Origin
The Headless Horsman, more casually known as “Headless,” was once a prized inventor creditable with many of the world’s once commonly used tools that helped to industrialize Magic and further communication. Though rather small in stature himself, he was accompanied by a large husky nearly all the time.
It would be a day like any other that he’d encounter his Corruptor: the Progenitor. Or, rather, a gift from it. Walking with his dog through a forest near the populous city he had helped to build, the two were met with a device that blurred the lines of mechanical and biological engineering. Nonetheless, it was an object of magnificent horror that pulsated and beat like a heart, seeming to call out to him. What next transpired is not completely known, however it’s believed that the device was what allowed for Headless’s greatest and final invention.
As the story would go, he took the object home out of curiosity and the thought of the potential advances he could make on his latest idea. Working himself to the bone day and night, Headless would begin to neglect his other duties just as the Scholar had. His isolation twisted his form, bringing his already small frame down to little more than skin and bone.
His beloved dog, unfortunately, was also heavily affected. Both by the Corruption radiated from the found object and new device, as well as Headless’s own neglection of it. Just as his companion’s had, the husky’s form morphed into one ravaged by starvation and neglect, wittling the creature to its last reserves and basal insticts. Desperate to feed, the hound broke into his workshop late into the night as he had finished assembling it. Just as he’d turned it on Headless was viciously attacked by his once dear friend.
Weakened by months of malnourishment and nonstop work, Headless quickly succumbed to the dog’s rabid mauling. In the process of consumption, the corpse quite literallly lost its head and soon the rest of the body had been cleaned except for the lower half. The hound, so fixated by its Corrupt gluttony, then began eating what was left, falling asleep as it did so.
The next morning, on a warm spring day, the world would awaken to a new horror. A hunter in his own right: The Hound. Crawling to the depths of the lush forest where he first encountered his object of Corruption, he would then claim it as his own through the numerous Corrupt Broadcast devices spread throughout the forest as blinking, beating, watchful eyes.
Appearance
A towering figure standing well above even the likes of the Scholar in their Corrupted forms, the Hound’s form is like few others in its lack of any large modifications to the two bodies composing it. The upper body, coming from Headless himself, has become nothing more than bone at this point with the torso enlarged and spine and arms elongated. The right arm, however, appears with a sort of covering over it pierced by several iron nails. The left arm, in its forearm, is similarly punctured by three large nails, though the entire form is bare bones along with the hand.
The lower body, most obviously coming from the accompanying dog, is largely unchanged aside from the general enlargement of the body and arms. The heads that form as growths over the lower body spawn from the beheaded victims of the Hound by the swing of his Ban Hammer.
This hammer, dual-sided and a pointed tip at both ends, would come to be the final invention from Headless as it casted signals, even thoughts and streams of consciousness, through its runes and internal workings. It’s a clear fact that when in combat the Corruption stemming from the Hound’s hammer is heavily amplified.
Behavior
Though always credited as a somewhat irritable individual, the Hound emerged with a highly aggressive nature. To enter its sanctioned territory is to beg and plead for a most gruesome and bloody death. Attempts to run are met with a crushing futility as they are pursued by a relentless predator set on their head.
Unique Abilities
Relentless Pursuit
A trait that is moreso unique to a certain type of Corruption rather than an individual (as it’s seen in more animalistic Corruptions such as the 变形者 Biànxíng Zhě [Shapeshifter] and the Lurker), the Hound will act with merciless intent and refuses to let up on a kill. Once a target has been made there is no hope for survival.
Rumbling Howl
The many heads growing on the lower body vocalize in a single extremely loud cry able that is further amplified by the many Corrupt Broadcast devices found throughout its forest territory. The fear induced by these cries allows for a more effective Corruption to any surrounding populations as they briefly exhibit a higher irritability in themselves.
Corrupted Whispers
On the exceedingly rare occasion the Hound is fooled or outdone in battle, opposers will be bombarded by the whispers stemming from the heads of the fallen, allowing for the swift strike of the Ban Hammer and a new addition to the heads with time.
Cursed Transmissions
The Corrupt Broadcast devices emit a constant signal of Corruption to the point where the nearby city, once bustling with the flow of busy people in a highly industrialized and advanced society, has been filled with dysfunction and a boiling ire between each of its inhabitants and a heightened susceptibility to Corruption.
