Torchbearer `` Cage | Cliquetober #8 ``

Trench continues the band's exploration of themes surrounding insecurity, faith, suicide, and mental health, prominent themes on Twenty One Pilots' previous albums. The album was formed around the conceptual world of "Trench", created by Joseph and represented through the album's accompanying marketing and music videos.

Much of the album and its marketing material discusses the city of Dema. Dema, literally meaning "Tower of Silence", is a fictional location set inside of Trench that draws its name from Zoroastrianism. In that religion, Towers of Silence were used to dispose of dead bodies by having vultures eat the corpses. The band explained on Reddit that they were inspired by the "sad and intriguing concept of a dying religion... the reason it was dying was something they could never control: The lack of the vultures needed to carry out their theology. Something so natural and logical can get in the way of your religion."

Nico, one of the nine "bishops" of Dema, is named after Nicolas Bourbaki, the collective pseudonym of a group of predominantly French mathematicians.

"Last record, Blurryface was a character that represented insecurity, and the more you learn about those insecurities and the more you learn about that character, the more control that you can have over things like that in your mental game of war. With this record being a continuation of that, one of the things that I knew I wanted to do was to figure out Blurryface's real name, and Blurryface's real name is Nicolas Bourbaki."

Trench's city, Dema, is ruled by nine "bishops", whose names are Nico (full name Nicolas Bourbaki, based on a collective pseudonym of a group of mainly French mathematicians), Andre, Lisden, Keons, Reisdro, Sacarver, Nills, Vetomo, and Listo. The chief bishop, Nico, was revealed by Joseph to be Blurryface, the personification of his insecurities from their previous album of the same name. Other characters involved are part of a group who call themselves the "Banditos", whose aim is to liberate the people of Dema. They adopt the color yellow, specifically #FCE300, which the bishops are unable to see.

Dema is a fictional city on the continent of Trench. It is ruled by nine Bishops, who enforce the religion of Vialism throughout the city.

The Sacred Municipality of Dema is a circular theocratic city loomed by huge concrete walls and ruled by nine Bishops who each control one of nine districts: Andre, Lisden, Keons, Nico, Reisdro, Sacarver, Nills, Vetomo, Listo (also known as Nico and the Niners). It sits nestled in the lower central region of the large and wild continent of Trench.

The religion in which the city follows is titled Vialism, where the end goal in the religion is to take one's own life as it is the only route to Paradise, and that the bland dystopia they are living in should be embraced. Color is rarely seen, vibrancy is discouraged, and compass directions are distorted to thwart escape attempts. The Bishops hold a strange power called "psychokinesis" that allows them to assume control over dead bodies and essentially turn those bodies into extensions of themselves.

Each year, there is a ceremonial celebration known as "The Annual Assemblage of the Glorified". At this ceremony, citizens that Clancy refers to as "premiere" gather to die and become the "Glorious Gone" or "Glorified" in a process seen in the "Nico and the Niners" music video. During this process, the Bishops are seen creating glass tubes later revealed in the Paladin Strait music video to be the neon gravestones that marked where the Glorified were buried. Later gatherings involve a lively performance and celebration before the ceremony. In 2018, Clancy's first documented escape with the Banditos occured under the cover of the celebration.

The Banditos are the rebel alliance in the continent of Trench. Their mission is to free the citizens of Dema from the tyrannical rule of the Bishops and wipe out Vialism. They are led by the Torchbearer who has an ability to cast projections of himself into the minds of those he guides. The Banditos help Clancy escape from Dema multiple times.

In their introduction within Trench, they are identified by yellow stripes attached to moss green jumpsuits. When distressed and in need of help, Banditos will call out "Sahlo Folina" for assistance.

