Deceit

Deceit is an alternate version of The Rake seen in Horsemen. He is said to be an inverse of the usual Rake interpretation, as instead of being a feral beast with a secret intelligent side, he is displayed as an intelligent and handsome man, with a secret feral side. He represents the Fear of betrayal, and earned his title from whispering to people in their sleep, sowing seeds of distrust toward their friends and family.

History
Approximately 300 years ago, Deceit began masquerading as a human at a castle, after some persuasion from Siline. While there, he fell in love with a mortal woman named Elizabeth. However, Lord Strain infected her with a virus that caused her to go berserk, and Deceit had no choice but to kill her with his own two hands. Though he blames himself for what happened, he blames Strain even more so, and has bitterly hated him ever since.

Nyasient'e was sealed inside of Deceit's body using a sealing spell shortly afterwards. However, the seal was eventually broken during an intense battle between Deceit and Lord Strain, allowing Nyasient'e to return to the physical world.

He, along with Omnipotence and Silene Stenophylla, were hired by War to protect the children of the Horsemen. Later, he was hired by Conquest to capture John Calwar, but chose not to in favor of his original assignment.

Human Form
Deceit usually takes the form of a handsome man, dressed in a nice business suit. He has shoulder length black hair and dark eyes. He is usually seen smoking a cigar.

True Form
In his true form, Deceit's clothing disappears, exposing tight flesh, stretched over a muscular, athletic body. He grows blades from his elbows and knees, and sharp claws on his fingers and toes. His eyes become solid black, and his hair grows longer and darker. He also gains fangs, and tends to slouch, like a feral animal.

Personality
Deceit is usually unaligned, and has a tendency to switch sides unexpectedly. Despite this, he is incredibly loyal to the rare few he considers friends, which is why he chose to serve as John's guardian. He originally spent all his time in his true form, but after Siline convinced him to give being human a try, he developed his own human disguise. After being forced to kill the woman he cared about, he grew to despise his true form, and chose to live in his human form. He smokes cigars often, but never carries his own lighter or matches, instead relying on others to light his cigars for him.

Abilities
Deceit's main abilities are his speed and strength, which go beyond what most other Terrorspawn are capable of. His claws are capable of shredding through practically anything, and he is one of the few beings capable of using Lightning Thought, and perhaps the only being whose body can move as fast as his mind in that state.

He is also able to Shift, an ability which lets him alter his form, and Conjure, which lets him create simple objects, such as clothing. He uses these powers in conjunction to take a human form. While in human form, his strength and speed are both reduced. His fingers remain stronger than a normal human's, allowing him to tear through stone with them, but they aren't quite as strong as his true form.

He is also the only Terrorspawn who can use human-made magic. He specializes in a handful of sealing spells, but also knows a curse called the Claw Grave. He is the only being whose body is strong enough to support the spell, and the first (and perhaps only) time he's used it, it left a scar of Strain's face, and cause Strain's power over disease to act against him, leaving him hideously deformed.