Themerlinhawk

Essence of the World: The Mending

Name: Alzir Alvuad Alias: The Old Man in the Mountain, The Thousand Handed Devil, The Guardian of Darkness Age: Apparent: 58 Actual: Unknown Race: Chimera Appearance: Social Status: The Old Man is known to very few but those he is known to defer the greatest respect one can grant to him. Relations: Alzir is a respected member of the Academies teaching staff and by far one of its most dangerous residents. He teaches many, disciplines few and is friend to a handful. Any family Alzir may have had are long dead and his other relations come and go in a blink of the eye from his perspective. General Activity: Alzir is the supreme authority in hand to hand combat. No one on the surface, heaven or hell can approach his skill or knowledge. As a result he provides the best unarmed and melee combat education any of the academies students could ever have hoped for. Abilities: Bow to the Master- Alzir can analyse and develop a response to any form of melee combat he encounters, while it is not immediate it is inevitable as he seen it all and has perfected the art of observing movement and intention. The Universal Technique- Alzir is Master of every form of Eastern and Middle Eastern Martial Arts style and Weapon style. If you can name it Alzir probably mastered it long ago. Silence My Brother- Alzir is capable of moving in utter silence, not very quietly, but completely silent. He is also capable of extending this silence to his surroundings allowing him to murder an entire room without anyone ever hearing a sound. Swift as the Wind- Alzir has the ability to move at blinding speeds rendering him almost impossible to track even with a supernatural eye. It has been said that he once used this speed to cross a lake of water. All that was left was a trail of ripples. Born in Darkness- Alzir requires no light to see. He can see in utter darkness and he can also see heat signatures of living beings through solid objects Shatter Mountains- Alzir’s muscle mass and bone density are exponentially higher than that of a human making him capable of truly legendary feats of strength. It should also be noted that Alzir is capable of delivering this strength in a simple motion of his body such as a stomp or a flick. It is said that once a student displease Alzir. Alzir simply tapped his chest and hurled the student through the doors of the Dojo shattering the students sternum and the door of the Dojo. To the onlookers it seemed that Alzir had merely touched the student. Herring Snatches the Fish- It is said that once someone tried to kill The Old Man with a gun. He simply snatched the bullets from the air. Whatever the truth may be Alzir is capable of predicting trajectory of objects in motion perfectly allowing him to simply not be there when the object is moving towards him. Shadow on the Moon- Alzir is capable of invisibility, not just to the naked eye but to Essence sight. No one is sure exactly how he does it. Many seem to think that Alzir does not know how to do it either. Lazarus theorized that perhaps Alzir is simply visible to both Essence sight and the naked eye, he is simply capable of convincing anyone observing him that he is not there. Stone Splits Water- It is said that once Alzir blocked a sword with his bare hand and it shattered into a thousand pieces. If that story is true, like many things about Alzir, remains to be seen. However Alzir does appear to be capable of taking a truly incredible amount of punishment. There are many rumors as to what the Old Man can actually do some say he can breath fire and fly. Others claim he can secrete a poison that will stop anyones heart on contact. No one knows. Maybe they are all just rumors or maybe they are infact true. Either way no one has bothered to find out. Equipment: Other than his robes Alzir finds that many objects or pieces of gear have little use to him. Additionally Alzir holds the view that anything you use you may become reliant upon. As a result he does not use weapons or armor as he may someday find himself without them should he rely upon them. It is also why he has a dim view of teaching his students with their instruments. Personality: Will Show IC Biography: Alzir Alvuad is not one entity, he is a repository for generations of knowledge that has only recently, with the creation of the Chimeras, found a home. Alzir has almost a millennia of knowledge at his disposal which means that he himself has never actually studied many of the martial arts he is a master of. Alzir is actually a collection of memories from hundreds of martial arts, weapons masters as well as tacticians and philosophers. Where Alzir actually came from remains a mystery. Even to Alzir. While Alzir carries the title of The Old Man of the Mountain he is the last heir to the title as he does not actually command an order of assassins however Alzir’s Essence was old when it was taken to be the center of the Chimeric body now known as the Thousand Handed Devil. Alzir’s past is shrouded in mystery and the question still stands: who created Alzir and why? Alzir appeared at the academy soon after the fall of Judas offering his services as an instructor in the philosophy of combat and as an instructor of martial arts for the Academy. Alzir is the finest combat instructor the academy has ever seen as he is capable of instructing even the most fragile of students in the best use of their limited talents. Additionally Alzir teaches classes in Basic, Intermediate and Advance Philosophy in addition to his Philosophy of combat and History of War and Tactics classes. Alzir no longer runs missions for the Academy however many of his students suspect his presence on their missions, particularly the dangerous ones. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Thomas Finch Alias/Nickname: Lazarus, The Resurrection Mage Due to a his unique ability to move his soul from one vessel to another Thomas gained the name he typically goes by when he was apparently killed by a surface demon. Four days later he earned the name "Lazarus" when he apparently rose from the grave returned and killed the surface demon whose final words were: And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in grave clothes, his face wrapped in a head cloth Age: Apparent: 28 Actual: 53 Race: Human https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qxXUTZ31N0 Appearance: Social Status: Lazarus is an anomaly in terms of social status. Most view him as a soon to be out of date history professor from Trinity. A professor with a penchant for sticking his nose in others business. While many respect him, the majority of people do their best to avoid the history professor with a knack for raising the dead and not staying dead himself. Relations: Lazarus is the sole inheritor