PROFILE
"I'm not here to play games! So yes, I slashed your intestines opened without a second thought. I have a job to complete and an unruly teenage cambion to get back home to" - Erykah Shambles
Artwork by Nico Artoo
Name: Erykah Vernita Shambles (last name originally Celestin)
Age: 297 Years Old
Country Of Origin: Haiti (resides in Mayland)
Race: Formally human but now more like an mutated being
Hair Color: Black but dyed the sides of her hair green
Eye Color: Brown
Skin Color: Dark Brown
Powers: Erykah is able to transform various parts of her body into different parts of reptilian creatures. Erykah is also highly skilled in espionage, hand to hand combat, and information gathering. Due to Erykah's reptilian based abilities, she also possesses self healing abilities
Allies: Martika Snow, Juno Malware, Onyx Carnival, James Del Soto, Kimoni
Likes: Her son Kenan, traveling, weight lifting, fruit infused water, roasted chicken
Dislikes: Yura Mikan, Martika's scheming ways, when her son acts up, needless stress, her past
Bio: Erykah Shambles is one of the three current members of a special group known as "The Referred", a wet work group that exists within The Hero Syndicate. Alongside Erykah is her teammates Martika Snow and Juno Malware. Together, these three women work in unison to handle assignments that the common sage wouldn't tackle. This was due to either their own morality or simply lacking proper skills for such complex missions. Born and raised in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Erykah enjoyed a simple life with her parents and elder sister Marcia in the early years of her life. While her parents were respective sages and her sister was a sage-in-training, Erykah had a high respect for sages and was proud to be in such a family. However her passion wasn't magic, but instead studying medicine as she aspired to become a doctor. Life for Erykah in her homeland was relatively normal until one unfortunate day where she was kidnapped by a group of witches.
The witches kidnapped the young girl and took her all the way from Haiti to their secret hideout located in Mayland. They kidnapped Erykah due to noticing the girl had possessed no magical powers, which made her the perfect candidate for their nefarious experiment. Once brought to the witches' hideout, Erykah found herself placed on a ritual table and alongside her were three reptilian type beasterians who were also bound to the ritual table. Fearful for what was to come next, Erykah and the three beasterians would discover that the witches intended to use Erykah as a vessel in order to infuse the physical characteristics of the reptilian beasterians into her. While the experiment would surely kill the three beasterians, the witches had high hopes that Erykah would survive the experiment unlike their previously captured humans. The witches conducted their experiment, which proved to be a painful experience for Erykah and the lives of the reptilian beasterians were lost. Still, the experiment proved successful as Erykah was infused with reptilian DNA. Before the witches could conduct further testing, unbeknownst to them, they would be then confronted an assassin by the name of Tobirama Senju had been lingering nearby He was ordered by Mayland's 134th ruler, Queen Ida to track down these nefarious witches due to their actions within Mayland.
Despite their earnest efforts to defeat and kill him, Tobirama proved too much for the witches to handle and he mercilessly killed each one of them. Tobirama then retrieved Erykah who was struggling to control the reptilian DNA that had been implanted within her. Tobirama would keep the young girl with him for a few days to keep an eye on her condition. Once he saw that the reptilian DNA had successfully merged with Erykah and her life was no longer in danger, Tobirama and one of Queen Ida's royal guards brought Erykah back to her family in Haiti. However, ever since that day, Erykah wasn't the innocent little girl everyone once knew. She harbored deep resentments and desired to become strong in order to never become a victim again. Eventually at the age of fifteen, Erykah would leave Haiti on her own accord. She traveled over to Mayland once again where she would hone her body transformation magic under the tutelage of Tobirama Senju. Shortly afterwards, Tobirama would have Erykah enlisted as a freelance Sage in Mayland's Hero Syndicate where the young woman would be paired with a variety of groups on adventures. This allowed her to test her skills and become stronger with each mission. Erykah would remain a freelance sage into her adulthood. Due to how strong she had become, she even began taking on solo missions with great success. Erykah would continue working mostly alone, occasionally offering her aid to miscellaneous groups within the syndicate.
