Name:
Ahven Maldrich.Occupation: Demon Hunter.
Age: Early sixties, appears in his twenties.
Race: Former human, current half-breed (demon and human).
Appearance: Tall at 6’4” and slender at 200 pounds, Ahven possessed a lithe strength and speed that made him a formidable combatant even before his transformation, which only increased his physical capabilities further. In addition, the presence of demon blood in his body has turned his hair white, skin pale, and eyes a deep silver-red hue.
History: Born into a world on the brink of war, Ahven was trained from childhood to become a hunter of demons and drive them back to the realm from which they came. This task is not a simple one, as it is the magic, or essence, from the demon realm that powers the technology from the human one, and to seal the breaches entirely would destroy a civilization. Instead, once the effects that demon blood could have on a human were discovered, the hunters were created; humans that have consumed the blood of demons and survived. Doing so granted them access to the essence of the demons power and they became more than human; living conduits for the energy that is drawn from the demon realm to power the expansion of industry. Ahven was sixteen when he and eleven others went through the ritual to become a full hunter; seven of them were killed outright by the process while three more were driven insane. Of the original dozen students, only two passed through the final test unscathed. Since that time, Ahven has worked tirelessly to perfect the gifts his demon blood has granted him and become one of the foremost hunters to date, far surpassing the median life expectancy of forty-two years.
Powers: Demonic Blood.Granted by his demon blood, Ahven possesses physical capabilities far superior to any human, allowing him to lift one ton of weight above his head, maintain a pace of thirty miles per hour for an extended period of time, react to movements that a human eye would not even perceive, and easily withstand blows from those who are his equal in strength. His eyesight has been altered to see clearly in darkness and at greater distance than a human, while his hearing and smell have become comparable to those of predatory animals. His blood as well has been altered, gaining a corrosive quality due to the demonic essence it is imbued with and rendering him resistant to poison and disease. If injured non-fatally, his body will repair the damage quickly enough to prevent the wound from becoming fatal in time, but only to the point where death is averted. To heal himself fully requires either time or an expenditure of energy.
Abilities: Essence Manipulation.Due to his connection with the energy of the demon realm (via his now-demonic blood), Ahven has access to several forms of demon magic, though all require a portion of the same energy. He cannot be harmed by his own energy, and any of his own offensive spells he is in range of will have no affect on him.
Essence Shift.
Teleportation would be a more common name for this ability, though in truth it is a method of traversing between dimensions as much as transporting oneself from one point to another within the same realm. This ability is what allows hunters to follow the demons to their own realm to destroy the portals they’ve created, then traverse back due to their human connection with their own realm. A hunter is the only known being that can pass back and forth entirely at will. When used to alter one’s location within the same realm, the range of this ability is limited to roughly 25 meters, though can be increased by using a greater amount of energy. For every five seconds spent charging this ability (one post), its range is double (50 meters after one charge post, 100 after two, and so on). Due to the strain this ability places on the hunter's mind, it is extremely inadvisable to utilize it more than once in succession, as doing so causes great mental fatigue after two consecutive shifts and outright unconsciousness after three.
Essence Binding.
As the name suggests, this spell is a method of attaching one object to another by binding them together with demonic essence. The strength of this bond, as well as the range of it, is determined by the amount of energy put into the spell, with the binding strength doubling every five seconds the spell is charged. At a base level, the binding force is enough to restrain a hunter (barring the use of essence to escape) and slow down even the strongest of demons (enough to hold a being with 2 ton strength), and the radius of the effect is 1 meter. With each charge, both the binding strength and the effect radius are doubled, though range can also be sacrificed for another equal increase in binding strength and vice-versa (4 tons and 0 meters with no charge, 8 tons and 1 meter with 1 charge, or 2 tons and 16 meters with 2 charges). The duration of this spell is 10 seconds (those caught in it will be immobilized for one full post, and two partial posts) by default, though can be increased based upon the same formula as the range and binding force if the potency of one of them is sacrificed. Physical contact is necessary for the activation of this spell, and it is centered on either Ahven himself or the object he is touching.
