Brayden Abrams; Lost in Transition

Born as the second child to Samuel and Elizabeth Abrams, Brayden grew up in a well-respected family of prestige. His father was a lawyer, owning his own business and was – maybe with some enchanted help, maybe not – one that was in high demand by powerful clients. Elizabeth was a sought-out model, a lady, prim and proper, who captivated the eyes of whoever looked at her. These two raised their children with the utmost care they could. Teaching them right from wrong, they gave lessons on how one should act, how one should present themselves in public, and how one should live. They took their children hunting, teaching them the beauty of their gifts and how to control their magic for defense against the Shadowkind.

As Brayden grew up, he had a best friend in his older brother, Eli. He looked up to his sibling in more ways than one; if it would disappoint Eli, he wouldn’t do it. The two brothers were inseparable when they were little, and that was something that wouldn’t change until much later in life. When the Leopolds captured the kids of the Arcane families, Brayden was among them. When the children were rescued, the Abrams still thought it best to keep in contact with the Sterlings and the Ashfords. They trusted the Kromans, though when they moved back to Russia, there was barely any time spent with the Necromancer kin.

Still allowed to grow up with the Conjurers and Enchanters, Brayden took a liking to two individuals in particular – Lorelei and Gavin. The two quickly became the boy’s best friends, though at such a young age, their friendship consisted of the usual bickering and play-dates. Lorelei, ever the trickster, was the cause of Brayden’s broken leg – having used her powers to convince him to jump out of a tree, the boy suffered (his world was ending – as it would for any young tike who thought they were going to die because of a broken limb) until a Conjurer had healed his wound.

When Brayden was 13, the Abrams took his family to Los Angeles, borrowing the penthouse that was a home to any Arcanist who needed it. It was only a two week vacation for the family – an escape from their home in Washington, D.C. Elizabeth and Samuel took all five of their children for nights out on the town, making appearances at five-star restaurants and musicals that were playing at the time. They gave their children all of their attention, continuing to make sure that they were well-behaved and not fighting. The two took their children on training excursions while on their vacation, helping their children develop their powers for use against the Shadowkind.

Before the family left the City of Angels, they were visited by a Bontecou. Samuel and Elizabeth took the visitor into the home and to a place where they and the distraught Diviner could talk. Brayden wasn’t supposed to be listening, but the boy hadn’t been purposefully trying to eavesdrop. The crazed Bontecou warned the Abrams that their youngest would take a turn for the worst; she feared that young Alison would use her gifts against the other Arcanists, and ultimately would bring ruin upon the Abrams family. Samuel was outraged, though Elizabeth managed to calm him down; their visitor made no apologies, but left, passing Brayden on the way out. Not wanting to be scolded by his parents for listening in, as accidental as it was, the boy scurried to his room, telling the prophecy he had heard to Eli and then never speaking of it again.

When Brayden was 16, his younger brother Alec swindled him into a camping trip. Being outdoors was nice, but the woods weren’t his favorite place. Eli had promised to join the two later that night, so the middle male made no complaints. Alec and he set out to a camping site, putting up their tents and rounding up wood for a fire later that night. It was the middle of November, which called for some source of warmth. Unbeknownst to the two boys, they were being watched by a Glaistig. Her cave lay just outside of the woods, on the other side of the lake that they were camping by. She waited until nightfall to sing her sweet melody, though it didn’t reach Brayden’s ears. Alec was her target – and he rose and made his way toward the cave, almost leaving a bewildered Brayden behind.

He followed his younger brother, realizing that something was wrong but having no idea how to fix it. When the two reached the cave, the satyr-woman attacked the intruder. With Alec still lured under her spell, Brayden fought to the best of his ability. Knocked around here and there, the boy suffered cut after wound, being thrown around by the Shadowkind. Alec managed to break free from the spell he was under, though the Glaistig dealt him one crushing blow and had him bleeding heavily in her lair. It was then that Eli arrived, maneuvering the creature from her lair and summoning fire to kill her. It was during their time spent rushing Alec out of the woods and to the hospital that Brayden decided to become a surgeon – he hadn’t been able to save his brother by himself that night, but he vowed to never be short handed if ever anything else happened.

So he grew. Expressing his desires to his parents and siblings, Brayden got the blessing to head off to medical school. Moving off, he dove into his studies and examinations, learning sutures and techniques that would save a patient’s life. He kept in touch whenever he had a free moment, calling up his sister Cathrine to catch up, or hunting with Eli whenever they had a chance. Not that one came often; with the boy nearing graduation at Harvard Medical School, he was swamped with exams and studying, among signing up for internships at hospitals. He wasn’t proud of having fallen out of touch with his family, and hated all of the games of phone-tag and missed calls. When Eli came to visit, his brother forced him out of the library and into a hunt.

