Keepsake
pronouns
he/him
age
uncertain
species
magic familiar
role
dungeon master
background
the loyal familiar
Keepsake was summoned to the side of his master long before the hedge maze was established back when they were still beginning to learn magic. He was a strange one to be sure, part plant and part animal, completely unlike any living organism. Most mage familiars weren't so unique and could simply hide in plain sight. Cats were particularly popular at the time. Keepsake was essentially a failure. The mage that created him was scatterbrained and often mixed ideas together without meaning to while casting. They were better at imbuing objects they made with their hands with magic, but a familiar had to be created from scratch. Despite the fact Keepsake wasn't what they were trying to summon, the mage immediately adored him. While the mage was still studying he would hide in their backpack, only occasionally being let out when they were alone. He watched his master transform into a very powerful mage. He helped summon the Hedge Maze, focusing both the mage's mind and power to create a consistent space for the two to live in together in peace. While his master was alive Keepsake was doted on and cherished. He became an older brother to all the beautiful statues his master built to keep them both company. He stood on his master's shoulders while they tended the gardens they loved so much. His life was a happy one. Unfortunately for him, however, his master was mortal.
the lonely familiar
His master was on their deathbed at the ripe old age of 92. Their body had been ravaged by age, and then by a fungal illness unfortunately gained from their own garden. It was an opportunistic one, meaning it wouldn't have afflicted them if they weren't so old. On their death bed they asked Keepsake for one final favor: take care of the gardens in their absence. Keepsake promised to do this. At first he managed to do this by delegating tasks to various statues, but as time went on they slowly eroded and crumbled even without rain. Keepsake was running out of hands, and soon there wouldn't be enough left to take care of the entire maze. Riel was, quite literally, a godsend. She could care for the gardens with ease. Keepsake watched her carefully, fully aware of her divine nature since he could sense the magic she was made of. When he talked, she listened. She became the only person Keepsake cared about aside from his own siblings. To this day Riel is one of the only people he treats kindly, though he does treat higher magical beings with respect.
personality
Keepsake is, to put it bluntly, an asshole. He's bitter and jaded with age, which manifests in a schoolboy-like propensity for meanness. He's never physically abusive, but he doesn't need a mouth to bite. He tends to use broad sweeping insults, but when he wants to he can very quickly get to the core of an opponent's insecurities and flay their heart open. He enjoys collecting things that have value to him, which has resulted in him accumulating a hoarde of magic-imbued items. Items like that remind him of his master, and furthermore the mortals that have the misfortune of stumbling into his maze will do almost anything to use them. If something loses value, however, Keepsake quickly loses interest in it as well. He holds particular contempt for mortals for no real reason other than he thinks he's better than them, and that none of them will ever measure up to the power his master had. Although he tends to be as cruel as possible he does have a soft side. His love language is gifting, and he lavishes presents on those he cares about. That is, assuming he's past the phase of the relationship where he pretends he still hates their guts.
relationships
gabriel "riel" ❤❤❤❤❤
Riel was Keepsake's only friend for a very long time. Ever since his master died up until Pawn was hired, Riel was the only visitor to the Hedge Maze. He values her work and her presence highly.
pawn ❤❤❤❤♡
Keepsake despises Pawn at first, seeing him as an intruder into a space Keepsake holds dear. He relentlessly mocks what he perceives as little more than another foolish mortal meant to die to the statues or by his own hand. It's not Pawn's strength but rather his kindness that eventually wins Keepsake over. No matter how hard Keepsake pushes Pawn away, Pawn always responds with Keepsake's feelings in mind. Eventually Keepsake can't help but be concerned for the person he reluctantly considers a friend.
tab ❤♡♡♡♡
Though Pawn has shown Keepsake that humans aren't useless, Keepsake still holds no respect for Tab. He sees her as a parasite that inherited a Dungeon she didn't deserve and just barely tolerates her because Riel likes her food. He ignores her as much as he can, but on the rare occasions they're forced to interact he makes it a point to be as mean as possible to drive her away. It works.
seaquester ❤❤♡♡♡
Keepsake has no strong opinions on SeaQuester. To him it's just a structure at the bottom of the sea.
beelzebub "bubbly" ❤❤❤❤❤
Keepsake holds a deep respect for Bubbly just like he does with Riel, though perhaps he isn't inclined to consider himself her friend. He treats her politely, referring to her as 'madame' and offering her gifts the same way he offers Riel useful equipment for free.
master ❤❤❤❤❤
Keepsake's dead master was literally his reason for living and the only human he ever respected. Even now he mourns their death, often falling silent when reminded of them. He stays alive purely because they would have wanted him to. If he wasn't tasked with keeping up with the Dungeon, Keepsake would have perished long ago.
relevant world lore
familiars
Magic is a form of energy that, when used by a conscious being, can either create or destroy. It manifests in whatever form the caster imagines and desires. However, harnessing magic is immensely difficult and takes an entire lifetime of study to accomplish. Many spellcasters summon a familiar in order to help them channel magic properly. Similar to angels and demons, familiars are made of pure magic and are functionally immortal. Unlike angels and demons, however, a familiar can be killed. Killing a familiar grows more difficult the longer it lives, and Keepsake has been alive for an incredibly long time. Most familiars choose to die with their masters. Keepsake, however, is still watching over the gardens as he was ordered.
the hedge maze
The Hedge Maze is exactly what it sounds like, a sprawling maze with walls made of hedges. There's an artificial sky that is always blue and sunny. In the center is a fountain, and at the very end of the maze is the Tower that Keepsake's master once lived in. The inside is old and dusty, and Keepsake hasn't been in there in a long time. The Maze is staffed by sentient statues, but they're few and far between. They're implied to be hand-carved by Keepsake's dead master, and many have broken over the long years they've been dead.
links
trivia
- Keepsake's name is based on a breed of apple as well as his habit of collecting treasures.
- Keepsake finds being mean fun.
- Keepsake may notice the player cheating if they're really obvious about it, but he doesn't care.
- In addition to the previous point, Keepsake does not consider adding mods to the game to be cheating.
- Keepsake has access to the internet and uses it to read fanfiction. Apparently all he uses it for is reading.
- Keepsake sees no intrinsic value in knowledge, but collects it anyways to make himself feel superior to mortals. In his eyes, they gain value only when in comparison to mortals.
- Keepsake's physical design is based on the jerboa, also known as the kangaroo rat. Keepsake is from an era before the internet, however, so he doesn't think his master based him on such a creature. I did, though. I think they're silly.
- His design existed before his name was chosen. I didn't even originally design him for GDDCS, he was a joke doodle from a conversation I was having with friends about silly death game slash horror mascots.
- Keepsake keeps track of the player's game-overs and heckles Pawn for them. This can result in some funny dialogue options if the player is lucky enough to not game-over before meeting him.