum, but they can be of a purer/brighter or dirtier/darker hue. It depends on the state of karma, and can also change over time. Karma purity is one of the priority characteristics that lichs rely on when choosing souls. Like no one wants to "drink dirty water". So when Ghost got to them, besides being at once the favorite of Second, her bright inner glow also set her apart for First.

The majority of souls are used by lichs as consumable raw materials: for nourishment, spells, artifacts, and many other things. But after such transformations, the soul's consciousness is usually erased, and its form changes. From a personality with will and memory, souls turn into impersonal energy, like electricity. Contracted souls are used for other purposes. They mostly exist alongside the lich as servants, so they are not consumed (at least not entirely) (I mean if you eat all the servants, you'll have to do everything yourself!). In turn, the contract condition gives these souls the patronage of their lich in the underworld. The underworld is an unfriendly place, and souls are a delicacy for many of the monsters living there. The afterworld is a sort of limbo, so if a soul isn’t patronized by a powerful entity, or if it isn’t taken by a higher authority or sent to a deeper place, or if it wanders around lost, it’ll almost certainly be torn to shreds. But the seal of the supreme lichs keeps almost all low-level scum away from contracted souls. This seal looks like the Roman numerals I and II that you may have seen on Ghost's hands before.

It's a kind of magical brand that all souls under their patronage have. Unfortunately, the lichs' contract system provides benefits only for their side, and the terms of the contract tend to be unfair to the souls. Such contracts are usually made when a soul is desperate or under pressure, though sometimes lichs simply ride on the naivete of souls without covering the entire terms of the agreement.

First likes to remind contract souls that their fate is better than that of the expendable. That they are allowed to keep their self, that they are fit for little more than a quick refueling, and therefore should be obedient and eternally grateful for the chance generously given to them. He, like an archbishop of death, so to speak, is trained to brainwash them into the prospect of eternal service. And the really special treatment of Ghost by Second, unfortunately, only reinforces the words of First.

Ghost, like many other contracted souls, is saved by thoughts that she is special, that she is more useful (than expendables), that her such existence isn’t a curse but an opportunity. Of course, not everyone is comforted by this and some give up after completely exhausting their spiritual power. Drained souls become inert and useless in general, having lost hope, they stop recovering, so their remnants are merged into a consumable energy stream, or dismantled for experiments or found some other use. In a way it is similar to the, like, "real death", but in the otherworld everything is much more complicated. And, actually, absorption or energy consumption for the soul does not mean complete annihilation, in fact it is only transformed, but not all souls are full of their cosmic knowledge and know it. The information about what they are, how their metaphysical nature works, where they come from and where they eventually return to is not embedded in them straight out of the box. This is generally a very complex philosophical question that not everyone asks. After the death of the physical body, souls for the most part still remain with the self-consciousness of a mortal and the memories of a (usually only one) past life, so they are subject to human feelings and are as afraid of the unknown as before. ___

— And how does the process of soul absorption by a lich happen?

There isn't really a clear mechanism for how it happens. So you can let your imagination run wild here. It can be an ordinary eating process, as when people eat something, it can be an inhaling process, as if the soul can be inhaled like smoke, and it can be an absorbing action, like water is absorbed into the ground. You could even imagine it as an act of classical vampirism. There are no limitations in imagery. Souls have a rather plastic form. For example, a soul can be 'melted' and poured into a vial, or crystallized as a mineral and it will look like a gem. Such transformations require special necromancy skills, of course. So a soul can be drank, chewed, and sniffed if desired xD

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Lichs.

Apart from Death Pillars in the underground world, there are other lichs, and there are actually quite a few ranks. The role of the Pillar is considered the highest rank, or you can call it the top lich, then there are just lich masters, mid-level lichs, and so on :D The status of a lich depends on their strength, personal characteristics, line of work, connections, and sometimes their past. Each lich has a special magical artifact — a phylactery — a vessel or item where their soul is stored (or what's left of it) (like the needle in the egg of Koschei the Deathless or the Horcruxes of Voldemort). Thanks to this artifact, a lich can always be resurrected or reborn by someone else. Ideally, every lich should keep this thing with them because if someone gets hold of the vessel with your soul, they can directly control or blackmail you. Most high-ranking lichs in the underground world are intertwined with each other. The phylacteries of the weaker ones are in the possession of the stronger ones because they were either bluntly stripped away, or the lich was raised by a certain ritual by the stronger lich originally. For example, the phylacteries of Second and First are always with Mortis. Second and First in turn have phylacteries of other lichs, weaker ones. This system of dependencies is mostly concentrated at the top of the necrocommunity, as the lower beings can be controlled in other simpler ways. Not always through enchantments, but sometimes through persuasion, deception, or threat, although some agree to be a cog in the machine of death willingly and sometimes make alliances.

It is worth noting that lower lichs usually dislike higher lichs. At least most of them are openly jealous of the higher ones, because the status of a supreme lich provides for an almost unlimited amount of resources, including souls. The lion's share of souls was used to feed the Pillars during their formative years, and during that time everyone else was starving. And well in general the diet of the inferior is of much worse quality.

The Mortis' realm is something akin to a monopoly corporation. As such, it is possible to be outside this system, to be an independent individual or any other underground entity. But in this case, you will be thrown out into the 'open', to the margins of the underworld, to a place called the Wasteland — with no protection and no 'food'. The strong and dangerous creatures of the Mortis' system receive their first portion of the buffet, where everyone can get food (or other resources) in return for their service. On the Wasteland, on the other hand, no one guarantees that you can find breakfast today, tomorrow, or for the next 50 years. Weak creatures from the Mortis' system primarily receive protection, also in return for their service. In the Wasteland, they have less chance of not being devoured or torn apart by roaming hungry entities. Within the system, there is a distance between the creatures and also all sorts of agreements in which they can exist side by side. The underworld in general could have been a grim otherworldly jungle, but Mortis came in and combed this astral chaos. She created the Cairn Necros — the realm of the dead.

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The underworld is home to many different creatures, including those surrounding our main characters. I'm concentrating on First, Second and Ghost because the Tower is more of an emotional canvas and a sublimation of the past for me, but sometimes I want to dig deeper into the lore of this fantasy world, so meet the new characters — Regents.

Pillars of Death is a stable role, but not permanent. At the moment when there is a change and the places of death favorites are empty, their temporary replacement is required.

▪️ The Bishop is the official regent of the First Pillar, the Deputy Archbishop. ▪️ The Senior Officers are the regents of the Second Pillar, the Deputy Military Commander.

During the replacement, Mortis doesn't grant them the power of the Pillars, but assigns them an additional set of important duties. However, since Regents are technically unable to do the job of the Pillars at full strength, this is always a temporary measure. Once the Favorites have assumed their status, the Regents step aside and return to their usual duties as advisors to the Pillars of Death.

