Duff

Duff has lived for many thousands of years. He was one of the ten beasts granted shape shifting by Accia Syltharis and fought the Erlithmanil alongside him amid the Downfall of the Erlithmanil. He was also tasked with guarding Zalikar's sealing crystal and to pass this responsibility down to his descendants. However, fearing death, Duff accepted Zalikar's pact and became his familiar, gaining eternal life, a draconic form and full access to dark magic akin to Zalikar himself. He has come to regret this pact as the ages passed him by. He has created many shape shifters, only a few coming close to being a successful host. His last host, before Tia Minx, suffered a terrible fate and this led Duff to refuse his duties for hundreds of years. That is, until Tia fell into his lap on the verge of death. Between his pity for her and the compulsion of his pact, he made Tia his new partner.

Duff himself is a solitary, cryptic and proud creature. He carries intense guilt and regret for the choices he's made throughout his life and has a tendency to be cryptic if not ominous. He shares many personality traits with his master, including being secretive, untrusting and cynical. He believes he is protecting Tia by keeping the full truth from her, wishing her to live at least one normal lifetime before facing her fate. Despite his regrets, Duff takes great pride in his shape shifting especially his draconic form. He also enjoys taking on the forms of stealthy creatures, beautiful animals and predators. Because many of his previous partners were not the best of people, he has only grown more cynical of the nature of mankind, harshly judgemental of human society as well. Tia continues to astound and entertain him so he strives to protect these qualities in her as well as keep her safe—he feels responsible for doing so. The other familiars and immortas of Emynea often refer to him as a grumpy old codger since he is either humorless and stubborn or portrays a dry if not dark sense of humor. He is also very reclusive, tending to avoid the other elemental familiars. More than any of the others, he can't stand Stella, the two of them bickering endlessly when they cross each others' path!

Physical Appearance

While able to become any kind of animal, Duff has many preferences for predators or the quick, lithe and agile. While he can alter his color and other physical characteristics, he prefers sticking to black. His favorite forms are his birth form, a grey wolf, and his draconic form. Like the other elemental familiars, Duff has gained a new, powerful elemental form through his pact with Zalikar: a dark dragon. While there are other dark dragons in Emynea, however rare, only Duff can take on this form which integrates all five of Zalikar's aspects rather than just one or two. This is considered the ultimate beastial expression of darkness.

Species

Elemental Familiar,
Gray Wolf

Age

60,000+

Master

Zalikar

Partner

Tia Minx