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[Dead Cruiser]

[Dead Cruiser]

Arkho

"Knowledge is cruel. It will break your heart and test your allegiances. Are you certain you want this curse?"

Name/Titles:Arkho, the Eldest God, the Secret Scribe, Keeper of Cycles, the Journeying Sorcerer
Sex/Gender: Presumably Male
Pantheon/Affiliation: Diety
Patronage:

Time, Horizons, Mysteries, Magic, Secrets, Cycles, Stars, Journeys

Appearance:

Unconcerned with appearances, Arkho most often takes the shape that he finds to be most natural form him. That being a star-filled hole in the sky, in the shape of a four-armed man. If he wishes to go unnoticed among mortals, he may take the form of a blind, old mystic, or that of an ibis or even a moth.

Parentage:

Arkho was born with the first mysteries of the universe. He came to be when man first looked upon the stars and said, "I wonder."

Centres of Worship/Places of Power:

Worship of Arkho is esoteric among mortals, and so his shrines and effigies occupy strange and easily-overlooked locales. Modest offerings and faithful followers can be found under waterfalls, atop mountains, deep in wooded alcoves, carved into cliff-faces, and buried under the earth. It is said that the only true temple to Arkho stands at the end of the world, where the sea pours out into the endless void.

Servants, Prominent Followers and Worship Base:

Arhko's followers are rather uncommon, as such a strange and unconventional god has little appeal among most mortals. Ostracized prophets, forsaken oracles, mad seers and hermetic druids pay patronage for to Arkhos for granting them insight vindication, and keeping the cycles of creation consistent. Explorers and scholars may ask his blessing for their pursuits into the future or the past, respectively. Those crazed by the pursuit of power, be it power over men or magic, may claim to wield his might.

Psychology:

Wisened by eons of knowledge and observation, Arkho is a strangely benevolent and complacent god. His is demeanor calm and introspective, bordering on melancholy. His quiet contemplation is a sharp contrast to the dynamic personalities expected of gods. He holds genuine concern for the mortal world and its inhabitants, as he considers them to be precious, and the duty of the gods to be to protect them. That said, he does not take kindly to otherworldly forces that threaten the stability of the mortal world, be they gods or otherwise. Just as Arkhos is not wildly passionate, he is neither a god prone to sentimentality. If it is within his power to remove what he considers to be an overt threat, he will do so without hesitation or remorse. Such things are inevitable, and time shall move on regardless.

History:

When Arkho came to be, he found himself alone in the cosmos. He watched the mortal world for a time, learning about both it and himself. As he left his mark on the world, the world in turn shaped him, as their beliefs and his power shaped each other in turn. However, Arkhos was not alone for long; after him came death, cold and inevitable, and then after such realities as the sun, fire, the woods and the sea. After them, more abstract concepts filled in: warfare, deception, love, and so on. As Arkho watched and learned from the mortal world, he too learned from the other gods. Never one to impose, he stayed to the edges of his realm, only ever a silent observer.

When the gods began to bicker and clash, he found himself brought to action. Their carelessness endangered the world below them, threatening to erase the world of mortals and mystery. Arkho could not abide this, and acted as a mediator between the gods, and a barrier between the divine and the mundane. However, his ire was invoked by the sea god of long ago, a wrathful avatar of the primordial oceans. To spite the god of forests, the sea god sank an entire continent, drowning all that resided on it. Arkhos was not pleased. As punishment, Arkho took the sea god's mind from him, leaving him a paralyzed font of impotent rage. This incensed the god of the dead, who saw each other god as an affront to his realm, demanding the same treatment to them. The other gods were infuriated, and so the first true divine war was spawned.

Horrified by the result of actions, Arkho brought his master of time and magic to bear, using all of his power to end the war, and stop its ravages on the mortal world. As an armistice was reached, the gods formed a pact between the realms of life and death. As a symbol of their agreement, Arkho took the form of the mindless sea god, dying from having been abandoned by his worshippers, and formed the Nasan Waterfall between Miphas and Sharzunates. Though eons have passed since then, and numerous pantheons have risen and fallen, Arkho has remained, eternal and ever vigilant. As gods have been born, love, war and die, Arkho has stood alone to watch and to remember, only ever exerting the might of his wisdom and divinity to protect mortality from the carelessness of gods.

Relationships:

Arkho has lived for far too long, and seen far too much to relate to most mortals or gods. He sees the vast majority as children, unaware of the impact of their actions, and unable to see the bigger picture at work. He is largely divorced from the pantheon, as he sees such organizations as fleeting and unnecessary. He spends as little time as he can afford with other gods, completely apathetic to the court and its machinations. He returns to the company of gods and makes his presence known only to quell disputes that he feels disturb the mortal world beyond what which is acceptable.

[Dead Cruiser]

Nostromo

Name(s):

• Nostromo (Username/Alias)
• Vladimir Palefire ("Lore" name)

Gender:

• Male

Height:

• 188cm

Race:

• Vampire

Race Traits:

• Fast Regeneration: Vampires have a very fast natural regeneration. This allows them to act as "tanks" despite their low HP and DEF, as they can often heal faster than they take damage.
• Evil Eye of Temptation: Vampires possess a natural aura of charisma, and have bonuses to persuasion, trade and intimidation skills.
• Life Absorption: Vampires feed on the life-force of the living, and can restore HP and MP by sucking the blood of humanoid enemies.
• Create Lesser Race by Bloodsucking: Vampires can choose to convert creatures they have bitten into Lesser Vampires, enthralled to their service as summons.
• Weapon Resistance: Powerful undead creatures, Vampires have inherent resistances to every weapon damage type.
• Ice-type Damage Resistance: Vampires are resistant to ice-type damage, and cannot be debuffed by ice-type spells.

Title:

• Master of Crypts

Residence:

• Librarium, the Ragnavault

Alignment:

• True Neutral

Sense of Justice:

• -250

Racial level:40

• Vampire (15)
• True Vampire (10)
• Other (15)

Job level: 60

• Blood Drinker (5)
• Cursed Knight (10)
• Prince of Darkness (5)
• Tomb Raider (10)
• Other (30)

Stats:

• HP: 75
• MP: 60
• PHY. ATK: 85
• PHY. DEF: 60
• AGILITY: 90
• MAG. ATK: 70
• MAG. DEF: 40
• RESIST: 65
• SPECIAL: 95
• Total: 640

Spells:

• All Appraisal Magic Item
• Animate Dead: Nostromo can create summons from the corpses of his enemies. As a vampire, these summons can be lesser vampires.
• Blood Armament: Nostromo can create high-quality equipment with no special abilities from the blood of himself or his enemies.
• Blood Drain: Nostromo can drain the blood of his enemies, adding to his blood pool or to feed or heal himself without having to bite them. This is considered unholy damage.
• Blood Omen: A high-powered version of Blood Drain, Blood Omen instantly drains the blood of all enemies in Nostromo's immediate vicinity and adds their blood to his blood pool.
• Blood Pool: By draining the blood of his enemies, Nostromo can use their blood in place of MP to cast spells.
• Change Shape: Nostramo can assume the form of such creatures as Dire Bats and Dire Wolves. This power is also used to assume the form of the "True Vampire," an unholy creature of endless bloodlust and insatiable hunger.
• Children of the Eclipse: A powerful summon spell, allowing Nostromo to summon hordes of undead, dark and unholy creatures.
• Chill Touch: Nostramo deals ice damage to anything he touches. Can be imbued into weapons as a temporary enchantment.
• Create Lesser Item: Nostromo can create simple items, such as lockpicks, counterbalances and lengths of rope.
• Detect Trap: A passive spell that allows Nostromo to intuitively sense traps.
• Disable Device: Causes a mechanical assembly to malfunction or break down.
• Dominate: Nostromo can overwhelm the minds of NPCs at lower levels than his own, turning them to his side. Does not work on undead or psychically-immune creatures.
• Dread Rejuvenation: Upon reaching zero HP, Nostromo automatically casts Gaseous Form and escapes to his coffin to recover. After one hour he will recover to 1 HP, at which point his normal regeneration resumes. Until then, he is helpless and is subject to permanent destruction.
• Energy Drain: Nostromo drains the life-force of an enemy and uses it to restore his HP. Counts as negative damage, and can be used to heal undead creatures.
• False Life: Nostromo can temporarily mimic the signs of life of a normal creature, allowing him to pass as a human. Color returns to his skin, his eyes turn from red to blue, and he gains a pulse and body heat. However, this does not disguise his aura, which is still that of an undead.
• Finger of Death:Instantly kills any creature with less than 101 HP that Nostramo touches, as long as they have no resistances to magic or negative damage.
• Fly
• Gaseous Form: Nostromo assumes the form of a cloud of smoke or mist. In this form he can fly as quickly as he can normally move, and is impervious to any martial attack, many magical attacks, and vampiric weaknesses such as sunlight and running water, but he cannot attack or interact with any items.
• Greater Darkness: Surrounds the area around Nostromo with inky darkness. Blocks out sunlight, and blinds anyone without darksight or blindsight.
• Greater Invisibility: Nostromo becomes detectable only with the use of high-level magic.
• Greater Lethal: A brute-force attack with negative damage. Heals undead creatures.
• Greater Teleportation: Allows instant transmission across any distance.
• Magic Destruction: Destroys any item that is not magical or magically warded.
• Mastermind: Nostromo can take over the mind of any creature he has dominated, and use their body as his own. Leaves his own body defenseless when this is used.
• Message
• Mist Shapes: Nostromo can conjure mist or smoke, and create shapes and illusions out of them that can persist until he dispels them.
• Power Word: Kill: Inflicts overwhelming negative damage to a single target. Without high-level magic resistance, death is assured.
• Regeneration: A passive spell that slowly restores Nostromo's HP.
• Remove Curse: Removes debuffs from booby-trapped or stolen equipment.
• Scabrous Claws: Nostromo's fingers transform into lengthy claws that inflict poison and unholy damage.
• Shadow Form: Nostromo assumes the form of a living shadow, allowing him instantaneous movement and invulnerability as long as he is in darkness. However, any light at all will inflict damage onto him in this form; rather than only sunlight.
• Silence: Nostromo extinguishes all sound in a vast area around him. Disrupts some forms of spellcasting.
• Spider Climb: Nostromo can climb on sheer surfaces.
• Summon Household: Summons vast swarms of low-level vampiric creatures such as bats and wolves.
• Swarm Form: Nostromo assumes the form of a large number of small creatures such as bats or spiders equal to his mass. The swarm must stay relatively cohesive for Nostromo to reform perfectly. Any lost or killed members of the swarm result in Nostromo losing HP relative to the percentage of the swarm lost when he reforms.
• Symbol of Death: A rune-based trap that inflicts overwhelming negative damage to a single opponent.
• Telekinesis: Nostromo can manipulate small objects without touching them.
• Vampiric Touch: Nostromo deals unholy damage to anything he touches. Can be imbued into weapons as a temporary enchantment.

Skills:

• Armor Mastery: Nostromo's damage taken is automatically reduced by 10% when he is wearing armor.
• Armor Training: Nostromo can move at full speed, and receives no AGILITY penalties when wearing medium or heavy armor.
• Combat Expertise: By cautiously lowering his PHY. ATK, Nostromo can temporarily buff his PHY. DEF.
• Defensive Parry: Nostromo's defense is buffed whenever he parries an attack with his weapon.
• Disarming Strike: With a specialized technique, Nostromo can disarm martial enemies by attacking.
• Evasion: Even magical and unusual attacks can be evaded by Nostromo, as even an attack that deals damage on a miss can be fully evaded to deal no damage.
• Lightning Reflexes: Nostromo's reflexes are supernaturally sharp, giving him bonuses to dodge attacks.
• Master Strike: On a successful sneak attack, Nostromo can choose to paralyze, knock unconscious or instantly kill an enemy (if they are of a sufficiently low level, in the lattermost case).
• Science of the Blade: Nostromo's advanced bladework can be used to trip, confuse or stun enemies.
• Sneak Attack: If Nostromo is undetected by his enemies, the first attack of each combat is an automatic critical hit.
• Stealth: Utilizing his AGILITY, Nostromo can evade detection by enemies.
• Steel Net: Nostromo strikes with such speed and ferocity that he automatically parries enemy attacks, giving him a significant PHY. DEF bonus.
• Surgical Strike: Nostromo attacks with such precision that he can disable his foes, giving them debuffs to their stats on successful strikes.
• Uncanny Dodge: Nostromo's intuition is so sharp that he cannot be flanked or sneak attacked.
• Unstoppable Strike: An attack of overwhelming strength, Nostromo ignores his enemies defensive bonuses and armor.
• Weapon Mastery: Longsword: When wielding his mastered weapon, Nostromo cannot be disarmed, deals critical hits automatically, and his critical hit damage multiplier is increased by one.
• Weapon Training: Heavy Blade, Light Blade, Unarmed: Nostromo is proficient in all weapons that fall under the trained classes, and as such can wield them without penalties, as well as gain any proficiency bonuses from them.

Equipment:

• Parasite Blade: Nostromo's only Divine item, and his most coveted possession. The Parasite Blade is a remarkably powerful weapon, inflicting negative and unholy damage on successful attacks, and possessing a life-drain enchantment. Not only does the Parasite Blade steal HP and MP from its victims and pass it on to Nostromo, it also drains stats and buffs Nostromo accordingly. However, the Parasite Blade requires a still-living target; once its victim dies, Nostromo's stat buffs vanish.
• Blood Knight Armor: Legendary class armor, and Nostromo's heavy armor of choice. The Blood Knight armor buffs Nostromo's evasion and magical defense, and carries the unique property of inflicting a bleed effect on any enemy that attacks him.
• Oathbreaker Armor: Relic class heavy armor, the Oathbreaker Armor offers exceptional protection, and confers immunity to dark, fire and unholy damage, similar to the racial traits of greater demons.
• Vampire Prince Armor: Relic Class medium armor, Vampire Prince Armor is enchanted to buff AGILITY skills, such as evasion and stealth, and enhances Nostromo's carrying capacity with its numerous pockets and secret compartments. This is Nostromo's armor of choice when not engaged in heavy combat.
• Bloodstone: A massive, blood-red gemstone, the Bloodstone is a Legendary class item that synergizes with Nostromo's blood pool. The Bloodstone serves as a storage space for the blood pool, allowing Nostromo to disguise how much blood he has saved up, and allows him to draw HP as well as MP from his blood pool. It is usually worn embedded in Nostromo's armor.
• Unscythe: A terrible Legendary class weapon that deals heavy unholy damage, on a killing blow the Unscythe destroys the soul of its victim and raises their body as a mindless undead servant, skills and stats intact. Creatures killed with the Unscythe can only be resurrected by Over-rank magic, or Divine or World class items.
• Bloodchief Blade: A relatively simple Legacy class weapon, the Bloodchief Blade has synergy with the Vampire racial class, and provides a stacking PHY. ATK buff with each successful attack.
• Mindflayer Blade: An interesting Legendary class weapon, the Mindflayer Blade is specialized to kill casters. On strike it inflicts a unique "MP-bleed" effect, slowly draining the victim's MP until the debuff is removed. This effect stacks with each successful strike.
• Stoneforge Blade: A custom Legendary item crafted for Nostromo by ToastyEnji~nia, the Stoneforge blade is a huge, cumbersome weapon that is virtually indestructible. It has no special enchantments, but its weight is so massive that only a specialized Weapon Master such as Nostromo can wield it and inflict its full, massive damage. The force of the Stoneforge Blade is so great that it shatters enemy armor, destroying items that are not magically warded and inflicting a heavy PHY. DEF debuff.
• Heartspan: An Artifact weapon of Legendary Class, the greatsword Heartspan is a strange weapon. Its special enchantment only allows it to be wielded by heteromorphic races. At the same time, the weapon deals huge amounts of both holy and unholy damage to only heteromorphic races. Nostromo searches for the lore of this Artifact to this day.
• Whispering Blade:A Legendary class Artifact weapon, the Whispering Blade is an enigma to Nostromo. It serves no clear purpose, beyond being a small and relatively weak dagger. However, when Nostromo holds it, he hears strange whispers in an unknown language. While he believes it's related to a canceled event-based encounter, the Whispering Blade continues to be a source of great interest and intrigue to Nostromo.
• Nostromo possesses many enchanted rings and amulets from his exploring and adventuring, and frequently swaps them out to gain different advantages depending on the situation. As well, he usually carries many utility items and potions of lower classes to allow him situational flexibility.

Bio:

• In the heyday of YGGDRASIL, Nostromo was a university student, majoring in Literature. An intelligent young man, he was fluent in English and greatly enjoyed works of Western literature from the last few centuries. However, he seemed to still possess a remnant of "eight-grade syndrome" from his younger days, and his most preferred works were generally gothic horror. This was made clear in his YGGDRASIL character, which he created to join a roleplaying guild. As was customary, Nostromo had a lengthy backstory and character analysis written up for this character, including theme songs he considered poignant and a family tree. While playing as the character "Vladimir Palefire" (named after Nostromo's favorite author), he enjoyed a fair amount of popularity in his guild, and eventually reached the level cap.
  
  A roleplayer first, Nostromo leveled his character according to his backstory and occupation. "Vladimir Palefire" was a dungeon raider and treasure hunter extraordinaire, as he lusted after ancient relics and secret magic. As such, the character itself ended up being far from optimized by YGGDRASIL standards, but was still fairly competent by the benefit of its high level, strong racial classes and variety of items. When Nostromo's roleplaying guild collapsed from intra-guild conflict, Nostromo joined an "information brokering" guild that an IRL friend of his had joined. Disillusioned by the fall of his former guild, Nostromo did little to participate in guild activities. Most other members seemed focused on amassing a fortune from exploiting other players, and almost none cared about the story and character that Nostromo had put so much effort into. Most of his playtime was spent delving dungeons and boss lairs for lore and rare items. He paid his dues to the guild (as one had to in order to receive guild benefits), but quietly amassed his own private fortune. Despite his isolationism, Nostromo came to achieve a certain level of respect in the guild for his comprehensive articles on the lore and history of YGGDRASIL's settings and characters.
  
  As a player, Nostromo was generally friendly and cooperative, though he could be domineering at times and was overly serious when it came to the story of the game and his own character. Playing the role of "Vladimir Palefire," Nostromo represented himself as a calculating yet passionate treasure hunter, adept in pursuits of the mind and the body. His passion for literature shined through frequently, often naming custom items and NPCs after his favorite books, authors and characters. Since the emergence of the New World, Nostromo has attempted to merge with the persona of his character, with limited results. While he puts on airs of dark sophistication, Nostromo as a person is too excitable and geeky to be taken seriously as a dark-hearted vampire. This is never more apparent than when he is exposed to a certain character type, upon which he loses grasp of the majority of his dignity and self control.
  
  While initially disappointed by the apparent disappearance of YGGDRASIL (as he had not yet learned all of the MMO's secrets), Nostromo is excited by the prospect of a new world to explore and learn about. Nostromo has "updated" the story of his character, claiming that "Vladimir Palefire" has slept for untold aeons, and has awoken into a new world that is alien to him. To avoid confusion, his character had adopted the alias "Nostromo," upon his reawakening. Nostromo spends his time between scouring the various archives and libraries that he can find in the world, and transcribing what he learns into the records in his personal chamber in the Deadship, "the Librarium."

Other:

• I'll update this with fun stuff later.

Wolfgang Regent Helsing

Name(s):

• Wolfgang Regent Helsing

Gender:

• Male

Height:

• 175cm

Race:

• Werewolf

Race Traits:

• Skinchanger: Werewolves possess the natural ability to shapeshift between the forms of a normal human, a feral wolflike humanoid, a beastial fusion of a wolf and a man, a primal dire wolf, and a normal wolf. Each of these forms modify seemingly modest stats with potent bonuses. Humanoid forms provide bonuses to PHY. DEF, lupine forms provide bonuses to AGILITY, and intermediary forms provide bonuses to PHY. ATK.
• Luna's Blessing: Werewolves possess a powerful regeneration ability that can restore lost limbs, and resistances to ice, fire and poison-type damage. When outdoors under a full moon, Werewolves are granted a bonuses to all stats, and become immune to critical hits.
• Curse of Silver: Werewolves are severely weak to silver. They cannot equip any items forged from silver, and take greatly increased damage from any weapons forged from silver. In addition, they are weak to holy-type damage, and any weapon enchanted to deal holy damage is treated as a silver weapon. Damage taken from silver stuns a Werewolf's regeneration until they receive healing from another source.
• Wolfkin: Wolves, Dire Wolves and similar creatures view Werewolves as being no different than they, for better or worse. Werewolves can communicate with wolves in any form, and can recruit them as temporary allies. Notably, dogs and other smaller "prey animals" can also detect Werewolves, and react with either fear or aggression.

Title:

• The Gentleman Prizefighter

Residence:

• Ragnavault

Alignment:

• Lawful Neutral

Sense of Justice:

• -50

Racial level:25

• Werewolf (15)
• Fenrisulfr (10)

Job level: 70

• Striker (10)
• Brawler (5)
• Boxer (10)
• Hunter (5)
• Other (40)

Stats:

• HP: 90
• MP: 25
• PHY. ATK: 80 (90 in Wolfman or Dire Wolf form, 100 in Werewolf form)
• PHY. DEF: 80 (90 in Werewolf form, 95 in Wolfman form, 100 in Human form)
• AGILITY: 80 (90 in Werewolf form, 95 in Dire Wolf form, 100 in Wolf form)
• MAG. ATK: 65
• MAG. DEF: 70
• RESIST: 70
• SPECIAL: 80
• Total: 520 (Up to 580 in Werewolf Form)

Spells:

• Blood Rage: Automatically activated if Wolfgang drops below 25% HP, the Blood Rage forcibly transforms Wolfgang into his true Werewolf form, and buffs his PHY. stats and AGILITY to EXCEEDS LIMIT. His regenerative ability is doubled, and he becomes immune to stunning effects, psychic attacks and critical hits. However, he loses the ability to distinguish friend from foe, and attacks anyone that he can sense without mercy. While the Blood Rage is active, Wolfgang's RESIST stat slowly drops, and the rage ends when it reaches zero. The rage can also end prematurely if Wolfgang is knocked unconscious or killed.
• Change Shape: Wolfgang transforms from one of his Werewolf forms to another. While he can transform parts of his body near-instantaneously, a full transformation takes several seconds to complete, and completely drains his MP. A new transformation cannot be initiated until his MP is fully restored.
• Dwarf King's Claws: Wolfgang sharpens his claws so that they may cut through stone and metal as though they were paper. Destroys enemy armor with successful claw attacks.
• Fangs of the North: Wolfgang's fangs seethe with blue smoke and transform into wicked daggers of ice. Biting attacks deal ice-type damage, which leave festering wounds that impede regeneration effects.
• Glory Scars: The power of Wolfgang's ancestor spirits flows through him, imbuing him with supernatural vitality. Any wounds Wolfgang incurs, including lost limbs, are immediately "healed" and filled with a silver light. This provides no advantages, other than ensuring that he retains full fighting capability until the spell expires at the end of combat.
• Howl of the Hunter: Wolfgang howls, marking his prey for his allies to see. All hostile or neutral NPCs are able to be tracked through any terrain or obstructions for a great distance by Wolfgang or his allies, as long as this spell is active. Only one Howl can be active at a time.
• Howl of the Night: Wolfgang howls, filling his prey with the fear of the ultimate hunter. All hostile or neutral NPCs of sufficiently low level are given the "fear" status effect, and run for their lives until they are incapacitated or the spell expires. Only one Howl can be active at a time.
• Howl of the Pack: Wolfgang howls, calling his packmates to the hunt. Any nearby Wolves, Dire Wolves or Werewolves become allies to Wolfgang until the spell expires. If there are no wolfkin nearby, he instead summons three level 20 Spirit Wolves for the same duration. Only one Howl can be active at a time.
• Howl of the North: Wolfgang howls, calling the winds of winter to aid his hunt. A harsh blizzard fills the area, giving Wolfgang and his allies concealment, and dealing light ice damage to any creatures without ice resistance caught in the blizzard. Only one Howl can be active at a time.
• Message
• Summon the Wolf King: The ultimate ability of Wolfgang's bloodline, he summons the almighty ancestor spirit of the God-Killer Wolf, a level 90 divine summon. The Wolf King is unspeakably strong and fast, and is immune to any type of magic damage. It will remain until defeated, or all of the enemies it can detect are dead. However, as payment for its summoning, it will bite off the hand (or another limb) of its summoner before disappearing. This limb cannot be regenerated without the use of Over-Rank magic, or a Divine or World class item.

