#leptys

• While the Lums didn't originally have a king, they did have someone known as "The Father of All Lums" and a god of life. That person was André former known as Lumine. He and Great Spirit Palmito-god of death-were in charge of the cycle of life.

• They came into conflict over mortals. Palmito became apathetic over time after seeing constant life cycles come and go. Lumine, however, would still mourn and cry over the death of mortals, especially his own lums. This annoyed Palmito to no end as he couldn't understand how Lumine hadn't gotten used to the process despite being a god.

• Eventually, this all came to a climax when Palmito decided that the only way to shut up the Griskins was to kill them all. Lumine fought to protect the Griskins, but unfortunately, he was "murdered" in an act of blind rage.

• In reality, Lumine had survived. He had decided within that battle-growing tired of Palmito's treatment of him and the negligence of the other gods-he would not return to the heavens. He lived by his lonesome self in complete and utter isolation alongside his broken mind. The thoughts in his head grew more and more twisted by the day until... he snapped and went manic. Once a warm embrace to all became a cold chill, reeking of fear. He isolation led him to believe that he nor his lums deserved a world that gave them no remorse, and they would be promptly punished for it and reminded their place amoung the cycle of life. I mean, if they are going to harm God and his angels, they shouldn't be surprised when punishment arrives.

• André's "cheese touch" ability was originally a healing touch! Once he turned into a black lum, this ability corrupted along with him, now tainting and affecting all who come in contact.

• André also USED TO be able to create lums freely and infinitely. However, he found that he had somehow lost the ability when becoming a black lum, hence why he had to target other lums and focus his operations on the Heart of the World and the Specter of Leptys. I wonder why...

• Lums have fairy forms, which they can change between at will. For black lums, this brings great advantages. They use their fairy forms to pilot their hoodlum forms, and when their uniform takes too much damage, they revert back to a tiny little lum and fly away.

• As a defense mechanism, black lums can become like parasites. Let's say, somehow, someway, a black lum finds themselves in the body of an unfortunate victim; well, they can use that victim as a host and slowly take over them bit by bit. It starts with unquenchable thirst or everlasting hunger, with the host constantly needing to eat or drink for the black lum. Then, the host's skin will begin to rot, with splotches of the skin growing moldy and fuzzy. Finally, the lum's disease reaches the brain, causing drastic and violent mood changes and eventually the brain death of the host, which they will then be taken control of by the lum or the lum will leave the body and leave the host left for dead! This also raises the stakes of Rayman needing to get Globox to the doctor's office.

Onto the Reflux and the Knarren!

• Reflux and Gumsi are brothers! Their mother was the previously ruler of the Knarren who "mysteriously" passed away one day.

• Reflux used to be quite loyal to the Leptys (and I mean way back then, by the events of Rayman 3, he is not loyal in the slightest). Though that faith began to waver over time.

• Between the two brothers, it always seemed Reflux got the bad end of the stick, with Gumsi being chosen and preferred by Leptys for almost EVERYTHING. Reflux tried EVERYTHING to please the Leptys and get at least a little recognition out of him, but all to no avail. Eventually, this led to a fight between him and his god, where he said something that made Leptys ENRAGED to the point of sentencing him to death.

• If it's not the traditional battle against prisoners, the Knarren fight in the Destiny Arena for honor, or in this case, their lives. It is here that Reflux faced the former feared champion, and to the surprise of everyone, even the Leptys himself, it is here he won and proved him wrong.

• From then on, Reflux became a respected figure across the tribe, serving as the right-hand and enforcer for his brother. He also gained notoriety across the Glade as a pit fighter and warrior. Many times at Council meetings, he was met with fairies, teensies, and all other people in the castle with their praise and adoration. Look at all he was able to achieve without the aid of a god! A god who was willing to persecute and punish his people for the slightest inconvenience! A god who could care less about his own people! Who needs him anyway?!

• In every battle Reflux fought, there were always stakes, a reason to keep fighting. He had a reputation to maintain, a point to prove, and pride to fuel. When Rayman managed to best him, he went back to those fleeting moments when he was younger, second rate, nothing, and constantly at the feet of someone who never cared. To hell he'd go back to a place like that! He would prove his worth and strength, even if it met crossing the line towards the point of no return.

• The Leptys is a very morally grey character, not necessarily bad, but he isn't helping the good guys until times get REAL tough. He is quick to be suspicious and slow to trust.

• The Knarrens and Birds of the Dijiridoos (Mimics as I like to call them) are fairly close in relation. Leptys and the creator of the Mimics are brothers!

• Speaking of birds, the Knarren are flightless birds with bodies made out of Fluorescent Moon Crystal (the stuff Reflux shatters into at the end of the final fight) the sturdiest structure in the entire Glade, only being breakable by Leptys himself. The blood they bleed is cold and blue. I promise this'll make more sense when I draw Reflux and Gumsi.

• It is uncommon for Knarren to be born with enough wings to fly, but there have been cases of it.

• It is also uncommon for Knarren to be skilled in both magic and physical combat. It is usually one or the other. Reflux can do both.

Finally, we have some general hcs for the cast of Rayman 3!

• In my AU, the doctors don't immediately know how to deal with Black Lums (this is more of a nitpick, but it's always confused me on how the doctors know how to deal with the black lums already as it mean that this isn't the first time black lums have existed in the Glade and it's never explained if that's the case) they are learning on the spot, but by the time Rayman, Globox, and Murfy get to Art, they've figured a way to cure Globox. They're fast thinkers.

• Speaking of Murfy, Murfy is staying for the ENTIRE adventure because I want him to :) In the U.S. version of the manual, they explain how Murfy is able to zip into Hoodlum camps undetected and bring back information like spy. I wanna see him do that, so he's gonna do that.

• André is a master manipulator. When it became more evident that he was gonna be stuck with the trio for longer than he thought, he began whispering sweet nothings into Globox's ear to get the upper hand. When he saw that Leptys gave him the ability to purify, he realized that he had to get as far away from him AS POSSIBLE and made Globox believe that the other two thought he was a burden and was planning to get rid of him.

• He is a very clever devil on a certain Knarren's shoulder, taking advantage of their wavering mental state.