[CHAR] The Grand Arcanium (An Isolated DnD wizard school rp, new roleplayers welcome)

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Staff -

The Grand Archmage Astioth

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Painting in the Library's Foyer

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Character Name:
Astioth The Grand Archmage

Age:
Hundreds of years old. Thought to be immortal due to his longevity and no sign of non-human appearances.

Race:
Human

School of Magic:
He is the authority of all magic in the realm, with only a few unique and rare forms being out of his reach. His power in the magical arts is unparalleled, and often times boastful mages with unique abilities will find that he in fact had already mastered a similar albeit different and usually more powerful version of the same arts. Truly, he is a master among masters.

Alignment:
Lawful Good

Appearance:
See painting above.

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Character History

Long ago in a time long forgotten, Astioth created the Arcanium, a library to house all knowledge that he had ever gathered on his journey through the lands. His Magic is powerful, and his wisdom is vast. But to be quite frank, nobody really knows who he was before the library, but it is said his thirst for knowledge lead him to discover the method to overcome death itself. These days, he spends all his time cooped up in his study at the top of the monument, learning all the things he did not deem necessary to learn before. Perhaps, we can learn more about him as we journey forward together...

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Headmistress Miatri

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Miatri as the Headmistress of the Arcanium Mage School

Miatri in her younger days as an adventurer

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Character Name:
Lady Miatri, Head Mistress Miatri, Miatri of the 5 Heros

Age:
Roughly 348 years old, about early 50's for a half elf.

Race:
Half-elf, High Elf Human half breed

School of Mastery:
Destruction Magic: Fire
Barrier Magic
Cancellation Magic
Displacement Magic
Alchemy - Transmutation
Alchemy - Potion Making

Alignment:
Lawful Good

Appearance:
Miatri is an older elven woman, very tall, thin, and dressed in long fine white robes that bear the emblem of the school in a sigil placed around her waistline. She is beautiful, a common trait among the elves even in their old age, and has white hair faded from a lifetime of work and stress. Her hair used to be a deep shade of red, but it faded as her life grew closer to her current age. Her posture is typically kept elegant, moving fluidly at all times unless necessary she move sharper or more abruptly. Her eyes have a cold gaze to them, as if vigilantly watching everything that occurs in here presence with scrutiny that seems to cut into those that she looks upon. Many people mistake her cold resting face for once of silent judgement.

Personality:
Miatri is very strict. Only diverging from her role when approached off her duties. She doesn't play favorites, and she doesn't compromise unless told something she failed to take into account before making decisions. She will admit when she's wrong, but convincing her that her better judgement is faulted is not a task of easy measures by far. When she is alone, she lowers these stern walls to reveal an overworked elderly woman, that really just wants a moment to herself to take the stress off her day with a nice cup of hot tea.

Character Flaws:
She refuses to fail in her duties, which often leads to her straight up ignoring any sense of remorse that may sway her decision. She is objective to a fault, only deeming fact to be necessary in making a decision. This works well for her in her duties maintaining the school, but will often times make her come off as a relentless and unforgiving teacher. This leads to not many students ever meeting her standards, and many of them taking their bad marks as reason to quit their magical pursuits.

History:
In the years shortly following her birth, she was a slave girl. Never knowing anything of her homeland or her parents. One day she escaped from those that had taken her to be sold in a port town built around a center tower, fleeing into what she now knew was the Arcanium after stealing a loaf of bread when she realized nobody would confront her there. She ate the bread with a ravenous appetite, and when an elderly man found her she quivered in fear of his stern figure. But little did she expect, the scary old man didn't harm her, but rather welcomed her with an assurance that she was safe there with him. She grew to love this man as her own father, and it was he who gave her the name Miatri which he told her was a long forgotten word for a young maiden. Under his guidance, she mastered the arts of the arcane, and gained a reputation in her adolescence. When a group of three young travelers came to the Arcanium one day, she befriended them and begged her father to allow her to assist them in their journey as it was for a just cause. He refused, not wishing to see her harmed, but she snuck away in the night anyway with a rebellious fire alight in her heart. Unbeknownst to her, this was the beginning of a great journey, and by the time it was over she had earned the title of one of the 5 heroes. She returned home after that, bringing with her a reputation that had many seeking her tutelage. She accepted them where her father denied them, and thus the Arcanium Mage School was born. Years past, and her duties began to wear on her. The once chipper and clever young adventurer was now quelled into an older woman, focused on nothing more than maintaining her vow to show others the way to control their mystical talents. Though her once fiery personality has dissipated, her prowess in fire magic remains second only to the Archmage himself even though her elven blood should make her skills dulled, making her the prime target for students wishing to be masters of destruction magic in the field of pyromancy. Though these days she rarely takes on students.

Students-

Third Years

None yet to list

Second Years

Abil Gofid

Abil Gofid is a respectable, talented young man attending the school with his brother, Tarrin. Both brothers are incredibly skilled at magic, but Abil is particularly skilled with non-physical combat magic adopting a short to long range dueling technique. He is always well behaved and very respectful towards his elders and fellow students, and always chooses to assist those in need of his aid. He is typically found studying in the library, or speaking to his teachers about spell mastery. He is 22 years old.

Tarrin Gofid

Tarrin Gofid is a talented student in the Arcanium, but his potential is limited by his cocky attitude and his less than productive mind set. He would be more inclined to hitting on young new female first years, as well as the second and third years, than he would be to pick up a book to read. Tarrin attends the school with his brother, Abil, but unlike him prefers close range combat techniques that require acrobatic methods of positioning and more skillful opportunity spotting. He is without contest the better of the two duelists, but because of his nature his brother often beats him with ease. He is often found in the courtyard willing to spar or simply sleeping in his room, occasionally he goes to the luxury wing to eat everyday. Tarrin is 20 years of age.

Otters -

Jonathan, Loved Assistant

Little Old Jonathan is the direct assistant to headmistress Miatri. He is one of the oldest Otters in the Arcanium, and an excellent tea maker. He is the most diligent, hard working assistant that Miatri could hope for, and most importantly, one of her oldest and closest friends.

Once asked he will squeak and chatter about his Grandotter for hours. Granted not many can speak otter to hear it...

Oscar

He was minding his own business putting books on the shelf like a good otter until somebody came and rudely bumped into him. The nerve of some people.

This is a list of my characters, this will be updated as I go and one day organized into students and teachers. Some details are missing, this is intentional and meant to be discovered as the rp goes along.

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Hey Who's Alive in this rp? Well I'll tell you~
The Gm, me, Spirit as: Literally everyone that is affiliated with staff of the school or npcs. As well as books. All the books. I am the books.

Rune_Alchemist as: That very tsundere Elf Girl over there, aka

Isilfarrel Mornelis

Scarecrow as:

Isabel Pelrine

Legion02 as:

Alexander of Tyrania

Hagroden as:

Kyvir Lokerakir

Multi_Media_Man as:

Garanin Stonehewer

A ReusableSword as:

Vale Azsier the Unyielding

MadManMoon as:

Silias Aeson

Lucius Cypher as:

Malkai Katalmach

Ellie of the Chicago aquarium as:

Otters

With Guest star
Ryan Gosling as:

The Chair of Very Uncomfortable Knowledge

[Rune_Alchemist]

Isilfarrel Mornelis

Isilfarrel Mornelis

"Ah...hello. I didn't see you there. Do forgive me, I was lost in thought. Is there something you require, friend?"

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~Physical Attributes~

Character Name:
Isilfarrel Mornelis
Age:
18
Race:
High Elf
Chosen Shcool of Magic:
Restoration
Magic Control
World History
Magic Theory/History

Alignment:
Lawful Evil

Appearance:
Isil stands at a fairly average five foot six. She has a lithe, somewhat dainty looking build with her robes on. Indeed, she is a fairly unassuming as far as presence and looks go for elves, though of course to most humans she's as beautiful as most elves tend to be. With soft facial features typically accentuated by a smile, most humans would likely find her to be fairly high on the attractive scale even if she doesn't exactly have the biggest tracts of land in the academy. Perhaps its simply the way she carries herself with a seeming manner of elegance? The elf has long blond hair typically tied with a braid on one side, with dull grey eyes.

As for clothing, she typically wears a white, fairly unique jacket that covers her upper body with a cloak and hood hanging off the back of it. The clothing underneath is fairly skin tight, and accented with gold trimmings. It is a fairly elegant and sophisticated looking piece, with the dress showing her midriff and a bit of her chest off. She's nothing, if not confident. She wears similarly elegant boots on her legs which reach almost to her knees. She is often seen carrying a weighty cross shaped staff that doubles as a mace of sorts.

Under the clothing though, her physique could be called quite well trained. She has obvious muscles, and she takes pride in both her physical and intellectual prowess. While not exactly the strongest sort given her race, she definitely strives to keep her physical ability on par with her magical ability and could give most decently trained humans a run for their money in the physical realm.

~Talents~

Magical Talents:
Enhancement & Aether Manipulation
Essentially, Isil has devoted her time to learning two separate forms of magic. The first, Enhancement is basically the ability to enhance oneself and ones allies via magical means. Fairly simple stuff, and it can include a number of physical as well as mental buffs and strengthening spells for her allies and herself. She still has a lot to learn of course and is by far no the best user of this sort of magic at the moment. She is a bit more adept than this than she is in destruction however, thanks to her High Elf blood, but she pours most of her free and learning time into her destructive magics.

Aether magic is a little less impressive than it sounds. As a High Elf, she's not entirely adept with more destruction related abilities. This magic, at its core is the manipulation of mana into a raw, tangible force. It is fairly versatile in usage, if not overly powerful in application. It often takes a white-gold color when used.

Not particularly a magic skill, but she knows how to thwack people upside the head with her staff effectively.

