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adventuresociety
leith sinclair
For hundreds of years, a mist-grey horse would emerge from Loch Scavaig to invite young men and women to mount him. Sweet and docile, he allowed them to ride until he glimpsed the sea again, at which point his back became adhesive and he'd run into the deepest part of the loch to drown his rider. The horse then tore apart his victim and devoured them.
In the mid-19th century, the horse was captured, blindfolded and taken inland. He ended up in the care of a boy, who named the horse Blancmange. Everyone was impressed by how attentively the horse listened to the boy's commands, and how the horse never shied from anything he was asked to do. A decade passed, and the boy became a young man, entering horse shows and wowing crowds with tricks and jumps.
The young man and his horse were an inseparable pair, right up until their final moments together, when the young man took Blancmange on a leisurely stroll by the coast. Upon catching sight of the sea again, the horse's each-uisge instincts took over and he plunged into the water, drowning his beloved owner. Uh, fuck.
Out of the guilt, the horse now denies his true nature, and does his best to pass as an unremarkable human man who totally does not eat people, ever.
In the mid-19th century, the horse was captured, blindfolded and taken inland. He ended up in the care of a boy, who named the horse Blancmange. Everyone was impressed by how attentively the horse listened to the boy's commands, and how the horse never shied from anything he was asked to do. A decade passed, and the boy became a young man, entering horse shows and wowing crowds with tricks and jumps.
The young man and his horse were an inseparable pair, right up until their final moments together, when the young man took Blancmange on a leisurely stroll by the coast. Upon catching sight of the sea again, the horse's each-uisge instincts took over and he plunged into the water, drowning his beloved owner. Uh, fuck.
Out of the guilt, the horse now denies his true nature, and does his best to pass as an unremarkable human man who totally does not eat people, ever.
personality
Leith does his best to give the impression of an ordinary, mild-mannered human who just wants to do a good job and stay out of trouble. He's... not very good at it. At any given point in time, Leith seems like he's using every ounce of willpower to suppress his real reactions to things, and it often spills out in careless moments. He's impulsive. He's opinionated. He feels everything strongly and enduringly. He's not human, and has never quite gotten the hang of moderating his desires and emotions, although he obviously knows he should. When he's overwhelmed or realises he's gotten into a situation he can't handle, he retreats and hides.
Despite having spent the past century fighting against it, he is at his core a feral animal that wants to kill and devour humans. His passionate personality is directly entwined with the part of him that wants to lure people into the sea. The only way he's found to control his wild nature is to be tamed in his horse form, but the last time ended in such disaster that he's wary of repeating it.
Despite having spent the past century fighting against it, he is at his core a feral animal that wants to kill and devour humans. His passionate personality is directly entwined with the part of him that wants to lure people into the sea. The only way he's found to control his wild nature is to be tamed in his horse form, but the last time ended in such disaster that he's wary of repeating it.
+
curious
expressive
bold
sensitive
loyal
=
repressed
impulsive
passionate
easily impressed
inhuman
–
secretive
reckless
guilt-ridden
runs from problems
hungers for human flesh
appearance
His true form is that of a beautiful grey stallion with dark eyes and a flowing mane. When underwater, the horse takes on a feral, unearthly aura, his teeth becoming razor sharp and his eyes ghostly white.
Leith's human form is calibrated to appear harmless and unassuming. His vision is flawless, but he wears glasses as an extra reminder to not shift back to his true form, since it would be a pain to replace his glasses if they broke on his huge horse face.
Leith's human form is calibrated to appear harmless and unassuming. His vision is flawless, but he wears glasses as an extra reminder to not shift back to his true form, since it would be a pain to replace his glasses if they broke on his huge horse face.
abilities
origins
The each-uisge was born directly from Loch Scavaig, and has never had a family or any concept of time passing until very recently. For hundreds of years, he would emerge from the sea as either a horse or a young man (more often the former than the latter), lure someone into the water, and devour them. Sometimes he fed on local cattle if he couldn't find someone, but eating a human was enough to tide him over for several years.
pet horse years
Once bridled, he was given to Cyprien du Voy. He loved the boy genuinely, as a loyal horse would. Tamed and stabled far away from the sea, the each-uisge (at this point called Blancmange) was perfectly content to act as a young man's ride, and if his wild nature showed itself sometimes, Cyprien could always calm his horse again. His years as Cyprien's horse taught the each-uisge to love humans and see them as more than prey. (The official birthday on Leith's record is the day he was adopted by Cyprien.)
Cyprien was close with his sister, Charlotte, and the each-uisge became enamoured of her. He began slipping his bridle and appearing to Charlotte in his human form, posing at first as a resident in the village, then finally admitting that he wasn't entirely human when she noticed that he never aged. In stolen hours away from her family, he befriended Charlotte, always curious and enthusiastic about her interests but refusing to ever tell her the truth about himself. He did eventually offer her a name to call him: Leith.
normal man years
Drowning and devouring Cyprien affected Leith deeply. He only acted according to his nature, but instead of being happy that he was a literal free spirit again, Leith felt sadness for the first time for killing a human—and guilt, knowing how much Charlotte loved her brother. In the years after Cyprien's death, Leith continued to appear to Charlotte, just once a year. He kept this up even after she married and moved away from home, tormented by his love for her and the knowledge that he would kill her too if he ever smelled the sea air in her presence.
