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[h3][color=CE0404][i]~[/i][b]”Great art requires great suffering, so I must be the greatest artist of all.”[/b][i]~[/i][/color][/h3]

[hider=Basic Information]Name – Ithuriel val Atiran
Nicknames – N/A
Gender – Male
Sexuality – Pain
Alias – The God-King
Age – 158
Apparent Age – N/A
Race – Prae
Sub-Race/Lineage or Nationality/Specialty: N/A
Appearance: See picture. Ithuriel stands at 9’10” tall and is generally just a hulking monstrosity.[/hider][/center]

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[hider]There are two major components to Ithuriel's personality - the fragments of himself that he managed to keep before being imbued with the God-King's power, and the influence of the God-King that he cannot contain.

Ithuriel himself is a fairly demure, preferring the only contact with people that he partakes in to be through his art or through the occasional hunt he takes at the IHO. Since the fracturing of his mind took much of him from himself, it is only his latent pride in his family, his love for his art and one Vistaeria Rhys'alamot, and his intense masochism that really remain. Many of these factors are difficult for him to manifest on their own, so they instead temper the brutal and misogynistic nature of the God-King.

The part of Ithuriel that is the God-King is no longer the feral beast it was at the time of its creation. Thousands of years have rendered it a malign and foul being, clever and cunning, and with an unending well of hatred and vitriol to draw from. The God-King detests all women, seeing them as weak and unnecessary - its misogyny extends to every facet of its being, constantly attempting to degrade (if not outright ignore) most women in favour of dealing with men. Clever and cunning though it is, the God-King is certifiably insane on a very fundamental level, and has such a severe case of psychosis that it hardly recognises what is real and what is imagined - instead relying on Ithuriel to put things into social context. The God-King will frequently and readily resort to extreme prejudice and violence in the case of a woman speaking or acting out of what he believes is their role – which is essentially existing to serve men.

These two aspects mix constantly in different ratios. Ithuriel is sometimes simply a quiet artist who wishes only to create the greatest masterpieces, a lonely soul whose only solace is in pain and culture. Conversely, he is sometimes a flurry of anger and seething hatred - a frenzied brute that wishes to crush all those deemed unworthy beneath his heel. How much of any particular being manifests at any one time is congruent with the amount of pain Ithuriel is able to keep himself in - so at a basic level, most of the duo manifests as Ithuriel. When the God-King is angered, however, more and more of his chauvinistic influence seeps through unless Ithuriel can bring himself sufficient clarity with pain.

There is only one thing that both Ithuriel and the God-King agree on – that Licentia are generally evil. The God-King believes that they are all evil, foul creatures that deserve only death, but Ithuriel is more understanding that the sins of the father are not the sins of the son, and treats them only with mistrust and apprehension.[/hider]

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[hider]For every society that has ever been, there have been consistent elements that are necessary for the governance of a people to be effective. One such element is the secret society, a group of influential individuals surrounding themselves in mystery and arcanery that they might influence the weave of history in a manner they believe is befitting of the interests they represent. Examples of these societies can be found in every corner of the world where the light of progress and prosperity shines - but the grand dichotomy of the world dictates that as the light grows, so too must the shadow. In the distant and storied past of the Prae, many such societies have come and gone - some to maintain what is, and some to ensure that what has passed is never brought to light again. The Sanguine Verdict firmly belong to the latter half. Following a particularly tumultuous and catastrophic incident in Priscus-that-was, some of those that remained banded together to inure their broken people against the ghastly memory of the event. Though the event would later be stricken from the annals, the Sanguine Verdict did not forget - and they tried to ensure that it could never happen again.

The Sanguine Verdict operated on the belief that Prae society was fundamentally flawed. The God-Queen was exalted above all else, the lynchpin of their society, and they believed that a woman was - in this case, demonstrably - unfit to rule. They believed that the only way for their society to progress was for a man to take up the mantle of God, and for the ruin wrought by their predecessors to remain within the weak-willed women unable to handle the power given to them. Given the period of time in which they were formed and in which they operated, the Sanguine Verdict's recruitment efforts were not quite as grandiose as they would have liked - but they were very much a product of their time and their membership was not small. At the peak of their activity, some hundred or so men called themselves members.

