"I don't want to be alone!"Mordecai Reverence - Session 27

Overview

Mordecai Reverence is a Tiefling sorcerer-bard multi-class character originating from the Uvam Dynasty. He is a prominent member of The Party, recognised for his dramatic flair and innate magical abilities. Mordecai often serves as both the focal point of the group's charm and a source of tension within the party. Notably, they have an aversion to fire magic, coupled with a talent for theatrical improvisation, which distinguishes them during their adventures.

Personality

Mordecai is a performer at heart, every aspect of their personality meticulously planned to make themself as likeable and interesting as possible. He is overdramatic and led firmly by his emotions that can lead him to be inherently selfish in their decisions - though they try their best to cover it up as much as humanly possible. Mordecai craves the dramatics that life and adventure entails, forging an interesting narrative wherever they go - creating conflict or quiet moments of calmness where he believes the story of their life should have it. He tries to be good, though often impulsivity can get in the way.

Strengths/ Skills

• Mordecai is extremely charismatic. They are a natural leader and have a knack for convincing people to help him
• Skilled musician with a flair for the dramatics
• Incredible magical potential, innately gifted

Weaknesses

• Heavily Dyslexic to the point of illiteracy + ADHD
• He can be petty and react without thinking things through. He stands his ground even when it is crumbling beneath him
• Their magic is as unstable as he is

Ambitions

• They want to be remembered as a good man, not the monster people always made him out to be.
• They want their stories to be told for years to come, they want people to sing his songs well after he is dead and gone.

Fears

• Being left alone in a world that will never remember him
• Burning alive

Physical Description

Mordecai Reverence is always adorned in whatever finery he has been able to afford over the years, favouring gold jewellery and royal purple fabrics that compliment his red complexion. Their long dark hair has gold threads and cuffs encircling different strands. He wears a lot of makeup, favouring the brighter colours as almost a mask to aid his persona he meticulously formed over the years. The only thing genuine about them would be his cloak, clearly old however well maintained. The colour faded to a dull brown, however each hole was meticulously stitched. Though he is clearly fiendish, his eyes are oddly human.

Relations

Chenris Tallfellow ‡/ Halfbie

Mordecai saw a lot of himself in Chenris. He felt like if he could devote his time to bettering Chenris then that means there was hope for them too. Naturally this caused much friction with the other member of the party in a very brotherly way that’s incredibly annoying however surprisingly effective. Once Chenris had sacrificed himself for the rest of the party’s benefit ^[1], Mordecai then understood the true difference between them- selfishness runs through their core and they couldn’t fathom doing what Chenris did for them all. The guilt that followed consumed him.

When Halfbie turned up, the wound was still raw and they immediately took a dislike to them. He was convinced that Halfbie was hiding something from them and was adamant that they would never take Chenris’ place within the party. As time wore on, Mordecai has reluctantly grown to care about the boy, realising that Halfbie truly doesn’t understand what is going on within their own body and how scary that must be for them. Their seemingly toxic positivity was simply childish naivety and now it is gone…they miss it.

Wurinn 'Drache' Fuuldrusch

Drache is the man Mordecai aspires to be in the future: Kind, understanding and willing to know exactly where and when he screwed up and attempt his all to fix it - no matter the personal cost. Mordecai knows they will never be like him but still strives for Drache’s approval any way he can. Drache became Mordecai’s father figure, a guiding light when all he knew previously was darkness. Without him, Mordecai would simply be a lost cause, allowing the darkness to steer him off the path of redemption he so craves

Kal The Korrigan †

When Mord first met Kal, friction was immediately prevalent in their relationship. Once Kal lost all their memories and came back as Korrigan, their relationship deepened, without the pressure

Backstory

In tiefling lore, there is a 1 in 3 chance of producing a tiefling when you breed with a human. This is common knowledge amongst tiefling but humans…don’t care enough to learn.

Mordecai had two older brother, both humans destined to be fighters. They were brutish like their barbarian father, built to attack and destroy. They were well loved by their father, whose spitting image they were, and deeply cared about by their mother.

When Mordecai’s mother, Claribelle Reverence (now Claribelle Thornewood) fell pregnant with her last child, she knew he was different. Even in the womb, wild magic surged around them. He turned his mother’s hair from the luscious mahogany to bright pink multiple times during her pregnancy. Claribelle couldn’t help but love the chaotic power that blossomed in her womb, so different to the controlled bardic magic she was used to. His father was another story, growing distrustful of the randomness that grew more destructive every day.

