The House of Fianna (
In truth, the House of Fianna is a facility for the Nightrays to secretly conduct experiments on children. The Nightrays are the most put-upon family of the Dukedoms due to their ancestor being suspected of treachery and conspiracy with the Baskervilles. Their reputation meant their power was noticeably lesser than their peers, and so they conducted experiments on Chains in secret to give them an edge against their fellow Great Dukedoms. As children with "bonds" to the Abyss are more likely to attract Chains and can more easily Contract them, the Nightrays placed these experiments behind the front of an orphanage.
Duke Bernard Nightray eventually came to discover Leo, the next incarnation of Glen Baskerville, and hid him in the House of Fianna to use as a future bargaining chip. The House of Fianna was where Leo and Elliot met, as well as where Elliot nearly died to the Chain Humpty Dumpty. Elliot was forced to Contract Humpty Dumpty to survive, and despite the risk to his life Bernard allowed the Contract to continue for the power it granted him. Immediately after this occurred, Isla Yura and his cult approached Bernard. The two allied together in Chain research, spreading Humpty Dumpty's Contract among the children in Fianna and causing them to forget vital memories and suddenly die one by one. The only one to suspect something to be off is Leo, who is also the most isolated and least able to speak up and seek help.
Description[]
Coming soon!
Residents[]
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History[]
Following the Tragedy of Sablier, the newly instated Four Great Dukedoms set up research facilities meant to moniter the power of the Abyss and its attraction to those who have interacted with it. The Nightray Dukedom set up an operation like this in the form of an orphanage located in The Hole where the majority of Sablier fell into the Abyss, aptly named after the White-Winged Angel, Fianna.
Valets of the Nightray Dukedom oversaw the operation, tending to the children who resided within The House of Fianna. These children shared a connection with the Abyss which they had earned through a traumatic event of sorts; most commonly being that their parents had been devoured by Chains after the Chain had opened a path to the Abyss to reach Earth so that they could form an Illegal Contract. Following this traumatic event, Chains were drawn to the bodies of the orphans.
After his mother had been devoured by Chains when he was twelve, a young boy named Leo became the newest addition to the orphans of The House of Fianna. Leo had always been odd, as he could see specks of light that were invisible to other people, and he could hear the voices of people who weren't really there. After an orphan tried to touch him to see his eyes behind his overgrown bangs, Leo isolated himself in the library of The House of Fianna, reading day-in and day-out.
One day however, Elliot Nightray came to The House of Fianna alongside Ernest Nightray and Claude Nightray. Elliot was meant to pick a valet for himself now that he had come of age, and while he was feeling down about the decision, Ernest decided to take him to the House of Fianna to attempt to cheer Elliot up. Instead, Elliot came across Leo in the library, and the two immediately disagreed with one another; their interaction ending with Claude pulling Elliot away from Leo. Despite this however, Elliot continued to come back to the House of Fianna, forming a bond with Leo through their mutual love of music. Finally, Elliot asked Leo to become his valet, while Leo declined initially, he ultimately said yes.
The House of Fianna was no different from the facilities run by the Barma and Rainsworth Dukedoms, that is until one day when four orphans - John, Helen and two unnamed orphans- allowed their curiosity to take them further within the Hole. John encountered a Chain named Humpty Dumpty; who managed to convince John to form an Illegal Contract with him. After exchanging blood with one another and verbally consenting the Contract, Humpty Dumpty became dominant over John and killed two of his comrades, leaving Helen alone to cry in fear in a clearing of The Hole.
Soon, Elliot and Leo arrived in Sablier on a routine visit to the House of Fianna. Here, the head valet, Mrs. Finn, told Elliot and Leo of the orphans' embarkations to The Hole. Elliot decided that there wasn't enough time for them to wait for them to wait for a rescue squad from Pandora, and so Elliot and Leo descended further into The Hole themselves to rescue the orphans.
Not long after their descent did Elliot and Leo find the corpses of John and Helen's companions. This was when Leo spotted Helen crying on a rock in a nearby clearing. Leo ran over to Helen's side, where she explained that John had been acting strange. Elliot then noticed movement above Leo and Helen; seeing Humpty Dumpty and a hypnotic John emerge on a cliff above Leo and Helen. Elliot drew his rapier and charged at Humpty Dumpty, thinking that he was a threat to Leo. What Elliot was unaware of was that Leo was the descendant of Glen Baskerville, and that Humpty Dumpty was thereby connected to Leo. Humpty Dumpty saw Elliot charging in Leo's (Humpty Dumpty's) direction with his rapier and thought Leo was Elliot's target. Due to the connection with Leo because of Glen's soul, Humpty Dumpty impaled Elliot with his blade-like tongue in an attempt to protect Leo as the vessel of Glen Baskerville's soul.