Essence Transfer.
The transfer of essence allows Ahven to strike much harder, move much faster, and withstand more damage than would otherwise be possible by releasing a portion of his energy into either his physical body or an adjacent object on contact. The rate of transfer is equal to the maximum force/energy he can exert with a purely physical action, multiplied by a factor of 10. With every five seconds of charge, the power of the action is doubled.
Demonic Awareness.
A sixth sense, so to speak, this ability is derived from the essence that Ahven is continuously "leaking" into the world around himself and the way in which it interacts with other objects and energies. Within 25 meters, he can sense any object and most energies around himself with unerring accuracy, though must still focus his attention if he is attempting to perceive any great detail. Within 50 meters, he can sense people and their energy fields, but is unable to distinguish significant detail even when focused. Within 100 meters, he can sense only general shapes and large amounts of energy. Beyond 100 meters this sense is blind to the world. Due to the nature of this energy being tuned to Ahven himself, it is undetectable even to other hunters, though his body's natural energy field can still be detected.
Non-combat abilities.
Meditative Restoration.
By focusing his supply of demonic essence within his own body, Ahven can use it to rejuvenate his own physical energy and well-being, healing wounds and counteracting even the poisons and diseases potent enough to affect him. To do this, however, he must be able to concentrate completely on the task.
Essence Attunement.
Ahven is capable of sensing his own energy over vast distances, allowing him to easily determine the location of any traps he has set or any items powered by his essence.
Equipment: Essence-based technology.Swords.
Short by most standards (half a meter blade length), these twin blades are nevertheless exceedingly effective at what they are designed to do. Fortified with enchantments that render them wholly unyielding as well as eternally sharp, they are the primary weaponry given to a demon hunter upon graduation, to then be enchanted further as each hunter desires. Ahven decided to forego any further enchantments in favor of the efficiency provided by simplicity, and thus far it has served him exceedingly well.
Pistols.
Powered by the demonic energy his body generates, these twin pistols are designed to store and release that energy on command in short but volatile projectile bursts. The mechanics of the weapon allow it to compress and multiply the force of the energy into a more destructive, yet much more precise attack than Ahven is capable of on his own, and the range of the weapon is also a distinct advantage against purely melee foes. Each projectile will travel for a distance of 1,000 meters before dissipating, and the force with which it strikes is equal to the force of his strongest physical blow multiplied by a factor of ten, then compressed into a space no more than a single centimeter across and fired at a speed of mach 2. Charging the weapon requires both time and concentration, and allows him to fire 7 times before needing to replenish. The replenishment process itself is similar to that of restoration, and cannot be done in combat.
Traps.
Small disks that can easily fit in the palm of a hand, a hunter’s trap is a device designed to temporarily contain demonic essence while in a volatile state. To arm a trap, a demon hunter will simply cast the desired spell into the device, which will then create an appropriate seal to contain the energy. To detonate the trap, the seal can either be altered to decay at a specified rate, resulting in a delayed detonation, or simply destroyed remotely by the hunter who set the trap. When active, a trap will expand to four times its inactive size, making the transportation of more than a handful of armed traps difficult at best. Energy requirements are equal to those of the standard spells, with the only difference being the remote/ranged capability a trap provides. Ahven possesses 12 of these devices.
Armor.
With the exception of his bracers, which are an enchanted metal that can withstand blows from even the strongest of demons, Ahven’s armor is lightly enchanted leather designed to provide maximum agility and an increased ability to blend silently into shadows and darkness.
Weaknesses:
Bright light.
Due to his ability to see in near-total darkness, his eyes are very sensitive to bright light and sudden flashes can disorient and/or blind him temporarily (he generally wears a hood to help compensate for this).
Holy magic.
While his human side does provide some resistance to this, any use of holy magic against him will bypass the resistances granted by his demonic blood and affect him as it would a normal human.
