Ernie Bering - Tumblr Posts
Please give my morally bankrupt Cockney failson an award for his awfulness
Who is Ernie Bering?
Our Ernie is a finalist in the Best NPC category in this year's CRIT Awards, so let's have a quick rundown of who the man is.
If you already know, you can cast your vote for Ernie (and for Merely Roleplayers for Best Storyline!) at the CRIT Awards site:
Ernest 'Ernie' Bering is a craggy, barrel-chested man usually seen in a nondescript grey suit, cut to conceal a shoulder holster. In a visual medium, he would be played by Tommy Lee Jones, but voiced by Ray Winstone.
In our show, he's voiced by Matt Boothman. Matt and Chris Starkey came up with the character and Ellie Pitkin came up with his name.
Ernie is a career field agent of the Department of Omissions (DoOm), tasked with minimising the disruption the supernatural world causes to ordinary British citizens. He's a man shaped by life in the shadows.
Ernie was the point man for a disastrous DoOm scheme to release ghouls into the English countryside as bait for the Hunt, which legends say would scour England of evil. The Hunt didn't show but the ghouls massacred a family on a camping trip.
The only survivor was the youngest child, Cameron Jarvis (played by Chris Starkey). Ernie kept an eye on Cam as he moved through the foster system, mainly out of guilt, but also because Cam had fought off a ghoul, so he might be useful to Ernie in the future.
Completely off DoOm's books, Ernie trained Cam to deal with ghouls and other otherworldly threats. He's been both a handler and something of a surrogate father to Cam.
Years after the tragic experiment with the ghouls, the Hunt finally arrived in England and invited Ernie to join their ranks – via a ghoul being used as a combination errand boy and hunting hound. Ernie declined and took a nasty stab wound from the ghoul.
After Ernie tried and failed to keep Cam out of things, the truth finally came out and Cam put the injured Ernie on notice: if Ernie ever shows his face to Cam again, he'll find himself on the receiving end of his own deadly training.
And that's where we left Ernie at the end of Vigil: Quarry. He will return later this year in Vigil: Fear Itself...
In the meantime, show your appreciation for our favourite highly competent moral vacuum in the Best NPC category at the CRIT Awards!