Though many of the order's machinations were understandably obfuscated, their primary goal - the creation of a God-King - was fairly well recorded at the time.  Though the circumstances around which their attempt was made are not clear, it is known that the completion of their project was forcibly hastened - and that it ended disastrously. Every member of the Sanguine Verdict willingly imbued the leader with their Anima - and though not nearly enough souls were conjoined to form a being on the level of a God-Queen, the result was comparable to that of an Exeo. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the souls that combined, the resultant God-King was far less stable than the Sanguine Verdict would have liked. The strength of the God-Queen was not just in the massive amount of vis she possessed, but in the singular unity of purpose of those offering up their vital essence. Those that gave themselves to the God-King were superficially united, but their only true common ground was mistrust, fear, and avarice - and the intent contained within the vis of the God-King was pulled so strongly in so many different directions that their mind snapped immediately.

With their God-King reduced to an almost feral creature and the ranks of the Sanguine Verdict consumed by the process of creating the God-King, the ill-fated group faded into obscurity as quickly as they had risen up. Though the order no longer existed, their legacy did not end there. While no longer possessed of any strong intellect, the God-King was still an extremely formidable creature. Once their allotted time had passed, they inadvertently imbued a random Prae that they had encountered with an enormous chunk of their power. The sudden influx of power, as well as its naturally maddening influence, continued to infect a random member of the existing Prae once the previous recipient died.

While the influence of the God-King as an individual is long gone, once every generation a random male Prae is infected by his lingering malign influence.

Ithuriel val-Atiran began life as many modern Prae do - schooled rigorously, found to have an aptitude for combat, and enlisted in the military. Much of his early days were simple and honest, surrounded by a caring and nurturing family that wished only for him to excel and be happy. As such, there is very little to say about Ithuriel's earliest days, save that his current form is a powerful example of just how far someone can fall when the cruel vicissitudes of fate intervene.

At the tender age of eighteen, Ithuriel completed the majority of his training and joined the army proper - and though he was by all accounts a fairly average (if not verging on competent) combatant, his true passion was for the arts. Were he born into a different culture, this divide between his duty and his desire might have caused conflict, but in Priscus those trained to serve were encouraged to learn culture as well. Many integrated this into their combat, becoming warrior-artists of a sort that used their military duty as a creative outlet, taking inspiration or material from the savage nature of combat against the monsters that constantly attacked their cities. Ithuriel in particular was fascinated with blood, believing it to be the very essence of life and death - and quite regularly painted with vis-infused blood.

Though unexceptional at combat, Ithuriel was a phenomenal artist. Ithuriel received from his family a particularly special weapon upon his graduation - a sword comprised of thousands of tiny, fibrous needles through which vis could be channelled to allow them to soak up the blood of slain enemies, and stored within a compartment within the haft of the blade. Sharp, clever manipulation of vis within the blade allowed it to also be used as a paintbrush, and Ithuriel practiced his swordcraft as an art all of its own, using his vis to suspend the viscera he collected midair in various shapes and patterns. Several years of serving in the military brought pride and honour to the val-Atiran name, and Ithuriel was soon a favourite to be promoted. Though he did not enjoy the idea of having less time to work on his art, Ithuriel accepted the idea of the accolades as was his duty and obligation. All for my people, and all for my family' he reasoned, choosing social demands over his own happiness - though when the time came for his promotion, his superior officer handed it to a female member of his squad who was far more martially adept than he was. On some fundamental level, Ithuriel was relieved - guilty at the idea of putting his own desires first, but relieved. In order to save face, however, he felt that he had to pretend to be outraged - his family deserved these accolades by virtue of his service, and he would [i]not[/i] be denied.

Ithuriel very publicly confronted his commanding officer, Vistaeria Rhys'alamot, and unleashed a veritable tirade of misogynistic, hateful vitriol at her - how women were given a free pass due to the fact they shared a sex with the God-Queen, about how females were more likely to succeed in the military due to the fact almost all Exeo were female, and even when a male Exeo was made they were forced to imbue a [i]female[/i] with their power. He even added in a comment about the God-Queen being utterly useless, and that they'd have been better served by a God-King who could truly guide their people. Ithuriel drew upon his deepest reserves of anger and resentment, and though he didn't mean any of what he said the front he presented was extraordinarily convincing. After he finished, panting and gasping with the exertion and spittle drooling down his chin, Vi let loose a carefully held breath and punched Ithuriel in the face with such force that she broke his jaw in seven separate places. The beating that Ithuriel proceeded to get was legendary to the point that tales of it are still told in the academy, and when Vi finally stopped Ithuriel was a hair's breadth from death.

