Name: Nero. His nickname has become “Fidget” among a lot of the soldiers, and he’s well aware of this fact and happens to like it, but probably none of them would dare call him that to his face.
Type of Owl: Barn Owl
Classification:
Tyto albaGender: Male
Age: Adult (four-ish years)
Allegiance: Remnant
Rank: High Tyto Guard
Mate: N/A
Short sentence: A tall, orange and brown Barn Owl with gleaming dark eyes.
Picture: ClickDetailed description: Proud to be a Barn Owl. Nero couldn’t imagine his feathers if they weren’t white on the underside and orange on the back, with just hints of gray and brown in his bars. If he didn’t have his dark grey specks across his underside and black, and the orange outlining his perfectly white mask, except for the orange streaks extending down from his eyes, Nero doesn’t know what he’d do. He won’t admit it, but he isn’t exactly perfect – he’s a bit too orange, one could say, and his eyes aren’t as much a black as a very dark, shiny brown. But his face is the perfect heart-shape, with the long middle ending in a sharp, often bloody beak. Though a male, Nero is a big example of a Tyto, and he needs every bit of the strength in his muscles.
Nero is almost always in full battle regalia – he has to be. Though, he prefers the freedom of no battle claws and no helmet. He wants to feel his talons sinking in to flesh, and he doesn’t want any of his body to be hindered. He doesn’t want the clank of metal to alert anyone about his presence. But it’s a small price to pay for the power his species and position gives him.
Personality: Loyalty. It’s number one in Nero’s book. He stands by Azazel’s side, and couldn’t fathom turning against him. Unless the High Tyto lost his power. Unless he became weak, a leader no one could follow. And then Nero would find another owl. Nero is attracted by power; he looks for an owl that is big and strong and can say the right words, and then he allies himself with that owl. Nero doesn’t want to be on the wrong side in this whole war. Azazel has proven himself to Nero, and so Nero has sworn his loyalty to be the best Head Guard he can. He checks on the captains and guards, makes sure they are following the High Tyto’s orders, and thinks quick if something is going wrong. Mostly, though, Nero never leaves his leader’s side, and he’s suspicious about any owls that try to get him to leave. Matter of fact, he could be described as paranoid – any little noise or rustle puts him on edge and keeps him alert.
With the nickname “Fidget”, one has to assume that Nero is... well, fidgety. He doesn’t stand still – he isn’t one of those stoic, solid-as-stone guards. His head flips around, his wings rustle, his feet shift, his talons clack the stone. He tilts his head this way and that, using his super-Tyto-hearing to locate a danger, and every one of his senses is on heightened alert, making him nearly impossible to get by. Acting still and silent... well, Nero doesn’t see how he’d be an effective guard if he did that. And, on some level, he can’t really control it – he’s fidgeting partly out of paranoia that there’s something out there.
In talking to him, Nero seems very clumsy. And he is. He doesn’t have much control over himself on land, and sometimes even tumbles over himself in the air. Or, at least, that’s what he want you to think. In some ways, yeah, he’s clumsy as he comes off, but in other ways it’s an act. Nero has learned that intimidation is a potent method, but so is surprise. Many owls assume that he couldn’t sneak up on a tree, but they are horribly wrong. Dozens of innocent owls have been slain in his talons, without ever comprehending what happened. In utter silence, he swoops out of the air and strikes with precision. But, at the same time, he can also be an utter klutz without trying to be – but he’ll brush it off and say it was on purpose.
Being a Remnant, evil acts come with the job description – but Nero doesn’t do it all just because he has to. He wants to. Nero has a very disturbed mind. At times almost psychopathic, Nero lacks the correct sort of empathy and recognition of social norms that stop most owls from committing a horrific act. Basically, he lacks a super-ego, and just takes the most direct route that will get him what he needs, consequences not in mind. He also takes some sort of perverse joy from stealing and overall doing harm – he tortures his prey before he kills it and steals hatchlings just because he
can. Sure, there's usually a reason behind it, an order from the High Tyto, but it's hard for Nero to hide the creepy gleam in his eyes from watching the torture. Nero is clearly in it for the pleasure. And if there is nothing for him to do, Fidget succumbs to boredom quickly, and that is perhaps the worst sort of evil for him. He comes up with the most awful plans when he is the most bored. He becomes unpredictable, susceptible to every caprice and fancy – he lashes out in rage or laughs like a maniacal creep. Or... he just falls asleep. One or the other.