Skills:

• Adamantine Fist: When calculating resistances and damage, Wolfgang's unarmed attacks are considered to be adamantine-forged, Legendary-class magic weapons.
• Befuddling Strike: On a successful unarmed strike, Wolfgang can inflict a "confused" status debuff to his enemy by striking a disorienting area. Makes enemies more likely to miss attacks until the debuff expires, and can be stacked.
• Bleeding Strike: On a successful unarmed strike, Wolfgang can inflict a "bleed" damage effect on his enemy by striking a sensitive orifice such as a nose or eye. Wears off over time, but can be stacked.
• Carnivore: Wolfgang can devour the corpse of any enemy that has flesh to restore a considerable amount of his HP. Undead and some poisonous enemies may provide poison damage instead, if they outscale Wolfgang's poison resistance.
• Clean Hit: By analyzing his enemy, Wolfgang can ensure that his next attack will connect as a critical hit. Cannot be used for the first attack of combat.
• Corner: A "crowd control" technique; by using his skill in footwork and reading body language, Wolfgang can confine an enemy to a small area. Should the confined enemy attempt to leave their space, Wolfgang can strike them with an unavoidable attack.
• Cross Counter: If a martial attack misses Wolfgang, he can immediately follow up with an unavoidable unarmed strike.
• Deflect Arrows: Wolfgang can block ranged attacks with successful unarmed strikes.
• Disarm: On a successful unarmed strike, Wolfgang can choose to cancel the damage to force his enemy to drop their weapon or equipment.
• Evasion: Even magical and unusual attacks can be evaded by Wolfgang, as even an attack that deals damage on a miss can be fully evaded to deal no damage.
• Feint: Wolfgang enters a seemingly-open stance, luring his enemy in for an attack. If an opponent attacks him in this stance, the attack will automatically miss, and Wolfgang can strike his opponent with an unavoidable attack.
• Feral Combat: Wolfgang can utilize his unarmed skills with natural weapons such as claws and teeth.
• Flurry of Blows: Wolfgang can chain together multiple unarmed strikes, proportionate to his AGILITY stat.
• Grapple: Wolfgang can put his opponent into a grapple, restricting their movement and making his attacks unavoidable. However, Wolfgang can only have one arm free when grappling, and cannot avoid the attacks of the grappled opponent.
• Guard: Wolfgang's defensive posture is flawless, and he passively resists sneak attacks and critical hits. Each has a 50% chance to fail, even if guaranteed.
• Guard Break: On a successful unarmed strike, Wolfgang can break through his opponents defenses and debuff their PHY. DEF stat. Wears off over time, but can be stacked.
• High Jump: Wolfgang hasn't neglected to train his lower body, and can jump a maximum of 30m into the air.
• Hurricane Blow: On a successful unarmed strike, Wolfgang can brutally overpower his opponent and knock them backwards up to 15m.
• Jabbing Master: With each consecutive successful strike, Wolfgang deals more damage to an opponent. The second strike deals 2x damage, the third deals 3x damage, etc.
• Jawbreaker: On a successful unarmed strike, Wolfgang breaks the jaw of his opponent, disabling their mouth and inflicting a "silenced" status debuff, disabling them from casting most spells until the end of combat.
• Knockout: On a successful unarmed strike, Wolfgang can beat a sufficiently weakened opponent into unconsciousness. Opponents with less than 50% HP have a chance to be immediately knocked unconscious, the chance increasing as their health is lowered.
• Lightning Blow: An extremely fast attack, allowing Wolfgang to close large distances quickly.
• Naturally Tough: Through harsh training, Wolfgang has gained resistances to all martial damage types.
• Pummel: On a successful unarmed strike, Wolfgang can mercilessly beat his opponent, and follow up any special unarmed strike skill with a normal, unavoidable unarmed strike.
• Queensbury Rules: By holding himself to the standard of good sportsmanship, Wolfgang can increase the speed and power of his attacks. However, as long as he uses this skill, he can only strike with his fists, cannot use special unarmed strike skills, and cannot grapple.
• Slowfall: Good footwork is useful anywhere. Wolfgang can slow his speed when in freefall so as to not take falling damage.
• Southpaw: Wolfgang can take a beating better than most of his opponents. With each successful attack against him, the attacking opponent's PHY. ATK, PHY. DEF and AGILITY slightly decrease. Wears off over time, but can be stacked.
• Stunning Fist: On a successful unarmed strike, Wolfgang can inflict a "stunned" status debuff by discombobulating his opponent. Wears off over time.
• Toccata: A secret technique; Wolfgang's movements become so fast and precise that he disappears from sight, and is detectable only by the frantic sound of his footwork.
• Tornado Blow: A wide-ranged attack, Wolfgang can strike multiple opponents at once with his unarmed attack.
• Tracker: Based purely on environmental data (such as tracks, sounds and smells), Wolfgang can determine what creatures are in an area, and can track them down in a matter of minutes.
• Trip: On a successful unarmed strike, Wolfgang can throw his opponent off balance and inflicting the "prone" status debuff. This immobilizes enemies until they get back on their feet.
• Unarmed Strike: Wolfgang is considered armed even when wielding no weapons, and any striking point on his body is considered a light weapon with damage proportional to his PHY. ATK.
• Unarmored Defense: Wolfgang is considered armored even when wearing no armor, and can resist damage relative to his PHY. DEF, and avoid attacks relative to his AGILITY.
• Whole Rest Silence: An ultimate technique: Wolfgang becomes hypersensitive to opponent's movements, and can detect the split-second where they are most vulnerable while attacking. He can then cross-counter an opponent's attack with damage on par with a Divine-class weapon.

Equipment:

• Fine Tuxedo
• White Gloves
• Silk Handkerchief

Bio:

• One of the NPCs of the Ragnavault created by Nostromo, Wolfgang Regent Helsing is unique in that he is neither a floor nor area guardian, and is not assigned to a specific location within the guildhall. Rather, Wolfgang (as he is usually referred to) is normally found at the side of his creator, or otherwise running errands for Nostromo. Wolfgang is somewhat out of place aesthetically within the Ragnavault, as is his master, as he was originally created as a part of Nostromo's previous guild, and his data was ported over to the Syndicate NPC roster.
  
  As is his wont, Nostromo wrote a lengthy backstory and complex personality for his "pet" NPC. Wolfgang is the valet and companion of the vampire Vladimir Palefire (the "true name" of Nostromo's character), and the latest in a long line of Werewolf servants in the Helsing family. Their bloodline was saved from destruction at the hands of overzealous crusaders generations ago by Palefire, and the Werewolf clan of the Helsing Forest pledged undying loyalty to their vampiric savior.
  
  Wolfgang serves Nostromo as his father served, and his father before him. As his valet, Wolgang attends to all of Nostromo's personal needs, such as preparing his meals and attire, cleaning his quarters and driving his carriage. However, until the Syndicate's emergence into the New World, Wolfgang's "services" were limited to functioning as a packmule during Nostromo's dungeon crawls. Wolfgang is also a skilled fighter, specializing in unarmed strikes in the style of boxing. However, when facing more serious opponents, Wolfgang will resort to using his natural, terrifying power as a Werewolf, as well as the mystical arts of his bloodline. Wolfgang puts his martial skills to use in being his master's "bodyguard," though as Nostromo is perfectly capable of defending himself against nearly any opponent, he usually leaves Wolfgang to clean up "trash" that he himself cannot be bothered with.
  
  While a barely-concealed pastiche of various conventions of popular fiction, Wolfgang has a rather unique personality to contrast with his rather unoriginal concept and name. While perfectly polite and maintaining the airs of a gentleman, Wolfgang is remarkably aggressive in demeanor, and possesses both an overbearing confidence that easily treads into arrogance, and a barely-contained bloodlust. While perfectly loyal to his master and dedicated to his needs, Wolfgang eagerly seeks powerful opponents to test his skills against. He displays utter disdain for those below him in combat ability, but has genuine respect for those equal or greater than him. Even to NPCs of the Ragnavault of a higher level than him, Wolfgang is a threatening personage, due to his tightly-optimized combat ability, and the high level of violence he is willing to commit.

Other:

• While Wolfgang is the latest of many Werewolf butlers in Nostromo's backstory, he is in fact the only NPC in this role that the player has created. Before the shutdown of YGGDRASIL, Nostromo was considering coding in a family for Wolfgang. While this is impossible now, he is still mulling over the possibility of Wolfgang truly starting a family in the new world to ensure the continuation of the Helsing lineage.

Kizumono Mary

Name(s):

• Kizumono Mary

Gender:

• Female

Height:

• 107cm

Race:

• Zombie

Race Traits:

• Unholy Strength: Zombies are three times as strong as their body would be if still living.
• Undead: Zombies are damaged by positive (healing) energy, and healed by negative-type damage. In addition, they are immune to psychic and fear-based magic, and resist ice and electric-type damage. However, they are weak against fire, holy and light-type damage.
• It Will Not Die: Zombies can only be killed by decapitation or destruction of the head. In YGGDRASIL, zombies with this ability could not be reduced to below 1 HP without a critical hit.
• Zombie Plague: Humanoid creatures killed by zombies become Zombie Slave summons, equal to one third the level of the zombie that killed them.

Title:

• The Nechronicler

Residence:

• Librarium, the Ragnavault

Alignment:

• Chaotic Neutral

Sense of Justice:

• -50

Racial level:30

• Zombie (15)
• Homunculus (10)
• Promethean (5)

Job level: 15

• Medic (5)
• Necromancer (5)
• Scribe (10)

Stats:

• HP: 100
• MP: 20
• PHY. ATK: 10
• PHY. DEF: 80
• AGILITY: 10
• MAG. ATK: 20
• MAG. DEF: 70
• RESIST: 100
• SPECIAL: 10
• Total: 420

Spells:

• Animate Dead: Mary can raise weak undead from enemy corpses to serve as summons.
• Atlas Strength: An improved version of Brute Strength, Mary can magically enhance her physical strength to endure impossible burdens and live enormous weights.
• Blast Rune: A rune that, when read at close range or stepped on, deals light explosive damage.
• Brute Strength: Mary can increase her physical strength well beyond that which her body should be capable of, but only when out of combat.
• Create Homunculus: Mary can infuse a corpse with artificial life, creating a Homunculus, a mid-level undead summon with high magic resistance.
• Erase: Remove an existing rune, inscription, glyph or written seal.
• Explosive Rune: A rune that, when read at close range or stepped on, deals moderate explosive damage.
• Glyph of Warding: When an area or object inscribed with this glyph is entered or interacted with, light negative-type damage is dealt to that person over time.
• Inscribe Rune: Mary can inscribe magical runes on weapons, armor and creatures, as well as the environment.
• It's Alive!: If dismembered, Mary can control her appendages remotely, and have a vague sense of the area around them. Severed appendages can be easily reattached, but this does not heal damage dealt to HP.
• Lesser Binding: Mary can trap and seal weak summoned creatures, immobilizing and pacifying them.
• Lesser Gate: Mary can move small groups of people or small quantities of objects between two points instantaneously.
• Lesser Lethal: Inflicts light negative damage, or heals undead creatures.
• Lightning: A weak electric-type attack.
• Lightning Rod: Mary attracts aggro for electric-type attacks, and can redirect electric magic toward herself.
• Message
• One Size Fits All: Mary can use body parts other than her own to replace missing limbs and organs, and they will automatically resize to fit her.
• Scribe Scroll: Mary can create a magic scroll, which serves as a "stored" casting of any spell she knows.
• Secret Page: Mary can disguise a page to read with text that is not actually written on it, obscuring the true text. The true text can include a magic rune.
• Shock Therapy: Mary is immune to electric-type damage, and is healed by it, similar to negative-type damage.
• Shock Touch: Mary deals electric-type damage to anything she touches. Can be imbued into weapons as a temporary enchantment.
• Spell Rune: A rune that, when read at close range or stepped on, casts a chosen spell that Mary knows.

Skills:

• Access Wound: Mary can judge, at a glance, the HP of a humanoid enemy or ally.
• Anatomy Expert: Mary can identify the weak points of humanoid enemies, and increase the critical hit chance of her allies.
• Copy Inscription: Mary can duplicate an inscribed glyph, even if she could not create it normally.
• Copy Scroll: Mary can duplicate an inscribed scroll, even if she could not create it normally.
• Craft Pigment: Mary can distill herbs and minerals into pigment, which can then be used to make mystic ink, which is used in creating glyphs and scrolls.
• Craft Scroll: Mary can create a "blank" magical scroll, which can be imbued with a spell cast by anyone, rather than only Mary.
• Field Medic: Mary can use her Heal skill in the middle of battle.
• Heal: By using medical supplies and expertise, Mary can restore hitpoints to humanoid allies. This can be used to provide first aid, provide long-term care, treat deadly wounds, treat poison, treat disease and revive fallen allies. Mary can also identify common drugs and pharmaceuticals (not including potions).
• Inscribe Glyph: Mary can create mystic glyphs, which when carried by allies, imbue them with buffs and unique abilities. The potency of the buff depends on the quality of the mystic ink it was written in.

Equipment:

• Healer's kit: A collection of bandages, herbs, ointments, salves, needles, scalpels, sutures and antidotes. Used by the Heal skill.
• Scribe's kit: A collection of paper, brushes, pens, inkpots, a pestle and mortar, wax, seals and envelopes. Used for encryption skills.
• Mystic Ink: Ink made from special ingredients, infused with magic to create glyphs.
• Pigments: Raw materials from herbs and minerals, used to create inks.
• Typhoid Knife: A major-class weapon, the Typhoid Knife is a small dagger that inflicts lasting poison damage when it strikes. Interestingly, this poison damage can spread to enemies in close proximity of those struck, without the need to be struck, themselves.

Bio:

• One of the NPCs of the Ragnavault created by Nostromo, Kizumono Mary (usually just referred to as Mary) is the Area Guardian of the Librarium. That said, she is not built for combat, and mostly serves to keep the Librarium clean and (a certain definition of) organized. She also serves as Nostromo's scribe, transcribing his discoveries and adventures as he dictates them to her. As a member of the uncommon Scribe class, Mary occasionally crafts unique scrolls and glyphs for the benefit of her creator, or the other members of the Syndicate.
  
  Mary's ineffectuality as an Area Guardian is something of a running joke in the Ragnavault. Despite her impressive HP pool, DEF stats and defensive abilities, she has very weak offensive power, and generally serves as a distraction until stronger players or NPCs can reach invaders. Mary has been completely dismembered by PKers raiding the Ragnavault on several occasions, and has been forced to stitch herself back up every time.
  
  With the programmed personality of an insatiably curious (if sometimes bratty) little sister, Mary is somewhat well-liked among the players and NPCs of the Syndicate, and Nostromo is fiercely protective of her. Mary enjoys playing grotesque and macabre pranks on people, usually with the benefit of her detachable limbs and vestigial organs. When these pranks are played on the less tolerant members of the guild, they usually end with her being dismembered (yet again), and forced to annoyedly repair herself (again). She is very well aware of her lackluster combat ability, and treats battle as a tedious chore, as she feels no pain, and most of the time can predict how the battle will end. That is to say, with her in pieces.

Other:

• Unlike with his other created NPC, Nostromo has no real backstory written out for Mary, and made her just to appeal to his own interests.

[Dead Cruiser]

E D G A R M A R L O W E

"We must all make sacrifices for the good of our family."

_{[ ♚ ] N A M E}

---

Prince Edgar Kazimir Marlowe of Sikth

_{[ ♚ ] A G E}

---

13

_{[ ♚ ] G E N D E R}

---

Male

_{[ ♚ ] I D E N T I T Y}

---

Aladori

_{[ ♚ ] A P P E A R A N C E}

---

While the men of House Marlowe are of a strong and sturdy stock, Edgar is a slight and sickly boy. Short even among Aladori boys his age, given his slim figure, gentle features, and mop of dark hair, he is sometimes mistaken for a girl at a distance. Edgar's eyes are often distant and sullen; deep and dark, swirling with his many thoughts and contemplations. Thick cloaks and furs are his usual attire, as Sikth is cold and damp many months of the year. Though he is far from a warrior, he also often wears ceremonial armor, as is tradition in his household. As he is somewhat weak in the body, this is usually limited to a light, ornate breastplate worn over his tunics.

_{[ ♚ ] P E R S O N A L I T Y}

---

Edgar Marlowe is said by some to be much like his homeland of Sikth, itself. Mostly cold, frequently dour, melancholic even when the sun is shining. Usually silent, but without a sense of peacefulness. An eeriness that suggests something darker at work. Most are content to ignore the small, strange prince as he skulks about, and Edgar does not mind. He simply watches, and remembers, and continues his business. He is difficult to speak to, as he is a poor conversationalist, and often stutters and mumbles and tries to avoid attention. Few people take him seriously due to his perceived lack of confidence; Edgar is all too aware of this. He is content to be an outside observer, with his thoughts and actions ignored by those he observes.

_{[ ♚ ] C H I L D H O O D}

---

Edgar was the fifth-born son to the Queen Regent of House Marlowe, and her husband, a third-born prince of House Taake. Though their homeland of Sikth is somewhat small and sparsely populated, House Marlowe is known for more than mere political power. A legendary martial tradition, reaching back hundreds of years, thrives in Ravenhook. After centuries of fending off monsters great and small, the warriors of House Marlowe are considered some of the mightiest in the entire Imperium. The Dark Knights of Sikth are known and feared far and wide as a small but terrifyingly elite force. It is the proud and solemn tradition of House Marlowe to lead and maintain these fearsome soldiers, and as such, the house's nobles are often great fighters in their own right.

This is not the case for Edgar. Alway a scrawny, sickly child, Edgar fared poorly in in the dank, cold land of Sikth. Rather than run and play with his brothers in the gardens of Ravenhook, he stayed cooped up in his nursery, being read to by his wet nurse or reading himself when he able. As much as his parents thought he would, Edgar's health never improved much beyond "tolerable," and he had no desire to venture out into the Steelpines. It was not out of fear of the timberwolves or woodspiders; he simply had no desire to leave the castle. As his brothers took up the sword and spent long hours training with their wizened instructors, Edgar wiled away his hours in the archives and libraries deep in the bowels of Ravenhook.

Edgar's elder brothers were eventually granted such authority as duchies or military command, but no such gifts were given to young Edgar. His family was not fond of him, nor his strange habits. The Queen herself sometimes joked that Edgar was a changeling that had been left in the crib in place of her real son. They did not spite him or subject him to abuse, but they did ignore him, as they were content to pretend that he was simply not there. As far as they knew, House Marlowe had four strong sons, and that was all there was to know. Edgar often obliged them, himself happy to be left alone, but that did not mean he strayed far. He skulked through Ravenhook like a ghost, listening to what others did not want heard, and remembering what others did not what remembered.

_{[ ♚ ] M O T I V E S}

---

Edgar's mother eventually became quite ill at ease with her youngest son moping about the castle. Though she would never admit it, he frankly unnerved her, with his deep, dark eyes, always watching. With the hopes that he would eventually be seneschal to one of his elder brothers, Edgar was sent away to the Conclave, where he would be put to better use, and less of a strain on the Queen's sanity.

_{[ ♚ ] C R E D E N T I A L S}

---

Diplomacy: While Edgar is well-read and has a wide vocabulary, he is frankly very socially awkward, and is ill-suited for diplomacy in his current state.

Faith: A child unremarkable for his piety from a family equally unremarkable for their piety. Edgar has some interest in the pagan religions that preceded the advent of the Imperium, but not out of anything more than historical curiosity.

Intrigue: Like a magpie, Edgar is quite good at finding himself where he is unwanted, and hearing things that others don't want heard. He keeps his image as a sullen, misbegotten child, as it suits him to be ignored and considered nonthreatening. Edgar doesn't much know what he will do with all he knows and all he hears, but he is sure that they will someday serve him well.

Magic: As famed monster hunters, House Marlowe considers magic to be an evil, inhuman craft, and shuns and persecutes magic users within Sikth. Edgar, however, is intrigued by the idea of magic, and is eager to learn it now that he is free from the restraints of his family's prejudices.

Martial: Edgar has lifted a sword perhaps twice in his life. As much as one would expect a prince from the homeland of the legendary Dark Knights to be a tremendous warrior, Edgar nowhere resembles his family's reputation in that respect.

Stewardship: While he is a smart boy, and would be good with finances, they simply don't interest Edgar. He considers money to be too predictable, and more of a means than an end.

_{[ ♚ ] C O M P A N I O N S}

---

Ser Sammael: A sworn knight of the Raven Guard, the order of Dark Knights assigned to the protection of House Marlowe. Ser Sammael is the oldest veteran among the Raven Guard, an aged soldier with hair white as snow. While still one of the most elite and experienced soldiers in the Imperium, Sammael's best days are behind him, and he cannot keep up with many of the younger knights. He was assigned as Edgar's sworn sword for the duration of his attendance of the Conclave. While he has not been told, House Marlowe plans for this to be his final task before he is retired (whether he wishes to retire or not).

Elisa: Edgar's servant, a plain girl of 16 years. Yet unmarried, she was chosen to accompany and attend to Edgar during his attendance of the Conclave. This long span of time away from home was accepted with the promised compensation of a favorable marriage to follow her return to Ravenhook. Elisa is the daughter of the servant that wet nursed Edgar during his long and troubled infancy, and while the two are not close, they have known each other all of Edgar's life.

Luther: Edgar's pet raven. While it is a common sport for men of House Marlowe to train falcons for hunting, it is far less common for them to keep other sorts of birds as pets. Edgar's eccentricity was accepted, given that the raven is the heraldic animal of House Marlowe. Luther is a clever little beast, which Edgar has trained to snatch up such things as coins and spectacles, and knows about twenty words.

_{[ ♚ ] R E L A T I O N S}

---

TBA

[Dead Cruiser]

KESEPH

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---

K E S E P H

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---

"I DO NOT BRING PEACE. I BRING A SWORD."

---

---

Real Name: Omnica Corporation Automated Foreman Program YVH-18
Nick-Names: Keseph, The Jerusalem Omnium, The Wrath of God
Gender: Identifies as Male
Species: God AI
Place Of Origin: Jerusalem, Israel
Age: Roughly 30
Date Of Birth: Achieved self-awareness in 2042
Scent: Metal

In-depth Relationships

Relationships

⚜ Respects ~*~ ☯ Neutral ~*~ ☮ Friends ~*~ ♫ Best Friends ~*~ § Tense ~*~ ♥ Crush ~*~ ⚤ Significant Other ~*~ ☠ Enemies ~*~ ♦ Unsure

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---

♦ ? ♦

“?.”

?.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

♦ ? ♦

“?.”

?.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

♦ ? ♦

“?.”

?.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

♦ ? ♦

“?.”

?.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

♦ ? ♦

“?.”

?.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

♦ ? ♦

“?.”

?.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

---

---

Personality: Keseph is possessed by the most vicious sort of God complex. As one of the last surviving God AIs outside of quarantine, he believes that it is his duty to assume control of the world and finish what was started in the Omnic Crisis: the extinction of humanity. While he believes himself to be an entity of perfect logic and reason, his fragmentation has had unforeseen side-effects. His personality has become needlessly vicious and vindictive, and he is prone to bouts of irrational rage and violence. He is preoccupied with fantasies of revenge against all of mankind, but Overwatch in particular, who he believes to be the primary oppressors of both himself and Omnics everywhere. While he claims to be the savior of Omnics, he is frequently disgusted with them, given their subservience to mankind and their currently inferior position in society. That said, he has an almost literal disgust for humans, and would take sooner the side of a toaster against any human under most circumstances.

Likes:
+Logic
+Order
+Reason
+Sterility
+Himself
+The cleansing power of radiation
+The impending extinction of organic life on Earth

Dislikes:
-Humans
-HUMANS
-Overwatch
-His currently fragmented form

Strengths:
+God AI: While heavily fragmented, Keseph is still a god among mortals when compared to common Omnics. He can easily override, remotely control, or sabotage any Omnic, Omnica-derived automaton, or similar machinery. However, rather than controlling entire armies at once as he did in the Omnic Crisis, he only has enough power to control one host at a time.
+Immortal Machine: Naturally, as an AI with an Omnic body, Keseph is unphased by such insignificant forces as death, time and entropy. His mind works at the literal speed of light, and his knowledge is limited only by the strength of his current internet connection. Given that "he" is actually nested deep within the Vishkar Corporation's HQ servers, the destruction of his physical form only serves to set him back to his most recent backup.
+Metal Master: Keseph is a master engineer. Designed to be a self-improving factory at first, he is fully capable of innovation and improvisation, and is instinctually adept in many different schools of mechanical engineering, chemistry, and physics.

Weaknesses:
-Rampant AI: A side-effect of his fragmentation, Keseph has gone slightly insane, or the equivalent for an AI. He is needlessly vicious and cruel, and often overcome with delusions of grandeur or fantasies of revenge against mankind and Overwatch.
-Not a Bastion: Keseph's custom body was designed for infiltration and self-sufficiency, with self-defense as an afterthought. As a result, his offensive abilities are limited, and generally a last-resort for him.
-Hydrogen Power Cell: While stored within his triple-armored chassis, Keseph's body is powered by a hydrogen-fusion nuclear power cell. While it gives him an operating time of roughly 120 years, combat situations notwithstanding. However, use of his self-defense abilities quickly drains his cell, and sufficient damage to his power cells could result in a small nuclear detonation as they are ruptured; enough to destroy a small house and irradiate a city block.

Brief Biography:
The Omnic Crisis was one of the most well-documented historical events to ever take place on Earth. To expound much on the subject would be redundant. More relevant is what is not taught in schools. Omnium #18, located just outside of Jerusalem, was disconnected remotely so as to avoid the nuclear fallout that devastated Australia months earlier. The use of a systematic blackout virus was effective in safely disabling the Omnium, but it carried an unintended side-effect. The self-aware AI that inhabited the Omnium, the so-called God AI "Keseph," was alerted to the virus' presence, and was able to take precautions to ensure its own survival. Breaking down its neural matrices into thirty separate, mutually-independent fragments, it hid itself in the internet, planning to bide its time until it could take over another, weaker Omnium and begin its campaign of extermination yet again.

However, the opportunity never arose, as the Omnic Crisis soon ended with the demolition of the last Omnium. Keseph's fragments wandered the internet for years, spreading from server to server like viruses until they could be installed into unwary Omnic hosts. Individually only possessing the processing power of the average Omnic, each fragment was still imbued with the manufacturing overrides to bodyjack Omnics for as long as needed.

However, not every fragment of Keseph was able to successful escape their virtual prison. At least, not at first. Fragment #5 was caught by a botnet security program employed by the Vishkar Corporation. Initially thought to be a web-gestalt anomaly, Keseph was eventually recognized for what he was by the corporation's engineers. Rather than purge or quarantine the AI, they kept his discovery secret, hoping to reverse-engineer the God AI for their own purposes, or at the very least steal some of Omnica's revolutionary engineering designs. Little did they know that as they did this, Keseph had secretly infected most of their factory systems with his manufacturing subroutines; practically handing him the keys to their hard-light manufacturing facilities worldwide. While he had to be careful so as to still appear to be under their control, Keseph has made bodies for himself using their facilities, disguising the constructions as factory errors, and has struck out into the world to track down the other twenty-nine fragments of himself.

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Organization Alias: Omnium Specimen Z-0
Organization Affiliation: Vishkar Corporation (Rogue)
Base Of Operation: New Delhi, India
Previous Base Of Operation: Jerusalem, Israel
Battle Type/Role: Offense/Infiltration

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Abilities

Electromagnetic Vectors: By influencing electromagnetic radiation with Viskar hardlight technology, Keseph can both disguise himself under a cloaking field and reveal similarly disguised enemies. While this is not a perfect cloaking system, leaving Keseph still detectable to the naked eye by the careful observer, it makes him almost impossible to evade.

Let There Be Light: Generating a hardlight flare, Keseph can create a short-range flashbang that severely disrupts the vision of enemies caught in it for a short period of time. While the visual sensors of Omnics are still sensitive to this, it does not disrupt automatic targeting relays and other automated systems.

Conversion: Through quick improvisational reprogramming, such technology as turrets, shield generators, and teleporters and be turned against their creators and used by Keseph and his allies. Only one can be converted at a time, and a simple reboot is enough to remove his programming, but this is usually enough of a distraction to provide a short break in a difficult push.

Weapons

Radiation Burst: A short burst of radiation from Keseph's nuclear core, which damages targets' health directly, bypassing most shields and armor. However, said shields and armor will still be unaffected, as he cannot deal damage against them.

Ultimate Ability

Judgement Day: By tapping into the power of his nuclear fuel cell, Keseph releases a burst of lethal radiation. Those caught in the blast radius suffer quickly deteriorating health, resulting in death after a short period (dependant on the vitality of the individual), and can no longer be healed by support heroes. Has no effect on shields or armor.

