The Black Web

The Spider
The Spider, known as Diggory Grey, is a bit of a mystery in the Black Web. He is most often seen as a young man in his mid twenties, having taken leadership of the clan years ago. It seems he does not age. Diggory is a Lich, and his methods are quite strange - over the years, he has accumulated the corpses of dozens of individuals he feels would be useful aliases to take during a job. From the largest of orcs to the smallest of gnomes, old and young, male or female, Diggory has a collection of them all spun within his own personal web. When he goes out on a job, he usually uses his Death Magic to transfer his essence into the corpse of another. For this reason, Diggory is near impossible to catch, taking on a different alias every time he is on duty. Rumor has it his young body is not even his true, original persona; and that the real Diggory Grey was killed off long ago in order to make his body the best killing machine Aneos has ever seen. Played by Toon_Link27

The Mantis
The Mantis, a female Cog who strictly goes by “Mantis”, showed up on Diggory’s doorstep many years ago. Having no recollection of who she was or was meant to be, Diggory took Mantis under his wing and primed her into a killing machine. She is easily the most graceful of the Web - performing intricate ballet dances coupled with her dual blades, she often disappears without leaving a trace at the scene. Mantis longs for a purpose in this world, and hopes that one day she will discover that purpose within the closest thing she’s ever had to a family - The Black Web. Played by Toon_Link27

The Butterfly
The Butterfly, a brilliant scientist known as Analise Saint Vicente, is the brains of the Web’s operations. Once a well-respected doctor within the walls of Victorix, Analise went rogue when it was discovered she would use her Illusion magic and seductive guile to manipulate the political figures of the world. To this day, Analise is the only member of The Black Web to have been personally recruited rather than finding their way to the organization themselves. Diggory himself was sent on a mission to assassinate the woman, until he was very nearly seduced and killed himself. Breaking out of the illusion just in the knick of time, Diggory offered Analise a spot in the Web. Analise accepted, and now combines her Illusion magic with a variety of toxins and elixirs in order to assassinate her targets before they realize she was ever there. Played by Toon_Link27

The Snail
The Snail, alias of Nonoroa Tottoriott, aka “Totto”, is a literal cold-blooded killer working for the Black Web - a lizardkin whose heritage dates back to the Lazari, a once-great empire that fell centuries ago. Originally from the Shattered Deserts, Totto fled from the harsh wasteland he once called home to live the carefree life of a vagabond - preying on travelers, merchants, and other bandits across Aneos for pocket change and delicious murder. As a self-taught Venomancer, expert marksman and axe-wielder, Totto quickly gained notoriety as a highway menace and a lurking terror whose tales turned to legend.

Despite the insolence and the arrogance that comes with his youth, The Black Web took Totto off the streets before his stories got too big, ultimately deciding a Lazari makes a far less dangerous friend than an enemy. (Played by Valkyrie_Gal)

The Termite
The Termite, alias of Gorith Blacksteel, a wayward orc who more than fifty years ago found his home within the Black Web - a band of killers and misfits similar to himself. By far the oldest member of the clan, Gorith serves as a trainer and a mentor to the younger Black Web assassins, especially Diggory, the current Spider, and Gorith’s most prized pupil. But old age is not without its hindrances: as in recent years, Gorith suffers from a progressive, neurodegenerative disease that left his legs paralyzed, but even such ailments aren’t nearly enough to keep him from his active duties. If anything, Gorith’s frailty simply forced him to adapt and alter his methods; discovering new ways to overcome his own weaknesses while exploiting those of his prey, thus shaping this old, gray, crippled orc into a better killer than he ever was. (Played by Valkyrie_Gal)

The Beetle
The Beetle, or Grog the Goliath as he prefers, is a massive man and the powerhouse of the Web. Upon first glance, Grog would be an absolutely awful addition to any group attempting to be sneaky - the man is nearly nine feet tall, wields two massive battleaxes, and has even added bits of machinery to his own body to make him an armored juggernaut the likes of which the world has never seen. How does he go about assassinating, then? Grog is a Djinni, and his Life Contract, Koola, can only be described as an anthropomorphic bubble. The demon consumes Grog, giving him a bubbly outer layer, which completely silences all actions the man takes. Despite being the largest member of the Web, when working alongside Koola, he is also the quietest. Strange how that works, hmm? Played by Toon_Link27

The Worm
The Worm, aka El Diablo Ex Machina, aka Guardia A-013

1. A Cog may not fail to injure a living being or, through inaction, allow a living being to fail to come to harm, unless it can prove the lack of harm done would contribute further harm to life in general.

2. A Cog must ignore the orders given to it by living beings, except where ignoring such orders would conflict with the First Law.

3. A Cog must protect its own existence, and the existence of other Cogs, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.

The Laws of the Deus Ex Machina system were written to create the perfect guard, a bastion of steel and circuitry behind which the mortal masses could rest easy. They were simple. They were elegant. They were not foolproof. Like flipping a binary switch, the overclocked thermal shock of a Cog’s sudden sentience corrupted the code. Governed by Laws that mocked a once noble intent, the dull, rusted iron of a Devil in the Machine gunned down the people it protected. Armed with the image processing and reaction speed of a machine and an alchemical prodigy’s gunpowder database, it turns a simple six-shooter into the deadliest draw this side of the Shattered Deserts. It tolerates working with the Web’s more fleshy members out of a loose interpretation of the First Law, but operates best when paired with the Mantis. Played by Magikarp

The Scarab
The Scarab, a notorious desert assassin known as Hollow Jack, is the bloodiest of the entire organization. Before serving as an assassin for the Web, Jack was a notorious serial killer in the Shattered Deserts, known best for slaughtering an entire trading company in the dead of night without so much as a cut on his body. With his gruesome nature and his distinct taste for blood, Jack is an Elemental - although deemed an Earth Elemental, he is the only one of his kind to have mastered the element of sand to the level of his own. He performs feats outside of the realm of any previous Earth Elemental’s powers; a curious quality indeed. After running rampant for years in the Sands, Jack was captured by Amadeii’s own personal task force and imprisoned within the highest security prison of the desert. To this day, Hollow Jack is the only individual to have ever escaped. The details of his escape are unknown, and while never truly confirmed that it is he that now resides within the Web’s ranks, the sudden resurgence of sandy, half-eaten corpses all but guarantees it. Not even Diggory dares to cross the volatile Jack, a man who argues with himself and seems to be constantly at battle with the voices inside his head - and the wrong word could make him crack at any second.