Sylvester Colton

Basic Info

Full name: Sylvester Colton
Nickname: Syl
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Age: 19
Place of birth: London, England
Current place of residence: Dieppe, France
Occupation: Florist
Sexual orientation: Questioning
Relationship Status: Single
Spoken Languages: English, French (learning)

Appearance

Weight: 58 kg
Height: 170 cm
Build: Thin
Eye colour: Steel blue
Skin colour: White
Hair colour: Dirty blonde
Attire: Knit sweaters, jeans, plain shirts, converse shoes

Family

Father: Charles Colton
Mother: Amanda Byrd (deceased)
Brother: Benjamin Colton (deceased)

Psychology & Interests

Alignment: Chaotic Good
Hobbies: Collecting seashells, keeping a diary, reading, cello
Habits: Biting the skin of his lip or the inside of his cheek when deep in thought or nervous
Likes: Storms, sea breeze, wine, birds, solitude, rocky shores, classical music, stars
Dislikes: Clutter, lukewarm drinks, yelling, getting lost, mockery
Phobias/Fears: Trusting others
Illnesses: Schizophrenia, PTSD
Personality: Sylvester is compassionate and friendly to those who respect and make an effort to understand him. However, he has a tendency to significantly change his behaviour in a short period of time, which may be confusing to those around him. He may even become uneasy or suspicious of people who have no intention of harming him whatsoever. He often tends to lose touch with reality.

Backstory

He grew up in a wealthy household in London, but unlike most wealthy parents who spoil their children, Sylvester's parents prioritised their own needs. That was one of the things that led him to believe he and his younger brother existed solely to portray an idealised image of a family devoid of emotional ties. Despite that neglect, he was a cheerful, lively kid with the greatest of imaginations. That was thanks to his brother, Benjamin. They spent the majority of their time together, taking walks down the river or playing in parks, and on the rare occasions when the sky was clear at night, they went stargazing and made up a bunch of silly constellations.

Sylvester's hallucinations began shortly after they moved into their new home in Eastbourne, following the unexpected death of his brother at 15. Since his mind could not accept or comprehend such a major loss, he strongly denied it. His first hallucination occurred at the funeral, when he saw his allegedly deceased brother hiding among the graveyard trees. Ever since that day, he had been seeing his image nearly everywhere he went, causing him to believe that he was somehow still alive and was only hiding from the rest of the world. His parents appeared to be understanding of him at first, but then he found out they were intending to commit him to a mental facility because he was not improving, so he fled.

He sought shelter at a lighthouse until he was discovered by a man named Leonard, the lighthouse keeper. At the boy’s request, instead of returning him to his parents, Leonard took him in on the condition that he become his helper around the lighthouse. The first couple of weeks went smoothly. Sylvester had simple tasks to tend to, and he even enjoyed them. But as the following month rolled in, things took a turn for the worse.
One night, while patrolling the shoreline, he was drawn to the water as though by an invisible force, compelling him to dive in. He wandered out onto the damp rocks, standing at the edge and peering into the liquid abyss, which stared right back. The moment he plunged into the sea, a pair of gleaming white dots greeted him from below. It was another figment of his imagination—a black, human-shaped creature with big, bright white eyes that leaked a tar-like substance. Leonard discovered him the next morning, lying unconscious among the rocks.

From that day forward, the creature tormented him both day and night. It began by telling him that his parents were to blame for Benjamin's death and that they would have gotten rid of him as well if he hadn't run away. Later on, it even went into great depth about the process of the killing. That's what eventually drew him back to the new house: he wanted to avenge his brother.
He ended up strangling his mother and stabbing his father, who happened to survive the incident. To avoid being caught, Sylvester boarded a ferry bound for Dieppe, France, and began a new life as a florist. He had little to no knowledge of the French language except for a few basic words. Everything he knows now, he picked up from the time he spent working there.
He is completely unaware that his father survived and that his parents had nothing to do with his brother’s death; it was a prescribed medication that killed Benjamin.