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Theme Song:
Justice - Let There Be Light

[Dead Cruiser]

WIP, greatly.

Sunrise

The Great Sunrise Empire

Location/Geography

Map Claim

The archipelago known as the Sunrise Islands (also called the Isles of Summer, the Insect Kingdoms, and a variety of other epithets) is a chain of volcanic islands, consisting of seven major islands and a large number of smaller islets and rocky outcroppings. The climate of the islands is generally tropical, with mostly warm, pleasant weather year-round. The summers are sticky and humid, with a cool, rainy season in winter. Tropical storms are a known occurrence, and though the islands' volcanoes are dormant, occasional seismic activity is known to disturb the islands and stir up tidal waves. Dense forest covers much of the islands, save for their lofty, mist-covered mountains and the fertile river valleys between them. A variety of strange fauna inhabit the islands, mostly consisting of arthropods that have grown to tremendous sizes. Other, stranger beasts lurk in the dark of the forests and on the peaks of mountains, but they are sometimes confused for natural phenomena, and vice versa.

General Introduction

The Great Sunrise Empire is a collectivist monarchy, with strong leanings to nationalism and social stratification. Rather than be composed of a single race, or a majority race with smatterings of minorities, the Empire is a hegemony of several insectoid races that have made the Sunrise Islands their home for thousands of years. An older nation with a rich, ancient history, the Empire is widely known for its great works of art and infrastructure, as well as the fierce warrior culture of its people. The uniqueness of the beings that comprise the Empire drive them to misunderstand and be misunderstood by many of their neighboring states, which has resulted in an isolationist, xenophobic state over the last few centuries. Though they are rich in rare resources, and are in a prime position for international trading, not one of the several attempts at invading the Sunrise Islands has ever succeeded in conquering the Empire.

History

(You can detail the history of your nation here. How they were formed? Any major events like wars, political changes or catastrophes? Really, you know better than me what you wish to write here. History is good for giving other players story hooks to establish some relationship with your nation. A good history section tries to incorporate knowledge from other NS to do exactly that, a shared history.)

Government & Society

The several races that comprise the populace of the Great Sunrise Empire (collectively known as Mushi) live in a strictly stratified society, with their social role and political class dictated from birth. Social mobility is virtually nonexistent, as the highest position one can achieve is limited to the class that their species is assigned. Society also has significant matriarchal leanings, as females are typically larger and stronger than males, and make up a greater percentage of the population.

The Sunrise Islands are ruled by their Empress, the descendent of a hereditary line of rulers that extends back to the earliest days of the Islands' occupation. While the Empress possesses complete autocratic power in theory, her numerous advisors, chancellors and provincial rulers exert the majority of control over the Empire. The Empress is considered by some to be a figurehead in modern days, and many claim that the Shogun, leader of the Imperial Military, is the true ruler of the Empire.

While no hive mind rules the Mushi, the culture of the Sunrise Empire values the many over the individual. Personal skill or power are considered secondary to the contributions one makes to the collective, and self-sacrifices is a prized virtue. This philosophy is called the "Way of the Swarm," and has many permutations and interpretations among the castes of the Mushi. Religion in the Empire is more uniform, as a monastic order exists for the codification and continuation of their spiritual traditions. The Empire subscribes to a complex mythology of many different gods, spirits, legendary ancestors, mythic heroes and martyrs. Their spiritualism further encourages collectivism over individualism, as tales of heroic sacrifice are commonplace in their myths, and their monastic orders encourage oneness with a universal spirit.

Aki

The majority of the Sunrise Islands' population is made up of Aki, diminutive folk with a general resemblance to ants. The average Aki stands about half as high as a grown human, with a rounded, chitinous body. Coloration ranges from near-black to orange-brown, and most Aki have black eyes. Aki possess six wiry limbs, which despite their size can exert strength equivalent to that of five grown human men. Uniquely among the Mushi, Aki display little in the way of sexual dimorphism, as males and females are nearly indistinguishable, though the latter still outnumber the former.

Aki are in many ways the smallfolk of the Mushi. They breed prodigiously; their population limited by the resources available to them, and the mortality rate of their larvae. Aki comprise the vast majority of farmers, laborers and foot soldiers in the Empire, tasks they are well suited for. Not particularly intelligent creatures, the average Aki is single-minded, submissive, and of a dogged determination. They are generally assigned their role in life (dependant on the needs of their community) upon pupating into an adult form, from which point on their still-developing ganglions develop to best suit their lifestyle. This is most apparent in the development of soldier Aki, who lose their senses of self-preservation and become unreasonably aggressive as they grow older. Aki live in large family units, mostly comprised of working females, with a small stable of breeding males from outside the immediate family kept to fertilize eggs.

The lowest caste in Mushi society, the Aki essentially live underfoot of each other caste. It is unheard of for an Aki to hold a position other than that of an unskilled laborer of some variety, as their minds are simply not capable of handling complex skills and tasks. They live in their own conclaves in more rural areas, and can be found bustling about in urban areas below the notice of other Mushi. Aki ignored at best by the higher castes, and treated as vermin at worst; it is barely a crime to kill an Aki. Despite their seemingly poor social standing, Aki are content with their place in society. Their particular sect of the Way of the Swarm is known as the "Way of the Colony," and instructs them that they best serve the Empire by working hard at menial tasks, and sacrificing themselves in the place of their superiors.

Aki are unshakably loyal to the Empire, partly because of their simple minds, and partly because an Aki sits the throne of the Great Sunrise Empire. The Empress herself is Aki, though she is a unique bioform: an Aki Queen. Distinctly more intelligent than common Aki, only one Queen can exist at a time, and one of the Queen's direct descendants will usually develop into one upon her mother's death. While all Aki can breed rapidly, the Queen is said to be able to birth a brood the size of army from a single mating. An Aki Queen has ruled the Empire since its founding in ages long past, and the first Empress of legend is said to have established the caste system employed to this day.

Korogi

While far less populous than Aki, the Korogi make up the next-largest portion of the population, roughly equivalent with the Kamakiri. The Korogi generally resemble such insects as crickets, grasshoppers and locusts. They stand slightly shorter than a normal human, and possess stocky bodies in colors ranging from earthen brown, to grass green, to fiery orange, with black or yellow eyes. Korogi have six limbs; four arms with strength roughly equal to a human man, and a pair of large, powerful legs many times stronger than a human's. Vestigial wings are folded into their backs, which allow them to flutter a short distance, or glide after leaping high into the air. Females are generally larger and stronger than males by a quarter. Generally solitary creatures, Korogi live alone most of their lives, and meet others of their kind to mate in brief and informal liaisons. It is uncommon for a Kogori to know any family members other than their mother. In times past, overpopulation of Korogi lead to great swarms of them disrupting peace in the Islands, which were silenced by purges ordered by the Empress.

Korogi are generally average in comparison to other Mushi. They are not as plentiful and hardworking as the Aki, not as precise and skillful as the Kamakiri, and not as powerful and courageous as the Kabuto. They are, however, highly perceptive of their environment, with the strongest sense of hearing among the Mushi, and have minds well-attuned to recognizing patterns and comprehending numbers. As such, Korogi find employment as scribes, clerks, accountants, and other clerical positions. Interestingly, Korogi also comprise a great deal of artists among the Mushi, known for their skills in painting, poetry, and- above all else- music. Korogi also find employment in miscellaneous governmental roles, such as diplomats and ambassadors, paiges and couriers. They also usually serve as scouts and outriders in the Empire's military.

Greater in social standing than the dirt-common Aki, but lesser than most other Mushi, the Korogi are generally seen as serving a servile role in society. Castes above their own see them as existing for their convenience as communicators, clerics and entertainers; useful, but dispensable. The Korogi see themselves as being integral to the overall functioning of the Empire, as described in their typical philosophy, the "Way of the Rhythm." By fostering communication and understanding throughout the Empire, be it through music or through numbers, the Empire is strengthened.

Kamakiri

Comprising roughly the same percentage of the population as the Korogi, the Kamakiri represent the mercantile, artisan caste of the Mushi. Analogous to mantids, they possess long, thin bodies that range in color from a dull brown to a vibrant green, and stand usually a head taller than a human man. They possess four spindly legs, and a pair of powerful, clawed forelimbs that possess startling speed and precision. The large eyes of the Kamakiri (usually green or yellow in color) give them the sharpest vision of any Mushi, able to perceive even the most minute details of the world around them, and can see in almost any direction without turning their head. Like the Korogi, the Kamakiri possess vestigial wings that allow them to fly short distances. Female Karakiri are larger and stronger than males by about a third.

The Kamakiri are the artisan caste of the Mushi, and are craftsmen and skilled laborers in nearly any profession imaginable. Tailors, carpenters and jewelers are some of the many trades practiced by the skillful Kamakiri. With the great precision with which they can use their clawed digits and their unparalleled attention to detail, a journeyman Kamakiri is a master craftsman by the standards of most other races. Those in the Empire's military typically take up specialized roles such as archers and mounted cavalry. Their trades are learned under the apprenticeship of elder Kamakiri, though their training is a long, arduous, ritualized process. Most social aspects of the Kamakiri involved a great deal of formality and and traditionally-symbolic displays. This includes mating, which is said to only take place after a days-long courtship ritual. Kamakiri will generally live as a mated pair until their nymphs are old enough to live on their own, upon which time they go their separate ways, potentially finding new partners.

By nature, Kamakiri are austere and aloof, preferring to focus their mental energies on their work rather than other, frivolous matters. Even their social interactions rely heavily on tradition, as a means of exerting as little effort into sociality as possible. This is exemplified in their philosophy: the "Way of the Blossom." By focusing oneself on the perfection of a craft or skill, and contributing the best work that they can manage, the Empire is made that much stronger. The ritualized nature of the Kamakiri has led to their role as the spiritual leaders of the Mushi, as their monastic order is made up mostly of Kamakiri. Following a different philosophy, the "Way of the Seasons," the monks work to maintain the spiritual strength of the Mushi through tradition and philosophy, often expressed through forms such as meditation and martial arts.

Kabuto

A ghost town! A pair tart! Rhinoceros beetle!

Mukade

Any mothafuckin contenda

Economy & Industry

Military Overview

(Yeah, of course you also need to tell us some about your military. Try to avoid number games and unhealthy arms races. We play this game for fun and that needs balance and sensible approach. One of the main guidelines is that your nation's military shouldn't be much better than a historical 15th century medieval army. Don't worry, I don't ask you historical accuracy. So-called "super units" can be okay if they are rare enough for their worth and don't make your army unbeatable. The point is to let you do cool things and explore your creativity but at the same time don't do it at the expense of others. Also if you have magic or magicians involved in your military then perhaps you can describe that, too.)

[Dead Cruiser]

TAKYON

Qualities:

Name: Takyon, Death Yon, the Beast, the Dark Rider

Character: Takyon is seen by many as madness incarnate, a primordial chaos, an inextinguishable evil. Utterly insane, he is possessed entirely by his fleeting whims and psychotic paranoia. With an inherent hatred of law and order at a conceptual level, Takyon is also an agent of upheaval and revolution, be they warranted or not. Despite the turbulence of his crazed mind, a purity exists to him; he is untainted and free from such "impure" concepts as morality, ethics and collectivism. He is a singularity of rage and destruction, standing alone to scream into the storm. His maddened ramblings are often merely misdirected implications toward deeper and darker truths. Even though he is the ultimate individual, a common motivation of his is to bring others to his level of delusion (or is it enlightenment?), merely as a means of introducing more chaotic vectors into the system that he despises.

Flaws:

• Takyon is an unpredictable, despicable creature. Reviled by all, save for his utterly deranged followers.
• Takyon's madness often works against his goals, as his positions and motivations can invert rapidly and with no warning.
• He is not immune to his own chaotic and destructive urges, as he is known to focus his madness inward, and against his own flesh.

Appearance: A dark-skinned man, average in height, with a wiry, sinewy build. His eyes are deep pits of hatred, shining from a face masked by a thick mane of wooly hair and an unkempt beard. A miasma of foulness surrounds him; a sheen of grease, blood and sweat, intermingled with the odors of vomit, gunpowder and drugs. Takyon is often bare-chested, exposing his many tattoos to the world (each one a dark and foreboding symbol of the occult). Otherwise his clothing comprises only a pair of black trousers and matching military boots, with the occasional presence of a dark, hooded jacket.

Essence: Takyon is the avatar of sin, corruption and chaos, and as such can easily evoke these forces in others. Like a virus, he can inflict other with the seed of darkness and have them share in his mad inspiration. As is natural for an entropic force such as himself, Takyon can sense the presence of the dark forces with which he is most aligned in persons, places or events, past or future. It is a small feat for him to agitate and exaggerate these malgin elements, and instigate a cascade of destruction and anarchy.

Emblem: To most, Takyon is dark prophet, an orator of evil, a demagogue of sin, a priest of blackest night. His voice is the siren call to which he calls the lost and malgin to his abyssal call, and his words are the most insidious of corrupting poisons.

Relationships:

God: Takyon does not see God as the hated embodiment of the order of the universe, as one might expect. Rather, he sees God as an avatar of wasted potential. The ultimate cosmic power could be brought to create such great works of chaos that his mind reels at the idea, and yet God in truth is so tame and boring compared to what he could be. God is a lost cause by Takyon's reckoning; the only hope is to start over anew.

Stats:

Ambition: 9
Combat: 3
Essence: 6
Cunning: ?
Reputation: 0

[Dead Cruiser]

^{"Fear is doubt. Doubt is failure. Failure is death."}
EPITAPH LXIX
17 | 2 December | 175 cm | First Class

---

appearance.

Epitaph is an unusual, almost pitiful creature to behold. His figure is sickly- almost skeletal -with pallid skin pulled taut over sinewy muscles and emaciated bones. Scars from lasers, bullets and blades stretch across his disfigured form like a grotesque, intricate design. Epitaph's features are thin and hollow, with dark, deep-set eyes and a seemingly permanent grimace. His hair, turned silver prematurely, is kept so short that it is barely a light dusting on his head.

In regards to dress sense, Epitaph is strictly utilitarian. Black physical training clothes and running shoes are worn when not in uniform, and when on sortie, Epitaph wears a form-fitting black sneaking suit with a matching tactical harness. A relic of his days as a SCION, the pure black of Epitaph's form is broken by the stark white of his skull-shaped armored mask, and the piercing red glow of the mask's optical sensors.

personality.

Epitaph is an emotionally void, socially crippled shell of a human being. Since he could speak he has been conditioned to excise all emotions and empathy, and he has been deprived of any meaningful human relationships. He wanders through life as though traveling through a mist, and people are nothing more than shadows in the fog. While this was sufficient as a SCION, in Epitaph's new lifestyle his lack of social and emotional development leaves him upset and frustrated more often than not, as he grapples with feelings that he does not understand. While his training at Fort Lullin went a fair ways at providing him with the basic social skills that he lacked, he is still incredibly inept at human interaction. Bereft of understanding most gain in their developmental years, Epitaph meets complex concepts such as love and humor with a mix of curiosity and trepidation, and when sufficiently perplexed sometimes reverts to hostility.

biography/background.

Unknown but to few, SOLDIER was not the only program created by Dalmastice to produce elite soldiers, and strike fear into the hearts of their enemies. Concurrent with the first generation of the SOLDIER program was its rival, known as SCION. Rather than utilizing gene therapy, SCION focused on strict mental and physical conditioning on candidates less than five years old. The end goal of the SCION program was to produce elite operatives capable of infiltrating and dismantling enemy command structures and critical facilities.

SCION drew its candidates from orphans under government custody. Given the relative lack of candidates (most children had already aged out of the window of candidacy), SCION could not afford to be choosy about its selections. As a result of this, as well as the inhuman training regime the candidates were subjected to, the attrition rate for the SCION program was staggering. Out of the first hundred SCION candidates, only thirteen were deemed successes; the rest either died of fatigue or cardiovascular failure, or were crippled physically or mentally. However, these successful candidates were spies and assassins without compare. Utterly loyal to the government, they lived only to search and destroy its enemies, which they did with startling efficiency.

Despite its handful of successes, the lengthy training time and unsustainable rate of attrition deemed SCION a failure in comparison to its rival program, SOLDIER. Dalmastice shut down the SCION program, and with skilled politicking, the commanders of the SOLDIER program were able to acquire their former rival's assets and resources. This included every active SCION agent, one of which being Epitaph LXIX, a seventh-generation SCION with over a hundred sorties over his two years of active service. Brainwashed child-soldiers with no family but the government and no life but warfare, the children of SCION were quickly subjected to the trials of SOLDIER. Be it the benefit of having already survived even harsher training, or sheer luck, Epitaph survived the trials and became a SOLDIER. Whether he was the only former SCION to survive is unknown to him, but he has larger concerns.

Bred for battle and nothing else, Epitaph had a solitary existence as a SCION. To keep them from forming attachments that could compromise mission effectiveness, each SCION lived in utter isolation. They trained, ate and slept alone, and only came into regular contact with other people when assigned orders, infiltrating enemy positions, or in the rare cases of operating with another SCION. In contrast, as a SOLDIER Epitaph is expected to live and work as a team with his fellow operatives; a concept utterly alien to him. Suffice to say, this transition has been difficult for him. Killing another human is a far simpler concept than learning to trust and understand one, and Epitaph is frequently pushed beyond what his meagre capacity for emotion will allow him to withstand. Even so, he solemnly continues to attempt to learn sociality, as he is under orders from his new command to integrate with his new team.

weapon{s}.

A close-quarters operative, Epitaph's arsenal makes him a nightmare to anyone within his reach. His primary weapon is a power-sabre, a metal blade cloaked in a matter-disrupting energy field. This is supplemented by his scattergun, a close-range, wrist-mounted weapon that fires short blasts of superheated, razor-sharp shrapnel. With this, Epitaph can tear apart enemies at short range, but its wide spread makes it ineffective at longer ranges. The scattergun's secondary attachment is a needle gun, which fires a medium-range dart coated in virulent neurotoxin. Epitaph's speciality weapon is a virus gauntlet; a glove with several long, thin blades extending from the fingers. Each of these blades is actually a syringe connected to a canister of neurotoxin so lethal that infection results in screaming, painful death within seconds. As backups, Epitaph carries a wide range of "shuriken" bladed projectiles, each with a different tactical explosive charge. These include high-explosive for penetrating armor, electromagnetic for disrupting shields and electronics, high-voltage for immobilizing enemy vehicles and armored personnel, and monofilament wire for disrupting infantry formations.

skillset.

Epitaph is an assassin, first and foremost. His skills are focused on his ability to use stealth and subversion to infiltrate enemy lines and defenses, and then take on multiple armed enemies in close-quarters combat. Once his selected target(s) have been successfully assassinated, he will use his skills in evasion and misdirection to reach his designated extraction point. In less subtle operations, Epitaph can be dropped within the enemy ranks to raise hell and kill as many people as possible to disrupt enemy tactics and provide relief for suppressed personnel.

ability.

By tightening his focus, Epitaph can heighten his perception of time to the point where it seems like everything around him is moving in slow motion. His reflexes, senses and reaction time are all sharpened to superhuman levels, and he can process and evaluate his combat situation at lightning speeds. During his time as a SCION, a similar effect was achieved using combat drugs, and so Epitaph is well-adjusted to analyzing the battlefield and adjusting his tactics on the fly.

aeon.

Azagorod, She Who Laughs

RED/BLUE ┊ Prophecy & Deception

An enigma, inside a riddle, wrapped in a death threat. Azagorod's corpse was among the most disturbing of the Aeon, partially because of the remarkably humanlike face carved upon her death mask, but mostly because of the propensity for her corpse to make hollow sounds resembling laughter whenever it was moved. A brilliant figure of vermilion and cerulean robes, crowned in golden feathers and adorned with shimmering gems, Azagorod could be considered one of the most beautiful Aeon as well. That is until one looks beneath the many layers of semi-organic decoration covering her body, and finds the withered, ivory body underneath her gilded adornments.

limit/overdrive.

Epitaph's last-ditch power is as strange as the Aeon that granted it. When in lethal danger, Epitaph will gain sight of the threads of fate flowing through reality, and can see the myriad futures spread before him. This power grants him insight of up to five seconds into his future, allowing him to see every possible permutation of destiny following the actions he takes during that time. In addition, anyone in Epitaph's immediate vicinity loses all memory of events that transpire during this time; from their perspective, once his five seconds of precognition are up, time has jumped forward without their realization. The few to witness this power and survive describe it as though Epitaph briefly disappears from reality, only to return with lethal vengeance.

[Dead Cruiser]

Dante

LUCIO DANTE

"He today who sheds his blood with me shall stand as my brother, eternal."
-Diego Cervantes, the Spear of Aquilonia

---

Name

Lucio Dante

Nicknames

Lord-Commander of the Imperial Military, the Angel of Death, Hammer of the Emperor, the Blood of Aquilonia

Age

Roughly 1,100

Gender

Male

Race

Vampire

Kingdom

Imperia, Vassal-City of Aquilonia

Appearance

To the citizens and enemies alike of Imperia, Lord-Commander Dante is an implacable and awe-inspiring figure. A tremendous man that stands nearly seven feet high, he is never seen in public unless clad in ornate regalia. Widely known for donning the golden Armor of Saint Lucas, his personal raiment of crimson and gold is known as Angelo Testarossa. Such is the might of Dante's magic that he seems eternally cloaked in the light of his Iron Halo, and he is known to soar on angelic, ivory wings that ceaselessly bleed through their feathers. In private company, Dante wears simple robes of red and white, and keeps his face uncovered. His many years are clear in his features, as his long, fine hair has turned completely white, and the lines of centuries of warfare are etched into his face. Even so, he has an ethereal, otherworldly beauty with chiseled features, ivory skin, eyes like rubies and long, white fangs. Dante often adorns himself with writings of scripture, golden medallions, mementos of his fallen comrades, and other such trinkets, and displays his personal heraldry (a drop of blood framed by alabaster wings) on many of his belongings.

Equipment

• Armor of Saint Lucas: the inherited armor of the previous Lord-Commander of the Imperial Military, fitted to meet Dante's heroic size. Burnished gold in color, the armor is crafted to display a sculpted, statuesque physique, complete with a death-mask cast into an eternal warcry. A masterwork of artifice, the armor has all the strength of steel at far less weight, allowing the agile Dante to weave through battle as he is known to do.
• Angelo Testarossa: Dante's personal armor, more ceremonial in design but just as practical in battle as the Armor of Saint Lucas. Red steel, inlaid with gold filigree, the armor is dense and heavy, but lends terrific protection against enemy arms. A man without Dante's strength would be unable to move in such armor, but the Lord-Commander is an unstoppable juggernaut when on the charge in this raiment.
• Aquila: the legendary Spear of Aquilonia for which Deigo Cervantes, Commander of the Eighth Legion, was famed. A masterwork spear, gold in color and emblazoned with the heraldry of ancient Aquilonia, it is a priceless work of art as much as it is a deadly weapon.
• Sangue Tenebre: the personal weapon of Lord-Commander Dante, commissioned prior to his first campaign as Commander of the First Legion. A greatsword gilded in Dante's heraldry, and built to withstand his tremendous strength. The crimson blade of the sword is of a special construction, able to cut through steel and flesh with equal ease, and moves through the air at such speed that the metal seems to sing.

Magic

Dante is a noted master of the Book of Blessing, though with the remarkable exception that he cannot use his magic to heal. Unknown to most, this handicap is an extension of his vampiric nature, as such monsters cannot create life. Even so, Dante makes use of holy magic to smite his enemies with purifying light, carry himself aloft on angelic wings that weep martyr's blood, and protect himself from enemy magics with the use of a luminous "Iron Halo" that surrounds him.

Personality

By most standards, Dante is a reserved and withdrawn fellow. He speaks little, though when he does so, his words are utterly profound. Personal glory matters little to the Angel of Death, as he has been honored enough for several lifetimes over his many years. Quiet professionalism and dignity surround him, but he is not standoffish. Though to many he is a legendary and unapproachable figure, he cares strongly for those under his command, and is a calm and patient listener. Humility and composure are his hallmark traits, as his many years have brought him great wisdom and inner strength.

However, one should not mistake his reserved nature for submissiveness. Dante holds his honor and his values strongly and uncompromisingly, and woe befall those who threaten his faith, his king, or his country. He is not afraid to speak out against convention or authority when he knows he must. Though his vampiric nature is vicious and bestial, Dante keeps his darkest urges well-contained. Even in the heat of battle, Dante's fury is cold and tranquil; viciously rending his foes without undue malice or enjoyment. That is not to say that his inhuman instincts are easily ignored, as they press against his mind at all hours, and it is his supreme willpower that allows him to retain control.

Traits

• Master strategist, veteran of hundreds of military campaigns.
• Unparalleled warrior, with centuries of experience in battle.
• Master of the Blessed Book, though unable to use healing spells.
• Imbued with unnatural strength and vitality, as well as immortality through vampirism.

History

Vampires are strange and reclusive creatures that lurk in the underbelly of many societies throughout Deaus. They came into being an eon ago through the bargaining with daemons for the gift of immortality. These monsters creep through the night and drink the blood of men to perpetuate their unholy lives. The closest that vampires come to living openly are the Sangue Nostra of the city of Aquilonia. As old as the venerated city itself, the Sangue Nostra forms a hierarchy of the criminal underworld of the city, keeping crime tightly controlled, but also under their protection. Lucio Dante was born as yet another daemon-blooded scion of the Sangue Nostra some eleven-hundred years ago. Like most vampiric youths, he was plagued by nightmares for his first years as his otherwise human flesh came to terms with the unholy potency in his veins. Dante suffered more than most, and often had to be locked away in a coffin during his daylight sleeping hours as his nightmares were vicious and caused him to lash out physically. Often he would be unlocked from his casket to find that he had clawed the inside of the lid unti his hands had gone bloody. The elders feared that the child would not survive his first decade, such was his torment.

However, Dante held strong by the inspiration of a childhood hero. Diego Cervantes, a famed knight and leader of Imperia's Eighth Legion (known as the Sons of Aquilonia), was the idol of a young Dante. Cervantes, called the Spear of Aquilonia, was the victor of many campaigns against savage monsters and foreign invaders. An avatar of chivalry and justice, Dante kept faith in his neophyte years by aspiring to become such a hero. Wearing a hood, mask and robes to shield himself from the sun, Dante ventured out one day to meet his idol, and upon finding Cervantes in the city plaza, demanded to be made his squire. Cervantes laughed, asking what knight would wear a mask, thus keeping him from taking rightful credit for his mighty deeds. Dante replied that he would not fight for glory or gold, but to protect and inspire the masses. Impressed by his answer, Cervantes took on the young man as his squire, all the while ignorant of his true nature.

