THE LIGHTLESS Character Profiles #6: Brittany Young

18 as of 1979, Brittany had been a Star-Shaper in the Refulgency for three years. Being young didn’t matter when it came to becoming a Shaper, in fact, L.E. believed the younger the better. And no where was this more apparent than in Brittany; her blue light was some of the strongest and brightest that L.E. had ever seen, even brighter than her own. Brittany’s star was called Vour, and it was an optimistic, energetic star that loved being partnered with Brittany, and loved helping Unfeasted and their fellow Shapers. The two of them were swell matches in regards to their personalities, and rarely had they ever disagreed. It was thanks to Vour and L.E. that Brittany was able to escape the darkest recesses of her troubled mind, unknowingly saving her life from being taken by her own hands. Brittany’s family weren’t the most generous or benevolent, and she had emancipated herself after her last straw was broken. She had met a boy in her school that was a Shaper, and the two of them started skipping school, and not checking in with their families. This is when Brittany found that she was enthralled with the Shaper culture, asking this young man question after question—when he would rather be doing anything else. This boy had been raised by parents similar in their nastiness to Brittany’s, and it soon was reflected in his own actions, when he set himself on Brittany against her will. Threatening her with plasma burns, the boy thought he was going to have his way, but Brittany was able to escape unscathed. The boy on the other hand, he wasn’t so lucky. Threatening Brittany was a mistake for anyone who was unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of her fury. Upon returning home after this horrific event, her father beat her, threatening to find the boy and to let him also teach her a lesson. Fleeing her family home, her mother cheering her father on, and encouraging Brittany to run away so that the family would have to feed one less mouth, Brittany found herself alone and without any idea of what to do next. She had run away before, but returning always meant being punished harder. She hadn’t had the courage to run too far in the past, since the longer she was gone the worse it would be in the end, not to mention she didn’t have anywhere to go. But this time, this time she wasn’t coming back, this time she found the courage to leave for good.

Anywhere But There

Brittany had nothing, no one. But she wasn’t going to stay in Trampleton any longer, she couldn’t. Trampleton sat on the western edge of Quadrant Two, mere miles away from where Quadrant One began. Her hometown was named so due to its high number of Leviathan activity—a lot of the city had been destroyed and rebuilt. The Northern Great Partition lied in the north of Quadrant Two, which meant all communities here were highly susceptible to destruction at the teeth and feet of wayward Leviathans. Locals would say that Unfeasted’s magnetic fields and gravity were the culprit for Leviathans seeming to flock to Trampleton—which long ago was known as Halegail Grove.

Finding her way to the border between Quadrant Two and One, Brittany was horrified to find that the Shaper boy she had befriended had not only followed her and was waiting for her near the bus station, but he had amassed a squad of his Shaper friends too. They threatened her, telling her that no one treats a Shaper with such disrespect and lives to tell the tale—something which was unfortunately rooted in some truth. While the local authorities, L.S.O. officers, and even other Shapers did well to snuff out and reprimand the Shapers who had fallen into criminal activity, their efforts, just like in cases with everyday citizens, sometimes came too late.

Luckily for Brittany, as the pack of heinous Shaper youths came for her, their advances were halted by a man, a Shaper she would come to know as Maximiliano Blewitt. He had grown up in Trampleton, and was coming from the Refulgency in Sorrowville in order to visit his family. With the ruffians scared away by a real Shaper, Max comforted Brittany, which took a minute or two for Brittany to really trust the strange man. He told her about the Refulgency, and what they stood for, seeing it in Brittany’s eyes that she was not only desperate, but that she was alone, scared, hurt, and directionless. He told her about L.E. and that she had created the Refulgency for people just like her, and that she could go there with his instructions, or he could take her there himself. Brittany went alone, allowing Max to complete his visit, and so that she could ensure her own safety.

A Bright Outlook On Life Through Even Brighter Eyes

Becoming a Shaper was Brittany’s proudest moment in her life. The spark returned to her eyes, reinforced by Vour’s light, and her new family’s encouragement. She would come to be closest to max out of everyone in Sorrowville, and the two would develop a father daughter relationship. Brittany’s abilities would immediately be recognized by L.E., as her training after becoming a Shaper would reveal that the young woman’s light could shine brighter than any Shaper before her. Brittany would use this light to help people just like herself, people who were defenseless, helpless, abused, preyed upon. She vowed never again let herself become as low as she was, contemplating the worst thoughts, and living through an even worse reality. She held no resentment for her family, nor for the Shapers that had attacked her. She had been showed there was still good in Unfeasted, and she was going to be a part of it.