One evening while on a solo mission, Erykah found herself in a tough situation as she was being chased by a group of very powerful witches. Hot on her trail, Erykah did her earnest to try to lose her pursuers by using an array of her reptilian abilities. Unfortunately, her efforts weren't sufficient and she was about to be cornered by the enemy. Fortunately for her, a handsome and strong male demon by the name Kimoni came to Erykah's aid and together the two of them dominated the dangerous group of witches. Afterwards, despite knowing that Kimoni was a demon, Erykah fell head over heels for the handsome brown skinned demon and the two would end up having sex. Eventually after her weeks of being romantically entangled with Kimoni, Erykah would discover that she had become pregnant. However due to her unique biology, Erykah was able to function as normal on her assignments until her third trimester. During that time, due to Kimoni coming in and out of Erykah's life and her having her own responsibilities, their romance simmered quickly. Despite falling out of love with one another, Kimoni promised to be an active father in their child's life and would not hesitate to provide Erykah financial support. Erykah eventually gave birth to her son, Kenan who she would raise while also keeping up with her duties within the syndicate.
Many more years have passed since Erykah began her life in Mayland. She had learned about the death of her tutor Tobirama. She had witnessed Queen Ida's reign coming to an end at the hands of a cambion named Onyx Carnival, the son of Tobirama who had slain Ida out of vengeance for her role in his father's death. Erykah would continue to climb up the ranks within the syndicate. After more than a century of good service, The Hero Syndicate would entrust Erykah to be a part of a secretive group within the Hero Syndicate. This faction saw her serving alongside a mischievous sage by the name Martika Snow and an enigmatic woman by the name Juno Malware. Erykah disliked the idea of being paired with two women. Regardless, they would be officially established as the wet work trio of highly skilled & intelligent known as The Referred. They didn't mind getting their hands dirty on missins due to not possessing the same level of morals as the everyday sage. The three women would work together to tackle threats that most sages wouldn't have the capacity to handle. Erykah would eventually get used to her unique comrades while continuing to raise her cambion son, whom she doted on despite the fact he would work her nerves. It helped a lot that Kimoni helped her whenever he wasn't tied up with his personal business in his home realm, The Underworld.
Sometimes Erykah wondered what kind of life she would have lived if that fateful day never happened. Regardless of the hardships, Erykah had become thankful for the fact that it led her to the life she lives today. She became a well rounded woman, having stability, and most importantly a son she loves with all her heart. These are the things that keep pushing her to greatness. It also helps that her job allows her to kill witches without a drop of remorse.
CHRIS LOTUS' THOUGHTS - So...Erykah is definitely another top favorite of mine. It's always a treat seeing a design that instantly vibes with you. It's an even SWEETER treat when the character's backstory vibes with you just as much and warms your heart. As someone who spent the most critical times of their life raised by a single super-mom, I absolutely love Erykah. What is additionally relatable is such a character pushing and fighting back against a world that is viciously against them and not letting the vitriol of such a world corrupt their heart. We've seen such people actually fall victim to such a corrupt world and it not only affects them, but those around them (families, friends, etc.). Additionally, we all sometimes wonder how would things be if they hadn't encountered certain things en route to where they are now in life...just as Erykah does. Also, back to the design, I love Grace Jones. Definitely can't go wrong with looking to such a boundary breaking icon to produce a unique aesthetic.
TRIVIA
1. Erykah's appearance is inspired by model and actress Grace Jones.
2. Erykah's name "Shambles" is a surname she gave herself shortly after becoming a resident in Mayland. Her family name though is Celestin.
3. Erykah has a similar backstory to Helly Carmichael of course with several key differences.
4. Much to her reluctance. Erykah acts as the "mother bear" to her teammates Juno and Martika .
5. Erykah's son, Kenan is currently 14 years old.