Eli expressed how proud he was of Brayden, but also shared with him the latest happenings of the Abrams family – and the other families, as well. Something wasn’t right, and Eli could feel it. They spoke of the prophecy pertaining to young Alison, who Eli had taken to watching over through the years. Their parents were always in meetings with the other families, and to say it concerned the oldest Abrams sibling was an understatement. The two made a pact that night, after their last kill of a haunting redcap – if something ever happened to their parents, they would both step in to act as Heads of the family and do whatever was needed to protect the others. That next morning would be the last Elias Abrams spent.

Neither Eli nor Brayden knew that a Leopold had followed the oldest Abrams on his trip to visit his brother. The hunter waited until nightfall to make his move, though subtle as it was. Eli’s car was jacked – brakes were removed, the essentials tampered with. On the way back home, the oldest Abrams was slung from his car, the seatbelt doing nothing to stop him from being expelled onto the cool pavement. As far as the Leopolds were concerned, one less Arcanist was a blessing. Brayden was devastated when he had to identify the body that day at his own job, barely managing to hold back from breaking down in front of his resident. The only upside was the cardiothoracic surgery he was allowed to perform as a “gift” from his mentor.

The funeral came and went. Brayden thought of only one thing as he watched his brother being laid to rest in the ground: the promise that the two had made to protect their family. He swore he wouldn’t let Eli down, though he didn’t know how soon it was that he would have to collect on his pact. Cathrine was the one to call him about their parent’s sudden absence. Samuel and Elizabeth had disappeared without word, leaving the Abrams siblings on their own. The other families’ parents were gone as well. Brayden knew that Eli was right in his hunch about something being off; calling up Gavin, the Evoker made the decision to move his family to the Azoth Estate along with the other families. From there, he’d lead as the Head of the Evoker family until his parent’s return.

He wasn’t ready for the accountability. He had made that pact with Eli, and that was the only thing keeping him going. He wasn’t used to having to watch out for his other siblings, though he wouldn’t give up. Having completed his internship, he had to turn down an offer of residency that was presented to him. Brayden would return to the medical field only once everything was back to normal – if ever that happened. Packing up the last bit of his things, he headed to the Azoth Estate, nerves shot and honestly scared that he wouldn’t be able to live up to his parent’s – or Eli’s – names.



Alchemy
The time spent at the Azoth Estate was, for the Abrams, mostly chaotic. In his absence, Alison had twisted her demeanor into one that was seemingly full of misunderstood hatred. The youngest Abrams clashed with her three siblings, and Brayden felt lost as to how to help her. He knew that she was struggling to deal with the disappearance of her parents and the loss of her oldest brother, but so were the others. He tried uniting them, though Alison fought hard to break free from the life of magic that she had been born into. Every night, Brayden prayed that he could reach the girl before it was too late – before something happened along the lines of the prophecy that he had overheard at 13.

With the Shadowkind’s forces increasing, the battle that raged on between them and the Arcanists became harder to fight. Family members were dropping in battle, claimed by Shadow Stalkers when they were caught off guard. Brayden feared that his family would be torn apart, and tried living up to Eli’s name by continually attempting to reconcile the broken family. With his parents gone, he felt he couldn’t live up to their name, like he was failing as Head of the family and couldn’t do anything to change it.

Taking a break from the battle, the Evoker accompanied his best friends Gavin and Lorelei on a mission provided by Margaux Bontecou. Taking a late night bike ride to Dunkin’ Donuts, Brayden was one of the one’s to first meet the new addition to the Sterling family, Zac. With the war raging on headstrong, the long lost Sterling brother offered help that the families needed. Unfortunately, the Shadowkind still fought strong, coming back tenfold after they suffered a loss. Brayden feared that the families would never make it to the end of the war alive.

Cathrine and Brayden had their spats, but the two siblings knew each other well enough that they were going to be okay. They trained day to day, though put out an exterior that would make it seem as if they weren’t worried. Brayden didn’t believe there to be any reason to give anyone else to worry, and even if he was freaking out, he didn’t want to show it. He wanted to be strong, like he believed Eli would have been. Brayden took Alec out on a hunt against a kappa that had been killing victims that had ventured too close to his home beneath water. There the two talked about the war and about their family, and it was from Alec’s belief that Brayden was a good leader that the older boy felt at ease.

