TheMadAsshatter — Roleplayer Guild

Basics


Name: James Knight
Age: 26
Appeared Age: Mid twenties (23-27)
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 148 lbs.
Eye Color: Viridian.
Hair Color: Black.
Physical Identifiers:Wolf tattoo on right bicep.
Several scars across the back.

Appearance:  James is a fairly average-looking person who, aside from his eyes, doesn't really have any striking features, unless you catch him without a shirt.  Though a bit on the skinny side, his well toned muscles counteract his scrawniness for the most part.  He keeps his facial hair in check, saying that it's too itchy to let grow.  James doesn't exactly have an imposing stature, though he carries himself with confidence and people tend to respect him just for that.  Furthermore, he has an air of optimism about him, with a relatively content or even happy face on him most of the time.  While his looks aren't necessarily impressive, his apparent attitude tends to make him somewhat more attractive than he is, though he would never admit to that.

His attire tends to consist of a dark grey hoodie worn under a dark green military style jacket, jeans, black lightweight boots, black half-finger gloves, and a green shemagh.

Background

Residence: Non-permanent.
Profession: Freelancer/scavenger.
Aligned Faction: Neutral.
Relatives: No known relatives.

James was born to a very poor family in Dead-End.  His father, Harry, suffered from a neurological disorder that resulted in him experiencing extreme pain from exertion, meaning that he couldn't work much.  He would typically go to work at the smelter, but it didn't exactly pay much, and given that he couldn't work long hours, it paid even less.  His mother, Lisa, hardly found the time to work since she basically took care of their home one part of the day, and took care of Harry the next.  They could barely afford to stay afloat, but eventually Lisa got an idea.  She talked it over with Harry a bit, and then they decided to have a child.

10 months later James was born, but at that point their funds were completely drained.  Still, Lisa and Harry had a plan.  After roughly six more months of just barely scraping by, a band of slavers came through.  Lisa and Harry knew that they would pay good money for a healthy infant, one that they could easily mold into a hard-working grunt.  That was their plan, after all, to sell James off at the nearest opportunity.  They took their newfound money and decided to move to Russel City, where they thought they would find a better life.  Unfortunately for them, they were both murdered by some of the other Dead-End residents who didn't take too kindly to them having a kid for the sole purpose of selling him off.

James was raised in dismal conditions by the slavers until he was about six, at which point they put him straight to work.  Of course, him still being pretty young, he couldn't do much more than run errands.  Still, even with his relatively "easy" job, he would often make small mistakes that earned him either a disciplinary punch, or a day-long time out in a pitch black vault.  James started to build a resentment towards his masters, which earned him even more disciplinary measures, until he was eventually told to fight another child of roughly equal age.  He got a dislocated shoulder from the fight, along with a broken nose, several bruises, and a couple of shallow cuts.  He didn't even put up a fight.

This pattern continued until James effectively broke and completely surrendered himself.  It took him roughly three months to get to that point.  The authoritarianism and violence became the status-quo.  Those who disobeyed were whipped, and those who tried to escape were executed.  James didn't want to be tortured or killed.  James didn't want anything.  He became an empty shell of a person.  He disconnected himself from everything and just did what he was told.

Six years and two trades later, James is constantly referred to as one of the best-behaved slaves ever.  He hasn't questioned any of his masters in years, and is constantly satisfying his masters in whatever way possible.  He also hasn't spoken in years, which, while it is advantageous to him in many ways, it is concerning to everyone else.  Even some of his masters became concerned, though more in the sense that they were concerned James would snap, or become completely catatonic and useless.  Unbeknownst to anyone else, James actually regained some lucidity around this point, though his attitude was still as withdrawn as ever.

