Dominic - The Soul Bound (Human form)

(Please be aware this characters background touches on sensitive topics including abuse.)

Name

Human form: Dominic

Species: Human, Soul bound

Age: 27

Personality: Dominic is a laid-back individual with a passion for sculpting and a preference for personal space. He is generally quiet, though if you get him talking about his hobbies, he can become rather expressive. Having grown up with his family keeping him at an arm’s length and sheltering him from others, Dominic never learnt particularly good social skills. Whilst he never goes out to offend people, he lacks a filter and can often end up being a touch too blunt, hence preferring to just keep his mouth shut.

A side effect of his upbringing means he is not one to stand for violence, having been on the receiving end plenty across his childhood. He will step in the middle of fights or to protect someone without thinking about the consequences first. This can lead to him getting in over his head, Dante feeding on this aggression and using it as an opportunity to seize control.

Dominic is rather secretive about his personal life, finding it hard to open the doors and let others see beyond what he wishes them to. He often wears a mask when out to help hide away his expressions, never wanting to give others too much of an opportunity to get a read on him. He keeps up these walls even with his agent Samuel who has known him for several years and is the closest person Dominic has to a friend.

Powers: None in his human form.

Weaknesses: Dante’s ability to seize control of his form, lack of social skills, can’t cope with crowded spaces.

Likes: Creating his sculptures, music, solitude, Samuel enough, the view from his studio.

Dislikes: Crowded places, violence, socializing, his parents, Dante, animals though they often don’t like him in return.

Background: Dominic was born into a troubled childhood from the start, thanks to a curse placed upon his family he was what one would call soul bound. In essence this means that from the moment he came into his existence another soul was sealed within his body and he became a vessel, both protecting said soul and keeping its powers contained.

Up until the age of seven this would prove to be of little problem, the effects of being soul bound not visible other than the strange colour of his eyes. Despite on the outside Dominic appearing rather normal, his parents had always been cold towards their child. He was never showered with affection, never given toys to play with or allowed to go and play with others his age. His parents never expressing why they held such distaste towards their own flesh and blood.

They couldn’t keep him sheltered forever though, eventually being enrolled in public school, it was the first time Dominic got to meet others of his own age. It was not an easy transition, he didn’t know how to play with others, often becoming possessive over toys he took an interest in. Soon he became an outcast and in turn a target for bullies, the first time he returned home with a bloodied nose he had expected his parents to react. To show concern as to why he was hurt. Yet instead, they scolded him for attracting trouble, telling him that he should keep his head down and behave.

Over time the bullying progressed, and it was not long before his eighth birthday that the first incident happened. His parents were called in after Dominic had been found knelt on the chest of one of his bullies, knuckles bloodied and the child beneath him beaten severely. He had no recollection of the events that had led up to the teachers pulling him away, eyes glued to the floor as his teachers would inform his parents of his exclusion. When he got home his father had pinned him against the wall, screaming in his face and beating him within an inch of his life, before tossing him into his room and locking the door. His mother had stood by tears streaking her features as she had turned a blind eye to his supposed punishment.

For two weeks that room was his only existence, food delivered once a day and a bucket tossed carelessly inside to act as a toilet. This was the first in a long line of incidents that would follow, leading first to expulsion from his school before forcing the family to move. Time and time again the cycle repeated, Dominic having seemingly lost control and violently beaten down those around him only to receive the same treatment from his father before being locked away once more.

Eventually his parents resorted to home schooling him, though this just meant more solitude, Dominic still unaware of what he had done to make his father so angry, to make his parents hate him so much. He would only ever catch snippets of their arguments, ear pressed against his door. “……A monster……that wretched curse……. can’t continue……...has to end……...enough is enough!”

At the age of fifteen Dominic heard the voice for the first time, crystal clear as if it was his own in his mind. They urged him to run away, that it was no longer safe. Dominic would ignore it, pushing it away, not understanding what was going on. That night his father arrived in his room, stood over his bed as he stirred, a glint of metal in his hand raised high over the bed. For the first time things were not simply forgotten, though the events were foggy he recalled some of what followed. His father had been wielding a knife, he had been trying to kill him. The voice had demanded he give control, frightened he had resisted as he begged his father to stop……a glimpse of a black hand, golden claws at their fingertips….the cry of his father as he clutched his own face….the warmth of blood between his fingers……..the sting of the cold night air and the sharp stones that cut into his feet as he fled into the night.

For the next few years Dominic lived on the streets, scraping together what little he could to survive, the voice becoming a more frequent occurrence in his mind. He learnt that the voice belonged to someone called Dante. Slowly coming to understand his curse and the demon whose soul had been bound to his own. Blanks steadily began to fill, each time he had forgotten what had happened in his past being the result of Dante seizing control, as he would claim to ‘protect’ them both. Yet Dominic would question why he had never protected him from his father, never getting a true answer.


His parents never attempted to seek him out, Dominic eventually finding refuge and starting to pull together a life of his own. He worked himself to the bone to get into community college, choosing to study art and finding he had a talent for sculpting. His art teacher took a shining to him and supported him, providing opportunities for him to transition his newfound passion into a career. Despite the care, even as things started to settle, Dominic found it hard to form relationships with those around him, having long since shut himself out from the world. He still despised Dante, doing his best to shut the demon out, though Dante would force control at times.

At current he works part time in a warehouse where he can simply keep to himself and shift stock without too much hassle. A small bout of good fortune landing him a reasonably spacious studio apartment in which he now resides, being both his home and where he now works to create his sculptures. Thanks to a talent scout called Samuel, who was directed to him by his old art teacher, Dominic has become a growing face in the art world. He has begun hosting his own gallery exhibits, his works often depicting twisted views of human nature, demons, and demonic creatures. Whilst he still finds it hard to open up, he has at least managed to settle into some form of routine that he finds comfortable for now.