When the two arrived back at the Estate, they found Alison in frenzy. Pointing fingers and yelling names, the youngest Abrams swore she’d cast aside her heritage and be finished with the war that raged on. She tried to leave, and though Brayden tried reasoning with her, she did the opposite of what she was threatening and embraced her powers more than she had before. She let her mana consume her and she attacked. Brayden tried defending against her, but a mysterious stranger appeared at the Estate and pulled him away from the battle.

Alison calmed down and stayed at the Estate, but Brayden’s thoughts were soon consumed by the stranger that had pulled him from the battle. The stranger introduced himself as Serik, and as time would come to prove, he was the Essentian – the link to the Arcane plane where his parents were fighting with all they had. Serik told him of the parents fighting and losing, and Brayden slowly began to freak out. Throwing himself in training and even baking – a skill he used to calm his nerves – he dealt with the news his own way. He sought out the Head of all the families, Gavin, and learned from his friend that he already knew this piece of news – as well as the fact that his own parents had perished in the war. It was now solid: Brayden was the sole leader of the Evokers.

Fight after fight, Brayden did all he could to take own full reign as leader of his family. He trained them and fought alongside them, thankful that for now, the Abrams family was at peace with one another. He was visited time and time again by the Essentian, Serik – who presented himself as an author in their world. Taking solace in the being, Brayden fell closer and closer for him, allowing himself the happiness that was being offered to him.

Still, the war raged on. More families were losing members, and loss became something they all dealt with on a regular basis. Fearing that the time where he or one of his siblings would fall was nearing soon, he trained harder. One person, an Eldritch Hunter, joined him on his hunts, taking him under her wing and training him to fight as she knew how. Taylor Sullivan and Brayden hunted the Shadowkind from late hours in the night to the early hours of the morning; she had her weapons and brute strength, and he had his mana to fuel his evocation powers. The two grew close, taking their breaks with one another for a night out from the war, hunting and training, teaching the other what they knew.

When the war hit the hardest it ever had, Brayden was among the first to know. The Shadowkind had somehow managed to infiltrate the magic that shrouded the Estate, and they swarmed it in a surprise attack. Fighting alongside Taylor, who he had been training with outback, he did all he could to protect the Estate from getting hit. It wasn’t enough. Beast after beast arrived to the fight – this was going to be a major moment in the war, though no one knew how it would turn out. The Arcanists fought with all they had, but it didn’t seem to be enough. The explosion of the Estate had Brayden screaming for his family and friends, the debris flying everywhere. Azoth would soon be nothing but rubble, even as big as it was. So far, Brayden hadn’t seen any of his siblings. He left the outside battlefield and rushed inside to find them, not prepared for what he’d find.

Cathrine was fighting with all she had, and she had help. She yelled for him to find Alec and Alison, and he rushed off to help out his younger siblings. The fear of failure and of losing the rest of his family bubbled up within him as he raced to find them, passing through battles and having to dodge being hit by either side of the war. The Estate was in chaos, the scene in total devastation. Alison was found first. She laid at Alec’s feet, power spent and her body hunched over. Alec couldn’t hold off the Shadowkind on his own, the numbers too overwhelming. As Brayden arrived, he saw his brother take his last breath, throat slashed and neck snapped. Tears welling up in his eyes, the Head of the Abrams snapped.

The mana in his veins burned through his skin as he pulled forth power and expelled it forwards. The room was filled with flames and lightning streaks, burning and striking at the Shadowkind that were present. The walls crumbled and Brayden continued to release the onslaught of power from his body. He couldn’t stop. The sight of losing his last brother, possibly losing his youngest sister as well, had overridden his emotions and he lost control. He felt weak, his power spent, and he felt closer to Eli than he had since his older brother’s death. He was close to his own. Pulled from his reverie by a tackle to the floor, he looked up just in time to see Taylor’s face. If it hadn’t been for the huntress breaking his concentration, he would’ve died at that moment; instead, she had saved him from the fate his siblings had faced. He slipped into an unconscious state.

When he awoke, the news of their loss rang in Brayden’s ears. There were only a handful of Arcanists left. Had Brayden failed as Head of his family? He had lost it. Lost control of his emotions, of his powers, and lost Alec. His brother’s body was covered, rescued from the rubble of the Estate – Alison’s body hadn’t been found. Taylor said that the girl had been taken by the Shadowkind before she could save her body, and Brayden thanked her for trying. There wasn’t time for sitting around. To survive, they had to keep moving – the Estate was no longer safe. With Cathrine alive, Brayden at least had his sister. Taylor, Cathrine, and he all traveled together silently to Sunset Glave, FL, following Gavin and Lorelei. They had all suffered great losses at the Estate; they all hoped Florida would be the best place for them to recuperate their forces.



