[hr][color=5b8a9a][CENTER][sup][h1][b][center] [sub][color=black]Paedrus Neacal Macleod[/color] [color=5b8a9a]Paedrus Neacal Macleod[/color][/sub][/center] [/b][/h1][/sup] [color=5b8a9a][sup][i]"What time do they have to empathize with us monsters?"[/i][/sup][hr][/color][/CENTER][table][row][/row][row][cell][center][sub][sup][sub][h3][b][color=black] C H A R A C T E R P O R T R A I T[/color] [color=5b8a9a]C H A R A C T E R P O R T R A I T[/color] [/b][/h3][/sub][/sup][/sub][sup]_________________________________________________________[/sup][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/4c8e262f-efc6-4730-b228-b0ebec8ede4e.jpg [/img] [sup]_________________________________________________________[/sup][/center] [/cell][cell][INDENT][sub][sup][sub][h3][b][color=black] C H A R A C T E R P E R S O N A L I T Y[/color] [color=5b8a9a]C H A R A C T E R P E R S O N A L I T Y[/color][/b][/h3][/sub][/sup][/sub][/INDENT][sup]_________________________________________________________[/sup] [COLOR=white][indent] [/indent][/COLOR] [center] [sub][b]|[/b] [color=5b8a9a]Aloof[/COLOR] [b]|[/b] [color=5b8a9a]Cunning[/COLOR] [b]|[/b] [sup]_________________________________________________________[/sup] [b]|[/b] [color=5b8a9a]Observant[/COLOR] [b]|[/b] [color=5b8a9a]Judgemental[/COLOR] [b]|[/b] [sup]_________________________________________________________[/sup] [b]|[/b] [color=5b8a9a]Self-serving[/COLOR] [b]|[/b] [color=5b8a9a]Patient[/COLOR] [b]|[/b][/sub][/center] [INDENT][sub][sup][sub][h3][b][color=black] C H A R A C T E R N O T E S[/color] [color=5b8a9a]C H A R A C T E R N O T E S[/color][/b][/h3][/sub][/sup][/sub][/INDENT][sup]_________________________________________________________[/sup] [color=5b8a9a] [INDENT][hider=][color=#2e2c2c]-[/color] [indent][sub][b][color=5b8a9a] M I S C E L L A N E O U S[/color][/b][/sub] [sup]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ [color=white][color=5b8a9a][b]►[/b] [b]Character Info[/b][/color] [color=5b8a9a]Full Name:[/color] Paedrus Neacal Macleod [color=5b8a9a]Aliases:[/color] Nicholas, Nicky [color=5b8a9a]Birth Place:[/color] Scotland [color=5b8a9a]Age:[/color] 616 [color=5b8a9a]Birthday:[/color] July 18th, 1454 [color=5b8a9a]Gender:[/color] Male [color=5b8a9a]Pronouns:[/color] He/Him [color=5b8a9a]Sexuality:[/color] Yes [color=5b8a9a]Build:[/color] Swimmer’s [color=5b8a9a]Body Modifications:[/color] None [color=5b8a9a]Habits:[/color] Smoking, Drinking [color=5b8a9a]Hobbies:[/color] Smoking, Reading, Gardening, Sudoku [color=5b8a9a]Social Handle:[/color] N/A [color=5b8a9a][b]►[/b] [b]Fears[/b][/color] Religious Leaders Burning at the Stake Supernatural Hunters Barty Dying [color=5b8a9a][b]►[/b] [b]Toxic Traits[/b][/color] Judgmental Selfish Critical [color=5b8a9a][b]►[/b] [b]Likes[/b][/color] Magic Reading Plants Smoking Sex Puzzles Vampires Drinking [color=5b8a9a][b]►[/b] [b]Dislikes[/b][/color] Short lived creatures Gossip Religion Modern Magic Bats Witch Stereotypes Electronics[/color] [/sup] [color=#2e2c2c]-[/color][/indent][/hider] [/INDENT][/COLOR] [INDENT][sub][sup][sub][h3][b][color=black] A B I L I T I E S[/color] [color=5b8a9a]A B I L I T I E S[/color][/b][/h3][/sub][/sup][/sub][/INDENT][sup]_________________________________________________________[/sup] [INDENT][hider=][color=#2e2c2c]-[/color] [indent][sub][b][color=5b8a9a] M A G I C & S K I L L S[/color][/b][/sub] [sup]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ [color=white][color=5b8a9a][b]►[/b] [b]Magic[/b][/color] [i]Source[/i]: Mutant and Witch [i]Type[/i]: Illusion Magic - Nicholas weaves his magic so he can get some gods damned peace and quiet away from the mundane and drab. [color=5b8a9a][b]►[/b] [b]Grimoire[/b][/color] Invisibility - Nicholas makes himself and/or others vanish from sight. Image - Nicholas creates an image of something else that he can manipulate to move. Ventriloquism - Nicholas can create sound or make an active sound seem like it is coming from somewhere else. Reflection - Nicholas creates a multitude of a single image that he can manipulate to move for a short period. Luminosity - Nicholas can create intense light or darkness that does not impede his vision. Pact Magic - Nicholas can forge a magical binding call a Favor that he uses as currency. The intensity of this favor changes based on the original agreement of all parties involved. It creates a small token when complete. Misdirect - Nicholas creates an illusionary replica of himself and casts his senses into it, leaving his body defenseless. Nicholas can move the duplicate and speak through it. Distort - Nicholas can shroud objects and/or people against mundane and magical observation, leaving a strange blur instead. Hex: Hallucination - Nicholas and Barty combine their magic, making a fully immersive illusion that overwhelms all senses. Find Familiar - Nicholas does not currently have a familiar. [color=5b8a9a][b]►[/b] [b]Skills[/b][/color] Horticulture +3 Perception +3 History + 2 Deception +2 [color=5b8a9a][b]►[/b] [b]Languages[/b][/color] Scottish Gaelic English [color=5b8a9a][b]►[/b] [b]Possessions[/b][/color] A pipe (changes daily) Tobacco & Tabacco packer Spell Component Pouch Matches Haven Keys Favors owed to the twins: 2 [/color][/sup][color=#2e2c2c]-[/color][/indent][/hider][/INDENT] [INDENT][sub][sup][sub][h3][b][color=black] P O S T C A T A L O G[/color] [color=5b8a9a]P O S T C A T A L O G[/color][/b][/h3][/sub][/sup][/sub][/INDENT][sup]_________________________________________________________[/sup] [INDENT][hider=][color=#2e2c2c]-[/color] [indent][sub][b][color=5b8a9a] P O S T I N G N O T E S[/color][/b][/sub] [sup]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ [color=white][color=5b8a9a][b]►[/b] [b]Relationship Notes[/b][/color] Barty - Small batch whiskey on the rocks. His brother and the last link he has to his family. Nothing else is more important. Nicholas will sell anyone else down the river to make sure Barty is okay. Varn Croan (Prof.) - Nicholas is least annoyed by the vampire of the Professors, and has found his way into his bed more than once. They do find themselves reminiscing on better times and Nicholas is always willing to spend an evening playing checkers with him. Constance Winthrop - Mocktails only. Unexpected acquaintances. Study together weekly, although they tend to study separate subjects. They enjoy a comfortable silence together that others, including Barty, don’t quite understand. Finley Darling/Dysphoria - Bushwacker, extra cream and simple sugar. An interesting combination, the twins found them when they escaped Otherworld. As someone as old as the twins, Nicholas respects Finely more than most. The twins brought the Fey to Strange Academy to give them time to adjust to this world. Finley is one of the very few that Nicholas considers a friend. Rohan - Coffee, sometimes a splash of whiskey cream. Nicholas appreciates his magic and his respect for nature, but does think his sense of adventure is stunted. Nicholas will keep him in the loop if The Haven gets a different coffee blend. Callaghan - Old Fashioned. A fellow history buff that Nicholas feels comfortable enough to trade stories with. Callaghan's obession with connecting woth himans is insane and Nicholas is trying to convince him to give it up. One of the very few Nicholas considered a friend.[/color] [color=white][color=5b8a9a][b]►[/b] [b]Important Posts[/b][/color] Note/Link Note/Link[/color][/sup] [color=#2e2c2c]-[/color][/indent][/hider][/INDENT] [/cell][/row][/table][/COLOR][hr][center][sub][sup][sub][h3][b][color=black] C H A R A C T E R H I S T O R Y[/color] [color=5b8a9a]C H A R A C T E R H I S T O R Y[/color] [/b][/h3][/sub][/sup][/sub][/center] [hider=Early Life]The Macleod twins are relics of a time long gone, born in the throes of the Renaissance and the rise of the printing press. The twins lived a relatively sheltered life in northern Scotland. Travel was difficult in the 15th century and their coven was content with the village well south of Forres. However with suspicion and fear of the supernatural rising out of Germany and carried on in ink, it wasn’t long until the witch hunts of the mainland spread to the Kingdom of England and beyond. When they were not yet twenty summers old, Elanor Cobham found imprisonment for life for treasonable necromancy and Margery Jourdemayne was burned at the stake in a market square. Both were once well connected and well established in their communities and yet it did not save them. Fear amongst the populace was encouraged and manipulated in a twisted game by the nobility of England and they sent their inquisition north, carrying Kramer’s Malleus Maleficarum. They thought their village safe, nestled quietly in the foothills in the shadow of their mountain. The village traded less, hunted closer to home, and year by year became less and less present in the world. Their magic flourished and the children of the village played without fear and time was meaningless. However, there were enough stories for the inquisition to find it. [/hider] [Hider=Inquisition]They struck at night, the comfort of a century unbothered lulling them to safety. They carried torches and pitchforks and rope and kindling. The stench of burning flesh and the screams of men, women, and children carried across the hills into the uncaring darkness. Their family was not spared this horror. Their parents fought, like the others, but their murderers came prepared and their magic found no hold. A special pendant, bearing the mark of the Inquisition of England, was pressed against their coven and their magic broke and failed and the witches found themselves powerless. If not for the ego of the Priest of Forres, the twins would not have been so lucky as to carry the horrors of their village with them. It was the children they could not bear to see hurt and as the Priest tossed the torch upon their own parents, the twins struck. Illusion and Enhancement, hand in hand, wove the death of all. Fire springing forth, spewing from their parents' mouths, finding purchase in the flesh of friend and foe alike. According to the Inquisition, the Devil himself dragged the village to hell in his wraith and none survived. But the truth was, the twins burned it to the ground. Entranced in their domain, the twins set an uncontrollable blaze to consume the Inquisition and fled with the few survivors they saved. Neither of them were prepared to mourn their people nor handle the grief of those still living. They travelled the Scottish countryside, incorporating a few of their broken coven into new ones each time they stumbled across them until the twins found homes for all.