Name
Ludwig von Promethea,
Ludwig the Glassforger
Order
The Order of Lionell
Apply for Circlet?
Yes
Gender
Male
Age
22
Appearance
Roughly 5'9" in height, and with a lean, well muscled body, Ludiwg is in one way most likely the statuesque vision of male beauty. He has a defined bone structure which gives his face a vaguely triangle shape and a broad forhead which meets thin eyebrows to give the illusion that his face simply extends into his hair. Ludiwg, like all patriarchs in his family dating back twenty three generations, is a Black Glass forger (discussed in greater detail below), and this volatile form of magic has had its effect on his body. His skin has a slight iridescent blue tone, his eyes are orb of perfect Black Glass with blue veins of pure Magistra running through them, and although normally fully clothed up to his chin, the veins of his body all can be seen as bulging, blue, maze like patterns rising up from under his skin. Additionally, Ludwig long ago sacrificed one of his arms in service the head of his order, and has long since been replaced it with an identical arm made completely of Black Glass. Ludwig wears what has been the traditional armament of his family for the last seven generations, that being a black, skin-tight, bodysuit woven from fibers of cotton and Black Glass, with more traditional armor often locked on top of it, such as spaulders, a breastplate, chain mail, and boots and gauntlets.
Biography
A man is judged by what he leaves behind him in this world, both kin and craft
Born the forth child of the Patriarch of the Prometheus Family, an ancient noble family who have been in service of the King for twenty three generation, and his lady wife, Ludwig bore from birth what is commonly referred to among the Prometheus family as "The Sight". The indicator for the last twenty generations who the next Patriarch will be, and as a result who would inherit and preserve the sacred family craft of Black Glass forging.
What the Prometheus family worshipped as "The Sight", the rest of the world knows as blindness.
Born with the expectation that he would inherit, as his father did from his (and his father from his (and so on)), the Eyes of Prometheus as the only blind child, and with them the secrets of how to forge the sacred Black Glass, Ludwig was raised by his tutors to have little emotional connection to his father, instead focusing his keen mind on the countless texts of the Promethus Library, each being read aloud to the patient child, who would close his eyes and appear as if he were just soaking in the knowledge.
Two days before his thirteenth birthday, his father left the Family estate and did not return, leaving only two pure black orbs of glass stained with the crusted blood of being removed from the eye sockets where they had sat for forty winters, the Eyes of Prometheus which had been an heirloom among the members of the Prometheus family lucky enough to be blessed with the sight.
It is assumed his father is dead, as it is assumed that all Prometheus men who undergo this part of the ritualistic passing of the Patriarchy die on their pilgrimage.
Ludwig went under the knife on his thirteenth birthday, having his eyes removed and replaced with the Eyes of Prometheus, at once both imbuing him with untold knowledge and power in the arena of Black Glass Magic and granting him sight at long last, albeit sight which is monochromatic. Inheriting the collective experiences of all the men in his family who had used those eyes, his subsequent combat training was short, more of a test run to ensure that the powers of his ancestry had safely once again leaped from one generation to another.
Two years later the Glass Sickness started. A plague which only affects those who wield arms of Black Glass, it can be lethal to those, like Ludwig, who carry Black Glass in their body if not handled correctly. This sickness, striking him at fifteen while under the service of his master in the Order of Lionell, slowly began to turn the internal organs inside of him and the blood in his veins into different forms of Black Glass, freezing many of his bodily functions and causing excruciating pain. Stopped before the process could reach his head (and his brain, killing him), the process, like it did to all those patriarchs who suffered it when they inherited the Eyes of Prometheus, solidified his place in the Prometheus family and made him the official Black Glass Forger, a title which symbolically indicated that he alone could forge the substance vied after by Knights, Demons, and Angels for its properties.
Ludwig lost his arm at 18, when he was thrust into battle against a horde of monsters hoping to slay his Master, the lord of the Order of Lionell (now old and sickly), and triumphed, only to have his arm severed clean off by the dying throws of a felled, but still breathing, beast. Thinking on his feet, he found some sand on the ground and, rubbing it into his wound, chanted the magic necessary to grow a completely new limb of Black Glass; one that would respond to his thoughts like any other limb, but which could change shape and amplify magic like any other item made of Black Glass.
This feat earned the respect of his peers and the higher-ups in the order to such a degree that, upon his masters peaceful passing, Ludwig, only 21 was put forward to serve on the Circlet as a representative of the Order, and as its head. He quickly used that position to establish a powerbase within the Order, becoming its de facto head. Without consulting the higher ups, he reorganized the order and has made it an almost feudal structure, with him at the top.
Throughout all this time, Ludwig has been slowly building up an arsenal of Black Glass weaponry and golems, so that when the time comes, he can arm his entire order with weapons which will make them both unmatched within the Orders and unmatched among races.