Clancy is a citizen of the district Keons in the Sacred Municipality of Dema, located on the continent of Trench. Residing in the city since the age of 9, he kept a log of letters and thoughts regarding his time in the city and what may lie beyond on a website called dmaorg.info/found/15398642_14/clancy.html. Growing increasingly disillusioned with the state of Dema, Clancy tried to escape several times. He was always found by one of the Bishops, either his own, Keons, or their leader Nico, and brought back. After his failed efforts to attain freedom, Clancy found a rebel group and came up with a new idea to escape the city.

Clancy's Realization Clancy's life was rather mundane under his bishop Keons, but Nico took a special liking to him. Nico was notoriously tyrannical whereas Keons was much calmer and kinder to his people. Clancy wrote in depth about what life was like in Dema on his website.

"The perplexities of the Dema horizon didn't occur to me until my ninth year. It was then that I began to contemplate the existential, and decide what type of impression I wanted my life to make. Naturally, to fuel my hope, I looked out upon the distance of the land that had cultivated me, only this time with a new awareness of the obstruction that my youthful ignorance had allowed me to overlook. Was it there the whole time? How had I not seen something so obvious? I am reminded of the moment daily, as the idealization directly collides with a unique hope for my own future. As a child, I looked upon Dema with wonder, today, I am wrought with frustration, as I spend each day squinting for a glimpse of the top of the looming wall that has kept us here. It was upon my ninth year that I learned that Dema wasn’t my home. This village, after all of this time, was my trap.

Before I became realized, I had deep affection for Dema. There was a wonderful structure to the city that put my cares to rest. Streets and locations were dependable, and the responsibilities of the day seemed to be accomplished with minimal effort. Once a task was taught and understood, we delighted in our ability to complete our obligations timely, and felt secure in knowing tomorrow’s duties would be accomplished with the same efficiency. We all worked to represent our bishop with honor, and knew that each inhabitant of our region had a like-minded dedication to consistency.

Keons embodied the spirit of this dedication. Of Dema’s nine bishops, Keons was revered as unwavering and forthright, possessing the ability to achieve focus that was rare for most in our region. We all admired him, and felt honored to be inhabitants his region. While we had heard legend of the ruthlessness of other bishops, Keons possessed a stoic demeanor unlike anyone I had ever met, and we were all proud to serve.

• Clancy"

Over time, Clancy began to observe and reflect on his situation deeper than he ever had before. He longed for a glimpse beyond the vast concrete walls that he had grown up underneath.

Clancy persuaded Nico to take him outside the walls of Dema. As they drove outside the walls, the car they were in began to fall apart, creating a fiery diversion, and allowing Clancy to escape.[1] He began wandering, and eventually made his way to a valley. He then woke up in a river having grown weak from his walking, and slowly made his way out. He looked around at his surroundings and saw people sporting outfits with yellow tape looking down at him from the clifftops. A haze washed over him as he entered into an out of body experience. He continued walking through the valley while Nico had tracked him down, pursuing him on a white horse. Nico eventually caught him and smeared black paint on his neck. Smearing is a technique used by the Bishops to create a dazed-like submissive state, desaturating any color or joy they may have picked up and remembered from the victims' time in Trench. As Nico led Clancy back towards Dema, the people on the clifftop began to toss yellow petals down at Nico and Clancy, disorienting Nico's horse, and momentarily freeing Clancy from his trance. With Nico's horse disoriented, Clancy tried to use this moment to try to escape but tripped over a small rocky stream. Nico managed to regain control of his horse, caught Clancy again, and dragged him back to Dema.

Clancy, now back in Dema, planned another escape during the Annual Assemblage of the Glorified, a dark ceremony performed as part of Vialism that allow the bishops to grow their power. Unbeknownst to him, the group he saw on the cliffs were sneaking into Dema to rescue him - the Banditos, who are a group of rebels who aim to liberate Dema and the citizens inside looking for an escape. Clancy began to make his leave, but was approached by the Banditos and the Torchbearer. Bonding quickly, Clancy and the Torchbearer then staged a diversion in the town square to distract the bishops from finishing their ceremony, performing the song "Nico and the Niners" together. They successfully smuggled Clancy out of Dema through an underground tunnel, and made their way to a Bandito camp. The Bishops had heard them playing, and begin to search for Clancy. Once at the Bandito camp, the group shaved Clancy's head and dressed him in their colors, signifying a fresh start.

