After much delay, finally got the lad sorted out. [hider=The Lad] [list][*][u][b]Name[/b][/u]: Kilian Halloran [*][u][b]Age[/b][/u]: 33 [*][u][b]Gender[/b][/u]: Male [*][u][b]Appearance[/b][/u]: [img]https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d2/54/bf/d254bfba50f19346d169ab5c81b20b51.png[/img] [*][u][b]Personality[/b][/u]: Kilian is a generally amicable individual, pleasant at first discussion and, by and large, it is an accurate assessment. Between practicing an art that takes time and practice, as well as having a smaller base of practitioners, and the family tradition of deliberately avoiding being embroiled in conflicts with other families, Kilian has a generally pleasant, almost laissez faire outlook on life that permeates everything he does. His only real concern beyond an intense focus on not just replicating Runes but mastering the oldest of their kind is survival. This means that Kilian is a patient man first and foremost once someone insists on prying past the general pleasantness of his daily demeanor, one who has no trouble or qualms with simply waiting for the next opportunity if it means safeguarding his own wellbeing and knowledge. There is no such thing as an unmissable opportunity, not if it costs one their life. After all, what good is anything one could desire if they don't live long enough to collect on the matter? This creates a dangerous mix of pleasant pragmatism, seeing no action as anything other than 'just business' when it comes to life. No action is out of the question, no deal beyond considering, if it meaningfully advances his goals without breaking the rule he keeps for himself, that nothing he does should keep him from his long term goals. Any action he takes keeps this in mind, so while one minute he might be an ally, the next he has no qualms stabbing someone in the back should the need arise, genuine in his apologetic remarks after such an event. It truly is just business, and he would expect nothing less of anyone else should the positions be swapped. [*][u][b]Skills[/b][/u]: [list] [*] Medical Training - Kilian sees this as a necessity when it comes to dealing with the Witchcraft his father preferred to teach him. He has learned to clean and stitch wounds, set bones, treat the ill and otherwise handle most common ailments one might stumble across with enough time and effort. [*] Physically Fit - Also part of his training, Kilian has learned to not only be in good physical shape, but durable as well, bouncing back from injuries, both self inflicted and otherwise. He knows how to box, though more as a hobby than anything else, preferring to defend himself using his Runes when able. [/list] [*][u][b]Abilities[/b][/u]: [center][b]Quality of Circuits:[/b] B [b]Quantity of Circuits:[/b] B [b]Elemental Affinity:[/b] Fire, Wind [b]Attribute:[/b] Sacrifice, Conversion[/center] [list] [*] Magecraft - Kilian is the descendent of two distinct branches of the Halloran family, spending half of his upbringing with one, and half with the other, learning magecraft from both and combining their preferred Thaumaturgical systems into an art of his own, one that he has spent his entire adult life refining and improving upon. [*] Runecraft - His mother's side of the family prefers Runes, one that Kilian took a natural shine to. Having access to the family archive of Modern replicas of runes, the goal of half the family is finding the Primordial Runes, and rather than simply replicate them, utilize them to their fullest. Kilian is no exception to this, having scarified numerous runes across his body as well as items, using a sacrifice of his flesh and blood to empower each rune beyond what his magical circuits could normally provide, meshing witchcraft with his runes. Notably, the following runes are scarified on his person: [list] [*] Gandr - Amplified by scarification along each index finger, Kilian is capable of producing Finn Shots with impacts equivalent to a shotgun blast, typically staggering each shot by alternating hands. However, he can't restrain the power of these shots, due to the use of Witchcraft as part of the process of preparing the runecraft for use. While normally lacking a rune, the scarification is of a family design that is designed to amplify weaker family member's potential, or amplify a potent member even further. [*] Raido - Scarified on his calves, Kilian can invoke these runes to temporarily boost both his ability to move and traverse an area, both in speed and in efficiency, for the duration of the effect. The longer the need, the more energy they end up requiring. [*] Ehwaz - Scarified along the inward side of Kilian's arms, they act to harden his arms and hands, providing durability far beyond what flesh and blood could, to the point of being able to stop mundane blades without breaking the skin, though much like Raido, require a constant source of energy to maintain the effects of for longer than short bursts. [*] Sowilo - Scarified into his palms, Kilian can invoke the runes to create fire out of thin air. Normally blue in coloration, reflecting the heat, he can use the conjured flames in a variety of uses, both combative and mundane. [*] Tiwaz - Scarified over his heart, Kilian had this prepared as a failsafe should he find himself unable