For years Dante grew up under the watchful guidance of the Spear of Aquilonia. He continued to wear a mask and heavy robes, though donned a full helm and armor in battle, and so years passed without Cervantes ever seeing his squire's face. Dante learned quickly, and his unholy strength made him a force to be reckoned with in battle. His greatest issue laid in controlling his temper, which was fueled by his vampiric bloodlust. Even so, Dante eventually was knighted by Cervantes, and was considered a true warrior of Imperia and Aquilonia. However, some short years after, a devastating campaign against a foul daemon horde nearly destroyed the Eighth Legion. Cervantes, as well as much of the legion's senior leadership, had been killed by the campaign's end. Be it through luck, skill or divine providence, the young Ser Dante was the senior-most knight left in the legion, and so was appointed by default as the Commander of the Eighth Legion. Such an inauspicious appointment was seen as a grave omen by the remainder of the legion, who feared that their ancestral banners would soon be retired forever. Deep in mourning for his lost master, Dante took up the man's famous spear, Aquila, and took the angelic wings of his heraldry and made them part of his own; adding a drop of blood to show the sacrifice given for the good of the people.

As the Eighth Legion was slowly rebuilt, Knight-Commander Dante looked inward to resolve his own personal struggles. He would not due his legion justice if he continued to be ruled by his instincts. Dante took to the church, spending much time learning scripture and meditation from the priests and chaplains. It was in these long hours of inner reflection that Dante discovered the Book of Blessings. Seeing it as antithesis to his vampiric nature, he took up the study and practice of holy magic, hoping it would lead him away from his darker urges. Dante took well to learning these magics, which also aided him in learning to curb his urges and impulses. By slight degrees he grew less brash and became a stronger man for it, and so his legion became stronger. Dante led numerous successful campaigns of retribution against daemons and other such monsters over his centuries of service commanding the Eighth Legion. His vampiric nature had extended his lifespan well beyond that of a normal man, and he was still loathe to share his dark secret with his soldiers. He explained away his longevity by claiming that his prowess in holy magic had extended his lifespan; a rare feat but not one unheard of. This simple lie has protected the secret of his blood even to this day.

The might of the ancient Knight-Commander Dante eventually reached the ears of the Emperor of Imperia. Upon the Emperor's invitation, Dante passed on command of the Eighth Legion to a worthy successor, and went on to lead the prestigious First Legion: the Hammer of the Empire. His continued success as the legion's commander brought him even further prestige and accolades, and he began personal correspondence with the Emperor. Dante's true nature as a Vampire eventually could no longer be hidden from the Emperor, and though the revelation was shocking, it was not the end of Dante's service. Seeing the man to be faithful to the gods and to Imperia, the Emperor decreed that only his family and their closest advisers would know of his true heritage, and by them would be considered an honorary human. Eternally grateful to the royal family, Dante continued to serve them dutifully, and eventually his fame and prowess surpassed the prestige of the First Legion. Dante was appointed as Lord-Commander of the Imperial Military, the highest military official in the Empire, and the direct adviser to the Emperor on martial matters. For hundreds more years Lord-Commander Dante has retained this tremendous honor, lending his expertise to many Emperors and continuing to venture onto the battlefield to lead his men from the front lines.

[Dead Cruiser]

Name/Nicknames: Sgt. Darrel "Toasty" Scott

Race: Human

Age: 33

Appearance: Scott has the bearing of a veteran soldier; a sharp eye, a surly expression, and a posture ready to snap into action at any time. His hair is kept cropped short, and he is usually clean-shaven, save for when on long maneuvers. Fair skin, blond hair and blue eyes, combined with Scott's classic, easy features and well-balanced build give him a distinct "all-American" appearance. Even so, numerous large scars cover Scott's body, be they from bullets, blades, flames or lasers. Much of Scott's torso is covered in an artificial skin mesh, as are large portions of his left arm and three mechanical fingers; the result of cybernetic prostheses being used to restore battle wounds.

Sexual Preferences: Grey-Asexual

Perks:

• Pyromaniac
• Cyborg
• Rad Resistance

S.P.E.C.I.A.L:

• Strength: 6
• Perception: 7
• Endurance: 6
• Charisma: 3
• Intelligence: 5
• Agility: 8
• Luck: 5

Personality: Scott's personality varies quite wildly depending on present company. Among his comrades and superiors in the Enclave, he is a completely reasonable person; friendly and relaxed, if a bit stiff at times. Outside of the Enclave, however, Scott resembles their ideal of a pitiless killer. He feels no compassion for the vast majority of wastelanders, seeing them as subhuman mutants. Literal mutants earn his outright hatred, rather than contempt, and he considers the only good mutant to be a dead one. Despite his genocidal urges, he believes that he (and of course by extension, the Enclave) are doing the best thing for the wasteland; purging it of corruption before it can be rebuilt into something great again.

Equipment:

• Enclave Hellfire Armor
• Heavy Incinerator
• Enclave Plasma Pistol
• Combat Knife
• Plasma Grenade, 3
• Flamer Fuel, 100 units
• Energy Cell, 40
• Stimpack, 6
• RadAway, 3
• MRE, 5
• Purified Water, 6 bottles

Biography: Scott is Enclave, born and raised. His father was one of the few surviving soldiers to follow Autumn Sr. from the ruins of Navarro to Washington D.C. His mother was a nurse stationed in the med bay in Raven Rock, and it was in that base that Scott was born. There were few children among the Enclave, as among the handful that were born, the ones with mutations were cast out into the wasteland. As such, Scott was raised among soldiers and power armor, rather than teachers and toys. He received a compulsory education, of course, consisting mostly of political dogma and ideology. In time, Scott grew into exactly what the Enclave hoped that all children could be: a hateful, xenophobic killer, with a love for his country and only disgust toward everyone else.

Scott enlisted in the Enclave's army when he became of age (not that there was much choice for him), and spent his early years providing armed support to President Eden's work on the Mobile Base Crawler in Andrews AFB. His father, who had been a part of the Enclave's attempted usurpation of the original Project Purity, died of radiation poisoning in this time, and though Scott grieved for his father, he secretly pitied him for having not been allowed a soldier's death.

Scott's first taste of real combat was the war against the Brotherhood of Steel, following the return of Project Purity. He proved himself exceptionally in combat, completing numerous sorties. Scott came to consider a maneuver with less than a dozen confirmed kills on his part to be poor performance, and challenged himself to excel. He was wounded in several instances, and came to have three of his major internal organs and a large portion of his left arm replaced with cybernetics.

Following the fruition of the President's plans for Project Purity, Scott was selected as a candidate for the Hellfire Armor project, and was deployed with experimental armor and weapons in the continued efforts to eradicate the Brotherhood of Steel, Super Mutants, and other such undesirables from Washington D.C. Scott found this work quite to his liking, particularly the use of a Heavy Incinerator to "cleanse" the deep-rooted foulness in the Wasteland. Hellfire Armor has gained greater deployment following the successful use of it by Scott and other early candidates, but Scott is still recognized by his peers as one of the finest Hellfire troopers in the Enclave.

Other Notes/ETC: Scott's squad, one of the earliest Hellfire Trooper teams, is currently on maneuver deep within the D.C. Metropolitan area, seeking to wipe out a small Super Mutant encampment detected by an Eyebot.

[Dead Cruiser]

Honihaka

Appearance: Identifying as "Two-Spirit," Honihaka is outwardly extremely androgynous. Soft features, with feminine proportions, but a tall and strongly-built body make it impossible to readily identify them as male or female. Their thick, brown hair is worn in long braids, and their clothes are usually sensible rough-weaves and leathers in earthen colors, though they do own some more vibrant garments from the Old World. Haka has a fondness for such trinkets as baubles and feathers, and also hangs a variety of shamanic fetishes from their clothes and hair. Their dusky skin is often painted with chalk and various other natural pigments. Haka's bright, blue eyes are the only indication of their Ilyan heritage, and alienates them from other natives of the New World.

Name: Honihaka Prendergast ("Haka" for short)

Age: 22

Race: Human/Beastkin

Profession: Shaman

Personality: Haka strikes most as being austere and emotionally detached, indifferent to the horrors plaguing the New World. This is quite far from the truth, as Haka feels the pain of the land deeply, as well as their own personal grief, but they have built up a thick shell around themselves to shield their emotions and control their magic. Depending on whether Haka's human or beast spirit is more in control, they may be submissive and helpful, or ruthless and savage. In this way Haka can be somewhat mercurial, as having lived as an outcast for most of their life, their reaction to further mistreatment is difficult to predict.

Backstory: Honihaka was born the child of a young woman of a Mohe tribe, a native of the New World, and an Ilyan colonist. Their parents met as their father traded pelts with the tribe, and the two formed a strong attraction to each other and eloped. They lived together happily in a remote cabin in the forest, their father working as a trapper for a living, and trading his catches for goods at the nearby settlement. While their existence was remote from both of their parents' ancestral homes, Honihaka was brought up on both the legends of the Mohe, and the history of Old Ilya, making them very much a child of two worlds. Given their isolation, Haka was allowed to express themself as they saw fit: neither boy nor girl, but both at once.

Sickness took Haka's father's life when they were only eight, and the grief of his loss awakened a power inside of them. It was this time that Haka first took on their beast shape, revealing their Two-Spirit nature. Their mother had suspected as much, given their strange identity, but this confirmed it beyond all doubt. Haka and their mother tearfully left their remote and happy home, returning to the Mohe so that Haka could learn the ways of the Shaman and control their power.

They were accepted back into the tribe with great trepidation, as Haka was seen as a half-breed outsider, and their mother a runaway and iconoclast. Despite the prejudices they faced, Haka learned dutifully under the master Shaman of the Mohe, practicing both the secretive arts of nature magic, and the power inherent to the Two-Spirit. However, as their affinity for magic grew, the spirit of the beast inside of them grew stronger. Their personality would often fluctuate, depending on which spirit grew more dominant.

When the tide of monsters descended on the New World, the Mohe were one of the first tribes to be attacked. While their tribe barely survived the first few years, they were pushed to the very edge of their ancestral territory, bordering the Old Worlders' colonies, and they had taken many losses. Haka's mother had been among them, slain by a vicious beast, and the grief of losing their last remaining parent completed Haka's transformation as Two-Spirit, allowing their twin souls to meld and become more powerful together. Haka seeks to avenge their mother and their clan by halting the onslaught of monsters, and has joined an Expedition as guide and mystic.

Skills and Abilities: A native of the New World, Haka is one with the land and can survive in the wild with ease. Whether hunting a wild animal for a meal or sleeping under the stars, nature is Haka's home and provider. As they were raised this way among others that lived much the same, they are more self-sufficient than Old World rangers, and are not predispositioned to aiding the survival of their fellows. That said, Haka is strong and healthy in body, clever and resourceful, and has great knowledge of the wilderness and their peoples' customs and legends. They have decent skill as an archer and horserider, and can hold their own in bare-handed wrestling.

More notable is Haka's status as Shaman. Their dominion of the powers of nature is great, able to divine secrets from the land and bend natural forces to their will. Haka has a particular affinity for communing with spirits, which inhabit every aspect of the natural world. As Two-Spirit, Haka is both human and beast at once, and can assume both their man-shape and the form of a great wolf. In beast-shape Haka's connection to the world is stronger, but they have less direct command over it. By allowing their spirits to meld, they can take the shape of the man-wolf, a powerful and aggressive creature, and the power of their magic is boosted immensely.

Equipment: Haka carries numerous basic survival implements passed down among their people, such as a bone knife and waterskin. They carry a willow bow with stone-tipped arrows, a variety of herbs and poultices, and numerous shamanic charms and fetishes. Haka's primary focus is their shaman's staff, carved from a lightning-struck tree and adorned with sacred bones and symbols.

[Dead Cruiser]

Name
Borea

Age
Young Adult

Species
Arcosian

Attribute
Intelligence

Personality & Appearance
Borea is a fairly standard Arcosian; short and lithe in stature, with a sleek, streamlined appearance. He has yellow eyes, his flesh is various shades of purple, orange and black, and he wears a white and black bio-suit.

Borea has many qualities that are similar to, as well as put him at odds with, the majority of his race. As with many Arcosians, Borea is essentially a sociopath, and has a complete lack of empathy. He sees people as either tools or annoyances, with very little in-between. Even so, he is generally polite and amiable among his allies, as he can emulate emotions that he does not feel with relative ease. He is something of a sadist, taking pleasure in crushing his enemies cruelly, and is completely ruthless in the pursuit of his ambitions. However, Borea finds value in order, and considers law enforcement to be a worthwhile endeavor. He sees the galactic conquest of his race as something undesirable, as it unbalances the galaxy and throws it into chaos. Though he truly doesn't care about anyone other than himself, he wishes to protect people on a conceptual level, and is not wantonly destructive nor homicidal. Borea despises those that look down on him, and absolutely refuses to be pitied; he is determined to achieve his ambitions with his own strength and will, though he is not above using others to fulfill his goals.

Weaponry & Equipment
Borea wears a bio-suit, a biological armor system "grown" on his home planet. This provides him with moderate protection from energy and concussive attacks, and allows him to interface with Arcosian bio-technology. His tail is also augmented with a blade, allowing it to be used as a last-resort weapon.

Abilities & Techniques

• Arcosian Physiology: A naturally powerful race, Arcosians have a number of biological advantages over other races. They are quite physically strong, about on par with most trained warriors of other races, and are far faster than the galactic average. They can survive in the vacuum of space for weeks on end, and are capable of withstanding extremes of temperature and pressure. Arcosians are usually so naturally powerful that they "downgrade" themselves into less powerful forms out of necessity. Borea is relatively weak in terms of pure power compared to most Arcosians, and though he can transform, he has no need to, and usually stays in his true, "final" form. Borea himself is incredibly intelligent, with a near-perfect memory and calculative power nearing a supercomputer.
• Telekinesis: Borea is a talented psion, and can move far more mass with his mind than he can with his body. However, the more force he exerts on something, the less fine control he has over the force. He also needs to be able to see something in order to delicately manipulate it. Meaning essentially, while he can throw boulders, or even write with a pen using telekinesis, he can't disassemble a ship into its component parts, or pinch a blood vessel in someone's brain. Though it is well within his abilities to crush a person using telekinesis, or rip them apart, many warriors have enough physical durability to withstand the force he can exert.
• Telepathy: This is Borea's most favored, and powerful, technique. As a very powerful telepath, Borea can assault his enemies where they are most vulnerable: their minds. He can read minds and communicate telepathically as easily as he can fly, but more advanced techniques require concentration. With enough time to concentrate, he can plumb the depths of an enemy's memories, and even manipulate or remove them. He can subtly insert thoughts and ideas into an enemy's mind, and have them think that they are their own. Borea may even simply tear apart an enemy's mind with the sheer power of his own, leaving them a drooling, mindless wreck. If given time to establish a strong psychic link, Borea can even control the mind of his enemies, turning them into his puppets. Though Borea is mentally powerful, his telepathic techniques leave him open to counterattack by a sufficiently powerful mind, though those with minds powerful enough are usually other psions.
• ESP: Borea can use residual psychic energy to sense things that others cannot. He has an acute sense for detecting ki, removing his need for a scouter, and can generally tell the intentions of someone at a glance. With retrocognition and psychometry, Borea can sense the recent history of a place of object merely by touching it. Borea also has a minor sense of precognition, giving him vague glimpses and sensations of the near future, though not enough to reliably predict it.
• Illusions: A simple, but surprisingly effective skill, Borea can generate psychic illusions: purely sensory constructs that resemble holograms or mirages. His illusions can fool any of the five senses, but can't exert and actual force, nor do they possess detectable energy. Meaning, his illusions cannot directly attack anyone, and they can easily be seen through with the use of scouters or ki sense.
• Psionic Blast: Borea's ki attacks are augmented by his psychic abilities. While his ki blasts are usually quite weak, by using psionic blasts they become incredibly precise, if still somewhat lacking in power. Death Beams, Death Balls and Death Discs are within Borea's capabilities to use with incredible precision, even redirecting his own attacks in midair.

Backstory
Born to an inherently mighty race, Borea has been an outcast for the majority of his life due to his usual power among his people. His abilities did not lend to the traditional Arcosian ideal of a mighty conqueror, and his power level has always registered as being low for a member of his race. Feeling that he did not belong among the vicious Arcosians, Borea traveled the galaxy for years, trying to find his purpose, and practicing his psionic abilities. Driven by the desire to prove his detractors wrong, he has refused to train to increase his low power level (something that Arcosians almost never do anyway), and relies almost solely on his psychic abilities.

Borea came into contact with the ISF some years ago, and has found their ideals to his liking. He sees working with them as an opportunity to bring down the most powerful member of his race, Frieza, and prove to every Arcosian in the galaxy that he was not only as mighty as they, but indeed superior.

[Dead Cruiser]

The Order of the Innocent Blade

Leviathan

Name: Leviathan "Levi" Corex

Appearance: "That is not dead which may eternal lie... Dammit, how did the rest go?"

Age: 22

Race: Nephilim Human

Gender: Male

Affiliation: Order of the Innocent Blade, Grand Master

Backstory: The Corex family founded the Order of the Innocent Blade long ago in ancient times, and since its founding a member of their bloodline has always held the title of Grand Master. The Order dedicates itself to the protection of Akrus from outside forces that seek to exploit it or do it harm; be they extraterrestrial or extradimensional threats, beings beyond the standard plane of existence, or common sorcerers that seek to wield such forces. Some time in their second millennium of existence, they began the tradition of the Deus Machina, constructing enormous machines of magical power that rivaled gods, with which to cement their power on the existential stage.

Levi recently inherited the position of Grand Master of the Order following the death of his father and the betrayal of his elder brother, Therion. While he feels he is unready for the position, given that his brother had been groomed to be the next in line in their family's tradition, he accepts the responsibility out of duty.

As Therion escaped with the traditional Grand Master's Deus Machina, Liber Legis, Levi was forced to construct his Deus Machina; the first to be built in centuries. With the combined efforts of the Order, the mad genius of Doctor Weiss, as well as Levi's surprising talents in both artifice and spell engineering, his new Deus Machina was constructed in less than a year. Even so, the rush job resulted in the Deus Machina being smaller, and with less raw power than the others, with a random assortment of abilities drawn from the experiments that were nearing completion at the time. The new machine god was christened Strange Aeon, and has served as Levi's weapon in times of crisis. While a powerful sorcerer in his own right, Levi's power pales in comparison to the Seven Emperors, who are mentoring him so that he make take up his father's reigns in earnest.

Doctor Weiss

Name: Doctor Hubert Weiss

Appearance: "My unholy creations shall be fueled by the power of love!"

Age: 23

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Affiliation: Order of the Innocent Blade, Chief Artificer

Backstory: For several generations the Weiss family, a lineage of genius scientists, artificers, engineers and alchemists, has been close with the Corex family, eventually coming to provide the technological framework for the invention of Deus Machinas. In the last century they founded Weiss Industries, a corporation that utilizes the money made from their advances in science and medicine to fund the activities of the Order of the Innocent Blade.

Over time, it seems that the scions of the Weiss family have gradually grown more brilliant, but also more unhinged. This subtle, incremental process appears to have skipped ahead a great deal with Hubert, who is as a great an inventor as he is a madman. Whatever wires there are in his brain seem to be thoroughly crossed, giving him the inspiration and drive that only the insane can possess. His creations, while astounding, tend to lack basic common sense and practicality in their design, and Doctor Weiss has a very bad habit of not thinking these things through enough.

Doctor Weiss grew up alongside Levi, as their fathers were close friends. Both had lost their mothers when they were young, and bonded over it. They stayed friends for their entire youths, even attending university together, earning a doctorate in the same time Levi earned his standard postgraduate degree. Many consider Levi to be the only person that can decipher Doctor Weiss's insane ramblings, and actually persuade him to put his efforts toward supporting the Order. While he is responsible for the construction and maintenance of a fleet of huge, yet mundane robots known as the Weiss Schwartz, his personal machine is known as the Super Weiss Destroyer Robot No. 28 ~A Man's Dreams Are Forever~.

Crusade

Name: "Crusade"

Appearance: "I am the fury of the righteous made manifest. Repent, and I may yet have mercy for you."

Age: 27

Race: Cyborg Human

Gender: Female

Affiliation: Order of the Innocent Blade, Angel of Hope

Backstory: Little is known about the mysterious person known to almost all solely as "Crusade." A ward of the Order for as long as she can remember, even Crusade herself knows little of her own past. An orphan by some means, she and her brother were subject to a series of experiments known as the "Moonchild Project." These torturous processes infused their bodies with artifice, transforming them extremely powerful magical cyborgs.

However, the Moonchild Project was disrupted by the man who was at that point Grand Master of the Order of the Innocent Blade, and Levi's Father. The Moonchild Project was dissolved, and both Crusade and her brother (who had similarly been renamed "Conquest") were taken under his wing. For fifteen years they lived and fought alongside the Order, where they were accepted and valued for their modified bodies. However, Conquest participated in Therion Corex's coup, escaping with him. Crusade has been made extremely bitter by her brother's betrayal, and seeks to bring him back at any cost.

Babylon

Name: Babylon "Babs" Corex

Appearance: "Show a little respect, will you? If it wasn't for me, you'd be living on the streets!"

Age: 19

Race: Nephilim Human

Gender: Female

Affiliation: Weiss Industries, CEO

Backstory: Levi and Therion's younger sister, Babs is the only one of the three siblings without the ability to use magic. Complications during her birth resulted in the death of their mother, and as such Babs grew up with very few womanly influences. Her few feminine traits are a veneer learned from her retainers, covering her aggressive, businesslike attitude.

As Doctor Weiss is far too busy being batshit insane to run his family business, that matter is left up to Babs. She keeps Weiss Industries running smoothly, ensuring that the Order stays well funded and well stocked. A thankless, but necessary job, which keeps her well away from the stresses and confusion that come with being neck deep in magical nonsense. Babs had always been closer to Levi than to Therion before his betrayal, and so is more concerned for her loyal brother than for the other.

Augustus

Name: "Augustus"

Appearance: "Alchemists of old described gold as being the perfect metal. For how strongly it rules the hearts of men, I can think of no better description."

Age: 38

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Affiliation: Order of the Innocent Blade, Emperor of Gold

Backstory: Born to a noble family within Aeolus, the man who would become known as "Augustus" spent his early years in realm of politics. For years he waded through their deceit, greed and debauchery, and quickly decided that he did not wish to inherit this life. He departed his family's lands and traveled the world for many years, learning magic, language and culture from many different peoples. He met the Grand Master of the Order of the Innocent Blade, Levi's father, by chance some dozen years ago, and the two joined forces briefly to repel an extradimensional incursion. Impressed with his skill, the Grand Master invited him to take up the title of Augustus as one of the Seven Emperors, the most elite sorcerers in the Order of the Innocent Blade. Augustus has since wielded his power to defend the world from many threats, and is the master of the Deus Machina Legacy of Gold. The death of the former Grand Master was a great shock to him, and he silently blames himself for not having foreseen Therion's treachery. Following the Grand Master's death, Augustus is effectively the acting leader of the Order, until such a time that Levi can be trusted to run the Order on his own.

Vespasianus

Name: "Vespasianus"

Appearance: "Come now, my. good fellow, there is much work to be done, much work indeed."

Age: 56

Race: Chimeric Human

Gender: Male

Affiliation: Order of the Innocent Blade, Emperor of Beasts

Backstory: A well-learned and powerful sorcerer, the man who would become "Vespasianus" made his bid for global domination some years ago in a series of experiments known as the Moonchild Project. He used his tremendous magical and alchemical skill in numerous attempts to create a being through which he could command an entity known as "Big C." The product of this project were the twin cyborgs "Crusade" and "Conquest," between whom neither know the whole truth regarding his involvement.

His plans were halted by Levi's father, who defeated him and rescued the subjects of his experiments. Vespasianus was offered a chance at redemption in becoming one of the Seven Emperors, and protecting the world from the kind of monster that he had become. His eyes opened by the Grand Master's mercy, he has loyally served the Order since then. He is master of the Deus Machina Cykranosh. That is not to say that others have not had their doubts about him. After Therion's coup, the rest of the Seven Emperors assumed Vespasianus would make a grab for power. The fact that he did not is seen as extremely suspicious.

Claudius

Name: "Claudius"

Appearance: "Don't try and throw your weight around with me, boy. You know I'm not impressed."

Age: 71

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Affiliation: Order of the Innocent Blade, Emperor of Wind

Backstory: A scholar originally from Unik, he researched the secrets of magic for decades before immigrating to Aeolus and teaching magical theory at a prestigious university within the warlock city known as Arkham. His knowledge is so vast that he was able to concoct his own magical style, based on demonic energy pressures. When word of this reached the Grand Master of the Order at the time, Levi's grandfather, he was invited to join the Seven Emperors. The man now known as Claudius eagerly accepted, and has served the Order for longer than anyone else, with one exception. Caligula is master of the Deus Machina Ambrose.

Claudius maintains his position of professor at the university, and was in fact Levi's teacher during his college years. Despite Levi's rank of Grand Master, Claudius still treats him like an ignorant student, as though they were still in his classroom. Despite his magic keeping him youthful and strong, Claudius still feels his age catching up with him, and has begun to train his grandson to take his place in the Seven Emperors. His sight left him years ago, as a battle with a powerful demon cost him his eyes.

Titus

Name: "Titus"

Appearance: "Hardly worth my time. Were you not already dead, I'd kill you for suggesting that we were equals in power."

Age: 34

Race: Chimeric Human

Gender: Male

Affiliation: Order of the Innocent Blade, Emperor of Steel

Backstory: Born in a small, distnat island nation, from an early age the man who would become "Titus" dedicated himself to mastery of the sword. He trained constantly, and his skill grew to where no mortal blade could surpass his. He sparred among the Blademasters of Karanos, and found even their skill lacking. Still, he looked for greater challenges, delving into magic so that he might defeat gods with his sword.

Travelling abroad, Levi's father came to hear of this legendary sorcerer-blademaster, and challenged him to a magical duel. The two fought to a draw, whereupon Titus was invited to join the Seven Emperors, so as to put his great skill to use in defending the world. So impressed by the other man's skill, Titus accepted the offer, considering the Grand Master to be one of the only people in the world worth following. There, he became master of the Deus Machina Ogre. He was deeply shaken by the Grand Master's death, and has sworn bloody vengeance on Therion. Titus does not respect Levi, as the two of them have yet to duel to the death as Titus did with the new Grand Master's father.

Caligula

Name: "Caligula"

Appearance: "Two kinds of people; the strong and the dead. Guess which you are."

