#### **Baron Isaiah Markul, the Black Knight** #### **Age:** Physically 37, as for the time between when he was born and now, it's around 550ish. #### **Gender:** Male. #### **Faction/Allegiance:** Whatever he believes is right... #### **The Blind Maiden's Tear** The Tear is a simple pendant composed of a silver chain and a bright green gemstone that glows with a soft inner light. This relic grants its bearer several benefits, including: - High physical strength, and a physique to match. - A reserve of magic power to draw on, like a battery. - And immortality. Note, that that is not the same as invulnerability. But the Tear's greatest power is its ability to bestow life on any object (Save corpses), easily creating golems. Once, the Tear was powerful enough to create entire armies of such creatures, now it may only have one active at a time. However, using it this way drains it of energy, meaning Markul has less power for his Geomancy. Markul's unique power is Geomancy, magic that manipulates earth, stone, and metal. Refined metal (such as most armor and weapons) is much more difficult to manipulate; it takes the same amount of effort to crush some uppity adventurer's breastplate together as it does to drop an elephant sized boulder on him. As you can imagine, Geomancy is very powerful, though it is taxing to perform. And, seeing as how Markul is weaker than he used to be he only uses it when he really has to. As for the largest single object he can move right now, that would be a stone boulder roughly 6 feet in diameter. However he could, for example, cause a larger brick wall to crumble by destabilizing its foundations. Naturally, this usually isn't quick. His magic is limited in that he must have contact with the object in question. 'Contact' is defined as being in contact with him or any chain of solid objects he is touching. He cannot, for instance, do anything if he is suspended in the air for some reason, and he can't levitate something long enough to fly around on it... However, he only needs to establish a link first. He could lift a rock off the ground, for instance, so long as he remains on the ground. One final note, the farther away on object is the longer it takes for it to receive his command. This isn't usually a problem, but a little lag can mean life or death. #### **Appearance:** Markul is a very large man, owing to his Relic in some ways. He stands at just under eight feet tall, with the musculature to match. However, such a large frame obviously comes with drawbacks. He is never seen without his jet-black armor, a must for any dark lord. He never removes his helmet in the presence of others, and nobody knows what his face looks like (Likely to be all intimidating, appear less human. That, or shame...). He carries a large tower shield and a massive studded flail, the likes of which only he could really wield. Basically, big imposing villain, an image he worked on for over a decade. However, it's impractical to actually wear a suit of armor at all times, and in times where he feels he must keep a lower profile or he simply doesn't need his armor he wears simple clothes composed of baggy cloth, and an accompanying headwrap that covers most of his face save the areas around his eyes. Said eyes are a vibrant emerald color, though that's likely because of his relic rather than nature. Additionally, the area immediately around his eyes betrays his darker skin tone. #### **Combat Flaws:** - He ain't the fastest crayon on the merry-go-round(...what?), and while quick enough to stomp you his slow speed is definitely a weak point. - Falling will likely kill him, thanks to his heavy weight and the fact he can't use his powers in the air. - His flail has a sort of 'minimum range' where he can't really hit you with it... - He can't use his flail indoors, it just bashes against the ceiling, walls, etcetera, and therefore can't hit you very well or build up momentum. - Heat is very bad for him in that armor, lightning especially... - It can be hard to see in that helmet... - It's hard to turn around in that heavy armor... #### **Character Flaws:** - He is stubborn, very much so. - He is also slow to trust, and has a defeatist attitude about most things. - He has a strong sense of honor that can override pragmaticism. - He is prone to bouts of indecisiveness brought on by his depression and guilt. - He tends to occasionally over/underestimate his opponents... #### **Skills:** Being a big strong man, Markul has all the advantages that brings. He can hit stuff, he can lift stuff, yada yada. He is skilled with his chosen equipment (Heavy armor, tower shield, flail), and is a good smith to boot. He spends a lot of his free time putting 'vessels' together, though most people would call them dolls. Essentially like a blueprint for his golems. He finds such a task as designing a golem to be quite relaxing. #### **Biography:** A relic of a lost age himself, Markul is very, very old. Once your stereotypical 'dark lord' He amassed an army of golems and was planning to do the whole 'take over everything everywhere' plan. However, a group of intrepid evokers went to stop him, yada yada. Sounds familiar right? it was all quite cliche, and the adventurers defeated him and sealed him away, but the exact details of this whole debacle were lost to time. Now, ages later, their spell has worn off and he has been released from his earthen coffin, only to find himself in a time he doesn't understand. The spell kept him physically preserved, but he has had quite a lot of time to think about things, as his mind was free to wander. He might not be what you expect... Anyway, he nearly took over the continent five hundred and fifty years ago, and the legend of the Black Knight of Gorzun is known far and wide. Usually told in the form of a bedtime story. Most of the knowledge of the conflict has been lost to time, and now a large amount of the story is 'artistic liscence.' That being said, it is very much a popular story, and the order of Idris uses a version of it in which the heroes aren't evokers to teach kids of the evil, destructive powers of relics... #### **Personality/motivation:** Markul wishes for... purpose, and redemption. He seeks atonement for his sins above all, but he is also a relic himself, and he longs for meaning. He is a stoic sort of man, wracked with guilt for the atrocities he committed in the name of peace. The ends really don't justify the means, he learned. He is loyal to a fault, once one has earned it, and he views traitors of any sort as the worst kind of scum. He is a courteous man, and is known to show the proper respect to others that he demands of them in return. He is prone to fits of depression... #### **Relations:** - Roan. He is attempting to save this unknown man's life, for reasons unknown even to himself. Perhaps the sight of a man bleeding to death alone in an alley triggered what remains of his conscience.