| “ | Pray the Sandman only brings you sleep. | „ |
| ~ Maxwell Rayner threatening Algernon Moss. |
| “ | Simply because one cannot feel the heat does not mean their flesh does not burn. The light is more than simply the source of sight. It is the source of our entire venal half-existence. | „ |
| ~ Rayner explaining his hatred of light. |
| “ | And rightly so, for are we not creatures born of the light, contemptible and corrupt? Surely then, this fear of confronting the pure nature of the universe is right and good. Surely this fear of the dark is the truest communion that humanity could ever hope for. | „ |
| ~ Maxwell explaining the fear of the Dark to Manuela Dominguez. |
Edmond Halley, later called Maxwell Rayner, is one of the two overarching antagonists (alongside the Eye) of the Rusty Quill horror podcast The Magnus Archives.
Initially, he was selfish British astronomer living in the late 1600s, based on the real-life second Astronomer Royal of England of the same name. He would eventually become aware of fear gods existing outside of reality called the Dread Powers and fall to one in particular called the Dark. After his death at the hands of John Flamsteed, Emond would be reanimated as a creature of the Dark, and set out to bring about the Extinguished Sun, a ritual that would cast the world into eternal night.
Maxwell spent centuries working to this end, swapping bodies to keep himself alive. He also worked to spread the influence of the Dread Powers in general through the architect Robert Smirke, leading several upper-class men to begin worshipping them throughout the victorian era. He would also eventually found the People's Church of the Divine Host, who worked to help him achieve his goals.
Appearance[]
| “ | Look into his eyes, and you will know. You will know. | „ |
| ~ John Flamsteed describing "Reimers". |
Maxwell Rayner's appearance changed over the course of centuries, as he switched bodies on a consistent basis. His original body was that of Edmond Halley, who was a somewhat unremarkable looking white man generally dressed in finery. After his reanimation by the Dark, Maxwell's one constant physical trait were his eyes, which were always cloudy and white, showing his apparent blindness.
In the late 1800s, he wore the body of an old black man with a weathered face. In the early 2000s, he wore the body of an old, tall, and slender man, with thinning white hair and a scraggly beard.
Personality[]
| “ | I stared into his eyes, and though they met mine, I saw spreading inside them the darkness and mist. Whether he be blind now, I know not, but those were not the eyes of Edmond Halley, though they were the eyes of my Reimer, the one I couldn’t destroy. It is with this at the forefront of my thoughts that I write to you, Abraham. I know you have some small acquaintance with him, and I must warn you Halley is no longer Halley. He may appear as such, and – ape those previous observations of his own, and those more skilled, but it is not him. | „ |
| ~ John Flamsteed describing Edmond Halley after his transition. |
In life, Edmond was apparently a treacherous and manipulative man. He saw the world in terms of his own self-interest and saw no reason not to use others to his benefit. Above all things, he desired power and influence, desires that he kept with him far past his death, and he never showed any genuine hint of care for another person beyond their use as a tool. Despite this, he was exceptionally charismatic, and skilled at acting however he needed to get what he wanted.
After his transition, Edmond ceased being human, and, although he kept many of his personality traits of life, stopped really being the man he had been before. He was eternally dedicated to the Dark on a personal level, not just as a god, but as darkness itself, and concept he believed was holy and the natural state of the universe. Maxwell despised the light, believing it a sort of torturous intruder on a world meant to be dark, and felt he should rid the world of it. He was power-hungry, and wore many facades, but through it all, his hatred of the light was what genuinely made up most of his being.
Although generally practical, Maxwell was an exceptionally petty and vengeful man. He despised those who interfered with his plans in the slightest, and would seek their complete and utter destruction, regardless of the intent behind the actions he believed had antagonized him. Although he almost never let down the veneer of calm, he did take pleasure in subtly sentencing those he saw as his enemies to fates worse than death.
Due to his long life and wisdom granted by the Dark, Maxwell was an extremely intelligent individual. He formed plans centuries in advance and showed remarkable patience in ensuring they came about. He was skilled at controlling others, and manipulating them in his interest, twisting truth and using the past and beliefs of an individual to convert them to his cause.
Biography[]
As Edmond Halley[]
| “ | You are familiar of course with my persecuter and tormentor Edmond Halley. The one so oft descending upon me as Nemesis with her sword to avenge upon my hubris. It was he, who with the president of the Royal Society, Isaac Newton, printed my catalogue of stars without my knowledge, robbing me of the fruits of my labor, turning my triumph to naught but ashes. | „ |
| ~ John Flamsteed on Edmond Halley. |
Maxwell was born a normal human man named Edmond Halley, born around November 1656. He apparently had an interest in mathematics and astronomy from a young age, and discovered as a young man that the transit of Venus could be used to determine the distances between Earth, Venus, and the Sun. From this discovery, Halley was made a fellow of the Royal Society, cementing him as one of the great scientific minds of the time. Notably, he was responsible for periodicity of Halley's Comet, which was named after him.
