Runner Up – Iris Rowen
With all the fantastic submissions, we had trouble selecting just three. There were two submissions that were in consideration for winners (and many many others that we had a hard time choosing between to advance to the final decisions), and while these two were ultimately not selected, we wanted to feature them as well. Iris is an interesting take on the idea of a well-intentioned pact with darkness, and the submitter has also given us permission to re-post their own original art. The runners up will both receive an extra download for the Valor e-book!
Name: Iris Rowen
Age: 22
Pronouns: He/him
Powers: Can enter others’ dreams, Charm (requires malevolent entity roll)
Physical Description:
Iris is about 5’1”, pale, has fluffy, light blue hair and purple eyes. His outfit consists of a blue
and purple sleeveless hoodie, brown shorts, and brown shoes with blue socks.
Growing up a shy, but cheerful child, Iris had two loving parents, a younger brother, and a
couple of friends. As he grew older, most of these friends either moved away or fell out of touch,
but one of them, Jacob, stuck by him throughout elementary, middle, and most of high school.
Iris never got too good at making friends, so Jacob was his only one.
When Iris turned 17, Jacob was diagnosed with an illness and was told he only had a couple
months to live. Iris was heartbroken, not wanting to lose his only friend, who had so many
dreams while Iris still didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life. Iris struggled with what to
do, but decided on summoning a demon to help cure Jacob.
He summoned an incubus, named Raven, and asked if he could cure his friend. Raven said he
could, in exchange for using Iris as his vessel until he accomplishes his goal, not telling Iris what
it is. Iris did not agree right away, but Raven lingered, tempting him to accept the deal. He finally
accepted as he was sitting beside Jacob’s hospital bed. Raven cured Jacob and immediately
entered Iris’ body, possessing him.
Jacob woke up from his nap only to be greeted by Raven in Iris’ body. He could already tell
something was wrong with Iris, as Raven was loud and informal. He didn’t do anything to harm
Jacob, but did scare him just by how drastically different he was acting. Iris was able to witness
everything Raven does with his body and how Jacob reacts to it. Iris softly told the demon to be a
bit more careful, which was ignored.
After leaving the hospital, Raven had Iris give him directions to his house. Iris tried to tell Raven
to be careful and act more like him, but Raven did the opposite, flat-out calling attention to the
fact that he was a demon: “My name’s Raven, I’m an incubus, and I’ll be living inside Iris from
now on. Just consider me another son.” Iris’ parents were worried about Iris, but also a little
scared. They tried to get to know him and assess the situation over dinner. Iris’ 11 year old
brother, Poppy, found Raven cool and asked him a bunch of questions. Iris asked for control
during dinner, and Raven agreed. He apologized to his family and explained why he summoned
Raven. His parents seemed to be okay with it, but worried about Iris’ and their own safety.
The next day, Iris apologized to Jacob and explained what happened. Jacob responded that he
was grateful that Iris cared for him that much, but summoning demons was inexcusable. Iris left
the hospital broken-hearted and friendless.
Iris continued school as even more of an outcast, since Jacob told his group of friends about the
demon. Raven took over every so often during school or at home, sometimes threatening
students and Iris’ parents. Poppy tried to talk to Raven whenever he was out, but his parents told
him to stay away from him.
Iris managed to finish high school, and his parents decided to pay for an apartment for him a city
over. They forbade Poppy from visiting Iris alone, so Iris was truly isolated, with Raven as his
only “friend.”
Current Accomplishments:
~Summoned a demon
~Made friends in the Silver Grove Paranormal Society
~Charmed three antagonists and an octopus
~Fell in love for the first time
~Helped almost kill one of his friends
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