Name: He kept changin' it...then he forgot cuz he couldn't keep track.
Alias: The DealBreaker/Broker
Nicknames: The Broker; Bro; Broken; Bree.
Age: Between 35 and 40 years of age.
Species: 3/4ths Human, 1/4th angel, 100% Chimeric badass.
Relations: His younger sister, Anastaesia.

Alternate Appearance Info: The Broker stands at roughly 5'10 and weighs a bit more than is normal for his height, though most of it is lean muscle, there is a bit of barely noticeable fat here and there. His gear of course weighs him down a good amount more, but he manages regardless.

Reference 1

Reference 2

General Activity - DealBroker: Bree is a broker of deals, he's an informant, and he's a wanderer. He is infamous, and famously, known for breaking, and making, a variety of deals with a variety of clients. He works on a need to know basis, and is highly unpredictable...but reliable when he feels like it. While that'd seem to directly contradict the concept of reliability, it doesn't, as his skillset and track record make him one of the best, if not the best, in his line of work. It should be noted that he makes three types of 'deals'. It should be noted that the Broker has small bases in all the major cities, including Echetus. He of course keeps his angelic origins secret, and makes deals with even Judas' faction.

Deals: Can be made and broken, are sealed only by one's own word and an agreement of sort. These can really entail anything, but when making these one should know that they are completely subjective and debatable between the Broker's many personalities. This means that any one of them can and will have different ways of achieving, or sabotaging, any given deal according to their own wishes.

Binds: These are deals which he binds either himself or his client to via the Art of Athriohm applied in a way that is not typically used. These are not entirely subjective, but are not entirely objective either in terms of his personalities and their meaning. However, since these deals are written out they can be worded in such a way as to not give his personalities any wiggle room. Still, one has to be almost as careful with these, as if you write them wrong...you could end up in a ditch somewhere, making love to an elephant on a tricycle.

Promises: These deals have been agreed on between all of his personalities mutually in some fashion and as such will be fulfilled, regardless of the methods --unless it has been stated what methods must be used-- and as such are considerably less subjective than the two previous types of deal. Broker never breaks his promises, but he also almost never makes them. They are a rare commodity and if they are made, you better be careful what you're asking for...because the Broker always pays his dues.

(what they do with their days? Do they have a duty or job? Are they wanderers? This entry, by no means, limits your character, but it would be considered your character's MO; modus operandi; general way of doing things)

Personality: That's a rather difficult question to be answerin'. Regardless, I'll try my hand in explainin' a thing or two 'bout me. First rule, don't cross me, second rule, don't listen to the first rule because that'd be pretty obscene. What? You don't believe me, well I guess that's pretty warranted considerin'. I mean I ain't exactly a simple guy, and calling me easy ta understand'd be the fraud of the century, don'tcha think?

Don't answer that. Second, no it was third, rule to note, s'that ya ain't never to make a deal with the devil. You still readin'? I hope so, cuz these're some seriously true facts.

Anyways, rule ninety six.

What? How'd we get to ninety six?

C'mon, didja forget, the rules are on a needtaknow basis, and trust me ya don't need to know.

Biography: To be revealed.

It should be noted that he's been in the business for at least 20 years, though it could be a bit longer. Hard to know since his definite age isn't quite known either.

Equipment:

Dustkickers: These heavy duty boots have small compartments in them, allowing its user to kick up 'black dust,' otherwise known as gunpowder. These boots have a thin metal lining too, as well as running spikes reminiscent of track shoes to allow for a high level of traction. He has enchanted these boots slightly using the Art, so as to make them lighter, but only to him, so he can move with less restriction than would normally be allowed but still dish out a good asskicking.

Dustproof: This particular portion of his garb, his Duster, has gained its name from the fact that he continually adds enchantments to it and it has hit the point where the Duster itself is immune to most things with the exception of getting dusty. It can shield him somewhat from things like heat and slashing attacks, not mentioning its ability to contain air, allowing him to close it around his head to give him a very limited air supply in areas where he'd otherwise be unable to breath. While the Duster itself is pretty much invulnerable, being mostly capable of blocking piercing attacks, not to mention elemental assaults, it in no way protects him from the force behind these blows. This is why he will tend to get bruising and broken bones, rather than getting stabbed, burned or drowned. Crushing attacks are particularly dangerous to him for this exact reason. It should be noted that this duster is not actually invulnerable as it does take some of his own energy, and the energy from the environment, to fuel its various enchantments. He has stated, to Anastaesia, that it can only last so long in any given conflict if he doesn't want to exhaust himself just to keep its effects active.

Silverchains: These twin Colt 1911's, aka M1911's, are named as such due to both their silver coloration and because of their unique enchantments. The 'chain' part of their name comes from the fact that at the base of each pistol's grip --on the bottom part that'd normally face the ground when firing straight ahead-- is a small sigil. These sigils, which are on the aforementioned portion of each handgun, can be activated by a small influx of essence, allowing chains to spawn from within them and connect the two pistols.This chain, or rather the silver utilized to make it, is stored within the sigils themselves. There is a decent amount of silver, in fact there is enough silver within the sigils to create a twenty two foot chain that connects the two weapons. This chain is extremely sharp to enemies, but completely dull to allies. How it differentiates between the two is a mystery. Other than this, there is a small secondary “trigger” on each gun. This trigger is more of a “button” mechanism that has been enchanted so as to link to the opposite pistol. This allows the Broker to fire a pistol without actually touching it, as long as he is touching its twin. This is particularly useful when he is using the chain.

Black Beauties: With enough power to do a significant amount of damage wherever it hits, the Black Beauties can teleport to one another, as there are small sigils on his finger tips which allows this. The sad part about this is that the Broker must be somewhat aware of the position or location that the guns are for him to summon them to him. Otherwise they can randomly appear in different locations, or he'll accidentally summon “similar” energies to himself rather than the guns themselves. Additionally, the golden markings on the Black Beauties allow the guns to fire not only normal ammo, but to fire essence as well. In fact, the guns have been modified so that the portion of the gun directly corresponding with the hole in the barrel, but located on the rear-facing portion of the weapon, can fold open to pull essence, or the like, into the gun to be fired through the barrel. Last, but not least, the Black Beauties gain their color not from a natural metal, but from being continually exposed to demonic essence. This makes them not only more durable and sturdy, but also means that, should he have to fight one of the other races, he can damage each of them in unique ways. The Black Beauties transfer some of this demonic energy into the bullets, making these pistols particularly effective against angels.

Impression Sheathes: These gloves, though they are more like a strange kind of fingerless leather gauntlets, have had the very surface of their forms altered so that they can shift shape somewhat, though to a very limited degree. As such, the gloves can cover his fingers completely if needed, in addition to the fact that he can overlay sigils onto their form and the fabric will remember the sigils for later use.

Volgaris: Volgaris is a hat, a plain, but stylish, stetman hat that happens to be the Broker's favorite. It is the one item on his person that isn't enchanted to be useful in battle. Its sole enchantment has something to do with augmenting itself with absolutely insane levels of good luck. Considering the fact that Broker has been in numerous situations where it could've been lost destroyed or damaged, yet against insurmountable odds it remains in perfect condition, as such Bree assumes that its enchantment is working, but he's still not quite sure....

RedShine: A weapon that might as well be composed of enchantments, RedShine is made of a metal that was crafted through the use of the Art. This metal has a mixture of properties, giving it the sturdiness of steel and iron, but the conductivity and anti-demon properties of silver. The properties of the elastic rapier, and the hard piercing longsword have both been augmented into this blade and can be switched on and off by altering the pressure being placed on the grip of the blade. To increase the blade's elasticity the pressure must be light, to decrease the elasticity the pressure must be greater. There exists a third function to this blade and that is to channel the essence of silver or to pull the blood of other beings into the blade. When the blood is pulled in it can either be purified or its traits can augment the blade to harm a particular race depending on who, or rather what race, the blood belongs to. RedShine can only contain foreign essence for a maximum of ten minutes after which point it will disperse into the surrounding environment. RedShine can replicate, but only once, allowing him twin blades rather than just a lonely sword.

BlackLeech: As its name implies, BlackLeech is capable of pulling trace amounts of essence from biological, or inanimate, materials that it comes into contact with. BlackLeech works primarily with biological matter, but can be used on inanimate matter as well. It should be noted that BlackLeech has four other notable traits. Firstly that it is composed of the same metal as RedShine; Secondly that it can only hold up to one essence signature at a time; Thirdly, BlackLeech cannot hold essence for more than twenty seconds; Last of all, when it cuts a living thing the process of essence being absorbed causes a rushing and burning sensation on the cut area.

Tuner: The sheath to Bree's dagger, Tuner can pull any essence from the BlackLeech and store it for later use. Tuner can store or combine up to six different separate essences, allowing it to be a container for essence that requires analysis at a later time or to serve as a conduit for BlackLeech or Bree's magic.

The Sniffer: This object works much like a compass and a yard stick in that it detects essence as well as pointing to essence signatures that are imputed into its apparatus. Additionally, the Sniffer is capable of detecting the predominant type of essence in any given area, as well as the levels of each less dominant kind, meaning it can tell how much angelic, human, and demonic essence is in any given area. Last, but not least, is the fact that the Sniffer can point to the most potent source/congregation of essence. The device has various 'hands' and the like to point to these locations, as well as a meter or two on the back, covered by the metal, which can easily be opened for the Broker to see. The device is enchanted so that it is essentially indestructible (though not entirely so), and will vanish from perception when not being used.

Personal Capabilities:

Personality of a Hundred Headed Demon: Due to the magical accident that transpired in his childhood, the DealBreaker's personality has been forever altered...constantly. Strangely, while his sister was infected by demonic influence and turned wolf, the Broker's mind was instead altered causing the 'hinges' and limiters on his personality to essentially disappear. In addition to this his essence, which was quite stable before, especially considering his angelic heritage, has become rampant and unpredictable. As such his personality, views, opinions, and general bias can change at the drop of a hat, the turn of a shoulder, or the flip of a coin. These changes are completely random and unpredictable, in fact even the Broker himself is unable to tell when his mind will change next. However, despite these changes, the Broker does not have any lapses in memory and always knows what is going on in a situation. Thus it is quite difficult to confuse or offset his general understanding. Additionally, because of having to constantly adapt to himself and how he handles his environment, and people in general, Broker has developed an innate sense relating to people and how they function. Due to his personality, the Broker possesses what is referred to as Orange and Blue Morality.

The Perfect Conman: Once again deriving from his Personality, the Broker is often called the Perfect Conman because while his myriad personalities do not all get along, almost none of them will try to get in the way of their own collective well-being. This is one of his many rules, and is likely one of the rules that truly holds him together as a functional person in society. Without it he'd fall to shambles.

“Guy's got connections”: Due to his many years in the profession of Deals, the Broker is quite well connected. It's even rumored that should someone say something, somewhere, three cities away, in a dark alley, he'll hear it given a day or two. No one is quite sure how he does it, but the Broker manages to know more than he lets on, or let on more than he knows, quite often. He has a miraculous ability to judge people's character, know how to deal with 'em, and even to figure out their general workings within the space of several minutes of interaction. If dialogue is included it gives him an even clearer picture, but regardless it is still guess work unless one of his many mysterious informants have managed to get the info around to him.

The Nasty Macgyver: Outside of the abilities that primarily originate from his divergent personalities, Broker has exceptional skill at improvisation and this even comes into play when he is in a sticky situation and has to make the best of a small amount of resources. He has earned this title, of a sort, from getting himself in and out of situations with tools and objects that would not typically be helpful in those situations, but nonetheless got him out alive and (mostly) in one piece. Because of this, those who have dealt with him on the opposite side before know to try and take as many of his valuables, trinkets, and otherwise belongings when trying to keep him tied up, or in captivity in general, because if they don't they might just end up on the pointy end of a toothpick.

Constractsman, the Smithy of Deals: Utilizing the Art of Athriohm and some rather tricky methods, the DealBroker is capable of writing binding contracts that are not upheld by something as flimsy as a government, but rather by the very essence of the individuals who sign it with their signature. While he will sometimes call these contracts, he will more often refer to them as 'Dealbinds,' 'Binds,' or 'Binding Deals.' Their overall categorization falls somewhere between his definitions of 'Deal' and 'Promise' which can be seen far above.

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Swordsmanship: He sure as hell ain't a master swordsman, but he is far from amateur in the art of swordplay and can hold his own against most of decent, or considerable, skill. He prefers light fast blades, allowing him high maneuverability, a bending unpredictable strike, or a solid defense by way of offensive prowess. At the same time, some of his personalities like to switch gears and use his blade(s) as a defense, allowing him to trap his opponent and then use one of his other abilities to finish 'em off.

Marksmanship: While he's no soldier and he's no pro, the Broker has sufficient skill to get by when it comes to marksmanship, though he does prefer revolvers and Desert Eagle pistols to get the job done most of the time, he will sometimes don more heavy weaponry to do the dirty deed. It should be noted that some of his personalities dislike the use of firearms and so will not use them traditionally, or even at all depending on their opinion(s).

Trickshot: While he is no master, his skill with his weapons of choice, mentioned above, are considerable, allowing him to pull some pretty miraculous stunts sometimes.

Psychological Knowledge and Manipulation: Due in part to his Personality, which can be described as that of a hundred headed demon, Broker is quite good at manipulating people to do what he wants. At the very least he can typically turn situations to his favor in some way, allowing him to masterfully switch gears and sides pretty much instantly. Additionally, he has dabbled in the study of the psyche in order to attempt to understand his own shifting personality better, and while it didn't help him too much in that regard, it has given him some useful tools. It should be noted that because of his shifting disposition, the Broker can very easily deal with and understand a wide variety of people. Many people who have observed him actually think him to be able to perfectly understand nigh anyone due to this shifting syndrome of his, this is however an overestimation of his abilities, which are impressive nonetheless.

The Art of Athriohm: While he did find his own master to study under at one point, the man died tragically at the hands of the council prior to the completion of his apprenticeship. He has since managed to scrounge up information on the Art, do his own research, and plenty of experimentation. This has allowed him to gain just enough skill at it that he can manage himself. However, his skill with the Art is not strong enough on its lonesome (in most situations or if used traditionally) to serve as his primary fighting skill. It does however, give him a lot of variability, as it can easily augment any of his other skills.

Juggler: Having learned it just for the heck of it, also to amuse his younger sister when they were both kids, Broker has since turned it into a useful ability. At this point in time he'll use it to wield multiple sets of weapons at once, or quickly switch between different tools or the like in difficult situations. Lastly his hand-eye coordination is improved by this greatly, allowing him to easier keep track of multiple variables, objects, and individuals in any given situation.

Minor Explosive Knowledge: Since watching pretty explosions is fun and some of his more...dastardly clients want rather big Deals fulfilled, he has learned how to properly use various hand-held, or otherwise, explosives. Some of these include grenades, flash grenades, and C4.

Dualwelding: Because of his ability to utilize both his hands, since he is ambidextrous, though he started as left handed, the Broker has developed a high level of compatibility to dual wield not only two of the same weapon, but two completely different weapons or tools. In addition to this, the Broker can 'weld' two skillsets together almost flawlessly. Combined with his ability to wield the Art, he can even combine two objects together for rather interesting contraptions, though he doesn't do this last bit too often since it can be rather taxing.

Name: Arkaeis Zraimat.
Age: Unknown, appears between his twenties and thirties.
Race: Volshebniyi Skazki.
Sex: Technically Male.
Appearance: Arkaeis, as a Skazka, has two forms called glamours. While most of his kind possess only one glamour, Arkaeis has been forced to create two due to the complexity of his Skazkic existence. They are as follows:
Secondary Glamour, this is seen essentially all the time, allowing him to blend in. Below this is his primary glamour, which conceals his true form, but reveals the chaotic nature of his upper internal workings. His true appearance is below these two glamours, and while it might seem harmless it emanates an heir of sickly emptiness due to being utterly devoid of features. While it is essentially a silhouette, it maintains its three dimensional state, making it difficult to look upon, in addition to disturbing on a very deep level.

Homeland: Wanderer.
History: Your character’s past. You may want to delay doing this part until you get through stats and traits.

Motivation: Your character’s motivation for wishing to see the plot be resolved. This is mainly to ensure that both you and I know what your character’s reasoning for joining the Queen’s Blades and fighting against the Nine Hells is, be that personal glory or righteousness is really up to you. I just want to know the reason.

Physical stats: 14/14 Points to distribute across Strength, Agility, Charisma, and Magical Endurance.

Training Stats: 10 Points to distribute across Fighter, Sniper, Leader, Seducer, Sneak, and Mage.
Experience Traits: 2 points to spend in the Experience section of Traits.
Conditions: 3 points to spend in the Conditions section of Traits.
Max starting stat: The maximum any character can start with in a stat is 8 points.

All traits cost one point unless otherwise listed.

Strength: 3/10
Agility: 5/10
Charisma: 6/10
Magical Endurance: 0/10

Fighter: 4/10 above average 4-6
--Skill Set 1 (Unlocked at: 1 point.)
--Skill Set 2 (Unlocked at: 4 points.)
Sniper: 0/10
Leader: 1/10 Pivotal
Seducer: 5/10 Pivotal
Sneak: 0/10 Not necessary
Mage: 0/10 May not be necessary

Experience Traits
--Charming Rogue
--Battle Dancer

Conditions
--Non-Magic Telepathy
--The Wanderer
--Underworld Contracts

Unique
--Trait 1. (Note: This is your unique character ability. You get to design one ability that makes them... Unique! Gives them that edge against what would otherwise be an impossible fight. This can be anything your imagination can come up with, but will need to be approved by me, and the rule of reasonable applies. Being invincible to death is obviously not acceptable, for example. Note that you may also earn additional unique traits as time goes on.)

Romance: I have no real qualms with my character intering into some kind of romantic, or otherwise, relationship.

Play style: Exactly as it says. Do you prefer action-oriented missions, or more dialogue heavy ones? Do you prefer a more linear progression or having choices? Complex missions, or straightforward ones?

Does the Kouri Plushie exist?: ...

Signature: yoshua171

Current Name: Arkaeis.
Former Name: Zume Tatasuko.
Nickname/Alias: The Gentle Maw; Knight of the Void; Avatar of the Living Abyss
Gender: Male.
Age: Unknown.
Age Appearance: Early thirties.
Race: Formerly human.

Character Tier: High.
Character Type: Critical Character and/or Active Multiverse Participant.
Random descriptors: Arkaeis stands at 6'2 and weighs 164 lbs.

Physical Description: This mysterious individual, the only pure blooded Tatasuko left, is a man of roguish appearance, despite his ascension beyond the limits of humanity. Beneath his clothing are worn metallic bracers of a pitch black coloration, tainted by the void. In addition to this, despite his nature as a Tatasuko and inheritor of the Kusa Chūō no sei, which would darken his eyes permanently, it is typically seen by most that he has the eyes seen in the depictions above and below, this is due to a finely weaved illusion that few, if any, have a way around. This ability is something he has honed to perfection, though there is little else in the way of illusion that he utilizes. His build is toned and while he could be considered strong he is in no way bulky.

Personality Description: Enigmatic, veiled in mystery and pleasant in his mannerisms, Arkaeis is a rather cunning individual. While on the outside he appears a near perfect gentleman of high intellect and enigmatic interests, within he is darker, colder, and far more manipulative. Long has he toiled to perfect himself and in his own mind he has succeeded, literally. In this way Arkaeis is entirely confident in himself in all things, even those that he has little talent for. He is unshakable in his own way and on many levels will resist the ploys of others, be they intentional or otherwise. Thus to others he appears a man entirely abhorrent of manipulation and deceit, of course that is only if you know him on an incredibly basic level, for in truth Arkaeis is in fact quite deceitful to all around him. It is a marvel that no one, and that is said with absoluteness, has realized his trickery. For to others he is kind, reliable and honest. Intelligent yes, and definitely more than a little eccentric, but otherwise harmless unless provoked.

Of course, when provoked, Arkaeis does not always appear so on first observation. Instead, he appears either more amused by proceedings or incredibly, horribly bored. This stems from his rather strange rage, which is not easily roused from its slumber in his soul. In fact, those who know Arkaeis very well often say that despite having seen him angry, they always got the sense that he was still entirely in control the entire time. This is frighteningly true and brings with it many implications. First among these is that despite his emotional state, Arkaeis remains entirely in control of his actions even if such does not appear to be the case. Second is the startling realization one gains when they come to know that not only is Arkaeis in control at all times, but that he can rouse any desired mind state or emotion entirely on command. This lends to the fact that all who know Arkaeis understand how great his self control is, even if not to what extent.

When it comes to matters of friend, foe, and family Arkaeis is very particular with how he deals with people. When it comes to family, they are both priceless, and expendable, or rather they are perfect tools for his machinations. When it comes to friends Arkaeis appears incredibly loyal and helpful to near perfection. However, in the end it is almost surely a ruse for he lets so very few into his heart
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While he is cold, it is difficult for one to truly understand just how much until they have seen him unrestrained against his enemy. Thus it can be seen that in battle Arkaeis only enjoys himself when he needs not utilize the entirety of his deadly arsenal of skills. Otherwise he tends to find himself annoyed by the fact that he must consider his enemy an equal. This reveals another of Arkaeis's vices, something that few know unless they delve deep into his true persona. In short, Arkaeis is prideful and a measure arrogant as he believes that none truly surpasses his majesty. However, it is not in the skills of the body that he believes himself entirely superior, no, it is in the realms of the mind that he so places himself. In a sense, he is not entirely wrong. A fact that, should any discover his true nature en full, would frighten most, not that they would survive long to tell their tell...after all, the others didn't.

Character History: TBA

Grandmaster Combatant and Veteran[Intermediate-high]: Due to the many incarnations that he has had to gather experience, Arkaeis has been able to amass what would normally be an impossible amount of combat experience, not to mention general knowledge and ability in a variety of fields, most focusing around that of science, the study of the supernatural, and magic as well. While he is by no means all knowing, Arkaeis does know a great deal, allowing him to accomplish a great many feats both in combat and out. In particular is his swordsmanship, his manipulation of the void and its energy.

Embodiment of the void – Etherical Aspect[Intermediate-high]:

TL;DR—Arkaeis has separate energetic and stamina amounts, though they can be transferred between one another to fuel his abilities. He is a conduit of the void, a realm that is infinite, transcribed on another plane of reality, and is the pure destructive and degrading force of existence. The void, due to its properties of inherent 'emptiness' and 'nothingness' is also the the ultimate form of potential creation, though it is incapable of it. Because Arkaeis is a conduit of the void and is technically part of it, his abilities are not considered magic, but rather a spiritual extension of his being. The void cannot enter reality in its purest state given normal circumstances and Arkaeis is incapable of harnessing such. As such the void manifests in a more impure manner, taking on properties both similar and dissimilar to matter. In particular, the void can be in liquid, solid, gaseous, or plasmic state though the properties of these states are somewhat different from those exhibited by other matter. In addition to this, the void can have its own 'charge', which is actually associated with the movement of the particles that make it up, though nothing is known about these. As with atoms, the void can take on a positive, neutral, and negative charge. The first attracts matter and energy; the second increases its density overtime; while the third has a repulsion effect on matter and energy (in basic terms).

