"Look, I'm just here for the paycheck, so don't try to get all chummy."
The Basics
NameArgus
Nickname/AliasThe Trickster
Age19
Gender Male
RankB+
Physique Argus is a lean, somewhat scrawny kid with an alright look about him. He's the type that doesn't really leave an impression on most, the sort that tends to fade into the background when crowds form. He's a bit of a looker, but not terribly so, and the fact that he can tend to be a little grimy or unkempt in his appearance certainly doesn't help. his clothes are average, if tending towards darker colors, though his work attire tends to be more practical, usually just some pieces of leather armor on top of more sturdy travel wear to provide some layer of protection.
His eyes, however, are rather interesting due to the fact that they don't really seem to react to light. No matter how the lightning in an area shift, they remain the same dull red color coloration, sometimes even appearing to glow in the dark. Along with that, his shoulders are covered in strange tattoo-like markings that form small circles on either side of them, though few people really notice them due to what he usually wears. One thing that he often keeps covered at all times is his chest, as over his heart he sports a jagged stretch of rough, red flesh that spreads out over most of the right side of his torso.
The Persona
Personality Argus is, in no uncertain terms, a trickster and a delinquent that enjoys getting over on others, pissing people off, and generally getting away with all of it without the poor saps he's tortured being having a clue who was behind their misfortunes. While never truly malicious, it's rare to find the red-haired mage not up to some scheme to wreak mayhem for his own amusement. As a result of his constant pranks, Argus has grown quite adept at thinking outside of the box when it comes to both problem solving and combat as he flys through most situations on only 30% planning and 90% improvisation(he's still kinda weak in academics tho.)
His tricks are, in most part, a coping mechanism. he laughs because his sister loves to laugh, and he laughs because it helps him forget what kind of life he used to live. Life is simply a lot easier to deal with when you don't take it seriously, so he chooses not to.
Another facet of Argus's personality, however, is that despite being rather jovial and seemingly light-hearted, he keeps a firm amount of distance between himself and others in a guild. In fact, Argus seems innately distrustful of guilds and the mages in then as a rule and often cites how he only joined Dragon Heart for the money whenever he's questioned on why he even joined in the first place. The only person he really opens up to would be his older sister, Juno, whose well being is something he's completely devoted to, as well as finding a cure to the illness that has plagued her since they were young.
LikesTricks
Pranks
His sister Juno
Chocolate
Kids
Cooking
Tinkering
Cleaning
DislikesMagic
Mages, especially the more reckless/power hungry kind
His eyes
Mirrors
Being alone
Greedy People
Anyone trying to mess with his sister
FearsGenerally, Argus isn't a big fan of the dark or enclosed spaces, and anything that seems even remotely haunted is something he'd give a hard pass.
More seriously, Argus fears for his sister's health and well-being as she is quite literally the only reason he keeps on going. If anything were to happen to her . . . .Argus would be beyond lost.
Brief BioArgus was once a member of a Dark Guild known as Hydra's Coil, though it was a life he and his sister were born into rather than chose, as their parents were members of it. His sister often told him that Hydra's Coil used to be a legal guild, but when the guildmaster and some of the higher ranking members in the guild were caught taking illegal requests like assassination and theft targeting other guilds, the group was quick to cut the wheat from the chaff. By the time the council had shown up, she'd say, those who had either sided with the guildmaster or were too young or weak to resist were long gone from the guild hall. Those who didn't were left cold on the guild hall floors, slain by the ones they had once called family.
Their parents were of the latter. . . and to this day, Argus isn't sure if he was ever truly glad about that fact.
For most of his early life, Argus and Juno had only each other to rely on, as the members of the guild were little more than thieves, bandits, and murderers all, every one of them out for their own end and nothing else. to this end, the two were put under a strange man named Shade to be raised and trained so that, when they were old enough, they'd be able to go on missions. . . or at least, so Argus could be. Even back then, Juno's sickness was as apparent as Argus' talent for picking up magic, but Shade and the guild used his dependence on his sister to keep him under their foot, trusting that he would never disobey or try to escape as long as they had a firm hand around her neck.