Importantly, the Regents of the Pillars are also their mentors. Newly minted Pillars, although they have great potential and power, don't know how to manage this newly acquired power. They don't know how the world of the dead works, they don't understand what they have become, what is required of them, and in general they are more like little children in the underworld. So it is the mentors' responsibility to bring them up to speed, teach them necromancy and prepare them for their future position. At the same time, the mentors still perform the duties of the Pillars, as the Pillars are still unable to do so, so during this period the mentors are required to maximize their efficiency.

Bishop.

Brief summary.

▪️ Bishop Life name: Wilhelm Zodiac Sign: Virgo MBTI: ISTJ

Bishop is a dozen millennia older than First and still sees him as a neophyte boy. Bishop is a wise and very loyal servant of Mortis, but he is an ambitious man, and in fact he himself has long dreamed of taking the place of the First Pillar, which, to his regret, has been repeatedly refused by Mortis. If Mortis had thought that Bishop was capable of assuming the role of the Pillar, she would’ve appointed him to it long ago. Bishop has trained more than one generation of First Ones and believes he would do a better job than all of them put together. His ego is bloated, not unreasonably so, but because he really knows his way around. Bishop wasn’t happy with Mortis' current choice and the new First (what can I say, he is always dissatisfied with it), but he doesn’t show his displeasure in front of her, nor does he allow himself to cross her or disobey her. Mortis' will is law to him. However, he used to take it out on First during his training, constantly scolding him, loading him with material and generally being an extremely harsh mentor. He still considers First unworthy of his place and is one of the few in the underworld who doesn't hesitate to say what he thinks to his face, even after First has grown stronger and tasted his powers. Bishop is far inferior to any Archbishop in magic and power potential, such is the specifics of these two positions, but his spirit power, as a Vicar of the Pillar, will give many a head start. Bishop is a patient dude and believes his time will come sooner or later. He has seen the succession of several generations of the Pillars, and believes that the current First is no better, if not worse, than the previous ones.

First himself scoffs at Bishop's open dislike. Their relationship is something like that of a grumpy grandfather and an insolent grandson. During his training, Bishop specifically harassed First. First may be "that guy", but he is no match for Bishop. Bishop is pedantic, meticulous and precise to the point of grinding teeth. He is a perfectionist and expects impeccable results and top performance from his student, the future Pillar. "They have all the power and resources to produce those metrics, so let them work off their privileges." Though sometimes Bishop was driven around corners, anyhow the cursed ring on First's finger, not Bishop's. And as much as he knows in theory, it's still a little different in practice.

First and Bishop often argue and bicker, but unlike First, Bishop knows how to limit his attacks. First is surprisingly patient with his mentor, having to reckon with his experience and wisdom, as well as the fact that he is Mortis' confidant and trusted associate, but everything has its limits and they both know those limits well. In the end, First can fuck the old man up if he pisses him off, but neither of them would really want it to come to that.

The main difference between Bishop and First as representatives of the Death Cult is that Bishop is sincerely devoted to Mortis. He preaches because he truly believes and deeply honors death, not under the pressure of power superiority or spiritual unfreedom. First, on the other hand, does everything about serving in the cult out of obligation. He doesn't treat Mortis as an idol, openly disrespects her, and disregards the traditions of the cult. First plays the role of Archbishop only because Mortis forces him to do so. Whether she enjoys it or not is impossible to tell, but either way it's very ironic to see such an arch heretic in the highest religious position. First's rebelliousness doesn't bother Mortis, nor does the cult's activities seem to matter much to her. The cult has long been living and growing on its own. It is said that the idea of founding a death cult was not Mortis', but one of her loyal followers, she was just fine with it, but perhaps this is just a rumor.

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Senior officers.

Brief summary. Senior Officers.

▪️ Major Life name: Tahiramat Zodiac sign: Aries MBTI: ESTJ Weapon: khopesh

▪️ Captain Life name: Qahomintep Zodiac sign: Aquarius MBTI: ESFP Weapon: spear

These guys have been in the Regents position for half as long as Bishop (but they're still twice as long as the pillars) and they've taken the change in leadership without enthusiasm either. Especially Major. Major still doesn't hide her condescending views on Second, but she would never risk disobeying an order. In the military, subordination and discipline are paramount. Captain on the contrary quickly enough sympathized with the new Warlord. He immediately saw in Second the potential for which Mortis had chosen him. Although he couldn't know the true reason for her choice, in his eyes Second did have all the qualities necessary for a good military leader. Over time, Captain began to be quite of a Second's simp :D Major doesn't share this sympathy, but is no less loyal to Second. The officers accompany the Warlord in all his campaigns and are the left and right hand of the entire military staff.

Major is more reserved, stubborn, and has a temper. Captain is softer, friendlier, and likes to break a deathly silence with a good joke. They wear the same armor of the male set. The officers were close blood relatives — brother and sister — during their lifetime.

Their loyalty to Second wasn't handed to him on a silver platter, but he had to make a lot of effort and squeeze the most out of himself, so that the troops would no longer look at him only as a pet of Mortis, who had been put at the head of the undead army by a favor. Second had to impress few (relative to the total number of warriors in the army), mostly just the officers, who were made up of the more intelligent undead, for most of the army were mindless zombies. However, to impress a thousand-year-old almost devoid of human feelings necrowarriors with combat experience several times his age is a task with an asterisk. It took a long time, and there are still many who look at him sideways and obey him only within the power paradigm.

With zombie soldiers there was another problem: He had to learn how to control them magically, and there were a lot of them. More than a lot. A whole hell of a lot. JUST FUCKING MORE THAN FUCKING MANY. This task is partly assigned to the lower lich units in the army. Basically, it's whoever raised the dead man controls him, but it's not that simple. Spellcasters run out of mana, they switch to other tasks, they can be paralyzed, and many other things can happen in battle, as a result of which a lich can lose control over the raised dead, and in this situation the Commander-in-Chief is obliged to pick up the collapsing formation. Otherwise, everything can fall apart in a domino-like fashion. Scattered formation in the case of an endless sea of the walking dead is also an effective thing, of course, but nevertheless sometimes these skills are required to make an unexpected maneuver without preparation. Controlling such a large number of zombies at a time doesn't require constant all-out control, more like a skillful adjustment in the moment, but it still takes a tremendous amount of effort. So, Second, as a newly minted lich, not only had to swing his sword as he was used to in life, but also to learn the complex and unfamiliar necrotic magic. All of this had not been instantly put into his head, and the same was true for First. For all her power, not even Mortis is able to birth imba-necrofavorites out of thin air in a second who already know how to do everything. The powers she bestowed upon them had to be harnessed before they could be used.

Regents, like the Pillars of Death, are by nature lichs — the raised dead whose souls are encased in phylacteries. The phylacteries of the Regents as well as the Pillars are held by Mortis. So First and Second, even given their power superiority, have no power over the will and actions of the Regents. Regents can act independently and are only subject to the Pillars within the hierarchy, not because of spiritual confinement. In this regard, Pillars and Regents are equally dependent only on Mortis. Regent mentors are also members of the Death Council, a circle of high-ranking lichs close to Mortis. Each mentor was once a contender for the role of Pillar of Death, but didn't become one for certain reasons.

___

Chief Navigator.

‌

Brief summary.

