Shadow Puppets AU - The Golden Guard
By the time Hunter was created, Belos had used about half of Caleb's bones, however because Grimwalkers are so difficult to make, only fifteen grew to maturity including Hunter himself.
I decided not to use any of the Grimwalkers shown in canon. A lot of them are still in development but here's a brief summary of them.
Adam- was active 2 years, Philip initially tried to use the Grimwalker spell to resurrect Caleb, but Adam's birth proved that wasn't how it worked, and Philip never quite stopped resenting him for that. Adam was roughly 19 when he was born and died protecting Belos in the early years of the Crusades. He never had the title of Golden Guard in life, but Belos bestowed it after his death and gave it to the subsequent Grimwalkers.
Nathaniel - Active three years, appearing to be in his early 20s accidentally killed by Belos during the Crusades when he was experimenting with artificial magic.
Levi- was the youngest Grimwalker until Hunter, he was born at the age of twelve and lived five years, he was assassinated during the Crusades when he was seventeen. After his death, Belos started telling everyone that Levi was his son.
Isaiah- Was active four years, appeared to be roughly eighteen when he was born, he was Golden Guard when Belos became emperor, and served for a year before he was killed by Belos after getting caught with a Wild Witch. He was proficient with plant magic, and in particular loved roses. His lover was a male witch who got away, Belos never saw him again.
Ezekiel - Active for five years, born at twenty and was a dedicated Golden Guard until he was murdered by an ambitious scout that wanted his position.
Jasper -Appeared to be about seventeen when he was born, and was active two years, hunted down and executed by Belos after meeting Flapjack and betraying him. The blue markings on his face are tattoos, not scars.
Noah- Born at sixteen and active four years, he was drowned by Belos during paranoid episode
Eden - Active for 6 years, the only female Grimwalker that grew to maturity she was roughly 25 when she was born. Eden had a proficiency for Bard magic and could sing a special song to put Belos to sleep when his curse was acting up- that song being a lullaby that Caleb used to sing to him. She confused her devotion to Belos as romantic love and committed suicide by jumping off the balcony when he rejected her.
Brutus - He was born at age 21 and was active for four years. He genuinely believed in the Emperor's philosophies, but also that Belos was being too kind to the Wild Witches. He was executed after he attempted to usurp power.
Milo - Was sixteen when he was born, and lived three years before he was publicly petrified by Belos after showing sympathy for, and releasing captured Wild Witches. Milo was especially good at brewing potions and the burn on his face is actually from a potion that exploded on him
Matthew and Alexander - The "twinwalkers" Matthew served as Golden Guard while Alexander was the head of the Emperor's Coven. They were born at twenty-three and lived five years before Alexander fell in love with a while Witch and abandoned the Coven. He and his lover were hunted down and killed by Matthew, but he let their child live. Upon returning to the palace, he was killed by Belos who claimed it was a mercy since he knows the pain carried from killing a brother.
William - was the most loyal of the Grimwalkers he lived around Eleven years and unexpectedly died on a mission. Will knew he was a Grimwalker and that whomever he was made from was important to Belos but never knew their actual relationship. He also thought he was the only Grimwalker Belos ever made.
"Golden Guard" - Because Will was still active when he was born, Belos didn't bother naming this Grimwalker and mixed him in with the general scouts where he later grew to be Darius's mentor. He was promoted to Golden Guard following Will's death but Belos was devastated after losing will he refused to learn this Grimwalker's name and only ever called him "Golden Guard". Because he had relationships outside of Belos, this Grimwalker was more defiant than some of the others and was ultimately killed after standing up to him one too many times.
Hunter - Currently active. Hunter became the youngest Grimwalker when he was born at eight years old. Belos raised him as his nephew, and originally called him "prince" with no intention of him ever taking the position of Golden Guard, Hunter only took it up after the death of his predecessor and it was meant to only be temporary until the next Grimwalker was ready. When Hunter asks Belos about his father, he tells him stories of Caleb and Will
The Bone pit- The rest of the Grimwalkers all either never made it out of the ground or were defective Grimwalkers he mercy killed. Regardless of their status, Belos buried them all in a mass grave with a Golden Guard mask etched with a name on the back to mark them. The ones that reached maturity were buried in the same grave alongside their "siblings"