Weaknesses:
As far as Enhancement for her allies and self goes, there is a time limit to most of them, and they will only remain active for a short while unless she constantly reuses it. This effect is also very apparent the more people she tries to buff at once - the more people she attempts to buff, the more difficult it will be as well as the effects may be less pronounced.

As for Aether magic, it by itself takes a bit of fine control and power to be able to condense raw mana into a usable force. Plus, it's not overly powerful by itself even if it offers a fair bit of utility being able to form shields, fire various projectiles. It's a fairly basic thing, really, but offers a great deal of utility for a creative mind. Those with larger reserves of mana may be able to make more effective use and control over it, however.

~Biography~

Personality:
Upon first impression, Isil is not too much different from the average High Elf. Indeed, she's friendly, fairly compassionate and does her best to help others. To her and her classmates she's a paragon of of her kind. She's intelligent and fairly wise and mature for her age, and she always tries to solve problems peacefully among her peers. Many regard her as a fairly good person with very few condemning qualities. She likes meeting new people, and always does her best to help her peers should they require it in any subject they may be lacking in. She's not afraid to harmlessly tease someone else either for a giggle or two. She's even not all that hostile to Dark Elves - which many elves consider to be rather bad especially where she was raised but she doesn't let it bother her. She speaks very eloquently, and will always lend an ear to those in need. That said, even so she is a huge stickler for the rules. She is a very organized person and loathes to break rules of any kind. Rules and laws are there for a reason, and as such should be followed to the letter.

It's unfortunate that most people likely will never know her true colors until she's already in an advantageous position over them or push comes to shove. Isil is not as nice as she seems at first glance. Above all, the elf wants power and the ability to rule in any shape she can get it. The reason she's nice to others? Simply to make herself look good to them. The reasons she helps others at times? In the end, it will benefit the whole. Of course, she's not a brute and won't go around causing trouble simply for the sake of causing it. She does indeed want the whole of everyone to succeed.

Those deemed worthy in her own rigid and meritocratic views of the world at least anyways...what's a few weak fools crushed along the way to that success?

Truthfully, she loathes weakness of any kind, and absolutely hates those who do not even attempt at putting their entire effort into something. Ones race, gender, magic, heritage does not matter. All that matters is their skill with their chosen craft - be it body or mind. While she does hate fighting, when she does fight she is absolutely ruthless. Cold and callous even, especially to her opponents that have no connection to her. She will not hesitate to end an impudent whelps life or ruthlessly put them in their place if they stand against her.

She is however, very loyal and will always keep her word, even one that is disadvantageous towards her unless there is a logical way she could get out of it that isn't completely ridiculous. As such, betraying an ally is something she would never do unless there is both logical reason as well as suitable gain for her to do so.

Character Flaws:
Her personality is well, rather completely fake on the surface. All secrets come out eventually, it's a simple fact of life no matter how well one hides it. Once it does, she's got some heavy explaining to do. Face and reputation once lost, is not so easily regained.

She has no care for those weaker than her - and while she will help someone if they ask, they better be prepared to succeed or be left in the cold. If they can't excel at something, then they are worthless. She can and will leave the dead and wounded where they fall.

She holds grudges, and once you piss her off - she will make your life a living hell in any way she can possibly manage. To the point of obsession, almost. And if she can't do it with the law or through proxies...she's not afraid of getting her own hands dirty.

Is a bit of a workaholic. She'll spend entire nights doing nothing but studying, and can really forget when to take it easy. She can become rather stressed if too many things happen at once, and things don't really go according to plan.

Character History:
Isilfarrel Mornelis, was not always the fake person she is today. In fact, she was born on the Eastern coast of the continent where the High Elves make their home. Most notably, in the City of Living Summer, Bistrial. Like most high elves, she lived in harmony with her kind. In all, she had a fairly average life growing up - well what passed as average for an elf, if someone on the more poorer end of the spectrum than others of her kin. She was in fact, even kinder than even most elves were growing up despite her seriousness and logical approach to most things. Even though she was taught to hate both the Drows and Dark Elves inherently - she found no reason too. Logic dictated that just because you never met someone before, did not mean you should discriminate or be hostile towards them.

Of course, she kept such opinions to herself at the time. They weren't exactly popular.

Growing up, she took a heavy interest in the more mundane arts. Specifically, history, magic theory, maths, and other such intellectual pursuits. She didn't really interact much with her peers, preferring to spend time buried in books or other research topics, often spending nights alone studying and pouring over old historical tomes that she could get her hands on. Indeed, to begin with she had only a passing interest in actually learning magic herself. She wanted to be somewhat of a historian, or researcher. That was the plan, at least.

She enrolled at a rather prestigious elvish academy sometime when she was fourteen, quickly distinguishing herself from the others through her hard work and dedication. She excelled in a number of subjects, and was considered to be a bit of a prodigy in her own right, even if she didn't take an active interest in magic. She attended the school for around two years, before it seemed that fate would have something else in store for her.

It was when she met a group of people expressing displeasure at the current state of affairs in the Elvish world caught her interest. The Elvish people had always taken a passive approach to the world outside, only intervening should something extremely bad happen. She had never given it much thought before, but...they were right, weren't they? They should help people, shouldn't they? So, she thought about it for awhile, and decided to write a very well worded speech about it for an upcoming assignment in the academy. She should have realized her older, more reactionary professors would not take kindly to it. The one speech made her more than a little the talk of the town, having failed the assignment.

It was the first time, she could say she felt absolute, pure, rage at something. She was right. She couldn't be wrong. It was as simple as that. She was the best student in that place and if she had decided that the elves could do more good by being more active - then it was simply impossible for her to be wrong. For a year or so passed, and she withdrew a bit from the world. Kept to herself, though she still did well on her assignments, though one noticeable change took place.

She shifted her attention from learning purely academic pursuits...to learning destruction oriented magic of all things, her blood be damned. She didn't care one bit.

Fools, the lot of them. Weak fools, even. That was it. That was why the elves were so scared of taking action, because they were weak. Utterly weak. They didn't deserve that power nor did they deserve to rule. So she would make herself strong...and she would make sure that she could punish such weaklings in the future. So, desiring academic prowess and power for herself, she left the Elvish homeland, where she decided to gain entry into The Arcanium. It was easy enough work to enroll in such a place. She was the best after all, and it wasn't like she was going to be turned down.

It was during her travel there, she crossed a country called Thay. A horrid place by all accounts - but the elf spent a bit much more time there than some might find of her kind. In truth - she found the place a bit more to her liking than some might expect. It was here, she saw her first sight of slavery in actual practice. Her opinion? What an incredibly useful tool! In fact...it was the perfect way to round up weaklings, and make them able to do something useful with their lives.

...and incredibly expendable and an easy scapegoat. So, using a great deal of her somewhat dwindling funds - she decided to buy the best one she could get her hands on. So she traveled to a place called Tharc in the region, the castle of Surthay where she decided to make her purchase. It was a bit dangerous though - a high elf like her? She'd likely have fetched quite a price at the market - but she made sure those slavers knew who exactly they were dealing with as she made her purchase.

The slave in question? A Tiefling by the name of Kyvir Lokerakir. A perfect guard. Strong, powerful...above all, loyal. He had been trained to serve from day one. That was good. She could use such a person. So after briefly staying here, she finally continued on her way to the Arcanium. As skilled as he was - it was always good to sharpen ones skills. Rest made one weak, and she would have no servant of hers be weak.

[Letter Bee]

Prince Shamir

Character Name: Prince Shamir

Age: 16

Race: Human

Chosen Shcool of Magic: Healing and Protection, with some Transmutation (but not much; see Magical Talents).

Alignment: Neutral Good

Magical Talents: Shamir has an instinctive talent for closing small, shallow wounds, cuts, and abrasions, as well as relieving mild sicknesses. He can also transmute sand and earth into water; same for mundane powdered materials like flour, sawdust, and ordinary dust. These two talents are combined to allow him to clean wounds, then heal them, and act as an aid to better, more experienced healers. Note however that just because Shamir is good at Transmutation does not mean that he is more interested in it than learning to protect himself; rather, Transmutation is merely a means to get food and water in dire situations where survival is needed. Instead, his true interests lie in Protective magic, and he has learned how to cast a shield that protects against a single spell or physical attack, but then has to be recast.

Also, not magical, but he is also an average swordsman, having been taught to fight by one of the warriors of the southern continent.

He can also freeze water, but not use ice as projectiles (see more in weaknesses).

Weaknesses: Shamir tends to overestimate his magical prowess, which leads to him jumping into situations that might not necessarily end up well for him. Not merely that, but he has no gift for fire, lightning, and energy, although he can freeze ice. Nor can he use telekenisis. He also tends to be brute-force in his use of magic, and only very rarely thinks of ideas like transmuting nearby powders into water in order to give him some advantage. And while he wants friends and wants to meet new people, Prince Shamir is...overenthusiastic to the point of social awkwardness, this manifests in either coming off too strong in his professions of friendship, or trying to be aloof in an attempt to be 'cool'.

Personality: Prince Shamir wants friends, but is not entirely sure how to go about making them. While he can be kind and compassionate, he also tends to doubt himself easily and despair, plus there are his illustrated weaknesses in wanting to be cool and friendly and not being entirely sure how to combine the two. So, in short, an awkward teenager who tries to be 'intelligent' and 'deep' but can come across as a tryhard when he tries to demonstrate how 'profound' he can be. But, he wants to be a loyal friend as well, and when seeing someone with true wisdom and leadership, he plans to follow that person to the world's end...although he hopes it does not come to that.

Character Flaws: See Weaknesses and Personality; I kinda went overenthusiastic there.