▪️ Chief navigator Life name: Zahrat Al-Qamar Zodiac sign: Aries MBTI: INFJ

Navigators are a special category of Lichs whose job is to open portals between worlds. A core group of Navigators are part of the military, escorting and laying out the path for the army. Additional groups are almost all the time in Cairn Necros, they help the main group from a distance, deal with local tasks or serve someone privately. Any lich with a predisposition to magic and portal creation can become a Navigator, but once a Navigator becomes a Navigator, he remains a Navigator forever. They can't leave this position ever.

Navigators undergo a training course that culminates in sacrifice and initiation. As a sacrifice, Navigators offer a part of their soul and body to the Star of Cairn Necros. The Star of Cairn Necros is a huge ball of energy hovering high above the surface of the underground caverns. The Star serves as a beacon for Navigators to orient themselves as they travel between worlds. At initiation the soul of the future Navigator is actually branded with the fire of the Star, from now until the end of time the Navigator is invisibly connected with the Star, they will never lose sight of it and can use its energy. The flame on the character's shoulder is part of the energy of the Star of Cairn Necros, which the Navigator can channel to open and maintain a portal to another world, but this flame is not permanently in their possession. In fact, it is a magical artifact that is given to them while they work and taken back when they return. Opening portals between worlds in the realm of Underworld is strictly regulated and is forbidden to be done unauthorized. Opening ordinary portals within a single world: to the realm of the dead, to the realm of the living, or to other realms of existence — is authorized and available to all who know how to do it. But as for promenading to other worlds — no one will leave the Underworld without Mortis' permission (at least thanks to the Star's energy). The fact is that only Death herself can interact with the Cairn Necros Star without catastrophic consequences for themselves in the Underworld. It is she who distributes the flame to the Navigators and collects it back. She is the one who signs and escorts any interdimensional outing. Every Navigator is accounted for and must appear before her upon arrival. Mortis herself (as well as the other Riders) is able to travel between worlds without the aid of Navigators or the Star's energy.

The position of Navigator is not a coveted one among lichs, as when sacrificed, a Navigator is permanently mutilated and stripped of any magical abilities other than the ability to open portals. Their function is reduced to one single thing, and they just technically can't do anything serious anymore. Well, at most reading in the evenings :D So Navigators are appointed either against their will, or occasionally there are volunteers who just "feel like it". Usually such volunteers are considered lowkey fuckwits, because who in their right mind would burn part of their body and soul with an incomprehensible flying ball voluntarily restricting themselves to literally everything. The ability to move between worlds is pretty cool, but it too is encumbered by restrictions and bureaucracy on all sides. All in all, there is little appeal, no prospects x) The Chief Navigator was once exactly that, a volunteer. She is a calm, patient, and stubborn lich. She became the Chief after the rebellion of the last generation of Navigators, who decided they could cover their tracks across worlds and escape. Many Navigators are held hostage to their position, they don't choose this path and they are effectively stripped of everything. Often initiation into navigating is a punishment for particularly rebellious and willful spellcasters. Usually, initiation curbs their violent temper; whether they escape or not, they will never be able to cast spells again. But that didn't stop the past generation. Some believed they would find a cure for their condition on uncharted worlds; some hoped they could at least free themselves from Mortis' shackles if they teleported far enough away; some were simply excited by the idea of rebellion and followed the others. Only one of all the Navigators remained loyal to Death and didn't run. Mortis tracked down each one. She didn't destroy them, but inflicted upon them a fate worse than death, which served as an eternal reminder to everyone else in Cairn Necros of the cost of Mother Death's betrayal. In recognition of her loyalty, Mortis made the remaining lich her Chief Navigator and allowed her to wear the flame of the Star at all times. They say that the distant light of the Star of Cairn Necros is what people see at the threshold of death as they walk down the corridor of Purgatory. I'll tell you more about what kind of phenomenon this Star is another time.

Ps In general, lichs don't have a dress code or style of clothing typical of a certain group, so not all Navigators go in a scarf on head and seroual in the oriental manner, it is the style and specificity of a particular lich. As a rule, the style of clothing corresponds to the historical background and lifetime preferences of each individual character. The appearance of Navigators is characterized by a flame on the shoulder, the absence of one of the arms and a glowing mark on the remaining one.

Pss The character is based on and dedicated to my sister 🖤 ____

Rast "feathered butcher"

Brief summary.

▪️ Rast Life name: Ezra Zodiac Sign: Cancer MBTI: ENTP

(This part of the lore may look out of context because I haven't published most of my lore about angels. I've written a lot about them and the heavenly pantheon in russian but haven't translated it into english yet.)

Rast is a third-level Lich, head of the angelic specialty of the Cairn Necros field corps. He is a specialist in angelic pursuit and confronting celestial forces in open territories. The Pillars of Death and the Great Archangels rarely clash in battle, but the lower ranks of both clash far more often. Rast is an expert on the angelic hierarchy, the celestial world order and their history, and knows many of the angels by name. Rast has personally captured a large number of them for the lich's study of Cairn Necros. He is known in the heavens as the "Feathered Butcher", as he has the most authentic seraphim wings behind his back.

Rast is obsessed with angels, and one of his outstanding trophies in this field was the seraphim wings he was able to drag into the dungeon. He's determined to sew them onto himself and become a "flying" lich. With this fucked up idea, of course, he went to the local "Dr. Frankenstein" aka First. First was also very excited about the idea. They spent a long time working out how to effectively implant the wings of a celestial creature into dead flesh, but they had no success. That is, they had sewn the wings on, but they couldn't make them function. Rast left them sewn on anyway, and has worn them ever since as a cloak.

Rast was always fascinated by the nature of angels and was convinced of their existence while he was still alive. Until his death, Rast was a devout man, a churchgoer and a faithful Christian. As with any devout person, Rast was assigned a personal guardian angel - Daniel.

As it happened, Daniel fell in love with Rast.

The Angelic Handbook literally spells out the obligatory love for the human kind, but this love has a number of caveats. Love, but do not covet. Honour, but do not be proud. "Devour, but do not get full." Angels are supposed to love people equally and not single out anyone among them for special favors, even their own charges. But there is always an exception to the rule and Daniel was that exception. They had watched Rast since his baptism, watched his body and spirit grow strong, protected him and lit the way to faith. Rast grew up to be an incredibly bright and inquisitive young man, very responsive and kind. He prayed diligently, led a righteous life and truly loved God. Daniel adored Rast and zealously protected his soul, and the latent sympathy gradually grew into a great love. It was the purest, most sublime, selfless love of an angel for them human, but Rast didn't know it. Angels are forbidden to be embodied in front of people at will, only in exceptional cases: for protection or warning. But even in these cases, it is recommended to use "signs from above", to influence only indirectly and not to come into contact with a person. Violation of the code of guardians is punished by Heaven, but so strong were the angel's feelings for the man that them couldn't contain them in themself and wanted to share them overflowing love. Daniel broke the code and embodied themself in front of Rast, and the latter, of course, was charmed to the depths of his soul.