City Walls story follows on from "Paladin Strait" and "The Contract" and serves as the conclusion to The Story of Dema. In the story, Nico attempts to manipulate Clancy (played by Tyler Joseph) into becoming the next bishop, but to no avail. Meanwhile, the Torchbearer (played by Josh Dun) and eight Banditos rush to Clancy in the tower to help him defeat Nico. Clancy fights Nico. Nico tricks Clancy into seeing a vision of the past, of when he left Dema and when he was at camp with the Banditos, which is from three music videos "Heavydirtysoul", "Jumpsuit", and "Levitate", before Nico attacks him and stabs Clancy into the red tape on both his shoulders with his antlers before destroying them. Clancy appears to give up, but his strength remains, as he unleashes a powerful symbol (presumably the band’s logo) using his fingers on Nico. The Torchbearer witnesses Clancy's devastating power before the eight Banditos arrive to help. However, Clancy is found to be different, having inherited the dark side of his powers from Nico and the nine bishops. He then draws a red curtain over himself. Before he gave robes to eight Banditos and Torchbearer to succeed as the new bishops, but the Torchbearer knew that it was not the Clancy he knew and fled the place. Later, Torchbearer and the remaining Banditos were packing up to leave Dema, before leaving, the Torchbearer told the Banditos about Clancy, saying "That's not Clancy up there anymore. He's out there somewhere. And we will try again." Bandito then asked "Again?" to which the Torchbearer replied "Always".

City Walls and Intentions — conclusion:

This is not a cycle — it is a rollback (Intentions are a reversal of Truce). Tyler gives us no consolation that we can overcome these fears forever and finally.

You see, in a city with no entrance there is not a retreat. He teaches us to stop being afraid of it.

But now the night has fallen, Abandoned by the sun.

Now the night is coming to an end, The sun will rise and we will try again.

• And even if the night falls again, there will always be a dawn after it.

Stay alive. Just try to be. Intentions are everything.

He wants us to learn to stay alive and ourselves, and that intentions are everything. They will not let us abandon ourselves, will not let fears limit us.

Entertain my faith.

A line from Holding on to you, where the narrative insists that Tyler is now taking control of his inner conflicts and fears with faith. "Holding on to you" is God for him.

Did you learn a thing?

Embrace faith, have intention, be yourself even if fear will always be there - that's what he wants to convey.

Blurryface will always be inside us.

But now we know how to live with it.

Torchbearer. Real name Joshua William Dun. Usually everyone calls him Torch for short. Quiet, calculating, responsible, kind, not vindictive, honest, ready to do anything to protect what he loves. Strong, muscular, brown short curly hair, brown eyes, a hooked nose and ring piercings on both nostrils. Dressed mostly in khaki. Hoodie, joggers, black tracking boots. Hoodie usually up, black beanie underneath. On missions and forays into Dema, wears a yellow scarf that hides most of his face and leaves his brown eyes exposed. There are two yellow tapes across the entire body, crossing over the heart. The left knee is also covered with yellow tape.

Bishop Nova. Tyler Joseph. The current Head Bishop. Very short haircut under 0.7. Dark brown hair, brown eyes, average build, several tattoos on the chest and arms. Wears a red bishop robe with a hood. The jaw, neck and arms are painted black, the upper part of the face is white. His goal is to break the endless cycle of "Clancy" becoming the "Head Bishop" and to defeat the meaning and existence of Dema.