Character History: Prince Shamir was born in luxury in Abazin, a land of relative prosperity under the rule of Sultan Al-Hakam, who was a benevolent ruler who had abolished slavery, established hospitals, canals, reservoirs, and bazaars, and established schools for women and men both. This ruler, despite his progressive reforms, nevertheless had a harem, a harem that was staffed by wives and concubines from every part of his dominions. And in the harem, Prince Shamir was born as the seventh son of the Sultan from his seventh wife. Said seventh wife, Badoura, was someone who realized that the harem was not just a place of pleasure, but also a place where one can gain the favor of the Sultan and influence his political decisions. While other wives and concubines focused on getting their relatives into positions of power, Badoura desired only to support her husband's reforms to society.

And so, Prince Shamir was born and raised not just with a sense of his rights, but also his responsibilities to his people. He was never allowed to forget that power came from the governed, and that the Gods would favor the people first if their rulers failed to sheperd them. So the Prince learned not just how to rule, but also to heal, and also to defend himself. But whispers came about of secret opposition, of vested interests that hated his father and had found support in those of his sons and wives who wanted power and/or just opposed any new laws that can weaken their place in society. For the longest time, Shamir did not listen to these rumors, and devoted himself to his studies. Then, it happened; the vested interests of the country struck and started a coup-de-tat, slaugthering Shamir's father, his mother, and those who remained loyal to the two.

However, Shamir was rescued by a trusted servant, and was smuggled all the way to the borders of the Sultanate, from where he was able to use his basic healing and transmutation skills, and a little swordfighting, in order to get to the Grand Arcanium, where he applied as an apprentice Mage. Now he faces a choice; spend happy days studying, or try and find support in taking back his Sultanate from the people who have usurped it...

[Scarescrow]

Isabel Pelrine

Isabel Pelrine

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Chracter name: Isabel Pelrine
Age: 17
Race:Human
Chosen Shcool of Magic: Dark Arts mixed with Abjuration, Blood Ritual, and Biomancy (evolution).
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Appearance:
With the height of five foot eight and weighs about 124 pounds, Isabel is quite skinny compared to her height. She has a brown, darkish hair, tall small nose, and normal lips. Overall, Isabell is quite beautiful by human standard, not the best but decent enough. But what truly captivate other is her eyes. Her eyes seem to overcome others outside appearance and tapped into their soul. In her vision, some may see the uncertainty of future, their current though, and their acts in the past. It seems, to others, that Isabel is not bound by mortal flesh, but she had overcome that. Her view was mysterious, cover by mists, and filled with an unknown sadness. So in her daily life, Isabell usually wears a black dress, with very few decoration on it. She gives very little care about her appearance, with her hair cutting short to brush easier, no make ups or add on. Only with a few exceptions for important events that people could saw her wearing a different dress and a very light make ups.

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Talents

Magical Talents:
Autopsy, Biological and magical influence (evolution):
Born as a daughter of a doctor in a normal city, Isabel had been exposed to the art of autopsy. Her talents in this fields had overcome her mentor, Rachel the II, the most talented doctor in her neighboring cities. But Isabel can felt there is still room for improvement, as she discovered her capability in magic.
Biological and magical influence is the topic that Isabel is currently researching. Through the research, Isabel hoped to unveil the secret of life and death. At this time, her only discovered is there are differences in the Cyclone Structure (DNA) according to each species. In her research, she identified there are differences between a mage and a commoner is within theirs Cyclone structures. But further more research is still required.

Weaknesses:

Her researches are very time consuming, even though she is a very smart person. It had taken her 5 years or more just to accomplish the reason of what causes some human to become mages and others don't. The problem does not stop there. To support for her research, Isabell required a lot of resources, some are so rare that they are on the edge of extinction. And she also required highly advance equipment to support her research.

Due to her lack in physical build, Isabell is not going to be good in close range combat for a short while. Even though this can be improved through time and with a suitable amount of exercise, she can become better. But time is what Isabell lack.

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Personalities

Personality:
Isabel used to be a cheerful kid, an optimistic person that always give other a smile or a hug when they needed it. But something inside her had changed, maybe due to her childhood tragic, or it was a natural thing, nobody knows. But one thing certain, the little young girl had died, replaced by a sharp woman, whose intellect overcome her age. The new Isabel was serious and quiet. She prefers to work alone, focusing on her main goal without caring for others advice if those are not useful for her goal. She could not tolerate imperfection of others and herself, strictly following her own rules. But, she will never abandon any person that she entitles as her “friend” unless they betrayed her.

Character Flaws:
Lone wolf: Due to her personality, Isabel has a small circle of friend. This may cause her trouble as when she need help from others.
Lack of common sense: Due to her being very isolated from the society, Isabel lack of many common senses.
Workaholic: Isabel will spend hours of studying and researching without noticing her own health. This causes her a huge disadvantage from other as she does not possess good physical traits.

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Biography

Character History:
Born as a daughter of a doctor, Isabel was nothing like an ordinary girl. At a young age, she never dreams of marrying a prince or rescued by a knight. Her dream, different from most woman or children of her time, was to look into the depth of knowledge. And because of that, make her isolated from others. People around her despise her, some called her crazy, some ordered her to change.
Isabel understood that it was not their fault as everyone had a different opinion, but what she does not understand was how people treated with other that had the different view. So she pulled herself back, and spent most of her childhood in her house, studying along with her father. Nevertheless, she still love the people around her, and smile was always present on

But then, tragic came and desolate her soul.

On a cold winter night, a beast attacks their house. It murdered her father, and almost killed her if she did not run quick enough. So she ran toward the center of the cities, only to found there was nobody. So she waited, waited for someone or something would happen. But nothing does. On the next morning, people found Isabel on a corner, shivering, but still holding her father's notebook. Scars and blood were everywhere on her bodies. When the citizen reaches to Isabel’s house, there was nothing more than ashes and burning wood. In the center, a corpse of a man was burned into a dark figure.

Isabel was transferred into an orphanage at the age of eight. She lived there for a year before getting adopted by Rachel the II, the most talented doctor in Isabel neighboring cities. Under the teaching of her stepmother, Isabel’s talent in autopsy quickly overcome her mentor. At the age of twelve, she started to do her own research, searching into the depth of forbidden knowledge. Her intention for doing so was unknown to others as she usually does it alone. It took her five years to discover the secret of life remain in the Cyclone structure, something that not many had entered. And now, at the age of seventeen, Isabel attention shifted toward the Arcanium, where knowledge of the old is calling her to be discovered.

[Conscripts]

Garuda Pacifier

Garuda Pacifier

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“Greetings”

Name: Garuda Pacifier

Age: 19

Race: Human

School of Magic: Magic Application, Combat and Fire Magic

Alignment: Neutral Good

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“I am as strong as my form suggests.”

Garuda boasts about his own ability

Appearance:

Mighty in his core is what describes Garuda. 180 cm tall and 74 kg heavy, Garuda is as expected of a Natron user, well-built and muscular from all the training he did prior to his arrival at Arcanium, and he took great pride in it as well. But behind the stature he possessed, he prefers to appear finely dressed in an iconic suit, a thing although old, but is a trademark of his days alive, and helps emit a certain charm to his characteristic. The suit is dark in color, and reveals a part of his chest, and thus revealing parts of his muscles, but not much. Despite the small informality of the costume, the rest of the suit relatively satisfy the definition of formal male clothing: long sleeved shirt, long-sleeved pant, elegant shoes, the two parts of the shirt held together not by buttons, but a belt or two. The collar was of the shirt was not fabric, but rather metal, hardened to emphasize his royal status. Despite this, the suit is flexible and enables him to fight without any difficulty caused by the costume itself.

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“Prepare for defeat.”

Garuda entering battle

Magical Talents:

Garuda has a talent in the use of a common but not usually used element known as Natron. (The element is completely fictional, and the description below will explain it)

To put it as simple as possible, a Natron is a subatomic particle, which is harmless in its natural state, but the particle in its nature has high potential energy and heat when accelerated to a certain degree. The particle is found everywhere, in the harsh deserts of Hag’Dvad, to the calm and peaceful forest of Forest of Heria. Anywhere having oxygen, have this kind of particle, as it is virtually in the air we live. In Garuda’s country, it is considered the most efficient, numerous and cost-effective source of energy. But in return, you cannot harvest the energy by any conventional means, and you have to do it using magic. Its usage outside of being a form of energy, it can also be used as a form of weapon. A few of its usage in warfare are to cast it as a flying white sphere, in which trillions, or maybe trillions of trillions of accelerated Natrons are packed inside. The sphere’s exterior will then dissipate, freeing those compressed Natron particles, resulting in an explosion. The number of Natrons the caster can compress into a sphere will determine the size and power of the explosion, but it is generally more powerful than normal elements. Or it can be fired directly as beams, shaped into protective shields, or be molded into swords and then explodes as mentioned earlier. Its use can be very diverse and flexible. But its downside is that in order to harvest these kinds of energies, it must be harvested using magical power. And the process is extremely energy consuming. Overusing it can result in extreme fatigue or even death caused by exhaustion. In conclusion, a mage utilizing this power must assure he has enough stamina, and must be calculative, harvesting it only enough to conserve his own energy.

For the current time being, Garuda is only capable of packing several billions of these into a sphere only as large as a tennis ball, with explosion radius of 1.5 meters, and he can only make a maximum of three before his body could feel exhaustion. Trying to get to a fourth will get him hospitalized. His beams are unreliable, and cannot shape Natrons into weapons yet. Still, the explosion from the ball, although not big, can be deadly if you stand close to it.

Physically, he is tough-built and durable in order to keep up with the requirements. As his fighting style is a high risk high reward kind of thing, he also possesses a bit of knowledge about fire magic in order to support his main magical ability.

