by the way i have no common sense and just automatically assume everyone is telepathically linked to my lore brain so just to be clear: rattenfänger is an alias kenneth uses. rattenfänger is kenneth, and is someone else. this was not a planned thing, but rather something he stumbles into when he sees an opportunity to essentially absorb and eat someone else's identity. after one pied piper comes another, from hemlin to rome to san francisco.

before kenneth however, the rattenfänger was one of the sons of python regurgitated back on land when he started to wake, up around when kronos was trashing up the camps and the triumvirate was taking up space. he is naturally serpent-like and is remembered for being terrible to look at, with half his face a patchwork of smoke-black scars. his hideousness serves a business purpose: you should pay your debts when they're due, because you actively do not want to see him a second time.

the rattenfänger is anything from a loan shark to the bargainer; you have a problem, he offers to fix it by mysterious means, then he gets his payment, and if you don't reward him, he'll make himself your next problem. most deals are done under the shadow of a well-structured hub: under the son of python, it was a nightclub where monsters convened frequently underground, and did not have a name. it was simply called omphalos. under kenneth, that place is called nerva's hall, an orchestra house where music pipes around compellingly, enchanting the space that allows no weaponry.

. . . emperor, your sword won't help you now. your sceptre and crown are worthless here. ( ¹ RATTENFANGR ) an original & very private exploration : rattenfänger, the rat-catcher associated with daylighter. pied piper retelling within the urban-fantasy world of pjo. i've taken you by the hand, for you must come to my dance.

          ¹ carrd, ¹ memes.