Daniel and Rast had a purely platonic, high-spirited love, mostly they just talked and talked, but Rast was still a man made of flesh and blood, a young boy… Angels are warned that humans, because of their material nature, are somehow prone to thoughts of physiological intimacy. Lust, unquenchable desire and sex before/outside of marriage are considered sinful and punishable, but attraction itself as one of the manifestations of love is not considered a vice. After all, marriage is God's Providence and it all ensures the flourishing of the human race. Human, not angelic. Angels are strictly forbidden to materialize unnecessarily, much less indulge in bodily pleasures, even as an act of great sincere love.

No, Rast and Daniel had never had sex; they had never even held hands. The only thing they had allowed themselves was to touch each other once, barely, in a tender, chaste kiss. True, that was the red notice on the keeper's dispatcher panel, and the sky carriages with flashers immediately followed Daniel. Daniel was excommunicated from them post, sent to trial and them fate is lost in the annals of history.

Rast, deprived of his guardian angel, almost immediately has an accident and dies suddenly. He didn't know what happened to Daniel, he was tied up without even letting them say goodbye, so in his last seconds of life Rast waited for them, but never had a chance to see them again. He was dying all alone with the thought that the holy love of his life had left him.

Deprived of celestial oversight, Rast's soul was also deprived of divine protection, so after his unexpected death there was a hitch in which he was confiscated by the Mortis' lichs. Like many Cairn Necros lichs, Rast was raised from the dead against his will to serve the personal interests of the necromancers who did so. Rast rose from the lowest of lichs, outlived several of his masters and his phylactery changed many bony hand. He did hard slave labor, obeyed fucked up meaningless orders, appeased the base whims of his perverted lich-masters, and was generally a low-ranking laborer until he fell into Bishop's hands. Bishop got Rast's phylactery with a bunch of other phylacteries as a tax for his last master's fuck-up. He continued to do the serving and fetching work, but with the Bishop having far more subordinates, Rast had some free time on his hands. He hadn't forgotten about Daniel and tried to find something about them in the local libraries, but Daniel was an ordinary guardian angel, and even the public archives of Cairn Necros held a tremendous amount of information. Rast had spent several lifetimes trying to find something about Daniel. He was driven by a variety of feelings: questions about why they'd left him, resentment that Rast had to go through some shit because of it, and just the warm feelings he still had for the angel. But his long search never came to fruition. In the meantime, he had read a lot of angel-centric literature and had become quite knowledgeable on the subject. In time, he was included in the traveling squads to the Wasteland and open territories. So he began to get familiar with angel hunting. With practice and theory, he had made some progress. Bishop recognized his accomplishments and allowed him to transfer to the field corps entirely to build up his qualifications. Bishop is still the holder of Rast's phylactery, or his lich-master, but at least Rast has since stopped scrubbing latrines. Moreover, after several centuries, Rast has risen to the head of the specialty and has subsequently robbed Azrael and co.'s caravans more than once.

Bishop, despite his nature and age, of all Rast's masters, treats him most gently. Mostly because Bishop doesn't give a shit about him at all and has no shortage of servants and subordinates. As a general rule, the older the lich, the more cruel and soulless he is, but Bishop is a pleasant exception. No, Bishop is still not a kindly grandpa in a bonnet, he's just not sadistic or perverted, and concentrates mostly on his job and serving Mortis. Bishop can still make your soul howl like a pipe organ with terror and pain, but he won't do it just for his own pleasure. For which Rast is unspokenly grateful to him actually, as he's put up with some sadistic shit in his undead life. Well, and, after all, it was Bishop who gave him the opportunity to somehow realize himself in the underworld and supported his interests, even if it was a carelessly thrown "boy, better go read a book". Rast, generally inclined to religious fanaticism, easily accepted the "new god" in the person of Mortis. Even seeing her only from a distance Rast could feel her supermassive all-consuming aura, a divine aura that almost literally made one bow one's head to the ground. On top of that, he had listened to Bishop as his lich-master and often attended his eloquent sermons, so he was imbued with the whole ideology thing. Rast hasn't become an ardent fanatic of the Death Cult, but he has joined the cult and "diligently attends Sunday service every week".

Despite Rast's difficult journey, he appears to be a positive dude; he's slightly unstable and twitchy, but not crazy. Underneath his contrived positivity and humor, though, lies a fractured and suffering personality.

The Flying Dutchman is a legendary ghost-sailing ship, which can't make it to shore and is doomed to sail the seas forever. A classic legend tells of a Dutch captain Van der Decken who defied the elements of the sea and for his boldness the gods cursed him. In my AU on the subject, the ship's captain is Second, and First is his constant midshipman, but they shared Van der Decken's arrogance and cruelty. Mortis, in this story, is the sea goddess who put a curse on them. So, being immortals, they know no rest, and from age to age the otherworldly wind drives their sails.

In Second's design, I made a small reference to the deep-sea anglerfish in his shoulder pads. It seems to me that this theme suits him, with its enchanting and alluring light somewhere in the impenetrable abyss. So he's probably the only one on the ship with such a bright glow in his eyes.

First's primary duty as midshipman is to control discipline and monitoring of implementation of the captain's orders. So the slothful and inattentive sailors First whips and curses out (sometimes he does it just for fun, so that non-life seemed more unpleasant). The picture doesn't show it well, but since they are sea devils, his whip is like the long tail of an electric stingray with spikes, so the blows, to say the least, are not pleasant. Instead of a parrot, he has a ghostly, tame muraena. (In this AU I wanted to make them more necrotic than usual because I missed the bones 🤧) Most of the time they chase aimlessly across the seas and sometimes attack ships they come across simply out of boredom, rather than for profit. But there is a ray of hope in this story — once every ten years a ship might dock and its crew might go ashore, dropping their death masks. The captain only has a chance to finally break the terrible curse if he can find true love.

The captain was good at everything: gallant, witty, with a ship and a hat! And handsome, too — on land, of course, when there was no curse. But even with all these qualities, it was impossible to find true love in one day. Even if there was a spark of love, all those fleeting feelings drifted away like water through the fingers after such a long separation. Second could try to retain his feelings for a girl he saw in the harbor, but he couldn’t make her wait for him and love him. Many times, he returned to the same port, hoping to see a familiar face, hoping to be expected there. But no one was expecting him. In time Second gave up looking for a bride, and since then he only went ashore to get drunk and forget himself in a woman's arms for a penny or two. Mortis’ curse was cruel ‘cause it prevented him from completely forgetting the taste of life. Ten years, so filigree a time to almost forget, but then to refresh the mind with memories and to torment oneself with them for the next decade.

Fun fact: almost all of these creepy dead men from the Flying Dutchman on the day they landed were becoming surprisingly peaceful and non-conflicted fellows. No one wanted to waste the precious hours of their only day off in pointless brawls - they had had enough blood and robbery at sea, and there was enough loot for every member of the crew to party almost royally for one day on shore. Except for that long-awaited day, the dead men had nothing to spend their gold on. On top of that, they were still immortal on land, so they didn't have to fight for their lives or anything. And even First stayed out of trouble, indulging in sin and heavy drinking. Anyway, since they are sea wolves in this au, I made them tan. The sun bounces off the water, plus they spent most of their time outdoors. Gold teeth and tattoos are included :D

Siren.

