[hider=The Infidel] Name: Jonah Hawkstrong Nicknames: The Mad Scholor Age: Appears to be mid 20's (is actually 27) Gender: Male Level: 10 Class: Warlock (Great Old One Patron) Specializations: Magical Research, Buffing/Debuffing Magic Affinity: Light and Dark. [hider=Appearance:] A man in his mid twenties, appearance wise Jonah almost appears to be a stereotypical man of knowledge who's more focused on uncovering the secrets of the world rather then such minor things as politics, religion or his own personal health. He is generally seen wearing a robe that is clearly well tailored to provide protection against both the cold and extreme heat (as well as a bit of padding to protect against minor weapons), but has clearly been worn down through use and age so that it is now just a rather tattered brown color. Around his rather lean waist (someone had clearly gotten into the habit of missing out on meals while his mind was elsewhere) is a rather basic and tattered looking belt, connected to which is a surprisingly well made and maintained looking dagger covered in alien, painful for most to gaze upon magical markings that seem to alter and shift on their own. Jonah himself has rather pale white skin, with dark and messy hair that has been intentionally kept short so as to be out of the way. Likewise his beard is short and unkempt as well, since he semi regularly shaves it off when he remembers to do so or it just starts to bug the hell out of him. His eyes are a dark blue color and rest behind a pair of basic looking spectacles to aid him in reading. [/hider] [hider=Biography:] Jonah was born the bastard son of a newly risen lesser nobleman and one of his maids. Count Hawkstrong's first marriage had failed to produce anything in the way of an heir and due to a very real concern that his well earned title and holdings would be lost to the King upon his death without someone to inherit, he was forced to legitimize Jonah as his son. However, being the heir to the holdings of House Hawkstrong would not be Jonah's fate. When he was two years old, the first Countess Hawkstrong suffered a tragic accident and died falling down a flight of stairs, breaking her neck and killing her before help could arrive. After a period of mourning, Count Hawkstrong married again and by the time that Jonah was five years old his little brother Barney was born. Since Barney's claim to the family's holdings was stronger due to be born within wedlock, by succession laws he became the new heir but that left Count Hawkstrong to decide what to do with his first born. He couldn't denounce or [i]lose[/i] Jonah since between having to legitimize a bastard and the tragic lose of his first wife, doing either would completely destroy his prestige at court at it was shaky enough already; While his first wife had died in an accident, much like when such things happened there were whispers that it was the kind of [i]accident[/i] where the victim had been given a... timely bit of assistance? Rumors of murdering his son on top of all that would destroy any credibility he had. At any rate, there was no harm in having a replacement heir in the event that heavens forbid Barney ended up dying at a young age. Entrusting Jonah's education to the court scholar, the young man took to his education like a duck to water. When it was discovered that Jonah had a talent for magic, he was sent to get the best magical education that money and what budding political connections the young House Harkstrong could buy/afford. While Jonah was a wonderful student of magic that any magi would have loved to have since he was bright, curious and had a passion for learning that made teaching him both a joy and frustrating at the same time, the cold harsh truth of the matter was that his actual ability to use magic was... limited. Jonah just didn't have the raw potential of his fellow magical students despite working harder then most of them. At least... not until Jonah did something drastic. Driven to his wits end by the limits of his natural abilities, Jonah started to seek ways to improve his magical potential via unnatural methods. Initially his studies were supervised by one of his favorite instructors who allowed Jonah to start looking at certain forbidden tomes and areas of research since be believed that the fifteen year old was mentally mature enough (and magically weak enough) to do so. However, Jonah quickly found... clues. Little hints and puzzles in the texts he was looking through that suggested sites and troves of knowledge that had been undisturbed by mortal eyes for generations, if not longer. Believing that he had found such a location, he went looking for a method to increase his knowledge and magical prowess. In a way he was successful. He discovered and made contact with Lagoggth. Lagoggth, the great devourer of knowledge, is said to have existed for as long as there have been things to know. Some ancient texts claim that Lagoggth has