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While it is often compared to magic, the void, and the manipulation of such in the manner that Arkaeis has accomplished disassociates it from such completely. In fact, the void is an inherent aspect of existence which was harnessed by Arkaeis back when he was still human, and still went by the name Zume Tatasuko. Through his experiences and experiments he managed to raise the level of synchronization and cohesion between himself and the void, eventually bringing him to the state he can be viewed in now. This state of being, unlike most conventional magic, allows Arkaeis to be directly connected, and even a part of, the non-realm that is the void. As such the essence of his being has been infused with most of the properties of the void, which are as follow:

The void, or as some refer to it, the Nether, is the realm that represents and embodies the degrading force of the multiverse and can as such be considered the opposite of 'aether' or other such abilities that derive from it, or rather the concept of creation. In addition to this the void is the realm that embodies a certain aspect of emptiness, or nothingness as some may call it. While Arkaeis has not been able to harness all forms of the Void's power, he has been able manifest and master a good deal of them and were he not still somewhat limited by his body he would continue to surpass even his current level. Regardless, the properties of the void tend to be related to the aspects of degradation and nothingness, but they may also encompass the idealogy of potential creation, as the void is in fact the purest form of a “blank slate.” It should be noted that the Void and its essence are unable to enter reality in its purest state through a being that is not of divine nature, which Zume is not. As such, this blank slate potential and the forces of creation within reality alter and, corrupt one might even say, the very nature of the void itself upon its energies being manifested within reality.

This allows void to take on several states, similar to the states of matter, as well as varying polarities in addition to its general ability to degrade other substances –whether they be composed of energy or matter-- that come into contact with it. The properties of the void in its four states and three polarities are as follow though it should be noted that no matter the state, or polarity, of void, it retains its base property of depth and degradation.

--Polarities--
It should be noted that while different portions of voidal energies can have different polarities, and that any given area of void can have a multitude of polarities, that no one spot can exhibit the traits of two polarities simultaneously. Additionally, while polarities themselves have no true weaknesses, they can cause weaknesses to appear when coupled with the void's typical traits and the state that the void is in at the time.

Neutral: Void in its neutral polarity becomes exceptionally dense as instead of its attractive or repellant properties pushing or pulling at other matter or energy, causing its own energies to move differently as a result, they push and pull at its own energy, causing it to expand, retract, and continually fold in on itself. As such, neutral void becomes more dense, and thus more heavy, with time, though it does not appear to actually create more of itself in the process likely due to its degradation factor. This means that anything, living or not, that is within this manner of void will experience an incredible pressure, as if underwater, which will increase gradually over time as long as the polarity is not altered. In addition to this, the neutral polarity of void and its 'folding' allow it to 'create' more space in a location it is inhabiting, and retain that space when it moves locations as long as it does not alter its polarity. Lastly it should be noted that the more voidal energy is at a neutral state, which it will be at if not influenced otherwise, the faster this pressure, and the space within it, increases.

Positive: Like a magnet, just as its opposite, the positive polarity of void allows for matter and energy to be pulled towards it with an attractive force. This pull can be countered by an equal push away from it, allowing the individual to resist by using strength equal to or greater than the pull effecting them. However, it should be noted that, much like the previous polarity, the pull will grow with the amount of voidal energy is of this polarity meaning it will take a greater and greater force to escape it.

Negative: Opposite to the previous polarity, this charge allows the void to “push” matter and energy away from itself. This effect increases, as with the others, with the amount of void that is in this state. To resist this push the same effort must be given in a similar manner as with the Positive polarity.

--States--
Unlike the polarities of the void, the states can be mixed and matched as the user wants, allowing for a myriad of combinations. This means that gaseous and Liquid void can be merged into something containing the properties of both, but weaknesses all their own. Each state, including the various combinations, has its own weaknesses and faults, though these faults can be modified by the charge(polarity) of the void in question.

Solid: Solid void is typically about as fragile as glass, or crystal(not including diamond), but nonetheless it absorbs a certain amount of force and can stop, or at least slow down, both matter and energy respectively. This fragility can however be amended by making it exceptionally dense, or integrating it with other states.

The general weaknesses of solidified void are include any attack strong enough to break glass or crystal as well as especially high temperatures. As such, solidified void is typically weakest to the elements earth and wind whereas lightning and fire have essentially no negative effect unless they exceed a certain temperature. Lastly, water is considered a neutral element to it, being more or less equal on both the weakness and strength side of things. It should be noted that these weaknesses/strengths do not include their weaknesses/strengths in relation to the polarity of the energy at the time.

In terms of the uses and general strengths of solidified void, well, they are as follows. Solid void is particularly useful for cutting attacks as while it is brittle when hit with a lot of force, it is fairly sturdy when apply cutting force(power) to other objects, making it a strange energy to begin with. The other reason it is so effective at severing things is the fact that solidified void is not all that dense as unlike normal matter and energy, voidal energy must become less dense to become tangible. In fact, the only reason the void can effect physical beings is because its density has already been considerably lowered through the process of being channeled through Arkaeis' body. It should be noted that while solidified void is the least dense of the states, it is not the lightest, such is the paradoxical nature of void.

Liquid: In its liquid state, void is actually fairly dense, making it difficult for liquid void to float in the air without the buoyancy of gaseous void. In fact, if it ever appears as if liquid void is 'levitating' one should almost immediately assume that it is being supported by a thin gaseous layer that is either pushing or pulling it upwards using negative or positive polarity. Beyond this it should be noted that liquid void, despite its lack of airborne buoyancy, can move very quickly across surfaces. Additionally while it cannot float very well without the assistance of other voidal states, liquid void is capable of remaining partially suspended as long as one part of it is touching a surface. Additionally, should liquid void be formed within an area where there is no gravity, it will have no longer be forced to tether to an object and will be capable of floating freely. This particular state of void is weakest to the earth affinities, though other affinities have lesser effects on it or will force it to change its state. It is however strong against both the fire and lightning affinity as the void is extremely conductive of both heat and electrical energy and is capable of handling fairly extreme temperatures especially in its liquid form. It should be noted that these weaknesses/strengths do not include their weaknesses/strengths in relation to the polarity of the energy at the time

Gas: Gaseous void is a strange form of void, primarily because it is certainly the most dense, but is simultaneously the freest and flimsiest of the states. While flimsy is indeed an apt term to describe it, it does not necessarily mean that this state is weak, for it certainly has its strengths. Wind and fire are highly effective against this form of void, but the other elements, particularly water and earth, are essentially useless against it, as it will simply part before them. Conversely gaseous void might pull an element through itself, as is the case for lightning as the gas retains the natural conductivity of voidal matter/energy. It should be noted that gaseous void, while extremely conductive of electricity, is oddly prone to combustion when exposed to fire, hence its weakness to it. It is thought that this may be due to the 'potential' that the void holds inherent in itself, which is ignited by the excited particles of something such as fire. Lastly it should be noted that gaseous state void moves the fastest of the three states, but is not much good at anything else except for being a sensory medium or catalyst. Beyond this gaseous void is useful only in combination with other states or polarities of the void. It should be noted that these weaknesses/strengths do not include their weaknesses/strengths in relation to the polarity of the energy at the time.

Plasma: Upon pushing gaseous void to its limits and increases its density even further, which is no easy task, the voidal energy will transfer states and become what is referred to as plasmic void. Voidal energy in this state is extremely unstable and takes a great deal of focus and stamina/magical energy to maintain for any period of time, even for one such as Arkaeis. While solid void is fragile like crystal, liquid void grounded and weak to earth, and gaseous void flimsy and easily blown away, plasmic void is only effected noticeably by incredibly frigid temperatures. Whereas liquid void is the most stable state of void, plasmic void is certainly the most unstable as its erratic state even effects its ability to maintain any given polarity for any amount of time without it being forced to retain said polarity with constant focus. Whereas the other states of void require no prep to utilize, plasmic void requires three or more preps as it is so difficult to create that it simple takes that long for it to be formulated. Conversely, plasmic void will 'degrade' effected by the very traits that it holds, eventually turning it back into gaseous void. The user can more easily switch plasmic void to any other state of void, though reversing the process requires additional preparation. Plasmic void is even more conductive than liquid void is allowing it to channel both heat and electrical energy with extreme ease, though it will alter its qualities just as conducting the aforementioned through liquid void would (the same goes for gaseous in regards to electricity, though the same is not true for fire).

To concretely name the properties of plasmic void is fairly easy, it is erratic, creating a great deal of friction with solid objects it comes into contact with, and eccentric in its polarity, causing it to both pull and tear apart both matter and energy that comes into contact with it. Additionally plasmic void is the furthest from 'solid' making it a much more ethereal and natural voidal energy. Its degrading capabilities are especially potent, allowing it to eat through six inches of iron in roughly two minutes times without keeping its eccentric polarity in mind. On the contrary Arkaeis can only create very limited portions of plasmic void, thus limiting its use considerably in addition to the fact that it will not last for too long depending on how much of it there is and how long Arkaeis maintains his focus on it remaining in its state. Plasmic void is weakest to the water and strongest against solid structures and thus the earth element while it is more or less unaffected by lightning and fire. Wind as well as pure energy will typically be pulled into its form and integrated, making it even more dangerous and long lasting, or so as to be violently spat out in a plume of superheated air imbued with a weak degrading effect.

Embodiment of the Void – Physical Aspect[Intermediate-high]: As a being who has harnessed nearly the full capacity of the void's might, Arkaeis' body has been heavily altered. First and foremost his body acts as a conduit for the void, allowing him to pull its energies from that typically unreachable realm and harness them for himself. In addition to this, his general physical capabilities have been grossly amplified, turning him into an impressive specimen when comparing him to a human. As such, Arkaeis has become incredibly durable, able to withstand tremendous amounts of damage equivalent to that of a shinigami captain in bleach or perhaps a Saiyan in DBZ. In terms of general strength, Arkaeis is again comparable to the average captain in bleach and while he is unable to punch away mountains, he can surely dent iron if he were to use all his strength in a punch, which is something he'd never do. Regardless, most of his physical strength is aimed in the direction of swordsmanship, allowing him to wield his blade masterfully and resist other individuals with considerable feats of strength, though not allowing him to deal deadly blows with mere hand-to-hand combat. When it comes to speed however, Arkaeis' abilities are of another realm entirely, allowing him to vanish completely from sight and reappear in another location, though this is certainly not teleportation. This could be comparable to “shunpo” in bleach or “wild sense” in DBZ. Arkaeis' agility and related skills are exceptional, allowing him to move masterfully in space, appearing as if he has obtained skills comparable to a decently skilled gymnast.

While he gains quite a bit from the void's empowering effects there are certain side-effects to it as well. One such side effect is Arkaeis' weakness to “divine,” abilities that have been given to an individual. This would mean that “holy” attacks and weapons have a larger chance of damaging in addition to likely causing more damage than the average attack. It should be known that the void has also altered Arkaeis' psyche and senses considerably, both of which will be addressed within other skills. Lastly it should be noted that Zume, upon becoming an embodiment of the void, gained vast stores of what some call mana, or chi, or energy, this is equivalent to both stamina and overall energy, allowing him to last for long durations in battle whilst using his abilities. At the very least it can be surmised that his stamina alone allows him to fight roughly two to three times as long as the average human, depending on the circumstances. His energetic abilities can be utilized far longer than the average human mage, allowing him to accomplish up to five to seven fairly tremendous feats before tiring himself out. A tremendous feat could be wiping out a fairly large spaceship, depending on its defenses and the like, or causing an explosion powerful enough to rip apart a decently sized asteroid.

In terms of his physical make up, Arkaeis' body is capable of sustaining damage beyond that of a normal human including 1-3 inch deep lacerations, blunt force trauma equivalent to a loaded semi hitting him at roughly 50-60 mph, and being impaled multiple times as long as it is not through either of his cores. Arkaeis will die if either of his two cores are damaged, one which is within his head and acts as a brain, and the other which is within the center of his chest cavity, which sustains the flow of voidal and life energy throughout his body, keeping him animate. It should however, be noted that Arkaeis does not have any other organs or bodily functions, though he will experience pain if impaled or cut on any portion of his body, though he has control of his pain threshold. In terms of composition, Arkaeis' body appears human on the surface, but is actually composed of voidal energy of an unknown state, likely multiple depending on the areas in question. His skin is likely a mixture between the liquid and solid voidal states with neutral polarity in its inner layers, but an alterable polarity on its outer surfaces. This allows his skin to be especially malleable much like human skin, but also be far more durable allowing it to resist an individual with roughly peak human strength (but not necessarily skill with a blade) to strike him with a blade, and not cut him in the least without repeated abuse to roughly the same area. On the contrary, a human of peak physical strength and intermediate-high skill with a blade could break the surface layer of Arkaeis' skin with a normal sword or otherwise bladed weapon. If they are using a thrusting, or stabbing, motion they can also pierce the inner layer of his flesh.

When cut, stabbed, or hit, Arkaeis' skin will react by drawing on his voidal essence and rebuilding itself, similar to regeneration. This does not apply to his internal systems unless he is given significant time to recover, which would, on average, be anywhere between a day or two weeks depending on the severity of the damage and given that he is not required to fight while still injured. Arkaeis is capable of healing his cores, but this process can take significantly longer and when they are damaged his essence 'leaks' causing him to lose more energy than would be normal when he utilizes his abilities. Blunt force attacks can crack layers of his skin, internal and external, as well as causing bruising to his muscles, which is generally why they are more effective against him if you want to merely apply surface damage and cause pain. Injuries caused by the aforementioned take longer to heal, whereas lacerations heal faster on the surface (both layers of his skin), but tend to cause greater damage and inconvenience internally.

His skin is considerably more resistant to both heat and cold, though cold in particular has little effect on him unless far below the point of freezing. Heat, or rather high temperature, can effect him given that it is above, or at, approximately 180 degrees Fahrenheit will cause the equivalent of a 1st degree burn characterized as a weakening of the surface of his skin and mild pain. At 260 degrees Fahrenheit the equivalent of a 2nd degree burn will form as seen by the cracks on the surface of his skin and the weakened structure of the internal layers, as well as a first degree burn to the muscles in question. At 300 degrees Fahrenheit the equivalent of a 3rd degree burn will form, characterized by the effected surface skin becoming heavily discolored, the inner layer cracking, but not outright breaking, and his muscles beginning to be damaged as well. While he cannot quickly repair muscular damage in a large area, he could do so in a relatively small area. His skin is capable of repairing itself much easier though, as is the typical case, though it will require energy or stamina. Electrical attacks on the other hand can pass right through Arkaeis' body, causing little damage unless the voltage is considerably extreme, at least enough to electrocute the average human would be capable of stunning him for a few moments. It should be noted that Arkaeis has an energetic system, which in some ways is similar to a circulatory system, so when he is damaged to an equivalent level that would cause a human to bleed blood, Arkaeis will instead bleed voidal energy. It should be noted that “internal bleeding,” does not have any real effect on Arkaeis due to his altered biological makeup.

Superhuman Intelligence and 'Alien' Psyche[high]:

TL;DR—Arkaeis has complete control over the core that acts like a brain and houses his mind, allowing him to alter his psyche entirely to his will. This allows him to manipulate the functions of his bodily functions to a certain extent and makes him able to change how his mind receives and processes information.

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The foremost of his abilities, Zume's mind is --in its way-- a priceless creation. Possessing an eidetic memory with perfect abilities of recollection he is incredibly perceptive and possesses skill in tactics, strategy, observation, and analysis respectively. This however is not the end of its capabilities and oddly it is, on first inspection, marred by a variety of so called mental illnesses. To name them all, Zume possesses, or rather possessed, the following disorders: Schizophrenia, multiple personality disorder, autism and sociopathy. However he has possessed these for so long that, with the assistance of the void, he has sculpted his mind into one almost entirely alien to those of other beings. In essence his mind possesses its 'core' which is the true self of Zume, it is his soul. Beyond this is a portion conquered by the void, an entirely empty ever shifting scape of infinite potential. Just above there is layer in which Zume's many persona can be created and destroyed at his whim. Each of these persona can act independent to one another, but they all remain under the absolute control of Zume's 'core self'. Beyond this layer is one that appears as his true subconscious and conscious minds merged into one and above this is what mimics the mind of a normal individual. This description of his mind is of course deceptively simple as his mind is essentially beyond the understanding of the average human. As such Zume has become extremely resistant to genjutsu and other such deception as his mind processes in ways totally different from those that most genjutsu effect and while his senses can technically be influenced by illusions, he himself may ignore them completely.

Due to his mind's incredible scope, processing power, and variability Zume is capable of actively accessing portions of his body and its functions that other humans are unable to reach. Examples of this are his ability to completely control where the energy of his body is divvied, not to mention other aspects, such as being able to consciously control his internal workings if he so wishes. This is because of the fact that Zume's true mind more or less lacks of a subconscious aspect, forcing his mind to actually process and maintain the equilibrium of his body somewhat manually. Of course he has more or less created a false subconscious to control his bodily functions autonomously, the difference between a normal subconscious being that he can access his functions at any time, processing the status of any part of his body in real time, and take control of any aspect if need be. This also means that things the conscious mind would typically be unaware of are things that he is entirely capable of perceiving, such as the type and effect of pheromones on his body, subliminal messages, and other stimuli that would typically influence, but not be directly recognized by the conscious mind. All in all this makes him an utterly terrifying individual when it comes to his mental capabilities as he can process untold amounts of information whilst simultaneously achieving a variety of other tasks, including something as taxing and complex as combat. It should be noted that while he can theoretically take control of any and all of his bodily functions, it is not something he typically does as doing so can be extremely dangerous despite his extensive knowledge.

Voidal Transcription[High]: Due to the void being transcribed as another plane over the multiverse it has imbued Arkaeis, its sole embodiment at current time, with the ability to perceive via its transcribed form. This allows Arkaeis incredibly expansive perceptual capabilities beyond the scope of any normal human. Arkaeis, more or less, is capable of viewing things through any variety of filters, though he must apply some measure of focus and attention, which is usually comparable to the complexity of the filter(s) being perceived through. The reason he is capable of doing this is because of his eyes, which have been infused with the energy of the void over time, turning them entirely black, making them seem as abyssal apertures manifested in the form of his eyes. This ability to filter his perception is exceptionally effective and incredibly necessary should he wish to continue function properly as without filtering his vision one could compare the information brought in by all his senses—through his eyes in addition to their normal structures (nose, ears, skin, taste buds, etc)-- several magnitudes more overwhelming than that which can be perceived by most beings. As such, Arkaeis' eyes tend to be incredibly filtered, allowing him to perceive the world normally in addition to being able to visualize various forms of energies. It should be noted that, due to the alterations to his formerly human body as caused by the void, Arkaeis' senses function similarly to a synesthete except for the fact that all of his senses can perceived in this way, somewhat due to the void, and somewhat due to his alien psyche and general mental mastery. It should be noted that while he can effectively utiliz 'filters' to perceive essentially anything, he cannot deactivate all filters, or perceive all states of any given thing, let alone everything, simultaneously as it would send him into a state where his body would be unable to move while his mind attempted to process all the information.

List and justify your powers in this section, and list their Level. Detail, justification, creativity and attention to detail are all paramount. If you simply write out 'I have Big Bang attack!!!' then we shall not accept it. There is no limit to the number of abilities you may possess, however you should stick to the general theme of your character, and Judges will review the unity of powers.

Defensive armaments(Intermediate): Arkaeis wears void infused plates with metallic properties on his forearms, upper arms, the back of his neck, and to cover his shins. Additionally he has applied the same armor armor over the area of his ankles to help protect the essential muscles there. The armor on his ankles is malleable but strong when something comes against it and thus has greater resistance than a high grade metal such as steel, but does not limit his movement. The rest of him is not really covered in armor though his normal clothing has an incredibly flexible layer of material sewed in-between two of it's layers allowing protection like that of leather armor and metallic chainmail. Other than this, Arkaeis remains unprotected and due to this is not weighted down much, if at all, allowing his agile movement and speed to come into play without limit. All of these armaments are pitch black and have a strange depth as they have been deeply imbued with Arkaeis's energy. The metal plates are capable of surviving the force and weight of a small car going at roughly 20mph though they would not stop the force from hitting their wearer. The rest of his clothing can usually slow down, or outright stop, bladed weapons though they do not serve well to defend against blunt force attacks.

Seikatsu shin'en no Kōkei(生活深淵の後継 'Scion of the living abyss'):[High] A blade recovered from the central chamber of the Hahaoya no jōmyaku, it is plainly ancestral in its origins, and possesses a precarious balance between orderly control, and slovenly disordered chaos. The blade can be described as a physical, essentially inanimate construct of voidal energy. While it is technically composed of voidal energies, the blade has both the yin and yang attributes imperfectly in a state of constant combination and separation. From one moment to the next the blade almost constantly refreshes the bonds between the tangible and intangible realms. Yet there is more to this constant circulation, as between these currents of yin and yang, light and dark, male and female, good and evil, are pure expressions of voidal energy that the Tatasuko would find themselves jealous to look upon.

Composed of approximately 221 of these circulating patterns of yin and yang, merged by the void, the blade's structural composition is incredibly complex despite its simple appearance. The majority of these circulations, the leading 200, move perpendicular to the blade's form and move around it constantly to form the refined tube that blades tend to be. The secondary 20 however move in alignment with the blade giving it its length, solidity, and cutting power in that sense. Lastly of course is the single pattern which is often totally dormant at the very core of the blade running through its entire length from pommel to tip. This arrangement has made it so that unless an individual has mastered their yin and yang aspects, or conversely has voidal energy, they cannot even wield the blade. An individual with mastery of the yin aspect, relating to the mind and illusion, can touch the blade on a mental and spiritual level but not on a physical one, they risk their body being devoured by the void of the blade. When one has mastered their yang, or rather their physical aspects, they can hold the blade in a physical sense while its spiritual aspect will be totally lost on them; these individuals risk their mind being devoured by the blade.

This single length of typically inactive pattern is one of the blade's most important feature. While the other energetic movement patterns in the blade are circular, this center one is not and acts like a set of veins when activated. Upon activation of this central pattern it branches out and constantly sends tiny pulsing veins that weave through and around the other patterns at many times their speed. The veins that this creates allows the blade to exude and absorb energy to some extent. The blade is typically only receptive to one to three types of energy. In Arkaeis's case these are voidal energy, yin, and yang energy. Though this blade is composed almost entirely out of energy, absorption will not work as instead of actually touching the energy it will make contact with the voidal energy and thus will simply absorb nothingness from the void, which to essentially anyone is useless and simply takes up space without technically 'filling' anything. While in addition to this the blade's internal patterns can be partially externalized and changing the blade's shape can cause these patterns to shift respectively.

While a summary of all Seikatsu shin'en no Kōkei's abilities cannot truly be made, one can list a few of its inherent properties which are more or less as follows. Seikatsu, while not indestructible, is many times more durable than the majority of physical objects it encounters. This durability comes from the fact that the entire weapon is a voidal construct, aka a physical manifestation crafted entirely from the energies of the void. While other voidal constructs typically have a wide variety of essential weaknesses and can thus be destroyed with the proper know-how, Seikatsu was constructed in such a way that it will more or less adapt its form to be as resilient as possible to any type of object, or energy, that it encounters, the exclusion of aether, an aether-like energies as these are the general weaknesses of voidal energies. The ability for Seikatsu to adapt to its situation can be attributed to the subtle sentience of the void, as it is thought that the weapon was created by it, rather than by its wielder thus allowing the blade to alter its voidal state and polarity at will. As such, while the weapon could technically be considered a katana-like sword, Sekaitsu can alter its form almost limitlessly as long as its general mass does not change, though additional mass can be added to it via imbuing voidal energies into its form. Beyond this there is not much to note as the rest of its capabilities fall largely under the category of voidal manipulation, revealing that Arkaeis can alter both the state and polarity of the blade, in addition to using multiple states and/or polarities within the blade at any given time just the same if it were normal voidal energy. In fact, the only true difference between Seikatsu and free voidal energy is that Seikatsu's true form is set in stone and whenever it is not being unfluenced by an outside force, including its wielder, it will return to such.

