Name: Theta Bampheloulus
Title: The Bloody Crow, The Masked Doctor
Gender: Male
Age: 61
Alignment: Neutral Good
Rank: ???
Objective for the Grail: The spiritual land of Paris is certainly a valuable prize. As for his wish, he’s unsure. Perhaps he’ll use it to improve his homunculi.
Command Seal: A Circle containing a Diamond, with waved lines running through the centre.
History: A man who spent his young life in the care of various homunculi, neglected by his father both as a son and as an heir. As a result, he became attached, and struggled to tell the difference between homunculi and humans. Even though they lacked free will of their own, the care they gave to him was unquestionably real. The careless discarding of his ‘mother’ left a wedge between him and his father that defined their relationship.
After attending the Clocktower to study, he left the family, feeling unable to commit to his father’s path. He wandered through various countries, spending a lot of time in hospitals, among the dying.
He considers these his rebellious years. Though he never truly forgave his father, travelling the world allowed him to see his own inadequacy. He realised just how much more he had to learn, and the best place to learn it. Running away from his responsibilities wouldn’t help him, or his family, improve.
For the most part, he drew back from Clocktower politics, retreating into his work. He married for love rather than for the sake of his family, one of the few concessions he made in this balance. Determined not to repeat his family’s mistakes, he raised and educated his daughter with even more vigour than he put into his studies. He considers her the perfect heir, but moreover, the perfect daughter.
Personality: An old man ready for an early retirement. He’s somewhat ashamed of handing the reins to his successor earlier than necessary, but his daughter is absolutely more suited to the life of a Magus than him. He has no regrets regarding his path, but rather is simply tired of the cycle of creating life only to see it die.
The kind of man more suited to being a doctor than a magus. Though certainly, the Bampheloulus family has always suffered with these two conflicting drives, it is a stronger contradiction in Theta’s nature. A person who is, under normal circumstances, quiet and reserved, but fundamentally helpful. Ultimately, though, he’s able to suppress his gentler nature in order to do what is necessary. He’s reluctant to fight, but has absolutely no squeamishness around blood or viscera.
Magic Circuit Switch: The feeling of a piercing needle in his forearms.
Number of Circuits: C
Quality of Circuits: B
Origin: Wholeness
Element: Wind
Attribute: Flow and Transfer
Crest: His Crest has already been transferred to his daughter.
Magecraft:
General Magecraft
You know. General magecraft.
Alchemy (Body)
Alchemy limited to manipulation of the body, based in the theory of the four humours. Utilised to balance the elemental humours within the body to ensure a robust and healthy body. This also includes the mind and personality. A technique of balancing the body to a state of health utilising the medium of a humour - often blood, which can contain each of the elements, though primarily is associated with wind, the element of flow.
A further technique involves utilising the four humours as a substitution for the four stages of the alchemical magnum opus. Introducing each of the humours to the body in order: black bile representing the blackening of nigredo; phlegm representing the whitening or washing of albedo, yellow bile representing the yellowing of xanthosis and finally blood representing the reddening or completion of rubedo. The Bampheloulus family aims to refine this process in order to create a ‘perfect human body’.
Naturally, a process that can be used to interfere with the body to heal it can also be used to harm it, to put it out of balance. It is also possible to do this over a long distance, using blood as a sympathetic medium.
This form of alchemy is also excellently suited for the creation of homunculi.
Homunculus Creation
Utilising alchemy of the four humours to create homunculi. Taking the four humours (elements) and transmuting them to create a whole body.
Furthermore, it is possible to draw on the associated goddess of each humour to enhance the existence and purpose of the created bodies. Naturally, this results in defects both in mind and in body related to the single humour that is prioritised to draw on this association.
Astrology
A useful tool in both alchemy and medicine related to the humours.
Each humour is connected to several zodiac signs, and in turn, the celestial bodies.
Indeed, Astrology can be considered the “eye of the physician”. A tool of diagnosis that can be used to divine a patient’s symptoms and problems based on cycles of the stars and seasons.
Mystic Codes:
Staff:
A simple mystic code utilised as a point of transference for humours without their direct or sympathetic use being necessary. Essentially, a tool of combat used to quickly unbalance an opponent’s humouric balance without the necessity for a diagnosis or a multiple-count spell. Naturally, physical contact and a supply of magical energy are required.
Plague Doctor Outfit:
An outfit designed to create a barrier between oneself and the outside world. In particular, the air itself, which was believed to carry disease. Things ‘carried by the air’ are unable to penetrate the suit, making it an ideal counter to many environmental hazards, though it is of little use against direct attacks.
Specialised Homunculi(Exceptional Benefit):
Diana (Phlegmatic Water)
A specialised combat homunculus aligned with phlegm, water, and the goddess Artemis. Naturally, a user of ranged combat with bow and arrow. Drawing on the concept of Artemis’ arrows as a tool of incurring disease, it is possible to utilise her own abundance of phlegm to coat these arrows with a substance that imbalances the targets’ humours by overloading them with phlegm. Using astrology and Artemis’ connection to the moon, it is also possible to take on a limited viewpoint of the gods, for the purpose of hunting opponents.
Defects born of an imbalance towards phlegm include continuous chest and breathing problems along with a general slow-wittedness and forgetfulness.
Minerva (Choleric Fire)
A specialised combat homunculus aligned with yellow bile, fire, and the goddess Athena. Unlike Diana, she’s specialised towards close-combat, using a spear and shield. Rather than infecting the opponent, Minerva uses her own yellow bile, transmuting it directly into fire. In addition, using the concept of Athena’s Aegis, those who glimpse her are met with a pressure.
The problems rooted in an overly Choleric nature are frequent fevers and jaundice, along with an easily distractible and angered personality.
Ceres (Melancholy Earth)
A homunculus aligned with black bile, earth, and the goddess Demeter. Using the connection to the story of Demeter and Persephone, as well as the connection between Black Bile and the Autumn season, one can effectively poison the earth with melancholia.
An overuse of black bile has lead to insomnia and difficulty with digestion, as well as severe depression.
Venus (Sanguine Wind)
A homunculus aligned with blood, air and the goddess Aphrodite. One’s own blood can be transmuted into a ‘bad air’ that transmits an infection of the blood. A disease both based in imbalancing blood and the madness of love associated with Aphrodite.
Compared to the other humours, an overabundance of blood causes less problems, though Venus is prone to excessive and frequent bleeding, along with narcolepsy and poor impulse control.