James Hartnet
"I'm not mad, I'm completely pissed. The masked prick's a dead man."
Full Name: James Ashe-Hartnet, Hartnet is his preferred name.
Gender: Male
Age: 19
Height/Weight: 177.8cm/68kg
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Master of: Archer (probably)
Personality: If you asked people to describe James's personality it could vary quite differently. If you asked a stranger, or someone that didn't know him well, they could summarise him in three words: Aggressive, Heartless Asshole. A friend or family member might say he has a good heart but a misguided morals. His girlfriend, assuming you could get her to speak to you, would say he's a sweet, loving boyfriend with a hard shell around him. His enemies? To them, he may as well be Lucifer Incarnate.
Externally, James is a cold and uncaring man. Little fazes him, and he feels no pity, remorse or empathy of any kind towards the people around him. He only ever acts with his own interests in mind, no matter how it may affect others. While not openly spiteful or malevolent, he can easily perform cruel acts for self-gain and will not hesitate to meet opposition with equal or excessive force. This, however, is offset by the care he shows for people he has learned to trust, such as close friends and family. He will, should it not provide too inconvenient, try to help out with problems and defend them from trouble as one would expect from family. His girlfriend of 4 years, however, is a special case even amongst those he cares about. He values her above even his own well-being and will do whatever it takes to keep her safe and cared for, no matter how difficult or demeaning, and will never forgive those that harm her. It's for this reason that he agreed to take part in this war, and its for her that he fights.
Background: James has a colourful history both in and outside of the Magus community. Born to an unmarried couple, his father Kyle Ashe was an American ex-marine heavily involved with gang culture across the US, while his mother Marianne Hartnet was a young British Magus visiting family within the states. After a few nights of poorly thought-out passion, he was conceived and his mother, in shame, fled back home to give birth. He was born in Kent, where he as raised until he was three. His father, having finally discovered the birth of his son, fought for custody and, as such, James was forced to constantly travel back and forth between his parents. This hectic and broken upbringing left him with a harsh, unfeeling personality but also garnered a unique opportunity for new skills. In between his regular schooling, he learned Magecraft from his mother and the skills of being on the wrong side of the law by his father. By aged 14, he was both a reasonably competent Magus and a part-time Criminal with both the scars and tattoos to prove it. He could steal a car or fire a gun as well as he could fire off a bolt of flame or reinforce his body, the former of which put a strain on the relationship with his mother.
It wasn't until his enrolment into the Clocktower that he received a semblance of stable education, even if it was of the Magecraft kind. His time with his father fell to a few weeks over the course of the year, and he spent a large amount of his time focussing on his studies to avoid the strained relationship between him and his mother. It was here that he unfortunately came under the tutelage of one Lord Professor Arieh Ayondale. The Professor was quick to mock and belittle him over his split heritage and less-than-stellar background, his above average magical prowess not enough to save him from the man's spite. He was able to keep his temper in check, however, due to the assistance of his classmate, Amelia Frost. A talented and skilled mage aligned with water and wind, she was eager to befriend James and the pair became very close. Over the course of the first year, they spent a lot of time together and fell in love. This continued on over the course of their time at the Clocktower, Amelia helping James with his Magecraft and keeping his temper in check, and James providing whatever assistance he could to her as she wrote her thesis on unconventional magecraft.
The turning point, however, was when Ayondale showed his true colours and stole Amelia's thesis and published it under his own name, fraudulently claiming years of work as his own. Amelia, while trying to hide it from James, fought against him and tried to have him exposed, but it all came down to her word verses his and her claims were ultimately dismissed. As revenge, Ayondale used every resource available to snuff her out. He ruined her reputation, credibility and academic career, labelling her as a fraud and outcasting her from the reputable Magus community. The shock, pain and betrayal caused her to retreat inwards, becoming reclusive and isolated. She barely spoke to anyone outside of her family, and when James found out, he was livid. He confronted the Professor in his classroom, and the resulting conflict destroyed much of the room, as well as years of stolen work on Ayondale's end. The blame ultimately fell onto James's head and he was severely punished, only narrowly avoiding complete expulsion by a hair's breadth. When the 'french kid' contacted him with an opportunity for revenge like none other, he jumped at the chance.