Current Name: Arkaeis.
Former Name: Zume Tatasuko.
Nickname/Alias: The Gentle Maw; Knight of the Void; Avatar of the Living Abyss
Gender: Male.
Age: Unknown.
Age Appearance: Early thirties.
Race: Formerly human.

Character Tier: High.
Character Type: Critical Character and/or Active Multiverse Participant.
Random descriptors: Arkaeis stands at 6'2 and weighs 164 lbs.

Physical Description: This mysterious individual, the only pure blooded Tatasuko left, is a man of roguish appearance, despite his ascension beyond the limits of humanity. Beneath his clothing are worn metallic bracers of a pitch black coloration, tainted by the void. In addition to this, despite his nature as a Tatasuko and inheritor of the Kusa Chūō no sei, which would darken his eyes permanently, it is typically seen by most that he has the eyes seen in the depictions above and below, this is due to a finely weaved illusion that few, if any, have a way around. This ability is something he has honed to perfection, though there is little else in the way of illusion that he utilizes. His build is toned and while he could be considered strong he is in no way bulky.

Personality Description: Enigmatic, veiled in mystery and pleasant in his mannerisms, Arkaeis is a rather cunning individual. While on the outside he appears a near perfect gentleman of high intellect and enigmatic interests, within he is darker, colder, and far more manipulative. Long has he toiled to perfect himself and in his own mind he has succeeded, literally. In this way Arkaeis is entirely confident in himself in all things, even those that he has little talent for. He is unshakable in his own way and on many levels will resist the ploys of others, be they intentional or otherwise. Thus to others he appears a man entirely abhorrent of manipulation and deceit, of course that is only if you know him on an incredibly basic level, for in truth Arkaeis is in fact quite deceitful to all around him. It is a marvel that no one, and that is said with absoluteness, has realized his trickery. For to others he is kind, reliable and honest. Intelligent yes, and definitely more than a little eccentric, but otherwise harmless unless provoked.

Of course, when provoked, Arkaeis does not always appear so on first observation. Instead, he appears either more amused by proceedings or incredibly, horribly bored. This stems from his rather strange rage, which is not easily roused from its slumber in his soul. In fact, those who know Arkaeis very well often say that despite having seen him angry, they always got the sense that he was still entirely in control the entire time. This is frighteningly true and brings with it many implications. First among these is that despite his emotional state, Arkaeis remains entirely in control of his actions even if such does not appear to be the case. Second is the startling realization one gains when they come to know that not only is Arkaeis in control at all times, but that he can rouse any desired mind state or emotion entirely on command. This lends to the fact that all who know Arkaeis understand how great his self control is, even if not to what extent.

When it comes to matters of friend, foe, and family Arkaeis is very particular with how he deals with people. When it comes to family, they are both priceless, and expendable, or rather they are perfect tools for his machinations. When it comes to friends Arkaeis appears incredibly loyal and helpful to near perfection. However, in the end it is almost surely a ruse for he lets so very few into his heart
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While he is cold, it is difficult for one to truly understand just how much until they have seen him unrestrained against his enemy. Thus it can be seen that in battle Arkaeis only enjoys himself when he needs not utilize the entirety of his deadly arsenal of skills. Otherwise he tends to find himself annoyed by the fact that he must consider his enemy an equal. This reveals another of Arkaeis's vices, something that few know unless they delve deep into his true persona. In short, Arkaeis is prideful and a measure arrogant as he believes that none truly surpasses his majesty. However, it is not in the skills of the body that he believes himself entirely superior, no, it is in the realms of the mind that he so places himself. In a sense, he is not entirely wrong. A fact that, should any discover his true nature en full, would frighten most, not that they would survive long to tell their tell...after all, the others didn't.

Character History: TBA

Grandmaster Combatant and Veteran[Intermediate-high]: Due to the many incarnations that he has had to gather experience, Arkaeis has been able to amass what would normally be an impossible amount of combat experience, not to mention general knowledge and ability in a variety of fields, most focusing around that of science, the study of the supernatural, and magic as well. While he is by no means all knowing, Arkaeis does know a great deal, allowing him to accomplish a great many feats both in combat and out. In particular is his swordsmanship, his manipulation of the void and its energy.

Embodiment of the void – Etherical Aspect[Intermediate-high]:

TL;DR—Arkaeis has separate energetic and stamina amounts, though they can be transferred between one another to fuel his abilities. He is a conduit of the void, a realm that is infinite, transcribed on another plane of reality, and is the pure destructive and degrading force of existence. The void, due to its properties of inherent 'emptiness' and 'nothingness' is also the the ultimate form of potential creation, though it is incapable of it. Because Arkaeis is a conduit of the void and is technically part of it, his abilities are not considered magic, but rather a spiritual extension of his being. The void cannot enter reality in its purest state given normal circumstances and Arkaeis is incapable of harnessing such. As such the void manifests in a more impure manner, taking on properties both similar and dissimilar to matter. In particular, the void can be in liquid, solid, gaseous, or plasmic state though the properties of these states are somewhat different from those exhibited by other matter. In addition to this, the void can have its own 'charge', which is actually associated with the movement of the particles that make it up, though nothing is known about these. As with atoms, the void can take on a positive, neutral, and negative charge. The first attracts matter and energy; the second increases its density overtime; while the third has a repulsion effect on matter and energy (in basic terms).

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While it is often compared to magic, the void, and the manipulation of such in the manner that Arkaeis has accomplished disassociates it from such completely. In fact, the void is an inherent aspect of existence which was harnessed by Arkaeis back when he was still human, and still went by the name Zume Tatasuko. Through his experiences and experiments he managed to raise the level of synchronization and cohesion between himself and the void, eventually bringing him to the state he can be viewed in now. This state of being, unlike most conventional magic, allows Arkaeis to be directly connected, and even a part of, the non-realm that is the void. As such the essence of his being has been infused with most of the properties of the void, which are as follow:

The void, or as some refer to it, the Nether, is the realm that represents and embodies the degrading force of the multiverse and can as such be considered the opposite of 'aether' or other such abilities that derive from it, or rather the concept of creation. In addition to this the void is the realm that embodies a certain aspect of emptiness, or nothingness as some may call it. While Arkaeis has not been able to harness all forms of the Void's power, he has been able manifest and master a good deal of them and were he not still somewhat limited by his body he would continue to surpass even his current level. Regardless, the properties of the void tend to be related to the aspects of degradation and nothingness, but they may also encompass the idealogy of potential creation, as the void is in fact the purest form of a “blank slate.” It should be noted that the Void and its essence are unable to enter reality in its purest state through a being that is not of divine nature, which Zume is not. As such, this blank slate potential and the forces of creation within reality alter and, corrupt one might even say, the very nature of the void itself upon its energies being manifested within reality.

This allows void to take on several states, similar to the states of matter, as well as varying polarities in addition to its general ability to degrade other substances –whether they be composed of energy or matter-- that come into contact with it. The properties of the void in its four states and three polarities are as follow though it should be noted that no matter the state, or polarity, of void, it retains its base property of depth and degradation.

--Polarities--
It should be noted that while different portions of voidal energies can have different polarities, and that any given area of void can have a multitude of polarities, that no one spot can exhibit the traits of two polarities simultaneously. Additionally, while polarities themselves have no true weaknesses, they can cause weaknesses to appear when coupled with the void's typical traits and the state that the void is in at the time.

Neutral: Void in its neutral polarity becomes exceptionally dense as instead of its attractive or repellant properties pushing or pulling at other matter or energy, causing its own energies to move differently as a result, they push and pull at its own energy, causing it to expand, retract, and continually fold in on itself. As such, neutral void becomes more dense, and thus more heavy, with time, though it does not appear to actually create more of itself in the process likely due to its degradation factor. This means that anything, living or not, that is within this manner of void will experience an incredible pressure, as if underwater, which will increase gradually over time as long as the polarity is not altered. In addition to this, the neutral polarity of void and its 'folding' allow it to 'create' more space in a location it is inhabiting, and retain that space when it moves locations as long as it does not alter its polarity. Lastly it should be noted that the more voidal energy is at a neutral state, which it will be at if not influenced otherwise, the faster this pressure, and the space within it, increases.

Positive: Like a magnet, just as its opposite, the positive polarity of void allows for matter and energy to be pulled towards it with an attractive force. This pull can be countered by an equal push away from it, allowing the individual to resist by using strength equal to or greater than the pull effecting them. However, it should be noted that, much like the previous polarity, the pull will grow with the amount of voidal energy is of this polarity meaning it will take a greater and greater force to escape it.

Negative: Opposite to the previous polarity, this charge allows the void to “push” matter and energy away from itself. This effect increases, as with the others, with the amount of void that is in this state. To resist this push the same effort must be given in a similar manner as with the Positive polarity.

--States--
Unlike the polarities of the void, the states can be mixed and matched as the user wants, allowing for a myriad of combinations. This means that gaseous and Liquid void can be merged into something containing the properties of both, but weaknesses all their own. Each state, including the various combinations, has its own weaknesses and faults, though these faults can be modified by the charge(polarity) of the void in question.

Solid: Solid void is typically about as fragile as glass, or crystal(not including diamond), but nonetheless it absorbs a certain amount of force and can stop, or at least slow down, both matter and energy respectively. This fragility can however be amended by making it exceptionally dense, or integrating it with other states.

The general weaknesses of solidified void are include any attack strong enough to break glass or crystal as well as especially high temperatures. As such, solidified void is typically weakest to the elements earth and wind whereas lightning and fire have essentially no negative effect unless they exceed a certain temperature. Lastly, water is considered a neutral element to it, being more or less equal on both the weakness and strength side of things. It should be noted that these weaknesses/strengths do not include their weaknesses/strengths in relation to the polarity of the energy at the time.

In terms of the uses and general strengths of solidified void, well, they are as follows. Solid void is particularly useful for cutting attacks as while it is brittle when hit with a lot of force, it is fairly sturdy when apply cutting force(power) to other objects, making it a strange energy to begin with. The other reason it is so effective at severing things is the fact that solidified void is not all that dense as unlike normal matter and energy, voidal energy must become less dense to become tangible. In fact, the only reason the void can effect physical beings is because its density has already been considerably lowered through the process of being channeled through Arkaeis' body. It should be noted that while solidified void is the least dense of the states, it is not the lightest, such is the paradoxical nature of void.

Liquid: In its liquid state, void is actually fairly dense, making it difficult for liquid void to float in the air without the buoyancy of gaseous void. In fact, if it ever appears as if liquid void is 'levitating' one should almost immediately assume that it is being supported by a thin gaseous layer that is either pushing or pulling it upwards using negative or positive polarity. Beyond this it should be noted that liquid void, despite its lack of airborne buoyancy, can move very quickly across surfaces. Additionally while it cannot float very well without the assistance of other voidal states, liquid void is capable of remaining partially suspended as long as one part of it is touching a surface. Additionally, should liquid void be formed within an area where there is no gravity, it will have no longer be forced to tether to an object and will be capable of floating freely. This particular state of void is weakest to the earth affinities, though other affinities have lesser effects on it or will force it to change its state. It is however strong against both the fire and lightning affinity as the void is extremely conductive of both heat and electrical energy and is capable of handling fairly extreme temperatures especially in its liquid form. It should be noted that these weaknesses/strengths do not include their weaknesses/strengths in relation to the polarity of the energy at the time

Gas: Gaseous void is a strange form of void, primarily because it is certainly the most dense, but is simultaneously the freest and flimsiest of the states. While flimsy is indeed an apt term to describe it, it does not necessarily mean that this state is weak, for it certainly has its strengths. Wind and fire are highly effective against this form of void, but the other elements, particularly water and earth, are essentially useless against it, as it will simply part before them. Conversely gaseous void might pull an element through itself, as is the case for lightning as the gas retains the natural conductivity of voidal matter/energy. It should be noted that gaseous void, while extremely conductive of electricity, is oddly prone to combustion when exposed to fire, hence its weakness to it. It is thought that this may be due to the 'potential' that the void holds inherent in itself, which is ignited by the excited particles of something such as fire. Lastly it should be noted that gaseous state void moves the fastest of the three states, but is not much good at anything else except for being a sensory medium or catalyst. Beyond this gaseous void is useful only in combination with other states or polarities of the void. It should be noted that these weaknesses/strengths do not include their weaknesses/strengths in relation to the polarity of the energy at the time.

Plasma: Upon pushing gaseous void to its limits and increases its density even further, which is no easy task, the voidal energy will transfer states and become what is referred to as plasmic void. Voidal energy in this state is extremely unstable and takes a great deal of focus and stamina/magical energy to maintain for any period of time, even for one such as Arkaeis. While solid void is fragile like crystal, liquid void grounded and weak to earth, and gaseous void flimsy and easily blown away, plasmic void is only effected noticeably by incredibly frigid temperatures. Whereas liquid void is the most stable state of void, plasmic void is certainly the most unstable as its erratic state even effects its ability to maintain any given polarity for any amount of time without it being forced to retain said polarity with constant focus. Whereas the other states of void require no prep to utilize, plasmic void requires three or more preps as it is so difficult to create that it simple takes that long for it to be formulated. Conversely, plasmic void will 'degrade' effected by the very traits that it holds, eventually turning it back into gaseous void. The user can more easily switch plasmic void to any other state of void, though reversing the process requires additional preparation. Plasmic void is even more conductive than liquid void is allowing it to channel both heat and electrical energy with extreme ease, though it will alter its qualities just as conducting the aforementioned through liquid void would (the same goes for gaseous in regards to electricity, though the same is not true for fire).

To concretely name the properties of plasmic void is fairly easy, it is erratic, creating a great deal of friction with solid objects it comes into contact with, and eccentric in its polarity, causing it to both pull and tear apart both matter and energy that comes into contact with it. Additionally plasmic void is the furthest from 'solid' making it a much more ethereal and natural voidal energy. Its degrading capabilities are especially potent, allowing it to eat through six inches of iron in roughly two minutes times without keeping its eccentric polarity in mind. On the contrary Arkaeis can only create very limited portions of plasmic void, thus limiting its use considerably in addition to the fact that it will not last for too long depending on how much of it there is and how long Arkaeis maintains his focus on it remaining in its state. Plasmic void is weakest to the water and strongest against solid structures and thus the earth element while it is more or less unaffected by lightning and fire. Wind as well as pure energy will typically be pulled into its form and integrated, making it even more dangerous and long lasting, or so as to be violently spat out in a plume of superheated air imbued with a weak degrading effect.

Embodiment of the Void – Physical Aspect[Intermediate-high]: As a being who has harnessed nearly the full capacity of the void's might, Arkaeis' body has been heavily altered. First and foremost his body acts as a conduit for the void, allowing him to pull its energies from that typically unreachable realm and harness them for himself. In addition to this, his general physical capabilities have been grossly amplified, turning him into an impressive specimen when comparing him to a human. As such, Arkaeis has become incredibly durable, able to withstand tremendous amounts of damage equivalent to that of a shinigami captain in bleach or perhaps a Saiyan in DBZ. In terms of general strength, Arkaeis is again comparable to the average captain in bleach and while he is unable to punch away mountains, he can surely dent iron if he were to use all his strength in a punch, which is something he'd never do. Regardless, most of his physical strength is aimed in the direction of swordsmanship, allowing him to wield his blade masterfully and resist other individuals with considerable feats of strength, though not allowing him to deal deadly blows with mere hand-to-hand combat. When it comes to speed however, Arkaeis' abilities are of another realm entirely, allowing him to vanish completely from sight and reappear in another location, though this is certainly not teleportation. This could be comparable to “shunpo” in bleach or “wild sense” in DBZ. Arkaeis' agility and related skills are exceptional, allowing him to move masterfully in space, appearing as if he has obtained skills comparable to a decently skilled gymnast.

While he gains quite a bit from the void's empowering effects there are certain side-effects to it as well. One such side effect is Arkaeis' weakness to “divine,” abilities that have been given to an individual. This would mean that “holy” attacks and weapons have a larger chance of damaging in addition to likely causing more damage than the average attack. It should be known that the void has also altered Arkaeis' psyche and senses considerably, both of which will be addressed within other skills. Lastly it should be noted that Zume, upon becoming an embodiment of the void, gained vast stores of what some call mana, or chi, or energy, this is equivalent to both stamina and overall energy, allowing him to last for long durations in battle whilst using his abilities. At the very least it can be surmised that his stamina alone allows him to fight roughly two to three times as long as the average human, depending on the circumstances. His energetic abilities can be utilized far longer than the average human mage, allowing him to accomplish up to five to seven fairly tremendous feats before tiring himself out. A tremendous feat could be wiping out a fairly large spaceship, depending on its defenses and the like, or causing an explosion powerful enough to rip apart a decently sized asteroid.

In terms of his physical make up, Arkaeis' body is capable of sustaining damage beyond that of a normal human including 1-3 inch deep lacerations, blunt force trauma equivalent to a loaded semi hitting him at roughly 50-60 mph, and being impaled multiple times as long as it is not through either of his cores. Arkaeis will die if either of his two cores are damaged, one which is within his head and acts as a brain, and the other which is within the center of his chest cavity, which sustains the flow of voidal and life energy throughout his body, keeping him animate. It should however, be noted that Arkaeis does not have any other organs or bodily functions, though he will experience pain if impaled or cut on any portion of his body, though he has control of his pain threshold. In terms of composition, Arkaeis' body appears human on the surface, but is actually composed of voidal energy of an unknown state, likely multiple depending on the areas in question. His skin is likely a mixture between the liquid and solid voidal states with neutral polarity in its inner layers, but an alterable polarity on its outer surfaces. This allows his skin to be especially malleable much like human skin, but also be far more durable allowing it to resist an individual with roughly peak human strength (but not necessarily skill with a blade) to strike him with a blade, and not cut him in the least without repeated abuse to roughly the same area. On the contrary, a human of peak physical strength and intermediate-high skill with a blade could break the surface layer of Arkaeis' skin with a normal sword or otherwise bladed weapon. If they are using a thrusting, or stabbing, motion they can also pierce the inner layer of his flesh.

When cut, stabbed, or hit, Arkaeis' skin will react by drawing on his voidal essence and rebuilding itself, similar to regeneration. This does not apply to his internal systems unless he is given significant time to recover, which would, on average, be anywhere between a day or two weeks depending on the severity of the damage and given that he is not required to fight while still injured. Arkaeis is capable of healing his cores, but this process can take significantly longer and when they are damaged his essence 'leaks' causing him to lose more energy than would be normal when he utilizes his abilities. Blunt force attacks can crack layers of his skin, internal and external, as well as causing bruising to his muscles, which is generally why they are more effective against him if you want to merely apply surface damage and cause pain. Injuries caused by the aforementioned take longer to heal, whereas lacerations heal faster on the surface (both layers of his skin), but tend to cause greater damage and inconvenience internally.

His skin is considerably more resistant to both heat and cold, though cold in particular has little effect on him unless far below the point of freezing. Heat, or rather high temperature, can effect him given that it is above, or at, approximately 180 degrees Fahrenheit will cause the equivalent of a 1st degree burn characterized as a weakening of the surface of his skin and mild pain. At 260 degrees Fahrenheit the equivalent of a 2nd degree burn will form as seen by the cracks on the surface of his skin and the weakened structure of the internal layers, as well as a first degree burn to the muscles in question. At 300 degrees Fahrenheit the equivalent of a 3rd degree burn will form, characterized by the effected surface skin becoming heavily discolored, the inner layer cracking, but not outright breaking, and his muscles beginning to be damaged as well. While he cannot quickly repair muscular damage in a large area, he could do so in a relatively small area. His skin is capable of repairing itself much easier though, as is the typical case, though it will require energy or stamina. Electrical attacks on the other hand can pass right through Arkaeis' body, causing little damage unless the voltage is considerably extreme, at least enough to electrocute the average human would be capable of stunning him for a few moments. It should be noted that Arkaeis has an energetic system, which in some ways is similar to a circulatory system, so when he is damaged to an equivalent level that would cause a human to bleed blood, Arkaeis will instead bleed voidal energy. It should be noted that “internal bleeding,” does not have any real effect on Arkaeis due to his altered biological makeup.

Arkaeis can lift 10 or so tons. In regards to Arkaeis' ability to move at high speed, the following rules, limitations, and other such specifications apply:

Arkaeis' top speed, including his ability to amplify such, is roughly 30 mph. The limitations and specifications for bursts of speed where he can appear to vanish from sight and reappear in another location are below.

Long range: Covers anywhere between 20-30 meters (or 30-45 meters depending on which seems more balanced to you guys) at high speeds with a prep time equal to twice the amount of times it is going to be used in a single post. Cannot be used directly after two or more short range movements with this technique.

Short range: Covers anywhere between 10-15 meters at high speeds with a prep time of half a post (half the time it took for the character to preform their actions in the post unless used once, in which case he needs one post of prep) for each single time he wants to use it. It can only be used 3-4 times successively followed by a cool down time equal to how many times it was used.

Superhuman Intelligence and 'Alien' Psyche[high]:

TL;DR—Arkaeis has complete control over the core that acts like a brain and houses his mind, allowing him to alter his psyche entirely to his will. This allows him to manipulate the functions of his bodily functions to a certain extent and makes him able to change how his mind receives and processes information.

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The foremost of his abilities, Zume's mind is --in its way-- a priceless creation. Possessing an eidetic memory with perfect abilities of recollection he is incredibly perceptive and possesses skill in tactics, strategy, observation, and analysis respectively. This however is not the end of its capabilities and oddly it is, on first inspection, marred by a variety of so called mental illnesses. To name them all, Zume possesses, or rather possessed, the following disorders: Schizophrenia, multiple personality disorder, autism and sociopathy. However he has possessed these for so long that, with the assistance of the void, he has sculpted his mind into one almost entirely alien to those of other beings. In essence his mind possesses its 'core' which is the true self of Zume, it is his soul. Beyond this is a portion conquered by the void, an entirely empty ever shifting scape of infinite potential. Just above there is layer in which Zume's many persona can be created and destroyed at his whim. Each of these persona can act independent to one another, but they all remain under the absolute control of Zume's 'core self'. Beyond this layer is one that appears as his true subconscious and conscious minds merged into one and above this is what mimics the mind of a normal individual. This description of his mind is of course deceptively simple as his mind is essentially beyond the understanding of the average human. As such Zume has become extremely resistant to genjutsu and other such deception as his mind processes in ways totally different from those that most genjutsu effect and while his senses can technically be influenced by illusions, he himself may ignore them completely.

Due to his mind's incredible scope, processing power, and variability Zume is capable of actively accessing portions of his body and its functions that other humans are unable to reach. Examples of this are his ability to completely control where the energy of his body is divvied, not to mention other aspects, such as being able to consciously control his internal workings if he so wishes. This is because of the fact that Zume's true mind more or less lacks of a subconscious aspect, forcing his mind to actually process and maintain the equilibrium of his body somewhat manually. Of course he has more or less created a false subconscious to control his bodily functions autonomously, the difference between a normal subconscious being that he can access his functions at any time, processing the status of any part of his body in real time, and take control of any aspect if need be. This also means that things the conscious mind would typically be unaware of are things that he is entirely capable of perceiving, such as the type and effect of pheromones on his body, subliminal messages, and other stimuli that would typically influence, but not be directly recognized by the conscious mind. All in all this makes him an utterly terrifying individual when it comes to his mental capabilities as he can process untold amounts of information whilst simultaneously achieving a variety of other tasks, including something as taxing and complex as combat. It should be noted that while he can theoretically take control of any and all of his bodily functions, it is not something he typically does as doing so can be extremely dangerous despite his extensive knowledge.

