Jassen & Fa'oon

It’s coming. There’s no way out. We can’t run, we can’t fight back… I’m so scared, aren’t you? Maybe I can still play something, even after it’s all over.

Two Souls, One Body

Jassen had only known seven noinkuz without Fa’oon, though it may as well be none. They’re brothers by blood, in the most intimate of senses. They share the world, though it was originally Jassen’s. Fa’oon calls him Cha, a rare, sonorous term of familial endearment. Jassen calls him Cha, a subtle love and reminder that one day, Fa’oon will kill him.

Fa’oon wasn’t born by choice, and not in any way he would now or ever want. He lives within Jassen, a carnivore made parasite puppeting to merely exist. He tries not to, but movement takes away Jassen’s autonomy. This works both ways. Jassen only wishes his brother the best; Fa’oon’s dread lingers, eating at him. His soul is a tempest that is bared through his music, though not intentionally.

They are two beings cotained in the same body.

Semantically, they are two bodies, Jassen humi and Fa’oon Gheforis. Through their proximity, use of one another’s body, and overlapping souls, they are two yet one. Only one can move at a time, so they take turns controlling each body part. For them both, it's like forcing movement when their muscles are told not to, akin to mild sleep paralysis. When they move in unison, their ability for accuracy is increased, thus lending the ability to play their complex instrument with ease and deftness.

Their minds are still separate, though Fa’oon’s mycelium is deeply grown into Jassen’s. They think individually, have separate thoughts, mostly. That said, their telepathic overlap is tremendous; they are very much of the same mind anytime they pull down their mental gate.

Awezlu

Jassen’s body, and Fa’oon’s for that matter, was not meant to house two souls. Therefore, they have poor soul to body ratio, each baring an imbalance of soul; they became awezlu and familiars with one another. Their bursting soul also means they are very easy to sense, and thus easy to sense they are two. They're now very well-practiced in hiding their aura, though that leads to an average loudness of aura rather than muted.

Not much is known about their particular situation. However, if a familiar bond of two separate bodies gives any credence... When Jassen dies Fa’oon is likely to follow, if not immediately then soon after.

by agsandrew

History

Jassen was birthed in his family’s home, his mother and father co-owners of the local pawnshop. The not-importantly-nameed-town nestled in a greater forest was like all others, a pocket connected by trading roads. Every child knows it’s dangerous to go outside, but when has that stopped curiosity? One fateful afternoon, sayk casting through the trees and sticks swords to fight imaginary villains, a phoenix gheforis felt an instinctual urge to propagate. Thus, Fa’oon came into being.

This normally would have spelled the end of Jassen, coming home to his parents tearful, telling of a frightful and strange phoenix and a musty cloud that hurt when inhale. They knew their son was doomed, grieving on the spot. Weeks passed, they spoiled him as much as they could, his last days would be pleasant. Then, an unexpected miracle or curse spoke with Jassen’s voice. A new life, the gheforis that would take his body, reached adulthood. They were ready to do away with the abominable being that took their son... until Jassen responded.

Fa’oon, for a reason that will never be explained, reached adulthood prematurely. He hadn’t fully taken Jassen, already the hormones that slowed his growth coursed through him. Jassen was spared.

It wasn’t his parents that named Fa’oon, but his brother. Jassen’s parents saw him as nothing but a murderer, a figure to pour their blame and sorrow over. Fa’oon, through testimony and knowledge of what he would do to the only person who cared about him, grew in regret. He hated his existence.

The darkness? It won’t be here for a while. We might as well enjoy our time. We tried, and we failed. We? I. Enjoy the music.

Noinkuz passed and Jassen’s parents begrudgingly accepted Fa’oon, much to Jassen’s pestering. Behind their backs, the parents continued to look for a ‘cure’. Around Fa’oon’s fifth noinkuz, he discovered an instrument someone pawned off, a greenly corroded brass kes. He learned his nya that day, a savant level of play with the instrument.

To Jassen’s will, they left their village, an unplanned trip to somewhere they had no idea. Jassen wouldn’t explain himself, but their shared mind allowed Fa’oon to understand he needed to find his purpose in life before it was gone.

