[hider=Ordinary Master (WIP)] [center] [img]https://i.imgur.com/ZifFTBe.png[/img] [h1]Ulrich Magnus Adalbert Rudolfsheim[/h1] [b]Gender:[/b] Male [b]Age:[/b] 59 (turns 60 in a month) [b]Previous Alignment(s): [/b] Clock Tower (Eulyphis) [b]Motivation for the Holy Grail:[/b] The Third[/center] [hider=Personality] Ulrich appears as someone rather calm, cool, and collected. This is not to say that he isn’t, but it masks his rather fiery desire to accomplish something once he has committed. Ulrich is the sort of person who, if there is a leaderboard, he would need to be at the very top. His younger colleagues and students have made sure to keep him away from Video Games because of this, as if Ulrich spent his time in them, it would be a crime to Magecraft everywhere. If an actual real reward is at the end of the leaderboard? Well, few things could really stop him in his pursuit. During his teen years, he was constantly “Employee of the Month” at his part time job. Ulrich is ultimately the kind of person who only truly knows isolation, thus it is really the only sort of interaction he genuinely knows. While he was raised by another family, he was always a bit of an “outsider.” He was able to make friends and the like during his years as a student, but those weren’t TRUE friendships. Or at least, they never felt that way. If he could even feel that way. His romantic life was always fleeting, with himself still never settling down towards the end of his magus youth. His inability to form connections in any meaningful sense has forced him to create a mask of sorts, one which shows the warmth and compassion required by a teacher. It has been noted by Nobles in the Aristocratic Faction that he likely has some sort of ability to switch between personalities, but that isn’t exactly true. Shifting between masks is not anything that special. Hates the Church for fairly obvious reasons. Still a WIP. [/hider] [hider=Biography] The Rudolfsheim family began in the 13th century in the state of Salzburg within the Kingdom of Bavaria. The founder, Rudolf, would establish and begin taking the family down their path towards the root. If a magus could find a method to perfectly “dissect” the Soul, then follow it back, a path to the root would be established. This naturally led Rudolf towards Spiritual Surgery, which was fortunate as his circuits seemed to have been composed to work with it. While Spiritual Surgery was seen as a more barbaric art than something noble, it fit well with the heavy pagan roots of the Alps. After his passing, the family would continue to follow in his footsteps. Being the first generation head, he was not much of a magus, but the seeds he had sown would give birth to one of the most prominent families in the magus world. Soon after their beginning, they would even take a role in politics of the normal world. While not key figures, the Rudolfsheim would play a significant role in Salzburg breaking free from the Kingdom of Bavaria, something they did as a method to court wealth and favors. Establishing relationships and favors with Nobility is something the family would continue to do through the Archbishop of Salzburg, up through the Holy Roman Emperor and Emperor of Austria-Hungary. In the magical world, their ability to court relationships also came into play. Even when they were still a young family, they would find ways to befriend prominent magi. This included many of the early Occultists of the Renaissance, even to figures like Paracelsus. Their positioning in Salzburg, and later Vienna, allowed them to have their finger on the cultural pulse of Europe, both normal and magical. Eventually, the Rudolfsheim would achieve their own greatness, producing successive generations of, minimum, Pride ranked Magi, some of which would go into teaching or faculty positions within the Clock Tower. Around the turn of the 19th century, the family would begin to take spouses of genuine noble families. For all intents and purposes, the family had begun to truly cement itself as a real powerplayer within the magical world. Ulrich’s father was an excellent magus, but a bit of a step down from their family average. His circuits weren’t as high, but more importantly, his mindset was off. He lacked the political grace, nor the mind for complex magical theory. Most importantly, he had no skills in family management and could never hold his temper. In effect, this would end up isolating the family from some of their allies, but also saw numerous branch families cut ties, seeing him as the downfall of the family. Even the higher ups in Clock Tower were seemingly ready to turn their back on him and the family, but in a last ditch effort he accepted a deal with the Bartholmeloi. A simple Dead Apostle hunt was all that was needed to be done to remain in good graces with the Aristocratic faction. Of course, this isn’t