Eldritch
The move to Sunset Glave had the tension within Brayden running wild. He was overridden with guilt, the thoughts of how he had failed in saving his family racing rampant in his mind. He hadn’t been able to save Alec or Alison at that fateful battle, just like he hadn’t been able to save Eli from his fateful end. He hadn’t known or been able to prevent either of their deaths from happening, nor had he been able to save his parents from their demise on the battlefield where they fought to protect him. He had failed and was now, in his eyes, a mistake. He shouldn’t have been the one to survive. It should have been him who had been tossed from his car; it should have been him who had his throat slashed, his neck broken.

Bottling up his emotions, Brayden refused to express his feelings. Maybe it was best for him to speak about them, but he had never been one to open up and have help dealing with the things he was going through. With the nightly patrolling that everybody performed, the chance never presented itself, anyway. Though he shared an apartment with Gavin, the Evoker didn’t get a moment to talk it out with him. If Brayden wasn’t patrolling, the Conjurer was. He could’ve spoken with Lorelei about it, but he felt like if he did, he wouldn’t be right in doing so. The Enchanter had lost the last remaining sibling she had; Brayden still had Cathrine, and by extension, Taylor. Both were on a sisterly level with him, but Cathrine was going through the exact same thing he was – why would he burden her with his own thoughts?

Instead of talking about it, Brayden found an outlet: hunting. The outburst he had at the Azoth Estate had the Evoker terrified of his own power. He had almost drained himself dry of his energy, and he didn’t want to risk it again. Taking up Death’s Scythe – an artifact that his family had left him – Brayden began hunting and training without relying so much on the aspect of his Arcanist abilities. Taylor took him under her wing once more, teaching him the ways that she had been trained, and understanding that hunting was what the male needed to calm his own nerves. And so he patrolled the streets at night and fought with all he had when the opportunity arose. The Evoker vowed not to be as weak as he thought himself to be.

Slowly, Brayden felt himself breaking down. The loss of his family and friends was taking its toll on him, and not knowing where to turn other than hunting was digging at him. Old emotions began to set in place. He missed his family. He missed being young and at the mercy of his parents. He missed the oatmeal that Elizabeth made just for him when he was sick. He missed surgery, saving lives – everything around him now was death. His mind was crumbling and Sunset Glave was doing nothing to stop it.

So he took off. He left a note for Gavin and he took Cathrine with him on his trip. The car ride had one destination, and they made only necessary stops until they reached the graveyard. Seven graves were before him, though only four were occupied. Two were empty because the remaining Abrams hadn’t died yet – one was empty because there was no body to be found, though the tombstone still read Alison’s name. In a row, Samuel, Elizabeth, Eli, Alec, and Alison’s names were brandished on the stones, a reminder to the last standing Abrams that they were all they had left. The sight of their graves pulled Brayden back together, reaffirming a faith in him that he still had a job to do – protect the world from Shadowkind. Holding Cathrine close in an embrace before their family, the Evoker promised he wouldn’t give up, no matter how many times he failed.

Brayden and Cathrine returned to Sunset Glave the next day. Determined to keep fighting, the male Evoker continued to train and hunt Shadowkind every chance he got. The chances to do that increased every day. It seemed the Shadowkind were learning that their new base was located within Florida, and with that knowledge the war began to escalate more and more. The fighting became more frequent, the battles longer and drawn out; blood was on the hands of many as they fought back with all they had. No one wanted to see another fall. In the breaks in between battles, Brayden found himself talking with Taylor. The girl had become close to him, like a sister, ever since their times at the Azoth Estate. She had been the one that had saved him at the end. Afraid to open up with anyone else, he and Taylor talked about their worries during their training sessions. He feared that if he didn’t at least talk to someone, he’d go insane.

In these times, Brayden once more found comfort in Serik. The Essentian had traveled with them to Florida, and he offered a solace that the Evoker felt selfish in taking. The two became close, interweaving their lives even when Brayden felt that it might hurt him in the end. He was potentially right; with the war raging on, love would have to wait, if ever there was a chance for the Abrams to experience it. It was Serik who had returned his parents bodies to him from the Arcane plane, allowing their proper burial in the world that they had been born in. For that, Brayden was eternally grateful.