consumed every truth in the world, and that no fact can be real until Lagoggth has digested the infinite complexities of information and excreted it as simplified fact that mortals can comprehend. It is omniscience given consciousness. Lagoggth still hungers for knowledge, although there is none left that it has not already consumed. For this reason it seeks out mortals, who by their nature know almost nothing and learn new things every day. When Lagoggth makes a pact with a mortal, it means the mortal is allowing it to sit within their minds at all times, vicariously experiencing the rush that comes from learning something new. Lagoggth only offers to make pacts with those who have a thirst for knowledge and a deep appreciation for the fun of learning. Mortals like Jonah. In exchange for letting Lagoggth sit in his mind to experience his love of learning first hand, Jonah was granted magical potential far beyond what his natural limits would have allowed for him in the form of becoming a warlock. When Jonah returned to civilization, he jumped into his studies with a renewed passion that boarded on the manic; While before he had the love of learning and understanding of theory but lacked the magic to actually do anything with that knowledge or to advance to higher studies, now his hard work and dedication was paying off! Jonah's dedication to studying, learning new things and his habit of disappearing to parts unknown with little to no warning for unknown periods of time did not go unnoticed by his peers. The fact that someone who originally lacked the raw magical power to really become anything respected in the field suddenly started to grow into a level of power normally reserved for those gifted with magic after disappearing on a trip to parts unknown was also noticed and started rumors that Jonah had made some sort of deal with powers unknown. Fearing that a powerful magic user was really a servant of some vile, heretical power that was planning on endangering everyone around him, agents of the Church of Heroes were called in to investigate... but found nothing worthy of condemning Jonah of worshiping some dark and dangerous power. Unable to find anything outright heretical or signs that Jonah was planning anything to harm his fellow man, combined with pressure from several very influential magi and a House Hawkstrong that was on the rise (some of which was due to Jonah's own ascension in society) forced the Church to drop the investigation but the incident has not been forgotten by either side. [/hider] --- Preferred Weapon(s): Daggers, magical foci. Appearance of Weapon: [hider=Jonah's Dagger] [img]https://digitalambler.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/img_0063.jpg[/img] [/hider] Abilities of Weapon: Strong Magical Foci - Makes channeling magic much quicker and easier. Knife - Also good for stabbing and cutting things. --- [b]Skills/Abilities:[/b] Name of Skill: Multilingual Abilities of Skill: A lifetime of researching study has allowed Jonah to understand, read and speak in quite a large number of tongues ranging from those used in everyday use to dead langues unknown to most. ------ Name of Skill: Weider/reader of Occult Magics Abilities of Skill: His time studying to be a mage went a long way to developing his ability to read magical writings and runes, but his pact with Lagoggth and the study of more... exotic magical writings has allowed him the ability to cast spells in ways that other magi simply are not able to... as well as read and write in words and runes that they simple cannot understand. Downsides of Skill: Due to his pact with Lagoggth, Jonah is never truly alone inside of his own head. While Lagoggth isn't a very social Elder God, it is prone to giving quests for new knowledge and whispering pieces of interesting but useless triva during Jonah's dreams to peek his curiosity between major discoveries. 'Occult' writings and runes also tend to be drawn in blood, as well as the occasional hazard of bleeding from the eyes when reading it. .......... Name of Skill: Binding Shadows Abilities of Skill: Shadowy, tentacle like tendrils will appear around the target with the intent of binding and restraining the target so that they cannot move. The tendrils do not appear to need a solid surface on which to form, since they have been seen forming in mid air. Depending on intent and the power poured into the spell, more tendrils can be summon to ensnare multiply targets or instead of restraining can be used to constrict and crush the target instead. Downsides of Skill: Most sane people tend to be rather freaked out when they see this spell in use. Certain members of the Church of Heroes would have some rather... pointed questions if they saw it in use. ---- Inventory: Tent, tinderbox, food rations for three days, pack donkey, 20 gold, several journals worth of arcane musings, several blank journals, several jars of ink, sizeable jar of quills. [/hider]