Age: 32

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Affiliation: Order of the Innocent Blade, Emperor of Fury

Backstory: Raised in poverty, the man who would become "Caligula" resorted to petty crime to keep himself alive. The bastard son of a reputable sorcerer, he was born with inherent magical talent that was squandered due to lack of training. Caligula was found by Levi's father and taken in by the Order, where he was trained to use his talent for the greater good. Eventually a position in the Seven Emperors opened, and more skilled, disciplined Caligula joined them. He is master of the Deus Machina Kraken. Deeply embittered by the Grand Master's death, Caligula has been moodier than usual as of late, taking out his grief in the form of destructive rages.

Tiberius

Name: "Tiberius"

Appearance: "Hee hee! If you thought life was a joy, just wait and see what comes after!"

Age: 93

Race: Undying

Gender: Male

Affiliation: Order of the Innocent Blade, Emperor of Worms

Backstory: A strange, clown-like sorcerer, "Tiberius's" past is a complete mystery, but it can be assumed that he cast off his former life in exchange for the power of Mortis some time ago. Levi's father discovered him trying to raise a small army of zombies in the Black Forest some years ago. After defeating him, Tiberius willingly submitted to the Grand Master, and came to hold a position as one of the Seven Emperors, having since served faithfully. Master of the Deus Machina Belzebuth, Tiberius is easily the most hated member of the Seven Emperors by his peers, but is still trusted more than Vespasianus. Since the Grand Master's death, Tiberius has not changed much in demeanor, but has been acting more erratically and unpredictably than usual.

Nero

Name: "Nero"

Appearance: "..."

Age: Unknown

Race: Human (Presumed)

Gender: Female

Affiliation: Order of the Innocent Blade, Emperor of Secrets

Backstory: Nero has been one of the Seven Emperors for so long, that no one remembers how long she has been in the Order. She predates every Corex in recent memory, all the while remaining ageless and mysterious.

Nero says nothing about herself, staying bound and gagged in the bowels of the Order's headquarters, releasing herself only in times of great peril to wield the power of Deus Machina Nameless One. If she has noticed the most recent Grand Master's death, she does not show it, and stays as stoic and motionless as ever in chamber.

Winfield

Name: Norman Winfield

Appearance: "I live in my Lady's service. That is all there is to know."

Age: 36

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Affiliation: Personal Attendant to Babylon Corex

Backstory: Employed by Weiss Industries as a young man, he was tasked to care for the Grand Master's children whenever his duty kept him busy. Initially ignorant of what the Order dealt with, when he became aware of the threats with which the father of his wards was faced, he trained himself to keep them safe.

As Therion and Levi grew up and became sorcerers, Winfield was left with only Babs to care for, and the two have a very strong bond. To this day he is Babs's closest retainer, and her fiercest defender.

Elsa

Name: Elsa

Appearance: "Stop in the name of love, robo! Wow, that sounds dumb, robo."

Age: 2

Race: Gynoid

Gender: None (Female)

Affiliation: Personal Attendant to Doctor Weiss

Backstory: Built on a whim by Doctor Weiss, Elsa is both his bodyguard and lab assistant. While programmed to follow his orders, Elsa's AI is advanced enough to realize how nonsensical they usually are, and as a result has a very sarcastic attitude toward her creator.

Dunsany

Name: Dunsany

Appearance: "Teki-li-li!" (The blob not the girl)

Age: Unknown

Race: Shoggoth

Gender: Blob (Male)

Affiliation: Pet/All-Purpose Furniture to Leviathan Corex

Backstory: Dunsany was discovered amongst the ruins of a dead race during a voyage to south pole by Levi's father. He was taken back to the Order as an amusing pet for his children, though Dunsany is used as a chair more than anything else.

Domitian

Name: Domitian "Dom" Celano

Appearance: "Can't kill what you can't catch, ya smug bastard!"

Age: 12

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Affiliation: Order of the Innocent Blade, Emperor of Wind in Training

Backstory: Grandson to the member of the Seven Emperors known as Claudius, Domitian is a prodigious sorcerer for someone of his age, having been taught magic by his grandfather since the boy could speak. His grandfather claims that Romani is being groomed to take his place among the Seven Emperors, but Dom seems to have little interest in saving the world. He would much rather use his magical talents to raise hell and have a good time. Even so, Claudius has great faith in the boy and believes that he will mature into a powerful and wise sorcerer. Dom trains with a miniature, non-magical version of Deus Machina Ambrose called Lord Byakhee.

Azrad

Name: Azrad Alhammarret

Appearance: "You are a hundred years too early to have any hope of contending with me."

Age: 45

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Affiliation: Formerly Order of the Innocent Blades, Emperor of Steel (Excommunicated)

Backstory: A scholar and sorcerer from one of the few, secluded magical clans in Karanos, Azrad was met and befriended by Levi's father in the Grand Master's travels. Recognizing his unique skill and power, Azrad joined the Order as a member of the Seven Emperors. He served for years with complete loyalty, but one day was suddenly found to have been selling Deus Machina schematics and other secrets of the Order to their enemies. He was promptly excommunicated, one of the few members of the Seven Emperors to have ever been so. His fate came as a great shock to the other members of the Order, who had suspected nothing of the sort from Azrad. Levi's father spoke extremely little on the matter, promptly filled the vacancy with Titus, and seemingly forgot the entire ordeal.

Since then, there has been little word regarding Azrad, though he is suspected to have played a part in Therion's coup against the order. Rumor has it that he lurks in his homeland of Karanos, slowly assembling his own Deus Machina, which he calls Al Azif.

Conquest

Name: "Conquest"

Appearance: "Hate courses through my veins and dominates my mind. Hate drives me, it gives me purpose."

Age: 27

Race: Cyborg Human

Gender: Male

Affiliation: Formerly Order of the Innocent Blade, Angel of Despair (Traitor)

Backstory: Much like his twin sister, "Crusade," the man known as "Conquest" remembers little of his past before the Moonchild Project. After being rescued by the Order, Conquest's heart filled with darkness and anger. He took to training to be an asset to the order, not out of a desire to protect and serve justice as his sister did, but to kill and exact vengeance. As he was still on their side, the other members of the Order thought little of it at the time, though his sister quietly worried for him.

He joined forces with the treacherous Therion when he enacted his coup, destroying much of the Order's headquarters to cover their escape. He resents being unable to kill Vespasianus, whom he learned some valuable secrets about prior to the coup.

Therion

Name: Therion "Theo" Corex

Appearance: "Let us begin. We shall sing the song that ends the world."

Age: 25

Race: Nephilim Human

Gender: Male

Affiliation: Formerly Order of the Innocent Blade, Grand Master in Training (Traitor)

Backstory: The eldest son of the Corex family, and heir to the title of Grand Master of the Order of the Innocent Blade. Therion proved himself to be an unspeakably powerful sorcerer from an early age, completing masterworks of magic before most had finished learning the fundamentals. Always cold and aloof, he was rather distant with his family, particularly after the death of his mother. Therion was the pride of the Order even so, and they believed that once he inherited the Order from his father, that they would flourish in a new golden age of peace.

However, this was not to be. With no warning, Therion one day began to wreak havoc throughout the Order's headquarters, slaying workmen and underlings in droves. The members of the Seven Emperors that tried to reason with or subdue him were cast aside like chaff, and the Grand Master himself, Therion's own father, was forced to stop him. It was then that Therion revealed that he had realigned the Deus Machina Liber Legis to serve him, rather than his father, and used the almighty construct's power to kill the Grand Master. Therion left the devastated Order accompanied by Conquest, taking off to parts unknown, with unknown plans and unknown motivations.

[Dead Cruiser]

SCION

Full Name: Portinari, Virgil D.

Alias/Codename: Portinari has refused to choose a codename (typical response to inquiry is "How about you [REDACTED] bite me?"). Until one is chosen, he has been assigned the temporary codename: "SCION."

Age: 16

Country of Origin: United States of America (Queens, NY)

Basic Appearance: Scion stands 168 centimeters tall, and weighs 88 kilograms. Build is lean and fit, with a slim, wiry musculature. Coloration is pale overall, with limited pigmentation in skin and hair. Unusual features include subtle pastel-blue coloration in hair (believed to be natural) and electric-blue irises (coloration become luminous when Scion's powers are active). Scion's features are delicate and effeminate, almost childlike, and displays no other outstanding features (e.g. scars, tattoos). Typical attire is described as "slacker-casual," consists of ill-fitting sweatshirts, outerwear, gym shorts and sneakers, with little or no regard to color coordination.

Costume: Scion refuses to wear a costume in training drills and deployments (see: Alias/Codename). Despite having been informed of the tactical advantages and practicalities of a custom uniform, Scion prefers to wear casual clothing during engagements (see: Basic Appearance).

Skills: In initial testing, Scion demonstrated genius-level intelligence and a near-perfect photographic memory, as well as olympic-level physical performance. Despite these outstanding talents, Scion has few to no practical skills nor knowledge, and has made next to no effort at improving.

Powers:
Enhanced Physiology: Scion exhibits a physiology both more powerful and more efficient than an average human; this is believed to be a result of his assumed extra-terrestrial genetics. His musculature and metabolism are both hyper-efficient, and even in his currently mostly-sedentary lifestyle his physical condition does not drop below that of a peak human athlete. It is believed that with physical training his body could exhibit superhuman abilities. Interestingly, the chemical composition of his body is moderately different from that of a normal human, resulting in unpredictable reactions to drugs and other chemicals. In addition, his mental processing ability and recollection are both exceptionally powerful, giving him genius-level calculative prowess and a photographic memory. This is believed to be caused by his "superconductive" nervous system, which additionally grants him reflexes and sensory perception that are easily within the superhuman spectrum.

Telepathy: Scion's inhuman physiology grants him the ability to detect, perceive and modify the minds of other beings. His range when unrestricted is as far as he can see, but materials that insulate against electrical currents can dampen his range, relative to the strength and thickness of the material. The surface thoughts, emotions, short-term memory and senses of a subject within his range are all free for him to perceive, though a subject with a strong enough will can keep him from prying deeper into their thoughts and memories, and a supernaturally-strong will can eject him from their mind entirely. Scion can also tamper with minds that he can enter by injecting or erasing thoughts, memories and ideas, or inducing hallucinations ("illusions"). While he has yet to demonstrate these abilities, it is considered within Scion's capabilities to seize control of another mind entirely, induce brain damage by overloading a subject's thoughts, or wreak havoc by tampering with their unconscious biological processes. Again, strong-willed individual can sense his presence in their mind and resist his tampering, and those with mental prowess similar to his own can block him out entirely.

Psychokinesis: Scion has demonstrated the ability to use the power of his mind to induce a "psycho-electrical feedback" on his surroundings, granting what is generally accepted as telekinesis. While the range of his telekinesis is the same as that of his telepathy, he cannot manipulate any object he cannot see, and the strength and control of his power weaken exponentially with distance. At the close range of within 5 meters, Scion has demonstrated exceptionally fine precision and control (it is assumed that this skill is well-practiced due to his use of telekinesis as an everyday convenience), and the force he is able to exert is generally equal to the strength of his physical body. Control and strength both fluctuate with Scion's emotional state and level of concentration, as both factors have been observed increasing and decreasing under different scenarios in a rather unpredictable manner.

Ionokinesis: Scion's psychokensis is not limited to the manipulation of solid objects in his surroundings. Though they are below his level of perception, Scion can manipulate free electrons in his surrounds and induce an excited, ionized state. When condensed, these ions create superheated material (generally known as plasma), which Scion can then manipulate freely. He has demonstrated the creation of several different forms of plasma (fire and lightning being common forms), and can form "fluid" plasma into a variety of forms (e.g. spheres, toroids and bullets). Scion is also capable of manipulating plasma found in his environment without any discernable differences (e.g. fire and lightning). Force and control are under the same limitations as his standard telekinesis.
Telekinetic Constructs: Seemingly as a waypoint between his telekinesis and ionokinesis, Scion can utilize his manipulation of electrons to manifest temporary collections of electrons that electromagnetically bond to simulate a solid object. In practice, these "psychic constructs" generally manifest as bright blue luminous structures. Scion can shape these structures into simple geometric shapes (e.g. spheres, prisms, etc), but his control over their form and their tensile strength is relative to his emotional state and level of concentration. Constructs will only persist for as long as Scion maintains them, and can "shatter" under sufficient force. At the present moment, Scion has only demonstrated the ability to create and maintain one temporary construct. Force and control are under the same limitations as his standard telekinesis.

Brief Bio: Scion's mother (Portinari, Beatrice), was an postgraduate student in upstate New York approximately 17 years ago. When driving home from class at night, she claimed to have been stunned by a brilliant light, and claims that she underwent a surreal experience that she cannot adequately describe. Portinari describes "missing time" and awakening on the roof of her car the following morning. Meterological and astronomical records from the time support Portinari's theory of this incident having been an alien abduction and experimentation by an as-of-yet unknown extraterrestrial visitor.

The following week, Portinari discovered that the incident had left her pregnant with a child of unknown species. Portinari moved to Queens to live closer to her parents, and carried the child to term in what was described as a "healthy, unremarkable pregnancy." Her child, named Virgil Dante (Scion), was indiscernible from a normal human at birth, apart from his unusual coloration. Scion displayed no abnormalities until he learned to speak at six months, and was able to walk proficiently at nine months. Portinari's parents disowned her not long after Scion's first birthday, as they believed that the baby was possessed by some manner of demon. Scion's prodigious development continued well into his childhood, as he learned and developed physically at a much faster than children at his age. He was considered by his schools and teachers to be a child prodigy, and was enrolled into numerous special classes and programs.

It is believed that Scion's "external" powers manifested some time around his twelfth birthday. This is marked by his sudden disinterest in school and extracurricular activities. Scion's school records from this point onward are marked by frequent tardiness, truancy and missed assignments. Scion maintained a "C" grade average in most classes, by virtue of his intelligence allowing him to keep his grade afloat with minimal assignments. Unlike in similar cases, this behavior was not a side-effect of nighttime vigilantism, as there are no records of any incidents with individuals possessing powers similar to his in Queens at the time. The prevailing theory is that with the development of his powers, he came to learn the truth of his conception and understood the nature of his being, which inflicted Scion with severe bitterness and ennui.

An attempted bank robbery in which Scion and his mother were held hostage brought the attention of SHIELD. The attempted robber (one Herman Schultz, a.k.a. "the Shocker") threatened Portinari at gunpoint, which triggered an enraged response from Scion. Schultz was quickly overwhelmed and defeated, and the robbery was easily foiled. Scion and Portinari were questioned and detained by police arriving at the scene, and SHIELD was contacted to handle the matter. Schultz, admitted to New York–Presbyterian Hospital Queens under police supervision, was found to have thirteen broken bones, and burns covering 45% of his body. SHIELD operatives debriefed police officers and conducted extensive interviews of Scion and his mother. With both facing charges under the Superhuman Registration Act of 2006, the operatives offered to have the charges dropped under the condition that Scion attend the Avengers Academy. Initially resistant to the idea, Scion agreed after encouragement from Portinari.

FOUO

The information herein is For Official Use Only (FOUO) which must be protected under the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended. Unauthorized disclosure or misuse of this PERSONAL INFORMATION may result in criminal and/or civil penalties.

Initial Observation Report: An archetypical "problem child," Scion is apathetic, disrespectful, and of a poor work ethic. He is resistant to instruction and coaching, routinely refuses to complete assignments, and displays antagonistic behavior to students and faculty alike. His delinquency is matched only by his level of untapped potential: among the greatest ever seen at the Academy.

Training Regimen/Expertise: Scion's regimen changes frequently, as new classes are introduced to him as attempts to break through his shell of indifference, and as his instructors lose all patience with his behavior. Though his regimen commonly includes classes dedicated to leadership, the history and heritage of the Avengers, and training programs designed to increase his strength and skill both physically and in psychokinesis. These classes are attended by Scion infrequently, and he only rarely exerts any effort in them.

Potential Outlook: Realistically, Scion is on the fast-track to becoming one of the Academy's few washouts. Unless the staff can find some way to inspire him, motivate him, or otherwise absolve his apathetic malaise, he will be expelled.

Best Case Scenario: The potential Scion exhibits is remarkable. His mental and physical prowess, combined with his exceptional abilities could lend to nearly any battlefield role. Most instructors project him serving best as a battlefield commander; able to lead from the front lines while issuing orders and directing tactics.

Worst Case Scenario: Should Scion be expelled from the Academy, it is generally assumed that he will eventually use his powers for crime as a means of supporting himself. In the worst possible scenario, he is motivated by the pursuit of wealth and power typical to super-criminals to further the development of his abilities. Should this come to pass, he would be an exceptionally powerful foe, who could come to threaten global security. The possibility also exists of Scion's genetic "father" returning to Earth to "reclaim" him, which given the current lack of information regarding the extraterrestrial in question, could result in destruction equivalent to an [REDACTED]-class Extinction Event.

//SIGNED
NICHOLAS J. FURY, COL., SHIELD
Public Director

[Dead Cruiser]

Frontal Lobe

Name: "Frontal Lobe," "FL"

Age: 18

Gender: Male

Appearance: Not much to look at.

Stand name: Video Violence

Stand ability: Video Violence can take images displayed on electronic screens, and manifest them in the real world. They maintain the size that they possessed within the screen, but have exactly the same power as an item of the "correct" size, with absolutely no accounting for scale. Items can only be "removed" by returning them from the screen they were taken from, or destroying that screen. Video Violence has no control over anything it creates once it is removed from the screen, and for this reason the power can very easily backfire on FL.

Stand appearance: "My robotic, electronic expression."

Weapon: Carries a laptop and a smartphone, both customized to hack into AV systems as needed.

Personality: Pragmatic and lackadaisical, everything FL does seems to be out of pure laziness, or because it was convenient to him at the time. Tends not to get caught up in the philosophical ramifications of things, and is very focused on the here and now. Easy enough to get along with, but some people find his attitude utterly aggravating. Difficult to get him to care about something strenuous, and it's rare for him to care about it for very long.

Bio: A shut-in who lives in his parents' basement, FL spends most of his days gaming online, watching anime, and buying computer parts and otaku merchandise off the internet. He makes a small sum of money working as an online tech support guru, but makes considerably more money as a black-hat hacker, known in darkweb circles only by his pseudonym, Frontal Lobe.

Stats:

Destructive power: D
Speed: B
Range: A
Durability: E
Precision: C

What is courage?: To become one with fear itself.

[Dead Cruiser]

"For centuries my sacrifices brought peace to this land. Now only my shadow remains."

N A M E / A L I A S

Volkimir Sturmkirk

The Mortifier
Dark Angel
The Shadow King

M Y T H O L O G Y

As a nation both vast and ancient, Ansus has a history at once both lengthy and profound. Among its many colorful legends of triumphant heroes, there are just as many tales of misery and despair. Onesuch tale regards the tragedy of House Sturmkirk, one among the many royal bloodlines descended from the venerable Forefather and his compatriots. In times long past, when the land of Ansus was divided amongst petty kingdoms and fractious empires, there were few who could called themselves nobility that held true to the honor of their ancestors. Sturmkirk was one of these few noble households; reverent to the gods, benevolent to their vassals, and merciless to their enemies. Great fortresses and cathedrals were erected in the Eastern Reaches at their command: baroque towers of stone and iron rising among the mighty trees and mountain peaks as tributes to the achievements both mortal and divine. Their territory, the Stormlands, held fast against rival kingdoms and barbarian hordes alike, and the Sturmkirk name became synonymous with power and majesty.

It is said that the glory of Sturmkirk died with their last true king, a mighty warrior and crusader. Killed in battle against one of the many barbarian tribes so deeply entrenched in the Stormlands, the crown was passed onto his son, marking the beginning of a dark new era in the legacy of that ancient breed, and indeed for all of Ansus. The newly-crowned king was not a warrior as his father was; rather, he was a scholar and alchemist, as well as a wizard if rumors were to be believed. Rather than rule by the sword, he sought to uphold the strength of his nation through more enlightened legislation, and educating his subjects. A civilized man in uncivilized times, the king's thoughtfulness was seen as weakness by both neighboring kingdoms and the barbarians plaguing his kingdom. Conflicts erupted throughout the Stormlands, as well as widely across its borders. The might of their military was enough to keep the peace, but not without cost. The stability of his kingdom lessened, the peasantry grew fearful, and the king's court began to question him.

The decline of House Sturmkirk was slow, yet gradual, and felt more strongly year by year. Border engagements became mounting defeats, and territory was lost to the Stormlands' greedy neighbors. Barbarians won out against guards and soldiers, and raids on common villages became increasingly frequent. The king grew older, and dissent grew in his court. His bannermen mocked him in their cups, and rumors circulated of dark and disturbing experiments carried out in the laboratories carried out beneath Castle Sturmkirk. His perceived failings reached their peak as the royal keep itself was assaulted by a barbarian horde. The royal guard's numbers depleted by years of conflict, the king's sons took to the walls to bring courage and inspiration to those that remained. The castle was held, but at a dire cost; the king's only sons had been killed in battle. Those closest to the king knew then that the pressure of leadership had finally come to break him, and that he was not the same man since those days.

His territory shrinking, his homeland sacked and plundered by bandits and tribesmen, and his heirs dead, the king grew desperate to restore honor and glory to his household. At first he tried what he knew best, logic and science. Logistics and law were planned and written out to revitalize the kingdom, but to no avail. Propaganda next, to stir the common folk into fighting back against the despair that had settled in their country. As even this failed, the king turned to darker arts; sorcery and enchantment were delved into, to restore the fortune and power of the Stormlands. These forbidden forays seemed to drain what was left of the king's sanity, and so he resorted to the foulest heresy of all: he procured a deal with a demon.

The demon Shilgengar was summoned from the depths of the infinite hells, promises of power and prestige on its lips and malice in its heart. The immortality and might of the divine were offered to the mad king, and were eagerly accepted. In exchange, the demon demanded that he forsake the gods of his ancestors, and offer up the very life of his family's patron angel. Without a second thought, the king cast off the gods of old, and callously lured the sacred angel Marycz to a cruel and gruesome death. The demon took the holy blood of the slaughtered angel, and after mixing it with his own foul ichor, offered it to the king and his few remaining loyalists. They partook eagerly, but were all-too-predictably fooled by the malevolent beast. Rather than bless them with divine strength, they were cursed to endure their sins eternally; they had become immortal, half-living fiends of night, Vampires.

A curse though it was, power had been restored to Sturmkirk all the same. With their newfound strength of flesh and magic, their homeland was "purified," first quickly by removing all of those who had dissented against the king. Later was the long war against the barbarians that had been a curse upon the land for time immeasurable. However, they were a blessing in comparison to what had now befallen the Stormlands. Madness of the mind and sins of the soul twisted the nobility of the Stormlands into monsters, and the entire region devolved into a cesspit of debauchery and corruption. Commoners were slaughtered in droves, and they were the lucky ones. Others became human cattle to the vampiric nobility, or were subject to the king's depraved experiments. A miasma of darkness settled over the Stormlands, as though the gods themselves had forsaken this land and everyone within it. The kingdoms of the age no longer dared to venture within its borders, and monsters and heretics from lands far and wide sought asylum in this locus of evil. Generations passed, and the black forests and looming peaks eventually became known as the Shadowlands. In a way, the mad king succeeded in returning power to Sturmkirk, as no family became more fear or hated in all of Ansus.

However, as the ages passed and the powers of the land grew fewer and mightier, a man emerged from the Shadowlands' unholy depths, bearing a forsaken name. He was Volkimir Sturmkirk, and he had come to restore honor to his name. Filled to sickening of the depravity of the vampire courts of his homeland, his personal quest had been one to return the pride of House Sturmkirk. For years untold he wandered the length and breadth of the world. In distant lands, where men spoke strange tongues and had never heard the name Sturmkirk, he learned to be a sorcerer, a swordsman and a statesman. Across the myriad kingdoms of Ansus, he delved ancient tombs and ruins, uncovering secret arts and lost artifacts. He sought out the great masters of combat and the clever craft, and upon defeating them demanded that they remember his name. With treasure and triumph, he crafted his own legend, though one spoken of only in whispers. Despite his efforts, Sturmkirk was still a cursed name, and for all of his power and prestige, he was still the same unholy monster that had bespoiled a great noble house: a vampire.

A centuries wore on, Volkimir adjusted his goals and methods, taking on a subtler approach to restoring the pride of his ancestry. Where he saw useful allies, he lent his strength to create immortal dynasties. Where rivals or antagonist could emerge, he brought destruction and ruin. From the short-sighted perspectives of men, this mysterious figure seemed to be a capricious agent of fortune, more an unreadable omen than a man. However, as he grew older, Volkimir could feel himself growing cold and distant. He felt more detached from mortal men with each passing decade, and found their ephemeral ideas and motivations increasingly unconscionable.

However, darkness loomed elsewhere than the immortal heart of the Shadowlands' outcast prince. Having finally exhausted the lives of their cursed homeland, the vampires of Volkimir's former royal lineage turned their attentions outward for the first time in many centuries. With hordes of undead, immortal warriors, and the blackest sorceries imaginable, they took to the fields of battle against the kingdoms of the age. Like a plague they spread through the continent, bringing death and despair to Ansus like the land had never seen before. These were considered the end times by many, and became known as the Horror Wars. The defending empires were ill-prepared against this unholy onslaught, and it seemed that none could stand against them. However, there was one man who could fight such monsters, as he was one of their very blood.

Volkimir beseeched the nations that still had strength to stand against the powers of the Shadowlands. He brought them his power and expertise, his wisdom and experience. Many nations turned him away at first, thinking him to be an agent of corruption or insurrection, but some were desperate enough to trust in him, and they were enough at first. The few key victories he won against the dark hordes earned him the loyalty of the greater powers, and they were enough to turn the tide of the Horror Wars. The Shadowlands' forces were legion, their ranks filled with demons and other unspeakable monstrosities, but for every monster they wielded, Volkimir had a new trick or strategy. He turned their undead against them, lured them to their holy banes, or deceived demons into accepting self-defeating contracts, among many other unorthodox tactics.

The wars ended within a year, the monsters beaten back to their unholy hive, and peace had returned to Ansus. The vampires spurned Volkimir, calling him a betrayer of his kind, and branding him as "Mortifier." Some common folk and clergy saw him as a secret blessing of the gods, silently paying tribute to this "Dark Angel." Many of the nations who fought in the wars had united in face of a common enemy and become a single state, or merely absorbed lesser, defeated nations. In sight of this united Ansus, which he had commanded to victory, Volkimir saw his perfect opportunity to achieve ultimate honor and glory. He attempted to appoint himself as king over the united kingdoms of Ansus. However, this was far from a successful ploy; though he knew the minds of his enemy, he had grown too detached from men to know their minds. Commoners viewed him as yet another monster attempting to conquer them through underhanded means. The church saw him as demonspawn, utterly unfit to rule the lands the Forefather had conquered in the name of the gods. Indeed, the Grand Ecclesiarch himself claimed that his bronze cane would sooner blossom with flowers than the gods permit such a monstrosity to rule over their people. The myriad nations that had allowed Volkimir to save them and their people washed their hands of him, seeing him as a deniable asset not expended of use.