Two years later, at the age of 14, James was going to be at the next trade, along with several of the other slaves under his master's ownership.  His master spent some time with James, telling him exactly how to behave, not like he didn't already know.  He wordlessly nodded anyways.  At the trade, he was dressed in the best garb his master would put together for a slave.  He was paraded under his title of "The Quiet One" and was even recognized by some of the other traders.  At one point, James noticed something.  A little girl, a few years younger than him, also at the trade.  She never noticed him, but he noticed her.  The abject despair and misery in her eyes spoke volumes, but even more jarring was the realization that James hadn't seen a single other child slave in over 5 years.  What happened to those whom he was with before?  That's right, they all died, either at the hands of their masters or from the results of severe neglect.

At that thought, James felt a surge of newfound hatred and rebellion.  He had found a purpose.  He was done with this shit.  He was going to get out, and then he was going to make the slavers pay for what they've done.  But, as much as he might have wanted to, he knew he couldn't just go at it, that was a good way to get killed.  He wasn't going to out-brute them, but he could outsmart them.  They still thought he was a complacent little drone, and he would use that to his advantage in the coming weeks.

He was sold to another master during the trade.  That put a hold on his plans, since he was now in unfamiliar territory, but it ended up working to his advantage.  His new master had fewer guards.  Not by much, but still fewer.  Once James had been in service at this place for a couple of weeks and had an idea of where things were and how things worked, he began to devise a plan.  He kept up his facade for long enough for his master to warm up to the fact that he was the best-behaved slave of the lot, and he was eventually given a spot of privilege as his master's personal slave.  He learned even more about the grounds in this time, along with several places one could hide, and a couple of other potential escape routes.

After another two weeks of plotting, James finally came up with two solid courses of action, though he also began to run into trouble at this point.  He noticed that one of the guards would tend to eyeball James fairly often.  He didn't realize it, but the guard had been under the employment of another master that previously owned James.  He had recognized him, and he picked up on some slight changes in James' behavior, and the way he held himself.  Unfortunately, it would be his downfall, and when James had finally launched himself into action, they were prepared.

He was caught shortly after he initiated his plan, and while under normal circumstances he would have been executed, his master took his track record into account and instead sentenced him to a week's worth of torture, starting with a lashing in front of every other slave.  His fiery rage caught up with him, and he cursed and threatened and verbally abused his captors in between his screams of pain, which resulted in more lashes.  At one point, he had implored his fellow slaves to rise up and do something, that the captors couldn't take on a mass rebellion.  He eventually passed out from the pain, and for trying to incite a rebellion his sentence was changed to a public execution, along with a couple of slaves who had taken his words to heart.  The aforementioned slaves were executed a day later, but James still had a week of torture to endure before his final day.

It was at this point that he came down with a cold, though this, of course, didn't stop the floggings.  He would wake up to either a kick in the ribs, a surprise waterboarding, or any other number of forms of torture, and go to sleep exhausted and in complete pain, but not broken.  He began plotting another escape, though this time there would be blood.  His sickness passed on the day before his execution, and it was at this time that James would get out.  He had spent the entire week weakening the anchoring points on his shackles, and he was confident a good yank would make at least one of them break.

That morning, James was met by a lone guard.  He was ready for him, and as soon as the guard went to put on a tighter pair of shackles, James broke one of his arm shackles out of the wall and hit the guard hard enough to knock him unconscious.  It took a few tries, but he managed to get the other arm shackle off, which gave him enough room to get the keys from the guard and free his legs.  He then took a moment to crush the guard's windpipe under his foot, then relieve him of his clothes and weapons.  By the end of the day, there would be exactly seventeen dead guards, three dead assistants, two hundred twenty four newly-freed slaves, and a traumatized master who would soon be mauled by said slaves.  James slipped out while the others were getting their fill and began stocking up on supplies for his journey.  He could still hear his former master screaming in pain as he walked away.  Neither he nor anyone else noticed his eyes change color, nor the thin slits that his pupils became.

He eventually found his way to Russel City, where he sought medical treatment, which is when he discovered his inexplicable eye mutation.  After someone explained what it meant for him, and he was released from the hospital he was at, he began to train and equip himself for a brutal assault on the slavers.  Though first, he had to learn what these weird symbols written in these "books" mean.  Before that, he would need to make a livelihood, and the easiest way to do that was to join a scavenging crew.  The selection process was a piece of cake to James, who had been physically conditioned for most of his life, and he was also, oddly enough, one of the most efficient scavengers in his crew.  He would always get bonuses from several of his finds, though he felt it was sort of unfair to the others.  Still, he needed the money.