Voidal Transcription[High]: Due to the void being transcribed as another plane over the multiverse it has imbued Arkaeis, its sole embodiment at current time, with the ability to perceive via its transcribed form. This allows Arkaeis incredibly expansive perceptual capabilities beyond the scope of any normal human. Arkaeis, more or less, is capable of viewing things through any variety of filters, though he must apply some measure of focus and attention, which is usually comparable to the complexity of the filter(s) being perceived through. The reason he is capable of doing this is because of his eyes, which have been infused with the energy of the void over time, turning them entirely black, making them seem as abyssal apertures manifested in the form of his eyes. This ability to filter his perception is exceptionally effective and incredibly necessary should he wish to continue function properly as without filtering his vision one could compare the information brought in by all his senses—through his eyes in addition to their normal structures (nose, ears, skin, taste buds, etc)-- several magnitudes more overwhelming than that which can be perceived by most beings. As such, Arkaeis' eyes tend to be incredibly filtered, allowing him to perceive the world normally in addition to being able to visualize various forms of energies. It should be noted that, due to the alterations to his formerly human body as caused by the void, Arkaeis' senses function similarly to a synesthete except for the fact that all of his senses can perceived in this way, somewhat due to the void, and somewhat due to his alien psyche and general mental mastery. It should be noted that while he can effectively utiliz 'filters' to perceive essentially anything, he cannot deactivate all filters, or perceive all states of any given thing, let alone everything, simultaneously as it would send him into a state where his body would be unable to move while his mind attempted to process all the information.

Defensive armaments(Intermediate): Arkaeis wears void infused plates with metallic properties on his forearms, upper arms, the back of his neck, and to cover his shins. Additionally he has applied the same armor armor over the area of his ankles to help protect the essential muscles there. The armor on his ankles is malleable but strong when something comes against it and thus has greater resistance than a high grade metal such as steel, but does not limit his movement. The rest of him is not really covered in armor though his normal clothing has an incredibly flexible layer of material sewed in-between two of it's layers allowing protection like that of leather armor and metallic chainmail. Other than this, Arkaeis remains unprotected and due to this is not weighted down much, if at all, allowing his agile movement and speed to come into play without limit. All of these armaments are pitch black and have a strange depth as they have been deeply imbued with Arkaeis's energy. The metal plates are capable of surviving the force and weight of a small car going at roughly 20mph though they would not stop the force from hitting their wearer. The rest of his clothing can usually slow down, or outright stop, bladed weapons though they do not serve well to defend against blunt force attacks.

Seikatsu shin'en no Kōkei(生活深淵の後継 'Scion of the living abyss'):[High] A blade recovered from the central chamber of the Hahaoya no jōmyaku, it is plainly ancestral in its origins, and possesses a precarious balance between orderly control, and slovenly disordered chaos. The blade can be described as a physical, essentially inanimate construct of voidal energy. While it is technically composed of voidal energies, the blade has both the yin and yang attributes imperfectly in a state of constant combination and separation. From one moment to the next the blade almost constantly refreshes the bonds between the tangible and intangible realms. Yet there is more to this constant circulation, as between these currents of yin and yang, light and dark, male and female, good and evil, are pure expressions of voidal energy that the Tatasuko would find themselves jealous to look upon.

Composed of approximately 221 of these circulating patterns of yin and yang, merged by the void, the blade's structural composition is incredibly complex despite its simple appearance. The majority of these circulations, the leading 200, move perpendicular to the blade's form and move around it constantly to form the refined tube that blades tend to be. The secondary 20 however move in alignment with the blade giving it its length, solidity, and cutting power in that sense. Lastly of course is the single pattern which is often totally dormant at the very core of the blade running through its entire length from pommel to tip. This arrangement has made it so that unless an individual has mastered their yin and yang aspects, or conversely has voidal energy, they cannot even wield the blade. An individual with mastery of the yin aspect, relating to the mind and illusion, can touch the blade on a mental and spiritual level but not on a physical one, they risk their body being devoured by the void of the blade. When one has mastered their yang, or rather their physical aspects, they can hold the blade in a physical sense while its spiritual aspect will be totally lost on them; these individuals risk their mind being devoured by the blade.

This single length of typically inactive pattern is one of the blade's most important feature. While the other energetic movement patterns in the blade are circular, this center one is not and acts like a set of veins when activated. Upon activation of this central pattern it branches out and constantly sends tiny pulsing veins that weave through and around the other patterns at many times their speed. The veins that this creates allows the blade to exude and absorb energy to some extent. The blade is typically only receptive to one to three types of energy. In Arkaeis's case these are voidal energy, yin, and yang energy. Though this blade is composed almost entirely out of energy, absorption will not work as instead of actually touching the energy it will make contact with the voidal energy and thus will simply absorb nothingness from the void, which to essentially anyone is useless and simply takes up space without technically 'filling' anything. While in addition to this the blade's internal patterns can be partially externalized and changing the blade's shape can cause these patterns to shift respectively.

While a summary of all Seikatsu shin'en no Kōkei's abilities cannot truly be made, one can list a few of its inherent properties which are more or less as follows. Seikatsu, while not indestructible, is many times more durable than the majority of physical objects it encounters. This durability comes from the fact that the entire weapon is a voidal construct, aka a physical manifestation crafted entirely from the energies of the void. While other voidal constructs typically have a wide variety of essential weaknesses and can thus be destroyed with the proper know-how, Seikatsu was constructed in such a way that it will more or less adapt its form to be as resilient as possible to any type of object, or energy, that it encounters, the exclusion of aether, an aether-like energies as these are the general weaknesses of voidal energies. The ability for Seikatsu to adapt to its situation can be attributed to the subtle sentience of the void, as it is thought that the weapon was created by it, rather than by its wielder thus allowing the blade to alter its voidal state and polarity at will. As such, while the weapon could technically be considered a katana-like sword, Sekaitsu can alter its form almost limitlessly as long as its general mass does not change, though additional mass can be added to it via imbuing voidal energies into its form. Beyond this there is not much to note as the rest of its capabilities fall largely under the category of voidal manipulation, revealing that Arkaeis can alter both the state and polarity of the blade, in addition to using multiple states and/or polarities within the blade at any given time just the same if it were normal voidal energy. In fact, the only true difference between Seikatsu and free voidal energy is that Seikatsu's true form is set in stone and whenever it is not being influenced by an outside force, including its wielder, it will return to such.

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>One state/polarity of void can be altered per particle/body(s) of void per turn, correct?

Name: Unknown. (Casurus[Overthrow; Fall])
Alias: Crow.
Nicknames: Wispy
Age: 130.
Apparent Age: 20 or so.
Species: Demon(Hellion).
Sub-Genus: Nightwalker.

Appearance: As a nightwalker, Crow wears no true garments, though he is often in a human guise and as such tends to wear clothes along these lines. Beyond this there is a key detail to his the humanoid variety of his demonic form which should be brought to mind, and that is the presence of the many smoky tribal markings that run over his form. Among these are those that dwell on Crow's face, these lines serve as his mouth and will move in response to his mood to form expressions as if he had a true mouth. Additionally, while these markings do move when he speaks, his actual voice can be emitted from anywhere on his body, and typically resounds from the whole of him, bouncing sound waves in all directions as he speaks. Some have even stated that after he has been speaking for some time in this manner that the sounds become much like the clamor of a murder's wings and voices alike.

Personality: A lazy opportunistic bastard, Crow is much like many nightwalkers in that he would prefer to feed easily and at his leisure rather than work for his place in the world. Nonetheless, there is a strange compulsion rising in him to do just the opposite, to take chances and work for his own gain. Much like the carrion bird whose name he's taken as moniker, he is a cunning and bright individual who has a tendency to collect things that he thinks hold value or are merely interesting to look at. Unfortunately for some, this happens to include living creatures, though with these he is far more careful so as not to be easily traced. Another similarity with his namesake is his cautious nature as he believes it prudent to be as such in a world where the three races have come as close to equals as they have ever been.

When it comes to conflict of the violent sort, Crow prefers to avoid it as he much rather settle things with intellect than brute force. Still, when it all comes down to it he'll throw a punch...or a fireball or two, so to speak. As a nightwalker he's a rather disloyal fellow, using people for his own ends with few exceptions. Still, there are those who catch his interest, he'll keep them around for awhile...or forever, turning them if they amuse him enough. Still, he's not one for grovelling and dislikes having 'mindless servants' or 'minions,' preferring instead to have comrades and allies. He's said that a friend is more valuable than someone willing to die to please you, such beings are boring and not worth mention or praise. Oddly, having someone who can disagree with you is something of a flaw when it comes to planning and when asked why he still allows such elements into his schemes he tends to answer that there'd be little challenge in it otherwise.

When it comes to his preferred activity, one must look to things that require little physical effort, but demand a great level of mental focus, for Crow simply loves a good game of strategy and tactics. He adores games like chess, and on the darker side of things, he loves mind games. Still, even when he is thoroughly enjoying something there tends to only be a lazy smile upon his face, rather than an outright maniacal grin like one might expect. This is mostly because he strongly believes in restraint, at least when circumstances allow that is. Last, but not least, Crow is not one to anger easily, in fact a great many believe him to be without anger, though possessing the faculty for annoyance of course. While he is certainly a master of keeping a cool head, somewhat due to his dabbling in philosophy and the way it has effected his perception. The truth is however, that Crow is as capable of being angered as any other being, it's just that it takes a helluva lot to get him there, though I'm not sure exactly why anyone would want to go to such a place.

Biography: Waking as if from a deep slumber, Crow entered the world in mind, where he had already existed in essence. The Western Realm was his domain, the place from which he originated. However, he had little wish to stay there under the tyrannical rule of their lord, someone that he held no small measure of disdain for, though he knew not why. Gathering those few who agreed with him, as well as a few other demons, the black sheep traveled to Surface only to find that the Western Lord's influence, the touch of Szayeis, lingered and danced in the middle realm as well.

Annoyed, Crow kept to the shadows, feeding and congregating with his comrades and takin territory in the name of their lord without really meaning it. They were rebels, invisible guerilla fighters in a war that did not exist anywhere, but in their minds. Peace however, slowly settled over Progaia and Szayeis' malignant, and annoying, presence dwindled. The West closed, though it was always open to its native inhabitants, be they nightwalker or otherwise.

Holding little affection for the barren West, Crow spread his metaphorical wings in Szayeis absence and came into his own. Over the last 100 years he has accumulated the resources and manpower equivalent of a small army and with it he has created an outpost of sorts in each city he deems of importance. However, it is upon the ruinous landscape of Loom's resting place where he has set up his base of operations, where what one could call his gang functions. Here there have been erected a myriad of strange structures. On the outside they appear normal, but within their geometry seems...non-euclidean, alien and without logic. Still, while Crow could be considered the head of a decently sized gang, he and his associates are more businessmen than they are thugs.

They conduct business slyly and in secrecy when possible. They do not apply force or rule through sheer fear, but strive to gain their hold through more intellectual means. It is as if Crow plays chess with his comrades, but each of them a knight in his eyes, rather than mere pawns.

Demons of embodied shadow and darkness, nightwalkers are typically found in the western realm of hell where the sky is forever dark and no sun shines down on their shifting features. One of the few races of true shape-shifters, nightwalkers are capable of changing their form with essentially no limits other than size, which is dictated by their individual power and/or how much they have assimilated, be it shadows, essence, or other sources of such. While able to near perfectly shapeshift to emulate any form they desire, nightwalkers have an acute weakness to things that emit powerful illumination, such as fire, sunlight, holy luminescence, and lightning. This has led to most nightwalkers being active primarily during the night time as most of their ilk would die under the harsh rays of the sun.

Having rather unique capabilities due to their shadowy make-up, nightwalkers are capable of controlling, traveling between, and outright assimilating shadows. One can generally identify the power of a nightwalker by noting what form they decide to take and whether or not they can exist in the sunlight without being harmed or otherwise altered by the rays. As such it should be noted that weak nightwalkers will perish in mere minutes under the light of the sun and will remain permanently damaged if they survive, whilst a considerably more developed nightwalker will only be weakened by the sunlight, decreasing its overall power until the light wanes and the sun dips beneath the horizon.

This brings one to a unique fact about nightwalkers. While all demons are weakened somewhat and are thus stronger during the night, this particular species actually becomes stronger depending on how dark a locale is. Thus, the less light there is, the more powerful a nightwalker will become. When night falls, even a weak nightwalker should not be underestimated as they will become at least two to three times more difficult to kill and a good deal stronger than before, allowing them to compete with the average demon and fend off minimally trained angels. The average nightwalker during night time is far more deadly as they become a force to be reckoned with so much so that the majority of human and angel kind have recognized nightwalkers of the average level and above as being “nigh immortal during the night.” This is largely due to a nightwalker's ability to assimilate shadows into their body, allowing them to effectively /become/ the darkness of night, closing in on their opponent from all angles, and devouring them alive without consequence.

Not only does this ability make them difficult to locate, not to mention damage, but it also increases the size that the nightwalker can reach when shifting forms, thus allowing them increased variability in their shapeshifting. Also due to their shadowy and incorporeal or intangible natural state, nightwalkers are essentially immune to conventional weaponry, be they guns, swords, or any other variety of weapon. In fact, the only material that seems to have any increased effectivity against them is gold, which can harm them even in their incorporeal state. It is not entirely known as to why this is the case, but it is theorized that it is gold's highly conductive state as well as the way that it reflects light, making it especially bright and particularly reminiscent of the sun.

They are capable of traveling through shadows or pitch black areas with ease, not having to move in the physical sense, but being able to effectively transport themselves from one place to another through darkness/shadows. While this is the case for normal, or conventional, weaponry, it should be noted that enchanted weapons have a higher chance of effecting nightwalkers as they are infused with magical energy and thus, in part, exist in the same space as their allegedly incorporeal bodies. Fire, light, 'holy', and lightning based enchantments tend to cause these demons the greatest damage.

However, a nightwalker's two greatest banes are in fact sunlight and what are referred to as 'despells'. These 'despells' are a class of magic that can deactivated or negate the magical properties of other spells, objects, or beings. Thus, when effected by a despell nightwalkers will lose their ability to become incorporeal shadows and will have to maintain some kind of physical form. Lastly among the typical abilities and traits of nightwalkers is the following, their cunning mindsets and their ability to manipulate essence. This ability varies in its use and largely depends on the individual, but it can be applied in any field from manipulating people's minds and emotions to warping their very souls to cause harm. The limitations and weaknesses of said ability depend on the individual nightwalker.

Moving from their traits and delving into their culture some very intriguing details can be found, first and foremost among these is that nightwalkers do not appear to hold the first demon, and second god, Lucy in reverence. The reasoning behind this is unknown and while there are a great many theories none of them hit anywhere near the mark. Moving on from this, there is a focus on treachery, intelligence, a strict understanding of the vague, mysterious, and unseen aspects of reality in nightwalker society. In fact many nightwalkers tend to give out a title rather than their name for they believe not only that names have an inherent power, but also that this chosen title is more of an aspect or trait that describes them more vaguely than their name does, allowing them a degree of anonymity.

As to their history and interactions with other demons, well, nightwalkers are typically a rather tight knit group and while many betrayals and the like will occur within their fold, they typically do not associate themselves with the majority of demonkind. The reason for this is unknown, but what is known is that it is not caused by either xenophobia or disdain. This mentality has made it rather rare to see hybrid nightwalkers who are a mixture of nightwalker and some other demonic race. In fact, their only truly prevalent interactions appear to be with the lord of their realm who they appear to have some sort of pact or magical contract with no matter if the lord changes or not. It is not entirely known what this pact entails, but it is very apparent that it does in fact exist. Beyond this nightwalkers keep to themselves, not intruding in the affairs of other demons or realms if at all possible.

While they are not very sociable in hell, nightwalkers seem to change somewhat when they venture to surface, something all nightwalkers can do effortlessly and without passing the gatekeeper due to their ability to transmit themselves through shadows the exception to this being especially powerful nightwalkers, whose essence signature is too large to slip through the cracks and seams of the boundary. Regardless, when on the surface to explore, hunt, or scheme, nightwalkers will interact with humankind quite often, either misleading, devouring, manipulating, or even befriending their ilk.

The presence of nightwalkers throughout human history points to this even more as in old myths and the like there are often described nightmarish creatures with no form, malevolent auras, and a wide variety of other traits that, if one does a bit of digging, seem to point towards nightwalker activity. In fact, one of the typical abilities of nightwalkers is that of nightmare creation where they enter the vicinity of their to-be victims, assimilate with the shadows of their surroundings, and utilize their essence manipulation to instil terrifying scenarios into the minds of their chosen prey. This has earned their kind another name and has led many demonologists to believe them a part of the demon classification of beings referred to as “Nightmare creatures”. These beings essentially feed off of the terror of their victims, dragging out their feeding processes for years whilst gradually killing their target through terrible nightmares. While nightwalkers are perhaps /capable/ of this sort of thing, they are not in fact nightmare creatures.

Moving on, it should be noted that while nightwalkers themselves are not nightmare creatures, they are capable of creating such. How one might ask, well quite simply by infecting humans with their demonic taint which will typically create one of three types of surface demons these being Shades, vampires, or Sollicitus. For further information on these demons one must do further research.

A detail about nightwalkers that has been hidden from the majority of not only the dwellers of surface, but from demon kind itself is that while they are indeed shapeshifters they all possess one form which is the truest expression of their essence. It is their Origin State, the state in which their power and personality is expressed fully. While this form is universal to all nightwalkers, it is not identical between individuals due to the fact that its appearance and abilities originate from the personality and true nature, rather than from their species.

Demonic Abilities

Enhanced and Magical Senses: Due to his cautious and lazy nature, Crow has developed the ability to see in sphere of 40 feet around his person for the majority of the time, even when in his human form. Outside of this sphere he can still easily detect essence signatures and the like. Additionally, like most nightwalkers, he is capable of tracking people down via their unique essence signature. This ability is however, not absolute unless the individual he is tracking has entered his sphere of influence once. If any other form of their essence enters his field he can still track them due to it having the same 'scent' so to speak. His ability to sense the use of magic and generally individuals of higher than average power is as good as most nightwalkers. Thus, the more powerful someone is the easier they are to track, and vice versa. Additionally, he can detect locations where magic is being used in excess, the stronger the magic, or the more essence it requires, the easier it is to locate and track. Within his sphere of influence, Crow is capable of detecting the exact potency and power of an individual regardless of attempts to conceal such.

Shapeshifter: Quite able in the realm of shapeshifting, Crow tends to use his in a more supplementary manner, using extensions of his true shadow state to create substance in the midst of his illusions. However, like all nightwalkers, he is entirely capable of altering his physical make-up entirely to his will as long as he has the essence or shadows necessary to do so. However, while many nightwalkers use their shapeshifting to give them an ethereal state and to increase their size, Crow primarily uses his to increase the density of his physicalized form. This odd choice has caused his human and demonic humanoid forms to be either very solid, or very energetic. As such, he essentially packs more power into his body than would otherwise be possible making his physical attacks and abilities rather...explosive in their potency.

Demonic Influence: While the essence of most nightwalkers brings into being vampires, Crow is capable of creating both Sullicitus and Shades, both of which are exceedingly rare types of surface demons. Beyond this he can actually manipulate the essene of those he influences, further mutating their demonic affliction and turning them into even more bizarre, or even more powerful, surface demons. This is of course through the combination of his demonic influence and essence manipulation. Lastly it should be noted that Crow has complete control over his influence, meaning that he cannot accidentally afflict someone or change the nature of their essence, though he can pretend to. This, along with his essence manipulation actually allows him to conceal his own nature as well.

Possession: While Crow is capable of possessing people via direct contact, he can also access them through mere contact with left behind essence. This does not allow him to possess them from long range, but it does allow him to locate them no matter where they are, and if there is enough lingering essence he can access their senses and even influence them via illusion and mental manipulation almost as if he were there.

Lazy Intellect: While Crow is effectively a genius in his own right, capable of incredible analytical feats, and possessing a great deal of intuition, he is at the end of the day quite lazy. As such, he can be tricked through the manipulation of his laziness and he will more often opt out of violent situations, or take the path of least resistance unless absolutely necessary not to.

Magical Abilities

Essence Manipulation: Truly one of his most powerful tools, Essence Manipulation is likely the ability that Crow has focused on most in his 100 years of life so far. With it he is capable of inducing powerful hallucinations and illusions by influencing the essence of his surroundings and through that the individual. He can also do this directly however, doing so makes it easier to detect. Additionally, Crow's mastery of this ability is such that even half a second of contact is enough for him to cause a powerful sensation of pain or discomfort equivalent to being hit in the gut by a professional boxer. With the assistance of his demonic influence he is able to make himself even more persuasive than he already is, making him especially good at reasoning and convincing people to his own ends.

However, unlike most nightwalkers, Crow's abilities in this field do not stop there. In fact, he is even capable of something that many humans, and certainly the secretive practitioners of the Art would be quite jealous, or indeed angry, of. He is able to mimic the natural patterns of nature much like the Art of Athriohm. It is unknown exactly how he acquired this ability, but it could be attributed to the fact that he murdered and consumed several practitioners in his time, likely assimilating both their knowledge and abilities respectively. His abilities still pale in comparison to a skilled practitioner of the Art, so he has taken to manipulating the smaller particles, atoms, and molecular structure so as to minimize the scope of his abilities. This allows him to mimic elemental manipulation and a great many processes that would otherwise force him to exert far more effort than he'd prefer to.

While it limits his own magical capabilities a great deal and temporarily deactivates many of his racial abilities (such as shapeshifting and a good deal of his enhanced sensory capabilities) Crow is actually able to completely mask his essence and can furthermore isolate individual strains of essence within his own. These abilities allow him to actually mimic the essence of anything that he has devoured, though typically he can only accurately mimic the essence of humans due to the pure nature of angelic essence and the difficulties involved with obtaining it. However, he can take the form of, and mimic, the essence of an angel for a limited period of time, typically around ten minutes, though he has done so for twenty, an act that did not go without its dangers.

Skills and Learned Abilities

Hand-to-hand Combat: One could consider Crow a strange mixture between mixed martial artist and street fighter. His fighting style tends to be lazy, but still packs an incredible punch, focusing on his natural durability and essence amplified physical attributes. However, when he feels like trying, or is forced to do so, he can become a frightening martial adversary, making him quicker to react and counter, as well as to generally beat his adversary to a pulp.

Human and Demon Psychology: Having worked with humans and demons so much in his life, Crow has grown accustomed to their psychological functions, allowing him to better interact or manipulate individuals of said races. Angels however, are another story and he considers them more difficult to bargain with, or convince. Thus he tends to not deal with them much, if at all, when possible.

Name: Reates Saerne.
Alias: The Cheshire; Graph; Anomaly; and of course The Vanishing Butterfly.
Nicknames: Ates, Erne, “You madman,” “That crazy professor,” and other endearing monikers.
Age: 96.
Apparent Age: 36.
Species: Human.
Relations: Champions of the Enlightened and the following:

Peskay Genno: Reates met this intriguing, but somewhat odd, fellow in a bar a few months back. Since then he and Genno have accompanied one another on several hunting excursions, if you will. He stays in contact with the man for both of their sakes and since they met Reates has acted as a sort of go between for Genno and the Academy, the middle man if you will. The two get along well, though Reates can get along with most, and could be considered friends. However, Reates doesn't know too much about Genno just like no one knows much about Reates or his personal life...for the most part. Lately Reates has noticed that if a certain Kasuto or the Champions of the Enlightened are mentioned, Genno will tend to go absolutely silent, or trail off mid-sentence. Reates has also noted some odd things in regards to Genno's essence when in combat without his glasses on. Granted, he has been unable to understand what it is he is seeing and as such has more or less dismissed Genno as a unique type of chimera.

