Morality, it seemed, was the inhibiting factor of a Living’s potential. Practicality, when practiced and mastered, yields conceptual understanding of life in the simplest and most effective methods. Was it really wrong for a man like Andrés Beltram to seek the secrets of Esa? Was it really wrong for him to burn an entire district? Or to experiment on a Living? To prove that his theories were correct.

Being a gmar and a cripple, many had underestimated Andrés Beltram. The Rauls used him for his intelligence, building weapons and harnessing forbidden alchemy. The Crown, including the princess, took his knowledge of Verdania for granted, reducing him to a mere spy. But no one. Not even Kadmon could have expected the mastermind behind so many death and destruction.

After unlocking the secrets of Death Esa, Andrés Beltram became obsessed in finding a replacement for his leg. In a moment of triumph, he severed his bad leg and replaced it with a leg of a dead giant hound. Understanding the effectiveness of his new anatomy, he experimented further by implementing corpses to enhance himself. He stitched an alligator’s tail on himself, concluding that an extra limb could be useful. More hands could help him do work better, so he added arms of corpses onto his back.

Unlike many of ignorant Living, Andrés succeeded in doing something that only a god can do. He created his own creatures. His own son. He created a Horror of Morbidia without the cursed Mark.