[hider=CRAWLING in my skin] [hider=Medium: Alex Kozlov] [color=ffcccc]Name:[/color] Alexander Kozlov [color=ffcccc]Age:[/color] 15 [color=ffcccc]Normal Appearance:[/color] [hider=Unassuming Loser][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/a547c311-6dfc-4c91-a4ac-b6d5615780f1.jpg[/img][/hider] Alex stands at about 5'10", with a thin figure that possesses the beginnings of lean musculature, reminiscent of someone that had only recently gotten tired of being called scrawny and decided to hit the gym. His hair is usually unruly and bleached to a stark platinum, and his eyes are a dark brown that appear almost black without direct lighting. [color=ffcccc]Medium Appearance:[/color] [hider=Caution: Sharp Edges][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/d015ca93-bf21-41ed-94d8-45269f6b3da2.jpg[/img][/hider] While transformed, Alex's hair reverts to its natural brunette and his body bulks up a tad to a more respectable size, though he's still hardly imposing. He dons a padded, high-collared jacket, reinforced along the shoulders, forearms, and chest with protective plating and adorned with scuffed metal trim that hardly even reflects light that hits it. His glasses are replaced with the edgy visage of a human skull, which to his relief inexplicably still corrects his eyesight. [color=ffcccc]Channeling Abilities, Spells, Stats, etc.:[/color] Alex's catalyst takes the form of a longsword forged of dark, tarnished metal. Strikes wrought with the weapon leave a festering, necrotizing wound in flesh and leave inorganic materials in a state of age and corrosion around the point of impact. While Alex gains some of The Ram's sheer physicality to bolster his strength and general stamina, his bladework still is mostly dependent on cues given by the spirit at this point, rather than practiced skill. As for more magical abilities, his touch can degrade and weaken beings he makes contact with. Quick taps can induce minor damage and malaise, where prolonged contact results in an area of rot and atrophy that creeps outward from the point of impact, until the target wastes away into nothing but dust, should the touching hypothetically last forever. Alex can extend the range of this ability by extending fungoid hyphae from his hands or catalyst, which act as prehensile tendrils that adhere to their targets and corrode them, albeit at a slower rate. [color=ffcccc]Grade:[/color] 10th [color=ffcccc]Personality:[/color] Until recently, if one were to ask anyone how they'd describe Alex Kozlov, they'd either respond with "Who?" or give a listless description of a meek boy that kept to himself most of the time. While he's still unpopular and hardly achieving cult leader-levels of charisma, he'd gained a great deal of confidence seemingly overnight. Alex is still fairly quiet and doesn't go out of his way to socialize, though he's eager to talk to people when approached - almost pathetically so - and is rare to show any intentional rudeness unless the other party initiates it. He shows a great deal of reverence when interacting with his familiar, going so far as it address it by honorifics like 'my Lord' at times. He's aware that the spirit doesn't hold all of the cards in their Pact, though he views The Ram as a being that is far beyond him and has yet been generous to him, and thus believes his admiration is warranted. [color=ffcccc]Background:[/color] Alex was born the youngest son of a family of five on the West Coast. His parents divorced when he was 11, and Alex moved with his mother and older sister to Lakewood while his other sibling remained with their father. Alex hadn't exactly been a social butterfly before this, and upon moving to a new school he found himself easy prey for bullies with his timid mannerisms and lack of friends. It didn't help that he started dyeing his hair around this time either - he thought it looked cool, others disagreed. His middle school career was mostly dominated with being picked on or occasionally slapped around, though he was never beat up enough for anyone to warrant it a serious problem, even if his self esteem suffered horribly in the meantime. Alex lacked the willpower or strength to stand up for himself, so he simply let the bullying happen; he didn't know what to do otherwise. This lessened in high school, as it seemed his tormentors had simply grown bored of him, though very few wished to associate with Alex given the social suicide it would entail. He held acquaintanceships with classmates at most, and no one he'd consider a genuine friend. This changed upon the night he forged his pact with The Ram. Alex, of course, was not deluded enough to think some eldritch horror of death and decay would lower itself to be his friend, but the spirit offered motivation to him in its own gruff way. Their pact gave him a purpose and sense of security, no one could harm him - mortal or otherwise. His confidence skyrocketed in the following weeks; he started working out, he stopped being afraid of conversation, he was even willing to tell bullies off when they insulted him (and luckly, has yet to be punched for it), though he remained secretly wary of the supernatural threats that The Ram continuously assured him would be coming. [/hider] [hider=Spirit: The Ram That Heralds Winter's Coming] [color=cc0000]Spirit Name:[/color] The Ram That Heralds Winter's Coming (Usually shortened to 'The Ram' by Alex; possibly an epithet and not a true name) [color=cc0000]Spirit Classification:[/color] Guardian [color=cc0000]Spirit Personality:[/color] The Ram is a spirit of decay; it embodies the death of nature so that old life may return to the soil and give way for something new to sprout. The spirit speaks to mortals in demands and condescensions, but it does not outright despise humanity. In its mind, the fall of spiritkind was merely a state that they must suffer in order to be born again, much like a tree in the winter. While concerned mostly with destruction, it is not wholly malevolent; the absence of life entirely makes creation impossible. It only seeks to destroy that which can be replaced by something greater. At present, it sees no better target than its fellow spirits - they are old, and their power would be fitting fuel for The Ram's renewal. [color=cc0000]Spirit Appearance:[/color] [hider=Huge Image][img]https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/000/369/611/large/jorge-benedito-dark-faun-00.jpg?1432301926[/img][/hider] The Ram appears as a hulking mass of gnarled plantlife, looking as though a tree had grown roughly in the shape of a man before it died and started rotting. The roots converge at the spirit's head, which is covered by - or perhaps composed of - the skull of a ram, toting a sizeable rack of horns. Looking into any of the skull's orifices reveals only a cold, empty void. As it moves, The Ram sheds leaves in various shades of autumnal red, which shrivel and decay into nothingness before they ever touch the ground. [color=cc0000]Sealed Appearance:[/color] When sealed, The Ram takes on the form of a tarnished silver ram's head medallion that Alex keeps tucked under his shirt at all times. The spirit can also appear as an unsettling black sheep with eyes that seem to look right through whomever they gaze upon, though this is far less inconspicuous and thus a form rarely adopted by the spirit. [color=cc0000]Summoning Abilities and Stats:[/color] The Ram fights up close and personal, using its impressive physical strength to batter the opponent into submission and then rot it into nothingness with a mass of tendrils that emerge from within The Ram's plantlike body to bind their target in a more brutal variant of Alex's wasting touch. It can additionally rub spores from its body off on those it nears, which germinate on contact to entrap the victim in a mycelium of tendrils that continue to decay the target without The Ram's continuous touch. It possesses a great deal of stamina, which helps it greatly as the battle drags on and its withering abilities diminish the enemy's strength. Nevertheless, the spirit is limited by range in most cases and cannot extend its tendrils more than a few feet from its body at most. [color=cc0000]Spirit Charge:[/color] Not Attained [/hider] [color=ffcccc]Weakness and Limitations:[/color] The Ram's abilities are limited first and foremost by range. If it or its Channeler cannot make contact with their opponent, none of their withering abilities can go into effect, and they do not possess any particularly effective modes of movement to close the gap and counteract this. The mycelial tendrils that Alex and The Ram employ to atrophy their opponent can only extend their reach by a few feet at most, and though they have good tensile strength, they aren't very resilient to damage and can be easily severed by sharp implements. While The Ram itself is quite physically strong, the strength Alex gains while channeling hardly even clears the threshold of superhuman, and is more on par with an impressive athlete. [hider=Contract]Alex awoke in a verdant forest - or, at least he thought he awoke there; he didn't remember how he got there. Then again, he didn't remember falling asleep outside either, nor could he think of a reason why he'd ever be this deep in a forest to begin with. He must've been dreaming, but... everything felt so real. It was quiet though, almost eerily so, and there was a distinct mildewy stench in the air. The sound of heavyset footsteps split the silence shortly after Alex had gotten his bearings. When he turned toward the source, he saw only a horned silhouette lumbering toward him. A bear? No, bears don't walk on two legs. Bigfoot? No, he wasn't real. Right? Right? The stench grew stronger as the figure approached. As it made its way into the clearing, the grass beneath its feet started to wilt, and the trees in its wake shed their leaves as though fall had miraculously come and passed into winter in a matter of a few seconds. Even more dead leaves fell from the figure itself, desiccating into dust even faster than the foliage from the trees. It stood at least a head taller than Alex, if not more, and looked more like it was covered in decaying tree bark than any kind of skin. It focused its gaze - could he even call it a gaze? It was a fucking skull, it had no eyes - down on Alex, regarding him coolly as the forest continued to die around them. Alex alone was immune to the effect, and though he didn't want to stick around to test how long that would last, he found himself paralyzed by the haunting stare of the skull-thing's eyeholes. By the time the creature spoke, the once-lush greenery around them had degraded into lifeless shades of brown and gray. The trees now stood as withered husks of rotting wood, and even the sun itself seemed to dim behind a sudden overcast. [color=cc0000][i]'You grow pale, human, but you needn't despair. You possess more worth alive than dead.'