At some point, Halley was the assistant to the first Astronomer Royal of Britain, a man named John Flamsteed. This ended when the relationship of Halley and Flamsteed devolved into antagonism as Halley committed several acts Flamsteed deemed irredeemable. Notably, Halley apparently took and published Flamsteed's star catalogue without his consent, thereby taking the credit and apparently ruining Flamsteed's reputation. At this point Flamsteed made it clear to that he despised Halley, although Halley never said anything negative about Flamsteed.
At some point in time, Halley became involved with a group who worshipped the Dark; men and women clothed dully with black eyes. In the woods, Maxwell became involved in their ritual involving inky black water, presumably attempting the Extinguished Sun Ritual. One night, while Halley sat by the water, he was attacked by John Flamsteed, who killed him by drowning him in the dark water. However, this death led to his body being reanimated by the Dark. Shortly thereafter, Halley met with Flamsteed again and thanked him for his newly found "freedom" as an avatar of the Dark.
In the early 1740s, Halley's body died permanently, but the darkened soul living inside it was able to hop into another host, having officially stopped being human.
Early Activities[]
| “ | Maxwell Rayner is an oddity. He claims to be an antiquities dealer from Africa, and has, of late, become something of a darling in certain circles of Cambridge, though I have never heard him discuss either antiquities or his supposed homeland in any real detail. His passion appears to be polar expeditions, and it’s rare to attend any social gathering with him where the subject does not eventually come up. In particular he seems to share that peculiarly specific mania regarding the fate of John Franklin and his lost expedition. I would assume he was intending to accompany such a party himself, were it not for the fact of his own blindness. Indeed, the spectacle of his milky white eyes staring behind the weathered black skin of his face is an image so striking that, were I to be uncharitable, I might suggest it had something to do with the readiness with which he acquires invitations and calling cards. He is led around by a young Arabian lad of ten or eleven, though the ease with which he carries himself makes me suspect this assistance is an affectation rather than necessity. Both speak perfect English, with no accent I can recognize, though the boy rarely opens his mouth other than to alert Rayner of nearby goings-on. | „ |
| ~ Algernon Moss describing Maxwell Rayner. |
After his death as Halley, Rayner seems to have done some travelling. At some point, he picked up an Arabian boy who served as his manservant, and who told him of what was going on nearby due to his blindness, although the blindness may have been a hoax. In the mid 1800s, Rayner returned to Britain, this time claiming to be an antiquities dealer from Africa.
Rayner introduced himself in some circles who believed him a curiosity and seemingly accepted him into their society. Hoping to eventually bring about his ritual to the Dark, he became interested in polar expeditions as a way to get to a place where it can be night for weeks at a time. In order to learn more about this region, he set about obtaining papers apparently documenting John Franklin's Lost Expedition in an auction. However, he was outbidded by Doctor Algernon Moss and swore revenge. Hopping to torment Moss for hurting his plans, he sent a creature of the Dark known as the Sandman, hoping the monster would trap him in a pocket dimension of darkness. However, the Sandman was unsuccessful, and Moss was only blinded, escaping the fate Rayner had in store for him.
Around this time, Maxwell became associated with architect Robert Smirke, who had dreams he did not understand of strange and horrific place. Rayner explained that these were dreams of the Dread Powers, and taught Smirke about these entities and their rituals, tricking the man into believing he could control them. Although Smirke himself sought to balance the entities, Maxwell also reached many of the architect's associates, including Henry Roberts and George Gilbert Scott, who began worshiping the Buried, Mordechai Lukas, who began worshiping the Lonely, and Jonah Magnus, who began worshiping the Eye.
Jonah in particular developed a sort of friendship with Maxwell, and Maxwell seemed to have encouraged him to take up the worship of the Dread Powers. Jonah was at some point contacted by Moss, who wanted retribution against Maxwell due to the actions of the Sandman, but Jonah seemed to have ignored him. Eventually, any benevolent feelings Maxwell and Jonah had for each other fell away as Jonah's position as a watcher of the Eye began to actively conflict with the interests of the Dark.
In World War 1, Rayner took the body of a man named Joseph and went to the Western Front, seemingly trying to contact the Slaughter, which was active there at the time. He apparently failed and that vessel was killed, although he was able to hop to another.
Final Preparations for the Extinguished Sun[]
| “ | And what do you wish to hear? Shall I tell you of the decades of preparation? Of the long wait for the eclipse? Three hundred years from the failure that birthed the thing that preached from the depths of Maxwell Rayner. The sacrifices made to birth the Dark Star that would make it all possible? | „ |
| ~ Manuela Dominguez on the Extinguished sun Ritual. |
As the 21st century rolled around, Maxwell began finalizing his preparations for the Extinguished Sun Ritual, centering it around Ny-Ålesund, the Northernmost human settlement in the world. It was at this point that he officially created the People's Church of the Divine Host, a worldwide cult dedicated to the Dark which became well-known in the 1990s. From stations all around the world, Rayner's followers sacrificed random people they kidnapped in order to collect enough for the ritual to eventually come to pass.