actually how it happened. While Ulrich’s father brought together a decent force including all members of the main family, it just wasn’t enough for what would occur. The actual invasion of the Dead Apostle stronghold wasn’t that bad, though it left a few dead and most injured to some degree. The actual problem was the Holy Order showed up a tad bit late, after the fighting had occurred, and had a group of injured magi on neutral ground on their hands. It was a slaughter. As the event occurred during a Dead Apostle Hunt, and on Neutral grounds like Vietnam, there was little the Association could do in regards to bringing it up with the Holy Church. The Rudolfsheim main family was effectively eradicated in that moment. While a few objects were restored, including what remained of the crest, the bulk of the family had died on that die. This event left Ulrich, Age 7, on his own. Ulrich was the heir to a dead legacy, with those taking care him the most loyal of the Rudolfsheim branches. The crest that was returned to him was little better than a family of a handful of generations. A crest that would have taken 20 years or so to fully transfer was done in a few years. The boy himself, on the surface at least, appeared no better than his father in composition. He would stand as a swan song to a once powerful family. Or, that was how it was meant to go. Even at a young age, the boy’s natural intellect showed. The family that took care of him still kept a shred of their influence, and used it to better educate the boy with tudors. He entered the Clock Tower on a scholarship, after he properly demonstrated his control over the humours of course. His time at the academy would be described by him as “boring and uneventful,” though it likely was not the case. Many duels would take place around Ulrich, with his constant string of victories being unheard of. This mostly stemming from the fact that he was a Spiritual Surgeon. Many rumors still circulate around the dormitory he stayed in, most of which stem around how a Surgeon could possibly destroy an entire wing. Ulrich would graduate fairly quickly from the Clock Tower, where he immediately took a spot as an apprentice under the Nuada-Re family. His time at Clock Tower showed the rest of the Association his skills in Spiritual Surgery. It may have been a “barbaric” art, but his skill in it even exceeded those found in the Holy Church. After his years as an apprentice, he spent the following decade tying his ailing family back together. There were rogue branch families, and they needed to be brought back into line. His numerous accolades made it easier, but there were several occasions where force or coercion were needed. In one case in particular, he had to actually hogtie a man. It was probably the most turbulent time in Ulrich’s life. With this finished, Ulrich was in his mid-30’s, and was offered a position to teach a few classes on the fundamentals of Spiritual Surgery. As he actually had nothing better to do, along with him having a renewed desire in Clock Tower politics, he accepted the position. While he still teaches a few introductory courses in Spiritual Surgery, most of his teaching time is spent on the highest of levels. Every few years when the Astromancy department is down a Professor, he’ll pop in to teach a rudimentary course. As a man nearing 60, Ulrich is considered one of the very best at what he does. As a teacher he is mostly beloved, though he is consistently considered a “tough” Professor, consistently getting a 4 or 5 on Dark RateMyProfessor. As a member of the Aristocratic faction, he is feared as being “persuasive,” and a highly regarded asset by those in control. As the scion of a seemingly dead family, he had managed to make a “1” from “0,” something that would likely end him in a History book somewhere. While many of his adventures were in his youth, few have lived quite the life. Now, towards the end of magus' youth, he is looking to settle down and finally continue the Rudolfsheim family. After one last adventure of course. Rumors of the Holy Grail War, an artifact created by the Einzbern to manifest wishes, had begun circulating around his department. Ulrich took an immediate curiosity in it, which forced him to look deeper into it. After making a few calls and reading a few old tomes, he began to understand more of the true nature of the Holy Grail. With that in mind, fighting for it was the only logical thing to do. His life was on the line, but this was likely an effort that could have him realize the family’s goal. Sadly, it meant going to Budapest. . . . . [/hider] ------- [center] [b]Elemental Affinity: [/b] Water [b]Magic Circuit Switch:[/b] I read the Int. Check [b]Number of Magic Circuits:[/b] C [b]Quality of Magic Circuits: [/b] B [b]Magic Crest Age: [/b] 700 Years [b]Magic Crest Quality: [/b] Low [/center] [/hider]