It was in that moment that Ithuriel learned how [i]intoxicating[/i] pain could be. Though bloodied and broken, Ithuriel was filled with ecstasy of the most phenomenal kind - his inspiration for art kindled in a way that he had never known before. Though consciousness soon escaped him and he did not recover for months, the flame that Vi lit inside him refused to be extinguished. Though she would never know it and would likely despise him for as long as they both lived, Ithuriel was secretly thankful to her, almost exalting her as a God-Queen in his own delirious way.

As he lay on the ground, Ithuriel felt a foreign surge of vis enter him [i]violently[/i]. As his power swelled, he was filled with the voice of a being that called itself the God-King, and said that his speech had roused it so much that it had decided to imbue him with power. Before he could protest, the sudden force of will of the God-King forced its way into his mind and what little coherence he had left in that moment shattered into thousands of fragments. It took all of Ithuriel's willpower to hold on to the few aspects of his personality that survived the infusion, and all he managed to retain was his love for art, his newfound masochism, and his immense respect for Vi. Everything else was swept away, and as he finally let go of his tenuous hold on consciousness the nefarious influence of the God-King seeped into his mind and infused his broken body with immense power.

Ithuriel awoke months later, his mind utterly and irrevocably broken. While he lay in dark and dreaming slumber, the ghastly essence of the God-King had all but taken over his mind - and it filled him with a rage both foreign and inexplicably his own. He lashed out violently, escaping the facility in which he'd been recovering and seeking out the nearest Bridge with an unholy fervor. Upon arrival, he slaughtered the entire security team with his newfound power and the element of surprise and crossed over into Medius, where he slaughtered the security team on that side also. Though impelled by the dark urges of the God-King, Ithuriel managed to largely keep to himself through a strict regiment of self-inflicted pain. Soon, he built up both an unnatural resistance and a mental tolerance to the ecstacy it provided him with, and the windows of clarity amidst the haze of the foreign will invading his own grew shorter and shorter. In order to keep his focus, Ithuriel joined the International Hunter's Organization, and with the power of the God-King found himself [i]quite[/i] adept at slaying basically whatever they put in front of him. Though he by no means lived a life of means, Ithuriel quickly earned enough money to get established in Medius and crafted himself a new weapon: a flail, with spikes of vis-infused platinum, to both enhance his own pain and to effectively annihilate enemies. He became well known for his brutal style of combat, finding an acceptable middle ground between himself and the God-King in the haze of pain he kept himself in constantly.

Nowadays, Ithuriel tries to hang on to himself through his art. While he still takes somewhat regular contracts from IHO, he spends most of his time creating masterpieces to focus his will and desperately prevent the metaphorical beast inside him from taking over permanently. Somehow, Ithuriel has found a certain clarity within the madness that rages inside of him, and uses that as an anchor. His latest work of art is an enormous mural of a female soldier in battle, clearly Prae, cleaving through the ranks of what look to be feral Licentia of some description, and is displayed proudly on the side of a disused building in the entertainment district of Ominar. The work is titled "A Woman Scorned", and has only the letters VI at the bottom - whether this means six or Vistaeria is something only Ithuriel knows.[/hider]

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[hider=Great Suffering][b]Great Suffering[/b]

Ithuriel wields an enormous flail, approximately six feet tall, with three heads that are each approximately three feet long. The chains that connect the heads to the base of the flail are spiked and serrated, intended to cause as much pain and draw as much blood as possible, and are heavily imbued with Ithuriel's vis. Years of self-flagellation has left the vis-infused platinum that comprises the weapon a dark reddish brown in colour naturally, though the flail is almost always dripping with fresh blood. The heads of the flail are metallic rings, each of which has seven extremely sharp hooks dangling from it. These are all made of vis-infused platinum, and though do little in the way of blunt impact damage (save that naturally occurring from the strength with which the flail is swung), the hooks are sharp enough to pierce through even the toughest flesh.

