Lolory
RWBY Tuesdays
CLASSIFICATION: Inhuman | Cursed-??? | Vampire
The Highwater's were an incredibly influential human family, and one of the last remaining of the human nobility before monsters and demons overtook the world. Elvyra Highwater is the only daughter of the Highwater's, and was the sole heir to their fortune. Her father who was a known con man, and owner of a famous casino, was the reason for their inevitable down fall as noble's. Felix Highwater was always trying to get ahead of his competitors, and with the destruction of human society that meant no more human run casinos.
Monsters and Demons had completely taken control of the world, and were using Human bodies for primarily food and ingredients in potions and spells. This meant that as time passed, humans quickly became a rarity, and Felix Highwater wanted to capitalize off of this as much as possible. Selling out your fellow man comes naturally when you run a casino, and The Colatta casino was home to most unfair house imaginable. Humans would hear of a safe haven from the cruel world outside, and rush to the casino in hopes of winning their safety through a few games.
Those who spent their coin at the tables and slots had a chance of potentially winning enough favor to be chosen by Mr. Highwater himself as the staff of The Colatta, which gauranteed a home and food, a place to work, and better yet a place away from the clutches of monsters and demons. If they lost all they had, well then those poor souls became the stock for which said monsters and demons could gamble for, and their games came with far higher stakes than the human ones.
Felix Highwater capitalized off of both human and monster suffering, and he became the richest human alive because of it. However, like most things, it all came to a close when Felix Highwater bit off more than he could chew. A man who no one seemed to recognize waltzed into the establishment one day. He had seemed human enough, but Felix Highwater could swear there was something demonic in his eyes as he sat down for a meeting. The stranger introduced himself as Umbra, and he claimed to be a "Generous benefactor" who wanted to sponsor the casino and bolster it's reputation even further, in exchange for a rather strange thing: Felix's name.
"The company I work for likes to collect names in exchange for donations and sponsorships. It may sound strange, but in today's time money is soon becoming an extinct form of monetization. When the time comes, your name will cost more than any gold bars in your vaults." Umbra explained this, but it still sounded strange. Small Elvyra who was only around 8 when this discussion happened, had been hiding in her father's spacious liqour cabinet. "By name, I mean you will literally give me your name. I have many, and keep a log of all of the other smart businessmen who have already sold me there's. See? You can even see the amount they recieved in return. You'll still be allowed to use said name in any future business proposals of course, but it will belong to me. That's all." After some consideration, Felix signed away his own name in exchange for a hefty sum.
And true to Umbra's word, the reputation of the Collata grew with each passing day. Though the amount of human's that would seek refuge were growing less and less, and soon human's went into hiding in small knit communities. And with such a short amount of humans, Felix Highwater had run out of time to appease his now large demon and monster customer base. As a last resort, he turned to Umbra for help in the hopes that he could potentially lead him to more humans, but it was all in vain. Umbra turned his back on them in their hour of need, and cut his losses. Misfortune followed them where ever they went, and soon the monsters had had enough.
One night, when Elvyra had turned 18, the monsters swarmed and led a violent siege in the casino. They slaughtered the human staff of the casino, and were soon making their way to the mansion the Highwater's resided in. Elvyra's mother advised her to run while she could as they clamored at their door that night, and she did as fast as she could. In the forest, she saw her home burn to the ground in ashes, while monster's paraded around the front yard, happy to have finally done away with the Highwater's at long last. She had nowhere to go then, and became a wanderer. Being human in the wild was dangerous, and it didn't take long for a monster to find her.
Elvyra had been taken off guard as a heavy hand pushed her and she rolled across the ground. An angry voice was screeching at her about revenge and retirbution, she looked up at who had attacked her and was frightened to see a vampire from the casino. She vaguely recognized them, they were one of the unfortunate humans who had been sold off years ago.
"You Highwater's have no idea the pain you've caused me! Well now you're going to know what it's like to become a monster against your own will." The Vampire bit her once, with a smug look on their face. She barely had time to react with how inhumanely fast they were. "You'll only have a week to find the blood you'll no doubt crave. Enjoy your new life, Highwater scum!"
She often looks back on that day as both a blessing and a curse, for that singular bite was the one thing that saved her from the rest of the monsters in the surrounding area. They would take one sniff of her, and relent in their urge to rip her apart for her limbs and organs. Now that she had been turned, her status as a human was null and void. Her parts were worthless as a Vampire. But they had been right, the thirst for blood hit hard and was the worst starvation she had ever faced.
Elvyra soon learned just how cruel the world was outside of her comfy manor that night. Monsters would simply laugh as she begged for any help or relief in her thirst, and humans were so scarce in this world that she would have better luck wishing on a star than tracking one down. The monsters had already taken apart the staff at the casino, and their blood had long since been harvested for other means besides consumption.