Kasuto: Reates, while not having met Kasuto in person, has had light dealings with him and his organization. He is intensely interested with the man and his followers. In fact he has a particular interest in the island that Kasuto's organization uses as its base of operations as it is rumored to possess an abnormal amount of aberrations on it. Additionally, Reates has long since realized that Kasuto does not seem to age past his thirties or forties, though he is not sure why, he is determined to figure it out as he believes that the man may have discovered a method to immortality, something he himself is seeking.

Hazumi: Essentially only aware of one another in passing, Reates does not tend to keep Hazumi as company. However, he does find her rather intriguing due to the fact that he can see the many many different energy signatures, which make her up. He finds her intensely pleasing to look upon, but has, as of yet, not made any obvious attempts to garner her attention in any meaningful way.

Lily Qarin: As the principal of the Academy she is obviously aware of Reates presence and mannerisms. Their relationship is decent at best as while Reates is generally fairly easy to get along with she tends to be more reserved in her tendencies meaning their personalities don't mesh all that well. Nonetheless she allows the majority of his antics as long that they have some express purpose and are primarily aimed at the betterment of the Academy's students, and perhaps even staff.

Abstractis: His...pet swarm of sentient butterflies, Abstractis, or rather Abstractis Imperialis Veritisi as is its full name, is an anomalous being who can essentially perfectly camouflage itself. Abstractis is essentially always with Reates in some manner, though most are never aware of its presence due to its ability to make itself essentially invisible and beyond the almost entirely beyond the sense. Abstractis enjoys Reates company, though it often remind Reates that some of his activities and intentions are ridiculous in nature.

Additional Appearance Info: Reates stands at 5'11 with a hardy, but not overly muscular, build. He is considerably strong, but not abnormally so. He almost always wears a wry grin on his face accompanied by an mischievous, and amused, glint in his eyes. He walks with an enigmatic air of self confidence.

General Activity – Professor and Hunter: Reates is effectively a teacher and a hunter of renegades, criminals, and aberrations. He studies aberrations, and apprehends or kills renegades or criminals that he comes into contact with. Sometimes he will even take mercenary-esque jobs, or assignments from the Academy itself, to take out specific individuals.

Personality: An eccentric of magnificent proportions, Reates has the tendency to gesticulate quite expressively as well as using terminology and other such figures of speech that will fly over most people's heads like wind around a moving object of any manner, or you know...birds and flying mammals like bats. He is generally cheerful and tends to display an almost disproportionate enjoyment of people's company despite their personality traits with few exceptions. In fact the more abrasive the personality the more fun he tends to have when confusing and generally bothering them with his incredibly, and somewhat intentionally, heavy irish accent and outlandish use of references –often referring to personal experiences and inside jokes that no one would get unless they'd been there.

Reates is, on top of being excessively, and almost obnoxiously eccentric, a decidedly enjoyable manipulator. However, unlike most manipulative individuals, Reates does not generally use his manipulative abilities to harm other people unless it becomes entirely necessary. In fact, most of these traits are used to figure people out. Sort of an indirect psychoanalysis of people's habits and internal mechanisms, allowing him to easily understand people through how they react to his actions, some which may seem entirely random. Aside from this Reates can be described as a good humored individual, both in terms of comical statements, and in terms of his general outlook on life and behavior.

While hardly a facade, Reates, in private, is more often prone to an odd mixture of seriousness and amusement wherein he displays a distinct habit of talking to himself or his pet(s) Abtractis Imperium Veritisi. While Reates is indeed incredibly intelligent he can, at some times, be quite forgetful and oddly it appears that he forgets things almost on purpose. When asked about such he generally confirms that he can force himself to forgets things by more or less losing focus on said thing for a certain duration of time. Others who have tried to replicate said behavior typically fail, suggesting that in some way he is lying about the execution of said process, or is in fact just fucking with people to begin with, which is also quite likely.

Reates is generally beyond angering and will remain calm in almost any situation due to his excessive practice in doing just that, not to mention his Renegade hunting tendencies. Reates has a tendency to feel sympathy, or even empathy for those who have lost one or more loved ones quite dear to them, especially to illness or other unnatural means. When it comes to the three other races Reates has essentially no particular bias towards any of them. He believes that humans, demons, angels, and chimera are inherently equal in nature, and should learn to get along. In fact while he tends to endorse personal freedom and individuality he does advocate for the improvement and maintenance of the current governmental structure that has been established.

Any further information shall be apparent IC as if I keep going this will become exhaustive for other's to read.

Biography: His mother dying at the time of his birth, Reates was largely taken care of by his uncle as his father, Varen Saerne had been badly, and permanently, disabled in the purifying war led by the nephilim many years before his son's conception. As such his fairly eccentric, and exceptionally rich, uncle brought him up, teaching him the ways of his trade and eventually passing on to him the famous Art of Athriohm. However, this is not to say that his childhood has little bearing on the man he has become for while his interactions with his father were few and far between they left a deep impact on him to this day.

His father, formerly an army conscripted mage and Practitioner of the Art, was afflicted with a rare disease caused by the body's rejection of foreign essence. This disease, known as the Waxing death, kept him bedridden, but ironically prolonged his life considerably, as it does to all its victims. This illness is typically one which inflicts human-angel hybrids, or rather gray angels. It is the result of the body's incompatibility with demonic essence, so instead of the victim become a chimera they are rendered essentially immobile as the essence propagates itself endlessly throughout their body, giving them a lifespan closer in length to that of a demon's while simultaneously rendering them more or less inert from the incredibly painful process and continual rejection by their immune system and the essence of their body.

As such Reates father was often unable to properly communicate with him physically. However, due to his guardian angel heritage he eventually fostered a bond with his son that was strong enough that it allowed the pained man to communicate telepathically. It later became apparent that he had also been able to do this with his mother and uncle as well, explaining why his caretaker often visited the man and simply stood there silently staring at the bed and its occupant.

When he was able, Varen told his son stories, often from his life, that were to teach him lessons. Overall his father was a kind loving man, though certainly a tortured soul by the time he finally expired at the age of one hundred and thirty. Despite being twenty six, Reates was changed by his father's death and while his generally cheerful personality remained, something else took root in him. He was happy that his father's suffering was over, the man's soul deserved to rest in the void, but...part of him was not satisfied by this. He didn't want to accept that fate had simply allowed such a wonderful man as his father to suffer for so long and without great cause or reason. It was unfair.

This eventually led to some rather questionable projects, which Reates took up first in the interest of increasing the abilities of the medical field even further through magic, and escalated to outright experimentation with life. Still throughout Reates remained resolute to solve the issue, find a cure for illnesses such as the Waxing death. No one else should have to suffer such a fate and even fewer should have to watch their loved ones slowly wither away in both body and mind. Still what he was doing was taboo for Practitioner's of the Art were not meant to experiment with life, for it was the realm of the divine to play with such forces.

It was thought by the Masters of the Order of Anriohm that to tamper with life was to play a god, and that eventually it was bound to corrupt. In some ways he was right, but in no way did the young Practitioner believe him and so his experiments continued. As they escalated Reates' uncle became more and more suspicious of his nephew's behavior. He had almost become a recluse, though he did go out here and there to hang out with friends or acquire new materials for his studies.

When the boy was gone he would often check in his study and lab to see if there was any residual essence that told of activities that a Practitioner ought not to partake in. Every search failed...until one night Reates, having driven himself into a somewhat manic state, stormed out of the house and forgot to replace the myriad seals that kept his true work place away from prying eyes. Nathan, his uncle, thus found himself walking through something of a portal, or rather an advanced arrangement of matrices, which connected two locations through some very powerful magic.

While Nathan had surely practiced and mastered some rather outlandish forms of magic in his day, what he found past the gateway nearly drove him to retching, after which it almost caused a mental breakdown. Rattled, but now having prepared himself the man rose back to his feet, having fallen to his knees, and looked upon his nephew's workshop once more.

Arranged and ingrained into the walls of the large chamber were a multitude of cages, some empty, others occupied by various types of creatures –some of which he recognized only from books, which cataloged beasts from the plane of hell. However, most disturbing were the wide variety of widely varied Aberrations. He had seen several on field expeditions, but never more than one at a time. Here however, there were at least fifty or so unique specimens. The specimen on their own were not however the problem, rather it was the lingering essence within.

The essence told a gruesome tale of pain...suffering, and biological transmutation. Deeply disturbed by his findings, Nathan left the chamber and decided to initially say nothing of his finding, instead doing his best to close to gateway so that Reates would not realize he had left it open. He loved Reates, he'd raised the boy as he would have his own son and so while his beliefs contradicted those of his nephews and he knew that in all rights he was supposed to report him to the Masters, he could not. Instead, after mulling it over for some time, he made preparations to confront his nephew.

After several days of weaving wards and creating various protective artifacts, Nathan confronted Reates, revealing his knowledge on the younger man's experiments. Reates reacted with force, attempting to bind his uncle, but not to wound him. After an exchange of magical might and a string of his uncle's best attempts to calm him down, Reates eventually gave his last close relative a chance to speak. He was grateful that he heard him out for it seemed that the older man, now having hit roughly the same age as his older brother, Varen, his life prolonged through magical means, intended to help his nephew rather than hinder him.

Nathan planned to take the fall for Reates, something he would have never asked Nathan to do. The mage was left speechless at Nathan's willingness to sacrifice himself for him and so he initially declined. However, Nathan insisted and so the two concocted a rather elaborate plan.

Reates was to notify the Masters of his own activity, but instead call it Nathan's whereas Nathan was to, for a few weeks prior, participate with Reates in his experiments, tainting his own essence and the chamber itself with his essence so as to misconstrue the Masters as to the perpetrator of the heretical procedures. On the surface it appeared simple, but in truth it was a quite complex scheme as the Masters were sure to realize that they had been tricked, so Reates and Nathan would have to continue to uphold the charade to some extent, with Reates revoking his vows before the Masters out of shame for his uncle and an unwillingness to continue his craft due to the man's dishonorable actions.

It would appear to them that the boy was taking the fall so as to save himself from the possibility of corruption in the future, while in truth he would only be revoking vows that he had long undone through his own ministrations. In this way he would disappear off their radar entirely, making it appear as if he eventually died of natural causes whereas his uncle would be purified of his abilities and laid to rest. His name, or the name of their family, would not however be dishonored as theirs was the lineage which originated from the great Vaihrn Katela, who eventually changed his name to Saerne in an effort to isolate himself from his former family.

Their operation went almost perfectly, in fact the only variable they were unable to deal with was how Reates was to save his research. However, Reates himself managed to do just that by creating a secondary lab with more or less identical creatures. The speed at which he worked to do so was impressive and so it was ready when necessary. As such the Masters never managed to truly destroy his work, though Nathan knew nothing of this and truly thought that Reates had abandoned the order in an attempt to honor his death.

He was wrong. To Reates the necessity that his uncle must die for his alleged crimes against the Order of Anriohm was evidence that the order itself was an outdated relic, a belief he had fostered for quite sometime. Now that belief had been justified.

Driven by the death of his uncle, Reates began to make preparations to one day wrest the Order from its hinges and cast it out of the world entirely. This goal was one he knew he would have to spend much of his life to reach, so in the interest of such the man began to break even more of his forsaken vows as he began the quest for immortality. At first he made little progress, but eventually he found a way to at least prolong his own life, a technique that many a Practitioner had used throughout the ages.

With this he essentially ceased aging around the time of his 36th birthday. From that day on he continued his experiments, making sure not to forget why he had started them, while he added to his repertoire and began attempting to essentially transplant anomalous properties between entities. He has been studying this and methods to treat formerly untreatable illnesses, both biological and magical in nature.

So far he has succeeded in finding a cure for the Waxing Death and several other more minor, less severe illnesses. He has been duly compensated for his contribution to magical medicine, though he doesn't tend to flaunt such achievements. In the last 60 years Reates activities have been notable in two fields. The first of these is his extensive research into aberrations and anomalous artifacts. He has successfully been able to replicate the properties of several minor and rather useless anomalous artifacts and his demonstrated such in several conferences. He has still been entirely unable to synthesize, replicate, or transplant the anomalous properties of Aberrations, much to his chagrin. The other half of his activities have been focused in gaining himself a masters degree in teaching and also the hunting and capturing of Renegades. He has worked closely with the Champions of the Enlightened and Master Melody's Academy for the Fine Arts. In the last five years Reates has served as a professor at the aforementioned academy, teaching three separate classes to the students of the Academy.

His activities and the growing knowledge of his name has begun to alert the Order of Anriohm to the likelihood that he is not only alive, but still very much a magic user. This is something he is painfully aware of and is working on. One can only hope that his plans in regards to the Masters have come a long way since their conception.

In regards to his reputation among the Academy's students he is often called the school's local eccentric. While he is well known for his rather strange mannerisms and behavior, he is also known for his general patience and willingness to help, rather than hinder, any given student's learning process. He has even gone out of his way to assist select students in the interest of achieving their goals. While some would call this favoritism it is more that most students don't directly request his help and so more often than not don't receive it, likely because they're boring or just downright afraid of him anyways.

The Art, as it is called by those who practice it, is what one might consider magical science as it relies on fundamental laws and patterns that exist in reality. Through their mimicry of these patterns in both symbol and movement alike Practitioners can draw forth he same results that the natural patterns would instil. Rather than simply manipulating their own essence, as angels do, or sacrificing the essence of others, Anriohm, as Practitioners are known, memorize, modify, and bring together the patterns of their world, forged of their own essence, to draw forth the unbridled power of the world's own life-force. While this makes them no more powerful than an angel or a demon, it can certainly elevate them to the same tier. However, this is only achieved through long years of study and meticulous experimentation to reap experience from their activities.

The Art of Athriohm is, despite the turning of the times, largely a secret to the average individual and is kept in the shadows of society, only taught between master and student, passed down through lineage or simply between those who are chosen. Regardless, the Art is something coveted by its Practitioners, though not in a negative light. Rather, the majority of Anriohm are ever limited by the power of the oaths they take upon being inducted into the Practice of the Art. It is through their secrecy and these oaths that the Art remains largely without abuse by humanity, and untouched by angel and demonkind alike.

Capabilities: The scope of the Art's abilities varies greatly with the Practitioner, as each has their own specialties not to mention knowledge base, which more or less dictates what they are capable of doing via their Art. Some Practitioners prefer to focus on the Weaving aspect of the Art, making them similar to alchemists or enchanters in practice, as they draw forth the properties of objects and phenomena and imbue them into other objects, or even themselves, to create miraculous tools, armor, and weaponry alike. Other Anriohm will specialize in the making of sigils, letting them draw forth the forces, or elements, of nature to create effects and properties, rather than draw them from pre-established entities or objects. This allows them both to utilize what most refer to as seals, to temporarily condense their desired effects into a symbolic representation of the movements of Essence which create them. These can then be triggered by their will or even a set of predetermined circumstances.

While certainly the two are similar, their difference lies in reliability, as Weaving is more predictable though its potency pales in comparison to the potential of Sigils. As if to balance the two disciplines, Sigils are more difficult to make, and their practice more complex, making them inherently more powerful, taking less effort to reach such heights than Weaving would require. However, the difficulty comes from the mental focus and memory required to precisely create sigils. This is why many Practitioners stick to weaving, gaining them the title of alchemists or enchanters, while the more daring take to Sigils, earning them the title of Mage.

Functionality: While it is not common knowledge as to how the Art functions, and why it does so, over the past 200 years there have been a number of Practitioners, spearheaded by a man known as Vaihrn of the Sigil, who have largely uncovered the nature of the Art. With the creation of the ruling Chimeras, Dorin Katela's notes, and the results of the destruction of the last gate Vaihrn and his disciples managed to discover that the Art of Athriohm, as its 'founder,' supposed, was not created by man, or any other race. Rather, the Art was merely happened upon by chance, though its formation into what it is today was largely through the ministrations of its founder. Thus, in the book of Vaihrn's life work, it is simply stated that rather than a purely magical practice, the Art is instead the study of the nature of creation. In this way, Practitioners of the Art, known as Anriohm, are scientists, though they not only experiment to verify, but they also utilize their findings to assist, or in rare cases deter, society. They utilize their knowledge to mimic the forces of nature and creation, but only to an extent, as in their Oaths it is stated clearly that they are never meant to seek godhood through their Art.

Oaths, Taboos, and the like:

“Forces outside myself who hold thought within them are beyond the scope of my wishes to bend and know around them.” This Oath specifies that the Practitioner will not manipulate the essence of conscious living things, such as the three races, though this includes chimeras as well. The oath does not explicitly state that the Practitioner will not bend or modify their own essence, though many take it to mean such.

“The void, unreachable to us borne outside it, should not be drawn within the fold beside it. All within and those between and beside, should restrict their contact with this force that does deride. Draw not from its depths, and cease all thought of traversing, for it is not a place to go, not for I or those beside my person.” This Oath is sworn to restrict Practitioners from drawing the emptiness of the void into the world, and to stop them from entering it themselves. Through this they are also not allowed to seek gods, or other such entities who might dwell beyond their own world. Additionally, if those who take this Oath find another who has broken it, or intends to, they are to stop them from doing so if it is within their power.

“While there are few words to speak to make my life less fleeting, I will not seek to find and reap the seeds that offer us eternity.” This Oath dissuades Practitioners quite strongly from seeking eternal life, though it does not state that they are not to lengthen their own, nor does it state for how long they are allowed to do so.

The use of the Art on Living Things is essentially taboo.

The use of the Art to create life is taboo, the study of such is not, though it is frowned upon.

To seek eternal life, immortality as it is called, is a taboo. This is also to make it far more difficult for the Art to be abused as the less time one has to dedicate to the learning and mastery of such, the less likely they are to achieve power enough that it would corrupt them.

The Order of Anriohm: In short the Order of Anriohm is an organization with the sole purpose of isolating and regulating the use of the Art of Athriohm. It is led and administrated in secrecy by a council of masters who are simply referred to as, well, The Masters. It is this organization, or cult as those few outsiders who know of it tend to call it, who make sure that use of the Art does not become widespread. This is due to their firm belief that man is not yet ready to handle what more or less amounts to the power of creation and destruction.

Any individual who defects from the Order without first having the masters remove their ability to practice the Art is typically hunted down and killed. Alternatively these individuals are imprisoned if they cannot be killed or their abilities are sealed. Generally their abilities are sealed only if they are not considered an overt threat to society at large. This group's presence exists all over the Progaia and is strictly human, as no member of another race is allowed, or necessarily able, to practice the Art. Additionally, it should be noted that while their presence is worldwide, their members are comparably few in number.

Abstractis Imperialis Veritisi: As a whole Abstractis is an astute, if not somewhat blunt personality. The butterflies that make it up move with purpose, though they too must feed like most of its more mundane cousins. The swarm is generally rather friendly, but do not have any real sense for the concept of personal space, causing them to often land on people, though they will often have no idea that the butterflies are their due to their tendency to camouflage themselves. Generally a helpful existence, Abstractis will often do errands for Reates, though they prefer to be around the man, partially because he is their primary source of sustenance. Abstractis' personality can be described as blunt, intellectual, and rather serious. The being does not have a very human sense of humor...for obvious reasons though it does have the tendency of laughing at people due to what it considers their antics.

Aberrant Biology: Abstractis is a sentient swarm of butterflies possessing a hive mind intelligence. It identifies as a singular consciousness, which is shared throughout the entire swarm. While butterflies certainly do not have brains or nervous systems even vaguely large enough to support human intelligence, they are nonetheless as intelligent as any of the other races. In fact, the swarm can be considered to possess an IQ of roughly 170 or so. Each individual butterfly in the swarm is capable of disguising itself through apparently unknown means as they can not only alter their physical coloration to perfectly match their surroundings, but the butterflies can also alter the very texture of their bodies making it virtually impossible to tell the difference from a butterfly and brick wall. Last, but certainly not least, it should be noted that these butterflies have essentially no essence signature, mostly due to the fact that their bodies are basically essence insulators, preventing any essence from escaping their forms. Abstractis is, also, by all rights telepathic and unlike their companion can easily speak into people's minds. However, their mental presence is rather...dainty in nature and so they can be blocked out or ignored, though they can generally initiate mental contact likely due to the fact that telepathy is their primary method of communication. The swarm is also capable of intentionally changing its coloration and they do not gain the physical characteristics of the materials, or things, they are mimicking in appearance. When members of the swarm are killed the swarm loses intelligence and/or knowledge due to their hive mind. For a reference to their normal coloration see Reates' reference at the top of this CS.

Rystreim: A much lazier being then Abstractis, Rystreim tends to either follow Reates around or lay somewhere comfortably warm and take excessively long catnaps. Now don't let this fool you, Rystreim is about as sentient as Abstractis if not slightly more intelligent. However, the feline has no reason to demonstrate such and much prefers to just lie around. Also unlike Abstractis, the cat can speak aloud despite its obvious lack of vocal cords. Likely due to its crystalline structure, Rystreim can very easily totally repel psychic contact making it very difficult to speak to for the butterflies. In fact, the cat has the tendency to block out the swarm's pyschic frequency, making it deaf to the being's mental voice. Rystreim, like most cats, is moody and will change its mind about something abruptly and without warning. This means that Reates has several claw and bite marks from recent attempts to pet the cat. In short, Rystreim's personality can be described as lazy, temperamental, and easily annoyed.

Aberrant Biology: Rystreim is roughly the size of an average tabby cat, but is composed almost entirely of crystal with the exception of several portions of its body, namely the tip of its tail, its eyes, and the very core of the bluish crystal that composes its form. The entity's eyes are completely white and appear to be composed of some kind of energy, their coloration changes when it is exposed to excessive heat, cold, water, or fire. The tip of Rystreim's tail is formed from the same whitish energy, which reacts the same way as the eyes with the exception of the fact that a small smoky energy constantly drifts from it. The very core of the aberrations body appears to be a strange mixture of reddish viscous liquid and the same white energy, which constantly churns within her.

While it is fairly mundane at room temperature and when not exposed to water, fire or any temperature outside of a comfortable range for a cat, Rystreim tends to react rather violently when exposed to the aforementioned. When exposed to water or extreme cold Rystreim's crystalline body will emit a light from its core that will refract off of the hundreds of thousands of facets of crystal that make it up causing it to become blinding to look upon. The light energy that is generated is so intense that it actually emits natural heat, burning most anything within a 2 foot radius of the cat's body. The light also appears to superheat the crystal, partially liquifying Rystreim's form. This causes her to become roughly two times more flexible than she is normally.

Conversely, when exposed to intense heat or fire Rystreim's body will absorb the heat and, through an unknown process, convert it into electromagnetic energy after which point its body will emit several powerful magnetic fields that range between 1 foot to 10 meters in radius. Magnetic objects within this range will be violently energized with electrical energy and tend to melt from the sheer heat of such unless particularly sturdy. Contact with Rystreim's body will cause mild electrical shocks or electrocution depending on its mood. Needless to say, Reates does his absolute best not to allow the cat to become agitated by excessive temperature change.

Equipment:

Glasses: Due to Reates possessing what is commonly referred to as 'The Sight,' by Practitioners, he tends to wear these specially adjusted glasses so as to filter his essence vision. He can activate or deactivate various filters or types of essence via small influxes of, well, essence into the glasses. This allows him to filter through various systems of essence. The primary reason that Reates fashioned these glasses is the fact that his Sight has developed to such an advanced stage that it becomes difficult for him to focus or remain aware of the physical nature of his surroundings after roughly ten minutes of unfiltered visual input.

The Faraday Pair[Magitech 'Gauntlets']: Faraday, a name which refers to Reates' pair of magitech gauntlets, comes from the traits that the gauntlets possess; first and foremost their ability to easily extract or replicate essence from non-organic things within 40 meters of their location. These 'gauntlets' are composed of a mixture of magical energy gathered and distributed via sigils inscribed on Reates hands and forearms as well as plates of iron and silver which are held around the aforementioned body parts via complex magical and electromagnetic fields. As mentioned these gauntlets are able to extract essence from non-organic things within a certain radius. However, the essence extracted is specifically related to the traits held by the given object(s). This essence can then be easily transplanted or modify whilst suspended around Reates by the gauntlets. The Faraday can also pull essence to them as long as that essence is not bound in seals, though they can only pull the essence to themselves and then rapidly expel it away from themselves much like electricity is attracted and repelled from a Faraday cage.