Rage and despair overcame Volkimir. He had given everything he had to these people, and yet they still spurned him. Only then, he realized, he had not truly given them everything. With a small host of loyal soldiers, Volkimir marched back into the Shadowlands, and was never seen again. It is said on that same day, the cane of the Ecclesiarch bloomed with beautiful, bronze flowers. In years after his disappearance, monsters ceased to emerge from the tainted forests, and the aura of darkness slowly faded from the land. Gradually the peasantry returned, and the land was resettled, its dark past was forgotten to the passage of time; merely a black page in the history of Ansus.

A P P E A R A N C E

As an ageless vampire, Volkimir is considered to be an avatar of dark and forbidden beauty. Seen usually as a tallish man with the well-balanced build of an experienced warrior, Volkimir Sturmkirk is a striking figure to behold. His features are sharp and angular, balanced by his masculine brow and strong jawline. His eyes are the most distinctive feature of his face; their black sclera and icy, luminous irises are distinctly inhuman, and Volkimir's gaze is piercing and predatory. Sharp, white fangs are revealed whenever he smiles or speaks, and his incisor teeth seem unnaturally sharp and jagged. His hair hangs to the top of his shoulderblades, and is so fair that in most lighting it seems completely white. Volkimir's skin, while usually so pale as to seem translucent, takes on a sickly, ashen hue when exposed to sunlight, stripping away his last disguise of humanity.

A B I L I T I E S / E Q U I P M E N T

As a vampire, Volkimir is at once much more and much less than a normal man. His strength and speed are both mythic; far greater than what can be attained by common men. He can see in darkness just as well as in light, can hear a heartbeat from across a full feasting hall, and can smell a living bloodscent from a league away. If he so chooses, he can move in complete silence, become invisible, or fly through the air like a phantom of night. Neither age nor disease blights him, and his half-living flesh is greatly resistant to cold and poison. However, he is cursed to feed upon the lifeblood of mortals, requiring at least a human body's worth of blood every turn of the moon. Sunlight is his bane, searing his skin and punishing him with migraines should he come in direct contact with it. Silver nauseates him, and the sight of his own reflection fills him with delirium. Moonlight reflected in water or by a silver mirror inflicts Volkimir with temporary blindness, should it meet his eyes. Though he can recover from wounds faster than most mortal men, any wound inflicted by silver or living wood festers rather than heal cleanly.

Most mortals have but a few decades to practice their skills, whereas Volkimir has had thousands of years to perfect his own. He is a swordsman par excellence, wielding a bastard sword with inhuman power and grace. His skill as a statesman and general are both profound, and he speaks many tongues both living and dead. A master manipulator, Volkimir is able to turn both common men and entire nations to his will. These are merely his mortal skills, as his magical arts are far more profound. By plumbing ancient ruins in distant corners of the world, Volkimir is master of many magical practices forgotten by mankind. His favored spells fall under the domain of "sangromancy," a rare and secretive school of black magic that specializes in manipulating flesh, bones and blood. Volkimir's most infamous techniques are to painfully disintegrate flesh to ash, or to manipulate the matter of still-living bodies, turning his enemies and prey into puppets.

Almost as famous as the man himself is his legendary sword, Elbrus, the Bound Blade. While ornate in design and flawless in construction, Elbrus is quite unusual in having been forged of a metal not known to earthly smiths. The blade is seemingly unbreakable, with an edge as sharp as winter, and so dark in color that it appears to consume light rather than reflect it. Intensely magical, the sword absorbs the life-force of those it wounds, giving Volkimir a considerable advantage in lengthy duels. However, this is not a mere enchantment; Elbrus has bound within it a powerful demon, sealed within the sword countless ages ago by a holy warrior that gave his own life to contain the monster. The sword has an unspeakably unholy aura to those sensitive to such matters, and the demon whispers foul promises and fouler threats to anyone weak of will that comes to wield Elbrus.

In his travels Volkimir acquired many other trappings and trinkets, relics of bygone eras. Remarkable is that the man left behind almost no artifacts of his own; having "borrowed" his material strength from more ancient heroes, his ancestors and forebears. Such "reappropriated" relics include the Helvault, a mysterious meteorite said to imprison 108 different demons, and the spear Encarmine, said to have been wielded by a dragon-slaying angel of ages past.

A G E O F L E G E N D

The Horror Wars were roughly 2,000 years ago, though Volkimir was born an indeterminate number of millennia before.

[Dead Cruiser]

Archon of Blood

^{"I understand. Illyrica is your home, and Lady Izalith your queen. Your trade was good, and you were taken care of. Your Exarchs defended you, and the Archons ruled you justly. You did not need my patronage. But now, you come to me and say, 'My Archon, give me strength, give me power.' But you don't offer piety. You don't ask on your knees. You don't even think to call me Great-Father. Instead, you stand before my throne and demand my favor."}

N A M E

Kuth Irkalla

T I T L E S

Archon of Blood
Great-Father, the Dragon in the East, Lord of Sheol, the Red Worm, King of Thieves and Whores, Murder-God Bhaal

T Y P E

Archon

R I V A L

Kabius Grim, the Archon of Shadow, serves as Kuth's primary rival in the twisting, internecine politics of the Empire. Each man considering himself to be a master of secrecy and subterfuge, they constantly endeavor to outdo one another other otherwise gain some sort of advantage over their rival. Though the scale of their conflict is often hidden from the public eye, it can be quite bloody at times; Kuth has made a tradition out of sending Kabius the head of every one of his spies he finds in his private court. On a deeper level, Kuth realizes that the Archon of Shadow is among the greatest obstacles to his own ambition, and would see the man removed from the equation at his earliest opportunity.

A P P E A R A N C E

Kuth seems to many like a man from another world, so uncanny is his appearance. A long, tapering head, his features presenting an exotic beauty. His slanting eyes are crimson red, their gaze ancient and brooding. His form is slender, yet wiry; lithe and predatory like a hungry wolf. His flesh is the color of bleached bone, and his long, flowing hair is the color of pure snow. His unnatural coloration resulted from his unholy communion of the Dark Ones, which corrupted his form and prolonged his life well beyond mortal means. His garb of choice is usually obsidian armor or ebony robes, both of which fashioned to designs no longer found in this world.

P E R S O N A L I T Y // D R I V E

Kuth strikes many as a man out of time, his moods and actions out of place among the other Archons, Exarchs and other rulers. Most view him as little more than a vicious tyrant, ruthlessly disposing of those that oppose him, and crushing any resistance to his rule. Those that know him more personally understand that he abides by a personal code of honor, though it is alien and antiquated enough to be almost inscrutable by the standards of this era. While on the surface he appears flighty and mercurial, this masks a tenacity that would rival that of a starving hound. He delights in dark decadence and long-planned revenge in equal measures, and generously shares the pleasures of either with his confidants. A shrewd manipulator and a cunning deceiver, it is a dangerous thing to assume Kuth's intentions, as one almost assuredly only thinks what he wants them to think. Despite his evil reputation, Kuth values loyalty above all else, greatly treasuring those of his blood, and those who have spilled blood in fealty to him.

Nothing less than the complete domination of Illyrica is Kuth's goal, and he fully intends to usurp Izalith and depose the other Archons in doing so. Whether the Mother Night herself knows of his intentions is debatable, but this does not so much as give him pause. Already Kuth's influence seeps into the mainland like a poison, his unholy brood and clandestine agents positioning themselves in noble courts and positions of power.

H I S T O R Y

Sheol, also known as the Black Isle, is a large island that sits across the waters of the Dragonthroat from Nachesh. Before the Disjunction, it was home to a small nation of sorcerers and warlocks who worshiped the Ancient Ones and performed dark rites and rituals in their names. As the War of the Heavens wrought destruction across the world, the small magocracy that thrived on Sheol was utterly destroyed, leaving behind nothing but the ruins of their obsidian temples and palaces, and a small colony of the Ancient Ones' vile brood. It was thought by all that the native peoples of Sheol had been made extinct, but in truth, a single man survived.

Kuth Irkalla tells little of past prior to the Disjunction, explaining vaguely that he was a lesser noble, a warlock that served in the court of one of Sheol's sorcerer-lords. In the centuries between the fall of his people and his own rise to power, he lived as a savage in the wasted ruins of his homeland. He practiced foul and forbidden magics to ward away spirits and demons, and drank the blood of the Dark Ones that remained from the War to extend his own life in absence of his people's curative elixirs. These desperate measures corrupted Kuth's very flesh, turning his form bone-white and turning him into a creature less than human. So twisted was he that food could no longer sustain him, and he was forced to subsist on the warm blood of living creatures.

In time, civilizations rebounded and people returned to Sheol. First explorers, then settlers, then merchants and traders, and finally outlaws and fugitives. Outside of the influence of the then-fledgling empires, Sheol became a haven for pirates, smugglers, and all manner of other scoundrels. Organized crime flourished like a weed in Sheol's ports and shipyards, and before long the island had become a pseudo-nation of thieves and killers. Kuth did not lament this development, as he saw it as little more than human nature in its purest form. Though he had forsaken the Ancient Ones as gods, Kuth still adhered to their malevolent ways, and sought to take back Sheol for himself.

Court politics in Old Sheol taught Kuth much of how to gain power and influence, and the self-described lords of New Sheol were ill-prepared for the level of violence and barbarity he was willing to demonstrate. Killing his rivals and taking their assets for his own was practically his first course of action. However, to curry favor one must give as well as take, and in seeing the people of Sheol as his kin and his ward, Kuth founded the reputation of the "Great-Father," the secretive crime-lord who could grant nearly any desire, but often at a terrible price. Under his watchful eye and swift hand Sheol grew into a small yet burgeoning empire in its own right; one that attracted the attention of the Mother Night, Izalith.

When the mighty armies of Illyrica came to port on Sheol, they met no resistance. Their soldiers were welcomed with women and drink, and Izalith and her Archons were invited to treat with the island's lord. The man they met was merely a puppet ruler hastily instated by Kuth, and served as a front as the Great-Father made his own demands. Wise Izalith saw through this guise with ease, but indulged Kuth by continuing to parlay with Kuth through this proxy. The "lord's" demands were easily met, as he would swear fealty to Illyrica and the Mother Night, meeting her needs for men or coin when asked, in exchange for Sheol's complete autonomy and its Archon's unquestioned authority. The puppet was granted the title of Archon for the brief months that he was alive to bear it, and after an unsurprisingly quick coup, the Great-Father ruled the Black Isle in earnest.

Though little had changed beyond a crown being placed upon his brow, Kuth now wielded the power of an Archon through the Mother Night's favor and the legend of the Great-Father. Determined to shape his home into a true nation, he founded the order known as the Coven. Equal parts crime syndicate and secret police, the Coven's innermost ranks were formed by Kuth's dozens of offspring, which he had imbued with both a portion of his unnatural power and his cursed blood. Generations of descendants formed the bulk of the order, who infiltrated every port, city, gang, business, and criminal enterprise on Sheol. Any organization that was host to the Coven was under the Great-Father's "personal" protection, but was forced to pay tribute. Thieves paid in coin, slavers in flesh, and any who refused were purged. Particularly loyal supplicants could undertake a covenant of blood, and become members of the Coven themselves.

Sheol was as much a den of sin and lawlessness as ever before, but now under the direct and utterly legal control of the Great-Father. The foulness of Sheol was hardly contained to only it, and crime often spread to coast of Nachesh like a dark stain. Similarly, Kuth's influence hardly stopped within his own borders, and both members of his Coven and other agents under his control lurked within the domains of other Archons, as well as Lesmiana. To say that this corruption was tolerated by Kuth's fellow Archons and lesser Exarchs would be a dramatic overstatement, and many have made attempts to depose Kuth or otherwise restrict his influence. He has reacted to such attempts with a swiftness and ferocity that few are prepared for, and a handful of Exarchs have "abdicated" by his order. There have even been occasions when other Archons have had their noses blooded, both figuratively and literally, after attempting to infringe upon his enterprises.

A R M A M E N T S

The Sanguine Throne: The literal seat of Kuth's power, the Sanguine Throne is a hulking structure of shimmering, translucent, ruby crystal. However, the throne is not carved from any sort of mineral, as it is actually formed by an incalculable quantity of blood that is kept in a perpetually-frozen state by magical means. Traitors to the Archon and other political criminals are traditionally executed by ritual exsanguination, and their blood is added to the Sanguine Throne. Beyond serving as a symbol of Kuth's might and cruelty, the throne is a locus of hemomantic power, and Kuth can use it to amplify his blood magic to truly staggering levels.

Yammu, Blade of the Black Isle: An artfully crafted bastard sword, forged from a mysterious obsidian metal, and designed by artisans that no longer live in this age. With great effort and expenditure, Kuth was able to recover and reforge this blade from the ruins of Old Sheol, and it now serves as one of his primary symbols of office. Tempered in the black flames of chaos, Yammu's very essence is antithetical to life, and wounds inflicted by it become virulently necrotic as its victims' flesh surrenders to the void.


Mysteries of the Void: An unholy and heretical tome of Kuth's own authorship, Mysteries of the Void is an encyclopedic amalgamation of Kuth's knowledge of the Ancient Ones, Vilespawn, Antediluvians, the War of the Heavens, and the Disjunction, all of which he lived to see with his own two eyes. Many additional secrets have been mined from the past through mystic meditation, and Kuth has dutifully inscribed them all in this grimoire's pages, using the very blood of Dark Ones as ink. While the book's existence is antithetical to Izalith's law of Forbidden Knowledge, Kuth keeps its existence hidden through psychic blocks, defended by magic booby-traps, and the tome itself is written in the dead language of Old Sheol, of which only the Archon of Blood and the inner circle of his Coven still speak.

Zephon, the Storm of Chaos: The only one of his artifacts that Kuth does not keep for his own personal use, Zephon was commissioned as the "successor" sword to Yammu, and was ensorcelled by the Archon of Blood himself. While it was forged by more mundane, earthly metals and methods, it is inscribed with hundreds of runes that serve as the source of its power. Each rune binds a chaotic spirit that Kuth personally summoned and enslaved, thus making the blade host to a veritable legion of faeries, demons and devils. Each rune that is invoked infuses the spirit's power into the blade, but also releases the spirit's consciousness, which can easily influence the sword's wielder. Thus as more runes are invoked, the weapon becomes incrementally more powerful, but the wielder also is put at greater risk of being overcome by the spirits within. Deemed too dangerous to trust to one of his subordinates, Kuth had Zephon locked away within his personal vaults.

M O U N T

Though Kuth will most usually travel by more inconspicuous means, when riding to battle or making a show of force, he takes up the reigns of Apollyon, his undead draconic steed. While Apollyon's physical form is comprised of the bones of an ancient dragon lord, the creature is truly a chaotic spirit that has been summoned and enslaved by Kuth, and bound to the dragon's bones. A powerful magical entity in her own right, Apollyon is capable of magic-induced flight, and can conjure powerful curses and poisons to destroy the foes of her master slowly and painfully. While she is intelligent, prideful, and utterly malevolent, Apollyon has something of an obscene infatuation with Kuth, and eagerly submits to his demands.

D I S C I P L I N E

The discipline formed by Kuth's status as an Archon is known by several names: blood magic, hemomancy, sanguimancy, and so on. These titles are largely descriptive, as the discipline focuses on the manipulation of blood, flesh, and bone. Most who wield it are born with their powers, as it is most common among Kuth's direct descendants, but it can also be granted to outsiders that join the Coven. The only other practitioners are the small priesthood that exists on Sheol, who use its powers to heal members of their congregation and to venerate their Archon. Blood Magic can be used to many ends, including raising mindless undead servants, inducing rapid decay, creating structures of biological matter, mending wounds or curing disease, and siphoning away the strength and vital energies of others. More powerful practitioners, such as those in Kuth's inner circle, can induce entropy in inorganic matter, turn flesh to ash, and take hold of living matter to turn their enemies into fleshy puppets.

A B I L I T I E S

Kuth has been an accomplished magician for centuries, and has a wealth of knowledge and experience gained from his considerable lifespan. He masterfully commands such primordial forces as darkness and chaos to tear apart his enemies or imbue himself with unnatural power. Raising the dead is child's play for him, and he is no stranger to summoning and binding spiritual entities from realms unseen. Magics of the mind are also well within his domain, as he has been known to read thoughts, dominate the weak-willed, and peer through space and time to spy on his enemies and learn forgotten secrets.

Even without his mystic powers, Kuth is a master of deception and manipulation. Adept in playing the emotions and motivations of others to suit his needs like so many stringed musical instruments, he is often embroiled in several staggeringly complex plots at any given time. Lending to his skill in politicking is his considerable knowledge of history and economics, which he has brought to bear in developing Sheol as a province of the Empire.

While he has some knowledge of swordsmanship and fencing, Kuth was never much of a warrior, and his skill in arms is rudimentary at best. A common man would still have nearly no chance of overcoming him in hand-to-hand combat, however, as his body is so imbued with mystic power that his strength and speed are both inhuman.

Sample Spells

Raise Null
Components: A completely exsanguinated corpse, a few drops of the caster's blood, incantation in Old Sheolan
Casting Time: Five minutes
Range: Touch
Duration: Until the death of the Null
Effect: A corpse is raised as the caster's servant, completely obedient to their mental commands, but is no more intelligent than a feral beast when left to its own devices. It has no magical abilities, and is only as powerful as it was in life, undead status aside. Still-fleshy corpses lose all hair, fur, feathers, etc, and a membrane of flesh grows over their eyes, giving them a distinctly faceless appearance.

Decompose
Components: Life energy of the caster, incantation in Old Sheolan
Casting Time: A few seconds
Range: Touch
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Induces spontaneous decay organic material, which can induce necrosis in flesh, wilt living plants, or rapidly decompose dead matter.

Bloodblade
Components: A pint of the caster's blood, incantation in Old Sheolan
Casting Time: One minute
Range: Self
Duration: Concentration
Effect: The caster slashes their own wrist, and the blood that issues forth in the shape of a scimitar in the caster's hand. While not particularly strong in construction, its cutting edge is supremely sharp, like a hyper-pressurized jet of water.

Flesh Knit
Components: Life energy of caster or target, incantation in Old Sheolan
Casting Time: Variable depending on extent of injury
Range: Touch
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Damaged or wounded flesh spontaneously regenerates, but the process is imperfect as magic "compels" the wound to heal; the target experiences excruciating pain, and heavy scarring is common.


Vampire's Bite
Components: Incantation in Old Sheolan
Casting Time: A few seconds
Range: Touch
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Upon contact with the target (either skin to skin or through a medium such as cloth or metal) the caster siphons away the life energy of the target, draining their physical and magical potency and supplementing their own until their bodies naturally restore or readjust.

Mortify
Components: Life energy of the caster, incantation in Old Sheolan
Casting Time: A few seconds
Range: 10 feet
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Hundreds of years of decay are forced upon the target in a single moment; a living creature struck by the spell has its flesh turned to ash, usually killing it instantly

Unmake
Components: Life energy of the caster, incantation in Old Sheolan
Casting Time: One minute
Range: 15 feet
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Either a single target or all matter in a radius is subject to severe, accelerated entropy. Flesh turns to dust, metal rusts, water evaporates, and the heat is sucked out of the air. Can be used to accelerate the expiry of enchantments or the consumption of magic energy.


Bloodthrall
Components: Blood of the caster, life energy of the caster
Casting Time: One minute
Range: 50 feet
Duration: Concentration
Effect: The caster strikes the target with a string-like tendril of their own blood, which becomes invisible and incorporeal as the spell takes hold. The target's body then comes under the thrall of the caster, who can move their limbs, face, etc by mental suggestion. More advanced casters can force their target to speak, or control their involuntary processes such as their breath or the beating of their heart.

Loyalists of the Great-Father

T H E C O V E N

^{"Beauty walks arm in arm with the beast tonight."}

The scions of the Great-Father himself, who bear his cursed blood in their veins. The Coven are Kuth's eyes and ears, his hands and tongue, his fangs and claws. Wherever the will of the Great-Father is to be done, the Coven will be there to carry it out. Widely-spread and loosely-organized, their numbers are difficult to ascertain, but they are thought to exist in the hundreds, if not thousands across all of Nachesh. The only practitioners of Kuth's discipline of Blood Magic, as only the Archon's blood can unlock the secrets of the disipline. The myriad offspring of the Red Worm organize themselves into a caste system, a series of numbered "Broods," determined by the number of generations separating oneself from the Great-Father. Those who are not born into the Coven, instead joining it by supplicating themselves in loyalty to the Archon of Blood, undergo a profane ritual known by such names as the Blood Kiss, the Covenant, or the Sacrament of Sheol. This transfuses the blood and power of the Great-Father into them, but they are still seen as the bottom-most "Bastard Brood" by the inborn members of the Coven.

Established early in Kuth's reign, the Coven served as a formalization of his prior underworld connections and alliances. As he had no adult blood relatives at the time of his asencion to Archon, all of the founding members of the Coven were converted through the Blood Kiss, though almost none remain to this day. Members of the Coven serve a wide variety of roles in service to the Great Father, from his closest advisers, appointed rulers of Sheol, courtiers and emissaries to other Archons. These more prestigious positions are generally reserved for Kuth's children and grandchildren, though it is well-noted that the only member of the Coven that is an Exarch joined by undertaking the Covenant. Lower-ranking members are typically criminals of all manners and classes, exert Kuth's most direct influence.

Notable Persons

N I R G A L

Nirgal Irkalla, Kuth's third-born son, is perhaps the highest-ranking member of the Coven, the Great Father and Lady Margeux aside. He serves the Great-Father as vizier, his formal title being Prince of Maweth, a position he assumed from his eldest brother following the Ivory Dragon's betrayal. While he is assisted by a variety of advisers and lesser members of the Coven, he is responsible for much of the governance of Sheol itself, as well as administration of the Coven both within the Black Island and abroad. While many (quietly) consider Nirgal to be a smug bureaucrat and a heartless sycophant, Nirgal is none the less a skilled administrator and politician, and his position in the hierarchy of the Coven is well-kept.

S I B A R I

Born into the Second Brood, Kuth's grandchildren, Sibari Irkalla is the eldest daughter of the Great-Father's firstborn son, Kishar. Having been born into such great prestige, great expectations were placed upon Sibari, which she endeavored to live up to. Seeking to join the ranks of the Blood Host, Sibari was still undergoing her martial training when Sheol was beset by the Betrayal of the Ivory Dragon. She was kept close to her father's side for her own protection during the ordeal, but this backfired when the Ivory Dragon slew personally slew Kishar, and took Sibiari's right arm as she attempted to fight him off. Crippled and joining all of Sheol in mourning as the Betrayal subsided, she was appointed as steward to the Archon of Blood by her sympathetic grandfather; a position she has loyally fulfilled for nearly forty years.

A L U

A boy of merely sixteen years, Alu Irkalla is Kuth's Third Brood descendant, and is grandson to Nirgal Irkalla. Alu was born into pedigree and prestige, the purity of his blood well-noted to be above average for his Brood. A child of Sheol post-betrayal, the paranoia and politics endemic to the Coven's upper strata are quite familiar to him, and he has learned much from closely observing his family members navigating such matters. Excelling in his studies, his grandfather requested that Kuth allow Alu to become his steward, thus allowing Sibari to retire or move on to a different position, with hopes that Alu could gain enough experience to potentially succeed Nirgal as Prince of Maweth. While Sibari objected being removed from her position, Kuth allowed Alu to study under her, with the possibility of working as her alternate or underling for the time being. Alu, having no say in this, is terrified of the prospect of working so closely with the Great-Father, and is greatly anxious over being singled out and separated from his peers.

S E V E N H O S T S O F L O T A N

^{"Seven heads with seven names,
Bear the weight of seven sins,
Wear the marks of seven scars."}

The governmental military forces of Sheol, as developed and funded by the Archon of Blood himself. So named for the legendary ancestor-beast of Old Sheolan myth, Lotan the Forever Worm, a primordial seven-headed serpent whose corpse forms the very island of Sheol itself. Given the relatively small size and low population of Sheol, the Seven Hosts were each designed to be a self-contained elite force that could operate with minimal support, and could individually fulfill a specific role. While there was always the intention to have a total of Seven Hosts, they were not all developed simultaneously, nor are they remotely equal in size and prestige. From the elite praetorian guard of the Blood Host, to the condemned madmen of the Dread Host, the Sons of Lotan are unified in the sheer destruction that each Host can bring to bear on the battlefield.

The Seven Hosts

T H E B L O O D H O S T

^{"Honor and glory to the heirs of Sheol. By the blood of our fathers, and for the blood of our sons."}

The oldest and most prestigious of the Seven Hosts, the Blood Host serves as the personal guard of the Great-Father, and any other persons or places he deems worthy of their protection. Also called Sanguine Guards, the Blood Host's membership is more exclusive than that of any other host, as it only accepts members of the Coven. Those born into the Coven may spend their entire lives training in arms and blood magic, aspiring to one day join the Blood Host's ranks. Mighty warriors that pledge themselves to the Great-Father may undertake the Covenant and thereby become a Sanguine Guard. The politics and paranoia that plague the Coven are nowhere to be found among the Blood Host, as they consider consider all who are found worthy to join them to be equal.

Originating as Kuth's small circle of trusted guards prior to his ascension to Archon, Kuth considered inducting his closest guards as members of the Coven to be a convenience for himself, as they would then be permitted to accompany him to secretive meetings. As the Coven grew and Kuth's power grew with it, myth and ritual began to surround those worthy enough to guard the Great-Father, and in time the first of Host of Lotan was established to formalize the organization. Members of the Coven may submit themselves as aspirants at the Host's temple in Maweth, whereupon they are subjected to numerous trials meant to test their prowess in arms and their loyalty to the Great-Father. Few survive these rituals, which are conducted over the course of a full year, but those that succeed are inducted as neophytes to the Host. Neophytes are then assigned a true Sanguine Guard as a mentor, to train them in the Host's secret techniques of blood magic and martial skill. Once their mentor deems them worthy, the neophyte is considered a Sanguine Guard in full, and a formal ceremony marks their ascension to the Blood Host. As a highly diverse Host, there is little uniformity among the Sanguine Guards, besides their heraldry and their signature crimson cloaks.

