Name: Alexei Vsevolodovich Pyzhalov

Age: 47

Appearance:

Brief Bio: Alexei was born on a cold winter night in the isolated, yet peaceful country of Iceland. The Pyzhalov family is viewed with disdain amongst other magi within the Clock Tower due to their status as a mage family with only four generations in their bloodline. In addition, their flagrant use of modern technology had resulted them in being mostly shunned by their peers. Still, in spite of their lesser capacity for magic, they make up for it in a singular form of magic that would normally be considered unorthodox: runes.

In spite of their Russian origins, the Pyzhalov family's expertise lies within the Thaumaturgical System that originated in Scandanavia. In spite of the flexibility that runes can provide, it is wholly clear that Modern Runes are merely imitations of the truth. It is due to this that they constantly seek out the Primordial Runes and Old Runes created by Odin, and used by Scathach, Brynhildr, Cu Chulainn, and Sigurd.

Alexei was no different. As the only child of the fourth generation, he was expected to succeed the family line.

And so he did.

The man spurned all other forms of magic, instead substituting their processes with runes. In the end, most forms of magecraft were distilled to remove the necessity of actually drawing the runes. Alexei continued his research into the ancient forms of runes, but was unable to procure any of sigils he needed. The Fraga family simply held too much of a monopoly on that knowledge. Still, the man was not satisfied.

He took to compensating for his lack of power with innovation. New combinations of runes with differing effects, the potential risks be damned. Alexei was so engrossed in his research that he almost seemed to forget about the world around him. By the time he was an adult, the elders of the Pyzhalov family had passed, leaving him as the sole heir of the Pyzhalov Crest.

The man decided to take his skills out into the field. The unorthodox nature of his craft made him quite the strange magus, but unpredictability in his field, was something to be appreciated. The man had signed on to hunt those with Seal Designations. Although his colleagues did not appreciate his magic, nor his use of technology, Alexei grew more and more experienced at what he did. Thus, they gave him their begrudging respect. He was at the very least, quite effective at what he did.

Eventually, the task of sealing a particularly dangerous individual came to bear: Echidna. The situation was so dire, that it had seemed that the Mage Association had summoned Counter Guardians to deal with the threat. How interesting. Alexei decided to lend his expertise. This would easily be among his most dangerous tasks yet, but there was glory and renown to be won in performing this ordeal. With that in mind, the man packed his bags and took a plane to southern France.

Abilities:

Rune Magic - Alexei spurns generalization; he is a singular scalpel in a toolbox of Swiss-army knives. Ironically, although he says this, runes can substitute most forms of magic, provided that the right combination is used in succession. A single misstep can cause runic spells to fail, or to backfire spectacularly. Still, in spite of the risks, there is no denying that runes are certainly a powerful form of magic.

He can use runes to create Bounded Fields, to Reinforce his body or an object, or to use weaker forms of elemental magecraft. However, while you do not need to speak to cast Runic spells, somatic gestures and time become more of an issue than ever.

Hand-to-Hand Combat - As self-defense is a required course in many magi curriculums, Alexei found that he had excelled in bare-knuckle boxing and Jiu-Jitsu. He can further amplify this with his Rune Magic to increase the impact of his attacks.

Marksmanship - Although no expert, Alexei is not a bad shot with handguns and revolvers. He found that he can further improve the capabilities of his weapon if he engraves runes onto the bullets beforehand, so to reach this skill's full potential, he requires time and mana.

Stats:

Magic Circuits: D+
Mana: C
Athleticism: B+

Other: Thank you for taking the time to read this. I am open to suggestions and criticism.