[/hider] [hider=16th and 17th Centuries] Sickened by the murders they committed and terrified of the newly created Church of England, the twins escaped England to the New World with Sir Walter Raleigh and assisted in establishing Roanoke. They were withdrawn and quiet, focused on working and presenting a godly image as they worked to find a way to escape. In 1591, a young girl introduced herself to the twins as a vampire and expressed her interest in turning and controlling the settlers. The twins agreed to help in exchange for their own freedom and kept the settlers calm and controlled until she struck. They disappeared into the wilderness for another two decades and reemerged in 1608, joining the citizens of Jamestown. Their magic ensured questions about their age disappeared on the tongue, kept them well fed and unbothered, even as plague and famine ravaged the settlement. Poor planning had left the colonists without water and poorer tempers wore the relationship with the native people thin. The twins watched without interfering, only stepping in to help with the revolution of 1676 when Nathaniel Bacon ousted Governor Berkley. However, they disappeared when Berkely returned and began hanging those involved. The twins reappeared some short years later in Salem, Massachusetts, where they found a distant relation, a child of one of those they saved many moons ago. They lived peacefully for a decade, before the witch trials started again. The twins watched as their history repeated itself but this time, the saviors they were had long been lost as they themselves condemned their kin to the flames. It had been too easy, when suspicion fell on them, to plant the devils’ iconography on her and invite the Salemites to find it. [/hider] [hider=18th and 19th Century] During the 18th century, the twins shuffled from place to place and avoided the growing tension between England and the colonies. They would eventually find themselves in Boston, working in The Green Dragon Tavern. With the rise in tensions against the Crown, the twins once again found themselves assisting in the growth of revolution. Their magic wove privacy around the founding fathers, illusions making them unnoticeable and enchantment easing the concerns of questioning soldiers. Gossip from the RedCoats were a little louder in the tavern and lips a little looser. In the Siege of Boston towards the end of the revolution, the tavern was burned to the ground and the twins lost their home again. They migrated west with the Louisiana purchase, settling in the melting pot New Orleans had become. When the War of 1812 was declared, the twins decided they would stay out of it and kept to their own business. Intending to stay this time, the twins put down roots. Peadrus entered the workforce as a teacher, using his illusions to age and die as necessary. Again, they decided not to intervene with major events and keep their heads down so they could finally stay in one place. Unfortunately, a threat to their growing home appeared and the twins found themselves stepping in again. In 1815, whispers made their way to the twins that Andrew Jackson was poised to lose his final skirmish. Outnumbered and outgunned again, the British had the upper hand and were poised to strike the next day. Under the cover of darkness, Peadrus slipped the pair behind the British lines and Pàrlan messed with Edward Pakenham’s head. In the morning, the British assault was disorganized and messy, leaving them with 2,000 dead and wounded. Jackson went home a military genius and the twins contently settled back into their lives. It was in the Gilded age that they joined a “coven”. A wealthy plantation owner found fun and mystery in the supernatural and the twins, curious to see if it drew any real bumps in the night, offered to participate. The word coven, the twins realized, was loose indeed and it became more of a gathering of debauchery and decadence. Some real powers floated in and out: a moody Asgardian goddess, a vampire, the occasional sorcerer or witch, a demon, an eldritch horror, a Moon Knight, and even a Ghost Rider once. They passed a decade in a pleasurable haze of drugs, sex, and wealth until Marcus. Marcus was an easy sort, energetic and eager and the twins were drawn to him like a moth to a