Pendant: A lost artifact made new, this pendant, once known as the Pendant of (de/a)'ttachment has been somewhat re-purposed by Reates. Whereas its ancient purpose was to seal, access, create, or unlock sigils and other such magical barriers regardless of their complexity it now holds another unique ability. While its original abilities are dampened somewhat and require essence and considerable focus from the user, aka Reates, the pendant now acts as a conduit and repository for essence and more specifically a set of sigils which allows Reates to connect two given locations –typically his lab and another desired locale-- at will.

Physical and Mental Capabilities

Enhanced Biology: It should be noted that Reates is, first and foremost, a mage, and thus not a physical combatant. However, due to the essence that he constantly channels through his body he is slightly more resistant to damage than a normal human as well as being faster than average and agile when he needs to be. He is decently strong, but not abnormally so. Lastly Reates body ages much slower than the average human and he is slowly integrating further sigils and the like to reduce his body's decrease in regeneration and cell mitosis. The essence that is channeled through his body would make him something of a beacon to anyone who can sense essence. However, due to his pet(s), Abstractis Imperium Veritisi, his essence does not leave his body as it should. Instead the butterflies consume it to feed themselves, or store it within his pendant, rendering his essence signature comparatively average in terms of human mages.

Excessively Knowledgeable and Intelligent: If you hadn't gathered this already, Reates is exceptionally intelligent and, largely due to his innate curiosity, very knowledgeable as well. He has knowledge in topics spanning from the ancient history of birdhouses and their origin, to the various inhabitants of the Wildlands of hell. However, his primay focuses when it comes to knowledge happen to be on the general physical and energetic biology of the four races, those races being Angels, Demons, Humans, and Chimera. In addition to this he has knowledge in various Scientific disciplines, magic in general, and the properties and behavior of various Aberrant beings/objects.

His knowledge of the aforementioned types of biology and the general study of Aberrant beings and objects can be considered his primary focuses, with the others being very important, but slightly less the current focus of his research.

As to Reates intelligence it can be described simply as his incredible aptitude to store and recall information as well as process various forms of newly learned material quickly and the creation of new ideas more or less on the fly. One could say that Reates has made it a distinct point to think on his toes. He does this in essentially every interaction he engages in, testing people's reactions to various mental or environmental stimuli so as to further his understanding of the psychology of the races in addition to their biology.

Universal Toolbox: Partially due to his unorthodox nature, and secondly due to his intellect, Reates is very capable of turning almost any number of objects in his vicinity into weapons or useful items. He does this either by extracting, modifying, or combining their essence or by simply using the objects themselves in a variety of unique ways to assist him in any given situation. As such Reates has taken to calling the world, or just his surroundings, a 'Universal Toolbox,' and has thusly dubbed this ability to use these 'tools' by said name.

Psychic Aptitude and Telepathy: Reates is fairly able when it comes to his mind and has developed some psychic aptitude. While he is not a psychic powerhouse he is capable of extending his psychic presence to notify individuals of his location and he is also very good at erecting psychic or mental barriers against intrusion. Conversely his offensive abilities are extremely limited and tend to be based in crude brute force or small clever tricks. Generally he is unable to pierce the psychic defenses of any individual who has mental resistance above the baseline average human who does not practice magic or meditation. Beyond this it should be noted that Reates is capable of telepathic communication between, primarily, willing individuals. He can however handle communicating with no more than three people, not including himself. He can send out a generalized mental impression or message, but if one's mental guard up then these messages will not pierce, thus revealing the limit of his abilities.

Magical Skills:

'The Sight': Like his some of his ancestors, Reates is able to see essence, but unlike his predecessors his Sight is passive, meaning that he cannot turn it off at will. His Sight is also so developed that he can see the very make up of the sub-atomic particles and various forces that make up a given object, entity, or being. The detail that he can ascertain and the amount of information input that this causes is considerably higher than any human, including Reates, is generally capable of processing for any prolonged period of time. Reates, having been born with the Sight, has gradually adapted to it and as such is able to use it unfiltered for roughly 10 minutes after which point he will have to close his eyes or he will suffer from a form of shock due to sensory overload. If used for longer than 10 minutes, Reates can actually black out from the sheer stress that the sensory input causes his brain.

Environmental Awareness and Magical Attunement: Due to his ability to physically perceive essence via his eyes, Reates has developed an additional ability to detect it via a sort of sixth sense which does not rely on any of his other five senses. This ability extends for roughly two miles in every direction, his body being the epicenter. When in motion Reates is capable of detecting and mentally visualizing essence within half that distance (one mile). Finally when in combat or in close proximity to considerable amounts of essence, or generally overwhelmingly powerful individuals, this ability is dampened considerably allowing him to only sense within the space of roughly two city blocks. When in situations that require intense amounts of concentration or mental attention Reates is only able to sense up to 50 or so meters around him.

Practitioner of the Art: Due to his prolonged lifespan and thus the multitude of time he has had to practice the Art of Athriohm, Reates has become what many would consider a grandmaster of the Art. He is beyond proficient in the use of Sigils and Weaving and as such can be considered exceptionally masterful in his magical abilities. Partially due to his somewhat inherent understanding of essence, derived in part from his Sight, he is largely capable of something that most Practitioners do not dare attempt, namely the utilization of essence that one has no prior experience with handling.

Aberrant Manipulation and Psychic Fortitude: Reates has developed the ability to extract anomalous traits and/or essence from objects and aberrant organisms. While he is unable to infuse these traits into other objects or organisms he can amplify them and use them in weaponized forms. This is an ability that no Practitioner in recorded history is capable of, though records of Athriohm himself are fragmented and largely untranslatable making it very possible that he too was capable of such a feat. Reates is also exceptionally resistant to memetic and psychic assaults delivered from both natural and anomalous sources allowing him a unique edge against such things. If there is one type of anomalous trait that has rubbed off on him it is probably that he is abnormally able when it comes to interacting peacefully with aberrations almost regardless of their typical level of aggression. There are of course exceptions and this ability is not universal to all aberrations.

Name: Mairyell Kasio.
Alias: Blood hound and Sanguine
Nicknames: Mai.
Age: 224.
Species: Partial Chimera.
Sub Genus: Human-Vampire.
Relations: Ally to Mary and friend to Solus.
Appearance: It should be noted that Mairyell's eyes are typically a purplish blue, as his original eye color was blue, but his vampiric one is red, causing an odd mixture of pigments. He also has night vision from his vampiric traits, not to mention that the hungrier, or angrier, he gets, the more red his eyes will become. He stands at around 5'11, making him fairly tall, and he weighs around 160 lbs.

Social Status: While Mairyell has no real status or standing in the social hierarchy of any of the three races when it comes to politics, he is a rather well known individual, lending him a sort of notoreity. Thus people will sometimes offer to help him, or will come to him for assistance. Basically he's a well known hunter, though one who doesn't distinguish between races, and only between the alignment and intentions of the individuals he hunts.

General Activity: Mairyell spends his days fighting, surviving, and generally just experiencing the world. He tends to travel quite a bit and has an interest in the shifting of the times. Beyond that he's a rather enigmatic individual when it comes to purpose so it's hard to really pin him as anything in particular.

Personality: Changed by the last 200 years, Mairyell's temper and personality have been quite refined, turning him from an angry strong willed young man to a focused and in control elder, though only in mind. Having lived through the anarchy of the gateway's fall, the war of Judas' reign, and now the relative peace of the new world Mairyell has had plenty of time and experience etched into his brain. He's learned a great deal and put more than enough effort into his own self control, making him a somewhat more calculating man, though still he remains very instinctive in his nature, tending to trust his gut and his senses. Having largely tempered back his powerful thirst with his mastery of Brisn, the vampire has gained a solid hold on his sanity, though it's clear that the suffering and turmoil of the last 200 years has somewhat warped his mind and thus his outlook on life as well.

It is in this way that Mairyell is both a calculating and reckless man, appearing to rush into situations almost purely for either the thrill or the benefit of himself or those he deems to protect. Like in his youth, Mairyell is still an avid defender of innocence and those who are too weak, or too naïve to protect themselves. In fact nothing bothers him more than people abusing their power or flaunting their corruption out in the open and he has a tendency not to tolerate such folk anymore than a lion would tolerate prey nipping at its heels.

Always ready for a fight, but cautious of his opponents, Mairyell has an odd tendency to look like he is enjoying himself the whole time. He fears seldom, if at all, when it comes to his own life and so he has learned that it is better to enjoy every moment you've got. After all, this world we live in is quite the dangerous place, and he knows it better than many. To keep him sane, he's developed a strong sense of humor and gotten a hold of his once short temper, now instead tending to show a wry, or amused, smirk throughout most situations, no matter how dire. Still, if one were to look into the chimera's eyes, they'd see a very different picture painted. They'd realize that while he smiled on the surface, the mind of a predator worked behind the scenes, analyzing the weaknesses and strengths of its prey, and considering the best, and simplest, plan of action.

Despite this trait, Mairyell much prefers to just take it easy rather than go all out, so in that facet he tends to do just that until it seems necessary for him to really pull out the big guns, so to speak. All in all he's a bit of an eccentric fellow, though he's also what some might just call 'the cool guy,' or 'the tough guy,' only difference is he's the real deal. Any chivalry or kindness he shows is likely honest, rather than in mock or jest. He has little time to waste something as valuable as that, and anyone who he deems suitable for such treatment is a lucky sod indeed, as the vampire takes few allies, and even fewer friends. Such is the way of one who has watched what they love be torn from their powerless grasp as Mairyell has...time and time again. So, despite the time, his heart is still scarred deep inside, but at least now he bears these scars proudly and without regret for what happened in the past. For to him, those events so long ago were what shaped him into who he is today, and for at least that much he is grateful.

While he certainly does not seek it, Mairyell strongly desires lasting companionship as due to his potential lifespan he can no longer live out his life as a simple human, which at some times he would prefer. While it seldom occurs Mairyell is capable of incredible amounts of loyalty and dedication to those he cares for. When he puts his mind to something his now age old stubbornness rears its head, making him an immovable wall or an unstoppable force depending on the circumstances.

Biography: The Kasio Korp was a rich company that thrived on selling highly valuable potions and drugs, herbs, and their seeds to the highest bidder. Maurice Kasio, the CEO, was such a powerful tycoon that he even had his own private army and assassins. His late wife, Layna, also gave birth to two siblings: a son named Mairyell, whom he attempted to groom for taking over the company, and later a daughter named Aeris. Their mother died when Aeris was a young child, and it was public knowledge that the cause was cancer. From the start, the Kasio siblings had always been a little wayward, which was reason for their father to worry. Mr. Kasio, ever the busy man, hired lackeys to keep an eye on his children and stop them from ruining his image.

It was not generally known that Mairyell contracted a demonic disease from his mother while she was pregnant. Nobody knew where this influence came from, but when it came time to address the seriousness of the situation, Mr. Kasio's true colors were shown. His human greed for power had warped his mind and caused him to avoid pouring funds into finding a cure for his wife's illness. After all, it was far more profitable for a company to treat symptoms of a patient than to cure diseases--if word got out that there was a cure for a new disease, the media would be all over over it. He had weaved a lie for his children, but his son sensed that there was deception in this. Mairyell doesn't, however, tell Aeris the truth about Mama's demise, but he always told her bed time stories about Mama whenever she asked him.

Sanity became scarce as their father started to fear them, especially Mairyell. The boy was showing symptoms similar to his mother, but instead of weakening him, it only made the boy stronger. Sedation became his father's favorite method to control him and suppress the demonic symptoms. He still had some twisted dream of making his son inherit his legacy, but the mutations were getting faster and harsher. It was too much. Soon, sedation doesn't work so Mr. Kasio locked up his own son. Unfortunately, he was not able to hide the truth from his daughter. When she found out, the very same demonic influence inspired her to burn down the Kasio Korp HQ. She did some damage, but ultimately failed. But her father was furious for she had managed to release Mairyell from his prison. Their father then disowned them and cast them away to another continent entirely. Unfortunately, Mairyell didn't have any medicine to control himself, so he would routinely freak out on Aeris. This was a problem that would not go away.

Despite the risks, Aeris and her brother began to continuously steal from their father's company warehouses, for medicine to control and sate Mairyell's vampiric metabolism. Not only did this cut into profits, but word spread that Kasio Korp was collapsing due to civil strife. Rivals began to push in on Mr. Kasio, both legally and not. It was during this time that Maurice began to increase the security of his warehouses, as well as sending in more and more assassins to seek out his 'dear' children. During one of the duo's raids, they found themselves unable to procure the medication they needed to sedate his strange urges. Because of their failed attempt, Mairyell went into a frenzy, attacking Aeris. During the attack he bit her, getting his first taste of her blood. Unlike any of the other blood he had had up to that point, Aeris' blood almost immediately satiated him. Though he regretted the act later, and tried desperately to keep from doing again afterward, he found himself unable to care during the 'meal.' A strange thing happened while her brother fed on her: the puncture wounds, while present, had not hurt her. Not one bit, and immediately after Mairyell stopped, the wounds closed soon after.

They were interrupted. Three human assassins dropped in on Mairyell and Aeris. The two of them were immediately ensnared with an acid-etched steel net, and rendered helpless. Mairyell, despite his strength, couldn't break the nets apart. It would seem the Kasio siblings would meet their fate then, but before their father's hit-men could kill them, a large winged being ambushed them, instantly killing one assassin with a large rock dropped from above. The next two assassins found themselves beheaded (and scorched) as Rinyl the Bulwark brandished his flaming sword. Melting the nets carefully, he freed the Kasios and explained that he was Aeris's guardian angel, sent to protect her at all costs for she would soon do great deeds. He added that their father had actually sent several teams before, but they were dispatched quietly. Rin then apologized for being late as a 'demon from the west' had intercepted him at night and demonstrated 'strange foreknowledge' of his assignment. It was noticed that Rin had puncture wounds on his neck, even though the assassins hadn't attacked him.

In reaction to the angel's appearance, Mairyell would at first be skeptical, and would likely remain as such throughout the majority of the two's interactions. Nonetheless, the vampire would accept Rinyl's assistance from then on, grateful for its help in rescuing them, but unsure of how he felt regarding the angel protecting his sister. After all, he did not know the fellow, and merely being of a certain caste among the angelic hierarchy did not warrant trust from the ever cautious Mairyell.

Aeris regarded the strange angel with caution, shielding her eyes from the bright flames licking across his sword. Her throat had dried as she witnessed him kill their ambushers. When it was all over, she looked up at him--worry seizing her face--but then realized that he was there to guard her, much to her confusion. Their first handful of exchanges were awkward, as she couldn't read his emotions, nor figure out his motives. It was all so very weird and alien to her, for she was only used to her big brother being her sole protector and guardian.

It became routine that during their travels, Rinyl would advise Aeris by scouting ahead where they wished to go. He was forced to trust Mairyell to protect his sister during this time. After months, the two began to accept Rinyl as a constant presence in their life. Though Mairyell kept his distance, Aeris began to show her gratitude towards Rinyl, mostly by trying to be friends with him and learn about him. The angel indulged her, somewhat reluctantly, but soon became, well, rather enamored with her. He kept those feelings to himself, however, as he knew what happened to angels who fell. He kept his mind on his mission, for the trio could rarely relax in one place before something else happened. It would seem that a curse followed their every footsteps. 

One night, as another of Mairyell's manic episodes ensured, Rinyl fought Mairyell as he seemed, for some reason, meaner and more hostile than before. It worried Rin, and his honed instincts kicked in--the warriors ignored Aeris as they battled each other in a contest of wits and strength; however, they were both weakened from the fight. Having more experience and stamina, the guardian angel managed to whisk Aeris away and they disappeared into a sanctuary in which he had longed to shelter her, and train her to fight and protect herself. He never got that chance, though. When Mairyell found her again a couple days later, Rinyl was dead and Aeris was being consoled (in vain) by the sanctuary monks. He wasn't sure what had happened, but soon began to think himself to blame. Before they left, they attempted to bury Rin's body, but were denied. A squad of four pure angels emerged and while two of them wrapped Rinyl's body and picked him up, the other two brandished grimaces and scimitars at the Kasios. The angels uttered not a word as they left them behind.

The Council, however, were not done with the Kasio siblings' fate: they sent another angel, a specially trained one known as the Aurist...

Since then, Mairyell and the rest of their small three-person group have traveled here and there, trying to stay alive and well fed, avoiding the ongoing investigation that follows them, with Mairyell suffering from constant nightmares. Of course, he has yet to say anything to either his younger sister or her guardian angel. At this point, the vampire feels like he is being watched to some extent and has become just slightly paranoid.
- - - - -

Mairyell and his sister have were split up by who Mairyell has come to know as Szayeis, one of the demonic lords, the same demon who was responsible for his mother's death...and his own vampirism. He took it hard, initially becoming frozen with shock after which the appearance of two vampires sent him over the edge, forcing him into a rather terrifying destructive state that drove him to first annihilate one of the two vampires and then a werewolf who arrived soon after, though he had some help from a certain Solus Grim. Following this, Mairyell was reunited with his mother and transported to a place of his childhood. From there he has trained and caught up with his mother.

After the training with his mother, Mairyell sought to visit hell and the Western realm, but to no avail as he couldn't even pass the boundaries of the domain. Annoyed, but unperturbed, Mairyell sought out Solus, who happened to be planning a trip to the dangerous place. Requesting his assistance, the two eventually trekked into the destitute realm, through the space between realms, and eventually arrived at the outer border of the Western Lord's Domain. Entering and trudging past the myriad inhabitants and even a few of the wardens, the two managed to near the Chimeric Citadel, but it was there that they were repelled, driven back by the castle itself.

Angered, Mairyell bid Solus ado, thanking him for the effort and his time, as he departed. With rage in the pit of his stomach and determination on his mind, Mairyell went on what some might consider a massacre. However, none could easily get in his way, as he almost purely slaughtered demons, though the few angels and humans who got in his way found themselves either ignored or quickly rushed off to the hospital.

Eventually he was stopped by Solus, who had recently returned from hell, having continued his visit after Mairyell had left. It was a good thing that Mairyell was tired when the hunter came, though the two still caused enough damage before Mairyell subsided and they disappeared into the murk of the city and away from prying eyes. It was from then that the two became tremulous allies and eventually friends. Alongside the demon hunter, Mairyell's abilities blossomed even further and before he knew I he was fighting on par with the infamous Solus Grim, at the time known as the Necromaster.

However, after their 50 or so years of escapading about, hunting demons, and dealing with a myriad of other strange and interesting situations, Mairyell and Solus separated ways both feeling it was time they give it a break. Solus went onto do his own business whereas the vampire wandered the world. In his travels he saw even more than he'd seen with Solus, but it was things of a different nature...mostly.

It wasn't just the lands around Loom that had fallen into chaos, it was the whole of the globe. In fact, it was as if a plague of destruction, depravity and depression had spread from Loom to envelop the whole of the earth. It was somewhat humbling, but it also saddened Mairyell greatly and for a time he grieved for the peace that had been lost in the world.

However, one can only grieve for so long, and so eventually his humor expanded and the world became a carnival of freaks and hilarity in his eyes. It was insensitive, but for a time it was the only way he could get along without losing his mind to the chaos which infused his surroundings. He was intent not to be defeated by it and his efforts were not in vain. With each innocent person he protected and with each malicious presence he killed, be it an angel, a demon, or a human he gained notoriety of his own. No longer did he ride on the names of others, not that he had, or did, care much for publicity, and so he began to be known by several monikers. The two most prolific among them being 'Blood hound' and 'Sanguine' with the second being most widely known.

Since then he's been ab it bored...so he headed back to where it all started, Loom, in search of an old friend...Solus.

Plenty has occurred, but you'll find out exactly what later.--

Demonic Abilities:

Drastically Enhanced Physical Aptitude: As a human infected by demonic influence, Mairyell's physical strength, stamina, durability, speed, reflexes, and instincts have all been amplified greatly. His vampiric nature causes him to be capable of throwing, or lifting, the equivalent weight of a large truck, though not a semi loaded with cargo. It'd be fairly simple for Mairyell to break down brick walls and still possible for him to cut through iron and mos softer metals. His speed in comparison to a human is exceptional, but remains in the area of being physically traceable by the eye, but not by much. His durability, normally, is not too much greater than a human's and it is not as if he could block a sword tip by just standing there. However, when it comes to blunt-type weapons, Mairyell takes little damage from them unless they are strong enough to break through a brick wall. Capable in his regenerative properties, Mairyell is able to survive all by the most fatal blows, those being to his head or his bloodcore, though damaging his heart or other organs still forces him to more purely focus on his regeneration, and typically to retreat.

As to Mairyell's senses, well they are incredibly enhanced, but it isn't like you could make loud or high pitched noises to mess with his hearing, this is due to the fact that his senses are magically enhanced, not physically enhanced. This magical enhancement is, however, passive, but can weaken when the amount of blood his body holds is lessened. His sense of smell could be compared to that of a bloodhound, except greater, allowing him to track things from almost any distance. In fact, he can actually smell someone's blood through their muscle and flesh, which can be very disconcerting, especially when he describes someone as 'tasty', which he tends to do only in jest...or to mess with people. His vision, last, but not least, could be described similar to a bird of prey's, allowing him to zoom in either for fine detail, or for enhanced range from afar. He, as a human, does not have to move his head, or cock it to the side, to see better though. Lastly are his reflexes, which simply put, should not be fucked with.

Beyond this, there are some weaknesses that should be mentioned. For, while Mairyell will not be killed by it, light does weaken his vampiric abilities somewhat, and causes his blood magic to not be as exceptional. Additionally, sunlight will force him to use more blood, as it is essentially constantly regenerating his body when he is exposed to sunlight, given that he isn't shielded from it. Another unique aspect of Mairyell's brand of demonic affliction, is that while most vampires only possesses two 'bloodsucking' teeth, ALL of Mairyell's teeth serve this purpose. Last, but not least, is the fact that Mairyell's blood can hold a variety of intriguing properties depending on the circumstances.

Bloodcore: In the center of his chest, over where his heart is, Mairyell's body sports a ruby-red crystal-like biological structure. This is the primary mutation of his vampiric affliction and is his most fatal weakness, not to mention the cause of his once abnormally high metabolic rate. Essentially, Mairyell's bloodcore stores any blood that he ingests, and while it will keep him from dying should he lose the majority of his gathered blood, it also serves as a dangerous weakness. The Bloodcore takes blood directly from Mairyell's body, but while it was once a hindrance in this way, it is now a helpful tool. Due to the fact that the structure seems to have no true limit to how much blood it can store, Mairyell is now capable of feasting and feasting to fill the gem, which he seldom does now, and then filtering the blood through himself, using the core as a filter and a storage for his blood related abilities. In this way, Mairyell has been able to almost entirely curb his hunger, though it took some help from his now fully developed Brisn to do so. Destruction or removal of his bloodcore will surely kill him and damage, while it will eventually heal, is excruciatingly painful. At this point in time, Mairyell has trained himself to protect with with several thin elastic coates of semi-coagulated blood. The blood can harden if stress is applied to its surface and he can still manipulate it. Still, it is not in anyway an ultimate solution for this fatal weakness.