Personality
The face Ludwig shows to those outside his Order (or in public) is that of a charismatic, slightly lazy, often lascivious, and always facetious individual. It is not hard to make him laugh, and once he begins, it is hard not to feel like joining him. Despite his somewhat morbid appearance, he always wears a bright smile on his face, and is the first person in a group to say something inappropriate or sarcastic in order to break the ice or get attention onto himself. Although he comes off as intelligent, or perhaps clever is a better word, no one perceives him as having any kind of book smarts other than his obvious knowledge of his craft. Many view him as irresponsible, and it is easy to develop a perception of him as a child, someone who is irresponsible and incapable of leading an order as prestigious as the Order of Lionell.
When dealing solely with members of the order, Ludwig still maintains the same charisma, but without the joviality. Instead, there is a steely power to his presence, with his words biting like the lashes of chain and his aura as unflinching as the glass in his eye sockets. This Ludwig is known to be the most intelligent man in the order, having memorized every tome he has ever read and wielding this knowledge like a sword in both his organization and his disciplining of his Order, which he restructured radically upon his rise to power. Ludwig still always has a smile on his face, but it is a smaller, much more conniving one. It is the smile of an ambitious man who knows he has it made, who knows that his throne is secure. He capitalizes on his appearance to often strike fear into those who are subversive to his often benign authority or to those who plain out insubordinate, staring them straight on without blinking as the black orbs in his skull simply sit idle, not appearing to take in anything despite their ability to do so. Although not the formal head of his order, he is undoubtedly the
de facto leader and runs it as he wishes.
But both these masks are facades Ludwig uses to maintain his delicate political power as both the Head of an Order and a member of the Circlet, preferring to be underestimated and looked over then be accurately perceived and feared. Indeed, if any of the other members of the Circlet knew the extents of his personal ambition, they would have never let him on in the first place. Indeed, Ludwig's ambition is rivaled only by his loneliness, a feeling which washes over him in tidal waves despite the constant companionship of other Knights during his daily life and countless women in his bed. Suffering from a debilitating inadequacy complex as a result of his physical appearance and his abandonment by his father (and his knowledge that he will have to abandon his own son), it is not inaccurate to say that Ludwig fuels the inferno of his ambition with his own despair. It is rare to find Ludwig with any kind of expression on his face other than a frown when he is alone or deep in thought, and when a smile does grace his face, those who know him well know to stay far, far, out of his way.
Combat Information
Companion Type
Ludwig has only one companion, his arm (a powerful weapon in its own right) not included. This is a long staff (with a length of six feet and a diameter of four inches) made of the purest Black Glass, called Yggdrassil.
Companion Name
Yggdrassil
Companion Special Abilities
Made by his his ancestor twelve generations ago to fight in the bloodiest war that Humanity had ever seen, Yggdrassil is the most powerful artifact of Black Glass known to man. As well as having the usual powers of Black Glass in that it is nigh unbreakable, can change consistency, and amplify magic, Yggdrassil is also capable of completely changing its shape at the will of its owner (Yggdrassil can only have one owner at a time, and an owner must die in order for a new owner to claim it). If it were to be measured, Yggdrassil can multiply the power of any spellcaster by over 15 times (ten times more than any other object of Black Glass currently forged).
Knight Magistra
Black Glass Magic
Black Glass is a substance which can shift from something as solid as crystal to something as malleable as clay to something as runny as water (and anywhere in between) at the crafters will. It is incredibly strong and durable, amplifying magic spells many times over, and is almost unbreakable, having the ability to last for hundreds of years. Although all that is required to create Black Glass is sand, the secret to forging Black Glass is closely guarded and known only to the current Patriarch of the Prometheus family, who uses the Eyes of Prometheus to forge it. Due to their ability to amplify magic, it is not uncommon for spell casters to have one or two pieces of Black Glass to help give them an edge, although many Knights are cautious about using the magic stored within the shards. The reason this is that Black Glass is a toxic substance, and can bring about the Glass Sickness in those who us it. Although usually benign, the sickness can be fatal towards those who use the substance for more then just Spell amplification or for a weapon, especially to those few who imbed Black Glass in their body (such as Ludwig). Ludwig is both a forger of Black Glass and an avid user of Black Glass Magic, using Yggdrassil to cast spells and conjur great fires and storms unparalleled within the Order of Lionnel. There is an additional ability of crafting golems of Black Glass which can function either under the direct control of the crafter or semi-autonomously.
Order Magistra
Conjuration
Something that Ludwig had always been interested since he first read about it, he all but demanded that he learn the secret to this art when he entered the Order under the tutelage of its then Lord Commander. Using his Black Glass to amplify his already not-insignificant abilities, Ludwig has made a name for himself by conjuring things previously thought too difficult to conjure on the fly (having once conjured an entire castle and, in the process, knocking himself out cold).
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. I'm still trying to figure out a bio that fits what I'm looking for, swear that's always the hardest part of a character sheet for me.
Originally Posted by Pax
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