When he was born a tiefling, Robert Thornwood (Leader of the Fruit Cutters)  assumed the worst. He whispered “bastard child” in the child’s ear whenever Claribelle wasn’t around - convinced she had cheated on him with another tiefling to create this abomination. He would fly into rages, screaming at her that little Mordecai was no son of his. His mother would deny it with tears rolling down her cheeks, screaming on and on how “he has your eyes”, “your nose”, “please just look at them” and the days would roll on until the next weird disaster happened.

As Mord got older, his brothers slowly learnt that they were allowed to be cruel to him from their father. Their bullying started small but eventually built into punch downs. He would cry to their mother who would wrap him up in her red cloak that smelt like roses and sing to him. He would sing along eventually when he stopped crying. She’d heal his wounds and tell the brothers off, ceasing the bullying for a day or two. Her singing and the smell of her cloak always felt like a shield to him, something that couldn’t be broken…or so he thought.

Then came the fateful day he lost control, he was only 13. His brothers found the boy, blue skinned and hiding under his mothers red cloak in an attempt to hide his wild magic accident from the night before. Theodore (the eldest) and Niall (the middle child) found him cowering and sneered at how pathetic the tiefling boy who was not their brother but an imposter. They closed in on him, taunting him that their mother was not home to help him this time. They started their attack as he cried out for them to stop, though this only encouraged them. He screamed and cried from his blue lips, fear choking his throat as he did the only thing he could think of. An orb erupted from his hands, electrical energy fizzing between the boys. Yet all magic came at a price. Mordecai’s eyes rolled back as he rose from the ground, purple magic engulfing him before a fireball thrust him back into the floor.

As a tiefling the fire only stung but his two human brothers were badly burnt. He grabbed his mother’s cloak and ran as the fire surged behind him. What happened next he will always remember in slow motion, running into his mother as the flames roared behind him. The panic and horror in her eyes as she ran into the house to rescue her sons. How she emerged with Theo just as the structural integrity of the house started to fail. His father screaming Niall’s name. Her running in to rescue him. The house tumbling down.

His scream. His father screaming his wife’s name. Them all turning on him. His father’s promise that he would never stop hunting him, the cuckoo in his nest. That it was all his fault.

His father’s words rang in his ears as he ran, far into town, skin still gleaming blue in the moonlight. He lived on the street, only his mother’s cloak for warmth.

He sang for his supper.

He ran.

A few towns cleared in a few weeks. Eventually running into a kind stranger who cast a remove curse on him out of pity, turning his skin back to its usual red hue. He knew his father would never cease trying to find him, but looking unlike he was when he left bought him a little bit more time, he figured.

At the age of 16, he was trying to raise enough money to travel outside of the Uvam Dynasty and never look back. He took a deal he shouldn’t have, his entire identity owned by an underground club who forced him to perform and distract patrons while thieves would swiftly swipe wallets and trinkets with the promise of safe passage to the OFC after 5 years. “The Nightshade’s Crown” exploited his talent for 4 years before Mord heard word that his father and brother had found out that a tiefling matching his description was a performing slave to the head of the Nightshades Crown.

They were onto him and he didn’t have a year to waste, he had to get out of there quickly.

The head of the Nightshades Crown was a young man called Arwen Gryffon, a half-elf who had a fascination with Modecai. Desperate, Mord played on this and seduced the young man into giving him his freedom early- promising that if he truly loved him, he would unbind him and show that he would never leave even though he would be able to, as a sign of devotion to both him and their cause. Blinded by lust, Arwen did what Mord told him to - dissolving their magical contract before spending the night with Mordecai pouring so heavily the half-elf was out like a light by 10pm.

Mord stole a large chunk of the club’s money while the boss was still asleep the morning after and fled to the OFC, stealing a couple of his favourite costumes he used to perform in. His boss awoke to him leaving and in a panic, set the curtains of the stage on fire, stole Arwen’s horse and rode as far as they feasibly could, never looking back.

Quotes

§	Quote
Quotes	"I’m shitting myself" - Mordecai Reverence
Quotes	"Thank you... Wife?" Mordecai Reverence to Drache
Quotes	"I am the most guardiets guard" - Mordecai Reverence
Quotes	" Racism " - Mordecai Reverence
Quotes	"Maybe one bollock to the wall" - Chenris Tallfellow ‡ "i'm happy to be one bollock" - Mordecai Reverence
Quotes	"Leave me alone, im traumatised" - Mordecai Reverence
Quotes	"'suck my tiny, tiny dick' - Mordecai, 'I use wild shape' - Korrigan

Trivia

• Mordecai's miniature figure is modelled after the female character design from Eldritch Foundry, as the male models did not meet his desired aesthetic criteria.
• A series of misunderstandings led to fans associating Mordecai with Chenris despite their mutual reluctance.
• Mordecai is confirmed to perform in drag and has occasionally dressed The Korrigan and Wurinn Fuuldrusch in drag costumes.