Weaknesses:

Garuda’s spheres are very powerful, and are his win conditions, but because creating them requires tremendous amount of energy, he can only create three of them, and so if he cannot win with three of them, he'll most likely lose the battle. Also, aside from the bit of fire magic and Natron talent he possessed, he had absolutely no magical prowess with other elements.

---

“Strength on its own is directionless. Pure determination is helpless. Only when the two join is a mighty warrior born.”

Garuda and his point of view of what makes a great warrior

Personality:

Garuda is pretty much plays the role of rival in the academy. Very confident, prideful and competitive, Garuda thirsts for the sense of battle and usually goes out to challenge others of his peers to a duel whenever he can. Despite being sent to Arcadium with a goal to be a more peaceful mage with abilities more governing than fighting, Garuda personally yearns to be a warrior for his people, and he desires nothing more than the thrill of battling and the threat of defeat.

The reason for Garuda to constantly challenge others to a duel is because he wants to entertain himself, and also he wants to find a worthy opponent (The reason why will be explained in the history sections) who is strong in raw strength and walks into battle with determination and desire for victory. And he usually prioritizes the latter requirement. Once he found the person who manages to exceed him in both categories, or at least exceed his own will, he will be very open to him or her, willing to accept losing to them, and being friendly and protective towards that person. But on the other hand, if a person is shown to be less enthusiastic in battle, his or her thrust for battle being unjust, or simply lacking, Garuda will not hesitate to show disappointment and even condescension and disrespect towards that person. But generally, he is relatively polite towards others, due to his upbringings in the noble environment, and has a common sense about justice and morality, as shown as although being battlehungry, he does not go all the way to get someone to fight him by using force, or preemptively attacks anyone.

By nature, Garuda is no means superior in the power of the mind, but through training and practice to meet his subjective requirements of a Natron user, he has become fairly smart, sometimes being able to calculate and foresee outcomes using logical reasonings and estimation, both in battle and in real life situation, though not all of it is correct. But at the least, he is not the type of person to jump to conclusion and act impulsively.

Character flaws: He is a bit too prideful, to the point of annoying arrogance can be hinted, and his desire to battle others can lead him into troubles that he could have personally avoided.

---

"Alister, you are a paragon of might who never stopped thriving forward. I would never accept losing to anyone else but you."

Garuda's feelings towards his deceased friend.

Character history: Garuda was born a son to a powerful warrior mage in the country of Acity, known for its considerably advanced technological development, notably in the use of alternative energy source, the Natron particles. Because of this fact, the country underwent a terrible war with the neighbourhood country, Frismia the Nordic, whose king was jealous of the thriving economy thanks to the use of Natrons. The war seriously crippled the economy of the country, and killing many of the Natron users, but thankfully, the combined effort of both the mages and the Royal Acitian Army managed to thwart the jealous king’s intention.

Born right after the war ended, Garuda was labelled as one of the rare crown jewels of the country, due to the Natron-manipulation power that he inherited from his father. After thousands of Natron-users slaughtered in the war, the king decided to gather all remaining Natron-users and potential ones together and provide them the best training condition possible so that they can use their ability to contribute to the rebuilding of the country. And so the boy was treated with all the luxury one commoner could never even imagine possible.

Garuda, however, saw things differently. He wanted to become more of a protector, due to his natural bloodline of warrior mages, and his sense of glory and thirst for a fight comes from the stories of his ancestors, and mostly from his father, who fought bravely in the face of the enemy. And during his childhood, he was befriended by a man known as Alister, who usually accompany him in his training. He was years older than Garuda, and possessed very powerful magical ability, capable of besting Garuda easily. He not only recognized Garuda’s potential, but he also saw his determination to become a warrior mage, so he acted as a mentor to him, and usually sparred with him in his leisurely time. Garuda respected the Alister for being the one to always be powerful enough to contend him. But he was ill-fated, being taken to the afterlife by a deadly disease.

Saddened by the loss of his best friend, teacher, mentor and most importantly, worthy opponent, Garuda began his search for another one. Shortly after, he was enrolled in Arcanium for the best education possible.

[Legion02]

Alexander of Tyrania

Character Name: Alexander of Tyrania
Age: 17
Race: Human

Chosen Schools of Magic:

Dark Magic
Summoning Magic
Destruction Magic: Fire
Magical Theory

Alignement: Chaotic Good

Appearance:

Alexander takes a lot after his mother. With black hair and gentle, green eyes. Many would mistake him for someone else. But while his mother was certaintly sunkissed, Alexander is pale like the midnight moon. He often dresses in black robes, which certaintly unnerve those who misjudge him. The robes have a certain level of ornate decoration and enchantments worked into the fabric. Fitting for an apprentice like him. But maybe less fitting for an actual Prince.

Magical Talents

Maybe it was the bloody circumstance of his birth? Or the environment he grew up in. Maybe it was even the dark elf heritage he has on his mother’s side. What does it matter? Darkness greatly favors Alexander. It manifests, in its purest form as Achlys. A dark, corrupted version of Aether. Basically, while most people use mana/aether to fuel their spells, Alexander (subconsciously) uses Achlys. This makes any Dark Magic spells quite powerful. Necromancy also greatly benefits off Achlys. More neutral inclined magic like fire or wind will also be corrupted. Fires will burn hotter but extinguish quicker. Wind will not be stable but work in gusts.

Weakness:

The limitation of Achlys is that it cannot be used in conjunction with light, holy or life magic. Meanign that no matter what happens, Alexander will never be able to heal or cure anyone. He will be capable at destroying but he will never create. Such is the curse of Achlys. (this also means that while he can make constructs using necromancy, creating constructs using earth or metal magic is far more difficult.

Is it a weakness? Or a gift beyond the veils of understanding? A curse maybe? Whatever it is, Alexander knows there is something more.
Sometimes he hears things. When he was young it was random noises. Ever so soft. But they got louder. Random sounds strung together.
Now he hears whispers. Faint spoken words just beyond his understanding.

Personality

Alexander is actually quite a sweet and gentle boy. He has no innate ill feelings towards anyone and refuses to believe in things like racism. He often tries to help people grow in their own ways. This need to help and even protect stems from his youth. Where he, his brothers and the many sons and daughters of the company’s officers had to band together to survive. But for Alexander, it goes deeper. He saw the people suffer. Not only in war but in their day to day lives. He saw farmers with broken backs as well as severed limbs. The boy tried to help, but what could one person do? Still, to this day, Alexander prefers to make friends and help them than make arbitrary enemies. Of course, this makes him a bit of a push-over sometimes over minor things. You can quite easily get from him what you want.

Of course, things go deeper. Alexander will protect his friends. Even with his life if must. But he also adopted the necessary concept of the greater good. There is more to this world than him and his friends. If he wants a better world, then he must be willing to make sacrifices for it. It might be a little hypocritical but he will refuse to put himself on the altar though. Instead, he will give up a friend if must. But only if must. He is also extremely pragmatic, refusing to blindly believe every dogmatic teaching he ever had. This often translate in sometimes doubting what his teacher says and dig for a deeper truth.

While a bit of a push-over and even a little naïve, Alexander can be highly competitive. He knows that because of his ‘condition’, he can’t heal or effectively support anyone. Furthermore, his father and brother do need him to fight in the coming conquests. In other words, Alexander must be able to fight. More importantly, he must deliver the army he promised. Therefor he must become strong and powerful. This is the reason he spent days practicing and reading. He doesn’t gather knowledge for the sake of knowledge. He seeks to find applicable wisdom so he can completely overpower his opponents. Now his opponents are just his rivals. But in a few years, they will be true enemies. He knows he must be prepared. Therefor in a practice match, he might go a bit over the top and take it too serious.

Character flaws

As said, he's quite friendly and sometimes even borderline naïve. He will find it strange that some people will dislike him no matter what. This also makes him trusting the wrong people sometimes. Not with an incredibly amount of trust. He works with the idea of: trust until proven otherwise.

Character History

Born from a mercenary warlord and a random tavern wench his father doesn’t even remember, Alexander’s early life was quite predictable. He was rarely cared for by the camp followers and at a young age he had to fend for himself. Instead of working on his own, however, the children of the officers banded together. He and his brothers worked in groups to steal, trick and buy food. However, as they got older, their father began to care a lot more about them. His older brother joined his father on the battlefield soon enough. The family moved from village to village. Fighting a bloody civil war for the local king. Eventually his father got his due. A lordship title and a piece of land. The brothers could finally rest at a small castle.

Except there was little rest. Alexander, showing his proficiency and interest in magic, was loaded up with tomes. His younger brother, the sneaky bastard, joined more hunts than most adults could ever boast of in their lifetime. The eldest was groomed in the art of the sword and the map. It was clear that their father had a purpose for each and it filled them all with pride when their father gave them the acceptance they craved. When Alexander turned 14, the inevitable happened. Their father revolted against the king. A long and terrible war raged for 3 years. Costing the lives of many farmers. While his father and brother were gone, Alexander had to rule over the castle. After the first year, bands of peasants came more and more often. Begging the little lord for scraps or help in their fields.

Eventually Alexander couldn’t bear the burden and the guilt of doing nothing. He acted. He raised a group of skeletons. Instead of using the undead to slaughter the living, he used them as mindless puppets, helping the farmers. Of course, the first few times the skeletons helped on the fields, farmers were dismayed. Having believed their entire life that the undead were something to be afraid of and to be shunned. But eventually the advantage of having them outweighed their fear. The lands that Alexander shortly “ruled” prospered despite the war. When his father returned, he too was first dismayed to see the unliving working the fields. But his father was a practical man.