It took him a couple of years, but finally, at the age of 16, James could read, although somewhat roughly.  He realized that he never had a last name, and thus assumed the surname "Knight" at that point.  It was also at this point that he began to study certain types of weapons, particularly firearms.  He gained an understanding of how some of the guns of old worked, specifically the infamous Russian AK-47 design, with it's several updates and permutations.  He became so engrossed by it's simple design that he decided to buy one, a relatively new variant called the AKS-74.  He got it in somewhat rough condition, but with his knowledge of how it worked, and some consultation from a machinist, he got the rifle in good working order with a few modifications and a bit of elbow grease.  With his self-teaching nearing a close, he decided to get a tattoo of a wolf to signify the vengeance he would soon wreak.

After roughly a year of working, training, and tuning his AK, James started to lose sight of his vendetta, and even started to force his previous memories from his head, even though some of it was missing to begin with.  His lust for vengeance was becoming less and less tangible as he became more integrated with an actual society.  While he didn't deny that life was still hard, and sometimes dangerous, he shifted his focus from wanting to go back and finish what he had planned on doing to simply putting it behind him and moving on.  While it allowed him to do just that, it would take a toll on his psyche.

After building up some funds, James decided to move to Aspin to take advantage of the advanced education opportunities there and look into becoming a psychologist.  This had nothing to do with his own past, he simply gained a curiosity for the way the human mind works.  To help fund his continued education, James took advantage of his abilities and became an escort for The Gaens' expeditionary teams.  He learned several things rather quickly at this point, and it took a bit of effort to keep the circumstantial knowledge that he gained from his various escortees from getting mixed up with his actual studies.

Roughly a year after moving to Aspin, he began to feel the psychological effects of having suppressed his memories of his past, which manifested themselves in occasional extreme fits of paranoia and social withdrawal, one of which prompted him to compulsively buy a CZ-75 pistol.  He had failed to properly inspect it and missed the damaged ejector; something he would have picked up on had he been stable at the time.  He never sought help or consulted anyone about it, because somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that it meant recounting his traumatic past.  His suppression of his memories as a slave caused all the rage and hatred he had previously felt towards the slavers to convert fully to terror and paranoia, and worse yet James refused to believe it.

Though, on the other hand, trying to put the past behind him has made James into a confident optimist for the most part, and at the age of 25 he graduated with a certificate in psychology.  With all that said and done, James decided to return to Russel City in search of a job in his new field, or if all else failed, reunite with his old scavenging squad.  Unfortunately, fate seemed to have other plans for him, and he ended up joining another immortal named Alex to aid her in creating a haven for immortals in the wake of Motum Diversum's increasingly oppressive policies towards them, and the subsequent fall of Russel City.

After spending a couple of months in Isolone, and without a large turnout, James still held fast, mostly motivated by his curiosity as to Alex's character, and why exactly she reminded him of someone.  Sometime during the third month, a large number of Forsaken members turned up and threatened to return with an overwhelming force to evict the Immortals.  Feeling that they were either bluffing or overly confident in their abilities, they refused to budge, and a battle broke out when a large battalion of Forsaken soldiers showed up three days later.  Both sides sustained more losses than expected, both in terms of men and resources, and what little reconstruction of Isolone Alex and James managed to do ended up going up in smoke as the town was left in worse condition than they had found it in.  Fearing more unnecessary bloodshed, James and Alex made the decision to withdraw, evacuating as many immortals as they could and beating a hasty retreat to Dead-End.

The survivors managed to get off okay, coming out with enough supplies to return to civilization, but shortly after re-establishing themselves, most of the group, James included, decided to split off and go their separate ways.  Ever since then, James has spent his life taking odd jobs, mostly by scavenging or making escorts for caravans.  The attack, however, left him demoralized, insofar as he became somewhat withdrawn and began doing jobs that he would otherwise reject due to their dubious nature, or that of his employers.  He has also taken on a habit of hoarding things he considers valuable in a stash outside of New Sicily.  He often makes the rounds between there, Harlem, Wolfwater, Laguna, and Fairbury.