She also learned that her new found life as a Vampire made her the lowest of all monsters in this world. Because most monsters used human parts for spells and to become stronger, the idea of simply drinking human blood, and then discarding the rest of the husk was disgusting, and seen as wasteful. If any monsters did have human blood, they'd sooner kill her for even thinking of trying to drink then give her a single drop. The pain from the thirst almost drove her completely mad, and yet she could not die no matter how long the hunger persisted. In the throes of her passionate thirst, she would feast on any small animal she could get her hands on, which was only enough to make it abate for a few moments before the fire in her throat flared again.
Along the way, time had passed a considerable degree, but Elvyra's mind was a complete fog. By mere coincidence, she ran into Umbra again. And in his hand was her salvation, a single cup of blood. He stood in the forest in that same suit he wore the day her father had begged for his help, and the reminder alone made her want to rip his throat out and drink her fill. But a dormant instinct kept her claws from reaching for him, and instead she yanked the cup from his head and gulped. She could've cried then and there, as not only was the blood human but it was the first time she had ever tasted it. Finally, as her mind cleared and she became lucid, Umbra had that same unassuming and "kind" smile on his lips.
"Why if it isn't Miss Highwater. I haven't seen your family in 50 years, you know. My, that was a wild night, wasn't it?" Umbra said as he reminisced. "How have you been, dear?"
She ignored his obvious attempts at goading her, and held the cup up. "Where did you get this?" She asked, her voiced ragged from years of thirst. Umbra's smile grew to an unnerving size, and Elvyra got the sense that there was something under his skin that made the way his lips upturned look unnatural.
Umbra lead her to a city that, in the time
she had spent in the wild, had grown considerably large. It was called Blackwell, and it was run by monsters and demons. But judging from the human blood, there were people there as well. The city was cruel and harsh, but Elvyra was bound and determined to never deal with that immense hunger ever again. Nobody remembered the Highwater name, everywhere she went there was not a monster who had ever heard of her or her family. The world had understandably moved on in 50 years. Elvyra had not, however. There wasn't a single moment when she was in those dark woods that she had forgotten about her family and all that she had lost. And she was determined to get it all back, by any means necessary. Umbra offered her a deal, sell her name as her father did, and he'd help her get there. But she refused him, and then told him to never show his face to her ever again. She wouldn't make the same mistake that her father had made.
She wasn't sure of it, but she had a sneaking suspicion that selling his name had cursed him and his entire bloodline. She had no proof, and Umbra wouldn't tell her any information on just what exactly he did with those names. While in Blackwell, she decided to follow in the footsteps of her mother, and became a nurse. It was difficult, having to learn all about monster anatomy and how best to treat her new inhuman patient's. But she had managed just fine, and was able to afford a small apartment for herself. Blood was hard to come by, the only kind she could get was animal blood. Human blood was strictly locked away in vaults held in monster ran Banks like precious treasure, and they didn't take kindly to Vampire's at all. Still, she knew that this wasn't enough to satiate her want for power. She wanted to prove the world wrong, that the Highwater name still meant something, even if it no longer "belonged" to her anymore. So she took after her father, and began to con monsters. Now that she was "one of them" so to speak, it was a lot easier to be in their company. She had also grown used to seeing disgusting looking faces and creatures of all kinds, and had soon learned that tricking monsters was a lot easier than tricking a human or a demon. Monsters were simple beings, who only cared about a few things: Their next meal, and their power. They used human parts like hearts and lungs and bones in their sorcery, and the stronger the spell you crafted, the acclaim and fame you gained in society. Demons liked to collect the immaterial parts of humans. Elvyra suspected Umbra might have been a demon in human skin then, what with his obsession with collecting "names".
She couldn't run a casino, at least not anymore, especially since it brought back horrible memories for her. So she settled on loans. She'd lend money to monsters looking to appease the banks, and they'd in turn return the favor by paying her back. When they wouldn't, well that was when she'd force them too by ruining any of their chances with the bank ever again. The Bank operates under monster law, and their policies are all to happy to work together with anyone ready to snitch on another. It was a slow climb, but soon she had managed to garner a lot more favor in this way. She employed "Inhumans", monsters who used to be human but who were turned in some way. Vampires, Werebeasts, and other strange creatures worked for her, and she too became a "generous benefactor" of Blackwell city.
Elvyra wanted to maintain her public image as a humble nurse and medicinal practitioner, so during the day she would make certain to hold public interviews and meetings with reporters and other nobles. And by night, she was a ruthless loan shark who held secret backdoor dealings with any monster who was unlucky enough to miss their payment. As her wealth grew, she monopolized the medical industry in Blackwell, and soon owned all but a few of the various hospitals that serviced the city. There wasn't a hospital in Blackwell that wasn't operated by Miss Highwater. Monster's started calling her "The Shark" in hushed tones, and it was then that she knew she had finally made it back to where she had first began as a human almost 150 years later.