He saw opportunity where others would be blinded by fear. He talked to his son, asked him what he wanted to do. When his father was certain that Alexander was not like any other necromancer, he realized that this would be a tool for greatness. You see, he had won the war and established himself as king. He even renamed it to the Kingdom of Tyrania. But he realized that the kingdom needed to heal. More importantly, the coup was far from popular amongst the neighbors and even the distant kingdoms. Alexander’s father has supported several other coups, letting systems that were against him be overthrown by more sympathetic rulers. In his grand scheme, the Kingdom of Tyrania would raise his oldest son as a conquerer.

After another long talk, Alexander was send for the Arcanium. He was allowed to study there and everything would be paid for. But in return he would have to bring the key to the conquest. In whatever shape it would take. Alexander was to come home bearing a weapon that could topple nations.

[Too Old 4 This]

Blixxi Blunderfeld

Character Name: Blixxi Blunderfeld
Age: 28 (15 in human years)
Race: Gnome
Chosen School of Magic: Wild Magic
Alignment: Chaotic Good

Appearance: Blixxi is plump, pale girl-gnome with a face like a snowball and hair pulled into a disarray of assymetric pony tails. Her defining trait is her heterochromia. According to her mother her different colored eyes (one blue, one pink) is a mark of the wild magic pollution in the impoverished subterranean community of her birth. More multicolored than her irises, Blixxi's clothes are a quilt of rainbow colored scraps stitched randomly together like the body of a lazy fleshcrafter's golem.

Magical Talents:

Although spells of magical detection indicate Blixxi to be a gifted sorceress, her magic rarely manifests in an orderly or even useful fashion. Her randomized magical talent often resulted in great inconvenience for her and her family. A spell intended to cook bacon makes it sprout dandelions instead. A spell designed to clean floor coats it in chocolate. A simple summoning of a cherub winds up inviting an archdemon to the house. Blixxi wielded her magic with less restraint when she was young, bearing the consequences as they came, but when her magic resulted in the permanent transfiguration of a close friend, she became fearful of it and now only casts spells as a last resort. She travels to the arcanium in the hope that they can impose order on her chaotic talent.

Weaknesses:

Wild Magic: Blixxi can never predict how a spell she casts will turn out. Only rarely does her magic work as intended. The results range from the hilarious to the horrific and everything in between.

Personality:

Blixxi is a flighty, bubbly individual whose personality only darkens when it comes to her magic (due to the harm it has caused). Instead of relying on planning and forethought, she thinks on her feet and continuously falls back on her almost preternatural luck.

Character Flaws:

Blixxi is not strategically minded and often stumbles into situations without any planning.

Character History:

Blixxi was born in the factory district of Mechanus, a subterranean gnome city where the line between magic and technology is constantly blurred. One result of this modern magic is a pollution dubbed 'aether.' Effectively wild magic in the form of heavy vapor, it saturates the industrial and low income districts. Madness is a common affliction of those born or raised in these polluted areas. In Blixxi's case, it marked not only her personality but her magic. Her parents noticed the random magical effects soon after her birth. Imps in the cupboards, animated cutlery, bedsheets turned to peanut brittle. Getting a wizard to examine her proved difficult due to the denial of aether and its health consequences by the government of Mechanus. No licensed gnome wizard in Mechanus wanted to appear to endorse the teratagenic effects of aether. As a result, when her magic became impossible to manage, it was decided to send her to the surface to consult the above-ground scholars of magic. Accompanying Blixxi as a constant reminder of the inherent danger of her magic is her polymorphed childhood friend now trapped in the form of a talking parrot (played by @Squittens).

[hagroden]

Kyvir Lokerakir

Character Name: Kyvir Lokerakir

Age: 23

Race: Tieflings

Chosen School of Magic:
Swordmage; Shielding/Assault
Pacting
Invocation; Destrucion
Conjuration

Alignment: Lawful Evil

Appearance:

Kyvir is an Enormous man, standing at 6'7, and weighing about 235 lbs. He has a patch of thick scars over his mouth, though these are the only ones commonly visible. His back, torso, and legs however are covered in scars of varying length and thickness, and have come from whips, fights, and abuses too numerous to count. He isn't often deemed attractive, however he is seen as powerful, or intimidating at the least. His black eyes, combined with his harsh and scarred appearance often prevent people from approaching him, however few would dare call him ugly. His facial features are rough, just as his horns, and are both a deep, bloody red in tone.

He can be found wearing Leather armour, or combat armour almost exclusively, and always carries his Sword and dagger. Beneath his layers of armour are layers of scars, splattered almost lazily over his muscular form. He walks with a sense of readiness, as if he is constantly waiting for someone to jump from the shadows and slay him where he stood. However, despite his size, he is surprisingly agile, and his movements do carry a sense of purpose.

Magical Talents:

Evocation - As with most Tieflings, Kyvir has a resistance to heat that allows him to use flame oriented magic in close combat. More often than not, he will set his own sword on fire during battle. He has also managed to set people entirely on fire during trials organized by Slavers

Abjuration - As Kyvir was intended to become a Slave Ward, he was required to learn how to create and maintain protective spells while fighting. He is capable, however he has found he uses evocation far more regularly.

Physical Talents:

Born and Raised a fighting Slave, Kyvir is very familiar with pain. Whether it be a whip, a sword, or a staff, Kyvir has suffered through it multiple times. Because of this, Kyvir is able to fight in a very tank-like manner, and short of killing or amputating him, he's very difficult to hurt badly enough that he'll accept defeat.

In addition to his tolerance for pain, Kyvir is a powerful fighter, his survival through each of his trials as a slave is testament to such. Kyvir learned the ways of killing at a very young age, and took his first life at nine during his initiation trials.

Weaknesses:

Due to Kyvir's environment, he has abilities in particular fields almost exclusively, with little rounding of edges. While he is extremely talented at close to mid-range fighting, he is nearly useless at range; While he can create powerful protective spells, he can only maintain one at a time. All in all, Kyvir's capabilities are very specific, as he was bred to fill a very specific role, and he has little room for flexibility due to the harsh nature of his training. He was bred to become a ward, a guardian for a single person, not a soldier or city-guard.

Personality:

While Kyvir could likely become an intellectual mastermind, he had any curiosity beaten out of him as a child. As such, his only interest in life has become subservience. He doesn't wish to lead, advice, strategize, or do anything but what he knows; obey and fight. He truly follows the archetype of "strong but silent," as he blatantly will not speak unless spoken to. Even then, he may not respond depending on whether or not he views them as an authority.

Kyvir often carries a blank expression on his face, almost as if he is meditating. However, he simply prefers to avoid meaningless thoughts, and instead focusing on the task(s) at hand.


Character Flaws:

Kyvir is a solemn, stoic man of unquestionable loyalty. However, he is not sided with a cause, nor a war, nor a party; but an individual. Whoever is placed under his Ward, he will obey and defend this person regardless of the circumstances. He will respond just the same regardless of the task at hand, whether escorting someone or burning a town into dirt and ash. He will obey, always.

Character History:

Kyvir was bred and raised in the Eastern slave nation of Thay, a dark and foreboding land of windswept mountains and badlands. Being born into slavery, he had never known or craved another life, largely because he was a slave-ward. When Kyvir became of age, he would partake in the 10th and final trial in full view of numerous prospective buyers. Because of his status as a ward, Kyvir wasn't left to flock with the other multitudes of slaves, but would rather be isolated to his instructors and his slave kin. Because of their race, only one of the prospective Wards would survive the Final Trial, which consisted of all remaining slaves of a season being forced to battle until only one was left standing.

Upon his birth, Kyvir's mother was executed and Kyvir was taken to where he would spend the first Twenty-Two years of his life, the House of Shields in the castle of Surthay, an elven region known as a Tharc, ruled by Homen Odesseiron. The first five years of his life were uneventful, as soon as he could walk he was tasked to assist the Castle's squires until the age of 7, when he would begin his initiation trials. At the age of Nine, he had taken his first life, one of dozens upon dozens.

Throughout his life, he has passed through Ten trials, making him available to purchase. At the age of Twenty-Two, he was purchased by a High-Elf known to him as Lady Mornelis, who became his ward. As such, he began to accompany her to the arcanium she attended, as a student himself to avoid suspicion.

[Squittens]

Wrevyn Coppersmyt

Character Name: Wrevyn Coppersmyt
Age: 25 (14 in gnome years)
Race: Gnome (Parrot)
Chosen School of Magic: illusion
Alignment: Chaotic Good

Appearance:
Previously:
A gnome who is oddly taller than most of his kind. His quite serious demeanor seemingly seeping into his outward appearance. With clean, cut, snow white hair, and misty blue eyes.

Presently:


Magical Talents:
Visual Illusions: Very adept at creating an illusion that could fool any creature dependent on vision. However, he cannot do it as quickly as he would like, and isn't good at maintaining his illusions for extended periods of time. Before being transformed, the blind gnome only managed to see his own illusion spells and thus lived in a literal world illusion for much of his life.

Personality: A quiet, serious, controlled individual, Wrev has a hard time getting jokes, or just having fun in general. If not for Blixxi, he would probably work himself straight to death. He's quite stubborn, and has a hard time 'going with the flow'. In short, he does not adapt well to new situations quickly.

Character Flaws: Often over planning, and panicked about doing anything unfamiliar, causing him to plan everything to a T. He also tends to be overly controlling and over-bearing, and tends to use cold logic to constantly solve problems.

Weaknesses:
Previous: Blindness: Due to Wyev being born in a place where a magical pollution ran rampant, he was unfortunately born with blindness. This hindered just about everything he did, and annoyed him to no end. Due to his studious nature, he spent much time and money acquiring the few braille spellbooks available in his city.