City Walls story follows on from "Paladin Strait" and "The Contract" and serves as the conclusion to The Story of Dema. In the story, Nico attempts to manipulate Clancy (played by Tyler Joseph) into becoming the next bishop, but to no avail. Meanwhile, the Torchbearer (played by Josh Dun) and eight Banditos rush to Clancy in the tower to help him defeat Nico. Clancy fights Nico. Nico tricks Clancy into seeing a vision of the past, of when he left Dema and when he was at camp with the Banditos, which is from three music videos "Heavydirtysoul", "Jumpsuit", and "Levitate", before Nico attacks him and stabs Clancy into the red tape on both his shoulders with his antlers before destroying them. Clancy appears to give up, but his strength remains, as he unleashes a powerful symbol (presumably the band’s logo) using his fingers on Nico. The Torchbearer witnesses Clancy's devastating power before the eight Banditos arrive to help. However, Clancy is found to be different, having inherited the dark side of his powers from Nico and the nine bishops. He then draws a red curtain over himself. Before he gave robes to eight Banditos and Torchbearer to succeed as the new bishops, but the Torchbearer knew that it was not the Clancy he knew and fled the place. Later, Torchbearer and the remaining Banditos were packing up to leave Dema, before leaving, the Torchbearer told the Banditos about Clancy, saying "That's not Clancy up there anymore. He's out there somewhere. And we will try again." Bandito then asked "Again?" to which the Torchbearer replied "Always".

City Walls and Intentions — conclusion:

This is not a cycle — it is a rollback (Intentions are a reversal of Truce). Tyler gives us no consolation that we can overcome these fears forever and finally.

You see, in a city with no entrance there is not a retreat. He teaches us to stop being afraid of it.

But now the night has fallen, Abandoned by the sun.

Now the night is coming to an end, The sun will rise and we will try again.

• And even if the night falls again, there will always be a dawn after it.

Stay alive. Just try to be. Intentions are everything.

He wants us to learn to stay alive and ourselves, and that intentions are everything. They will not let us abandon ourselves, will not let fears limit us.

Entertain my faith.

A line from Holding on to you, where the narrative insists that Tyler is now taking control of his inner conflicts and fears with faith. "Holding on to you" is God for him.

Did you learn a thing?

Embrace faith, have intention, be yourself even if fear will always be there - that's what he wants to convey.

Blurryface will always be inside us.

But now we know how to live with it.

The Sacred Municipality of Dema is a circular theocratic city loomed by huge concrete walls and was ruled by nine Bishops who each control one of nine districts: Andre, Lisden, Keons, Nico, Reisdro, Sacarver, Nills, Vetomo, Listo (also known as Nico and the Niners). It sits nestled in the lower central region of the large and wild continent of Trench.

The religion in which the city follows is titled Vialism, where the end goal in the religion is to take one's own life as it is the only route to Paradise, and that the bland dystopia they are living in should be embraced. Color is rarely seen, vibrancy is discouraged, and compass directions are distorted to thwart escape attempts. The Bishops hold a strange power called "psychokinesis" that allows them to assume control over dead bodies and essentially turn those bodies into extensions of themselves.

Each year, there is a ceremonial celebration known as "The Annual Assemblage" of the Glorified". At this ceremony, citizens that Clancy refers to as "premiere" gather to die and become the "Glorious Gone" or "Glorified" in a process seen in the "Nico and the Niners" music video. During this process, the Bishops are seen creating glass tubes later revealed in the Paladin Strait music video to be the neon gravestones that marked where the Glorified were buried. Later gatherings involve a lively performance and celebration before the ceremony. In 2018, Clancy's first documented escape with the Banditos occured under the cover of the celebration.

The Banditos are the rebel alliance in the continent of Trench. Their mission is to free the citizens of Dema from the tyrannical rule of the Bishops and wipe out Vialism. They are led by the Torchbearer who has an ability to cast projections of himself into the minds of those he guides. The Banditos help Clancy escape from Dema multiple times.

When distressed and in need of help, Banditos will call out "Sahlo Folina" for assistance.