In my AU, the sirens are quite savage mythological creatures, although they are anthropomorphic and have as developed a nervous system as humans. They are carnivorous marine predators. Humans are not part of their main diet, but rather a delicacy for them, since there are comparatively few humans in the sea. Sirens can eat a person if they get a chance. They live and hunt in schools, so coming across a school on the high seas almost always promises death to sailors. 

The habits and lifestyles of sirens vary from school to school, for example, some live near shores and some live only in open waters. Ghost is one of the latter, so she, like her close relatives, does not know the human language. Their songs are a vocalize, that is, they are wordless howls. The musicality of the sirens is quite unique and appropriate to the character of each individual siren. The sound of Ghost's songs is mostly mournful and sad, she could be called a "sea banshee." The power of her songs awakens in the hearer such deep feelings of emotion that one may in the end die of a broken heart.

Ghost stumbled upon the Flying Dutchman by accident and, as a young inexperienced siren, tried to enchant the sailors. But they couldn’t be affected by siren songs, because they’re no longer living beings, although they aren’t quite dead. Even though her kin warned her that circling around the ghost ship was useless and not very safe, the whole phenomenon intrigued Ghost and aroused genuine curiosity.

Afterward, Ghost repeatedly returned to the strange ship and followed its course, and since the Dutchman sometimes sailed underwater, she had a chance to get a closer look at the crew. The majority on board didn't pay much attention to her. Not that there was anything to surprise dead sailors, they had seen all sorts of things at sea, and everyone was usually busy with the on-deck routine. Although the sirens didn't often get this close to the ship, so some did get distracted by her: some tried to chase her away, some tried to touch her, some just watched. Well, until they were whipped by the First for lounging around. In general, treatment varied, but it didn't count as an amazing encounter. For the most part, Ghost's attention was fixed on the reflective captain. She was mesmerized by his glowing eyes, though there was no magic in it. Sirens by nature are immune to all kinds of charms, they cannot be bewitched or enchanted.

So Second wasn't doing anything special, but nevertheless Ghost's interest in him was growing. He only paid attention to her when she swam too close and almost touched him with her tail. But usually this attention was limited to merely casual glances.

Well, Ghost and First... There, of course, not everything is as clear as it may seem. 

Initially, he only saw Ghost as a way of influencing Second. First can't blackmail him outright with it, but he can get on his nerves for good measure. Second is all iron-clad, and then all of a sudden, he's so vulnerable. "At least it's some fun!" That's why First didn't want to just tear this soul apart and forget it, no, it was so much better to simmer it over a low flame, preferably with Second watching.  And unlike Second, who still values Ghost’s personal boundaries, for whom her wishes and her condition are important, First doesn't care about this at all. He is a rapist by nature, he likes to coerce, to force, and for the victim to resist, then he is interested. So sometimes he practically demands this resistance from Ghost, even though she essentially can't do anything to him. And Ghost, even though she looks totally submissive next to First, resists wholeheartedly. The extent to which she loves Second is inversely proportional to the extent to which she hates First. At least that's how it was at first. 

But the more she interacted with him, the more she listened and generally delved into his essence, the more she understood (or thought she understood) how fractured and mentally exhausted he was inside. She has decided for herself that his aggression and violence are a consequence of his traumas. So one way or another she tries to communicate with him in a nice way, to make contact so that everyone is okay, but with First it is a contradictory concept in itself. 

Over time, Ghost began to empathize with First, to sincerely sympathize and almost voluntarily be a kind of «whipping girl» for him, but empathy in this case is not the root cause, but a consequence of hopelessness. So here we have the Stockholm syndrome all over the place. Beyond that, whether consciously or not, in First Ghost sees God. She also worships Second, but to her First is such a creepy, dark god who must be continually reassured by «blood sacrifices and dancing on the bones».  And apart from direct fear, his strength inspires both admiration and awe in her. And over a long period of time, she somehow got used to him and became attached to him (although it's hard to get used to such an attitude, but that's the details). In general, when it comes to talking about I, Ghost experiences the fullest possible range of feelings, from hatred to love. With such a kaleidoscope of emotions between them it is impossible to characterize their relationship in any one way, so here is such a wall of text here. 

As for First's feelings on the matter: even if Ghost's empathy toward him disarms him somewhere very deep inside, he has long since forgotten how to react adequately to it. And instead of, you know, melting down, softening up, it usually triggers destructive emotions and awakens aggression in him. Aggression is such a universal emotional reaction in First. Besides, his toxic masculinity is fountain-like, and for him to show sympathy or, Mortis forbid, love of any kind, is a weakness, he despises it all. If you ask yourself globally, why is he tormenting Ghost anyway? For him, violence is the most understandable and accessible way to communicate. He is still a man in the past, he still has a need for communication, for understanding, for acceptance, perhaps even for intimacy.  But the absolute denial of all this generates a lot of internal conflicts in him, and these contradictions come float away with a clang and a rattle. First is really such a big broken mechanism that nobody knows how the fuck is working at all. I mean, even universal aggression is far from always foreseeable. Something about Ghost eventually began to appeal to him. But, of course, these feelings were not as deep as Second's and had a slightly different angle. Is First attached to Ghost by the end of the day? To some extent yes, but that answer would not please any of this trio.

Was asked a question to one of the last arts and I want to answer separately: —  so Ghost can be left with mutilations, too? The Tower is generally an ethereal setting, intangible, but I transfer the spiritual component to the visual materialization. as First, lich, can consume the soul or mentally torture it, for example, so it is most obvious to show it through such metaphorical mutilations. Ghost as a soul is stronger than an ordinary mortal body (in principle her whole essence works differently), so that in general First can tear off her conditional both arms and head, and still not "kill". As a matter of fact, Ghost doesn't have a body, but rather appears as a formed bundle of energy. so the soul as this concentrated mental energy can self-regenerate over time, cause the soul as a mythological object is often described by the words immortal or eternal. in this case, the absorption of the soul can be perceived more as its transformation rather than its complete erasure from existence as such. in general, here everything goes further into metaphysics and philosophy.

In general, the whole sexual subtext in the drawings can be explained in the same way. Between ghosts and the dead there isn't a literal physical proximity, it all works purely on a psycho-emotional level. (In addition, I adore symbolic eroticism, and in the Tower drawings I find this artistic device particularly appropriate.)

First doesn't torture Ghost all the time. It’s hard to explain what his mood depends on, but sometimes he behaves almost normally. First especially loves to talk. Although it's more like a monologue or a stream of thoughts, but Ghost doesn't complain about this kind of break. She thinks he is not so bad at such moments and... this is a poisonous, but sweet thought. She is always interested in listening to his stories, of which he has accumulated a lot over his long afterlife.

— How does Second feel about First torturing Ghost? 