flame. The three of them became close friends and eventually, they opened up about their magic and found acceptance. Marcus joined them at their home, broke bread with them, and even helped Peadrus at the schoolhouse. He’d blown in from the growing west coast, scars waved away as civil war injuries, and slotted himself perfectly into their lives. Which was why, when he tried to kill them, it shattered their trust forever. Marcus was a vampire hunter, a descendant of Sir Walter Raleigh, who had discovered the truth and swore to save his people from the clutches of the Devil. The twins part had been discovered through a mix of magic and torture and Marcus was tasked with eradicating them. The resulting fight was entirely one-sided, the twin’s magic unsuited for direct engagements, but their spells managed to find purchase and they broke his mind, leaving him at a workhouse where he’d work out the rest of his miserable life in deplorable conditions.[/hider] [hider=20th and 21st Centuries] The Twins followed the Klondike gosh rush, settling in Seattle for a while. Although they had worked odd jobs at the beginning, the twins opened their own speakeasy in 1920 as the aggressive prohibitions against alcohol were signed into law. Although their magic was used in a pinch, the pair more often sold out their competitors to the authorities (and offered a hefty discount) to ensure their business was safe and enshrined as a center of the underground community. After the end of prohibition, they stayed until the end of World War 2 and sold their bar. The twins found themselves in Memphis, enrolled in a local high school to keep up with the world at large. It was there they met Elvis, a struggling guitarist with a unique hillbilly style and a blend of cultural music that inspired the worst in people. The twins saw the desperation for fame and fed on it, weaving magic behind his back that made the people love him. He walked out of high school signed by a record label and the twins rode his fame, and more, for an easy life. Nothing more than a charm here, a hex there, and drugs, sex, and music numbed everything else. They were… concerned for their stability when Elvis was drafted was unfounded, the early work they did still holding strong with the addition of records made on his leave. They lived on their golden egg, rode it plenty too, up until the early 1970s when they decided to slip out of bed one night and never return. They didn’t hear of his death until 2001. This would repeat over the next few decades, clinging to blossoming talent, building their careers for an easy life, and then abandoning and forgetting them when they moved to their next project. Rarely would the twins stick their necks out or get themselves involved in world affairs - they left no footprint, no tracks or marks, no paperwork for someone to find them. Occasionally, they would rehome a werewolf, get a vampire out of the sun, direct a baby witch to the proper herbs and books, but each time they charmed their memories, or never let them see the real them, so that what happened in New Orleans would never happen again. Of course, whispers of a school for the magically talented reached even them. They believed it a lie, a falsehood circulated by hunters and madmen alike to capture their kind and kill or keep them. They never knew which was worse. But with the itch to settle down again growing, they found themselves back in New Orleans, the French Quarter louder and busier than ever before, and it was true. [/hider] [Hider=Strange Academy] The first year was… difficult. Magic was something woven in backrooms, talked in hushed tones far away from the normal people, kept close and under lock and key. Sharing the art was the first step to dying. The more people who knew a secret, the less it would be kept. They'd learned that lesson in blood and fire and every fiber of their being screamed it was only a matter of time. But the hunters didn't come. Ambition and greed were certainly present, the promise of miracles too tempting for some, but no one turned on each other. The faculty were genuinely interested in advancing magic, the students eager to learn, and it was… good. It was good. Maybe a little too bright, though. It was difficult to trust, to connect to people younger and less narrowed, to see the naivety for the safety it indicated. So, the twins made The Haven. Established up in the Neverish, this replica of their Seattle speakeasy connects directly to the school and is an escape for those who need a place to be themselves, as twisted, dark, or just plain dull as that might be. It's a place to relax, where the Twins can enforce the safety, and offer job experience to students who have difficulty finding somewhere in the normal place to work. There is a hope that now, five years after joining the Academy, this could be forever. But 6 centuries have taught the twins that the other shoe will always drop just when you get comfortable…[/hider]