[pictured without hat]
Character Name:
Silias Aeson
Age:
19
Race:
Human
Chosen Schools of Magic:
Illusion
Memory
Constructs and Familiars
Mirror
Runic
Chloromancy
Pyromancy
Alignment:
Chaotic Neutral [With leanings toward, but not quite, 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 warded garment his father 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. Silias is also looking into combining the principles that Seppo has taught him with that of other magical disciplines, such as that of Chloromancy, Runic magicks, and Pyromancy [although he is mostly interested in the latter for utility purposes, such as starting a fire without flint or tinder].
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 30 minutes worth of memory per day. Any memories he erases are permanently stored in his mind, as clear as the moment he took them. While this appears to be incredibly useful in theory, if he took a memory and he offhandedly starts to remember too much of it later, the memory in question will brute-force its way to the forefront of his psyche. With particularly traumatic memories, proper meditation (consisting of locking himself in a room and Remembering it repeatedly in the psychic equivalent of building a pain tolerance by electrocuting yourself in non-lethal bursts for several hours) the effect can be dulled from “briefly debilitating psychic damage” to “mild headache.”
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...
In regards to Constructs, Silias is able to create and manipulate either ten grapefruit-sized constructs or one eight foot tall construct 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 warded against physical assault to a degree - while it will prevent bladed objects or projectiles from
breaching the material,
the amount of force behind the strike (say from a fist, Warhammer head, arrow, etc.)
will fully make it through the material. In essence, while a sword may not damage the coat (presuming the sword in question is not runed to break enchantments or is not a legendary weapon that, say, shoots lightning when properly wielded), it’s still hitting the wearer with the full force of the swing. Bruises, organ trauma, and broken bones are very much possible, as Silias is far from invulnerable and is basically a
really squishy wizard. What the coat does not cover – examples include Silias’ ankles, feet, hands, head, torso (in that case, provided the coat is not buttoned up) unless explicitly stated otherwise before the strike – is NOT protected in this manner. If destroyed, it would take someone of Silias’ level several months of constant mystical labor in order to repair or replace it.
His coat wards the wearer against medium-low tiers of destructive magicks much like a duck's feathers repel water. The coat's wards will begin to fail if exposed to higher level or prolonged upper medium-level evocations. While parts of the body covered by the coat will not be directly subject to, say, a pyromancer's flames, the heat created by their flames will still be felt. Also, it's a heavy leather coat - it's fantastic for traversing colder weather. Warmer conditions? Not so much.
The hat is not warded at all. It’s 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…