of the Finch Estate in Ireland and he recently buried his wife Kathleen. Don’t bring up either unless you want to meet them General Activity: Lazarus has been recruited to teach history classes as an adjunct professor for the academy. He is also an part time support member for the academies missions when needed. Much of his time is spent working on a project most who know him refer to as the Black Journals as well as the pursuit of a way to bring his wife back to life. Abilities: Before Lazarus' death he was a professor of archaeology with focuses in Egypt, Europe, The Aztec, and Japan. This was all made possible by the fact that Lazarus is a certifiable genius. Lazarus is also naturally gifted in the use of magic however when the Gate came down his powers increased by an order of magnitude. Necromancy- Lazarus is a potent Necromancer who appears to have discovered the secret to eternal life. Lazarus deals in the Essence left over when someone has died, or been killed. Lazarus specializes in collecting and re-purposing essence that was once ruled by a conscious mind. Lazarus is also quite adept at using dead corpses to fight for him Entropy Shield- Lazarus uses the essence of decay to shield him from attacks. Swords rust away, bullets lose kinetic energy and fall apart. Unprotected living creatures begin to rot and lose cohesion. (rumor has it Lazarus once stopped a building from falling on him with this). However the shield discriminates between things that would do Lazarus harm and things that will not. Use of the Entropy shield for more than about thirty seconds requires Lazarus to draw Essence from other living beings or the newly dead Create Walker- Lazarus has a knack for bringing corpses surging back from the dead to fight alongside him. As they are animated by his magic they are nigh unstoppable and require dismemberment before they are rendered dead yet again. Void Bolt- Lazarus weaves necrotic death energies into a bolt of energy that he hurls at his enemies. Upon contact the bolt immediately begins to cause advanced decay in whatever it strikes causing break down on the cellular level in living organisms. Siphon dead essence- Lazarus can take the essence from a newly dead being taking the remnants of the soul and repurposing it for his own magics. This is how Lazarus manages to perform many of his spells that require larger amounts of essence. Dead Man’s Hand- Lazarus has the ability to create a Hand of Glory. It the hand of a dead man with fingers made of candles. When Lazarus channels essence into the hand the candles ignite and those who are within about fifteen yards of the hand become lethargic and many fall asleep and find it almost impossible to wake. Hangman’s noose- Lazarus uses essence to “string up his enemies” constricting their throats and pulling them up off the ground. Effectively hanging them. Paralyze- Lazarus touch sends potent neurotoxins into anyone he touches effectively paralyzing them. The toxins are touch based and are rendered inert after more than a few seconds away from his skin Vampire’s Bite- Lazarus elongates his canines and increases the bite force and structural integrity of his jaw. His bite also contains the neurotoxins of his touch in a highly concentrated does. Chill of the grave- Lazarus can drop the temperature of a room to freezing temperatures in a matter of minutes Equipment: Dragon Sire- The Sword that Lazarus carries was made especially for him and it is at least moderately effective against the supernatural even though it is a mortal blade. Rings- Lazarus wears two rings on each hand which he has augmented to store kinetic energy. This energy can be released in order to cause Lazarus to be able to punch through solid stone and metal...or someone's head. Finch's Loft- A sprawling castle in County Kerry Ireland Lazarus used his inheritance from his family to purchase he has turned it into a sanctuary for him to study magic and his other pursuits. The Black Journals- All of the Necromancy and magical research Lazarus has done over the years are contained in the black journals. They are a chronicle of Lazarus’s descent into the darkness on his quest to return Kathleen from the dead. They are the most complete how to manual for Necromancy the world has ever seen. They are currently incomplete. Personality: Will Show IC Biography: (This information would require you to know Lazarus’ real name to find/know it) Prior to his initial death Dr. Thomas Finch was a professor of Archeology at Trinity College in Ireland as his genius had allowed him to complete three doctorates and landed him a job as a tenured professor at Trinity. During this time Finch was obsessed with mythology and magic in ancient cultures due to his minor abilities as a practitioner. When the Gate fell Finch finally came into his own as a Warlock. (His battle and resurrection are fairly common knowledge however most view it as a tall tail more than anything else) Finch focused much of his time on mastering the art of Necromancy as many of the cultures he studied had focus on death, life and the mastery of the two. While exploring a site in Greece Finch discovered the first half of the information he needed to resurrect himself after his death and a year later he discovered the second half of the information on a dig in Egypt. When he finally returned from a two year sabbatical to Trinity he discovered that his wife had been murdered In a rage he tracked the demon down and confronted it. The demon tore Thomas Finch limb from limb. After consuming Thomas’ corpse the Demon assumed it had gotten away with it’s murder but four days later Dr. Finch returned with a horde of walking corpse and tore the demon apart. After the battle Thomas Finch was dead but Lazarus had been born that day. Lazarus resigned his position at Trinity to continue his study of magic in the peace of his newly acquired home Finch’s Loft. (Very few know the rest of the story) The student that was killed by the demon went by the name of Kathleen O’heir. A striking beauty with fiery red hair and a laugh that caught Lazarus’ heart. After Kathleen was out of Lazarus’ class the two were briefly engaged and then married in the Ring of Kerry. The three years Lazarus had with Kathleen were the best of his life. When he left Trinity to go on his sabbatical he left Kathleen to finish her studying at Trinity. Lazarus promised Kathleen that when he returned they would travel the world and be together. Lazarus had just inherited his family's fortune and he no longer needed his position at Trinity. When Kathleen was killed Lazarus went into a blind rage which led to the events of him receiving his name. After Kathleen’s death Lazarus’ study of magic has been focused on Necromancy and Alchemy for one reason. Lazarus want’s his wife back.