Dr. Crane

Dr. Titus Crane was a talented young physician. He was first in his class, and very ambitious. He became a resident at a small hospital at a very young age and became head of the psych ward. Dr. Crane married a strong, clever young woman, and they had two sons together.
A few years went by, and Dr. Crane began to have a bit of pain in his leg. He had a colleague examine it, and then another, and the results were the same. He was diagnosed with a degenerative hip disease that would put him in a wheelchair. Dr. Crane was devastated. He was very independent and ambitious, and he couldn't see a way for his career to continue if he had to depend on other people. He sank into despair.
He would have given up altogether, but for one thing; Pride. Dr. Crane was walking in Well Circle one afternoon, and he saw a strange man named Brantley sitting by the old dilapidated well. He was about to pass him by when the man called out to him. "Walking a little slower these days, are we Doctor?" Dr. Crane almost flew into a rage immediately, but he turned to address the man. "What do you want from me?" The man was dressed all in black and he had a necklace with a strange symbol on it. He was grinning from ear to ear and had his hands clasped behind his back like a mischievous child. "I don't want anything from you, Doctor, I came to deliver a message. My Patron bade me tell you that all hope is not lost. You are within arm's reach of a cure."
Dr. Crane was flabbergasted. There was so much he needed to know. The man told him that he could learn more at the fortune teller's tent at midnight. Dr. Crane accepted. The strange man and his friends began to tell Dr. Crane all sorts of things and filled his mind with visions of experimental cures. He would definitely need to test it; best to do it on the patients, he told himself.
Dr. Crane began working on a cure for his disease. He began researching unique characteristics in patients. He then began unethical and even cruel experiments on them. The further it went, the more he knew he would have to hide what he was doing. He felt like he was getting close. He would have to take his experiments to his home and test them in secrecy.
The experiments continued, and yet the cure evaded him. Patients were getting sick and dying, and yet he continued. One version of the serum lead to a total shutdown of the circulatory system, but the patient's brain function continued. Starved of blood and blood oxygen, the brain became ravenous and feral. This new state was highly aggressive and unstable and seemed to lack higher brain function, including language. All of the patients that received this version of the serum reacted this way, except for one. This patient, named Frank Gillespie seemed stronger and more resilient than the others. He maintained higher brain function, and he managed to control most of his cravings. Most of them.
Frank was not the only unusual specimen around Dr. Crane's house. Crane had taken a special interest in a boy named Alexander Prynne. He was a savant; he could make calculations very quickly, and science came very easily to his nimble mind. On the other hand, he had to be coaxed out of his room, couldn't stand to be touched, and would shut down entirely if he became overwhelmed.
Frank and Alexander reluctantly were Dr. Crane's assistants in exchange for their temporary safety.

Show spoiler

The elevator seemed to stop its rattling and suddenly there was another passenger. Death: well, now you know where your pride has taken you. Thanks for being so cooperative, this was fun. Crane: you mean I’ve been fighting God AND the devil this whole time? Death: No. God had nothing to do with any of this. Crane: (quietly) what? Death: of course, we made you believe that God was responsible for your affliction. Do you think we would let you believe for a moment that God was on your side? Then you would cry out to Him and He would save you. I thought you were supposed to be smart.
Crane: (in shock)
The elevator hits the basement floor. The door opens, and August leans into Crane's face.
Death: (from behind) See you in hell, Crane.

Divine Domains

Pride, Greed

Current Location

Slatefall Hospital

Realm

Blackwell Township

Church/Cult

The Sacred Well Circle

Life

1875 1942 67 years old

Circumstances of Death

Show spoiler

Was murdered by August White in the fire of the West Ward of Slatefall Hospital

Gender

Male

Ruled Locations

• Dr. Crane's House