Character Profiles VINE VEIN #4: Allef

Allef was a very special member of Vine Vein, as he was plagued by a condition he and his fellow members would call the Red.

The Red Awakening

Allef first became aware of the Red after finding himself the carrier of a Vexing that effectively made him a solitary creature. A lifelong Copperite, even his family chose to leave him, exiling him from their home, and making him live in the street with his sickness. He did whatever he had to in order to survive. This led him to one night where he was trying to procure work, food, shelter, anything from another group of street-bound individuals. They found out he was sick and were horrified, beating him relentlessly, until Allef felt a type of strength and rage come over him that made him feel like an entirely different person. He tore those people limb from limb with his bare hands and teeth.

Horrified with what he had done, he looked at the blood that covered him, and felt that sense of being someone else consume him, making his mind spiral into chaotic, foreign thoughts. This is when the Red became a part of him, and it would rear its head many times after.

A Chance Meeting

An age would go by with Allef living in the streets. He hadn’t been consumed by the Red since the first night, and had actually managed to find some work in the Market District with a merchant from Gorr he had made acquaintance with. Allef had also recovered from his Vexing, and this helped him gain confidence and for others to be around him again. His personality had been skewed, however, and he wasn’t the most charismatic person, nor well-groomed, or well-fed. His sickness had claimed the color from his skin, and gave him long-lasting side effects, though nothing he couldn’t manage.

While helping his employer set up their stand, Allef caught a glimpse of Queen Redshift strolling through the Market. He couldn’t stop staring, as he had never laid eyes on her before, and especially had never expected her to be walking among the commonfolk. She was like a shimmering goddess, towering above everyone, her clothes dripping of wealth, crown glimmering in the sun, and her beauty blinding. Something about her felt like home, made him feel warm, safe, welcome, and he felt himself being tugged in her direction. But as he went to abandon his post, his employer from Gorr yanked him back, yelling at him to get back to work. Allef vanished, and the Red took his place. He started to beat the man from Gorr, and an audience yelled and gathered. This drew Redshift’s attention, and she approached, parting one side of the crowd. Allef tore the man’s head off, and the crowd quickly retreated. Redshift’s eyes twinkled with promise and intrigue, she scooped Allef up by his shirt, peering deep into his eyes. He was a wild animal, snapping his jaws, clawing and kicking. This was a person she could use, a person who was as wild as a Leviathan. She spoke smoothly to him, soothing him back from his deranged state. Allef caressed her cheek, thanking her for saving him—as he had never been able to return from the Red on his own, he would have to just ride it out. Redshift promised the people around them that she would take care of the murderer, though of course what she really did was induct him into Vine Vein.