Veritas

At first glance, there doesn’t appear to be much to Vincent Veritas, at least apart from his slight resemblance to Damien Thorn from The Omen and the aura of creepiness that would be expected to go with it. He looks to be only about seven years old, but has the calm and composure of a retiree. He has black unkempt hair and pale skin that contrast heavily against his bright green eyes. His attire usually seems normal enough, albeit not for someone his age. He typically either wears tan shorts and a black jersey top, or long black pants with a navy blue jacket, all depending on the weather.

His physical appearance, however, is greatly misleading. Vincent’s body is only seven years old, but his spirit is pushing three hundred.

Vincent Veritas is, in fact, a sub-lich. Or a pale master, or a godhand, or whatever you want to call him: not an undead lich in the literal sense, but a mortal human being with a single skeletal limb through which to control their dark magicks. In the age of the Philosopher Kingdom (1590 - 1945), sub-lich were the Kingdom’s law enforcement, diplomats, etc. – the ones empowered by the Source who, through their extended but still mortal lives, could associate directly with the living. Consequently, when the Source was destroyed and its dark magicks tore the Kingdom into oblivion, only the sub-lich were able to prevent their own magicks from destroying themselves, albeit at an expense.

To understand the method by which Vincent preserved himself during the fall, you need to know something else about the Philosopher Kingdom: They opposed the death penalty for even the greatest of offenses. Dangerous criminals, monsters and demons that should have been banished straight to Hell were instead locked away with the Source’s magicks. When the Source was destroyed, their prisons deteriorated and countless evils escaped into the world. To preserve himself, Vincent signed a pact with Lucifer (note: Devils are, in fact, angels appointed as guardians of Hell, not fallen angels cast down into Hell, so they can be bargained with under the right circumstances); in exchange for his continued life on Earth and power of the sub-lich, he would hunt down every single monstrosity that should have been put down by the Philosopher Kings and send them to Hell where they belong. Since it was determined that many of these beings would die in such violent nature that one could not kill them without being killed in their wake, Lucifer further promised Vincent one extra life for every demon that was returned to him. Once all had been undone, Vincent and the Philosopher Kings would be cleared of their crimes, allowing Vincent to pass into Heaven if permitted, or if denied, to file into the ranks of Hell’s guardians.

So why is he now a young boy? Well, about seven years ago give or take a few, Vincent exceeded his quota and Lucifer refused to permit him to reform once again. Rather than let his soul languish in Hell forever, he instead went to Cerberus and traded his soul for a new one. Cerberus approved and Vincent was reincarnated as a young boy with no memory of his former self, no memory of his contract, and only a vague comprehension of the powers he possesses.

So what is he doing here? Simply put, Cerberus (who appears to Vincent from time to time, though still hasn’t told him everything just yet) has made plans to restore Vincent to his whole former self once he is an adult, but the many monsters left on Earth by Vincent’s previous incarnation have no desire to see him return to his former self and hunt him outright. He came here hoping the Park’s natural cycle would permit him to reform instead of reincarnate all over again. He is aware that in such environments where death is regarded casually that the inhabitants are more likely to kill upon a whim, but it is a risk he is willing to take. It was Cerberus’s idea, after all.

Vincent, being a direct incarnation of his former self, has no parents and (currently) lives on his own. He'd previously made his living as a street performer, but here in the Park where magic is more commonplace, he's saving his money by living off of the land as best he can.

About the left arm:
As I have said already, Vincent is a sub-lich. Normally he appears human enough, but in actuality, he has a skeletal left arm which is the source of his magicks. His talents thus far are limited to the typical magician’s arsenal: telekinesis and elemental conjuration for the most part, though he has learned how to summon several low-level familiars, and with Cerberus’s assistance (or more accurately, his approval), may polymorph offensive or disruptive mortals, most often into squirrels (which the Hound of Hell seems to have quite a fondness for). Vincent will soon learn, however, that these are just the chip off of the proverbial iceberg and that even a sub-lich born of the Philosopher Kingdom is a force to be reckoned with.

Normally his left arm looks and feels perfectly normal, but this is an illusion. He can dispel it when he wills it to, but it will also dispel automatically if he is in danger. What’s more, if he is within five hundred yards of one of the monsters on his list, his arm will emit a blood red glow and increase in potential. This is due to Cerberus’s direct intervention. Vincent’s soul is his own, but the left arm is property of Cerberus, you see, which means under the right circumstances, the Hound of Hell may intervene and alter it into anything, from flesh and blood to a sufficient weapon, and get this, even the Hound’s own left head.

There are rules Cerberus must abide by, of course, so his influence is generally minimal. He appears to Vincent frequently in dreams or as a ghost, but he cannot be directly summoned body and soul to this realm except if protecting Vincent or if summoned by a capable third party.

Preferences:
Vincent may be older than your grandmother’s uncle, but he’s still a kid, so use your own judgement when it comes to content. There are some things that others consider sexual which I do not (see the sliders for details), but flat-out yiffing is off limits.