Negatively, of course, but Second can't really shield Ghost from First. The main problem is the “contract of souls”. A soul can fall under the power of the Lich in various ways: capture, contract, metamorphosis, etc. I won't go into the detailed conditions and variety of these ways yet,but I will say that Ghost is a soul under the contract. In the first place, this implies that First and Second are in equal authority over a particular soul because of the seal of Mortis, which in turn binds the pillars. That's why the Second can't, for example, just hide Ghost  — because of the contractual connection, First will find her anywhere. He could press the First, but in that case, it would be a blow to his pride. He’s the supreme Lich, the Second Pillar of Death, the right hand of Mortis. In his status, it isn’t appropriate to fight over a single mortal soul. His head should remain as cold as his heart. Second could fight with First, but, first, this fight could drag on for several centuries, second, he wouldn’t kill him anyway, and third, they’ve already "outgrown" such methods of resolving conflicts between themselves. Either way, they're in the same boat and it's for the long haul. It is possible to come to an agreement with the First, but when it comes to the personal whims of the Second, he will stubbornly cling to his principles. It is useless to impose your terms on First, he goes like a bulldozer, and if he wants something, he takes it. And he does. Through Ghost he can spite Second, and subsequently he just had his own personal interest, although this is a less obvious reason. So the only compensation Second can offer to Ghost is emotional support. 

At first she was very hurt by his aloofness and coldness in this matter, by the fact that he didn’t "protect" her from First as much as she would’ve liked, but in time she came to terms with it and got used to the format of their relationship.

Despite the somewhat intimate subject, in this art Second can appear pensive and detached, and that's how it's meant to be. So I want to open that up a little bit and talk about the dynamics between Second and Ghost. They treat each other very warmly, despite the difference in hierarchy, their feelings are fully mutual. Ghost is always completely open to the Second and initiates contact and rapprochement, but most of the time Second keeps his distance, and there are several reasons for this. First: the emotional aspect - he's afraid of getting close. In postmortem he has become much more closed and colder, and any human manifestation is perceived more as vulnerability. The more attached he is to Ghost, the more leverage there is on him, and he's already tied up with Mortis and First. Second: the technical aspect - the interaction of the lichs with the souls. Any "close" contact between a lich and an ordinary soul has negative consequences for the latter. The very essence of Necrolich can be compared to a funnel when it comes to souls, their direct source of power. If one gets too close and stays around for too long, pieces start to literally fall off the soul, which gets sucked into this necro-funnel regardless of the wishes of both parties. And if First neglects these consequences, then Second do has problems with that. He doesn't want to hurt Ghost unnecessarily and make things worse. Which, of course, does not change the fact that he wants to lie with her in his arms for ten thousand years. "It's hard to look at the lips you can't kiss" is hackneyed and trite, but that's about them. Their intimacy doesn't go over a certain line, Second just keeps them from swimming over the buoys. Although Ghost's self-indulgent affection can go to extremes, read as "devour me and I'll be more than happy." So Ghost of course resents this distancing:

 — Why is it that First can allow himself this and you can't?  — Well, precisely because he allows himself to do it  — I can't.

But in some way or another she accepts these conditions, as she accepts Second himself, with all the nuances of his character and behavior, from great love and from the fact that, frankly, she has little choice in how to react to it.

___

 Despite Second's reputation as a good guy, he is still a lich. He still absorbs souls and uses them as a resource. He can't change his necrotic nature. He really isn't as gentle with everyone as he is with Ghost, but overall his approach is soft to the extent he can. Whereas First will hunt down souls like a maniac from a horror movie to the laughter, screams, and roar of a chainsaw, Second is more likely to politely invite everyone to a dinner party. Although this invitation isn’t the one you can reject either :') It's not just a manifestation of his decency or something, in fact he just doesn't like to be feared by souls because he thinks fear spoils the flavor. It's pure taste, because First, for example, on the contrary, prefers spices that are exactly that. Second likes to be genuinely adored and idolized, not feared. In fact, he and First both love the feeling of power, but First is a fan of violent power, a follower of the power paradigm. Second, on the other hand, is inclined to fanatic power, when there is no need to coerce anyone through fear, when the crowds themselves put their bodies on the line for his sake. All in His name. And he knows how to make it happen. Some believe that he would make a more prominent First Pillar, a more influential and loyal Archbishop of Death than First himself, but Mortis has her own criteria for selection.

Second prefers to devour peaceful souls who give themselves to it willingly and self-indulgently. They still have no way out, and they will still be frightened by the yawning abyss of the lich's maw at their last moment, but at least he doesn't fuel their fear, keeping the illusion of peace and safety until then. I'm always remembering the scene with the curious oysters from the 1951 Alice in Wonderland cartoon. It's a frightening scene, but that vibe characterizes Second as a lich. That's why a large portion of servile souls sympathize with him, and some straight up genuinely fan him. Second lowkey has a reputation as a rock star in the underworld  So, generally speaking, Ghost isn't the only one with such a crush on him. You could say that Second plays the role of "good cop" in their duet with First and this is the preferred/comfortable behavior pattern for him, although he doesn't always have the time or desire to display good manners. And it's not something he came to right away.

Second doesn't really talk about the fact that he has a favorite. He tries not to highlight Ghost in front of others and in a way hides their special bond. They're all lovey-dovey when they're alone, but when there are other lichs, souls, etc. around he deliberately equates Ghost with the rest. She doesn't like it, of course, and she sulks, so she might say something like "hey, I'm your wife!", but there are millions of such remarks from other souls, so it doesn't change anything. In a way, Second purposely preserves the image of a "bachelor" so that every soul can hope for special treatment and priority. He also doesn't want other lichs to pay attention to Ghost. Both as a particularly appetizing soul, and as a possible vulnerability of the Second Pillar. Of course, no one would dare to covet another man's pie, especially not a supreme lich's pie, but he's not one to go around pulling everyone’s horns like that. And besides, Second is just the kind of person who doesn't like to make personal matters public.

I wanted to reminisce about their former lives and how simple they used to be. So here's the doodle board. 

Second in life was a very open sunny man, he smiled and laughed so often... First in his life, though he already had his bad temper, was still much more human and down-to-earth. Also, when they were alive, they got along much better with each other and in general often helped each other, which cannot be said about their sorrowful afterlife.

If First, despite all the horrific consequences of necrotization, remained driven by approximately the same motives as when he was alive, then Second before death and after are practically two different people. In a way, necrotization broke Second somewhere deep inside by taking away all the colors of life, a life he loved very much. Unlike his brother, Second sees little appeal in their postmortem. And beyond that, he blames himself for what happened; the "big brother complex" still haunts him to this day. Although this post-mortem depression not immediately hit him. After they had both come to terms with and realized their own status in the underworld as young Lichs, they reveled in their power and authority. Mortis wouldn't let them do whatever they wanted, but within the limits of their power, they went wild. Necrotization as a deep mental shock unleashed some of the unconscious aggression Second had been accumulating in him all his life. The despair of powerlessness against Mortis overturned, like a bowl of stagnant water, all the repressed emotions within. Sometimes it was even more like insanity, a state of shock in which he simply saw no point in holding back, and, to be frank, he didn't have much control over himself. Chaos threw Second into confusion, but in this confusion he did not put his hands down, but waved his sword as before (he is the kind of person who in a bad mood mushes a punching bag and splashes everything out through physical activity). Mortis made it clear that there is a hierarchy, a chain of command, and a system in the world of the dead, too. So, having found a backbone in this, Second calmed down, became more restrained, colder, wedged himself into this system and began to keep a face, just as he used to do when he was alive. But First still reminds Second of what he really is. As for Mortis, she is indifferent and unconcerned about all the stages of her favorites' crises. They are not the first and not the last, and all, like a copy, consistently experience about the same thing. So she had long ago grown bored of going into detail about their emotional turmoil and wiping their noses with a handkerchief.