Leo immediately ordered Humpty Dumpty to drop Elliot, which Humpty Dumpty does, however it is too late as the damage dealt had been fatal. Leo was questioning what he should do, when a voice offered advice. Within his subconscious, Leo met with the other past incarnations of Glen Baskerville, Oswald, Levi and three unnamed figures. Oswald told Leo of how Elliot was near-death all because Leo had chosen to ignore their advice throughout his life. Levi added his own part to the conversation however, explaining to Leo how to have Humpty Dumpty form an Illegal Contract with Elliot, as Levi knew that Humpty Dumpty could form more than one Contract. While Levi explained that this would not save Elliot, it would provide a seal for Elliot's wound and thereby buy Elliot some time. Leo complied with Levi's advice, however after forcing the Illegal Contract onto Elliot, Oswald caused Leo to breakdown as he insisted that the entire disaster had been Leo's fault.
Soon, Bernard Nightray found Elliot and Leo alongside two valets, with Leo still crying overtop of Elliot's body. Rather than be devastated by what had happened to Elliot, Bernard was delighted to learn of Humpty Dumpty's unique ability to form more than one Contract, thus slowing the progression of the Incuse. From here on, Bernard had the orphans of The House of Fianna form Illegal Contracts with Humpty Dumpty, teaching them a song with Humpty Dumpty's name in it that they would sing after drinking some of his blood to complete the Illegal Contract. It wasn't long before problems began to arise from the multiple Contracts however, as John died soon after the experiments started. Alongside John's death, however, came more pride from Bernard as Elliot inherited the core Humpty Dumpty. With John's death also came the deaths of five other orphans because of the experiments with Humpty Dumpty, including the death of James.
It wasn't long after John's death that the Nightrays had experienced more tragedy. Fred Nightray and the Nightray Uncle were both beheaded by a mysterious assassin targeting the Nightrays, the Head Hunter. This caused Bernice Nightray to go mad, which provided the perfect opportunity for Isla Yura. Yura coiled himself around Bernice and offered a place in his cult for her, which she accepted. This allowed Yura to approach Bernard and strike up a deal which involved Yura funding The House of Fianna.
Plot[]
Sablier Arc[]
Coming soon!
The Feast Arc[]
Since the beginning Isla Yura has had the Orphans as a part of his Cult, he brought them all to Oz's second Coming-of-Age Ceremony. When the time was right he sent them off, and to get the ball rolling, two of them used Humpty Dumpty's power to decapitate a party-goer at the center of the Grand Ball Room starting the chaos as the rest of the Cult sealed every exit and set fire to the mansion. The Orphans were then sent out in groups to slaughter with their Humpty Dumpties.
Phillipe West guided Oz Vessalius and Alice to the third Stone Seal of Glen Baskerville, where they passed out and were tended to by Bernice Nightray. Meanwhile two orphans attacked Gilbert and Elliot with their Humpty Dumpties, only to be knocked out by Echo and put into a deep sleep by Vincent using Dormouse.
Three Orphans were at The Sealing Stone with Yura and his Cult when Oz, Eliot, Echo and Vincent showed up. Humpty Dumpty is the only chain to be unaffected by The Sealing Stone so Yura was confident that his plan would follow through, but Oz himself tapped into Alice's powers and killed the three Orphans' Humpty Dumpties, nullifying their Contracts. Phillipe West was one of said Orphans. The rest of The Orphans were still spread out throughout the mansion, Leo who was to be sacrificed by Duchess Nightray but was instead saved when Eliot assassinated his mother and realized he was the Head Hunter.
Four of the Orphans were shown to have died alongside Humpty Dumpty due to the bond with him after the Incuse had proceeded so far, but Gilbert had said that most had survived the ordeal.
Appearances[]
- Retrace XXXVI: Sablier
- Retrace XL: Blindness
- Retrace XLII: Stray
- Retrace XLIX: Night in gale
- Retrace L: Reverse Corte
- Retrace LII: Bloody Rites
- Retrace LIII: Humpty Dumpty Sat On A Wall
- Retrace LV: Back To Back
- Retrace LVII: Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
- Retrace LVIII: Puddle of blood
- Retrace LX: Egg Shell
- Retrace LXI: Demios
- Retrace LXIII: Purpose
- Retrace XCVIII: Reverberate
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The Orphans play the parts of the Oysters, being manipulated by the Walrus (Isla Yura) and the Carpenter (Bernice Nightray / cult members) into following them until they meet their inevitable demises.