[/i][/color] The monster spoke but did not speak. No words were uttered, but Alex heard them clearly. [color=ffcccc]"What... what are you?"[/color] He stammered out in response. Gathering information was all he could think to do. The thing's visage was so terrifying he couldn't even cower, let alone run. Maybe that was a good thing. Flinching never helped before. [color=cc0000][i]'I am the reason your kind once feared to walk the wilderness alone at night.'[/i][/color] Very comforting. [color=cc0000][i]'I am the death that takes your world every autumn so that it may rise again in the spring, I am The Ram That Heralds Winter's Coming.'[/i][/color] The last words boomed more heavily in his mind than the others, but none of that told him anything. He wasn't sure if he should dare ask more. [color=cc0000][i]'I have a proposition for you,'[/i][/color] The Ram That Hera- The Ram continued, [color=cc0000][i]'It has been far too long since my kind walked this earth as anything more than a pathetic shadow of our former glory. The time of our renewal is nigh. You will aid me in this.'[/i][/color] He would... what? [color=ffcccc]"I-I don't think I follow."[/color] [color=cc0000][i]'A deal, mortal, a pact. You are weak. I will make you strong. In return, you will do the same for me. Your soul burns brightly - it is nourishment. I will shield it from others who would feast upon it with far less restraint than I.'[/i][/color] That hardly sounded tempting to Alex. Especially when the offer was being extended by something that introduced itself as something humans used to fear. It certainly didn't look friendly. He'd heard about spirits before, of course, and he'd seen people talk about them online, but he'd just assumed it was creepypasta garbage meant for cheap scares. Was it true they ate people? Was he tasty to these things? [color=cc0000][i]'You are unconvinced,'[/i][/color] The Ram concluded, [color=cc0000][i]'Very well. Tell me your desires, that I may grant them. Finding another better suited to syncronize with will be tiresome.'[/i][/color] What [i]did[/i] he even want? Friends? This thing wasn't going to be his friend. How old even was it? Hundreds, thousands, [i]millions[/i] of years old? At this point, all Alex wanted was to wake up and forget this weird dream ever happened. [color=ffcccc]"Wh-what if I won't do it?"[/color] His knees were shaking, the only bit of movement his body could muster. He felt sick. This thing would kill him for his defiance. He could barely stand up to mean high schoolers, why was he playing games with this veritable god? [color=cc0000][i]'Then you will be food for the next wayward shade that deems you worth the effort to consume. I've scared off other spirits that hungered for you, I shall not do so again. This deal is mutually beneficial. I would protect you as my charge, offer you the chance to stand over your world as a king as it is reborn from its own ashes, what qualms could you possibly have?'[/i][/color] The Ram's tone did not belie a hint of irritation. It stood patiently, unmoving, willing to barter for however long it took to secure a host. [color=ffcccc]"Something tried to eat me?!"[/color] [color=cc0000][i]'Yes. The decision is simple; life or death. I was under the impression your kind always chose the former.'[/i][/color] If it wanted to hurt him, wouldn't it have done so already? It made threats, but not of its own power. It claimed to want to be his protector. He'd never had one of those before. Maybe he would've liked one. Bullies would've shat themselves if they saw this monstrosity following him around. [color=ffcccc]"Can you... can you protect me from anything I want?"[/color] [color=cc0000][i]'As a pact would make your demise unpleasant for me, yes,'[/i][/color] The Ram uttered bluntly. Alex felt its unerring gaze lessen in intensity. It was pleased with this development; it had to be. [color=ffcccc]"Then I..."[/color] What the hell was he doing? [color=ffcccc]"I..."[/color] He didn't like being weak, or alone, or [i]eaten[/i]. This was as close to a miracle as he was going to get in life, [color=ffcccc]"I accept!"[/color] He felt lightheaded at first. The Ram didn't respond, it simply held out its gnarled hand - slowly, nonthreateningly. Alex didn't remember what happened after that. He woke up for real in his bed this time, feeling a cold weight on his chest. It was metal; mostly flat, oddly shaped, engraved. Alex held it closer to his face for a better look. An image of a ram's head. Eerily similar to the skull he'd just seen in his dream. [color=cc0000][i]'Do not lose that, mortal. We are of no use to each other separated.'[/i][/color] The Ram's voice-that-wasn't-a-voice echoed in his mind. Like a literal waking nightmare. [/hider] [/hider] Here's a sheet, tell me if you need anything changed or clarified.