Grimaulkin (Virtue)
Contents
Origin
Once upon a time there were two brothers. Both of them wanted to be strong and powerful mages in the Circle of Thorns, so both began studying with them. Then one fine afternoon, a beautiful demoness appeared to them. She had the power, and the contract, to make either of them powerful beyond belief. But there could be only one.
Louis Labonte studied, watched, practiced. He went to mages and got extra work. He studied hard and realized that he could get the power he wanted, he could just offer her his soul for a time. Not eternity, just maybe a year and a day...one mage suggested that she use his body every other year. That sounded good, so he had that offer ready. When he presented it, she said she would think about it.
Meanwhile, his brother, Mikey, had a better idea. He knew offering his soul would be child's play, but what about offering his brother's? He found a couple of spells to be able to use his brother's soul temporarily, and be able to present it to the demoness. She accepted his offer, and a contract was presented. Unlimited power, as much as he could handle at a time, for his brother's soul now and his own later.
After watching his brother die at the hands of the demoness, and watching his soul be torn out of its body, Mikey, now called Grimaulkin after the name of his demoness (Grimalkin), accepted the first few fledgling powers offered. As he grew in strength, he also didn't want just the power she would dole out to him; he wanted to have it all. So he began working on how to bind the demoness to do his bidding, to bind her and steal her energy and power - and not the other way around.
Enter Dysio, a demon who chose to accept human flesh in order to please a lover. Unfortunately, the lover scorned him, and Grim found him instead. Grim fell head-over-heels in love with him, and Dysio with Grim as well. Dysio promised Grim that he would teach him all he knew about magic and spell work.
One of the things Dysio was able to teach him was how to bind his demoness. Grim was able to trick Grimalkin into appearing on earth, and then he used some chains that bound Dysio to a physical form and used those to bind the demoness to a crystal dagger. He carefully packed this dagger away and brought it with him to Nerva.
So he thought.
The Isles
Eventually Grim started going over to the Rogue Isles on the request of a friend. This Circle of Thorns Death Mage was looking for bones to use to make zombies. He gave Grim a special set of gloves and told him he needed the middle finger of everyone he killed. Grim mistakenly killed a lot.
He learned the spell himself, killed the friend, and started making his own zombies. Soon, he was able to perfect his ability as a summoner.
Dysio also helped him develop his ability with "essences", or the residue that people leave behind on items they've used, bodily fluids, their images on photographs. He can use those things for spells that influence the person or his/her environment. Because of this, he does not give up such things of his own very easily.
He was able to make a name for himself in Nerva as a "fix-it" man, someone to call to exact revenge - or just to start something. Then, one day, Grim went looking for the dagger of his demoness. It was gone. After trying to decipher where it could have gone, Dysio and Grim decided it was probably still in Paragon somewhere.
Villains of Paragon City
Grim hooked up with some villains, namely, the Villains of Paragon City. He gained a rapport with Trooper Harris (whose pants he attempted to get into, until Harris punched him across the room). Soon, he rose in the ranks of the group, and was considered one of the chosen few villains. He constantly grated on Operative Valos, and the two men were always at odds with each other, with Trooper Harris often between the two.
Grim was told to have people trust him, so he began working with Raina Sylvir. Raina was accused of treason and locked up, but Grim, Rusted Man, and Operative Valos broke her out. Mindstryker attempted to stop him, but was injured. Grim then avoided Melody but Raina still contacted him. Trooper Harris had the video tapes of Grim assisting Raina, but erased them. Grim was allowed free reign, while Rusted Man was confined to base. Eventually, Operative Valos entered the base, and White Melody ordered Grim and Mindstryker to attack him. They kill him in the tunnels, and Grim gets his finger to make a zombie.
John Starkweather, the leader of the Phalanx of Paragon (a front for Villains of Paragon City), had died the day after Grim joined. Rusted Man, under orders of the new leader White Melody, cloned John and kept him in medbay.