This all changed one day when Argus was around 15 years old. He doesn't remember what happened, but on that day, Argus awakened the magic within him. And it was a truly terrible awakening indeed, because aside from Juno and Shade. . . every other member of the Dark guild Hydra's Coil was gone, their hideout reduced to a smoking ruin of slag and destruction. And so he stood in the center of the total destruction, dumbfounded and horrified by the dreadful certainty that he had done this, somehow. . . and that in whatever haze that had overtaken him while doing so, he had almost killed Juno as well. She never said as much, but it was obvious in how she held herself, in the bruise marks that traced her neck, in the fear that clung to her for the next two years of their existence as they traveled the countryside looking for a place they could truly call home. Shade, however, couldn't have looked more pleased with himself, leaving them with only a cryptic message that "his work was done."
It wouldn't be an understatement to say that was the lowest point in Argus' life, and as he suffered from the awakening of his magic in the years to come, he couldn't help but wonder which god up above had sought to befit him with such a dreadful curse. The only thing keeping him going was Juno, who had only seemed to get sicker and sicker as days went by, despite Argus' best efforts. Finally putting aside his own personal convictions, he bit the bullet and approached Dragon Heart a year ago, knowing that he needed money more than anything to help his sister get well, and Dragon Heart was the most requested guild in all of the Kingdom. With his skills, it wasn't difficult to get him accepted, as well as keeping his more destructive magic a secret to most. despite being with the guild for a year, however, most find Argus to be approachable. . . but hard to befriend, an air of distrust and suspicion lacing many interactions, especially with the more wild or unruly members of the guild. Hydra's Coil was thought to be a great guild in its time too, he often reminded himself, Dragon heart could truly be much the same.
They're just better at hiding it.
Whatever the case, it seems like the Red-haired Slayer will require much more convincing before he's willing to let himself be part of the Dragon Heart family in earnest.
The Mage
MagicWrath of the Asura
DescriptionA mysterious and destructive form of ancient magic that manifested in Argus' one day that allows him to call forth destructive energies from within, at the cost of his own health and sanity. In simple terms, Argus is able to harness the power of Entropy in an extremely aggressive way, either launching out red-tinged blasts of the magic at his foes or channeling it through his body to temporarily enhance his physical attacks. While the power behind these attacks are nothing to be scoffed at, the true danger of this magic comes into play the longer one faces off against him.
In essence, this magic embodies the concept of Entropy, and the more times one is exposed to it or the higher the potency of the exposure is, the less time it will take before things start to break down, both in terms of magic, material . . . and foes. When forced to rely on this magic, Argus will either dive in for an all-out attack in hopes of weakening the target enough for him to get a fatal hit in, or more likely, employ a hit and run strategy as they try to wear the target down to the point where he can either deal a finishing blow or escape.
This ability to wear down one's foes isn't without drawbacks, however. While not as affected as those he uses it against, Argus is not immune to the entropic energies he calls upon. Every use of his magic puts a similar strain on his own body as well. If over-used, his skin begins to bruise and tear with ease, his bones feel brittle and tender within his body, and his movements become sluggish and delayed. It ravages him from the inside, and while it can be healed, it never fails to leave at least some kind of marking on him whenever he over-indulges in its use, though this has only ever happened twice in his life.
Most worrisome of all, however, is the effect this magic has on Argus's mental state. Night terrors, hallucinations, phantom feelings, destructive impulses, and strange memories plague him on a constant basis, growing more intense after any instance of using his magic. The episodes are usually short, but not only can they happen at any moment, but often times it can be difficult for Argus to tell the difference between these visions and reality due to their visceral nature. In the few books that Argus has managed to find about Magic similar to his, they all tell the tale of a mage succumbing to the magic perishing after a great battle. . . only to rise again as something else. Something decidedly other and filled with an insatiable appetite for destruction of all things, as if the hatred of for Creation that the magic seems to exhibit had taken control of the body that had previously hosted them.
Argus has long since ceased any research into his curse.