Unlike Second, First was glad of their postmortem. At first. He spent his whole life dreaming of immortality, to comprehend the endless mysteries of which this world is literally woven. It takes time, and earthly life is so unjustly short... Necrotization opened the door to his dream. And all would be well... But the voices inevitably drive him insane. His mentality is cracking at the seams from the strain, but in public he will always deny it, and in general he considers himself the most adequate, un-fucking-able, fuckin' masterpiece of the underworld (c) However, deep down, he suffers heavily from his own insanity and is torn by contradictions. But, as they say, in his inner chaos he is fucking beautiful and unique. First sees the invisible structures, magical and informational flows on a completely different level, and this is why he is especially valuable to Mortis. In a way, Mortis turns a blind eye to some of his antics and irregularities, because finding a persistent Listener versed in magic isn’t easy. It is a privilege of his position, of all who have been in his place before and of all who will take that place in the future. Nevertheless, First is able to control the situation and keep it together (he just doesn't want to), even his chaotic nature has its limits, so that rationality and consciousness are still inherent in him. At times. Mortis’ hand, which holds him on a short leash, is a much more overwhelming weight on top. More than ignorance, the First hates restrictions and unfreedom. There's a reason I drew them with Second as birds once, birds that can't live in cages but have to.

A sketch on the subject of memories of the First's past life. First was a mage, a war mage. Together with his brother, they led a semi-mercenary life and often earned their living with swords. They both grew up early, like all people of that time, and already at a young age they faced the cruelty of the world and death. And it couldn't help but affect them. First had anger problems since his youth, and in the war he gave free rein to this feeling. His magical skills were already outstanding then, among the other warlocks on the battlefield he shone like a torch in the dark, and the sense of superiority over the others, the sense of power over the weak, the sense of "justified" cruelty always intoxicated him. He left no prisoners behind. For that he was both loved and hated. The regular soldiers have always considered the magical group as a whole to be oddballs (and for good reason). But even other mages considered First excessively cruel, saying that even in war people should remain human and not turn into monsters. But First wasn't the only one, and there were always those who shared his bloody enthusiasm. Second was not one of them, but he felt that the thirst for cruelty to the likes of his brother was better allowed to be quenched in the war, because it would not go anywhere once he returned home. Second was disgusted by the stupid massacre, but he turned a blind eye to it, choosing, as he thought, the lesser evil.

___

I don't know if you were ever expecting this or not, but a sudden post full of hcs about orientation and sexual relationships lets goooooooooo. (This info, of course, applies more to the lifetime period, for in the afterlife gender usually plays no role and is not obvious in all beings).

Sooooooo

While being alive, composed of warm flesh and blood, Second was, well, to put it mildly, very lovable :) You know, night here, night there, in and out. He was young, handsome, the life of the party… And he was a real charmer. Promising the moon from the sky, the stars in a box, and then fucking off in the morning — that's what he was like when he was alive :D Second believed that women love with their ears and he was generally right. So with such sweet speeches loneliness at night did not bother him. I mean, he was a gentleman and all, but, you know, he wasn’t innocent. And it wasn't just women who were the victims of his seduction. Second is bisexual by nature, so his charm conquered all, but his partners were divided 70/30 in favor of girls. I won’t specify whether he was a passive or active with guys, it isn’t so important and let it be left to your wild imagination.

And what about First?

First was just a thousand fucking percent ultraheterosexual man, like ugh, knock on wood and God forbid (he didn't get along with women very well, men were too many for him :'D). And against expectations, he wasn't an alpha. Or maybe he wanted to give that impression, but in communication he was rather just tactless and rude. Girls didn't willingly and intelligently hook up with him. First more often bought (literally) women's caresses than received it as a result of sincere sympathy. Unlike his brother, he couldn't build trusting relationships, he could not empathize very well, he was unrestrained in anger, and he had sadistic tendencies even then. In general, the guy had a psychopathic flavor when he was alive. Therefore, women around First were mainly divided into two types: those who run from him as if he was a leper (they were the majority) and those special madameses who were delighted by his boldness, sharpness and unpredictability (they were a minority, but what a minority). Such women were themselves not very stable, as a rule, so Second and First usually had no competitive fights about partners — they just liked different girls.

Second had a rather diverse taste in men. He could be attracted to both stern, serious guys and jokers, both soft and rough. In relations with guys he liked the competitive moment. Girls he preferred quiet and calm, what is called «goody-two-shoes». He liked the idea of tempting modest girls, unwinding unpretentious girls, and everything like that. First could also play games to seduce the quiet ones, but in his youth he lacked the patience and experience to do so, so more often he preferred agitated and exuberant ladies. So that there would be scandals, fights and flying dishes. He was not bored with them, and for him it was always the most important thing not only in relationships, but also in life in general.

But what they had in common was that they were both quite frivolous, probably more so because of their young age, but neither of them was in a hurry to start a family and settle down — they were on the road of adventure, so to speak.

The patterns of their lifetime behavior can partially be traced in the afterlife, but I repeat that in the postmortem, physical intimacy for lichs falls away as a rudiment. Biochemical processes in their bodies no longer work as before, although the emotional component partially remains. So it all flows into the psychological aspect. I sometimes draw intimate stories within the Tower setting, but it's more of a metaphor for mental and spiritual intimacy. I realize it can look very soulless, but there are no simple and easy to understand concepts in this story. ___

The Pillar Clash.

(Big lore part about a rather important psychological stage in the (un)lives of particular death favorites. But it's all true for the rest too. Hopefully this part will give more insight into the behavior of these characters. The short thesis is "when will First and Second fight over Ghost? The answer is never". Read on.)

