Vyshid
The last remnant of a forgotten people
Vyshid
Vyshid is, quite literally, nothing but a head, and he spends his days hanging off the belt of the Eternal Emperor, the Crimson Wight. Here he keeps the Emperor company, provides sardonic quips on the goings-on around him, and shares with the Crimson Wight his vast knowledge of this world, of magic and technology, and of the potential futures he has scried. All in all, he is a happy individual. He knows that he serves the most destructive of forces in the world, but it is far better than the alternative.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Vyshid might only be a head, but that doesn't mean he is a "normal" head. He isn't made of anything so mundane as flesh and blood. Instead, he is made of the bronze-coloured metal that is so distinctive of the Old Ones. He looks exactly like the heads of the every other automaton found in an Old One vault, and it stands to reason that his "brain" would be the same complex array of runic-inscribed plated and sheets of metal.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Vyshid's history stretches back further than all of the recorded history of mankind, and even all that wouldn't scratch the surface of how old he truly is. He is the last of the Old Ones, that race of beings that melded magic, technology and souls to such a degree they became close to gods. Then, one day, they simply disappeared, leaving nothing of themselves on the surface of the world. Their only presence now can be found in the underground vaults and caches scattered acroacross the globe.
Who were the Old Ones? Why did they leave? How did they leave? Where did they go? And where did Vyshid fit into all of this? Why was he left behind and who was he before he took on his metallic, immortal and bodyless form? All of these questions will go unanswered as it is the one area that Vyshid refuses to speak about. The Crimson Wight has threatened to do all manner of evil onto Vyshid to get him to talk, but nothing worked. Even threatening to put Vyshid back in his vault for another eternity of solitude didn't get the reaction he was looking for.
Vyshid loves to talk and can't get enough of the sound of his own voice, but this is something he simply will never speak of, and won't give a reason why.
He is, however, more than happy to speak of his time after the Old Ones disappeared, and of all the things he has seen. This is the biggest reason that the Crimson Wight keeps him around. Vyshid's insight into the world is second to none, and the Emperor craves this knowledge. Vyshid knows that the Crimson Wight sees him only as a tool, but he also knows the Emperor is the most powerful man in the world, and as long as Vyshid is useful, the Emperor will keep him close and keep him protected.
Vyshid's time from when the Old Ones until he was discovered by the Crimson Wight was lonely, empty, cold, and it stretched into infinity. One thing that cannot be said about that dark period in his life was that it was boring. Vyshid was connected to some arcane machine of the Old Ones that allowed him to see any and every part of the world. Being only a head, there was nothing to do but watch and observe.
And so for eons that is precisely what he did. Like some divine voyeur, he spied on the world and learned all he could of it and about humanity. He watched civilisations grow tall only to tumble. He watched wars and bloodbaths, and coronations and celebrations. He saw humanity triumph in philosophy and magic, and turn around to use those for the most evil of motives. Humanity and the world was an open book for him to read, and it made him feel all the more lonely. He watched millions of souls be born, have lives, form relationships, have connections, mourn their dead... and he had no one. But still he watched, observed, learned and contemplated.
The soul-powered machines of the Old Ones even allowed him to see the potential futures of what might happen, and Vyshid had all the time in the world to explore the futures that may or may not come to be. The Emperor is keenly interested in Vyshid's prophetic knowledge, and the Old One knows to give the Crimson Wight a little at a time to keep him wanting to come back for more.
Mental Trauma
Vyshid spent eons alone in a vault as nothing more than a head. Even he, with his new immortal body cladding an ethereal soul, lost track of time. While he had all the instruments of the Old Ones around him to look at the world changing around him, he was powerless to interact with it, powerless to even interact with the vault around him. No one has experienced loneliness as Vyshid has. The last of your kind, trapped forever deep underground, unable to move. It is no surprise then that Vyshid has found a friend in the Crimson Wight. Vyshid has clung to him like a drowning man clinging to a lifeline. He knows how destructive the Crimson Wight's plans are for the world, but he also know that he would rather be able to speak to another soul than go back to his eternity of silence. Loneliness is the only thing Vyshid fears in this world. Death would be a release, but loneliness is forever.
Relationships
Spouses
Siblings
Children
Current Residence
The belt of the Eternal Emperor
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
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