Soon, Shadowkind stormed the town with a ferocity that shocked many. Brayden found himself side by side with Cathrine, and the two fought brilliantly with one another. Their strength lied within each other, confident with the other’s abilities to have their back. It was not enough. The Shadowkind attacked with more than they had at the Estate. More lives were lost. Destruction was once more wrought upon them, and the new base was decimated. This time, instead of everyone coming together at the end of the battle, there were few who made it to see the end. Separated from everyone else, Brayden continued to fight. The sight of all of the monsters was overwhelming. Thinking of his lost family members, Brayden broke free of the restraint he had put on using his powers, and wiped out the foes in front of him.

They came back stronger. The war, it seemed, was being lost. Brayden knew of no one who was still fighting other than him, but as he fought, he was visited by Serik. The Essentian explained the task he was about to perform, but Brayden understood little – his power was drained from him, and he was left with only his weapon. The Shadowkind might not have been able to track him without his mana in his veins, but they were still around him and going in for the kill. He fought; and as he fought, he halted but once. That one time was to witness the destruction of everything he had ever known: before his eyes, Serik’s body was destroyed, and along with him, all of the Arcanists powers. With Serik and his powers gone, he was just a normal human, powerless like the rest of the race.

He made it to the end of the battle, but he found only one other person. Lorelei Ashford stood as a survivor as well, and the two left Sunset Glave with no destination in mind. They were free; and that scared Brayden more than he had ever been in his life.



Post Alchemy/Eldritch
He and Lorelei went their separate ways. With both of them now being purely human, they were seemingly free to live their lives. Neither of them wanted to. Traveling back to Washington, D.C. where he was raised, Brayden visited the manor that was his home. The memories that adorned the place had his eyes full of tears as he stepped inside. Everything was still intact; nothing was out of place, the magic that shrouded the place was still a heavy fog. Only Abrams blood could walk inside, and that brought a sense of safety to the male. His childhood home was a solace he could take comfort in; he didn’t stay long.

Gathering up a few books from the library inside his home, Brayden studied legend after legend, learning more about the Shadowkind from the ancient texts that belonged to his parents. Portraits of his family members smiled at him from their places on the walls, and their faces tugged at his heart each time he looked at them. He packed up a few frames to take along with him, filling up two suitcases with books and weapons that had belonged to his parents. He would be leaving the manor and fighting elsewhere. He didn’t want to tarnish the memories that were housed in the home.

The final losses that Brayden suffered had him dealing with an onslaught on emotions. Gavin Sterling had possibly fallen in battle; he hadn’t been anywhere near Brayden when they were fighting off the Shadowkind in Sunset Glave. Cathrine had been separated from him, though her body hadn’t been found among the rubble that he and Lorelei had searched through before they left. Had she managed to escape – or had she been destined to face the same fate that their sister Alison had? Taylor Sullivan’s body was also missing – the friends he had were all dwindling until they were gone. It seemed everyone he was close to was dead. All he had left was Lorelei, and those two had gone on their separate paths.

Escaping Washington, D.C., Brayden made his way to the city where he had heard the prophecy all of those years ago. Los Angeles, C.A. didn’t take terribly long to reach, but he hadn’t ever enjoyed that long of a drive – he couldn’t have taken a plane with all the weapons he was lugging around. He thought of taking up residence in the penthouse, but he didn’t want to tarnish the memories of his family there, either. He feared the halls would haunt him just as the Abrams Manor would have. Instead, he bought a suite and moved in.

The next two years had Brayden hunting and working. Finding an open residency at a hospital nearby, the Abrams man took the job with his excellent recommendations from his old professors at Harvard, and the doctors at the hospital he had worked at previously. If he wasn’t leading a group of interns or performing a surgery with small, delicate instruments, he was brandishing his scythe or a sword that he had taken from his Manor. The Shadowkind might not have been able to detect him, but he still remembered how to track them. With every battle, he remembered those that had fallen in Seattle and Florida, and that gave him the strength to fight harder.

Lorelei called him every now and then for help with a case. Though the two didn’t speak much, they were all that the other had left. If Lora needed him, Brayden was at her side as fast as he could be. Cases were dealt with, and they’d part once more until one needed the other. It wasn’t too often that the two did see each other, but Brayden took notice that the Enchanter was quickly evolving into someone that he never thought she would be. She was becoming a completely different person than who she was before, though any chance of talking about it was diminished.

He was dealing. He had the surgeries to keep him sane, and the hunt to keep him satisfied. He still felt like he didn’t deserve to be the one still alive, but if that’s how it was, he’d do his best to keep it that way. By his bedside rests two pictures: one of his whole family from when Eli was alive, and one of his four closest friends at his side. Waking up to those frames gave him the strength to keep going, as well as keep fighting.