The bishops can wield a strange power known as psychokinesis. This means that by using a tool fashioned from the horns of Neds, they can extend their consciousness into the body of an "available vessel" and pilot the body around as if they were living inside. This act is called "seizing". The catch is that the vessel always has to be dead, and they have a limited amount of time to inhabit the bodies before they begin to decay. This is a big reason for their push into Vialism.

Clancy's Scientific Miracle Clancy is the exception to this rule, as he is able to be seized while still being alive. This makes him a very important asset to the bishops, as he is a vessel that does not expire. Eventually, Clancy is able to perform psychokinesis with the help of his bishop Keons. Keons betrayed the other bishops by helping Clancy escape the city. He worked with the Torchbearer and Banditos to create a weapon of their own that allowed Clancy to wield the power of psychokinesis. Keons planned for the other bishops to kill him, which allowed Clancy to take control of his body and began setting fire to the main tower of Dema (the events of The Outside).

Vialism is a fictional religion said to have been hijacked by the bishops of Dema and is based around the belief that ending one's own life is the only way to paradise and redemption. The Vialism doctrine is what every citizen in Dema is made to base their lives around. When citizens of Dema pass on, they become the "Glorious Gone" or“vessels”. This means that their body is available for the Bishops to use for their own purposes. Their bodies are buried under neon gravestones around the outskirts of the city to store until needed. It is currently unknown if the bishops derive existential power from this process. In the "Paladin Strait" music video, the bishops raise the Glorious Gone from their graves and they use the neon gravestones as weapons against the Banditos.

In the Nico and the Niners music video, Clancy and the Banditos orchestrated a very loud disturbance during the Assemblage of the Glorified which drew the Bishops and a number of other citizens into the streets. They left jackets with the rebel colors (yellow and green) in the road that were soon picked up by two curious children. The Bishops cannot see yellow. Over time, small items filled with color from the surrounding outside terrain (such as flowers) would find their way inside the walls in the pockets of citizens who had been recaptured after managing to escape and inspire others to venture out. In 2024 during the Clancy World Tour, a network of letters between citizens detailed how many longed to see what lay beyond and how they wished to unify against the Bishops' rule. After Keons captured Clancy in the Bandito camp, the Bishops realized his music could be useful. Upon realizing Clancy's usefulness, the Bishops devised a plan to take better control of the citizens of Dema. They decided to introduce desaturated color and music to the people. After Clancy's distraction, word about his website archive dmaorg,info and his actions began to spread. They didn't want more people escaping, so they sent out the message that "Clancy is Dead".

The Torchbearer is the leader of the Banditos. He has the ability to project himself into the psyche of a person to guide them out of Dema, similar to how he guided Clancy back to Trench. It is theorised among fans that the Torchbearer is some sort of 'God' or 'symbol of hope' who lights the way for the citizens and out of the darkness of Dema.

Ned resembles a furry creature with antlers, big black eyes, and a fat belly. Ned is 45cm tall (18 inches). Their known population is extremely small - about 10 individuals on Voldsøy Island, which is uninhabited and separated from the Trench continent by the Paladin Strait. They mainly live in caves in groups, have social contact and speak among themselves. They are wary of people. Often perceived as a good omen, very rare to meet, as they do not live on the continent (there have been no substantial evidence cases, only stories about seeing them). Their horns are used by bishops to control Glorious Gone, that is, the dead of Dema.

Nico. Nicolas Bourbaki. (Dead) The late leader of the 9 Bishops who governed the fictional city of Dema, located on the Trench continent. Dressed in a red bishop's robe, with a mesh veil over his face. The upper part of the face is covered with white paint, while the lower part is black. Has the ability to apply black paint to the neck with his hands and thereby subjugate it, and also through vialism and the horns of the Neds to control the dead.

Bishops are able to communicate with and see through the eyes of vultures using psychokinesis. They also do not have the ability to see the colour yellow.