| “ | Take a minute to think, you've been brought to the brink of existence to save the population. Floods and nuclear fire, kept the times looking dire. Now's the chance to redeem civilization. Yet a risk is attached with this unholy pact. If forsaken I'll come from the shadows. Let your madness be quelled, live a legend to tell, make the best of the end and what follows. | „ |
| ~ The Watcher's offer to The Elder in "A Castle on the Sea" |
The Watcher is enigmatic being created by the artist Aviators that appears "The Bleeding Sun" story that spans at least three albums and individual songs. The Watcher's exact role as a god is unknown though it is heavily implied he is the strongest of them and is confirmed he is to judge the dead, something he takes rather serious as despite tempting souls in hopes of claiming them, he is willing to go to great lengths to achieve his unknown goals.
History[]
Little is known about The Watcher's origin but it is said that he is a god who rules over the space between life and death, this limbo takes the form of a castle made of ice that sits on an empty sea where he resides with the souls of the dead until they are judged. The Watcher when not judging the dead started to enter the dreams of mortals, when he entered he would offer to take these individuals to his castle with promises they could stay there forever as his guests or other times tempting them with their greatest desires. Being unable to fully understand humanity The Watcher claimed he couldn't trust humanity given their unpredictable nature and their tendencies to be prone to violence, it came to the point he claims to of established his own set of rules that he never appears before a mortal while they are awake or alive. It is hinted he still entered minds to tempt souls now partly to learn how to understand them better along with claiming them early through deals. Despite wars happening regularly The Watcher refused to intervene due to trying to uphold the rules he had made; this eventually came to ahead when a holy war developed into a nuclear war that threatened to wipe out all life on the planet.
Forced to take action The Watcher appears before the last leader of humanity known as The Elder, as he confronted the mortal he tried to appeal to his morality and a deal. The Watcher pointed out that despite everything this man had done he would forgive him and even make him an immortal god, the catch was the mortal must in return use his new powers to help humanity rebuild the world and civilization as a whole. The Watcher made it clear that in order to do this he'd give The Elder all of his power by giving him his very soul, without a soul The Watcher would be forced to go back to his castle in limbo to maintain his own existence. When The Elder agreed The Watcher gave him a warning that should the mortal betray their deal by abusing his new powers that there would be consequences down the road while imploring the mortal to just redeem himself by leading humanity into a better future. Much to The Watcher's anger as he used his power to help protect some of humanity and giving mortal his own soul, The Elder immediately betrayed their deal by oppressing the remainder of humanity. Unable to do anything other than retreat to his home The Watcher waited, for centuries he was forced to watch as humanity was suffering for his mistake until The Elder accidently gave power to a young woman that plotted his death. When The Elder was forced into hiding he soon heard from The Watcher who mockingly wanred the traitor that he would soon die and this was his revenge. What became of The Watcher after the death of The Elder has yet to be stated publicly leaving it unknown if he regained his soul or if The Hunter kept it, if she kept it then it is likely he was forced to remain inside of his castle for the rest eternity powerless.
Appearance[]
The Watcher is implied to be a being that their true form cannot be fully grasped by mortals, the form he does take however is a humanoid silhouette with what appears to be surrounded by smoke or shadows. This form seems to change depending on who sees him as one man says in "The Watcher" he has no face just a smile encouraging him that what comes next is something to embrace while the album cover of "Godhunter" shows just a silhouette with glowing eyes and a hood.
Personality[]
| “ | My failure as a god is total as I watch over a land of bones. Now I've broken all the rules I've written just to bring you to this cold fort between. Your ailing home and afterlife's wither. A bastion only seen in your dreams. | „ |
| ~ The Watcher showing both humility and calling out The Elder's delusions of grandeur |
| “ | Keeping with the theme of ghosts and gloom, here's a song about a restless spirit trying to lure the living into the underworld. This mysterious watcher steps into the dreams of his subjects, searching for their innermost desires and temptations. | „ |
| ~ Aviators on The Watcher in the "Far Side" in the YouTube summary |
The Watcher is a mysterious figure that doesn't seem to understand humanity, freely admitting he doesn't trust them but also is willing to do what he can to protect them if his hands are forced. He seems to believe that he is doing people a favor by offering to take some people early, claiming he is sparing them the pain that comes with death while promising to let them stay in his castle or at times to take them directly to Heaven if they agree to take his offer. That said he does seem to judge souls fairly as he does condemn certain people to Hell as the protagonist of his titular song mentions he fears he might be condemned all while he led a child who died to Heaven, this is also shown as The Elder also seems to fear he'll be sent to Hell when told he his prophesied fate. Despite being borderline omniscient he admits he feels he has failed as a god, even willing to implore a man responsible for a nuclear war that he would forgive all his crimes and give the man all of his powers if the man agreed to save humanity. When the deal is betrayed The Watcher is shown to be vengful yet patient, while unable to take back his soul he does seem to help guide The Hunter to some unknown extent to ensure The Elder dies at her hand. This is shown as he mocks The Elder for his arrogance of believing himself invincibe, assuring the traitor that the amount of hate he has is nothing compared to the amount she has for him and that this was the consequences The Water warned him of should the man betray their deal.
Powers and Abilities[]
| “ | The Watcher has seen the slaughter of billions across the Earth from war, and as the only god with the power to take action he strikes a deal with the last leader of humanity. If he gives his soul to this mortal, the ascended one must use its power to lead humanity to a brighter future. Of course, a deal with The Watcher should not be taken lightly... | „ |
| ~ Aviators on The Watcher in "A Castle on the Sea" in the Bandcamp summary |
The Watcher is stated to be one of if not the strongest god within the universe given he's the only one with the power to save even a fraction of humanity when the world was devastated by a nuclear war and as shown by The Elder able to grant people immortality and to an extent godlike power by turning them into cyborgs. It is said that The Watcher is able to enter dreams at will, can watch over everyone at once and seemingly see into the future to an extent as he taunts The Elder over his coming fate. He is also said to have absoulte authority in where souls go when they do die, able to condemn some to Hell while helping others go to Heaven. This borderline omniscience and omipotence has their limits however given he never expected it to come to the point he'd have to sacrifice his power and that even though The Elder betrayed their deal he couldn't take it back himself. The Watcher also seems to only be able to empower someone by giving his own soul, while this doesn't kill him it does render him nearly powerless as he is forced to return to his own domain between life and death to maintain his own existence.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The exact nature of the hierarchy of the cosmos of the setting is unknown, the songs and summaries imply that The Watcher is the strongest of the gods and seemingly worshipped by many as the Supreme Being, this seems implied further to tie into him being the only one with the power to save the world from destruction when it is being consumed by a nuclear fire along with the fact he is the one who decides the fate of those who died in terms of the afterlife.
- The Watcher makes a comment in "A Castle on the Sea" stating that without civilization he'd be gone, it is unclear if this means he will die should all life be wiped out or if he merely means he'd be without purpose and alone.