Current:
Trapped in the body of a parrot: Although given the ability of flight, which may be quite handy in day-to-day life, it hinders him a lot more than it helps. With small legs, he can’t turn the pages of books, or grip things very well, leaving him forced to ask for assistance in simple things like opening and closing doors. Another major hindrance is his bright feathers, he stands out like a sore thumb if he needs to be stealthy, which limits his ability to cast concealing illusion spells on himself.

Character History:
Previously, Wyev was a gnome, unfortunately born with blindness, feeling as if he had to work harder to prove himself, he worked himself to the bone, and not helping were his three older brothers who always seemed to leave him in the dust with their accomplishments. They often took pity on him, due to his blindness, which drove him up the wall. Due to this, he would constantly leave the house, to the point where he was rarely at home. Very seldom would you find him at home, and even then, you would find him hunched over a braille book, reading away for hours and hours. During one of his outdoors expeditions, he met Blixxi. Although they were completely different than one another, the saying opposites attract proved true in this case. Despite their good friendship, they would often get into fights, but this proved to not shake their friendship. One day, Blixxi wanted to attempt a risky spell: a cure for blindness. Wyev, familiar with her wild magic, strongly urged against this, but she had already cast the spell, and by that point it was too late. Instead of being cured, he ended up transmogrified into a rainbow parrot. Together, they sought out a school that could help them both, and possibly return him to his original state of being.

[MULTI_MEDIA_MAN]

Garanin Stonehewer

Character Name: Garanin Stonehewer
Age: 42
Race: Dwarf
Chosen School of Magic: Enchantment, Restoration
Alignment: Neutral Good

Appearance: Garanin is a dwarf, and as such, he’s a short and stout little man. He stands at about 4’5” and weighs in around 160 pounds in smallclothes. He keeps his hair slightly shorter than seen above. His eyes are a vibrant shade of emerald green. Clothing-wise, Garanin prefers to wear unassuming clothes, typically favoring earth tones and clothing that keeps most of his rather hairy body covered. This comes from his preference for wearing armor, which he often keeps some pieces of with him. It’s not unusual for him to walk around casually with a breastplate on his chest. Every now and again, he’ll be seen with just a pauldron or a gauntlet on one arm.
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Magical Talents: Enchantment

Weaknesses: Destruction, Illusion, Alteration
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Personality: Garanin’s a decent enough fellow as long as you give him a chance to get to know you. Unfortunately for some, he’s also extremely crass from his time as a soldier. Dark humor, casual insults between friends, and a generally strict demeanor makes him stand out quite a bit from even a slightly formal crowd. He can behave like a lifelong friend, slinging casual japes and downing ale one moment, to standing at attention and barking like a trained dog the next.

He describes his behaviorisms as his two ‘modes’: Serious and Not-Serious. When he gets serious about something, he’s Serious: steadfast to perhaps even a point of bullheadedness, and determined to get the job done right. When he’s not so serious…he’s Not Serious. Very much at all. He’ll joke about nearly anything from that ugly mole on his back to your latest failure at wooing a lovely tavern wench, expecting as much in return as he gives.

He treats his friends with great care, willing to go to near any lengths to defend them, but he also holds those he considers dear to him to high standards. Cheating, hurting the innocent, and otherwise acting like a “big shittin’ bell-end” will get Garanin on your case pretty darn quickly.

Character Flaws: He holds grudges for quite a while, as an opposite to his stalwart loyalty to his friends, he’s not likely to forgive a betrayal quickly. He can also take his seriousness (or lack thereof) a bit too far at times, which makes him seem a bit two-faced to some people.
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Character History: Garanin is a soldier. Even now, at the Grand Arcanium, he considers himself a soldier above all else. If his people were, say, to fall under attack by some terrible marauders, he would be as likely to abandon his position at the Academy as he would be to stay. It would certainly depend upon the circumstances, but if ordered to, he would leave without a second thought.

It’s a good thing he’s officially on an extended leave while he learns the ways of Enchantment magic. His goal at the Arcanium is simply that: he is here to learn how to become a grand enchanter. When he first realized he held the Dwarven Gift, he reported to his Commander and asked what to do.

That’s why he’s here now. All of Garanin’s life up until very recently has been that of a soldier. He’s far from the greatest legendary hero in a fight, but he’s able to put any untrained whelp into the ground as well. His tutelage in magic is far behind what might be expected of a student of the Arcanium, but he believes his raw talent and drive to learn Enchantment will be reason enough to keep him around.

[ReusableSword]

Vale The Unyeilding

Portrait

Character Name: Vale Azsier

Age: 556

Race: 95% Dark Elf

Chosen Schools of Magic:
Summoning Magic
Enchantment Magic: Self
Transportation Magic
Water Magic

Alignment: Lawful Evil

Appearance:

Standing 6’3” and weighing nearly 210 Lbs. Vale is a strong muscular dark elf, more so than his brothers and sisters. Vale has purple tattoos that twist and turn in random patterns across his pale blue and Grey skin each pointed end on the symbols and patterns fade from purple to scarlet red. His eye color is also a dull glowing purple, the kind of glow one would be able to see in the dark with a little light, like the eyes of a predator.

He also has white hair that normally falls just past his shoulders. When outside he wears a black cloak that is enchanted to help with the light sensitivity, it also serves to hide his face.

Magical Talents:

Naturally Vale is gifted with the use of dark magic like most pure or nearly pure Dark Elves. However, he is here to learn to summon, Enchantment, Transportation, and water magic. One wouldn’t be wrong in saying he had a knack for said ability’s but saying he is gifted with them would be a lie. Physical combat for him comes naturally, and he uses it as a form of mediation, it also helps to sharpen his skills when he decides to mix spells with physical combat.

Weaknesses:

Most holy or ‘good’ magic tends to pain him or outright annoy him. This also entangles with bright lights, these lights make him flinch and if used properly could very well blind him temporarily. This however, will royally piss him off. It should also be stated that Vale cannot wield these types of magic, even if he could the spell would simply fizzle out and fail or have other unintended consequences.

Personality:

Vale is a cold calculating man one who is not afraid to go head on into combat but also thinks through his decisions. He views everyone around him as less than him in some aspect or another, viewing himself as racially superior to others outside his race. This does not mean he thinks he is the best fighter or mage, he does believe there are some rare individuals who could best him. If he were superior to all others, he knows he wouldn’t be at this place.

He is a bit quiet though aside from the random insults or brash way about him he tends to be blunt. The man knows where his allegiances lie and sticks to them, he does after all have a sense of honor and braking one's word is for him very dishonorable. He also tries to keep up on current events around the realm, not for gossip but any intelligence is useful to someone. He is loyal to his people and will always carry out an order given to him by the priests or priestesses.

Character Flaws:

Vale will always see himself as superior to other races sometimes even his own kind, it’s not that he hates them he just sees them as insects or careless children. He cares little for titles or past actions of others, they can talk themselves up all they want but to him they must prove to him that they are useful in some way. In the same sense he doesn’t see the value of others, their strengths sure but value to him they are better off being slaves. He doesn’t care for small talk or ‘beating around the bush’ as those humans like to say and is rather direct to the point where he comes off as rude. Sometimes he will even ignore others who try to talk to him simply because he doesn’t see them as worthy enough to talk to him. Vale also has a habit of purposefully trying to piss other people off.

Character History:

Vale was born to a warrior house, his family were trained and taught from a young age to be warriors and guards for the pure bloods. The boy excelled at combat and grasped dark magic quicker than his brothers and sisters. Slowly gaining the attention of some elders and was selected along with one of his brothers, Svold, and one of his sisters, Nankeen. The training was rigorous and unyielding, the three of them made up one group out of fifteen. Each group competed against the others for food and shelter by winning competitions or showing off their skills to the elders watching over them. Those who fared the worst would be killed.

This initial training and selection phase lasted two years, somehow Vale and his family got through it, they were not the best, and they learned it was a good thing. One lesson they learned is no matter how good you are some ones always better. This lesson was taught to them by one of the priests. This priest told the best team to attack him, with little hesitation the group attacked and one by one where toyed with, defeated, and killed. At the end of the selection phase Vale and his group where one of 8 left. Then came the night he will never forget, his final test.

It was a strange night all the teams were cleaned up, fed, and given ceremonial robes. They had been moved in the middle of the night and had not realized that they were in the lower chambers of the dark temple. The groups were told one by one to enter separate rooms, sound could not escape these rooms, nor did light. With little hesitance he entered the room he was told too with his brother and sister in tow. Before them was a single light in a dark room, the floor was covered in a red and black carpet but most notably was the three wooden stands each holding a single simple steel sword.

The darkness around the room began to fade one lone woman sat atop a very comfortable throne like chair, her most noticeable feature was her long curved ivory horns. The three knelt before her and waited for her order. She spoke quietly but with excitement and venom, “only one of you can leave this room and become an honor guard.” The final test was see how we would carry out our orders even if they were against family or friends. Each of them stepped up to the swords, looked at each other once and nodded to the other as they gripped their swords.

Vale couldn’t tell how long the fight lasted, only seldom did he look to the priestess as she watched. She seemed to be enjoying herself even propping herself across the chair smiling as they fought. Ultimately his sister dealt the finishing blow to his brother, and he finished off his sister. Badly wounded, tired, and bloody he limped up to the stairs in front of the priestesses pedestal and knelt before her. He can’t remember what she did or said next all he remembers is her laughter as he collapsed from his injuries, waking up a few days later healed and in a bed.

He was an honor guard now. Still, there was more training, for he wasn’t just a guard, but he was also a warrior, a scout, and sometimes an assassin, eventually he would become a commando. From there he had a slim chance of being selected for a secret military unit that specializes in destabilizing other nations and protecting the Dark Elf home lands. For now, he would simply be an honor guard, one of only a few allowed to leave the Dark Elf territory on their own and learn of different magic’s and most importantly learn a few things about the other students and teachers. He was told that the magic he will learn here will further their cause and make him better than what he is now.