Mindstryker and Raina realized that Melody was dangerous – and so would John be if he was let loose. Grim integrated himself with them and they trusted him. Kalius joined them, also. They chose to begin to subvert the group from the inside. White Melody also found out that Starkweather was a true villain, and ordered Grim to terminate the clone. Instead, he summoned John’s soul and put it in the clone.
John immediately took over, and called Grim a trusted servant. Then, Raina, Mindstryker, and Kalius ran to the base thinking Grim was in trouble, to find him in cahoots with John. They attempted to kill John. Kalius went to kill Grim, he’s that angry, but Raina knocked Grim out and pulled Kalius away.
Grim felt slightly guilty, but assumed that the trust John placed in him would more than make up for it. They composed a manhunt to get Raina, and they found her in Kings Row along with Mind. Raina immediately went for Grim’s throat and was able to make him bleed (which freaks him out). They subdued her, but she got away with help from Matthew Starkweather. Mind was captured, and mindwiped to become John’s servant.
Kalius was next on the list, and Grim chose to be responsible for him. However, Kalius was followed by a spirit, Shadow from the Black Sun Dimension, which was able to offer Redemption for Grim’s past crimes. In accepting this Redemption, Grim was filled with pure power, what he had sought for all these years. This power was peaceful and light, not aggressive and dark.
He released Kalius and Matthew Starkweather, and was able to escape with them. He joined Kalius at Raina’s safe house, with Mind hunting them down. Raina tried to use her telepathic link with Mind to break through the mindwipe, but didn’t have the strength. Then Grim instinctively took her hands and poured power into her. With the added help, she was able to get through to Mind and reverse the mindwipe. Rusted Man joins up with them, and they all choose to leave the Phalanx of Paragon.
Safe Havens
Grim had once belonged to a group called Safe Havens, called that because they existed to help people who are in trouble or running away from other group or individuals. He contacted the leader of the group, Timetripper, who offered the neglected base for their use. Now they use this place as a center of their operations, working toward bringing down John Starkweather and the empire he wishes to build.
Since rejoining Safe Havens, he's fallen in love with Kalius; found and reunited Kalius with his long-lost lover Dmitrius; fallen in love with a seraphim, Stefan; had sex with too many satyrs to count. He can't stand technomancers because of their arrogant attitude; he was on the path of an angel for a time until this hatred overwhelmed him. He lost his ability with white magic and regained new ones (although what he uses right now is not pure white or black magic). He became a reaper for Hades, and even that he's in danger of losing.
Mad, bad, and dangerous to know
Grim watched as Jack and Raina distanced themselves from the rest of the group, wrapped up in their own problems. Grim took it upon himself to assist the new people coming in and to be a contact and liaison for them. Jack finally divorced Raina, after being talked into it by Jenna - a "slut" that Grim considered a homewrecker. Grim then asked if he could become co-leader, but Raina refused him. At that, he left Safe Havens, taking Lue Xiong (Jade Naja) with him.
Angered at the treatment of both Raina and Jack, Grim attempted to get Lue to go kill their two children. Lue refused. Grim called him a coward and chased him out. Lue feels he left on his own, and went running back to Havens, saying that yes, Grim was an evil and manipulative bastard, and that Havens was right in kicking him out. Meanwhile, the rest of the group ostracized Grim, and cut off all ties with him, refusing to ever communicate with him again.
The Warehouse Academy/Northern Warehouse
Now even more furious, Grim went to the Isles and set up a place there. With assistance from mysterious benefactors, he's attempting to establish a school there for the murky sort. He hopes that people learn everything from philosophy to lock picking, from how to make chicken fried steak to murder. All members are teachers and students. The Academy is in the Isles, the Northern Warehouse is in Kings Row, with a direct teleport to the Academy in the Isles.
External links
http://paragonpix.blogspot.com/2008/02/i-wanted-this-picture-in.html - Comic illustrating Grim's fratricide
http://www.paragoncitytales.net/gone-rogue/ - Daily (for the most part) updates of Grim - and others' - adventures.