Malice State: Possessing a weaker amplification level than Bloodlust State, Malice was created by Mairyell as a go between where he can amplify his focus through adrenaline and the manipulation of his own essence. By balancing himself partially with Brisn and his own willpower, Mairyell is capable of briefly amplifying his blood manipulation and awareness. This tends to last for only 5 or so minutes before knocking him unconscious, weakening him, or sending him hurtling into the currently uncontrollable Bloodlust State.

Bloodlust State: When Mairyell remains in Malice state for too long, deprived of blood, or significantly angered he will undergo a terrible transformation into what has been termed Bloodlust State. This state is more or less caused by intention psychological or physical stress and it is not something that Mairyell, even given 200 years, has been unable to fully harness and control. When entering Bloodlust state the vampire's body will release the last of the stored blood within its Bloodcore, this blood will flow over the surface of his flesh, coating his entire form in the crimson liquid. However, unlike 200 years ago, this transformation does not cause the blood on the surface of his body to harden, for instead it becomes dense and will harden when contact with his body is imminent. Even more terrifying is the fact that it will begin to de-solidify several moments after contact in such a way as to disperse the force of blows outwards across the surface of Mairyell's body.

In addition to this change, all of Mairyell's teeth will enter their feeding form, wherein they all become sharpened like the canine teeth of a human or dog. His body will form a second coat of blood over Mairyell's shoulders, back, and extending off of his tailbone into one long tail. This tail will be composed of a multitude of spines, which at first are invisible to the eye due to the uniform color of his blood. When required, the hard second layer of blood upon Mairyell's back will gather at the bottom of his shoulder blades near his spine and erupt outwards forming his characteristic crimson wings, though with one notable difference: Claws. At the end of each elongated 'finger' that make up his bat-like wings there is a wickedly curved talon.

While within this state Mairyell's eyes will remain crimson and copious amounts of essence and adrenaline will pump through his body almost endlessly. His sense of pain is greatly dulled and his regeneration is accelerated considerably so that any damage not to his brain or bloodcore will not kill him. He is ravenous and considered largely unstoppable as his already demonic physical capabilities are amplified one step further. Normal metal bends, concrete shatters, and human bone and flesh can be easily pulverized.

For the duration of his episode, Mairyell will be barely conscious, only able to acknowledge the fact that he is in Bloodlust state and that he is in great peril. His surroundings are blurred and indistinct to his conscious mind while his animalistic subconscious kills and devours all in its path, regardless of his wishes. Once the transformation is begun it cannot be halted unless he dies or is given significant amounts of blood very quickly. Mairyell's relative power level in this state is comparable to the highest tier warden and he should be stopped at all costs as otherwise he poses a serious threat to anyone within the same city.

Blood Manipulation and Traits: The chief ability granted to him through his vampiric nature, Mairyell is capable of manipulating his blood on both the macro and micro scale, making him, at this point in time, an incredibly skilled and dangerous combatant. While this would at first seem akin to water manipulation, one should keep in mind that Mairyell's blood is not normal. In fact, depending on whether he is channeling his human or demonic essence, the blood will gain several traits. Regardless, Mairyell is able to shape his blood however he wishes, as well as being capable of shifting it between a solid, a liquid, and a mist or fog-like gaseous state.

Mairyell's blood has two general types of traits he can apply to his blood, namely demonic traits magical traits(human). The demonic traits he can imbue into his blood are that of acidity and poison, allowing his blood to essentially destroy physical or biological structures.

Black Blood is the result of Mairyell increasing the amount of demonic essence in his blood of his own blood. This particular brand of blood has become so dense with the demonic aspect of his essence that it appears black. The properties of this blood are its increased acidity and density, allowing it to take stronger physical and magical attacks when solidified. This ability takes more effort (essence and/or blood) to maintain and is thus more taxing physically and/or magically for him to utilize. While the normal acidity of his blood can burn through wood after a time and can easily burn through flesh, black blood can begin to melt metal and weaken somewhat.

Blue Blood is what occurs when Mairyell imbues his blood with his more human essence, infusing it with Brisn, giving it healing and absorption related properties. As such, this blood is able to absorb other essences, or magicks, allowing it to become infused with even more properties if the situation allows. Beyond this the traits of his Blue Blood are that its acidity is decreased from its norm, making it only able to slowly burn through skin, and do little damage to stronger structures, though it would weaken wooden things at a slower rate.

Magical Abilities:

Brisn(Blue energy): Mairyell is capable of manifesting a water-blue energy with properties reminiscent of its elemental color. This magic has one simple ability, and that is the ability to absorb other energies. However, it is capable of effecting only living beings and elemental energies, thus it is weaker against non-elemental varieties of magic. Its effects on both living beings and elements is essentially absorption, but in two very different manners. When applied to a living being, this absorption will occur on any wounds, essentially 'absorbing' them from the body and thus healing them. When effecting elemental energies it will pull them into itself, amplify them slightly, and retain some of the properties. After which, the Brisn can be utilized to blast back the element, though both this and the healing does cost the user magical energies, as all magic should. There are likely other uses for this magic, but at the moment this is all Mairyell knows. He is not yet very capable with this magic. When Mairyell utilizes Brisn, his eyes go from a purplish coloration to a blue one, becoming increasingly lighter blue with every use, or the length of use. After a few minutes, the blue coloration will begin wearing off. This is similar to his use of 'Blood' magic, as that will cause his eyes to redden. This magic is also a strong deterrent of demonic essence making it especially effective against demons. In fact the stronger the demonic essence in an individual, the more powerful Brisn tends to be against them.

Skills and Learned Abilities:

Combat: Having fought to survive and for some enjoyment, at times, for the majority of his now lengthy life, Mairyell has become quite skilled in this field, lending him a hefty amount of experience in this field of expertise. In addition to this his world travels have shown him a myriad of combat styles, magical types, and combat methods of ridiculous variety. In fact, he at some times will even say he's seen every type of combat style under the sun. After all, he's been alive for 224 years. Thus he can be likened to something of a master of street combat and mixed martial arts. To him, everything goes and hold back only when necessary.

Votaries of the Sight

This cult is dedicated to the minor god known only as the Seer. His followers are some of the few who are fully aware of the deity's legend and how he came to be as he is now. They are devoted to the Seer almost to a fault and will go about sowing what he has guided them to sow, in the interest of upholding the balance of the world. While his followers are typically peaceful people, they are sometimes driven to great lengths in order to properly balance the world, as even evil acts can be necessary in the grander scope of things. For them, balance trumps morality. The Seer's following has existed for roughly two centuries now, but it has yet to grow as large as the religions of the major gods, and is likely to remain as such. Nonetheless, the Votaries have spread across the world, setting up their small usually wooden, or tent-based, settlements in caves or near particularly clear bodies of water.

While there are rumors of them here and there, the world's general populace knows little about the Votaries and their patron deity, the Seer. As such, the Seer's followers are typically regarded either with caution or disdain as they do not follow under the stars of any major god, and instead differ to one that most consider of no consequence.

A Votary's Tenants

--Whenever possible, keep the Seer's peace--
This tenant calls for the Seer's followers to not incite conflict or argument unless it is necessary or unavoidable. He does not fault them when conflict is incited beyond their control, though he does reward them for trying to stop such when it is not his intention.
--Usher forth only balance--
A rather vague tenant, this one has to do with, well, seeing to the balancing of the world's scales. It requires much forethought and a deep consideration of the consequences of one's own actions. An understanding of the ripple, or butterfly effect, is often employed.
--Seek not to abuse knowledge or squander power--
Rather straightforward in its nature, this tenant proclaims that the Seer's votaries are not to use knowledge to commit acts that are purely for malicious ends. If these actions are however, dictated by the Seer than such is a different story. In regards to power, his followers are to only use it when necessary, if ever. It is not to be used for personal gain, as that is considered unimportant.

Ascendency and the Seer's Legend

In life, the Seer was, but a humble and devout follower of the Twins. He respected his peers and fellow man, often bringing peace and tranquility where he went. He was, all in all, a virtuous, peaceful man. However, there was always something about him which stirred those who met him. Perhaps it was the far away look in his kind eyes, or the abnormally graceful gait he set, his feet almost seeming to never touch the ground.

He kept his faith all his life and served the twins well, tending towards the Mediator more than his brother, but nonetheless acknowledging the Trickster's path as well. At times he would play subtle tricks on those who happened upon his path, and inadvertently the dominoes fell and events would transpire.

Still, none seemed able to ordain how he did it, he was merely a humble vagabond, right?

Wrong, for this vagabond had been born with a unique gift. He had been born with an ability to understand the existence which he'd been created in. It was a practiced talent, one he had grown over his many years and while a mixture of awe and fear were exercised subtly by those who had heard of him, he never abused his sway over people. He of course made mistakes and sometimes his intentions were skewed, or his actions would lead not where he had wished, but instead in much darker directions.

Still, he did not withdrawing, seeking to serve the Twins as best he could –and so he trudged on. Adversity surrounded him, but still there were those who admired him and his devotion to the gods. Religious men could not help, but look upon him with respect...but nobles were different.

They could not explain his abilities and so men were sent for him. When they returned they were unharmed, but appeared in a daze. They told their lords that they had encountered a pack of bloodthirsty wargs, and been saved by the very man who they had been sent to capture. Yet, knowing what they intended, he had healed them of their wounds and even supplied them with what little food he had on his person.

In their gratitude they had not noticed when he slipped away on their way back to the fort.

The lords were of course not at all pleased by this and so they proclaimed the man a criminal. For months posters were put up, and the authorities riled to search the hills for the man. Nonetheless, he was never apprehended.

Instead, on the sixth month after the proclamation had been made, he entered the court of the king and with a smile turned himself in. For many years the lord kept him in his service, attempting to use the alleged prophet's talents for his own ends. All was well, but in the heavens the Twin's laughed at the lord's antics.

On the sixth year of his service all the ventures which the prophet had assisted the lord in, fell to shambles. His lands crumbled around him, and eventually he was ousted from the throne as a tyrant –for the people had not known that the prophet assisted him.

When he was discovered by the citizenship, he was freed from the dungeons of the wicked lord's fortress, and led out into the world again. Throughout he had held the same knowing smile upon his slender lips, and dancing in his joyful silver eyes.

Unfortunately, he was not to live much longer and so, after only seven more years, the prophet died, and he was mourned well, both by those who respected and those who feared him. He had been a great man, and so his departure from the world was duly noted.

In truth though, his journey never ended, for as he stepped beyond death's door, he was beckoned into the realm beyond. The Twins offered the mortal a chance to continue serving them, saying that his life had greatly amused them, and furthermore that he had been quite useful. Pleased, overjoyed, and overwhelmed, the prophet acquiesced and so became the Seer. Strangely, it is said that the prophet did not request he become what the Twin's made him, but rather simply agreed as it was their wish.

He was faithful to them and their intentions even when his body had been laid to rest, such was his devotion. A man such as him is rare, they say.

However, while this story ends here, the Seer's legacy lives on in his followers. Who knows, maybe the prophet's hand shall yet make its mark on history.

The Seer: A minor god who has forsaken his name, the Seer can be considered lawful neutral in that he always seeks to maintain the balance of the mortal world and its inhabitants. Nonetheless, the seer advocates free will and choice very heavily, tending to guide its followers only subtly or when necessary. The Seer's realm of influence is that of understanding and knowledge of the greater picture, in this way he could be considered the God of Observation, Knowledge, and/or Understanding. The gifts this god can bestow are reserved for only the most devout of his followers, as any other is beyond his influence entirely. While the major gods can bestow a variety of gifts within a certain aspect, the Seer is only capable of bestowing three, one per individual, each being different from the last.

The gifts are referred to as follows: The Touch of Ether, Spirit's Light, and The Sight.

Gifts of the Seer

The Touch of Ether:
This gift is, more often than not, awarded to two devout followers who are wed, or have a child after they have proven their faith to the Seer. The Touch of Ether sacrifices the child's physical sight to instead allow them a more subtle vision. This vision allows them, instead of seeing the material world as other's do, the blessed one sees the magical energies and forces, which are typically beyond the scope of mortals. However, true to its name, the Touch of Ether has one other aspect to it; the gifted's sense of touch is linked to their sight and their magical acuity is greatly heightened.

This gives the bestowed a stronger connection to the flow of magical energy in the world, and an almost innate understanding of its nature. Still, while the bestowed is now able to perceive the flow of magic in the world, they are unable to accurately define the physical in any normal capacity and furthermore they can be taken by the thrall of magic if they are not careful. However, if properly managed, it can become quite a boon, often for the bestowed and Seer both.

Spirit's Light:
With the bestowed typically going mute because of this gift, it can sometimes be difficult to understand its nature. However, what Spirit's Light bestows on the chosen is rather intriguing for, simply put, it allows the individual to sense the realm of those who have passed on. The bestowed can communicate with the dead, and can also see the light of the living, a light which, in a rough sense, defines how much longer they may live. However, in return for thee sacrifice of their ability to communicate, the holder of the light has a unique alteration to their spirit, if you will. Much like a cleric, or healer, the light holder can heal others using what could be equated to divine energy. However, rather than it be truly divine, this essence comes from the holder's own spirit, much like a mage, but has been altered so that it closely resembles a divine light. To those who can sense magic, a holder will feel or look incredible overwhelming, no matter their build or talent.

However, in return, holders cannot wield any magic which is not defensive or healing in nature, with no exceptions. Furthermore, the holder is not allowed to take a life, and should they do so their gift will leave them, though their voice will never return. This punishment is given to stop the holder from abusing their abilities, as the light from their soul makes them impervious to most magic, and can easily make others favor them. It takes a very humble soul to earn the Spirit's Light, and a responsible one to properly wield it.

The Sight:
Remaining true to the Seer's aspect, the final gift he may bestow is very similar to the one that the ascended human possessed in life prior to his deification. The Sight, quite plainly, allows the bestowed to view the flow of time and the events transposed throughout it. This gift has a variety of possible manifestations though as with some they can only see very short distances into the future, whereas others can see very far into it, allowing for them to prophecize. Nonetheless, no view of the future is permanent as the variables involved are ever changing and in flux. So while they can see the future's possibilities, they have no innate way of knowing whether or not what they see will ever come to pass –though they can become more skilled at ordaining such, just as the Seer did in his time. The sacrifice for the Sight is the ability to access the flow of magic. Some who possess the full breadth of the gift cannot even engage in widespread social interaction, or conflict of any sort. However, many believe it is worth what they give up, for it furthers the Seer's purpose, and thus gives them fulfillment and peace in their own lives, and what more can a person wish for?

Character name: Arkaeis Zraimat.
Age: 28.
Mageblood type: Ancient.
Favoured Magic Class: Chantment.
Previous Magic training: Novice.
Race: Rheven-ari.
Full Appearance: Arkaeis stands at a generous 6 feet with his double jointed legs—a knee joint, and a secondary joint which reverses direction and leads to his ankles—fully extended. In a relaxed stance he is roughly 5'10.

Biography: Born on Midnight Island to the Zraimat family, Arkaeis was raised to be a mediator between the Shayahn and Vridurhi classes, not to mention the six other Shayahn families. As he grew, raised in the traditional way, Arkaeis learned of the deep intricacies of the mind, the psychology of his kind. This interested him greatly and early in his life he delved into the knowledge that his kind had stored on the subject. Not only did he study it, but he drowned himself in it. He began to absorb as much information as he possibly could. He was ravenous for it, as if knowledge were his sustenance and he had never been fed. At the age of sixteen he attended his first meeting, watching the proceedings and doing his best to pinpoint the best possible solutions. His father, Akain, was proud of his son's skills, but he was to be quite surprised when, quite rudely, the boy interrupted the meeting to give his take on it.

There was a time of stunned silence before the family representatives attending the Khriial Set began nodding their heads at the idea. It was a novel idea, not perfect, but nonetheless it helped them solve the issue and where his father had once been ready to scold, he was now just as ready to congratulate him. Arkaeis could not help but beam brightly for the rest of the meeting, which lasted at least fifteen more minutes.

He was proud of himself and the event lent him a new sense of confidence. It was the seed that grew into what would eventually become his resolute assured state of mind—banishing all self doubt from his mind. His experiences began to broaden as he witnessed Vanas Set and heard the ideas of the people along with the Set-reven. He began to notice the way that the Set-reven would sometimes fully embrace the voice of the people, and how other times they would only appear to do so.

It was a subtle form of manipulation, a form of manipulation that his family had become grandmasters to. He was learning and when he saw it he was able to tell when to intervene and when to simply make note. Sometimes the wishes of the masses would not benefit the masses, it was an odd concept, but he understood how it made sense. He knew it was his duty to discern between these where the Set-reven failed. He was the judge and they the ones on trial. A form of superiority, bordering on arrogance, began to grow on Arkaeis.

His father did not correct it, though he saw it coming to pass. Instead, he took his son to the next Hhay'en Ashar, where the boy made his own mistakes. In the middle of the meeting, once again, he made a suggestion, interrupting a member of the Elder council. Narrowed eyes looked upon him, and this time very few agreed with him, despite the intelligence behind his idea. While it did not cull his arrogance outright, it taught him that humbleness and patience were also necessary traits. It was around this time, at the age of 18 that he began to develop his persona.

The probabilities began to run in his mind, he would no longer have to rely purely on his conscious mind's ability to analyze situations. He would access these scenarios when needed, but they would always be there, running in the background while he worked. His daily life continuing, Arkaeis began to learn the cruel nature of the world, watching the families squabble amongst themselves for superiority, watching predators hunt their prey. He understood that this was how the world worked, that the strong preyed on the weak. However, what constituted strength, the young Reven wondered. Was it influence or skill with a blade? Or perhaps it was magic, which flowed through everyone's veins, regardless of their knowledge or skill.

Knowledge, no...it was knowledge. Intellect, for a strong brute was nothing compared to the one who controlled him, moving him strategically like a game of Chess. This appealed to him, and so Arkaeis continued his studies and as he did he found that many of his kin were beginning to show skill with magic. They had a myriad of Bloodlines, some Psychomancers, others Pyromancers. It was always intriguing to watch them play with the forces of nature.

He wondered if he were unlucky and simply had not inherited the talent. He studied magic, first all the bloodlines, for the Rheven-ari possessed their own College of magic, though it was limited to their kind. He attended several classes, but the intelligence of the professors never impressed him.

Nothing was new, and he could not practice any of the Bloodlines they taught. So, after much digging, Arkaeis finally turned to the Ancient magics. Finding the dusty old tomes buried in their vast archives, Arkaeis began to attempt runes, then weaving, and finally...Chantment. He discovered his abilities one night in a small empty chamber one night. A room carved out of the stone, it was seldom used and possessed only a single chair and table. He had been reading about Chantment and its rarity for quite a while. He had not seen any of his fellow Reven possess the talent and, slightly desperate to see if he had any Blood, for none of the other magics had responded to his call, he tried to do something simple: light a candle.

He chanted, keeping his voice low, but clear having memorized the phrase before he tried it. It went just so, “Accende lucernam linum coram me mensam ex calculo. De duobus digitis linum latet sub palma florebit. Hic ubi ignis apparuit.” While the Chant was not very effective, it was specific for he had read that inaccurate specification of a spell's location and properties could lead to disaster and injury.

Nonetheless, the spell worked, for the wick of the candle suddenly lit. His lips spread in a smile, and elation spread through him. Still, once he pulled his hand away from the candle, the fire went out. When he placed it over the candle once more by two inches it lit, but if his hand was any higher or any lower and nothing happened. The discovery intrigued him greatly, filling him with a sense of accomplishment despite the simple task.

It was this day that he knew he had to travel. For him to learn the ways of this magic he needed to know more than his home in Shayl Kharath would allow. So the very next day he revealed his discovered to his father and then told him of his plan.

The man did not approve, but nonetheless he knew that Arkaeis would find a way regardless. So he decided to support him. It took him several years of preparation for Arkain had no intention of sending his only son out into the world unprepared. As such his father continued the boy's training with a blade, which he'd started years before. Eventually the man even managed to obtain the Traveler's Blade, better known as Sesrale Maevrihn. Then, on the day of his 27th birthday he bid his son goodbye, and wished him success. Hopefully he would return with knowledge and experience that made it all worth it.

Arkaeis knew he would and for every day he traveled, after landing on the shore of the mainland, he grew. He encountered trouble here and there, but what was more important was the wealth of experience he gained. Even on his way to the College he saw the many races of Tiien, people he had only read about in books, and they intrigued him. They thought differently from his kind, though for the most part he was ignored or thought a human. This of course amused him and he entertained them, gradually understanding how their kind acted on a more intimate level. He continued to do this, learning the similarities and differences between the minds of the many races.

However, all the while he honed his craft, writing down each spell he formulated and constantly working to improve them. The more streamlined, but specific, a Chant was, the easier the spell was to cast, and the more effective it became. Oddly, despite his original feat in conjuring flame, his book allowed him to do little else for it was worn and old. Instead he took to the disciplines of Aeromancy and Psychomancy, the two which seemed most useful and best kept in the book. Psychomancy in particular interested him and he pored over it, sometimes losing sleep, but not all too often.

Eventually, after a year or so, some wandering, and some beeline towards his destination, Arkaeis would find himself near Leaper's Plateau, only several hours from the College's lofty halls. While excited he had long learned to keep cool his nerves. He did not want to find himself distracted due to fickle emotion. Things would be changing soon, and he knew it.

He knew he was destined for great things, but he wasn't yet sure exactly what those things were.

He'd find out soon enough.

Personality: Enigmatic, veiled in mystery and pleasant in his mannerisms, Arkaeis is a rather cunning individual. While on the outside he appears a near perfect gentleman of high intellect and enigmatic interests, within he is darker, colder, and far more manipulative. Long has he toiled to perfect himself and in his own mind he has succeeded, literally. In this way Arkaeis is entirely confident in himself in all things, even those that he has little talent for. He is unshakable in his own way and on many levels will resist the ploys of others, be they intentional or otherwise. Thus to others he appears a man entirely abhorrent of manipulation and deceit, of course that is only if you know him on an incredibly basic level, for in truth Arkaeis is in fact quite deceitful to all around him. It is a marvel that no one, and that is said with absoluteness, has realized his trickery. For to others he is kind, reliable and honest. Intelligent yes, and definitely more than a little eccentric, but otherwise harmless unless provoked.

Of course, when provoked, Arkaeis does not always appear so on first observation. Instead, he appears either more amused by proceedings or incredibly, horribly bored. This stems from his rather strange rage, which is not easily roused from its slumber in his soul. In fact, those who know Arkaeis very well often say that despite having seen him angry, they always got the sense that he was still entirely in control the entire time. This is frighteningly true and brings with it many implications. First among these is that despite his emotional state, Arkaeis remains entirely in control of his actions even if such does not appear to be the case. Second is the startling realization one gains when they come to know that not only is Arkaeis in control at all times, but that he can rouse any desired mind state or emotion entirely on command. This lends to the fact that all who know Arkaeis understand how great his self control is, even if not to what extent.

When it comes to matters of friend, foe, and family Arkaeis is very particular with how he deals with people. When it comes to family, they are both priceless, and expendable, or rather they are perfect tools for his machinations. When it comes to friends Arkaeis appears incredibly loyal and helpful to near perfection. However, in the end it is almost surely a ruse for he lets so very few into his heart
.
While he is cold, it is difficult for one to truly understand just how much until they have seen him unrestrained against his enemy. Thus it can be seen that in battle Arkaeis only enjoys himself when he needs not utilize the entirety of his deadly arsenal of skills. Otherwise he tends to find himself annoyed by the fact that he must consider his enemy an equal. This reveals another of Arkaeis's vices, something that few know unless they delve deep into his true persona. In short, Arkaeis is prideful and a measure arrogant as he believes that none truly surpasses his majesty. However, it is not in the skills of the body that he believes himself entirely superior, no, it is in the realms of the mind that he so places himself. In a sense, he is not entirely wrong. A fact that, should any discover his true nature en full, would frighten most, not that they would survive long to tell their tell...after all, the others didn't.