He accepted this opportunity and set out with a warning from his superiors, which the lesser races will try to harm you or deceive you. Vale was told not to trust anyone entirely and by no means was he to tell others what he was here for. Secrecy was something that came easy for him after all, what are dark elves if not a bit suspicious. He figured he could have some fun with these lesser beings, try to see if he could manipulate them or toy with their emotions to try to set one or two of them off.

[MadManMoon]

Silias Aeson

[pictured without hat]

Character Name:

Silias Aeson

Age:

19

Race:

Human

Chosen Schools of Magic:

Illusion

Memory

Constructs and Familiars

Mirror

Alignment:

Chaotic Good

Appearance:

Silias stands at a respectable five foot ten. He has a thin build for a person of his height, but not so much so that he appears as a precariously balanced collection of flesh-sleeved bones. His appearance tends to carry an air of mystery with it, an inexplicable feeling that the viewer has seen this boy before, or perhaps that something seems strange about the way he carries himself. Sometimes his coat can be heard rattling as he walks, but the sound doesn’t sync up with any metal plating or chainmail. Silias’ brown hair is mostly tucked underneath his black hat, another memento of his father’s adventuring days.

As for his typical attire, he prefers wearing a large black leather coat – which, in addition to several large pockets, is a gift from his father reminiscent of the one he wore in his younger years. Underneath this heirloom he tends to wear a solid color tunic and durable black pants, as well as two necklaces – a one with what looks like a small charm in the shape of a book tucked under his tunic, and one bearing a pentacle charm laying over [his tunic]. Obfuscating his eyes is a set of glasses with dark glass in their frame which, for reasons he does not disclose, he refrains from removing indoors.

Physique-wise, he has trained his body to favor speed over pure “power,” focusing his efforts on being able to dodge enemy attacks rather than throwing boulders around with his bare hands. While he is certainly more dangerous in a fight with his magicks, he is by no means above getting in close to his opponents and punching them in the face, or various other exposed weak points.

Magical Talents:

Memory Magicks
His father, a master memory mage, has begun passing down his technique to his only child. At Silias’ current level of mastery, he can make up to five individuals forget up to five minutes’ worth of memory at once, a phenomenon also referred to as ‘losing time.’ He does not possess the level of skill for implanting new memories into others. Nevertheless, he wishes to gain proficiency to equal his father, who is able to take the memories of one’s entire childhood without looking up from his book.

Obfuscation
Of the three main types of magicks his father and his old friends began teaching him, the art of Obfuscation comes much easier to Silias. An advanced form of illusion magicks in which the line between reality and fiction is virtually nonexistent, where the ideas of pain can be just as crippling as those felt by real injuries, and one that relies upon sounds, colors, and detailed conceptualization.

Familiar
A gift from his father, Silas’ closest companion is a literal palm-sized spider made of bone and sinew. He does not exactly know where (or who) the components for it came from, but this has not diminished his love for the ivory arachnid in the slightest. Its eldritch webbing can greatly assist and bolster Silias’ illusion weavings, effectively making it his primary magical foci. He has named it “Biblio.”

Construct Creation
Seppo’s teachings, regarding the creation of additional bone spider constructs, have given Silias a greater appreciation for bones and their preservation. He carries several of them on his person at all times, though they tend not to be active. He is able to perceive the world through the senses of his constructs, as well as coordinate their movements and, much like with Biblio, use them as magical foci. In addition, they are able to Voltron together into larger bone spiders.

Mirror Magicks
Despite not having a tutor in the art during his journey to the Queen of the Mirror’s hall, he has taken a serious interest in learning the art of mirror magicks. A form of magic that focuses on the truth (ex. true form, true feelings) and equivalent opposites (ex. the opposite sex, alignment, element, etc.). Ironically well suited for working in tandem with Obfuscation (a method which he may half-jokingly refer to as "smoke and mirrors”). See Weaknesses for more information on his current level of aptitude.

Weaknesses:

In regards to his memory magicks, his most effective range for making one lose time is five yards (fifteen feet) or less, and can cast his memory magicks a certain amount of times per day – specifically, he is currently at a level where he can erase a total of 15 minutes worth of memory per day.

In regards to his Obfuscations, a very observant individual could spot his ‘tell’ for the instant he casts his illusions. Depending on the complexity of the Obfuscation, Silias may stand in one location to better ration his magical reserves and mental focus. Those with magically enhanced perceptions may be able to see past the Obfuscations, as well as those with equal or higher mental fortitude than Silias.

In regards to Constructs, Silias is able to create and manipulate either ten grapefruit-sized constructs at a time. Upon reaching these limits, he is likely to stand still in order to maximize his focus and control over his constructs. If he attempts to combine this skill with his Obfuscations, this possibility is raised from ‘likely’ to ‘practically certain.’ Depending on the amount of time he is manipulating his maximum number of constructs and holding an Obfuscation, he runs the risk of collapsing in fatigue.

Perhaps better described less as a ‘weakness’ and more as a ‘berserk button,’ but threatening the well-being of his beloved bone spider will cause Silias to focus on its safety as the highest priority. In practice, this means that he will likely turn all his attention to the offender and subject them to disturbingly lifelike illusions of agony. Should this unlucky individual have a partner outside of the line of fire…

Silias has a rather limited grasp of the art of mirror magicks. His most overt usage is a defensive evocation, telegraphed and linked to the words of power “Reflectius Backticus,” that manifests as a quarter-dome with a six foot diameter. Its primary purpose is to sends a projectile away from itself at the same velocity as the projectile collides with the shield. It can be cast thirteen times per day without negative repercussions, such as nausea and vomiting, and depending on the force and angle of the projectile (in relation to the shield and its caster) may also propel Silias in a specific direction. Equal and opposite reactions – not only a law of physics, but also a major part of mirror magicks.

He is not at the minimum level of skill that allows for the mirroring of others’ physical forms or alignments.

He is, however, able to manipulate visual (non-tangible) reflections up to twenty times per day, and manifest an upper limit of ten flat mirrors (measuring a maximum surface area of 13 feet) at any given time. He must be able to see where he wants to manifest a mirror at the time of casting in order for a mirror to manifest. He is, however, able to rotate any of his currently manifested mirrors without a direct line of sight. If a mirror is broken, he cannot manifest it as whole until the next day.

His long leather coat is fantastic for traversing colder weather. Warmer conditions? Not so much.

The hat is literally just a hat.

As far as he is able to physically assault someone (ie. with his fists, as mentioned above) he is only strong enough to throw a mediocre punch, and as such is more likely to follow up said punch by making a hasty retreat. If he is resorting to this tactic, it is likely that he has run out of (safely usable) magical energy.

Personality:

Due in part to the circumstances of his upbringing, Silias is much more comfortable with books than he is with people, and has developed an intellect impressive for his age as a result. That said, he gets along with children astonishingly well. He likes to tell them stories – his favorite ones being those his father shared with him, be it from the books he collected or the adventures he had in his youth.

Grimaldi’s teachings in the art of Obfuscation included some of the subtlest teaching he had to impart – the art of politics. Specifically, he called it the art of “knowing when to play nice when you’d rather drive the utter tosser insane than pretend you’re buddies…”

…which is one of Grimaldi’s teachings that he cares less about. While he is fully aware of how to use it, he is much more comfortable with speaking his mind and employing the art of deadpan snarking. He won’t always reveal everything he feels about someone, but he does find the reactions people have to his snarking to be interesting enough to keep doing it. Besides, he finds that the disconnect between his frankness in speech and his magical aptitudes is too ironic to pass up.

He finds that trying to metaphorically knock people off-balance is an interesting way to learn more about who they really are. In addition to utilizing snark, if he is in a particular mood he may decide to remove a few seconds of memory to “predict” what that person was about to say next.

While he isn’t inclined to try and make friends with everyone, he understands the value of collaboration and having companions. If he becomes especially close to you, his loyalty will be as strong as darksteel. He would literally go to the end of the world and beyond for your sake. Interpret this as you will.

Character Flaws:

Silias has a hard time letting go of those he cares about, which given one of his aptitudes might be seen as ironic. In addition to becoming fiercely protective of said beloved ones, he becomes a bit more “flexible” regarding what boundaries he is comfortable in pushing. This goes double for any romantically inclined attachments.

Due to his education under Grimaldi and his father, Silias has learned that things are not always as they appear to be. While his skepticism could be seen as an asset by some, sometimes he becomes concerned with otherwise simple and straightforward situations, objects, and individuals. See the next paragraph.

As previously mentioned, Silias is more comfortable with books than he is with most people. As such, he’s more likely to be pouring his energy into his studies than actively seeking to be a social butterfly (in essence, he’s more likely to strike up a conversation about magic with those he is unfamiliar with). This ties into his tendency to employ deadpan snark – he doesn’t care about obfuscating what’s on his mind (to a degree – he keeps his share of secrets). He’s somewhat obsessed with obtaining “true” knowledge of things, events, and people, and will deliberately try to unbalance someone to try and learn more about who they really are.

Character History:

Silias’ mother, the memory mage Fresca, had Silias while in the midst of her adventures. Shortly thereafter, she settled down in the port town of Urfdael and opened a library with the gold and knowledge she obtained in her journeys. Well, the latter case might have had something to do with how a good number of the books in that library were written by her.

Silias’ early upbringing was one of incredible love, incredible learnings, and of an incredible love of learning.

It was when Silias had been nine years old that Fresca explained why he had not known his father gorwing up. Fresca had been placed under a spell before she had conceived him, one that had transformed her into a woman when she had once been a man. The Queen of the Mirror had seen fit to change Fresca’s form when she had rebuffed the affections of her closest friend and ally, forbidding her to return to her kingdom until after nine years had passed.