Along their path, they met a wyvern named Xanrei and a wayward isynx named Leif. Xanrei dragged all three into a rebel force to liberate Modyr, something Jassen thought was morally right. Leif had other plans that lead him to them, all concocted in a corrupt mind after living too close to the Ulinta.

The rebellion failed, the leaders of all five warring prefectures died in one brutal assault, one they were assured by so many farseers would succeed. Jassen and Fa’oon were there, playing their kes first in a triumphant march than a sorrowful dirge. They fled with their original companions to continue the fight elsewise.

Flying Ship by derrickSong

Captain Tresu scooped them up not too long after. With him, they help traffic dangerous supplies to not only Modyr’s rebels but other underground forces. The whole region is in turmoil and Tresu saw their music as the perfect calling-card of his importance & might. For Jassen and Fa’oon, they live to help, playing as loud as they want while they sail across the skies. They might never find purpose while Jassen is alive. If he is.

Music

Fa’oon’s passion, thus Jassen’s as well, is to play music. Those who hear them play say there’s an entire orchestra at their fingertips. This isn’t quite the case, but the complexity of what they can produce might as well make them the conductor, strings, winds, brass, fires, and percussion combined. This isn’t solely due to Fa’oon’s savant play, but that Jassen lends a helping hand. With two incredibly quick and deft hands, their tones are crisp, true, and perfect.

The darkness that lingers isn’t quite describable. Con Brio is their choice, so a lack of prior extreme emotion may be that darkness. After those of week fortitude have completed their tears, the void that’s left feels all the more desolate. Maybe, it’s their lament that finds its way into each session and fine.

I hear it, a low growl or hum that erodes the symphony. I worry that, when it becomes too dark to see, if we’ll still be able to hear. Will you be there? Have you been here?

Kes

With a bronze base and hat embossed with draconic imagery, their kes is a treasure some have sought to steal; this was before they could listen. Hand-crafted by an unknown artisan, the strings are smooth and velvety and are a joy to pluck. The tone most would describe as bassy compared to other kes; the tempo is slower.

The weight is substantial, Jassen’s increase in bulk is no small part due to carrying it around. This isn’t including its red-black lacquered casing with red velvet interior, worn away in patches where it rubs the most. The instrument has received a beating over the years, scratches and dents constantly buffed and polished. Despite their care, there's a particularly prominent dent on the eye of one of the hat's depictions. The kes solely sheilded them against a thunderspear that almost peirced their heart. They wish to eventually fix the blemishes if they can find time for safety and reliable currency.

History of Play

Jassen’s parents wanted to give them something so others in the village might not be as hostile, mainly to their son Jassen. They didn’t expect as much as they got, nearly all the village singing their praise and coming to listen during nightly play.

During their travels, their name became whispers on the winds of Modyr, muted due to the onset revolution. At the turn of revolution, they would play from the trees to diminuendo the morale of the enemy. Whoever wanted to listen would be graced with a spring of happiness; hope sounded in the face of hard-fought freedom. Their bardship continued on the Spirit’s Heart, Tresu tracking them down based on reputation. The crew is treated daily, though their sound leaps over the railings and down below, increasing the ship’s infamy.

Major reln for both: Wox

Nya

Fa’oon: playing kes or other plucking instruments
Jassen: Unknown

Appearance

Species

Faoon: Yuhx gheforis
Jassen: Emu humi

Aura

Fa’oon: waving strings of lightly golden win trying to escape from a central point, constantly more convoluted & erratic than Jassen’s that carry a thrumming melody
Jassen: waving strings of lightly golden wind trying to escape from a central point, constantly with dark bits of shards with a sound of a fast and forceful beat.

Fa’oon has an off-white mycelium. He has yet to fruit, so it’s unknown what his fruiting bodies will look like. His growth structure tends to be dendritic and thin, as opposed to many others being chaotic, spiral, full, angular, and/or more.
Jassen has a shorter, stockier tail, and large outward-facing years. He has a muscular sleek build now, though he had been skinny and simply fit until leaving home. Can’t gain weight due to Fa’oon eating much of their food.

Story (old): Chapter 1: Nocturnal Convergence