Gear

Weapons:AKS-74: An older model Soviet AKS-74.  It's very dirty and has some superficial damage, but it works about as well as it should.
CZ-75: A newer, compact model of the CZ-75.  It looks far better than the AK, but the ejector has been damaged, resulting in the occasional double-feed or stovepipe.  After the battle at Isolone, James made it a point to find the parts and make the necessary repairs to this pistol, and it is now fully functional.

Armor: James rarely wears armor, but when he does, he prefers light armor that doesn't restrict mobility.  Generally, a light vest or plate worn under his usual jacket, a brace on his left forearm, and kneepads are the most he would wear.

Ammunition
Dirty Rounds:46x 5.45mm loose bullets
35x 9mm loose bullets

Mid-Grade Hand-Loads:90x 5.45mm in 3 30-round AK magazines
42x 9mm in 3 14-round CZ magazines
8x 9mm in 1 50-round box

Military-Grade Ammunition:7x 7.62mm loose bullets
13x 5.45mm loose bullets
11x 9mm loose bullets
4x 5.56mm loose bullets


Luggage
Rucksack:1x Avtomat Kalashnikova user guide
3x cans of food
2x bottles of water
1x razor
1x compass
1x map
1x flask filled with whiskey

Messenger Bag:2x bandages
1x flashlight
1x lighter
loose bullets (see above)

Holster:CZ-75

Thigh Pouch:3x AK magazine
3x CZ magazine


Immortalis Information

Manifested Phenomena: Perception

Unique AbilitiesAlmost Extrasensory: James could hear a mouse fart from half a mile away.  Okay, maybe not, but still, James has extensive sensory powers which are far better than any normal human would ever have.  To the uninitiated, it can seem as though James actually has a sixth sense.
Pinpoint Accuracy: Just as his senses are more powerful, they are also finely tuned such that James can accurately pinpoint the source of any one stimulus, as well as isolate a specific stimulus from the ambiance.
Accelerated Sight: Though James can't activate this ability on demand, often times, when he finds himself in a tense situation, James' perception of time can slow down, giving him more time to think and act accordingly.  This can make his reflexes seem extremely good, but that's not exactly the case.


StrengthsEvasion: Having been a slave for the first fourteen years of his life, James eventually learned the importance of not being seen.  It's also a lot easier to avoid detection when your powers of observation allow you to reliably tell where your pursuers are.
Telegraphing: A combination of him perceiving time more slowly in combat, and his own eye for detail, James can often predict how an attack will be made, which gives him time to either counter or avoid the attack.  Conversely, he can tell when an enemy is distracted enough to execute an efficient attack.
Son of Kalashnikov: James is extensively familiar with how rifles of the AK family operate, and can diagnose and fix numerous problems that they may have, time and tools permitting.  He is also familiar with Russian weaponry in general, though not to as great an extent as AKs specifically.


WeaknessesThey're Coming to Take Me Away: Despite himself, James will sometimes suffer from fits of crippling paranoia as a result of his past.  These only happen on occasion, and the fits usually end within a couple of hours, but he is a complete wreck for the meantime.  He knows there's a trigger, but he has yet to find it.
I'd Rather Forget: Another result of his past, James tends to avoid the very subject, as does his mind suppress his memory of it.  When he does recount it, he can become withdrawn, and his risk of experiencing a paranoia fit increases.  Unfortunately, this also prevents him from getting proper help, thus perpetuating a vicious cycle.
Interference: Even though James can filter out unnecessary noise from his senses, he can still experience a sort of sensory overload from having too many stimuli to accurately focus on one.  For example, James wouldn't be able to accurately pick one voice out from a reasonably large crowd.  In addition, the effects of psychotropic drugs are often amplified with him, as are the side effects.
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