Origin: Dispel
Element: Void, Fire
School of Magecraft: Transfer/Flow of Power, Material Transmutation, Elemental Magecraft
List of Skills/Spells:
Armis - An active counter to projectile spells, it forms a 1x2m shield of Mana that disperses the Magical energy within any spell that strikes it. Costs 2 Units per second to maintain, plus half the cost of the spell that strikes it. Should a spell more powerful than James's reserves strike the shield, it will collapse but no damage from the spell will be incurred to James.
Reinforcement - Self-explanatory. Unit cost dependant on size, with hand-portable objects costing 2 units and larger objects like vehicles costing 6 units.
Alteration - Allows him to grant a physical object within reach the ability to channel his Origin and disperse Mana like Armis, while also having a physical presence in which to strike solid objects. Costs 6 units, and object must be in contact with large enough quantity his blood.
Fire Strike - up to 4 Flaming spears form and fly forward in a straight line, exploding on contact with a solid object. Faster than a fireball, but with less destructive power (comparable to a hand grenade). Costs 10 Units per spear.
Fire Blast - up to 4 Missiles of fire form and fly in a straight line at a slower speed, but with greater destructive force than Fire Strike (comparable to a satchel charge). Costs 10 Units per missile.
Combustion - Similar in practice to Reinforcement, the Mana spreads throughout a target but instead of strengthening the object, instead bursts into flames and explodes. Costs 10 Units.
Mystic Codes: Mana Zero - A highly offensive Mystic Code formed from vast magical manipulation of an
L115A3 Sniper Rifle, acquired through black-market connections and modified using James' own ribs. Using a vast and complicated mix of Magecraft, the rifle functions by drawing Mana from the world around it as opposed to the user's Od and forming a magical phenomena in the shape of a 'magic bullet', using James' Origin as a template. The 'bullet' has no physical presence but functions like an overpowered Finn-shot, causing physical damage comparable to sniper's bullet and also works in a way that effects the Magical energy surrounding the area it impacts once leaving the barrel of the Mystic Code. Should it hit a target formed of, like a Bounded Field or containing Magical Energy, like a Magus's Magical Circuits, the Magical Energy within would be dispelled back into formless magical energy, collapsing the Bounded Field and draining the Magus's Od Supply. The Bounded Field would then need to be re-constructed and the Magus would need to replenish their magic reserves. The Mystic Code can fired like a traditional firearm, but the modified components are fragile and would need to be replaced with the regular, unmodified components first, which is time consuming and renders the Mystic Code useless. It is also effective against weaker spiritual bodies, like Wraiths and spiritual bodies summoned by low-ranked Phantasms, but ineffective against Spirits as powerful as Servants, and any Noble Phantasms that take a physical form as weapons or armour etc. It also has runes engraved into the scope, allowing for it to distinguish sources of Magical energy from great distances, appearing as flame-like light relative to the strength of the Mana of the target, with low-tier mages showing as small, bowling-ball sized lights and high tiers as bonfires or roman candles.
Circuit Quality: A
Circuit Quantity: C
Number of circuits: 50, with 5 Stubs Each (Just a guess, clarification needed)
Od (units): 140
Maximum circuit capacity: 210
Other:
Although not a heavy smoker, he always has an engraved black flip-lighter and a pack of Black cigarettes, which he smokes during times of particular stress or after significant events.
He has considerable amounts of practice in almost all schools of German Fencing (a hobby his mother introduced to him in an attempt to give him an outlet for his aggression) so, although he doesn't carry one, he has considerable skill with western swords of most types.
Although no-one but his girlfriend has ever heard him play, he is good on both piano and guitar, a fact he will always deny.