When Nero was born, someone must have taken the humor part of his brain or gizzard, or the whole of them really, and twisted it, because this owl has some serious issues. For some reason, Nero is so attracted to scary stories and gore. He's been fascinated by blood since he was born, and not only does he enjoy stealing and scaring, but he
laughs at it all. When someone else is in pain or danger, he's the first to be metaphorically on the floor, churring. He just can't help but be attracted to the dark side of life. The general theory is just that he is psychotic, end of story. And that’s probably true. Not only has he always been a strange, macabre owl, but he has quite a few quirks. He has a habit of sleeping on one foot – he doesn’t really explain why, and Nero himself probably isn’t even sure, but he just can’t sleep with both feet firmly planted on the ground. And Nero is a loud, obnoxious singer, particularly when he’s drunk on binglejuice, and often makes up songs of the Remnants’ spoils.
If there’s one big weakness, a way to get past Nero, it’s that he’s vain. He thinks he’s the best Head Guard there ever was, and he has full face in the Remnants to win the battles ahead. Because of that, he has a tendency to look over things. Nero also is vain about his looks, and his eligibility mate-wise – he flirts with nearly every female
Tyto alba he sees (except for the High Tyto’s mate, of course), and he doesn’t exactly know how to be flattering when he flirts, ironically. Especially when he’s drunk. Nero likes the binglejuice just a little too much – if he has some extra time, which admittedly doesn’t happen often, he will probably be found drunk, yelling and singing loudly to the other soldiers. But no one can argue that he isn’t an incredible guard when he doesn’t give in to his ego or other pleasures, and he’s certainly earned the
fear respect of the soldiers.
History: Some owls have evil taught to them, through experience – childhood traumas that warp their minds and gizzards. Some are born with that “defect.” Nora and Winnomere were doting over their first brood of eggs, the three of them. There was only love and goodness in the two of them, and in their parents – sure, there were a few uncles and aunts in the line no one liked to talk about, but they were certain that their little hatchlings would grow up to be wonderful, handsome, peace-loving owls. As their parents were. And even as the owlets grew, they never suspected a thing.
The parents would leave to go hunting, and they never heard about what would go on after they left. Nero was bigger – he easily dominated the other owlets, his brother and sister. Franklin would shrink back as he watched Nero strip off bits of ¬¬Farrah’s down and poke small holes in her skin. He was curious. Nero wanted to know what would happen. He wanted to see what it would take to draw blood, incite pain in her eyes, shiver her body with fear. All of it happened as Nero watched with a blank pleasure. And that silent fascination soon grew into eagerness and pleasure, which turned into cruel amusement and raucous laughter. Franklin became a victim as well, and their nestmaid snake, a flighty and nervous creature, was threatened to keep quiet.
Nero’s siblings were left to make up excuses about why they were hurt, as Nero watched with a threatening glare in his dark eyes. Their parents didn’t want to believe that anything was wrong. They just assumed they had clumsy owlets and told the snake to watch them more carefully. The most they ever saw of Nero that worried them was that he played with his food – whether it was insect or mouse or vole, Nero would always tear at it, flip it over, play games. His parents warned him not to, and so he did it as secretly as possible, but Nora and Winnomere still had that nagging feeling that there was something not right with him. But they didn’t want to believe it.
Nero saw his parents and his siblings and especially their nestmaid snake as weak. So, he didn’t listen to them – rather, he more or less controlled them. But Nero grew bored of his family. He wanted someone strong, someone he could really follow. And so, when he was only barely ready to fly away, he left, venturing further into the Forest of Tyto, until he heard the preachings of someone that had to be truly powerful: Azazel. This tall, regal Barn Owl explained the pureness of the Tytos, and his words showed Nero a way to greatness and to power.
This are real lessons – not ‘Don’t play with your food’ and ‘be nice to your sister’. This is real. Azazel confirmed what Nero had always thought: that the weak should just die, the strong should prevail. But he also put it in different terms. In terms of species. And it made complete sense to the young Nero.
He started off as just a hopeful kid, hanging out on the fringes, listening eagerly. But he slowly started to venture closer to the leader of the band. As he grew and fed on the ideas, he worked his way further into Azazel’s trust. Nero pledged his undying loyalty, and he soon became one of the leaders of this band, and his belief in their ideas grew stronger. When they went to attack another group of Tytos, he helped to lead this attack. Nero was there when the High Tyto was killed. He was right alongside Azazel as they proclaimed victory and ultimate leadership over all the Remnants. Best of all, Nero was named the Head Guard, the High Tyto’s Guard. And he was drunk with the power.
Nero has earned his High Tyto’s trust. He has to, for he has watched Azazel’s family grow, has learned their troubles, knows of all their plans, and he is with the High Tyto at nearly all hours of the day and night. When the High Tyto is in his bouts of depression or fits of anger, Nero knows how to put up with him. If there is an issue that can be handled without alerting the High Tyto’s attention, Nero keeps it from him, and handles it himself – though, not to shield anyone but himself from Azazel’s anger. But, overall, Nero is honest and loyal, listening to his supreme commander and following his words. And Nero plans to stick with Azazel until the end, unless someone stronger promises him more than he already has.
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