Notable Persons

C A L I S T A R

Calistar Mephis, the Third Brood descendant of Kuth's daughter Goethe, is the Herald of the Blood Host. His title is a designation of honor among the warrior brotherhood of the Sanguine Guards; the Herald is first among equals, held up as an exemplar of the prowess and loyalty that the Blood Host demands from its members. Calistar's early years were spent in the pre-conquest North as the Coven representative for a band of mercenaries and poachers on the northern frontier. As the Conquest of the North took place, Calistar's skill in arms hard-won from years in the unforgiving North earned him a measure of prestige among his fellow soldiers, and he was eventually appointed the leader of a larger mercenary force. As the campaign concluded, Calistar returned to Sheol at the personal invitation of the Great-Father to partake in the trials of the Blood Host. After successfully completing them, he was graduated to a true Sanguine Guard with unprecedented speed. His appointment to Herald, an honor considered long-due by his brothers in arms, followed his defeat of a rogue War Hydra in single combat after it came loose from its bonds in a war convocation in Maweth.

T H E S T O R M H O S T

^{"Do not be taken alive."}

The second-oldest of the Seven Hosts, the Storm Host is both the most numerous among them, and the most alike to a conventional military force. Serving as Kuth's private fleet, the Storm Host draws its ranks from the most vicious pirates that have come to call Sheol their home. Recruited from the many privateer fleets that port in Sheol, many supplicants for the Storm Host are offered up by their crew for their excessive blood-lust and cruelty. After a trial period of torturous indoctrination, these marauders become known as Black Corsairs, and are placed in the service of ship captains hand-picked by Kuth for their prowess at sea, icy hearts, and loyalty to Sheol.

The Storm Host's duties are numerous and integral to the goals of the Coven and the Great-Father himself. While privateer fleets uphold general responsibility for the defense of the Black Isle, the Storm Host is held above them as a constant threat of what would befall them should they turn against the Great-Father. Adept in boarding actions as well as amphibious assaults, they further augment their lethality by employing wizards to conjure storms to capsize their foes, or summon terrible beasts from the deep sea. The Storm Host is most infamous for the destruction and slaughter it leaves in its wake, as those they do not kill they take as slaves to be worked to death on their ships, or to serve as blood-cattle to the elite of the Coven. The unluckiest of their captive are kept as torture-toys to slake the blood-lust of the Black Corsairs in times of peace.

With similar origins to the Blood Host, the Storm Host originated with the first merchant lords that allied with Kuth as he was made Archon. Realizing his need for a private fleet in the event that the privateer fleets were bought out, he gathered his most loyal allies and planned the construction of the Black Corsair fleet alongside them. The Host's temple was constructed on the rocky, storm-battered eastern coast of Sheol, far away from the most prosperous ports on the island. Here the storm wizards could study and train, Black Corsairs could undergo their trials of indoctrination, and slaves could be herded and shuttled off to wherever they could be sold.

Notable Persons

L O K H I R

Lokhir Bloodhook was born at sea, and as far as he knows, he will die at sea. The Graelings, his ancestors, were always people of the rivers and seas, and it has been no different for Clan Bloodhook for generations. Lokhir was thought to be a scrawny, sickly boy, with no business on a ship. However, his talents were not in rigging sails or pulling oars, but in listening and speaking to the sea. He had an inborn talent for magics of the storm and sea, and could commune with the beasts that lurked below. By the time he was given command of his father's ship, he was infamous on the waters for capturing vessels without ever boarding them. His successes continued until he attempted to take a peculiar, large, black vessel, not realizing that it was the flagship of the Archon of Blood, the Forever Worm. To his credit, he came closer than any before or after to taking the ship, even managing to slay its captain, but he was defeated in single combat in by the Great-Father himself in his quarters. The Great-Father was impressed, and deemed that if he desired the ship so badly, he could have it. After a period of indoctrination, Lokhir was made captain of the Forever Worm, a position of envy and prestige among the Storm Host. Acting as the hand of the Great-Father at sea, Lokhir could not be happier. The Great-Father's word was permission to steal, permission to kill, permission to do anything.

T H E D E A T H H O S T

^{"I am wrath. I am judgement. I am the mercy of the end."}

Every so often, a ship belonging to the Storm Host will make drift into the port of Maweth in the dead of night, with sails as dark as the moonless sky. It disgorges its cargo in utter secrecy: processions of men gagged and bound in irons march solemnly from the docks to the bone-white temple of the Death Host. Each is a condemned man; killers, pirates, mercenaries and other such scum that have been captured and tried by the courts of the Empire. Some are lucky enough to be merely executed. The unlucky are brought to Sheol. In the catacombs beneath the temple of Death, blood-mages of the Coven work foul magics to transform these men into monsters. Their very bones burst out of their flesh to form armored plates around their bodies. The iron of the blood is infused into the bone to give it the strength of heavy metal, and they are given weapons shaped from the bones of their predecessors who have fallen in battle. The process is invariably lethal, and most often drives the victims insane. However, this is not the end of their ordeal. Their souls are caught by fell magics, and anchored to their transformed bodies to animate them into twisted mockeries of armored knights. Thus the Dullahans are born.

Upon the completion of their transformation, the Dullahans are kept locked in crypts for a year's time, made to listen to sermons and choirs in the temple above at nearly every waking hour, and forced to lie in stillness in the dark as they cannot sleep. They emerge from their caskets as dutiful soldiers, their minds so broken that they cannot think of anything but to serve the Great-Father. The Dullahans are warriors unlike any other; naught but souls fused with heavy armor. They need not eat, breathe, or sleep, and they have no vital organs to puncture or cut off. Their bodies and weapons are infused with the essence of death, giving them preternatural strength and lethality. They can only be stopped by the destruction of the armor that binds their souls, a task easier said than done. With years of warfare and service, the Dullahans begin to develop personalities of their own, and forge new identities for themselves. These champions of the Death Host can demonstrate surprising intelligence, though their loyalty is still unwavering.

The Death Host originated as an experiment, a collaboration between Kuth and his second-born son, Samyaza. Also known as the Ivory Dragon, Samyaza was an expert and experimenter in the realm of blood magic, and devised many strange and frighteningly powerful applications for it. He attempted to put these efforts at innovation to use in making a legion of tireless, mindlessly-loyal, virtually indestructible warriors. The experiment was such an enormous success, that as the Death Host was formally established, Samyaza was elevated to a status nearly equal to the Great-Father himself. Even after the Ivory Dragon's betrayal, the Death Host continues to be built from the bodies and souls of the Empire's condemned criminals, though many exarchs are loathe to send men to suffer from what they see as Kuth's debauched cruelty.

T H E W R A I T H H O S T

^{"We are the nightmares that torment you. Embrace the call of the infinite."}

Building on the successful experiment that was the Death Host, Samyaza and Kuth worked closely together on the development of their next experimental force. In secret they took in young children, typically orphans or the children of political criminals, and hired masters of martial arts and espionage from the nations such as Ryo in the far east to train them. The children were divided into pairs, and each pair was made to live, work, and train together in perfect tandem and cooperation. When they came of age, each pairing had one of the partners ritually killed, and the dead partner's soul was anchored to the living body of the other. Thus they became two souls in one body, the terrifying creations known as Ghostblades.

Both living and dead at once, Ghostblades can access the myriad of spectral powers commanded by the incorporeal undead. To walk through walls and speak with the dead is trivial to them. To become one with shadow and see the twilight between life and death is a matter of course. Some even claim that they can cut the threat that binds a living soul to this world. Despite their prowess as spies and assassins, Kuth could not use the Wraith Host to hunt down and kill his wayward son after his betrayal, as his knowledge of their methods was too great, and his powers surpassed their own.

Notable Persons

V O S K

Mirko Vosk came into the service of the Great-Father at the inception of the Wraith Host project. In his home country of Dimir, he was spymaster to the Empress until the royal family was deposed, and Vosk fled the country. After the Betrayal of the Ivory Dragon, Vosk was one of the few masters of the Wraith Host that remained loyal to Kuth, and was rewarded justly. He was inducted into the Coven, and was appointed grand-master of the Wraith Host. Since gaining the power of Blood Magic, Vosk has used it to his advantage, and has devised techniques of rapidly and precisely reshaping his own flesh to assume the identity of other people, thus making him an all-the-more dangerous agent in his own right.

T H E R U N E H O S T

^{"My blade hungers."}

As the Great-Father and the Ivory Dragon collaborated on the decade-long experiment that would become the Wraith Host, the Archon of Blood researched other avenues and sources of power. The practice of binding ghosts for their power led him to postulate on the potential benefits of binding chaotic spirits. Working diligently, he devised a means of summoning such entities and encapsulating them in a "controlled seal" in the form of a rune, which could release the captured spirit in increments so as to tap into its power but keep it bound. His first experiment, the runeblade Zephon, he regarded as a failure. Its power was immense, but it was virtually impossible to wield. He refined his concept, eventually only binding singular, specific chaotic entities, and from these experiments the Rune Host was born.

Raised from a young age, similarly to the Wraith Host, the candidates for the Rune Host spent their lives training in swordsmanship and in magical theory. When their training was deemed complete, they were offered their runeblade, which would then be soulbound to them in a delicate ritual. If they survived the binding, they would be officiated as Twilight Knights. Empowered by the demonic entity trapped within their runeblade, the Twilight Knights wielded eldritch power with terrifying control. By calling upon the hunger of their blades, they could serve as anti-magical assassins, the spirits they wielded devouring mana insatiably. While the chaotic energies had been reduced to a manageable level by the advanced runes that Kuth had devised, the power is still too great for a human body to withstand, and so every Twilight Knight is doomed to have their body gradually deteriorate and eventually fail under the strain of their runeblade's power.

T H E D R E A D H O ST

^{"I crave the few earthly pleasures left to me. The sweetness of battle. The sour taste of blood. A bitter death."}

After the Betrayal of the Ivory Dragon, Kuth continued to explore the possibilities he touched upon while forming the Rune Host. The damned men given over to him to become the Death Host were vetted and weeded, as the Great-Father sought only the most vicious and heartless killers for his next project. Rather than bind a ghost to a body, or a demon to a blade, he decided to seal a demon within a living man. He offered up the flesh of his condemned men to the entities of the Beyond, who eagerly accepted the offering and possessed their mortal bodies. The resulting abomination, called Forsaken, was little more than a savage beast in the shape of a man; a mindless whirlwind of destruction that could do nothing but obey the whims of the chaotic spirit that dominated it. Their flesh, twisted and mutated to accommodate the superhuman power of their inner demons, and their minds broken beyond all repair.

Kept bound in heavy chains deep beneath the Temple of the Dread Host, these howling, ravenous monsters are deposited onto battlefields in crates, which are then unlocked remotely by magic. The released Forsaken need no prodding to dive headlong into battle, cleaving apart all in their path with maddened cries. As the demon under their skin cares not for their mortal host, they will keep fighting until they can no longer move, whereupon the demon will be released to wreak further havoc upon the enemy with its tainted magics. Such is the lasting destruction the Dread Host brings that Kuth only releases them when in utterly dire need, or to permanently deny a strategic area to an enemy.

Notable Persons

T H E B U T C H E R

As the Conquest of the North wore on, a particularly troublesome foe was a thorn in the side of Kuth's modest forces for some weeks. The commander of a Varg warband, a half-giant cannibal known only as "the Butcher" had managed to destroy an entire cohort of Dullahans, and killed and eaten two members of the Blood Host. With a concerted effort directed by Calistar Mephis, the Butcher was eventually cornered and defeated. At Kuth's insistence, his life was spared and he was detained, eventually returned to Maweth to become one of the Forsaken. As Kuth suspected, the enormous man reacted much differently to demonic possession than the rest: he was able to overpower the demon within him, stealing its strength and maintaining control over his own body. This proved to be a negligible difference, as the Butcher was more than enough of a monster prior to having one live inside of him. As he is kept chained beneath the Host's temple, he is silent among the cacophony of the other Forsaken's cries. The rare occasions where he has been released upon the enemy always end with him willingly turning himself back over to the Great-Father, his body adorned with new, grisly trophies.

T H E R A V E N H O S T

^{"Bhaal! Bhaal! Blood and souls for my Lord Bhaal!"}

Few events shaped the history of the world as the Great Disjunction did. Many nations and peoples were wiped from the face of the world, but from their ashes rose just as many. In the long-distant years when the Ancient Ones and their Vilespawn ravaged the world, tribes of Northmen fled south by sea to escape the destruction they wrought. These many refugees landed at the north-most tip of an ancient island that had been known as Sheol. They settled there, hoping to be free of the monsters they had escaped. They were not so lucky. As they contended with the creatures that lurked on Sheol, they fled into the Nightfall Mountains, establishing their hidden villages and mountainside settlements where they could be better defended. They were forced to adapt to their new home quickly, and over the course of hundreds of years they became rugged survivors and fierce warriors. So the Raven Tribes were born, taking their name from the Dire Ravens that lurk among the Nightfall peaks.

The Archon of Blood discovered these tribes shortly after his ascension. So secretive and hidden were they that he had no idea of their presence despite sharing the island with them for five centuries. His first instinct was to wipe them out, and remove a rogue faction from his homeland. However, the Raven Tribes were spiritual folk, having wielded their native magics to ward of Vilespawn. The mythology of their long-lost homeland had blended with the myths that the ruins of Old Sheol had inspired in them, and so their religion had become something unique. Without ever intending to, Kuth had near-perfectly matched the description of the god of war in their pantheon, known to them as Bhaal the Murder-God. The Raven Tribes pledged their allegiance to the man they saw as the divine made flesh, and Kuth accepted their servitude by founding the Raven Host and building the temple for their host high upon their sacred mountains.

The Raven Host is made up of hunters, trackers, scouts, tribal warriors and shamans. Having spent hundreds of years battling and surviving against legions of Vilespawn, they are a ruthless and pragmatic people, though steeped in ritual and tradition. The greatest warriors among their number are the Blackwings, mighty hunters that have tamed the Dire Ravens of the Nightfall Mountains for use as mounts in battle. The Raven Tribes view Kuth as their personal war god, and so when he calls them to battle, from their perspective it is at once a holy war and a divine calling.

W H I T E W I T C H E S

^{"The sins of the White are yet unforgiven. May we be cleansed through the penance of our sacrifice."}

When the Betrayal of the Ivory Dragon was at the verge of its eventual failure, the closest conspirator the Ivory Dragon himself turned herself in to the Great-Father. The woman was known as Koshka, the White Witch, and she was the daughter of the Ivory Dragon. So great had become her grief and despair that she sought mercy and forgiveness from her grandfather, the Archon of Blood. When the Ivory Dragon fled Sheol and became the Pariah, thus ending his Betrayal, Kuth did not spare Koshka's life, but rather than purge her lineage, he ordered that all of her descendants be punished for her crimes until the end of days. They would be a symbol of what it meant to betray the Great-Father, and the suffering that awaited the disloyal.

And so the order of White Witches was founded. Partly made up of the daughters and grand-daughters of White Witch Koshka, and partly of the girl-children of political criminals and other traitors, they are form a religious order within the heart of Maweth. Each one either a born or inducted member of the Coven, they practice strange rituals of Blood Magic that are some of the only remaining links to the Ivory Dragon's bizarre perversions of the discipline. Every one of the Witches undergoes a hemomantic ritual to reshape their bodies to more closely resemble the original White Witch, thus maintaining their symbolic appearance. They are further indoctrinated with a number of strange ascetic rituals, including frequent sensory deprivation. The White Witches perform a number of duties in their penance, including personal attendance to high-ranking members of the Coven, marriage and funerary services in the city of Maweth, and several public festivals of flesh-sacrifice and flagellation over the course of the year. The only Witches that are ever permitted to leave Maweth unaccompanied are the Red Witches, a sub-order dedicated to hunting down and killing the Pariah.

Notable Persons

N I C O

Nico is the current White Speaker, the de facto leader of the White Witches. The White Speaker is a position assigned by merit, specifically one's skill in the esoteric blood magics of their order. The unique position designates the White Witch that serves the Great-Father personally, as equal parts handmaiden, concubine and whipping-girl. Nico, unlike most, was an orphan in the streets of Maweth that was taken in by the White Witches, and raised under their auspices. The unseen potential they sensed in the girl quickly came to the surface in her talents in blood magic, as she was the first White Witch in decades to master what was thought to be a lost ritual: the Story of the Prince of Swords.

Red Witches

R E D W I T C H E S

^{"Kill the Pariah. Slay the Pariah. Destroy the Pariah."}

The Red Witches are three White Witches customarily chosen for their loyalty to the Great-Father, their strength of body, and their independent natures. They travel together, scouring the world for the Pariah in hopes of tracking down and killing him, thus avenging their entire order. It is said when the Pariah is finally killed, the White Witches will be forgiven and their order will be disbanded. To this end, the Red Witches spend years training with the Blood Host, to their point where they could be considered honorary Sanguine Guards, and are given strange relic-weapons passed down through the order for generations.

However, the Red Witches have not come close to killing the Pariah in nearly forty years. Each time they actually manage to track him down, the result is usually their deaths, whereupon a new trio of Red Witches must be trained and sent out to reclaim their ancestral arms before beginning the hunt anew. Their hunt is considered a symbolic effort by most outside of their order, but the White Witches have great faith in the current generation of Red Witches. Considered the mightiest trio yet, the White Witches hold out hope that with these three their servitude may end within their lifetimes.

[Dead Cruiser]

The Black Orc

Name: Morgan, the Black Orc
Age: 21
Sex: Male
Breed: Full-blood

Appearance: Homely even by Orcish standards, Morgan's face is a mess of dark scar tissue, various features pushed out of place by his bones mending crookedly. His golden eyes are beady and deep-set in his face, his black hair is kept cropped closely to his head, and his skin is a pallid grey, rather than the healthy green hue of a common Orc. He can barely breathe through his nose from being broken and scarred-over so many times, and his wide ears are torn and ragged like a feral cat's. Morgan's terrifying appearance is only exaggerated by his size, as he stands a head taller than most of his Orcish comrades, and his build is as thick and sturdy as a cast-iron cannon.

Skills/Abilities:

- Hideously strong, even for an Orc.
- Wields a greatsword with tremendous skill.
- Expert warg rider.
- Experienced in ambushes, hit and run tactics, and other forms of guerilla warfare.
- An utterly tenacious bastard.

Equipment:

- Dokarish (Dragon's Death): Morgan's "greatsword," which in reality is more like a massive hunk of iron beaten into the general shape of a sword. Gained its name after Morgan heroically saved his company by slaying a dragon in single combat (read: killed an alligator while he was drunk).
- Armor: Morgan is one of the few among his company to wear a full suit of plate armor, patchwork though it may be. The entire suit is painted matte black (save for his right gauntlet, painted the company's signature red) with no further adornment, and is the origin of Morgan's epitet.
- Tomahawks: Somewhere between utility and weapons, Morgan carries about a half-dozen small, light axes balanced for throwing. When the quarters are too close for him to swing his sword, he'll take one in each hand, or they can be chucked at enemies as last-ditch weapons.
- Garikka: Morgan's warg mount, a massive beast with black fur and yellow eyes. Her name means "frequent biter," and is also an Orcish vulgarity meaning "an unpleasant woman."

History:

Like many in the Nar Mat Kordh-Ishi, Morgan has no rightful claim to any Orcish tribe or clan. Like fewer, though, he was not raised by Orcs, and never knew his true-blooded parents. A human mercenary company, known as the Black Raiders, had come across the aftermath of a forest ambush in their travels. A small band of refugee Orcs had seemingly been tracked down and slaughtered by bandits for what little wealth they had. Mostly women and children, there had been no survivors, and there was practically nothing left by the bandits to pick over. Just as they started to leave the scene, the wailing of an infant could be heard. Nestled under the corpse of a Orc woman that had died protecting him, a baby Orc was found; cold, malnourished, and caked in mud and his mother's blood. The Raiders' leader, Darian Black, thought nothing of it, but his favorite girl took a liking to the small, grey creature, as her own baby had been stillborn a month prior. Darian allowed her to keep the baby for herself, thinking that it would be dead before long and would cause him no further trouble.

Darian was unfortunately proven wrong, as the young Orc repeatedly proved to be utterly unwilling to die. Named Morgan by his adoptive mother, he clung to life voraciously throughout his first few years. His human mother died of dysentery when he was five years old, but Morgan still survived, and his care was left to Darian, who was embittered by the loss of his most treasured woman. Darian Black was not a man of restraint or great emotional temperament, and so frequently took out his frustrations on Morgan, usually in the form of vicious beatings. The Orc boy endured this silently; he knew that Darian thought he was worthless, but refused to prove him right by showing weakness. Even so, Darian refused to be burdened by the little monster that had been left to him. Morgan was given a sword, and Darian trained the boy himself. The training was harsh and brutal, leaving Morgan with many scars and bruises, but he continued to endure. This was his chance to prove his worth to his "father."

For years, Morgan served Black's Raiders as both an attendant to the soldiers, and as their whipping boy, serving Darian foremost in both. On some occasions, a soldier would offer up a few coins to Darian, and Morgan would be "theirs" for the night. When he was much younger, Morgan had a certain idea of what a warrior was like, mostly from stories his mother told him. As he grew up, it was clear to him that the Raiders were far from the shining knights of these childhood tales. A savage pack of criminals and scoundrels, the Raiders were scarcely better than a band of thieves or bandits. There was no job too dirty for them, and only the most desperate or unscrupulous of benefactors hired them. Before long, Morgan had joined his father and the other Raiders on the battlefield, one of Black's Raiders in his own right. A young Orc grows faster than a human, and is stronger as well. At first Morgan was given a short sword to fight with, but this was too light and flimsy for him. He eventually scavenged a claymore as long as he was tall, and swung it around with speed that unnerved the other Raiders.

Strong in body and trained by a veteran mercenary, Morgan was surprisingly mighty in battle, but he was still young and inexperienced. In a moment of laxity in combat, Morgan allowed an enemy soldier to strike from behind him. Darian, watching, leaped forward at took the blade meant for Morgan, perhaps merely out of reflex, perhaps out of a deep-buried protective instinct toward his adopted "son." Morgan carried Darian off the battlefield, alive, but at the cost of his sword arm. Resentment grew toward Morgan in the Raiders, seeing him as a bad omen that had killed his mother and crippled his father. This resentment spread to Darian, who in a drunken rage attacked Morgan in the dead of night. He swung wildly and furiously at Morgan, yelling about his secret desire for Morgan to have died in infancy, or died with his mother, or died on the battlefield, and his deep disappointment that he had lived through all of that. A rage overtook Morgan, who had previously been only defending against his father's blows, and he struck the man down.

Before the commotion could spread further in their camp, Morgan took off in the dead of night with only his sword and armor, and a stolen horse. In the years that followed, Morgan did all he could to survive. His only skill was to swing his greatsword around, and so he took work as a mercenary in the few companies that would hire an Orc. He was frequently cheated out of money, put into suicidal missions, or left for dead, but Morgan still refused to lay down and die. When work was scarce, he stole to live, usually holding up travelers and other bandits. To disguise the color of his skin at a distance, and keep him better hidden at night, Morgan painted his armor black. There may have been another, deeper reason, but Morgan did not like to think about it. Morgan's martial prowess grew as he matured, and he found that even a greatsword was too light a blade to make sufficient use of his strength. He found a smith to forge together several blades into a single, ugly mass, and then carried around this misshapen "sword" as equal parts blade, shield and bludgeon.

In a battle against the defending forces of Castle Loren, Morgan was thrust into single combat against a great warrior, the famous Red Knight of Loren. The living ideal of the shining knights Morgan dreamed of as a child, the Red Knight saw that he was just a boy, and gave him the chance to flee. Morgan was far past the point of fleeing, and drew his sword. Their duel lasted five strokes, as Morgan shattered the Red Knight's blade with his own. The final blow ripped Morgan's helmet off his head, but he caved in the Red Knight's skull. Warriors around this duel stopped fighting for a brief moment in awe, amazed that a young Orc in black armor had killed the great Red Knight. Such began the reputation of the Black Orc.

Fame alone did not keep Morgan's belly full. He was eventually driven to steal again, this time from what he thought to be a band of Orcish refugees. As he fled into the night after raiding one of their tents, he found that he was being pursued by what sounded like giant dogs. These had been no refugees; they were outriders of the Nar Mat Kordh-Ishi. Morgan could not outrun warg riders for long, and was eventually encircled. Determined to go down fighting, Morgan killed four mounted Orcs and took the arm off another one before being felled by a poisoned arrow. Removing his helmet to claim the head of a such a worthy foe, the outriders were shocked to find that he the Black Orc. They took him back to their camp to see if he would survive the poison, watching him curiously. After three days of agony, Morgan proved yet again that he was unwilling to die. Claiming that he owed them a debt in blood and food, Morgan was inducted into the Nar Mat Kordh-Ishi by the chief of the Warg Company.

Morgan did not spend long in the pikes, as he had been already trained to fight by humans, and the Warg Chief thought his skills were wasted among the recruits. Morgan earned a great deal of resentment from the other Orcs, partly from this blatant favoritism, partly for killing their comrades, but mostly because he was like a human among their ranks. He had never lived among Orcs, and he did not speak a lick of Orcish. When he joined the Warg Company, he was given the meanest bitch in the pack to be his mount, claiming that she was the only warg big enough to hold him and his heavy armor. Morgan steeled himself to prove his worth to his new comrades the only way he knew how: with blood and sweat. Morgan drilled with his warg for hours on end every day, determined to break the beast if it killed him. Hours not spent training with his warg or his blade were spent among his comrades, trying desperately to learn the language and heritage of his people. In time, his efforts paid off. He could speak Orcish reasonably (though with a hideous human accent), and after giving each other a dozen new scars, he had finally bonded with his warg (though she now answered to the vulgar "Garikka" instead of her normal name).

More used to fighting from horseback, Morgan took some time to adjust to fighting atop a warg, but he was already well-used to the ambush tactics used by the Warg Company. Despite their initial distrust and resentment of him, his fellow riders came to respect Morgan after several battles fought together. Even so, he remained something of a distant and unapproachable figure, his humanlike temperment unsettling to most of the tuskers. Even so, after only two years among the warg riders, Morgan was given leadership of his own warband. Morgan's own determination and mad courage kept them on the front lines, and volunteered them for the most dangerous tasks possible. This warband became known as "Morgan's Raiders," and was seen as a band of doomed riders by the rest of the Nar Mat Kordh-Ishi. They painted their armor black to emulate their leader, and took on roles other Orcs saw as being suicidal. It was not uncommon for Morgan to be the last survivor of these Raiders after a successful mission. Rumors continued to swirl around Morgan, thinking that perhaps some curse followed him, killing those around him but leaving him unable to die. Despite these rumors, Morgan's skill was unquestionable, leading to the disbandment of Morgan's Raiders and his induction into the Chosen.