The Pillar Clash is one of the stages of the crises of death favorites that all representatives go through without exception. After the period of adaptation in the underworld and after the period of euphoria from the realization of one's own invulnerability, there usually comes a prolonged stage of existential abyss. Even after death, the human feelings and mentality of a mortal being continue to give themselves away. And having lasted much longer than the prescribed period of life individuals inevitably face the horror of eternity. Immortality is freedom from the shackles of time, but faced with it, mortal (even former mortal) beings don't know what to do about it. In the case of the Pillars of Death, on the one hand this "freedom" tears them apart from the inside with time, an abundance of resources and available power, and on the other hand it restrains them by limiting their ability to use it all. The whole mythological structure works on this principle: the more powerful a being is, the more restrictions are provided for it. That's why the strongest of this world simply need to work with ordinary common clerks and beings of a lower order. The pantheon always has a pyramid system and for a reason. So even First, who had dreamed of an infinite supply of time all his life, began to exhaust his enthusiasm at some point. Death's favorites are Mortis' beloved dogs in golden collars. In the underworld they have been given all the privileges, all the resources, but they still can't get away from their "doghouse". The unliving has inevitably drowned out all the colors of everyday unlife and blurred the meaning of such an existence with each passing century. I believe that all the undead, including First and Second, deeply long for peace. And being deprived of such an opportunity, they continue to suffer. This suffering sooner or later reaches a climax and leads them to a state when the only thing they sincerely desire is absolute death, complete self-destruction. But to die while already dead is not an easy task even for beings of this order. First and Second have tried more than once to destroy each other in their postmortem. Out of anger at each other, out of despair at the hopelessness of their situation, and even out of curiosity and boredom. However, no matter how much strength they had, no matter how powerful they became, the Seal of Mortis would never allow them to deliberately destroy themselves. Basically all the wounds, scars, and stitches that are on their bodies they have gotten from each other or inflicted on themselves, as only a suitably powerful opponent can cause such visible damage to a top level lich. During this period, the Pillars become partially uncontrollable, they experience a sense of total catharsis and want to destroy not only each other, but everything around them (literally, the meme 'I would kill everyone in this room and then myself'). So the creatures of the underworld clear the "arena" for them and hide in the corners. For ordinary creatures, the Pillar fight is like a chaotic tornado, and it's best not to stand near it. The only thing left to do is to wait out the storm. Clashes of this magnitude shake the underworld, but still can't destroy it or even do critical damage. The Pillars are certainly powerful dudes, but they're nowhere near world destroyers. That's why Mortis never gets involved in the process. For Mortis, the Pillars' Clash is sort of their crash test. Each squeezing out maximum strength to destroy the other, it reveals and demonstrates their inner potential as favorites. Mortis looks at what they can do and how much they can take.

Usually no one prepares the death favorites for this battle or warns them about the details of the Seal, the conflict between them unfolds as if naturally. Especially if they were closely acquainted during their lifetime. However, First Pillar receives hints of this from the dead, whose countless voices he can hear. The dead have no purpose to give him a head start with their prophecies, it is simply a stream of unconsciousness that is available to him. First Pillar receives messages not only that they will sooner or later face head-to-head with Second Pillar, but that he cannot win that battle. He can't know that this message implies the mutual limitations of the Seal and that there simply can be no winners in this battle. It's not easy to interpret such blurred messages, so it's more often than not taken personally, as a prophecy of his own defeat. This develops a lot of paranoia and anxiety, which only further inflames the relationship between them and increases his inner feelings of frustration.

Second pillar usually doesn't give a damn about these prophecies, and although such an outcome is expected due to the gradual escalation of the conflict — the dudes fight like it's their last time. So we can only guess what kind of emotional explosion and devastation they both felt for the first time when they raised their weapons against each other on absolutely serious terms. They are brothers, after all. Each of them thought then that this really could be the end. Such battles can last for centuries, but eventually the slaughter stops. Typically, afterwards, the favorites never face each other in a duel again. It just doesn't make any sense anymore. The end of this kind of trial usually marks a complete acceptance and submission to inevitability. Though everyone comes to terms with it differently. But what is certain is that First and Second will never stop secretly dreaming of freedom from the restraining Seal.

They never destroyed each other then, but something inside them was definitely irretrievably dead inside.

As for Ghost, she appeared a thousand years after they clashed. Instead of a tsunami, there was already a calm. First and Second, of course, are still at odds after that incident, but it's more of a blunted state of protracted cold war. They may yell at each other and bicker, but it usually doesn't go any further than that. At the end of the day, they're still coworkers and often have to work together. So it's not as if Ghost is the only thing that matters, you know, dudes have their own issues. And as much as Second loves Ghost (although he has a lot of trouble defining it for himself, to be honest), he's not going to clash with First again. Not for that reason or any other. You can call him heartless, he'd agree with you. Like, "Of course, I'm fucking dead".

That's the way it is. ___

Names.

Okay. Initially, First and Second had quite human names. In his lifetime, First's name was Virgicht, Second's name was Thanatos (both names have the accent on the first syllable) (don't let Second's name confuse you, it was made up many years ago, and well, that's just the way it goes). But by their lifetime names, they are addressed only by Mortis sometimes or by themselves to each other, but rarely. In all other cases they have their titles: First Pillar, First Favorite, Archbishop of Death, Listener, Omniscient, All-Knowing, Weaver of Nothingness. Also Second Pillar, Second Favorite, Lord Commander-in-Chief, Warlord of Terror, Angel of Death, Great Executioner, Slayer of the Immortals. And there's a decent list of more pathos titles, but those are the main ones. The numbering of the Pillars doesn't indicate their primacy or anything like that, it's just an enumeration, but why First is the First and Second is the Second? In addition to their obvious predisposition to certain kinds of Pillar activities, Mortis viewed their strengths not only in terms of their merits, but also in terms of their vulnerabilities. First's advantage is his intelligence, his ability to concentrate and analyze, but the need to constantly contain the burden of voices purposefully dampens his potential. First has a rebellious and non-conformist temperament, but being the First Pillar, with a ring on his finger that non-stop damages his mentality, he's never going to cause Mortis much trouble. In fact, he'd be a good fit for the role of Second Pillar as well, because, although unlike his brother, First is more impulsive and unrestrained, he fought alongside his brother during his lifetime and is well-versed in warfare. And like any other Warlord-Lich, he also studies necromancy and the magic of the dead. However, if the cursed ring didn't provide him with migraine trips every single day, keeping himself in check would be a lot easier for him, as well as concentrating. He would almost certainly be even more powerful than he is now. Yes, the Favorites could never be more powerful than Mortis herself, that's a bar they can't jump over. But Mortis doesn't need the worry of rebellious subordinates, especially the closest and most powerful ones. 

Same with Second. Second, with his ability to inspire and lead a crowd would indeed make a more outstanding Archbishop than First. Second lives a collective life, it's important for him to guide someone, it's important for him to be listened to, it's important to ignite hearts (or what is left of them, at least) and to lead. Mortis looked at it and was like, yeah, here's a bunch of dumb zombies who drool and don't even know where they're going (I mean the bulk of the undead armies). Second is of those who know how to start stadiums, and he was given a stadium of straw stuffed men. Have fun. So here the internal ethical inquiry of Second is also dipped in shit, pardon my rudeness. Of course, dumb zombies aren't the entire military staff and the officers are still more intelligent undead, but nevertheless they have just a little more fighting spirit and enthusiasm. And yet, Mortis has the wisdom and insight to balance her tools wisely. To give enough load so that they don't try to kick and throw her off the saddle, and at the same time enough mobility so that they can bear the weight and keep moving forward with confidence. First's strong side is his sharp mind, so that's where Mortis stabbed.