SpellsEntropic Edge: The only special attack in his arsenal, Argus stores a large amount of destructive energies into one of his arms, the strain of which often causes a number of ugly red wounds to burst open along the length of the arm. He continues to charge this attack until he's either forced to fire it off early or his body can no longer take the strain, swiping his hand forward to send forth a concentrated wave of magical destruction towards his target. Due to the large amount of energy within the attack, as well as the sheer density of it increasing the potency of the attack by a good deal, it proves to be a rather difficult attack to defend against. However, the long charge up time and relatively straightforward nature of the attack often make it rather easy to dodge or interrupt before it can be launched at full power. Not only that, but Argus' lack of skill in wielding his magic makes it so he can't even move while charging the attack due to the immense level of pain it inflicts on his body. It also leaves the afflicted arm rather useless for a little bit unless he manages to hit something substantial with the attack. as the healing that he usually benefits from otherwise isn't enough to do anything but stave off the worst of the damage.
Re-quip: The Trickster
DescriptionArgus' main magic(and the only one he knows as far as most of the guild is aware), this is a form of requip magic that specializes in trickier tools instead of weapons and armors. While he does have a few knives and swords within his repertoire, the crux of the magic is summoning a number of magical items that serve to distract, detain, deceive, and otherwise annoy the crap out of one's opponent.
While not inherently that dangerous and seems more like a bunch of party gags and cheap tricks at first, Argus has proven to be quite the slippery combatant with the vast array of items he has stored within this magic and can be quite unpredictable and clever when using it. This is made especially true because Argus is also deceptively good at Re-quip magic, able to summon forth any of his items almost instantaneously and from nearly anywhere on his person as well. Amongst the items listed in spells, Argus also carries around an uncountable number of more mundane party tricks and novelties that he often uses to entertain others or himself when out on a job. In fact, Argus can often times be seen putting on little magic shows for the kids of the town, and even the adults at times(for a price)
SpellsVentriloquist's Ring: A nifty little item that Argus bought on a whim, it allows him to 'throw' his voice, making it sound like it's coming a direction and a distance of his choosing. He does this by speaking into the hand with the ring on it. He can even change the voice a little bit by shifting the timbre up or down a tad, but unfortunately, he can't use it to mimic others . . . unless he learns how to do it himself.
Magician's Chains: An enchanted chain that grows in length and durability in proportion to the amount of magical energy pumped into it, making it handy as a rope, a means of odd defense, even a whip if Argus is feeling frisky or needs to keep his distance.
Bag o'bombs: Argus has Smoke Bombs, he has sticky bombs, he's got grease bombs, oil bombs, flash bombs, nail bombs, itching bombs, pepper bombs, bomb-bombs and possibly a few more that he has yet to find or think of. Needless to say, the boy knows his way around explosives better than most
Knives: Throwing knives, Cooking knives, whittling Knives, Carving Knives. . . . Argus has tons of knives for any and every occasion and no, you can't know where he got them.
De-obfuscator Goggles: A fancy pair of goggles that Argus managed to win in a game of cards during one of his jobs, these goggles allow the wearer to not only see in the blackest of nights but also lets them see through most kinds of particulate-based obfuscations of sight like smoke, dust, fire, etc. It also automatically adjusts the lens to deal with sudden flashes of intense light, allowing the user to view them without any risk to themselves and only some minimal discomfort.
Puppeteer's gloves: Knifty black gloves that allows one to telekinetically puppet small inanimate objects at will via the attachments of tiny strings of magical energy. Max range of about 5 meters.
Rope: Because you can never have too much rope.
Deck of Cards: A suite of playing cards that explode into a dazzling display of lights with the slightest application of magical energy.
Chameleon Cloak: Provides Argus with the ability to blend into his surroundings to nearly vanish from sight, though a keen eye could possibly perceive him due to the slight imperfections within the illusion.
ItemsBesides his requip, he has some pieces of leather armor, his clothes, a backpack, to carry his travel stuff with, and a dream journal.
Miscellaneous
Despite his appearance, Argus is actually quite a skilled fighter, almost masterful. . . though he has no clue as to why that is or why the style he slips into tends to be rather brutal more often than not.
Argus can't sing or dance and finds both of these things to be the beginning and end of his frustrations with his sister, who can do both with great talent.
Argus is a fantastic cook, however, though hardly does so for anyone besides his sister.
Argus used to have blonde hair and blue eyes, much like his sister
Argus doesn't cut his hair often, and even when he does, he seeks to keep it rather long still. He's very particular about it. to an almost obsessive degree