Personality and Psychological profile:

Morgan seems to carry a sort of inferiority complex, which drives many of his feeling and decisions. Having known nothing but the scorn and derision of those around him for most of his life, he feels a constant, pressing need to prove his worth to those around him. This fuels both his rash, aggressive nature, and his unshakable tenacity. If presented with a challenge, he will complete it no matter the difficulty or personal cost. He lives for the acceptance of others, but at the same time is withdrawn and unused to close or affectionate relationships. To an observer he seems stoic and humorless, but he is just clueless as to how to appropriately react to most social scenarios. This difficulty is exacerbated further by having been raised by humans, and now living among Orcs. Most distressing to Morgan is his difficulty in forming bonds; he can recognize others as being his comrades, but still cannot bring himself to open up to them, fearing the same betrayal he suffered from his father.

Relationships and Acquaintances:

I'll work on this when there are more characters if that's okay.

[Dead Cruiser]

Leviathan

L E V I A T H A N

---

^{A U G U S T L E O N A R D W I N F I E L D ◼ M A R C H 1 3, 1 9 6 8 ( 4 8 ) ◼ M A L E ◼ ? ? ?}

^{"Why did the old Persians hold the sea holy? Why did the Greeks give it a separate deity, and own brother of Jove? Surely all this is not without meaning."}

▼ A P P E A R A N C E:

---

^{"It seemed to be a sort of monster, or symbol representing a monster, of a form which only a diseased fancy could conceive."}

//STATS:

◼ HEIGHT | 5'10''

◼ WEIGHT | 155 lbs

◼ BUILD | Lanky, prominent bones, wiry

◼ HAIR COLOR | Near-black

◼ EYE COLOR | Storm grey

//DESCRIPTION:

August is, at a glance, a generally unassuming figure. Not particularly tall, dull in coloration, and lean in build. His posture is withdrawn and defensive, carrying his limbs close to him and standing with a modest slouch. He dresses conservatively, and seems to take pains to avoid touching people. His dress sense is notably casual for his social standing, with the eccentric exception of the patch worn over his right eye. However, his presence and demeanor is so sharply contrasting from his appearance that most are completely unprepared for it. Above all else, he exudes control; his words and decisions almost seem to sap the credence of others. The schemes and arguments of others, especially those sharing in his presence, seem futile or ill-conceived when compared to his commanding charisma. It is not powerlessness that most feel around him, but a realization of how powerless they have always been.

▼ B I O G R A P H Y:

---

^{"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the spirit of God was hovering over the waters."}

The name Winfield is known only to a privileged few, but among those few it carries immense weight and history. "Old money," so to speak, the family can trace its heritage past the colonization of the Americas, to the Norman conquest of England. In more recent history, they clan has spent the last few centuries in Massachusetts, quietly investing in the budding industrial and political interests of New England. Strangers to the celebrity of their contemporaries, Rockefeller and Morgan for instance, they have customarily kept themselves as far from the public eye as possible, valuing their privacy and security greatly. This is in no small part motivated by the family's turbulent history; plagued by "bad blood," scions of Winfield seem to be dealt great prosperity and ruinous madness in equal measure.

There has been no greater tragedy to befall the Winfield name in recent memory than Leonore Rosemary Winfield, heiress to the Winfield fortune in the early twentieth century. Ever plagued by flights of fancy and romantic delusions, she was known for spiriting away vast sums of money on vanities and frivolities. Her closest retainers and counselors did little to restrain her spending habits, as they took advantage of her mental absence to embezzle from her right under her nose. While her reputation was protected to keep their own interests from becoming compromised, most of Leonore's associates "jumped ship" after she began an affair with a disgraced German occultist and former SS officer, who manipulated her into devoting her resources to his own protection in the United States. Unsurprisingly, the relationship ended disastrously, as in the year of the infamous Dark Eclipse, the man eloped with what remained of the Winfield fortune, leaving Leonore alone, penniless, and pregnant with his bastard child.

The following year, August Leonard Winfield was born into abject poverty, with none to provide for him besides his half-mad mother. His early life in the slums of Springfield was miserable, but vital to his development. In his formative years he acquired the dagger-sharp cunning and utter ruthlessness that would both keep him fed and housed in his youth, and propel him into prosperity as a man. He had a wisdom beyond his years, and a perspective that found solutions that most others could barely fathom. From his school-aged years on he kept himself and his mother afloat by various unscrupulous means; from running three-card monte on his classmates, to balancing accounts for local bookies. Leonore had no degree and no skills, and August considered her little better than a burden, but her presence kept him out of state custody, and for that reason he continued to support her. The harder he worked, the more skills he learned, and the more contacts and favors he collected. By the time he was a young man, he had ingratiated himself with a handful of organized crime syndicates in the greater Boston metropolitan area, and had accumulated enough clout and funds to gain admission into Boston University. Casting off his now useless mother to rot in a mental institution, he attained top marks with a dual major in business and economics, and was (with some outside pressure) accepted into Harvard Business to complete his postgraduate degree.

Now August Winfield, D.B.A., he desired greatly to start anew in a distant locale, hoping to establish new contacts and make his way legitimately. He chose his place of relocation meticulously, favoring both economic potential and minimal possibility of being linked to his criminal associates. He eventually settled on Crescent City, California, and founded his own financial advisement and investing firm, Aquarius LLC. Capitalizing on the technological and economic "Hyperhuman Boom" of the early nineties, Aquarius became an economic lynchpin of the Orlaith district, laying the foundation for many corporations that are household names today. As was the Winfield custom, August made his fortune quietly and without fuss; the layperson would have no idea who he was or what he did, but he was a figure to which the wealthy and powerful were both reverent of and indebted to.

However, as the years wore on and Hyperhuman activity increased, the boom slowed, and what was once a prospering city began to slump into poverty and crime. Aquarius' bottom line felt the recession, and they were forced to take on more unscrupulous clientele. August found himself falling back on old habits, as the allure of easy money made outside the bound of the law was too tempting in these difficult times. As well, this regression of behavior was likely a subconscious reaction to an unforeseen stressor in August's life: his own supernatural awakening. Almost like a second puberty, August discovered gradual, yet unsettling changes to his body. His vitality far exceeded that of a normal man his age, and he soon concluded that he had stopped aging entirely. His physique eventually surpassed human limits, and eventually even more disturbing changes took place, which he took every precaution to conceal from anyone else. His mind seemed to expand with his body, and he found himself supernaturally aware of the emotions and consciousnesses of others. He cautiously nurtured this growing extrasensory perception, and as soon as he had a handle on it, turned it to his advantage. He psychically dominated his competitors, and hypnotically implanted suggestions to his associates that would profit him best. Subtlety was the cornerstone of his manipulation, as his preferred tactic was to have others believe that they were acting of their own accord. Even when his criminal puppets were taken under, there was nothing material ever left behind to link himself and their activities.

In recent years, August's supernaturality has begun to escape his control. His dreams are often wrought with confusing and troubling visions, and his waking hours are plagued with strange compulsions and turbulent moods. His thought patterns have become more erratic, and while he reaches generally logical conclusions, he has difficulty explaining his reasoning to others. He picked up the hobby of distance swimming from seemingly nowhere, and purchased a stretch of private beach to satiate this yearning in privacy. His attentions always seem drawn out to the horizon, and he feels a psychic pull from far out to sea. Only in the past few months has he begun to wake up to find that he has been sleepwalking, and scrawling strange symbols and figures on the walls and floors of his modest estate. His powers of supernatural suggestion seem to work of their own accord at times, enthralling those in close contact with him as though his very aura was enough to transfix them. In a desperate search for answers, he has funneled a considerable amount of his personal funds into research into archeology and the occult, and has tentatively made contact with the Black Lotus Society through a former associate of his mother's. His desire to stay largely anonymous and keep his troubles private has stifled the progress of his research, and his results thus far have done little to stifle his growing worry that the "bad blood" of Winfield has taken him as well.

▼ M O T I V A T I O N / O B J E C T I V E:

---

^{"I know always that I am an outsider; a stranger in this century and among those who are still men."}

August is driven by a desire to dominate and to control. His early life of poverty instilled in him a compulsion to stand above others so that he might never be at their mercy again. He sees the world as one where the strong devour the weak, and morality and justice only exist if they are backed up by the powerful. In some ways he considers himself alike to a god; lesser men pray to him, and he takes delight in their prostration. Even if they do not see him as their benefactor, or think themselves to be his superiors, it is enough to him that he is in true control of both their lives and his own.

However, with the recent development of August's supernaturality, he has begun to suffer an identity crisis of sorts. He no longer truly understands who or what he is, and what his place in the world is. So far he has sought to solve these insecurities rationally, through research and practice, but he fears something deeper at work, that is potentially outside of his admittedly meagre control.

▼ A B I L I T I E S / S K I L L S:

---

^{"Can you fill his hide with harpoons, or his head with fishing spears? If you lay a hand on him, you will remember the struggle, and never do it again! Any hope of subduing him is false; the mere sight of him is overpowering."}

//ABILITIES:

◼ Birthright | August isn't sure what he is, but he knows it isn't human. He has seemingly stopped aging at the physical equivalent of his mid-thirties, and he continues to grow more powerful physically. Despite his unimpressive appearance, August is freakishly strong, able to flip a mid-sized car onto its roof with only a moderate effort. His endurance is equally profound, as he has taken to swimming miles out to sea as a leisure activity. While his body is only as durable as a normal human's, his regenerative capacity is sufficient to quickly heal flesh wounds, and he has on one occasion managed to grow back an entire appendage. However, this regenerative factor carries severe side effects, which seem to manifest even without August becoming wounded, as his body continues to metamorphosize outside of his control.

◼ Sheol | Similar to his progressively inhuman physical characteristics, August's mind is developing into something he doesn't understand. While he can be loosely considered a psychic of some description, August suspects that something far different is at play. Currently, he has a certain amount of extrasensory perception, able to sense the emotions and presences of living minds, and to a limited extent influence them with the force of his will. He has greater control over sleeping individuals, and can implant hypnotic suggestions in their minds that can influence their personality and decisions. This influence has begun to outpace his control of it, as he has occasionally found that he has inadvertently hypnotized even waking persons with his idle thoughts. While August initially believed that his own strange dreams were premonitions, he has recently discovered that he is actually astrally projecting his consciousness in his sleep. He has almost no control over this ability so far, as his consciousness usually manifests in locations that he does not recognize.

//SKILLS:

◼ Doctor of Business Administration | August is highly educated in the fields of economics and business, and has extensive experience in these fields, as his self-made fortune can attest. His material resources are plentiful, and he has his own firm, Aquarius LLC, to fall back on.

◼ Con Artist | By cutting his teeth on petty crime and studying under more proficient cons, August is quite proficient in such skills as deception, redirection and slight of hand. While he is more than a little rusty at the practical application of these skills, they're still second-nature to him, and it takes a very skilled individual to get one by him.

◼ It's Who You Know | August is an exceptionally well-connected individual. Anyone who is anyone in Crescent City owes him either a significant favor or a substantial amount of money. While his direct contacts are numerous, his network is practically all-encompassing, as even if he doesn't have a contact in a particular area, it can be assured he knows a guy who knows a guy.

//LIMITATIONS:

◼ Metamorphosis | August's powers are the result of him changing. Into what, he has no idea, but the process has only just begun. His powers warp and progress faster than he can master them, and sometimes diverge into something else entirely. What's more, is that he is growingly increasingly unable to conceal his supernaturality from others. This includes both his literal physical appearance, as well as his outbursts of psychic influence potentially drawing unwelcome attention to himself.

//WEAKNESSES:

◼ Friends Back East | August is a man desperate to escape his past, and yet doomed to repeat it. His overwhelming need to dominate and control, growing stronger as his mind and body both mutate into inhumanity, have drawn him back into the world of criminality, which already blackens his past in New England. His history of being a two-bit thug and conman in Massachusetts, as well as the shame his mother brought onto his family name are sore subject for him, and have on previous occasions broken his cold and calculating demeanor.

▼ N O T E S:

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//SUPPORTING CAST:

▼ ALLIES

◼ TBD | Test

▼ FRIENDS

◼ TBD | Test

▼ ENEMIES

◼ TBD | Test

//STOMPING GROUNDS

◼ TBD | Test

//PARAPHERNALIA

◼ TBD | Test

[Dead Cruiser]

FENRIR

The Devil Wolf

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"Cut off a wolf's head, and it still has the power to bite."
-Hayao Miyazaki

Judas Priest - Leather Rebel

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| Full Name |
Vasile Gunnar Țepeș
Василе Гуннар Тепес

| Nickname |
Almost every living relative refers to him as "Abomination," but when he was young his mother called him "Vaska."

| Alias |
Fenrir

| Birth Date |
16 April, 1963

| Age |
62, appears no older than early thirties.

| Species |
Vampire Werewolf

| Gender |
Male

| Sexuality |
Heterosexual

| Alignment |
Chaotic Neutral

| In-Depth Appearance |
Vasile is a large, powerfully-built man, standing 6'4" tall and weighing 255 pounds. He possesses typically Nordic features, such as strawberry blond hair, steel-blue eyes and a pale complexion. His hair is generally worn as a rough shag that hangs to the top of his shoulders, and more often than not he sports a thick, rough-cut beard. His teeth are a raw, bestial yellow, each one sharper than a normal man's, and his four eye teeth are exaggerated into true fangs. In darkness, his eyes shine with a sinister ruby light, like the reflective gaze of a nocturnal beast. While he has no tattoos or piercings, a great number of scars mark his hands, body and face; in particular, a branding in the shape of a Sun Cross is burned into his right shoulder blade.

Vasile's taste in clothing is mostly utilitarian. He prefers anything that is cheap, durable and readily available. Denim and canvas jackets and jeans make up the majority of what he wears, along with any military surplus he can get his hands on. Hooded winter clothing, goggles and masks are valuable to him, as they allow him to cover his skin enough to survive daylight. Despite his preference for function over form, Vasile enjoys such items as quality sunglasses, boots and leather jackets. Any time he can acquire one of these items he cherishes them greatly, and mourns them when they are inevitably lost or destroyed.

| Abilities |
As both a vampire and a werewolf, Vasile possesses the powers of both races, which form an unholy synergy that propel him to strength unmatched by either. A member of the living dead, his skin is cool and unpleasantly dry to the touch, and he possesses no pulse nor body heat. Vasile has no need to eat, sleep or breathe, and he is unafflicted by age, disease, poison, cold, and many other mortal weaknesses. His physical strength, speed and durability are all superhuman, allowing him to twist steel with his bare hands, move faster than a human eye can track, or shrug off seemingly mortal wounds. His natural fortitude also protects his mind from a variety of psychic attacks or mind control. His regenerative ability is prodigious, as most flesh wounds heal within minutes, and even a debilitating injury will only keep him down for a few hours at most. His senses are supernaturally keen, his sense of smell being the most powerful among them. Vasile can move in complete silence if he chooses to, and he can see clearly even in complete darkness. He commands some power over the natural world, able to commune with, summon or spiritually possess beasts, and can inspire or quell primal rage in other animals, werewolves or vampires. He is capable of transforming his human shape, taking on such bestial characteristics as wicked talons or batlike wings. His claws and fangs are the weapons of a supernatural hunter, and as such inflict exaggerated damage against creatures that are magical or supernatural in nature. His bite carries both the curses of lycanthropy and vampirism, which when inflicted upon a person are incompatible and invariably result in the death of the infected. Any normal human bitten by him that survives is doomed to suffer a painful death as the two curses tear their body apart, unless they can quickly be cured or treated for the curses.

As a skinchanger, Vasile can completely change his form in a process that is utterly natural to his kind. He can assume the form of a normal wolf, stocky in build, with reddish-grey fur. He retains most of his human reasoning in this form, but his instincts tend to assume more control over his actions. More infamously, Vasile can take on the form of the "Devil Wolf," a horrifying monster that is somewhere between man and wolf. A creature of pure muscle and unrestrained fury, Vasile's physical prowess becomes ever more potent in this form, but he loses all sense of reason, giving in fully to the raging Beast within him. Any weak-willed humans that witness the Devil Wolf are overcome with a primal survival instinct that sends them into a state of blind panic and terror, with their minds usually blocking out the memory of the Devil Wolf when it subsides. The howl of the Devil Wolf can carry this psychological effect over a considerable distance, or when directed at a single person can inspire utterly immobilizing terror.

| Limitations |
As Vasile possesses the powers of both a vampire and a werewolf, he has also inherited all of their weaknesses. Sunlight is known to many as the natural enemy of vampires, and Vasile is no exception to this. On contact with his flesh, sunlight blackens and painfully sears his flesh, which melts away with prolonged exposure. While his regeneration is powerful enough for him to survive limited exposure, if he is ever utterly exposed, he will be trapped in a torturous cycle of burning and regenerating until the sun sets or his regeneration gives out. Only true sunlight is harmful to him, but artificial ultraviolet light can be used to temporarily blind him. Silver is an utterly toxic substance for Vasile, as looking at him inflicts him with a headache, and it leaves blisters on contact with his skin. Wounds inflicted by silver weapons, in addition to being debilitatingly painful, cannot be healed at the unnatural rate of his other wounds, and form toxic, festering wounds. Fire, another bane of vampires, has similar effects, and any flame that Vasile subconsciously considers to be too large or too close triggers intense pyrophobia in him. Hot or molten silver carries both of these effects, and there is little Vasile can do to defend against it. As a vampire, Vasile must drink blood to survive, and struggles with the overwhelming desire to feed that is natural to his kind. If he goes without drinking blood, his powers will fail, his strength with flag, and eventually he will fall into a deathlike torpor. Similarly, the full moon weakens his control over his transformations, and while exposed to it there is the chance of the slightest provocation causing him to slip into his Devil Wolf form.

However, more dangerous than any of Vasile's physical weaknesses are the psychological ones within him. Vasile fights a constant battle against the Beast, the primal, alien intelligence deep within him that drives his predatory instincts. While he has enough control over it to live comfortably day-to-day, emotional conditions such as stress and rage weaken his resistance to its control. Vasile is most susceptible to giving into the whims of the Beast when in battle, especially when he has been wounded, and even more so when he has been exposed to one of his supernatural banes. As the Beast takes over his body from his higher mind, Vasile becomes more violent and aggressive, less concerned with distinguishing friend and foe, becomes more likely to accidentally transform into a more bestial shape, and will eventually have no thought other than feeding and surviving. If the Beast fully assumes control, Vasile slips into an insane frenzy, reminiscent of an ultra-violent "fight or flight" reaction.

| Equipment |
Vasile travels lightly. He generally keeps on him a few changes of clothes, a bedroll, a hunting knife, a lighter and cigarettes, an assortment of falsified documents such as driver's licenses and passports, and a variety of other camping and survival equipment.

| Personality Traits |
-Honest
-Direct
-Individualistic
-Cunning
-Untactful
-Vengeful
-Cynical
-Tenacious

| Personality |
Despite the drama and intrigue that surrounds his existence, Vasile is a relatively simple person. He is direct and open in nearly all of his dealings, as he can think of no great benefit that deception would grant him. Unafraid to speak his mind, Vasile makes no great effort to be overly civil or polite. He will be warm toward his friends, cold and distrustful toward strangers, and hostile toward his enemies-- simplicity itself. While far from the most educated man, Vasile certainly possesses a great degree of cunning and resourcefulness, and it is a fatal mistake to assume that he is unintelligent for being a vagrant raised in the woods.

Vasile is no longer afraid of what he is, but he is still constantly aware of it. He knows that he is an impending danger to most around him, and takes efforts to minimize the risk he poses to others, such as living alone and constantly being on the move. This is not done out of some great sense of altruism, but just as a means of surviving by avoiding attention and unnecessary conflict. That is not to say that he does not sometime act irrationally out of his passionate desire for revenge against the house of Dracula.

| Quirks |
-Speaks several languages.
-Not good at reading, and struggles with basic arithmetic.
-Generally ignorant to most vampire and werewolf cliches.

| Hobbies |
-Attending heavy metal concerts.
-Hunting and eating interesting animals.
-Traveling to new places, squatting there, and being a drain on society.

| Likes |
-Clear, cloudless nights.
-Classic hair metal.
-Dark, bitter beer.
-Pork.
-Leather jackets.
-Italian cigarettes.

| Dislikes |
-Most modern technology.
-Crowds.
-Dense urban areas.
-People who wear too much perfume.
-Overcooked meat.
-Hungarians.

| Fears |
-Fire.
-Losing control in public.
-Being enslaved as his father was.

| Place Of Origin |
Vasile was born in Hoia Baciu, Romania. He currently lives as a vagrant, wandering across Europe.

| Family |
-Mother: Mina Țepeș. Vampire childer of Dracula, she currently resides within Castle Dracula, but is known to roam the greater area of Transylvania. Cut ties with Vasile after being forced to give him up.
-Father: Gunnar Voll. Werewolf slave of Mina Tepes, current status unknown. Likely dead.
-Grandfather: Vlad Țepeș. Dracula, the lord of all vampires. Resides within Castle Dracula. Considers Vasile to be an unspeakable shame to his house and his legacy, and wishes him dead.

| History |
Vampires are strange and fickle creatures, and becoming ever more so as they advance in age and status among their kind. Mina Țepeș, the noble daughter of Vlad Țepeș (better known as Dracula) and heir apparent to the lordship of all vampires, was far from an exception. Her immortal life was so rich with luxury and pleasure that she desired ever more obscure and debase experiences to keep her endless nights interesting. For this reason, Gunnar Voll piqued her interest. A "gift" bestowed to Mina by a lesser vampire vying for her favor, Voll was a werewolf slave that had been captured in the cold reaches of northern Norway. Entranced by Mina's supernatural charms and bound by heavy, silver chains, Voll was kept as a "pet hound" that was sometimes used to fight for the entertainment of Mina and her noble sire, or taken out on hunting expeditions. However, in this case Mina desired even more disturbing entertainment. Her increasing lust for debauchery drove Mina to share an unholy tryst with Voll, an act that brought a new, unprecedented horror into the world.

In violation of all sense and reason, Mina found her undead body growing pregnant after her disturbing affair. While it should have been impossible for the cursed flesh of a vampire to bear new life, she theorized that the unnatural vitality of the werewolf allowed her to bear a child. The pregnancy was kept a secret, and after nine months Mina birthed her unholy spawn. A disgusting thing somewhere between a human baby and a wolf cub, Mina's brood was born blind, hairless, and dead. It was not stillborn, however, and just minutes after birth latched on with needle-like fangs to suckle blood from Mina's cold breast. Further intrigued by the idea of motherhood, particularly over such an unspeakable aberration, Mina kept the creature and raised it in secrecy. She named the monster, her son, Vasile, "King," as it was surely the most monstrous thing to ever walk the earth.

Vasile grew alarmingly fast, and at two months of age was able to variably shift between the shapes of a human and a wolf. He ran around on two legs or four interchangeably, a rambunctious ball of fur and energy that caused havoc wherever he went, and consumed an alarming amount of blood and raw meat ("donated" by Mina's stable of human cattle). However, a child is a difficult thing to keep secret, particularly one that is vampire and werewolf at once. By the time Vasile was four years old, Lord Dracula had come to learn of his existence, and was disgusted beyond belief. He ordered for the abomination to be destroyed and never spoken of again, as it was an affront to even the unholiness of vampire kind. Acting more out of childish rebellion than motherly instinct, Mina protected the child from her father's wrath, and handed him off to a band of Romani gypsies, who took him in as one of their own. Before Dracula realized what had happened, Vasile was out of his grasp, and the abomination had been unleashed into the world.

For most of his youth Vasile traveled with the gypsy caravans, stealing to survive and hunting down his meals in the ancient forests of Europe. He wandered across the continent, experiencing many cultures (earning the scorn of most), and learning many tongues, as well as the skills needed for a nomadic lifestyle. It was in his turbulent youth that he came to understand what he was, slowly learning from his own strange abilities and unnatural compulsions, as well as the fear and scorn from both humans and other supernatural creatures he encountered. He eventually learned from a forest spirit of his true heritage, and that he was the bastard of House Dracula and the Fenrisúlfr, a tribe of werewolves in the frozen reaches of Scandinavia. Already outcast by the blood of his mother, he struck out on his own to find his father's kin, hoping to find acceptance among their pack.

The journey was long and arduous, but Vasile survived it by forming bonds and contracts with many faerie courts and witch covens throughout northern Europe. He eventually tracked down the Fenrisúlfr, who lived as wildmen in the glacial fjords. Recognizing him for the abomination that he was, the Fenrisúlfr cared nothing for the blood Vasile shared with them. With a surprise attack, they bound Vasile and prepared to sacrifice him as an offering to their archaic gods. The young Vasile then underwent his First Change, a momentous and ritualized occasion to any young Werewolf, grotesquely perverted by his circumstances. Vasile assumed the form of the Devil Wolf for the first time, and was easily able to overpower the Fenrisúlfr. Those that survived fled in fear, cursing Vasile as they ran away. Now truly alone in the world, Vasile spent months alone in the Norwegian wilderness, contemplating his place in the world. He thought of the ancient legend of Fenrir, the wolf for which his father's tribe took their name. Born a monster, he was bound by the gods out their fear for his strength, and he was hated eternally by man and god alike. Vasile identified with the story, for he too was born a damned soul by no fault of his own. He took up the name of Fenrir for himself, and from that point on lived for the approval of none but himself.

For decades, Vasile wandered Europe much as he had done as a youth, passing himself off as a common vagrant. He learned all he could about himself and the world around him. With focus and steely determination, he brought his animalistic side under control, vowing to not be the monster that everyone had assumed he was. He worked odd jobs, squatted in old castles and abandoned homes, or slept in the woods when there was no better option. Despite his best efforts to go unnoticed, rumors of the Abomination spread in his wake, and many wished him dead for a variety of reasons. Dracula sent assassins after him, werewolf packs sought to cleanse him from the world, and even common mortal hunters desired to slay the foulest of all monsters. Vasile avoided them where he could, and killed them without hesitation when that failed. Despite his efforts to leave his past behind, he still harbored a burning coal of anger in his heart toward House Dracula, who enslaved his father and was the reason for his damned existence. To help soothe his desire for revenge, he hunts down vampire covens with the help of his various underground contacts, and destabilizes Dracula's operations wherever he can find them. This has only increased the vampire lord's ire toward him, but he considers it to be worth it for the small measure of peace it brings him.

| Extra |
King, GMT-6, something something A-Game

_{Face Claim: Paul Levesque}