to evade harm. Tiwaz projects a barrier in response to impending trauma, protecting him when he can't evade an attack, though the barrier can only sustain so much damage before failing and requiring Kilian to restore it, either naturally over a rest period or more immediately through a sacrifice of blood. [/list] [*] Black Magic: Witchcraft - Kilian learned this system from his father's side of the family, and while he does not pursue its deeper mysteries like them, has learned to blend it with his runecraft and Attributes to empower his abilities as a magus. Used in a supporting role, the focus on the sacrifice of flesh and blood comes to the forefront. Runes are either scarified or made with spilt blood mixed into their creation, willingly given blood even more potent in effect, allowing effects normally beyond what Kilian could normally sustain. In a pinch, he can spill fresh blood on his runes to boost them even further, though obviously too much of this manner of amplification will be lethal. [/list] [*][u][b]Assets[/b][/u]: [list] [*] Mystic Code: Ceallraí - The trinket that hangs from behind his left ear, Ceallraí is a rather conventional Mystic Code that has a certain amount of Kilian's blood stored within it, and whenever used in conjunction with either his runes or witchcraft can be used to attain the effects of a blood sacrifice without actually spilling his own blood. He can only store five charges at most currently within the trinket, and recharging them requires a blood sacrifice, but doing so safely after the fact is far easier than during a dire situation. [*] Mystic Code: Cothromaíocht - A pair of rings, perfectly fitted for Kilian's middle fingers, do nothing on their own, even when supplied with magical energy. They require the activation of a rune along with the empowering of the rings to have an effect, allowing Kilian to alter the normal effects of a rune. His Finn Shots, for example, can be converted into an amplification of a thrown punch, the entire force condensed into a single point of impact. The further a departure from the intended use of a rune, the more taxing the effect, to the point that they often get used in tandem with Ceallrai to offset the increased exertion imposed by Cothromaíocht. [*] Mundane Assets - Kilian has a modest amount of funds on available to him at any given time, for dealing with the world as a whole, often times converting the funds to those appropriate for the region or country he might be visiting at any given time. He also has his assorted collection of scarification tools, as well as a small pocket knife specifically prepared for a ritualistic use in witchcraft. [/list] [*][u][b]Brief Backstory[/b][/u]: Kilian Halloran is the latest in a long running family of magi, though being the firstborn son, and inevitable head, of the somewhat recent, by magus terms, marriage of two different families into one has forced him to lead a somewhat odd life. Spending his entire childhood training and studying under both halves of the family he would lead, Kilian would learn to uniquely wield both halves of the family traditions in order to effectively lead them when the time came. Granted, this would not be for quite some time since, perhaps fortunately, the current family leadership had many, many years left in their lives before even considering stepping away from the reigns, let alone dying. This left Kilian fairly free to pursue his own studies. Despite initial reservations, Kilian aligned himself with the Thule Society as many in his family had prior. The long standing membership of the group did give him some advantages during his studies, although convincing fellow members to even cooperate often took a significant amount of effort and negotiation. Kilian grew to loath any dealings with his fellows in the Society in a formal regard, often spending great deals of time abroad chasing rumors, proof of theories, and seeking knowledge of lost or forgotten runes. Nominally he also cooperated with the Thule Society when the need arose, assisting each other and slowly prying what secrets he could from their tight fisted grip. Never mind that Rune Magecraft was already niche, it was a hassle enough getting them to share even basic information on runes he could demonstrate knowledge of already. Kilian treated the appearance of the Command Seals as a nuisance, first and foremost, as he had been in the middle of a rather promising, or so he had hoped, series of investigations in Scandinavia when they appeared. However, it seemed that there was advantage to be gained from participating in this contest after all. While some in his family had made a variety of suggestions on wishes he could make, he took a longer looking, more pragmatic look. He didn't need to win to benefit from the contest, though obviously the Wish could very readily accelerate his learning and mastery of Rune magecraft beyond what he could attain in a single lifetime. Even if he found himself in a situation that would prevent him from winning the wish, he could no doubt make useful discoveries and, circumstances willing, allies who owed him for favors granted during the contest. With that practical consideration in mind, how could he refuse the summons the Command Seal made?[/list] [/hider]