Zerek
Human: Demon Hunter
Zerek is a Demon Hunter based in the capital city of Sekkra, the main hunter and prison location for dangerous demons caught in the realm. Demon hunters do not kill demons. They ensnare them and imprison the demons that cause trouble for village folk and individuals across the land of Edin.
He's a quiet guy with a noble heart. He wants to do right by people, and protect those that can't protect themselves, regardless of their species and soul. While he leads a more level headed, quieter path in life, his lover and fellow Hunter partner, Astasia, is his sociable and hardheaded other half.
Zerek was brought up within the rivaling kingdom of Ashra, a slayer kingdom by the sea, and frequent enemy of the Hunters and their ideals in life.
Zerek was taught at a young age to hate demons and all creatures that did not originate from the their realm. For they did not belong in this realm and were foreigners to the world he lived in: a threat that needed to be eradicated.
But this was not what was meant for Zerek. Merely a few days after he turned 10, he learned a secret about his past that set his whole world ablaze. For he was not a native to this realm either, much like the demons that he was trained to kill, he was brought over from a dying realm by a fae creature, in order to save his life. He was taken in by slayer foster parents who had kept the secret up until their dying breaths. How could he be a slayer, killing realm invaders, knowing that their presence here were not unlike his own?
After a tragedy befalling his foster family, destroying all he held dear, he was found wounded and nursed back to health by an ex bandit, Abbae, and his friendly demon companion, Lurid. Spending time with the odd pair, taught Zerek that regardless of their origins/past choices in life, not one soul is born good or evil... something a kin to a 'grey area' of sorts.
It wasn't long after that Zerek lost his new found friends to the very slayers he had once thought he belonged. Having hunted down Lurid (and taking Abbae out in the process) they murdered the Lurid simply because he was a demon. Their minds set that everything was in black and white. Good vs Evil.
Zerek turned his back on the slayers and joined the Hunters, after being found by Grey, a Demon Hunter who showed him the doors to the city of Sekkra. Knowing that his slayer skills can still be put to use (just without the 'slaying' part). He was simply keeping the dangerous demons out of the populace- the demons that caused chaos and gave the good natured demons a bad reputation.
Zerek made it his sworn duty to uphold the law of the land, to keep the more treacherous demons at bay while the others, humans and kinder demons alike, can coexist in peace.
Life and Death of Zerek:
Astasia and Zerek befriended each other soon after he arrived at the Hunter City as a boy. While they grew up, they trained together, and their bond strengthened, as did their reputation for a strong 'dynamic hunter duo'. Infamous by demons of the lands, and famous by the human folks of the realm, they seemed unstoppable when together.
While Zerek is more level headed and typically has a calmer exterior, Astasia tends to be more on the wild side and often does not think when she needs to, instead taking a more headstrong approach to problems. Though Zerek does a good job at keeping her head in the game, and she keeps him from thinking too deeply on matters he shouldn't be stressing over, the two of them watch each other's backs when in battle.
Astasia and Zerek get up to various charades throughout their years together. They work for the hunter queen Ellah, a woman who sends them on various missions in order to quench her dangerous greed as keeping the foreign demons as pets.
It is on one hunt that Zerek meets an untimely demise, leaving Astasia and all that he knows behind. He falls into the waters of purgatory, the in between realm of the afterlifes, where he meets Grieve: a torture demon of Hell.
From there his soul changes forever and so enters the next phase of his existence: Becoming a demon...
See: Zerek Demon Turned, for the next segment of his existence.
Zerek's Prepast Event::
When Zerek was a baby, barely a year old, his realm was destroyed by a clash between Fire Lords (The four fire demons of Hell). They fought overhead as his realm collapsed into flames.
His mother ran through the falling realm, calling out the name of a fae she'd had dealings with in her life. The creature came to her aid, but was only able to save one soul from the dying realm. Zerek's mother forfeited her life to save her child's, and as the flames of the fire cut into her like knives, Zerek was spirited away to another realm- the realm he now calls home.
The scars on Zerek's body (in particular, the one across his cheek) was technically caused by Zathura's fire magic. Unlike normal fire, that leaves burns, Zathura's fire magic cuts deep like blades. The demon's magic had kissed Zerek's cheek before he was saved from the dying realm, leaving a permanent mark on his soul, that of which will follow him throughout all his existence (not just his current life).