Vincent himself is not a predator, but he can summon small devils, mostly canines and other such subordinates of Cerberus, who may be predator to small prey or polymorphed opponents. Most of Vincent’s powers are only active with Cerberus’s permission, so if Cerberus decides that the individual in question is nonthreatening, if Cerberus refuses to allow harm to the predator in question (canines and other animals with counterparts native to his realm, for example, receive additional leeway; see the hierarchy under Familiars for details), or even if he simply feels Vincent is due for a lesson in humility, Vincent will be prey. In that sense, his level of resistance could be considered directly proportionate to the predator’s intent: sick and sadistic predators will know the true wrath of Cerberus while motherly endosmaphiles will only be subject to some squirming.

And remember, he’s just a kid. You should know well enough for yourself what is and is not appropriate. Unless you want to have fun with one of Vincent's generic familiars, sex is an absolute no.

Unless a slider is at 100%, there are some exceptions. Mind you, that doesn't mean I can be convinced to try something I otherwise wouldn't; it just means I can think of scenarios in which the content in question would fall the other way. Do not hesitate to whisper, but please offer no hard feelings if you are turned down.

Familiars:
Vincent may summon subordinates of Cerberus, but has yet to actually bond with any enough to refer to them as familiars, but that may change in the future.

His devil subordinates come in many varieties, but they seem to be organized in a caste system reminiscent of a twisted food chain. The order is, based on their resemblance:

1) Domesticated animals (dogs and cats, for example)
2) Urban wild animals (squirrels and raccoons, for example)
3) Social wild animals (dolphins and sea lions, for example)
4) Wild animals (the big ETC.)
5) Humans

Cerberus:
As an appointed guardian of Hell, Cerberus must abide by many laws which prohibit his influence in the physical realm. He is forbidden, for example, from doing anything to encourage mortals to worship himself or any other devil. That includes revealing the true nature of Devils, so if summoned by someone who believes Devils to be evil spirits, he may be obligated to play the part. He can be summoned, but he cannot substantiate of his own free will as doing so would involve abandoning his post in Hell. He can, however, use Vincent as an extension of his will, and may legally consider himself summoned if it is deemed absolutely necessary. Mind you, even the demons Vincent has been sent to vanquish do not always warrant the Hound's intervention, so if you see Cerberus in Vincent's presence, it usually either means that you're in big trouble, or big trouble is on its way.

Mind you, that's not always the case. Though he is forbidden from revealing his nature, he can speak and will freely with anyone who is already aware, and in fact has a great amount of respect for anyone who figures it out for themselves. Proceed with caution though -- he's a very busy devil after all (really, why do you think he needs three heads?).

Cerberus has been known to refer to Vincent as his son, but more often than not treats and refers to him as a pet. It's a relationship built more on respect than affection, meaning the Hound is unlikely to intervene (or even make his presence known, for that matter) in any other social interactions Vincent has, straight to the point that anyone who attempted to take Vincent as their own son/pet would do so with his blessing. The only exception, of course, is for those who socialize with Vincent with the intent of exploiting him, but even then he will only appear to Vincent in a vision to warn him.

As a guardian of the afterlife, Cerberus isn't actually capable of killing people, so those unfortunate few that he swallows will not die. He can, however, take his prey back into the afterlife with him, so his prey will remain "alive" inside of him for as long as he deems appropriate.

That is, in fact, where Cerberus intends to keep the monsters sent to Hell during his appointment as Vincent's superior: each of his three stomachs is a sub-plane of his level of Hell. If you've ever seen Hare+Guu before; it's kind of like that: each of his throats acts as a portal into a different alternative dimension.

The throat of the left head leads to a barracks of sorts. Here, Cerberus houses his personal attendants, his elite guard, and the familiars of his attendants and guardians. Veritas himself was often kept here.

The throat of the right head leads to a dimension identical in appearance to the barracks, but which instead acts as a prison where Cerberus keeps the souls of countless individuals whose deeds in life were great enough to warrant his personal attention. Atilla the Hun, William Sherman, Joseph McCarthy and L. Ron Hubbard, for example, are all rumored to reside in his prison belly for one reason or another.

Finally, the throat of the central head leads to what could only be described as a mortuary: the beings who are swallowed here are frozen, sorted and "plugged in" to their captor, allowing him to draw knowledge from their minds and empower himself through their souls. It is where Cerberus is keeping the original mind and soul of Vincent Veritas, and it is where he intends to keep all of the Kingdom's criminals that the new Veritas will be sending to him. Only a dozen or so of Cerberus's most trusted attendants may ever walk freely about this dimension; even Veritas is not considered worthy of this honor.

Cerberus has no official position over any group of demons or collection of sinners, but based on the nature of his subordinates and that of his most infamous residents, it is speculated that Cerberus at least has some personal interest in collecting abusers of power. His judgment upon most mortal dead sent to him is simply to turn them over to one of his animal-like subordinates to do with as they will. The symbolism of such is allegedly that those who abused power over their fellow human beings in life are treated as being less than human in death. Even Cerberus's loyal mortal followers are treated as such: these, the Hound keeps for himself.

((Alt of Terastas))