Good Attributes: Enigmatic, Charismatic, Intelligent, and Gentlemanly first and foremost. He is pragmatic and cautious as well.

Bad Attributes: Curiosity is likely his biggest flaw as can be amusement. While not easily angered, Arkaeis' temper can lead to a dangerously cruel and chilled side of his personality. He is also manipulative, though it is not immediately apparent.

Clothing and Belongings

Beyond what he wears in his reference, Arkaeis also keeps, or wears, a warm cloak, with a hood. This cloak is waterproof on the outer surface and is a mixture of soft cloth on the inner surface, with heavier (but warmer) wool and the like stuffed within. The cloak is a neutral brownish gray so as to make him inconspicuous. It is long and tends to conceal his feet and legs. Beyond this, Arkaeis carries a matching brown satchel, which he carries slung over one shoulder and crossing down over his body where it rests at his hip. This satchel carries several tools, unscented soap, and two books. One of these books is a spell tome in which he writes the Chants he has worked out. The second book contains the words of the Chanter's Tongue, though it is a worn out heirloom, with several missing pages and some text which is illegible. He also wears a pack, in which he primarily stores provisions for his travels. He does not keep his coin on an item separate from his person, instead wearing a small necklace pouch which lies concealed beneath his garb at all times unless in use.

Armor and Weaponry

While he possesses, nor wears, much of either, Arkaeis does keep with him a few notable items. In particular, the Reven conceals several sets of concealed bracers beneath his clothing. They are made from steel and are equipped to his forearms and surrounding his shins. The shin guards are something like cylindrical bracers with a cloth inner portion and a metal outer one. In the way of armor he wears little more.

When it comes to weaponry, Arkaeis wears only two daggers, and a single very light blade. One of the daggers is a hunting dagger, designed for big and small game. It is what he uses to carve meat out if he must hunt. It is reserved only for animals and he will seldom use it for anything else. The second dagger is for combat purposes, and he keeps it out of sight at all times, so that any adversary he might come across would never know it existed to begin with.

Last among his weapons is his sword, which is an odd thing. The weapon is disguised as a thick walking stick. The sheath, hilt, and handle of this blade are crafted of iron would, which is seamlessly carved to appear like a simple walking stick with a slight cross-like portion just above where Arkaeis holds it. The blade is precisely four and a half feet in length and composed of crummite, which naturally occurs in the mines on Midnight Island. The blade was wrought by several master geomancers in tangent with a master carver and herbamancer. The blade is typically given to prestigious members of Rheven-ari society who venture out into the world. The blade is particularly heavy due to the materials that compose its form. The blade has survived many trips in many different Reven hands and for now it belongs to Arkaeis.

Magical Talents: When it comes to magic, Arkaeis' knowledge is more plentiful than his experience and while he is a very fast learner he is but a novice when it comes to skill. As a mage of Ancient magic, specifically Chantment, he has attempted spells, but found little success. Nonetheless he has some aeromantic ability, though it is weak at best. He also possesses a single spell related to the geomancy Blood, which allows him to decrease the weight of his blade.

Physical Talents: Arkaeis has become hardy from his travels and obtained a high amount of stamina however, he is not particularly strong in the physical field.—insteading making up for it with grace and finesse. His lower body is far more developed than his arms and torso, allowing him to deliver kicks that could break ribs due to the natural strength of a Reven's legs. He can jump considerably higher than a human and is incredibly fast and agile. His reflexes are quick and his senses sharp. Beyond this he has the natural syneshesia of all Shayahn Reven. His synesthesia is a connection of sound and sight, allowing him to see colors related with sounds. Different sounds have different colors, and he has noticed that different races, and even animals, seem to have unique shades of these colors. He finds this very intriguing and has even begun to note how emotion affects the voice when it is portrayed through such a medium. Beyond this, Arkaeis has picked up meager hunting skills, allowing him to move silently even in forests to wait to ambush his prey. He has near master skill in swordsmanship allowing him a distinct advantage in combat.

Mental Structure/Talent: As a member of the Zraimat family, Arkaeis has been sculpted from birth to be an arbitrator, and oddly by extension, a master of manipulation. It should be noted that while the full description of his mind is complex, that he works on essentially three layers. The top most later known as the Facade, the middle layer known as the Bridge, and the innermost layer known as the Core. Anyways, without further ado, the structure of Arkaeis' psyche:


When it comes to his mental talents, Arkaeis is incredibly good at multitasking and has an almost eidetic memory, allowing him to recall almost anything he's experienced to a fault—aside from his infant years or time unconscious of course. Nonetheless, his memory is not perfect and he is capable of forgetting or not noticing certain details. His attention to his senses is exceptional allowing for him to be aware of the input from all of his senses, including the abnormal input of his synesthesia. While he cannot block out pain, he can dull it somewhat and knows how to quickly induce a heightened awareness through a breathing technique, allowing him to release a mixture of endorphins and adrenaline. He is not aware of the chemicals, but is aware of the sensations that this slow breathing technique allows him to induce. The highest of his abilities is his analytical prowess, allowing him to discern a great deal from any given situation. This also makes him a very fast learner. Beyond this Arkaeis is attuned to the workings of his body, allowing for precise movements despite his limited physical strength.

Secret Word: Rebirth.

Moniker/Known Name: Cain Vareis.
Real Name: Zume Tatasuko.
Alias: The Unseen Hand.
Age: 236.a
Species: Unknown Chimeric Class.
Relations:





Appearance: Zume’s human body tends to wear long sleeved dress shirts, blue, black and white being their typical colors. Additionally, he always wears at least two rings, though he owns three. Along with these he wears grayish blue jeans with a black belt—bearing various designs in gold hues upon its surface. These are his first, second, and third rings. Here are his first and second favorite shirts. He wears these dress shoes/boots. He stands at the height of 5'9 making him fairly average in his stance.

General Activity – Chessmaster and Professor: Zume works behind the scenes for the most part, using his myriad connections, unique abilities, and the advantage of being thought dead to accomplish a great deal. When he can manage it, Zume teaches a history class at the Academy. Most know him by his moniker, CainVareis, though some know his true name. At the Academy he is known as an intelligent, but kind individual. He sometimes even acts as an additional guidance councilor for the students, helping where he can and even tutoring when he has the time. His reputation is thus very good despite his short 2 years at the Academy in which he was teaching on and off allegedly due to illness.

In the outside world he is only known as ‘The Unseen,’ or “The Unseen Hand,” and is a feared individual infamous for his exploits. His abilities and skills are veiled in mystery and so very few can truly give any accurate account of why he is so feared, nonetheless that is simply how it is and he prefers to keep it that way…at least for now.

Personality: Enigmatic, veiled in mystery and pleasant in his mannerisms, Zume is a rather cunning individual. While on the outside he appears a near perfect gentleman of high intellect and enigmatic interests, within he is darker, colder, and far more manipulative. Long has he toiled to perfect himself and in his own mind he has succeeded, literally. In this way Zume is entirely confident in himself in all things, even those that he has little talent for. He is unshakable in his own way and on many levels will resist the ploys of others, be they intentional or otherwise. Thus to others he appears a man entirely abhorrent of manipulation and deceit, of course that is only if you know him on an incredibly basic level, for in truth Zume is in fact quite deceitful to all around him. It is a marvel that no one, and that is said with absoluteness, has realized his trickery. For to others he is kind, reliable and honest, though perhaps far more intelligent than the average man ought to be. Then again, he is far from an average man.

Of course, when provoked, Zume does not always appear so on first observation. Instead, he appears either more amused by proceedings or incredibly, horribly bored. This stems from his rather strange rage, which is not easily roused from its slumber in his soul. In fact, those who know Zume very well often say that despite having seen him angry, they always got the sense that he was still entirely in control the entire time. This is frighteningly true and brings with it many implications. First among these is that despite his emotional state, Zume remains entirely in control of his actions even if such does not appear to be the case. Second is the startling realization one gains when they come to know that not only is Zume in control at all times, but that he can rouse any desired mind state or emotion entirely on command. This lends to the fact that all who know Zume understand how great his self-control is, even if not to what extent.

When it comes to matters of friend, foe, and family Zume is very particular with how he deals with people. When it comes to family, they are both priceless, and expendable, or rather they are perfect tools for his machinations. When it comes to friends Zume appears incredibly loyal and helpful to near perfection. However, in the end it is almost surely a ruse for he lets so very few into his heart.

While he is cold, it is difficult for one to truly understand just how much until they have seen him unrestrained against his enemy. Thus it can be seen that in battle Zume only enjoys himself when he needs not utilize the entirety of his deadly arsenal of skills. Otherwise he tends to find himself annoyed by the fact that he must consider his enemy an equal. This reveals another of Zume's vices, something that few know unless they delve deep into his true persona. In short, Zume is prideful and a measure arrogant as he believes that none truly surpasses his majesty. However, it is not in the skills of the body that he believes himself entirely superior, no; it is in the realms of the mind that he so places himself. In a sense, he is not entirely wrong. A fact that, should any discover his true nature en full, would frighten most, not that they would survive long to tell their tell...after all, the others didn't.

Biography: Born into the middle class, Zume’s life was full of struggle in its beginning years. Forced to overcome great odds, Zume managed to ward off not only mental illness, but to pass with astounding grades in both High School and College. While his bizarre mind would trouble and benefit him for years to come, the boy had managed to distance himself from any friends he might have made. Such was the troublesome nature of skipping five full grades. However, while this may have seemed impressed, he was initially held back for two. In those two held back years, the boy dove head first onto the bridge, which overlooked the canyon of insanity and managed to come out on the other side almost entirely intact.

With his life before him, the boy began his research at the age of twelve, searching for cures for Essence related mental illnesses such as his own. However, something seemed to keep him from successful remedies. Eventually, hoping that somehow it would help, he sought out a clairvoyant angel. It was here that his fate would be changed.

In mere weeks after hearing the clairvoyant’s words he made headway in his research, namely by recalling key portions of the prophecy. As he became more prestigious, his name found itself in several scientific journals. Gradually other less upstanding individuals took notice of his accomplishments. The years ticked on and at the age of 21 he hit another block. This time he could not solve it, not on his own. The verses of the prophecy seemed to push him in the direction of someone else.

Sadly, he did not know this individual at the time. However, he did know that he had to find “the bleeding hand of Athriohm,” whatever that meant. Curious, he began to do in depth research till he began to uncover an organization called the Anriohm, which was devoted to the teachings of a man named Athriohm. Perhaps he would find his answers with them; the only problem was that they gave no information to outsiders. To find anything out he’d have to enter their midst. So, despite his guardian angel, Chrisia Vrivich’s complaints, he did.

Hiding Vrivich elsewhere, the young man begins his search for a master among their ranks. He, at first, studied under a well-known master, but the man died unexpectedly 6 years afterwards, making it necessary for the order to assign him a new teacher. Thus he came to be under a man named Alistair’s wing, a man who would become a man of another name. He was not disappointed. Trained by the man for 6 years, wherein he watched Alistair turn from a kind man to a haunted shell the young man manages to gain normal mastery of the Art. However, as he turns 33 his jaded and somewhat angry master, now his close friend, informs him to the full extent of his plans.

Now indebted to him, Zume agrees to help and with the grudging assistance of his guardian angel and his genius plan, the former apprentice manages to fake his master’s death. While the Masters could not pin him as the murderer, his affiliation with Chrisiar is discovered and so he is stripped of his magic’s, his ability to mold essence sealed for life and his voice barred from uttering the ancient magic’s knowledge.

Undeterred by his newfound limitations, Zume trudged on, his knowledge of the Art and its workings quite intact. Soon after he reunites with Alistair, who he promptly began assisting once more, his intention to heed the words of the angel he had met so many years ago.

So the two worked towards Alistair’s goal, with Zume gaining new insight on his own theories while the two toiled. While he could no longer assist his former master in the execution of the Art itself, he knew some aspects of it that even his master had not thought of. However, as they neared the project’s completion Zume realized that his time with Alistair was at an end. Furthermore, he could not allow the hate driven man his quietus, so, the night before the final operation, Zume freed Isaac.

Not at all surprised when his friend turned on him in rage, Zume soon found himself upon the dirt, where Alistair quickly disposed of his remains, burning the vessel he had once inhabited to ash. However, as he had planned, he had not died—his soul remained bound to that of Chrisia’s. Yet again his own tampering and the dutiful service of his guardian angel saved him.

By this time the tyrant, Judas Iscariot, and his regime were defeated thus freeing the world’s Essence from the clutches of darkness. The world began to drift into peace as even the Lord of Chaos withdrew from surface. However Zume worked, his mind warped from being out of body for so long, and began to alter further his newfound nature. He sculpted his soul, and the soul of his anchor forcing the angel through a sudden regression of lives.

Thus he obtained the body of an archangel, though Chrisia’s mind had been broken. Luckily, being a man of great foresight, he had imprinted Chrisia’s consciousness in his own soul. Over the next 25 years he reintegrated the angel’s consciousness back into its vessel till finally he had his faithful companion once more. However, it was not merely by his hands that he’d worked such a miracle; it was only with the assistance of a demon named Aeriqi that he succeeded. In the coming years, he too would find himself under the hand of Zume, who fully intended to gain for himself the finesse of a demon’s magic.

Another month and he had altered the magic necessary for the process, having derived such from his alteration of Chrisia’s bond. Now he’d be creating a new one, but this time with Aeriqi. In short it succeeded, yet still he was not done, so he spent several years researching the intricacies of racial essence as well as those of chimeric essence. Coming to a conclusion, he devised an ingenious algorithm and within the space of 2 years succeeded fully in its implementation.

He became a chimera, but not of the normal brand, no instead he was a strange mixture of all three classifications. He was artificial for he and his two anchors still existed as separate consciousness, yet he was natural for all their traits were blended in his own body. Still he was communal, as all three bodies existed and the traits of the three races channeled between them easily. The only form of chimera that he wasn’t was the collective form.

Sated for a time, but not for long enough, Zume began research into another set of subjects. With three pairs of eyes with which to do research and time a plenty, he managed to obtain a vast quantity of knowledge. In his studies he came to realize the existence of a fragment of Hell’s fallen gate. For it appeared that while Hazumi had taken much of Hell’s gate and its gatekeeper, Melody, into herself, some of the edifice and its guardian still remained.

Traveling quickly to the site of the fallen gateway, Zume was not disappointed, for at the very edges of the place his now honed senses detected an ancient power. His soul departing the three of his vessels for further investigation, Zume found a large fragment of the gateway still intact. Quickly he devised a method with which to transport it, and so it was procured and relocated for his purposes.

In the space of 32 years he molded the gate fragment’s essence into a new form, binding it to his own soul, but not allowing himself to be pulled into it. In 24 more years he both finished and mastered the newly forged tool, which he dubbed Chinmoku shouka(Silenced song). The tool became a permanent part of his arsenal and while his plans had long since begun, now they truly began to take root.

With the appearance of an up and coming demon, one who called himself Crow, Zume began to sow the seeds which would come to bear the fruits of his long labors. So Crow, through his own genius, and Zume’s subtle assistance, rose to prominence. The demon never forgot the man, and the two remain good friends to this day, though Crow remains uncertain of his friend’s true nature.

Thus Zume continues to extend his influence. Little does his former master realize that his pupil has been watching all along, waiting to see if the man’s work meets success. In fact, aside from Alistair, he is the only one who truly knows the extent of their work on Isaac’s line. It will be interesting to see how Olivia and Emmet progress—Zume figures things will go just fine.

After all, his eyes are no longer bound by mortal constraints, so who knows what he can see.

Chinmoku shouka(Silenced song): A tool forged from the shard of a fallen guardian and its erstwhile charge, Chinmoku shouka is a tool of rare power. Possessing all the faculties of a musician’s instrument, and the malleable nature of the world’s Essence, this tool takes several notable shapes. Typically laid bare on its master’s primary vessel, this molded shard takes the physical shape of a shining obsidian medallion. Encrusted with twelve sigils of ornate and adept make, this artifact’s purpose is to gift Zume with empathic ability. In this shape Chinmoku’s abilities are sparing, and merely allow its master to read into the emotions of those around him. The medallion’s only notable feature is its unearthly glow, for it shines like a metal and crystal both, light refracting through and off of it in a bizarre manner. The light, which catches it, is diffused in the space directly surrounding its form, a trait controlled by Zume himself. Should he will it the light would be unrestrained and its unnatural majesty unveiled to all.

Its second guise taken, the shard’s woven essence becomes not only tool, but weapon as well. In this form Chinmoku takes the shape of a blade, its surface black, ‘cept a line of white down the length of its blade and small diamond shaped spaces in the wrapping of its handle. The hilt is largely white as well, leaving a strong contrast between the weapon’s two colors. In this shape Chinmoku is a catalyst of Zume’s power, amplifying and channeling it as an extension of his being—for it has been molded to be. In this state Chinmoku’s power is likely at its most destructive, though it can be equally as subtle.

Chinmoku’s third shape is not a shape at all, for the shard’s form physically vanishes, returning to Zume’s body where it is assimilated once more. In this state Chinmoku’s power is at its purest, allowing the shard to reveal its true nature. For while Chinmoku has three forms, these are not its sole states. The shard is truly composed of an amalgam of strictly focused soul, and aura, essences. The essence, which makes it up, has been divvied into 221 defined energetic patterns that its master has strict control over. The movement of each energy system alters the shape and manifested abilities of Chinmoku making it a truly varied instrument. Thus, with slight modifications each of Chinmoku shouka’s forms can be altered in shape, or function to varied effect. However, likely the scariest of the shard’s traits is its inverted nature, for while it is indeed composed of essence, it is composed of near primeval energies. It is unmistakably pure and by this virtue it is given a variety of traits. These traits are listed elsewhere.

It should be noted that Zume keeps a limited supply of this energy within Chinmoku, replenishing it whenever possible.

Physical Capabilities: Zume, due to his unique circumstances, is capable of controlling essentially all of his vessel’s bodily functions. He can even dull his perception of pain without becoming entirely unable to detect the damage his body takes. In terms of learned abilities, Zume is a skilled swordsman and marksman. While he does not carry an actual gun, Chinmoku Shouka is capable of turning into one. His senses are far sharper than any normal human’s allowing him to detect pheromones, and notice unconscious body language or the tensing of a muscle.

He can detect things that would not normally possess a noticeable scent as well as being able to detect far off sounds—though the nature of his enhanced hearing is more magical than physical in nature. Additionally, while he is not an incredibly skilled martial combatant in any definitive style of martial art, he has developed something of his own sword style, which remains nameless. He has done a great deal of study of both the body and martial arts, allowing him to ascertain an individual’s style and how best to counter it—though he is not of course able to perfectly predict such. Zume’s speed is beyond the peak human levels.

The rest of his physical traits are fairly normal barring the precision with which his body moves. Because of his training and insane level of physical control he walks with an almost eerie grace, his feet making little sound, and his gait appearing unearthly to look upon. All his movements are strangely beautiful and precise making him something of an enigma even during every day tasks. Lastly, due to his telekinesis, Zume is capable of ceasing the bleeding within his body and mitigating damage. However, his human body does not have a notably faster regeneration rate and thus is not able to sustain damage that would normally kill a human without medical attention or arcane healing.

Mental Capabilities: While a genius even when bound by the restraints of mortality, Zume’s mental abilities have since blossomed beyond the dreams of any human. His psyche sculpted through magic and willpower both, Zume’s mind has become something far from human, and utterly unrecognizable to those who dare to touch its vast and complex scape. While Zume can be defeated in both magical and physical arenas, though it be difficult to achieve, his abilities in the psychic and mental realm are almost without rival.

While the depths of his mind shall be properly explain, the barest of explanations follows. The top most layer of his mind is known as the Facade, the middle layer known as the Bridge, and the innermost layer known as the Core. These are the three essential levels of association and the deeper one gets, the more meaningful they are to him.

Nonetheless, here is laid out the majesty of Zume’s mind.


Due to the nature of his mind and its lack of physical restriction, Zume is capable of a great many things, not the least of which is psychic combat. He is entirely capable of weaving elaborate illusions in the minds of others, intruding in another’s mind telepathically, and even manipulating their very emotions. His abilities to effect emotions are however not his own, and can be attributed to Chinmoku, with which he has merged. Nonetheless, Zume’s mental talents include an eidetic memory, astounding multitasking and complete awareness of his physical vessel(s). Most notable of his abilities are his psychic talents, which while mentioned must be properly explained elsewhere.

Last to note is his extensive base of knowledge, which extends from the workings of essence, to the soul, and back throughout the fields of science. In his 236 years he has become a biologist, a psychologist, a historian, and even a medical scientist. Simply put his knowledge is decidedly vast and would be difficult to document properly, thus the rest shall be left to the imagination.

Magical Capabilities: First and foremost of Zume’s magical talents is his Psionic Mastery, which allows him a variety of unique talents. Firstly he is granted the ability to defend his mind from psychic attack, and in some ways, illusion. He can enter the offensive as well, projecting his consciousness, or even imposing his very soul upon others. This gives him the unique ability, allowed by his lack of physical restriction, to possess others, regardless of their race. However, the more powerful the being, the more difficult it is for him to possess them. He can only possess the averagely willed human or demon. Angels have a unique advantage, as the essence of their soul is especially resolute, making it difficult for him to dominate their mind and commandeer its vessel. Additionally, dominating the mind of a being of warden level power or above is exceedingly difficult. Oddly, the minds of musicians are difficult as well, their instrument’s worldly Essence seeming to shield them in part from his insidious mind—nonetheless; they remain vulnerable to his psychic intrusion, though immune to his possession.

Likely the most used, and only physical aspect of his psionic abilities is Zume’s telekinesis. Explaining his control of the ability is simple, he can lift objects as heavy as the average minivan, and he can manipulate both subtle energies and physical forces. His concentration is paramount to the use of this ability and while he does not expend essence in the same was as others, he is taxed nonetheless. It should be noted that while Zume can telekinetically manipulate essence, he is unable to exude aura essence himself, making this his most viable method of countering magic of any kind.

Next in his list of traits is his Soul Sight, an ability which allows him to see the essence make up of an individual’s soul. This allows him to detect individuals easily within the range of three miles. However, outside of this range he cannot see properly unless there are few people nearby as otherwise their souls collectively outshine the one he is attempting to track. The other ability that this sensory allows is for him to sense the physical, mental, and emotional state of those nearby should he choose to. He can identify race, even that of a chimera, easily and can discern the damage done to a body by the types of distress experienced by the consciousness within such. The size of a soul generally dictates the amount of aural essence that an individual will possess, but is not a hard indicator of their power or potential. While he can see the many nuances of souls, Zume is paradoxically unable to see aural essence at all. He can vaguely sense its use and he can detect spikes in magical use, but he cannot analyze it as a Practitioner of the Art, or a demon could.

Last among his magical skills is the Bond of union, which is a shared ability of he and his two primary anchors, Chisia and Aeriq. This is both a weakness and strength for him, as if both are destroyed and his own vessel killed Zume will be unable to hold onto this world and his soul will return to the Kūhaku, where it belongs. However, if his vessel is destroyed his soul will remain bound to reality through his two allies, allowing him to take residence in one of their bodies till he locates his own. Additionally, Zume is capable of traversing without his body, traveling with merely his spirit body to survey locations and ascertain details of a situation. Additionally, this means that the three share their abilities, allowing them to divvy power as needed between them, though each vessel has its own specialization. Last of all is their collective ability to communicate telepathically or empathically over great distances and when together, synchronize their minds for maximum affectivity. If Chrisia or Aeriq dies before Zume they are saved in the same way that he would be till he can obtain for them a new vessel and recreate the chain.