Cometborn, Martyr / SABER Operative of the Ecclesia Solari (Clandestine)
Background. Discovered not in the heavens, but amidst the twisted reflections of the Mirror Realm, Thirteen was found as a dormant, crystallized Egg. He was secretly adopted by Liara Cetra, then a rising Solar Scion, who vowed to raise the fledgling Cometborn away from the prying eyes of the Church. However, as he came of age, he began displaying violent signs of stigmata — manifestations of raw, unstable divinity.
The Solari Inquisition seized him, subjecting him to brutal experimentation to harness his connection to the Mirror Realm. These experiments etched the Twilight Brand into his flesh: a mark developed from research on Silas Clemens, explaining the painful resonance and psychic link they share.
Eventually deemed a “success,” Thirteen was inducted as a Solar Scion. Tragedy struck during a mission gone wrong; he emerged as the sole survivor while his entire squad perished. In truth, the erratic nature of his powers forced his hand, or so the official narrative claims. Blamed for the massacre, he was offered a choice: execution, or the Light Severance. He chose the latter. He committed his “irredeemable act” — accepting the guilt for his friends’ deaths — and pledged his loyalty to SABER, the High Priestess Cetra’s shadow blades.
The Boy felt them. He felt Captain Vane’s fear, Cleric Raynard’s confusion, the Sorcerer Piranesi’s silent plea and then, he felt them snuff out. Like candles pinched out by bloody fingers. He had absorbed their Souls and ground them down to nothingness, to fuel an uncontrollable weapon. He had denied his friends Paradise. He had made them… un-exist.
A scream in the darkness…
The Arch-Demon Grythe paused, its many eyes blinking in ecstasy. The battlefield was empty save for the boy. Overwhelmed by a grief so profound it shattered his psyche, the boy rejected being perceived. He vanished from the visual spectrum, his guilt becoming specter.
Where is the little light? the Demon growled, stomping forward, crushing the empty armor of the Captain.
Invisible, tear-blinded, and fueled by the raw energy of his consumed friends, the boy drove the Soul-Sword through the back of the Demon’s neck. The beast’s ichor gushed out and drowned the Boy in a bath of agony.
The Judgment. Many Noctus later… The cold stone of the Tower of Inquisition. He is on his knees, bound in chains of radiance. The High Inquisitor looks down with absolute disgust.
“Heresy does not begin to describe it,” the Solari Inquisitor spat. “To kill is a tragedy. To deny a soul its return to Natu is an abomination. You are a devourer. A Void.”
“Guilty,” the council chanted. “Death.”
“No.”
The doors burst open. Liara Cetra, her face angelic, stepped between the executioner’s blade and the boy. She looked at him, broken, weeping, hating himself more than they ever could.
“He is not a failure,” Liara said, her voice echoing with the authority of a future High Priestess. “He is a weapon. The Inquisition, no… YOU, High Inquisitor, YOU and your MEN created a Demon to fight Fomorians? Then let him fight. Let him bear the sin you etched into his skin.”
She knelt before him, lifting his chin. “You will not die today, my child. But the boy you were is gone. You will sever yourself from the Light of the Public. You will be my shadow. You will be… Thirteen.”
Abilities. Thirteen wields a Soul-Sword, a blade summoned from his own essence. The flames that wreath him are not hellfire, but the radiant, holy flames that light the Mirror Realm: a beacon to warn the darkness that SABER is watching. This power is a double-edged sword; designed to burn away corrupted souls and phylacteries, it consumes his own soul in the process. Every strike inflicts self-damage, a physical manifestation of his martyrdom.
To the world, and specifically the Soul Shepherds, he presents as “Steven,” the quiet, diligent janitor and deckhand aboard the A.R.K. He sweeps the floors, serves meals, and keeps his head down, maintaining absolute secrecy as he reports to High Priestess Cetra. Beneath this humble facade lies a cold, calculating operative who fears connection — terrified that those he grows close to will burn by his hand, just as his first squad did.
Joining the Soul Shepherds. Thirteen was introduced as a “rookie” during Bartholomew’s Mirror Realm induction trial. He opened the portal to the Mirror Realm through the Eluvian Mirror and aided the Soul Shepherds inside. Notably, the Egg of the King in the Atrium of the Profanus nearly dragged his soul in when he summoned his Soul-Sword nearby.
After the Mirror Realm trial, Whimsical staged a public Gauntlet — a contest of brawn, bravery, and wit — putting Thirteen against her sons Omniscient and Charming. Thirteen non-lethally incapacitated them quickly, drawing boos from the crowd. “Someone” (Finley) cast Tasha’s Hideous Laughter on Thirteen mid-fight, giving Omniscient a chance to stab him while he was down. Thirteen sheepishly surrendered. A party vote resulted in Thirteen receiving a probationary membership with the Soul Shepherds.
Building Trust.
- Had drinks with Silas Clemens at Purgatory Bar. Silas threatened him plainly: if he ever hurts his friends, Silas will personally kill him. They ended the night with a tense but genuine understanding.
- Sparred with Diallos, revealed his wings in the fight, and the two took to the sky together. After the fight they shook hands. Diallos told him he hoped he would find absolution one day.
- Lost a fistfight to Virtus Tenebris outside the Skysmith Forge after revealing his full backstory to her — including that he is a covert informant to the High Priestess Cetra. Virtus’s anger was not at his past but at his ongoing dual loyalty. They have an uneasy truce.
- Is still working to build trust with Whimsical.
Current Assignment. Thirteen is tasked by High Priestess Cetra with hunting down the apostate Carter Moonwing and monitoring the Soul Shepherds. He is now aboard the Project A.R.K. en route to Jupiter.
Soul-Sword Reactions. His Soul-Sword vibrated violently near a hidden heretical manuscript in the Alchemical Library of the Inverted Temple, drawn by corrupted soul-energy. He is now aware it contradicts official Ecclesia Solari doctrine on Saint Brasser the Ambrosius. He has yet to decide what to write in his Solari notebook — the sanctioned lie, or the heretical truth.
Personal Quests.
??? — Thirteen’s personal quest remains his own. The weight of those he has already lost defines everything.