Black is a strange beast: a bipedal, canine-like creature most resembling, perhaps, a legendary werewolf, albeit with a heavier, wrinkled face. Powerful legs carry a lean, muscled body, with hulking shoulders and long-clawed forelimbs. Generally slow and still in his movements, his slow gait can burst into a surprisingly-fast charge. He is muscular and broad, his head and muzzle heavy. The blue-grey right eye is blind, with scarring across it, and the right ear is torn and ragged. He stands perhaps six feet tall, weighing around one hundred seventy to one hundred eighty pounds.
The Black Dog's gemstone is a smooth onyx, and if one were to look upon it it'd seem irregular, and oddly-polished, seeming to absorb light somehow rather than reflect it. But--if the Dog is lucky--no one will see his gem any time soon; it is where his heart should be, still and cold, his blood pulsing through it with the humming thump of magic rather than anything so mundane as a biological heartbeat.
Black's corrupted spells each leave marks of their own. Encompassing Darkness and Energy of the Void leave him permanently shrouded in smoky shadows, the former leaving him with excellent vision in darkness but increasingly poor vision in brighter light. Very bright light is blinding. Black Winds leaves Black followed by a constant, indistinct whispering, and plagues him with sensations of phantom touch ranging from light to painful. Defiled Earth corrupts the ground Black walks across, leaving him nowhere uncorrupted to rest and plaguing his sleep with nightmares, as well as forcing him to visit the Altar more often than most.
Black bears the typical personality of a guardian molosser dog, touched by deep Corruption. He is stoic, calm, and impassive. His thought process is logical, but slow, and strangely poetic and roundabout, half-touched by the constant whispers of the dark magic that has permanently changed him. Black is aloof, yet still considers himself a guardian, fearless and protective; however, the Corruption constantly urges him to chaotic destruction. He spends much of his time, then, meditating, often alone and in silence, focusing his mind to keep it calm and distant from these desires. Like the guardian dogs that stood alone for hours in the darkness watching over estates, Black stands ever-watchful.
Black has no thoughts of heroism, of courage or of sacrifice--he will just do what needs to be done, with no hesitation or regret. This fearlessness comes at a cost; he has no regard for his own safety or life, and though calculating in terms of combat, will very willingly put himself in even fatal danger should he think it needed. It will also make him seem, perhaps, unpredictable. While he is not cruel, nor kind--in fact, he's very little that isn't directly required--with the Corruption tainting him, he may be prone to actions that seem unprovoked at first glance. This may result in bursts of chaotic violence, though often enough, these are tightly-controlled by his sense of purpose.
Lastly, he does not call himself Black--that is simply a shortening of his actual self-ascribed moniker, "The Black Dog." He is a dog; he is black; he is therefore The Black Dog. This simple, yet innovative, thought process is what drives him, leading him to apparently logical but sometimes bizarre conclusions--as well as random names and titles for those around him.
![Won MotM [Dec 2018]](/images/achievements/motm1.png "Won MotM [Dec 2018]")
