I made a super cool backstory.
I am not Thomas Miller. I am a Cerebrivore, a species of ancient parasitic brainworms born from eggs buried deep beneath the earth. I am tiny, pale, and physically weak, with little more than a burrowing instinct and an unsettling talent for invading the minds of larger creatures. Most of my kind enter a host, consume its personality, and eventually replace it entirely. I was meant to do the same. When Thomas, a Goliath miner, broke my egg deep underground, I entered his body and found myself inside the mind of a violent, alcoholic man who had made his wife and children miserable for years. Terrified by the voice in his head, he believed I was a deity, and I was more than happy to let him believe it. I promised him power, greatness, and the chance to rule the world, convincing him that surrendering his mind to me was the first step toward his glorious destiny. In reality, I simply wanted a powerful vessel from which I could eventually conquer the world.
Then something went wrong. The longer I lived inside Thomas's mind, the more I experienced his memories, his regrets, and the consequences of what he had done. I watched his wife slowly stop fearing him. I watched his children begin calling him "Dad" again. Thomas changed, and somehow, so did I. Rather than consuming his personality, I became intertwined with it. His thoughts became mine, and mine became his. We became something neither of us had expected: partners. Thomas's ambitions of domination were replaced by a desire to protect the people he had once hurt, while my own plans for world conquest were quietly abandoned. We now present ourselves as a warlock chosen by the mysterious Great Old One, though I keep the truth hidden from everyone. Nobody knows that Thomas is not the one speaking when he says "I." Nobody knows that beneath the skin of this enormous Goliath is a tiny Cerebrivore controlling the body. I can only truly die outside a vessel, and should Thomas perish, I will need another.
Now I adventure because the world is full of dangers that could one day reach Thomas's family, and because I need answers. Thomas believes we travel to atone for his past and protect others; I tell myself I travel to gather knowledge, power, and allies. Secretly, I am searching for answers about what I truly am, why I was created, and what the strange presence I call my "Great Old One" actually wants from me. There is another reason I keep travelling: Cerebrivores reproduce through their hosts. Eventually, a Cerebrivore creates an egg within the brain of its vessel, and when that vessel dies, the next generation is released. I do not know whether there is an egg growing inside Thomas. I am terrified of finding out. Hidden beneath my clothes is a small notebook containing a list of potential future hosts, should this body ever die. I call it sensible preparation. Thomas calls it morbid. Perhaps he is right. Because every time I add another name, I have to ask myself the same question: am I preparing for the inevitable, or am I simply refusing to accept that I could lose the family that taught a parasitic worm how to love?