In between visits, Leith tried to be a normal human man. He took various odd jobs, including nursing (which was easier to do in the 1800s than today, when you actually need credentials). He was particularly suited to caring for the sick, being sensitive and tireless and impervious to disease. His longest-running job was as a caretaker to an elderly eccentric, Alastair Sinclair, who also acted as a sort of father figure to him. The old man allowed Leith to reside with him, and seemed amused by Leith's ignorance about how proper society operated. When Alastair passed away soon after World War I, Leith was left unmoored once again. Despite his best efforts, he struggled to fit in. There were all sorts of rules he didn't know about human society, and expectations he didn't know how to meet. And now he had to pay taxes? Whenever he got too overwhelmed, he'd give up and flee back into the sea.
But he always emerged once again, as any waters he roamed became too dangerous for humans. He did his best not to drown any more people, with mixed results. Leith has given into his each-uisge instincts and killed four people in past century, making him wary now of being at sea or taking his horse form. Although he still feels the urge to lure people into water, it's much harder to act on it when he's on land and in human form.
He isn't really sure why the Adventure Society asked him to join them, but he jumped at the chance to work as a healer and help people again. Despite knowing that he's surrounded by other supernatural beings, he's uncomfortable with revealing his own true nature, and hopes that being at the Society will help him become a more convincing human.
The each-uisge was born directly from Loch Scavaig, and has never had a family or any concept of time passing until very recently. For hundreds of years, he would emerge from the sea as either a horse or a young man (more often the former than the latter), lure someone into the water, and devour them. Sometimes he fed on local cattle if he couldn't find someone, but eating a human was enough to tide him over for several years.
pet horse years
Once bridled, he was given to Cyprien du Voy. He loved the boy genuinely, as a loyal horse would. Tamed and stabled far away from the sea, the each-uisge (at this point called Blancmange) was perfectly content to act as a young man's ride, and if his wild nature showed itself sometimes, Cyprien could always calm his horse again. His years as Cyprien's horse taught the each-uisge to love humans and see them as more than prey. (The official birthday on Leith's record is the day he was adopted by Cyprien.)
Cyprien was close with his sister, Charlotte, and the each-uisge became enamoured of her. He began slipping his bridle and appearing to Charlotte in his human form, posing at first as a resident in the village, then finally admitting that he wasn't entirely human when she noticed that he never aged. In stolen hours away from her family, he befriended Charlotte, always curious and enthusiastic about her interests but refusing to ever tell her the truth about himself. He did eventually offer her a name to call him: Leith.
normal man years
Drowning and devouring Cyprien affected Leith deeply. He only acted according to his nature, but instead of being happy that he was a literal free spirit again, Leith felt sadness for the first time for killing a human—and guilt, knowing how much Charlotte loved her brother. In the years after Cyprien's death, Leith continued to appear to Charlotte, just once a year. He kept this up even after she married and moved away from home, tormented by his love for her and the knowledge that he would kill her too if he ever smelled the sea air in her presence.
In between visits, Leith tried to be a normal human man. He took various odd jobs, including nursing (which was easier to do in the 1800s than today, when you actually need credentials). He was particularly suited to caring for the sick, being sensitive and tireless and impervious to disease. His longest-running job was as a caretaker to an elderly eccentric, Alastair Sinclair, who also acted as a sort of father figure to him. The old man allowed Leith to reside with him, and seemed amused by Leith's ignorance about how proper society operated. When Alastair passed away soon after World War I, Leith was left unmoored once again. Despite his best efforts, he struggled to fit in. There were all sorts of rules he didn't know about human society, and expectations he didn't know how to meet. And now he had to pay taxes? Whenever he got too overwhelmed, he'd give up and flee back into the sea.
But he always emerged once again, as any waters he roamed became too dangerous for humans. He did his best not to drown any more people, with mixed results. Leith has given into his each-uisge instincts and killed four people in past century, making him wary now of being at sea or taking his horse form. Although he still feels the urge to lure people into water, it's much harder to act on it when he's on land and in human form.
He isn't really sure why the Adventure Society asked him to join them, but he jumped at the chance to work as a healer and help people again. Despite knowing that he's surrounded by other supernatural beings, he's uncomfortable with revealing his own true nature, and hopes that being at the Society will help him become a more convincing human.
miscellaneous trivia
- His final meeting with Charlotte occurred 20 years ago, when it was finally revealed that he was her brother's horse and he'd drowned Cyprien. They argued, Leith ran away, and he never saw Charlotte again.
- Enrolled in medical school in the 1920s, using the name and resources he'd inherited from Alastair Sinclair. Dropped out in a matter of weeks because he couldn't handle the stress.
- Refuses to eat liver. Tore his meals apart expressly so he could separate the liver and toss it away, but will eat every other part, including the bones.
MEMES