The shaft of the flail is made of vis-infused tempered steel, and has many grooves running through it that allow Ithuriel's blood to flow freely. The steel is the same blood-soaked colour as the platinum chains and head, and has hollow tubes within that contain Ithuriel's blood to allow him to extend his telekinetic abilities to the flail. While the flail is largely too unwieldy to manipulate as if through true telekinesis, Ithuriel is able to generate absurd amounts of force with it, and can telekinetically control the hooks with a great deal of precision provided he is not focusing on anything else.[/hider]

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- Monstrously strong
- Unbelievable Tolerance to Pain
- Extreme resistance to damage
- Martially Adept
- Enormous reserve of stamina

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- Fragile mental state
- Difficulty in resisting compulsion or mind-altering effects
- Talented Artist/Sculptor
- Extreme Masochism

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[b]Vis-infused Blood[/b]

Unlike most beings, Ithuriel has an extraordinary amount of vis flowing through his blood. A minimal amount runs through his ostium, limiting his ability to use traditional spellcraft, but vastly enhancing his Haemokinesis. Additionally, Ithuriel is able to produce an extraordinary amount of blood by expending his vis - and when he goes below the amount of blood necessary to function, his vis is automatically converted into blood until he regains functionality. Due to the influence of the God-King, Ithuriel only needs to expend small amounts of vis to create a very significant amount of blood. By virtue of this, Ithuriel is immune to any form of disease, infection, poison, or other metabolically active compound that he knows about.

[b]Vis Sense[/b]

Ithuriel's vis sense is fairly accurate, though he still suffers the same limitations as most normal Prae do when it comes to the detection of hybrids. His vis sense is particularly accurate at close ranges, and combined with his martial experience provides him with a strong insight into the flow of battle.

[b]Blood Sense[/b]

Due to the influence of the God-King and Ithuriel's natural predilection towards blood, Ithuriel has developed the ability to sense the blood running through a being's veins (or any other vital fluid movement through them, such as water in plants). This sense is independent of each of his other senses, though it can be used in combination with his vis sense in order for him to keep track of any blood shed during a fight. This sense extends to the heartbeat of those around him, though he can only accurately track the heartbeat of up to three individuals at a time.

[b]Haemokinesis[/b]

Ithuriel's natural telekinesis is restricted almost entirely to blood, though his command over it is almost peerless. Ithuriel has complete control over his own blood, and is able to augment it with varying efficacy dependent upon the amount of vis contained within it. Ithuriel is able to alter his blood between solid and liquid, and is able to crystallise the blood if he wishes. If Ithuriel's blood is within an object, his control extends to that object for as long as his blood is within it. If Ithuriel is able to mix his blood with another being's (or add it to whatever fluid flows through their body), he is able to gradually wrest control of their blood. While his blood is within a being he loses the ability to manipulate its state of matter, and can only control it while it is within 25 feet of him. If Ithuriel can replace 51% of somebody's blood with his own, he is able to completely control their physical actions (does not extend to anything requiring vis), but is unable to control any other blood for the duration.

Additionally, Ithuriel may infuse his blood into other liquids, allowing him to wrest control of them provided they contain no vis currently controlled by another sentient being.

[b]Vis Dolens[/b]

Literally 'painful vis', Ithuriel is able to convert his vis into a unique toxin that causes absolutely excruciating pain in anyone exposed to it. The toxin lingers in the bloodstream and in any wounds that it is introduced to, enhancing any pain felt by the target five-fold (and himself tenfold) and creating an anticoagulating effect that prevents the blood of the target from clotting. Ithuriel's blood runs rampant with this toxin, and those that come into contact with it are infected through their skin. The more the toxin accumulates, the stronger the effect.

[hider=Manifest State]

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In Ithuriel's manifested state, his body and blood are ignited in a deep red flame that stems from his blood and his skin blackens. The flame is most prominent in the core of his chest, and crackles angrily with energy. He also manifests a set of [url=https://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/castlevania/images/1/19/DemonicWings.png/revision/latest?cb=20140323091929]wings[/url], comprised primarily of sloughed off blackened flesh and the fire that comprises his manifested state.

Ithuriel becomes able to ignite the vis within his blood and objects or individuals that his blood comes into contact with, consuming the blood but creating a flame that hungrily devours any vis it comes into contact with, as well as causing extreme pain due to the toxin created by Vis Dolens. In his manifested state, Ithuriel is also capable of drawing the vis from his blood and generating the red flame independently, and he also coats his flail in the flame for the duration of his manifestation. 

While Ithuriel is ordinarily durable, in his manifested state his body becomes almost impenetrable through force alone and he is able to heal any wounds he may have by absorbing any extant blood or by consuming his flames currently burning using external vis, though this does not replenish his vis nor allow him to extend his manifested state. Ithuriel can maintain his manifested state for up to three hours due to extended practice and the influence of the God-King.

Out of combat, Ithuriel can choose only to manifest his wings, which causes a negligible amount of vis drain.[/hider][/hider]