Fresca had asked Silias if he wanted her to refrain from returning, so that he would continue to be raised by the familiar face of his mother. Silias had responded by asking to travel alongside his mother, so that he could be the first thing his father saw when he returned to his original form.

They came across two of Fresca’s old adventuring party on their adventures, Grimaldi the illusionist and his brother Seppo the constructor. During his time traveling with them, they realized that his latent potential as a mage and began teaching him about their respective schools of magic. Seppo taught him how to create bone spiders akin to the one Fresca gave him. Grimaldi introduced him to Obfuscation by tasking him to find his way out of an illusory labyrinth, and walked him through how such Obfuscations were constructed. The brothers spent much of their time attempting to one-up each other, and as such Silias learned much in the year they traveled together.

When they had reached the Queen of the Mirror’s hall, The Queen of Mirrors said that she was satisfied with the fruits of her spell, and thus returned Fresca to his old form. He was almost immediately enveloped in his son’s hug.

Before they went to leave the Kingdom of Speculum, Silias had respectfully asked to have a private audience with the Queen of Mirrors. In spite of Fresca’s concern, the Queen granted his request. Silias had begun by thanking the Queen sincerely for what she had done, for without her magicks he would not have been born. He had then told her about what he had heard from Fresca, and asked if she had indeed cast her spell because of Fresca’s rejection, and, if so, it had been the sole reason.

He would not speak about how the Queen of Mirrors answered.

Silias had acquired a taste of adventure on that journey, and while he had some magical skill he realized that if he was to become as accomplished as his parentage he would have to master his power. After discussing this desire with Fresca, he was led down below the library into Special Collections, half-jokingly referred to as “the Catacombs.” It was there that it was revealed that Fresca had immortalized the knowledge of the dying s/he had met, taking and writing down the entirety of their memories into thick tomes, and protected by the bone spiders created from their remains.

Silias had asked Fresca if he brought him down there to ask for his help in expanding the Catacombs. Fresca had admitted that it had crossed his mind, but mainly wanted to offer him the choice of a single tome to bring with him on his travels. After adding a particular tome to his belongings, Silias volunteered to return every so often with contributions from his adventures.

And so he traveled to the Arcanium, the greatest library in the world, to learn under the greatest organization of mages ever assembled…

[Lucius Cypher]

Malkai

Character Name: Malkai Katalmach
Age: 22
Race: Half-Orc

Chosen School of Magic: Transmutation, Magical Enhancement, Warding Magic

Alignment: Neutral Evil - All that matters is the results.

Appearance:

Malkai bares many ritualistic scars and tattoos on his body that is said to protect him from maligned influences as well as channel his magical energies. Despite having orcish blood he’s rather puny for a half-orc, being only 5’10 and fairly lean. While still muscular due to the labors growing up he lacks his kin’s raw strength, though he makes up for it through his magical augmentation. His faint green skin and piercing red eyes are two telltale signs of his lineage, as he lacks an orc’s signature toothy maw. In fact his teeth are fairly human.

Magical Talents:

Transmutation - One of Malkai’s most favored schools of magic, also known as Alteration in some areas. This magic is about manipulating or altering physical realities, such as turning lead into gold, men into beasts, or otherwise changing physical properties to be greater or less than their original quality. Through this magic Malkai is typically able to offset his perceived physical weakness, as well as overcome many other obstacles others would struggle with. He specifically is attuned for Earth based magical manipulation, capable of turning himself or just parts of his body into stone, shaping stones and even metals with magic, and even creating golems out of rocks.

Magical Enchantment - Well one hears spells such as “Bull’s Strength” or “Fox’s Cunning”, the enchantment they’re thinking of comes from this school. It’s actually a subset of Transmutation which had grown large enough to become it’s own school, this magic is essentially the reason why we have flaming swords and wands of healing. Through this school Malkai is able to channel magic energies into objects, clothing, or weapons to achieve magical effects he otherwise can’t perform himself.

Warding Magic - A fairly new school of magic that Malkai has difficulty getting a handle on, but better than the others. This school is also known as Abjuration, and it pertains to creating protective barriers, armors, shields, and other forms of seals against danger or really anything else the spell is designed for. Sort of a school that Malkai had discovered “on accident” in that during his pursuit into Transmutation and Magical Enchantment, he found the need to have properly set up barriers for his experiment.

Weaknesses:

Evocation - Malkai is much better at shaping raw magic rather than calling it forth. Classic spells such as fireball or even magic missile a bit beyond him, at best failing to be used, or at worse backfiring horribly.

Conjuration - Conversely, summoning creatures or energies from beyond the realm is also a crapshoot for Malkai. More often than not it simply doesn’t work, not even as simple as summoning forth a familiar. This also makes it incredibly difficult for him to make use of spells that could help him deal with issues of encumbrance or transportation.

Personality:

Malkai is a pretender, a liar, and a two-faced deceiver. But the trouble is trying to figure out which side of him is a lie, and how much of it is just the honest truth being told through a mask. Malkai’s true personality is that of a selfish man who has little trouble sacrificing others he doesn’t care about for his own gain, and sees no issue gaming the system in order to achieve great power. To him the means justify the end, or maybe are even the ends of themselves; having always grown up as the “Outcast”, he’d like nothing more than to use disapproved or unexpected methods to compete or even triumph against his enemies.

That being said this is not to say Malkai lacks a heart. While he’s remorselessly sacrifice a stranger, to those he’s grown fond of he can be quite compassionate, perhaps extremely so. To him, the well being of his friends and family is just as important as his own, and thus his actions often has their consideration (Or what he believes is their consideration) in mind. Of course this can make him even more dangerous if he perceives that his beloved ones are in danger, or conceited if he deludes himself into thinking that his actions are approved by the ones he cares about.

Character Flaws:

Malkai is a constant liar, doing it so much that even he can’t tell the difference between his true feelings and an act half the time until it’s too late. He’s so used to pretending and faking his true motives that he feels empty even if he should succeed, since he isn’t sure if he really got what he wanted in the end or if he just played his part well.

In addition to the above, Malkai always has doubts about his abilities. He’s all too aware that he doesn’t specialize in any rare or powerful school of magic, and he does so partially due to his own doubts that he is capable of handling such a power. He’s satisfied with being “Useful” more than he wants to be “Powerful”.
And frankly Malkai is just very petty. Anything could be done to make him into your mortal enemy, where someone else who did the same may not even garner Malkai’s attention (Immediately). It doesn’t matter if you’re a king who accidentally took his sweet roll, or a vagrant who stole his prized possession, he will come after you and ruin you, for better or for worse.

Character History:

“Strength above all else.”

That was the family creed, translated into the common tongue. It was this creed that shaped the Katalmach family, and perhaps their entire people as well. Malkai is the twelfth son of the Thraka Empire, a recently booming nation to the south. Orcs have always been a violent and warlike people, united only through hardships that ravage their lands, and never for long. But it was the Katalmach family and their entire clan that managed to unite a majority of the other tribes together underneath their banner, and crushed any opposition strong enough to resist. They used a combination of their pure might with unheard of ingenuity; through their relationships with foreign human kingdoms, the now Emperor of the Thraka Empire was a half-orc half-human who used his wits and knowledge to completely decimate the formerly savage and strength-based orc clans. And while not all of the south is under their banner, The Thraka Empire is always looking to expand their territories far and wide.

Thus it is little wonder that Malkai himself is a half-orc, the first and only son of the Emperor’s fifth mistress. There were much luxuries given to him as the Emperor’s son, but he was not treated softly. Always believing that only through hardship could strenght be found, the Emperor made it clear that being his first born, or even just his son, did not mean that one was destined for the throne: only those who have earned it through blood, sweat, and tears could earn that prestige. So while Malkai was the twelfth son, he had to compete with the entirety of his nation if he wished to truly become the Emperor. And he didn’t.

Much of Malkai’s childhood consisted of being picked on and bullied by his siblings, other noble children, and even a few of his retainers since among the half-orcs, he was considered quite runty. More human than orc they said, even if he was the last son alive no one would choose someone as weak as he was, they also pointed out. These words stung Malkai deeply, but sure enough they strengthen him into something stronger. Just as his father had intended. At an early age Malkai was fascinated with tales of men who achieved greatness and ascended into gods. He also heard tales of men who gave up their humanity to become fearsome beasts and monsters still remembered to this day. Malkai also knew the value of not just personal strength, but industrial strength. He always was fascinated at the process of creating things, from things as simple as bread to as magnificent as an ironclad warship.

Thus it was no surprise that once he was a boy of seven years age, he chose to train under a shaman. Being a shaman’s apprentice was grueling work; not only was his master a cruel taskmaster, but the the work he did truly tested Malkai’s wits and mettle. Many of his fellow apprentices died believing that brute force could save them. A few could save themselves with muscles alone. But Malkai survived by playing smart, always having an escape route and using his strengths instead of what he wanted to be strong at. Of the fifty who joined the Shaman, Malkai was the only one of four who survive into adulthood. As a Shaman’s Apprentice Malkai also learned the basics of magic, namely Transmutation. He first started with simple stone shaping spells, turning rocks into semi-usable shapes, typically an arrow head or blade. Eventually he learned his first true, signature spell, and from there he simply started to practice more and learn as much as he could.

And learn her did. Malkai was not only one of the few students to survive but thrive under his teacher’s tutelage, enabling him to learn quite a few useful spells. However the Shaman soon kicked Malkai out from his home; he had learned enough of the basics that Malkai ought to be able to handle things himself. He would never learn under the controlled environments of the Shaman’s own home. He needed to explore, see the world, and find other masters to learn from. And so Malkai packed his things and sought out a path, a life, and a world outside of his Empire’s walls.