Around this time, one of Rayner's followers, a woman named Linnette Montauk, tried to leave the cult, and Maxwell had a monster he was currently creating called the Still and Lightless Beast kill and eat her. Maxwell then went to her husband, Robert Montauk, and lied to him, saying that Linnette could be saved if the Beast was fed. Under this impression, Robert killed and dismembered over 40 innocent people, believing if he fed this beast enough his wife would return to him, although all he did was strengthen Maxwell's servant. However, Robert eventually realized he was deceived, prompting Maxwell to send the Beast after him and his daughter Julia. Robert was able to perform a ritual to temporarily banish the Beast and save his daughter but was arrested shortly thereafter. As the Still and Lightless Beast steadily regained power, Maxwell visited Robert in prison and taunted him. He then sent the Beast to murder Robert in his prison cell.
In order to complete the ritual, Maxwell needed an artifact of pure darkness known as the "Dark Sun" and recruited Manuela Dominguez to create it. Needing complete blackness for the creation to be successful, Maxwell funded the creation of the Daedelus, working alongside the Lukas Family and Simon Fairchild, fellow servants of the Dread Powers who sought access to outer space for their own purposes. Rayner sent Manuela up with a nyctaphobe trapped in a box of pure darkness, and using him as a battery of fear, as well as the abyss of space, Manuela was successful in creating the "Dark Star" by the time she returned to Earth.
In the early 1990s, Maxwell ended up on the wrong side of the law, and his cult moved into obscurity, although they continued their operations unobstructed. Around this time, Maxwell sent Manuela Dominguez to the Magnus Institute, and paranormal investigative agency led by Jonah Magnus, now under the guise of a man named Elias Bouchard. He had Manuela give a statement to Gertrude Robinson, the institute's archivist, and offered Elias the chance to abandon the Eye and join him in bringing the Dark into the world. Elias refused.
Final Days[]
| “ | Well, that seems to close the book on Maxwell Rayner. Maybe the whole People's Church of the Divine Host. I can’t help but feel I’ve got the last chapter of a story and I don’t even know the title. At least I hope it’s the last chapter. | „ |
| ~ Jonathan Sims on the death of Maxwell Rayner. |
As the final days of the ritual came, Maxwell brought many of his followers, the Dark Star, and the Still and Lightless Beast to Ny-Ålesund. There, they sacrificed the Beast, and shrouded the chapel in darkness, beginning the process. Rayner and his followers anticipatedly awaited the solar eclipse, when they would use the Dark Star to shroud the world in darkness.
Four days before the eclipse, part of their ritual in London was disrupted, which, while not crucial to the ritual, did unsettle Rayner. However, as the days passed, more congregations began to fall silent, and Maxwell and Manuela had to fight to keep the ritual going. Eventually the Dark did manifest, and Maxwell wept, but it vanished after only a few moments leaving most of the cult dead and marking the ritual a failure.
Unsure of what to do next, Maxwell disbanded most of his cult and returned to Britain with Natalie Ennis and a few other followers. There, he hid in a warehouse previously owned by his cult, and had Callum Brodie, a boy touched by the Dark, kidnapped. Maxwell hoped to take Callum's body as his new vessel, but while he was in the process, the warehouse was attacked by the police, who had been searching for Maxwell and had been told of his presence there. Before Rayner could fully enter the boy's body, his current on was shot, and as he was in the middle of a ritual, he died permanently.
Powers and Abilities[]
| “ | Maxwell had always had the visions, the drive. Whatever was inside him pulled him to this end, to this great undertaking, like a magnet, and I was so very honored to be his right hand. | „ |
| ~ Manuela Dominguez on Maxwell Rayner. |
Maxwell Rayner was in a way an incarnation of the Dark, and therefore its most powerful being in the real world. From his place of power, Rayner had the ability to shroud areas in an infinite darkness, essentially creating endless pocket dimensions of shadow. In general, he seemed to have control over all dark spaces and the ability to make other spaces dark. With enough preparation, he was theoretically capable of casting the entire world into eternal pitch blackness.
As the Dark's chief servant, Maxwell seemed to have control over all of its shadowy monsters. This included the Sandman, an incorporeal creature with the ability to put a sleeping person inside of his "sack" which was really an eternal pocket dimension of darkness. It also included the Still and Lightless Beast, a more traditional monster Maxwell used to store the sacrifices needed for his ritual and had kill many of his enemies.
The thing born inside of Edmond Halley was not attached to his body and did not die when its body did. Instead, when he felt his body beginning to die, Maxwell sought a newer, younger body, and would move his consciousness into it. These younger bodies generally needed to be touched by the Dark beforehand. The only way Rayner could legitimately die was if he was killed while in the process of transferring his soul.
Over the course of his long life, Maxwell compiled an impressive amount of wealth and resources. He had people around the world endlessly dedicated to him and was owed favors by some very powerful people. This was enhanced by his general intelligence and charisma, which learned to use skillfully.
Quotes[]
| “ | You didn't think you could kill it for long, did you? | „ |
| ~ Maxwell threatening Robert Montauk. |
Trivia[]
- The name Rayner is a corruption of the name "Reimers", the nickname John Flamsteed use for Edmond Halley back when he was still human. The nickname was inspired by Nicolaus Reimers, the archrival Tycho Brahe.
